Exploring Our Natural Features
The community of Oak Ridges is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Moraine is a landform composed of boulders, stones, sands, gravels and other debris deposited by glaciers approximately 12,000 years ago. The Moraine stretches 160 kilometres from Caledon to Northumberland like a huge "eyebrow" over Toronto. Topography varies from plains to steep ridges interspersed with deep kettle lakes and wetlands. Known as the "rain barrel of southern Ontario", the Moraine provides drinking water to over 250,000 people through municipal wells and is the headwaters to over 65 rivers and streams that deliver cold clean water to millions of people.
The natural features of our area are so typical of the Moraine that it was actually named the Oak Ridges Moraine after our community. These include kettle lakes, wetlands, small streams and forests that support a wide diversity of sensitive plants and wildlife. The wetlands, kettles and streams are also major headwaters of the east branch of the Humber River that has the prestigious status of a Canadian Heritage River. Some wetlands to the south feed into the Rouge and the Don. There are five Areas of Natural Scientific Interest (ANSI's) that are protected to help preserve the most rare and vulnerable resident species of flora and fauna. Natural buffer areas and linkage tracts have been designated to provide more greenery to sustain these sensitive areas and provide migration paths for wildlife.
The Natural Heritage Map (pdf) highlights many of these features and clearly shows just how much water bubbles up in our neighbourhood.
Throughout the community, parks and trails have been established to enable residents to enjoy this natural beauty. The parks and trails are shown on the Town of Richmond Hill's Guide to Parks & Trails
www.richmondhill.ca/documents/prc_parks_and_trails_guide.pdf
In addition, a new park, tentatively named the "Kettle Lakes Nature Reserve at Richmond Hill" is planned to provide an extensive sanctuary for nature and an essential ecological linkage on the Oak Ridges Moraine with a trail from Bathurst Street to Bayview Avenue that will connect with the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail . The "spine trail" in this park has been constructed and there are plans for side trails to link the main path to William Bond Park on the east and Grovewood Park and Jefferson Side Road on the west. Unfortunately the transfer of these lands to public ownership has been held up in the courts. The plans for this park can be seen at:
www.trca.on.ca/water_protection/strategies/humber/
ProposedTrailandHabitatRes-Update.pdf
These trails provide a place to stroll or just sit to relax while watching the birds and the many amphibians that inhabit our numerous waterways. For more active recreation Sunset Beach on Wilcox Lake (the largest of the kettle lakes on the Moraine) offers swimming in the summer and skating on the natural ice in winter. Small craft boating and fishing are also enjoyed on the lake.
