- Credit River
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Credit River 
The Credit River in Port CreditName origin: From Rivière au Crédit, used by French fur traders Country Canada Province Ontario Mouth Lake Ontario - location Mississauga - elevation 74 m (243 ft) [1] - coordinates 43°32′52″N 79°34′51″W / 43.54778°N 79.58083°W [2] Length 90 km (56 mi) [3] Basin 1,000 km2 (386 sq mi) [3] Discharge for Erindale, Mississauga - average 8.12 m3/s (287 cu ft/s) [4] - max 501 m3/s (17,693 cu ft/s) - min 0.085 m3/s (3 cu ft/s) 
Location of the mouth of the Credit River in OntarioThis article is about the river in Ontario. For the river in Minnesota, see Credit River (Minnesota).
The Credit River near Belfountain
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km². The total length of the river and its tributary streams is over 1,500 km.
Despite urbanization and associated problems with water quality on the lower section of this river, it provides spawning areas for chinook salmon and rainbow trout. There is a fish ladder on the river at Streetsville. Much of the river can still be travelled by canoe or kayak. The headwaters of the Credit River is home to a native self-sustaining brook trout population and an introduced brown trout population.
Credit Valley Conservation, the local watershed management conservation authority, operates several Conservation Areas including Belfountain, Island Lake, and Terra Cotta.
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located on the upper part of the river between Brampton and Orangeville, and is near the Bruce Trail.
Communities in the river's watershed include:
- City of Brampton
- City of Mississauga
- Township of Amaranth
- Town of Caledon
- Township of East Garafraxa
- Town of Halton Hills
- Town of Mono
- Town of Orangeville
- Town of Port Credit
The river was named Rivière au Crédit by French fur traders, because trading goods were supplied to the native Mississaugas in advance (on credit) against furs which would be provided the following spring. A trading post was set up at the mouth of the river, in Port Credit, in the early 18th century.
Contents
Watershed population and land use
750,000 people live in the watershed as of the 2006 census, 87% of whom live in the lower 1/3 of the watershed. Population growth is approximately 3% per year. In 1999, 21% of the watershed was developed. By 2020 40% of the watershed will be developed (based on approved development and the official plans of the municipalities).
Plants and animals
The Credit River is home to a wide range of wildlife. Some species are permanent or seasonal residents while others are sighted occasionally. 1330 species of plants, 64 fish species (including many bait fish, pike, and brook trout), 41 species of mammals, 5 species of turtles, 8 snake species, 17 amphibian species, and 244 species of birds call this watershed home.
In popular culture
The Canadian indie rock band The Constantines entitled a track "Credit River" on their 2008 album Kensington Heights.
See also
References
- ^ Google Earth elevation for source coordinates
- ^ "Credit River". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/search/unique_e.php?id=FAUCN&output=xml.
- ^ a b "Credit River Watershed". Credit Valley Conservation. http://www.creditvalleycons.com/aboutcvc/creditriverwatershed.htm. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ Station 02HB002 (Credit River at Erindale), Archived Hydrometric Data, Water Survey of Canada
External links
- Fishing the Credit River Steelhead, Salmon and Trout
- Credit Valley Conservation
Categories:- Rivers of Ontario
- Tributaries of Lake Ontario
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