Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area

Infobox Protected area
name =Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area
iucn_category =


caption = Webster's Falls
base_width = 250
locator_x =
locator_y =
location =
nearest_city =Hamilton, Ontario
lat_degrees=43 |lat_minutes=16 |lat_seconds=59 |lat_direction=N
long_degrees=79 |long_minutes=58 |long_seconds= |long_direction=W
area =
established = 1967
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Hamilton Conservation Authority
world_heritage_site =

Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas, Ontario, a constituent community of Hamilton, Ontario, and is owned and operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. It is renowned for offering spectacular views of Hamilton and for containing two major waterfalls that are easily accessible via a system of trails.cite web
title = Spencer Gorge/Webster's Falls brochure
publisher = Hamilton Conservation Authority
url = http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/Asset/iu_files/SpencerGorgeBrochure2008.pdf
date = 2008
accessdate = 2008-02-29] The natural features found in the area are considered to be provincially significant.

Geology

The main feature of the area is the Spencer Gorge, a "Y"-shaped gorge around convert|1|km|mi|1|sing=on in length, with the depth reaching convert|100|m|ft|.cite web
title = Natural Areas Report: SPENCER GORGE
publisher = Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
url = http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=1628
date = 2005
accessdate = 2008-03-02] The walls of the gorge are very steep, contrasting the gently sloping landscape found in the nearby areas. The gorge was incised by the melt streams of the Wisconsin glaciation about 10,000 years ago. The gorge displays a near-complete stratigraphic section from the red shales of the Queenston Formation, not exposed anywhere else on the Niagara Escarpment, to the caprock of the Lockport Formation (dolostone and limestone).cite web
title = Webster's and Tews Falls
publisher = Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
url = http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=5349
date = 2005
accessdate = 2008-03-02]

Waterfalls

Measuring convert|41|m|ft| in height, Tews Falls is the tallest waterfall found in Hamilton, [cite web
title = Hamilton Waterfalls
publisher = Hamilton Travel & Tourism
url = http://www.hamilton.worldweb.com/Photos/Waterfalls/
date =
accessdate = 2008-03-02] cite web
title = Tews Falls - Virtual Field Trip
publisher = McMaster University
url = http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/geo/outreach/road_trips/Tews_Falls.pdf
date =
accessdate = 2008-03-02] among 96 others. [cite web
title = Hamilton - The City of Waterfalls
publisher = Hamilton Naturalists' Club
url = http://www.hamiltonnature.org/localspecies/waterfalls_intro.htm
date =
accessdate = 2008-03-02] Located at convert|219|m|ft| above the sea level, it is also the highest waterfall in the city. Webster's Falls is another major waterfall. With its convert|30|m|ft| crest, it is the largest within the city. [cite web
title = Webster's Falls
publisher = Hamilton Conservation Authority
url = http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/Websters_falls.asp
date =
accessdate = 2008-03-02] The gorge is an excellent example of the process of waterfall recession. At least 10 bowl-shaped basins have been identified within the area, indicating the earlier positions of the waterfall. Some of the largest and the oldest identified basins have the diameter of up to convert|350|m|ft|, with depth of up to convert|60|m|ft|, making them comparable to the present state of the Horseshoe Falls.

References

External links

* [http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/ Hamilton- "The Waterfall Capital of the World" (www.cityofwaterfalls.ca)]
* [http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/parks/visit/spencer.asp Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area]
* [http://www.hamiltonnature.org/waterfalls/waterfalls.html
]
* [http://www.hamiltonpostcards.com/pages/waterfalls.html Vintage Postcards: Waterfalls in and around Hamilton, Ontario]