Highland Creek (Lake Ontario)
| Highland Creek | |
| River | |
 Highland Creek and its associated valley
|
|
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| Municipality | Toronto |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | West Highland Creek |
| Source | Hydro One right of way, near Brimley Road & McNicoll Avenue |
| - elevation | 186 m (610 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°48′54″N 79°16′51″W / 43.81500°N 79.28083°W |
| Mouth | Lake Ontario |
| - elevation | 75 m (246 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°46′0″N 79°08′41″W / 43.76667°N 79.14472°WCoordinates: 43°46′0″N 79°08′41″W / 43.76667°N 79.14472°W |
| Length | 29.1 km (18 mi) |
  Location of the mouth of the creek in Toronto
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Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, bass and salmon. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto (including the Don and Humber), travels through a glacial ravine formed after the last Ice Age. The Highland Creek watershed, including tributaries, is almost entirely contained within Scarborough.
According to a 1796 list of Mississauga names of rivers and creeks compiled by British surveyor Augustus Jones, the river was known as Yat-qui-i-be-no-nick, which translates as "creek comes out under high." There is no documented source for the name "Highland Creek", but some suggest it is of descriptive origins, possibly recalling the Highlands of Scotland where many early settlers of the area came from.
Highland Creek consists of four branches, treated here in order from west to east. The names used for the branches indicate only geographic position, and should not be taken as proper names.
The north-west branch begins at the exit of a culvert at Finch Avenue East at 43°48′11″N 79°17′17″W / 43.80306°N 79.28806°W. It flows south, then south-east and passes under the intersection of Midland Avenue and Huntingwood Drive. The branch continues east under Brimley Road, then parallels the road south until just north of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. The branch then heads under the tracks east and under McCowan Road, before joining the west branch at 43°47′30.5″N 79°15′33″W / 43.791806°N 79.25917°W. The entire length of the branch is artificially channelled and straightened, and much of it lined with a concrete bed. This was done in the 1970s after a scare about mosquitoes carrying encephalitis breeding in stagnant creek water (see also "Threats from Development" below). The total length is approximately 3.4 km (2.1 mi).
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Wikipedia