Humber River (Toronto)
| Humber River | |
| River | |
 The Humber, as seen from a point near the northern border of Toronto
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| Country | Canada |
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| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Southern Ontario |
| Districts | Dufferin County, Regional Municipality of Peel, Simcoe County, Regional Municipality of York |
| Municipalities | Toronto, Adjala–Tosorontio, Brampton, Caledon, King, Mono, Vaughan |
| Part of | Great Lakes Basin |
| Source | Humber Springs Ponds |
| - location | Mono, Dufferin County |
| - elevation | 421 m (1,381 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°56′36″N 80°00′14″W / 43.94333°N 80.00389°W |
| Mouth | Humber Bay, Lake Ontario |
| - location | Toronto |
| - elevation | 74 m (243 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°37′56″N 79°28′19″W / 43.63222°N 79.47194°WCoordinates: 43°37′56″N 79°28′19″W / 43.63222°N 79.47194°W |
| Length | 100 km (62 mi) |
| Basin | 903 km2 (349 sq mi) |
  Location of the mouth of the Humber River in Ontario
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The Humber River (French: Rivière Humber) is a river in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.
The Humber collects from about 750 creeks and tributaries in a fan-shaped area north of Toronto that encompasses portions of Dufferin County, the Regional Municipality of Peel, Simcoe County, and the Regional Municipality of York. The main branch runs for about 100 kilometres (60 mi) from the Niagara Escarpment in the northwest, while another other major branch, known as the East Humber River, starts at Lake St. George in the Oak Ridges Moraine near Aurora to the northeast. They join north of Toronto and then flow in a generally southeasterly direction into Lake Ontario at what was once the far western portions of the city. The river mouth is flanked by Sir Casimir Gzowski Park and Humber Bay Park East.
The Anishinaabe, the most recent native inhabitants of the area, refer to the river as Gabekanaang-ziibi (recorded as "Cobechenonk"), for “leave the canoes and go back.” During the 1600s and 1700s, the river was known by several names before it was given the official name of Humber. Popple's map of 1733 shows a prominent river beside the native settlement "Tejajagon" assumed to be the Humber. Its name is given as the Tanaovate River. The river was also known as the "Toronto River." Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the river the name of Humber, likely after the Humber estuary in England.
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