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rfmcdonaldThe Scarborough Bluffs, located in eastern Toronto in the former city of Scarborough, are a beautiful high shoreline escarpment.
On one Sunday a couple of years ago, Jerry and I foolishly climbed the bluffs on a lark. At first it seemed easy, but then as we found ourselves on a dirt slopes inclined at a 60 degree angle to the ground we realized we'd overreached ourselves a bit. Not too badly--we completed the climb--and we later made it down to wander on the beach, but still.
James Goneaux, responsible for an [OBSCURA] photo taken at the Bluffs, "Lovers in the Shadows", took two more great images of the bluffs, these of the beach. Enjoy!
They run 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the foot of Victoria Park Avenue in the west to the mouth of Highland Creek in the east, reaching as high as 65 metres (213 ft), the equivalent of seventeen storeys. However, the escarpment continues westward inland, running between Kingston Road and Queen Street East, pausing over the Don Valley, and continuing on the north side of Davenport Road. The escarpment forms the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, formed after the last ice age, which left valuable geological records as the part of the escarpment by the lake eroded. The eroded alluvial deposits from the Bluffs then settled westward to form the Toronto Islands.
The bluffs were named after Scarborough, England by Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The bluffs along Scarborough's Lake Ontario shores reminded her of the limestone cliffs in Scarborough, England. In her diary, she wrote, "The [eastern] shore is extremely bold, and has the appearance of chalk cliffs, but I believe they are only white sand. They appeared so well that we talked of building a summer residence there and calling it Scarborough."
A park created from fill has been built in the lake below the cliffside named Bluffer's Park; it is accessible from the foot of Brimley Road. Natural beaches extend from east/west past the park and visitors can walk "under" the bluffs. Placing an ear on the bluffs you can actually hear movement within them. Many old cars were plushed off the top of the bluffs in the 40's-80's and the cars can still be found (with a careful eye), almost fully buried.
On one Sunday a couple of years ago, Jerry and I foolishly climbed the bluffs on a lark. At first it seemed easy, but then as we found ourselves on a dirt slopes inclined at a 60 degree angle to the ground we realized we'd overreached ourselves a bit. Not too badly--we completed the climb--and we later made it down to wander on the beach, but still.
James Goneaux, responsible for an [OBSCURA] photo taken at the Bluffs, "Lovers in the Shadows", took two more great images of the bluffs, these of the beach. Enjoy!
