Summative Individual Component – TorontoGeocaching.com Tour Stop Web Page
Glacial Cache Iroquois (2 marks)
Cache Attributes (1 mark):
Cache Name (Tour Stop Name)
A cache by: Fatima Qureshi
Difficulty (.5 mark):

Terrain (.5 mark):

Latitude & longitude (provide exact location in minutes & seconds): 40.5400 ºN 88.0950 ºW (1 mark)
Google Map showing cache location (use instructions provided on Moodle) – 2 mark
43°41'26.37"N 77°39'27.58"W
*** REMAINDER OF THIS HANDOUT MUST BE IN FULL SENTENCES***
Description of your tour stop – 3 marks
Lake Ontario is what’s left of Lake Iroquois. Lake Iroquois looked like a roughed up scaled version of Lake Ontario. It is a
prehistoric proglacial lake. It has two ancient shorelines. One shoreline is in Toronto and it runs from east as it goes
about parallel to Davenport airport road, south of St. Clair avenue west and ends with the Scarborough Bluffs at the
shoreline. The rocky outcrop south of St. Clair identifies the former shoreline of Lake Iroquois. The Scarborough Bluffs
extends approximately 15 km along the shoreline of Lake Ontario (coordinates: 43°42’07”N 79°14’31”W43.702°n
79.242°W). Due to the erosion the Bluffs don’t have as much of a rugged appearance as they used to. The highest point
in the Scarborough bluffs rises up to 90 km. The side of the bluffs that are going towards Lake Ontario begin to have
more of a rugged appearance, and the bluffs going towards the park, has a smoother hill shape with trees on it. The
other shoreline survives almost 4 km offshore Toronto beneath the water. It helped formed the shore of another glacial
lake called, Glacial Lake Warren (which is now known as Admiralty Lake). Lake Iroquois that began to recede at the end
of the last ice age left behind the Scarborough bluffs and other significant features of the city. Over time the water in
Glacial Lake Iroquois has drained quite a lot. At the present day the remainder of Lake Iroquois (Lake Ontario) has an
area of 18,960 km², and the surface elevation of 74m.
History and Background – 3 points x 2 marks each = 6 marks
It is a prehistoric Glacial Lake that existed about 13, 000 years ago at the last ice age. In the last ice age when glaciers
receded and the temperatures began to rise, the melt water was collected into giant land formed basins, and in one of
the basins formed Lake Iroquois. Lake Iroquois was formed in the basin of today’s Lake Ontario. The lake was “supplied”
by Glacial Lake Algonquian and early Lake Erie that drained straight to Lake Iroquois. The lake was so massive that at one
point the entire downtown area was underneath the lake. The lake differed in size over thousands of years because of
the retreat of a sheet of ice, named the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The Laurentide ice sheet had covered most of Canada. This
sheet had also blocked the St. Lawrence River and created indentations in the ground called depressions. The Laurentide
ice sheet left a remarkable depression on the northeast corner of Lake Iroquois when it was retreating north. It caused
the water from the St. Lawrence River to drain into the Atlantic Ocean, which caused the water level in Lake Iroquois to
decrease. Then about 12, 000 years ago when the ice over the St. Lawrence River disappeared, Lake Iroquois began to
drain speedily due to finding this new outlet, as below as 85m of current day water levels. A shoreline found below Lake
Ontario is a proof of this, (the shoreline is believed to be about 12,000 years old). Shore bluffs were created between the
Don and Humber rivers by the lake Iroquois. They were created because the water had a sharper down ward slope in that
area. Sediment and the mud washed back into the lake and the gravel and sand formed a beach. The Scarborough Bluffs
were also created from many layers of sand and clay that were deposited during the last ice age, and the Bluffs have
been eroding ever since.
Importance (significance) of your tour stop to Toronto. Why is it important for people to visit this spot? Why is this spot
important to the people of Toronto? – 3 points x 2 marks each = 6 marks
Lake Iroquois is important to Torontonians because the sand and gravel that were along the Scarborough bluffs were
mined to use for construction such as building roads, sidewalks and sewers. The clay that was obtained from the bottom
of the lake was used to make bricks. By studying the structures that glaciers left behind, it helps us understand how the
glaciers have moved and how the land might have been like long ago. Like the drumlins found near the Oak Ridges
Moraine near the Iroquois Bluffs indicates that the glaciers moved northwest. Over time people have also been using the
land to their advantage. By the 1850’s the Toronto shoreline was enlarged into the harbor by dumping tons of fill. Things
such as parks, hotels, shops and buildings have been built on this land. Lake Iroquois or currently known as Lake Ontario
now provides us with clean water to drink, Fish, transportation and jobs in industries like agriculture. Also the
Scarborough Bluffs, Lake Ontario and the shorelines are a beautiful attraction which tourists come to do sightseeing,
finishing, and go boating. This increases income in business like hotels, Restaurants and stores because of the tourist that
come to visit these places, which is good for Toronto. People should visit the Scarborough Bluffs because The
Scarborough Bluffs that were caused by Lake Iroquois is not only a major Geological feature but it also impacts the study
of forms of present-day streams. Lake Iroquois also formed important shore-bluffs which are highlighted by the view of
Toronto.
Describe, in detail, one challenge facing your tour stop - 3 marks
Many people don’t known about Lake Iroquois or its shoreline. This is a problem because since they don’t know about it,
they can’t do anything to help stop the erosion of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is said that 30 centimeters of the
Scarborough bluffs is gone every year due to erosion. The erosion is caused by the waves from Lake Ontario. The wave hit
the bottom of the shoreline that chips away part of the bluffs that makes it weaker and unable to support the cliff on the
top, thus making the cliff fall into the lake. The Bluffs are a striking secluded part of our city; they are geologically very
special and important in the world. Many people overlook the fact that the Bluffs can be used for so many things such as
using it as a biking trial or going for a hike. Although things are being done to lessen the erosion of the bluffs, it is very
costly due to the fact that only the residents living on the bluffs and the TRCA (Toronto and Region Conservation
Authority) are the few people that are trying to do something about it. So far the TRCA had built cobblestone barricade
on the bottom of the Bluffs to reduce wave damage on the Bluffs, but the Bluffs are still continuing to erode today.
Describe, in detail, one recommendation you have for the future of your tour stop – 3 marks
One recommendation I would make is that even if most of Lake Iroquois is long gone people should try to educate people
and tell them about this history of Lake Iroquois. People should know about Lake Iroquois because Lake Ontario is one of
the most famous Lakes in Toronto and a lot of people come to visit it every year to go boating, fishing etc. Yet not a lot of
people know the history behind it. Before doing research on Lake Iroquois I did not know that it was the prehistoric Lake
Ontario. So for the future, when people come to visit lake Ontario, there should be a tour guide that could educate and
tell people about the history behind it, and how Lake Iroquois formed the Scarborough Bluffs and the shorelines, because
otherwise people would just visit and go without giving a second thought to the history behind it and learning about it.
Photo or Diagram relevant to your tour stop. Include a caption which describes the photo/diagram is and its connection
to your tour stop. 3 marks
This is a diagram of how Lake Iroquois (or the early Lake Ontario as written in the diagram) was like over time. At 14,000
years ago it shows how the glacier covered all of the lakes. Then over 9000 years ago the glacier receded leaving the melt
water into the land basins. At 7000 years ago the glaciers went between alternating periods of freezing and melting. At
last 4,000 years ago the glacier completely receded and Lake Iroquois started to drain through the St. Lawrence River.
List of Resources Used (shows variety, appropriate sources, and uses APA citation format) – 5 marks
Green, J. (2013, April 22). Scarborough Bluffs: $6.5 million erosion prevention project offers hope to
those living on the edge | Toronto Star. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/04/22/scarborough_bluffs_65_million_erosion_prevention_pr
oject_offers_hope_to_those_living_on_the_edge.html
Raza, A. (2013, April 15). Erosion threatens Scarborough Bluffs properties. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from
http://torontoobserver.ca/2013/04/15/erosion-threatens-scarborough-bluffs-properties/
Great Lakes – Lake Iroquois. (2007, April 16). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC127DY_great-lakes-lake-iroquois?guid=3af10fc0-5cea-414b-9ce075088f835fbf
Preston, J. (n.d.). Toronto and Region Conservation. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from
http://trca.on.ca/protect/environmental-assessment-projects/meadowcliffe-drive-erosioncontrol.dot
Google maps, Retrieved May 5, 2015 URL:
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B041'26.4%22N+77%C2%B039'27.6%22W/@43.7015803,77.6659008,147269m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0!6m1!1e1
Sellers, D. (2012, March 28). Prehistoric Toronto: Glacial Lake Iroquois. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from
http://torontoist.com/2012/03/prehistoric-toronto-glacial-lake-iroquois/
P, D. (2011, March 31). An Intriguing Look at the Historical Geology of the Great Lakes. Retrieved May 5,
2015, from http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/112620.aspx#imgn_1
From Queenston to Kingston: The Hidden Heritage of Lake Ontario's Shoreline [Kindle Edition]. (2010, May 13). Retrieved
May 9, 2015, from http://www.amazon.ca/Queenston-Kingston-Heritage-Ontarios-Shorelineebook/dp/B004DNWM92/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431197714&sr=8-1&keywords=scarborough bluffs
Style, Spelling, Grammar, Quality of Product – 5 marks
Additional Hint (1 mark) Where the ice that came from Antarctica formed the lake called Iroquois.
What this means is that the cache is hidden where Lake Iroquois was formed, which is in the basin of today’s lake
Ontario. So the cache is hidden at the bottom of Lake Ontario.
Description of significant item representing this tour stop to be included in the final group geocache (include a colour
picture/photo) – 3 marks
From Queenston to Kingston The hidden Heritage of Lake Ontario’s Shoreline
by Ron Brown
A fictional Book about a man’s travel to the Shorelines of the Canadian side of Lake
Ontario to discover its concealed heritage. The book provides information on the history
of the shorelines as well as the history of Lake Ontario.
Why did you choose this item to represent your tour stop? – 2 mark
The reason I chose this item is because you can learn about the shoreline’s history and be entertained at the same time.
The author, Ron Brown, provides historical facts, but keeps the reader engaged from his exploration to forgotten coves
and historical lighthouses. Normally you would have to pay to buy this book, but the person who finds the geocache gets
it for free! It will also be a memorial reminder of the geo-cache hunt. Lastly, the item is not useless, because the reader
can read it as many times as they want.