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The Red Hill Valley
is the centrepiece of 700 hectares of linked publicly-owned
parkland in the industrial east end of Hamilton. The 7-kilometre
long valley encompasses part of the Niagara Escarpment and
provides the only remaining natural corridor between the
Escarpment and Lake Ontario. It is also the only large natural
area in the east end of Hamilton-Wentworth. Red Hill Creek
is the last of 14 streams that once flowed through Hamilton
and is the second largest stream flowing into Burlington
Bay / Hamilton Harbour. Be sure to look at the aerial photo
below...
The
Green Spine of East Hamilton
This
1993 photo shows the significance of Red Hill Valley in
the east end of Hamilton in an otherwise entirely urbanized
area. The inverted V of forest at the top of the photo is
the Niagara Escarpment, the body of water at the bottom
is Lake Ontario. The QEW along the bottom of the photo bisects
a provincial class one wetland (Red Hill Marsh and Van Wagner's
Ponds) on the lakeshore.
The
valley links the escarpment with the lake, forming the eastern
portion of Hamilton's "Emerald Necklace". The
two fingers of forest that parallet the main valley below
the escarpment follow tributaries of Red Hill Creek. Imagine
a highway the size of the QEW running down the middle of
the valley with six interchanges such as the ones shown
in the lower corners of the photo (at hwy. 20 on the left
and Burlington Street on the right); and you will get some
idea of the expressway planned by the Hamilton-Wentworth
government in the name of "progress".
Official
Designations:
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Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) in Regional Official
Plan (1995, 1976)
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Includes a Provincial Class One Wetland
- Includes
a regionally-significant earth science ANSI and four locally-significant
life science ANSIs
- Niagara
Escarpment is a World Biosphere Reserve
A
place of natural beauty
Photo by Walt Mann
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Location:
Map
credit: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Website
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Audio
Presentations: Red Hill Valley - No Place for a Road