72 



Iroquois beach is made use of on each side of Lake Ontario 

 by the main roads, from Queenston to Hamilton and from 

 Hamilton via Dundas street to Toronto. Its old gravel 

 bars are occupied by three cities, St. Catherines, Hamilton 

 and parts of Toronto, though the two larger cities are 

 now spreading far beyond the old shore. 



In a few places the Iroquois beach lies at the foot of 

 the escarpment, which must have formed magnificent 

 cliffs against which the waves dashed, but in general its 

 shore cliffs are low and were carved in boulder clay, or 

 more rarely in the soft red Queenston shale. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES AT HAMILTON. 



The city of Hamilton lies mainly on the Iroquois 

 terrace between the Niagara escarpment to the south and 

 Hamilton bay (or Burlington bay) to the north. The 

 bay, which is about 5 miles (8 km.) long and 4 miles 

 (6-4 km.) broad toward the east, is cut off from the western 

 end of lake Ontario by a very straight gravel bar 4 miles 

 (6-4 km.) long, called Hamilton beach. This is cut 

 by a short canal giving access to the bay, which is in places 

 78 feet (23-8 m.) deep and forms an excellent harbour. 

 The modern Hamilton bay repeats in essential respects 

 the Dundas bay of lake Iroquois just to the west. 



The escarpment to the south of the city, generally 

 called Hamilton mountain, rises in places to 650 feet 

 (200 m.) above the sea, more than 400 feet (122 m.) 

 above Lake Ontario. The upper part of the cliff, formed 

 of the firm Niagara (Lockport) limestone rises boldly, 

 but the lower part of the escarpment is largely hidden by 

 talus. A full description of the section exposed here 

 with the fossils which may be collected from the different 

 formations, will be found in the guide book to Excursion 

 B3. South of the escarpment a tableland generally 

 covered with boulder clay rises gently. 



From the top one can look down upon the thriving 

 city, the bay and beach, and the shores of Lake Ontario 

 can be followed by the eye for many miles to the east 

 and to the northeast. Toward the north one sees the 

 ancient gravel bar of Burlington Heights, three miles 

 (4-8 km.) long and with a gentle westward curve. To 

 the west of it stretches Dundas marsh, threaded by the 

 long unused Desjardins canal, which once allowed small 



