Bowmanville Creek

Bowmanville Creek (French: ruisseau Bowmanville) is a stream in the municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. It flows from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario at Bowmanville.[3][1][6][7] The creek is under the auspices of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority.[5]

Bowmanville Creek
ruisseau Bowmanville
Location of the mouth of Bowmanville Creek in Southern Ontario
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
Regional MunicipalityDurham
MunicipalityClarington
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of three unnamed streams
 • locationEnfield
 • coordinates44°01′25″N 78°49′50″W[1]
 • elevation255[2]
MouthLake Ontario
 • location
Bowmanville
 • coordinates
43°53′16″N 78°39′51″W[3]
 • elevation
74.1 m (243 ft)[4]
Basin size170 km2 (66 sq mi)[5]
Basin features
ProgressionLake Ontario→ Saint Lawrence River→ Gulf of Saint Lawrence
River systemLake Ontario drainage basin
Tributaries 
 • leftSoper Creek

Drainage basin

The headwaters of Bowmanville Creek border the headwaters of Oshawa Creek (to the west) and those of its left tributary Soper Creek (to the east), the headwaters of all of which are in the Oak Ridges Moraine. Between the mouths at Lake Ontario of Oshawa Creek (to the west) and Bowmanville Creek there are five smaller creeks (from west to east): Farewell Creek, Robinson Creek, Tooley Creek, Darlington Creek and Westside Creek.[5][6] The next named watercourse to the east is Wilmot Creek.[6]

The area of the drainage basin of Bowmanville Creek is about 170 square kilometres (66 sq mi); almost all of the drainage basin is within Clarington, with the exception of a small part of the headwaters which are in the township municipality of Scugog to the north.[5]

Course

Bowmanville Creek begins at the confluence of three unnamed streams near the settlement of Enfield at an elevation of 255 metres (837 ft).[2] It flows southeast then turns south near the settlement of Enniskillen, flows under Ontario Highway 407 and reaches the settlement of Hampton. It continues south into the community of Bowmanville, flows under Ontario Highway 401, takes in the left tributary Soper Creek, and reaches its mouth at Port Darlington on Lake Ontario at an elevation of 74.1 metres (243 ft).[4][5][6][8]

Natural history

Bowmanville Creek has been dammed in several places. About one kilometre north of Lake Ontario is the former Goodyear dam, originally built to provide electricity for a factory. This dam was a barrier to fish migration, and until the construction of a fish ladder trout and salmon were lifted over the dam by volunteers and conservation workers.[9][10] A little further north, in what is now downtown Bowmanville, a dam provided water power for the Vanstone Mill until it was washed out in a storm in 1986.[11]

References
  1. "Toporama (on-line map and search)". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  2. "Google Earth". Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  3. "Bowmanville Creek". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  4. Inferred from Lake Ontario. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  5. "Bowmanville/Soper Creek – 2020 Watershed Plan Update". Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  6. "Ontario Geonames GIS (on-line map and search)". Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  7. Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #5 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  8. Map 3 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  9. Hatherly, Tara (2011-12-15). "Helping fish get up the creek in Bowmanville". Oshawa This Week. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  10. Vyhnak, Carola (2012-08-22). "Chinook salmon get a lift in Bowmanville". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  11. "Bowmanville/Soper Creek Watershed Aquatic Resource Management Plan" (PDF). Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. September 2000. p. 33. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
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