Ontario Plaques
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Toronto Island

1858

Photo by Alan L Brown - May 14, 2004 · Photo by Alan L Brown - May 14, 2004

Text from the plaque

Toronto Island is part of a sand-bar which begins on the mainland near Woodbine Avenue and extends westward for about 9 km before turning northward toward the main shore. The building of the bar began with the formation of Lake Ontario about 8,000 years ago. Eroded from the Scarborough Bluffs, the sand was shifted westward by wave action during easterly storms. Eventually a long curving peninsula was formed, creating the large natural harbour on which Toronto was founded. The bar's westward growth was halted shortly after 1858 when a storm opened a large gap near the eastern end of the peninsula. The island thus formed became one of Toronto's major recreational areas.

Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.

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The City of Toronto
Just across the road from the Ward's Island ferry dock

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