Interactive Virtual Geotrail: Chedoke Radial Trail
Welcome to the Niagara Escarpment!
Watch this video for a short description of the geological history of the region.
Welcome to the Chedoke Radial Trail, part of the extensive Bruce Trail system that runs along the Niagara Escarpment. This part of the Bruce Trail was once the location of the Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway. This railway transported people from Hamilton into neighbouring communities, such as Ancaster and Brantford, from 1908 when it was completed, until its final run in 1931.
Stop 1: Trail head at Chedoke Radial Trail
This trail runs along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, known locally as the Hamilton Mountain.
Looking out across the Dundas Valley, you can see the city of Hamilton below and the Niagara Escarpment as it passes from Hamilton into Burlington and then extends northward.
The Niagara Escarpment exposes Paleozoic sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Late Ordovician to Silurian (450-425 million years ago). The rocks that make up the Niagara Escarpment vary across its length, even within Ontario, where the rocks you see at Niagara Falls, here in Hamilton, and at Manitoulin Island, are completely different. In Hamilton, the Niagara Escarpment exposes 10 lithological units (formations) consisting primarily of shale, dolostone, and sandstone.
Stratigraphic log showing the vertical succession of formations exposed along the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton with their dominant rock type identified.
Here, Dr. Alex Peace will explain more about the fracturing of these units in the Niagara Escarpment.
This geotrail has provided an opportunity to examine some of the characteristics of the rocks exposed in the upper part of the Niagara Escarpment. Many other exposures around the Hamilton area show similar characteristics but are less easily accessible. We hope you have enjoyed this geological journey.
Acknowledgements
We are particularly grateful to our field assistants Serena Formenti, Eric Pettipiece and Joe Hansen for their excellent help in the field. This work has been supported in part by funding from eCampus Ontario, a U21 Researcher Resilience Grant, the Keith MacDonald Fund, the APGO Education Foundation, and McMaster University.
References
This is a general reference list for some sources with further information on the escarpment which have been used in this field trip directly or in previous work on the area.
Armstrong, D. K., & Carter, T. K. (2009). The subsurface Paleozoic stratigraphy of southern Ontario (Special Vo). Ontario Geological Survey.
Bolton, T. E. (1957). Silurian stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario.
Brett, C. E., Goodman, W. M., & LoDuca, S. T. (1990). Sequences, cycles, and basin dynamics in the Silurian of the Appalachian Foreland Basin. Sedimentary Geology, 69(3–4), 191–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(90)90051-T
Brunton, F. R., & Brintnell, C. (2020). Early Silurian Sequence Stratigraphy and Geological Controls on Karstic Bedrock Groundwater-Flow Zones, Niagara Escarpment Region and the Subsurface of Southwestern Ontario.
Eyles, N. (2002) Ontario Rocks: 3 Billion Years of Environmental Change. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Toronto. 352 pp. Reprinted 2004.
Formenti S, Peace A, Waldron J, Eyles C, Lee R. The influence of fracture networks on stability and geohazards of the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario. European Geosciences Union General Assembly March 3rd 2021 https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9094
Johnson, M. D., Armstrong, D. K., Sanford, B. V., Telford, P. G., & Rutka, M. A. (1992). Paleozoic and Mesozoic Geology of Ontario. In Geology of Ontario (Special Vo, pp. 907–1010). Ontario Geological Survey.
Lee, R. E. (2022). DELINEATION AND ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES USING HIGH RESOLUTION SPATIAL SURVEYS. McMaster University (Thesis)
Levin, H. L., & King Jr, D. T. (2013). The Earth through time. John Wiley & Sons.
No author. (2021). Chedoke Radial Trail. Accessed at https://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails/view/chedoke-radial-trail , October 2021.
No author. (2021). The Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway (B&H) includes various historical images. Accessed at http://www.trainweb.org/hamtransithist/images/BHHorning9May1911.jpg , October 2021.
Sanford, J. T., Martini, I. ., & Mosher, R. E. (1972). Niagaran stratigraphy: Hamilton, Ontario.