Ancient River Found Flowing Beneath Toronto

Reuters/Yahoo ^ | 9-19-2003

[blam]

Ancient River Found Flowing Beneath Toronto

TORONTO (Reuters) - A river runs through it -- wide, deep, cold and ancient -- and few people in Toronto suspect it's even there.

There's an ice-age river flowing deep under Canada's largest city. There has been for at least a million years but it wasn't until last month that anyone saw any real evidence of it.

The discovery of the glacial river happened when workers were trying to cap two artesian wells, part of a stormwater runoff project in High Park, one of the city's largest parks, near the shore of Lake Ontario.

One well was capped, and then, as the other was being capped, the first well blew off like a broken water main, spewing water 15 feet into the air.

As that cap was being repaired, the second blew off, shooting up water and gravel.

Consultation with experts confirmed the workers had siphoned into the rumored, yet still largely unknown, Laurentian River system running underneath the city.

"We've discovered where it probably comes out into Lake Ontario," said an elated Bill Snodgrass, senior engineer responsible for groundwater quality management for the city of Toronto. "What we never really knew before was where it connected to Lake Ontario."

The existence of a bedrock valley was first documented in the first half of the century, but its exact location remained largely unknown, said Steve Holysh, a hydrogeologist working on the project.

It was likely formed one to five million years ago when layers of debris carried by glaciers covered up the bedrock valley.

In tests done in August, researchers at the High Park site expected to hit bedrock at about 40 feet, but it wasn't until a depth of 123 feet that they hit the river system, technically known as an artesian aquifer. They hit bedrock at 145 feet.

The water flows extremely slowly in a sand and gravel stratum, which could be a 20- to 30-foot layer on top of bedrock.

It would take thousands of years for the water to travel to Toronto from the groundwater system's origin. City hydrogeologists say the Laurentian travels at the stunningly slow rate of about one centimeter a year.

It's origin is likely near Georgian Bay, about 93 miles north of Toronto.

The water is drinkable, but it tastes distinctly of iron, and the city of Toronto has no plans to tap the underground river as a source of drinking water.

[blam]

Ping.

[Dog]

Interesting.

[q_an_a]

Typical of Canada, they have millions of gallons of water, ready to be made into a product and they don't even sell it. /sarcasm off

[Republicus2001]

the Styx?

[Republicus2001]

the Styx?

[glock rocks]

man, why did I think upon reading the title and thinking "What?" ... did I say to myself... hmmmm this sounds like something blam woul... oh.

[stanz]

This is fascinating. Now I'm wondering what life forms live there if any.

[LibKill]

D'ya suppose that if someone tapped that river and drained it, maybe, just maybe, Toronto would disappear down a sinkhole?

Not that I would ever advocate such a thing. This is just scientific curiosity.

[doyle]

That must be the Yellow River.

[glock rocks]

have you been to mamouth caves in kentucky? they've got a river (way underground) called styx.

home of the alice fish (it's a local dialect thing... took me a while to find out they were really saying 'eyeless' fish).

[Loyalist]

Toronto actually has a number of buried creeks, filled in and routed through storm and sewer drains as the city grew and the creeks became unsanitary quagmires.

Garrison Creek, which used to run through the heart of the city past Fort York to Lake Ontario, now runs through the sewer system. Taddle Creek used to flow through Queen's Park and the campus of the University of Toronto (there is a Taddle Creek Circle on the campus, but the creek is long gone.)

[Camel Joe]

Canada, leading the world at being just North of the USA and now, owner of the slowest river on earth. What will the think of next?

[blam]

Interesting info, thanks.

[manna]

Bump.

[Young Werther]

Pick up Styx?

The iron in that water can give you tendonitis! Just ask Achilles!

[Publius6961]

Hydrology and hydraulics has always been one of my favorite subjects.
This is fascinating.

[oldtimer]

Just think what kind of paradise Canada would be if it wasn't for Quebec!

Well I guess everybody has 'family' problems LOL.

[Iscool]

Hey, I got one of them prehistoric rivers running right under my house...That's where my well is plumbed into...No one has ever gotten excited over it tho...

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Great post - Glock. Used to live 30 mins away from
Mammoth cave in Bowling Green, KY. Them folks there
do talk funny, but they's good folks, there, for sure,
most of 'em.