Welcome to Half Moon Valley Trail: A link to the Past
Half Moon Valley Trail is two kilometres in length and takes approximately one hour to complete at a relaxed walking speed. Please be aware that this trail descends 38 metres (125 feet) into the creek valley, creating some steep slopes. This trail may be challenging for young children or elderly people. Reminder to stay on the designated trail even though the Pocket Sights app might have your veer off - we are working to improve the accuracy of the points.The Half Moon Valley trail plays an important role in linking park visitors to the history of the area. It is a double loop design; the first loop explores the geology of the Bronte Creek valley while the second takes you into the Half Moon Valley and alongside Bronte Creek to examine the cultural history of the area. Please help protect this valuable resource by not picking anything from the forest and staying on the trail.As you move from this point of the trail towards the creek, you will descend a height of over 38 metres (125 feet)!
Interest point 2 - The Ice Age
Approximately 15000 years ago this area was covered by a sheet of ice 2km thick, which stretched from the southern shore of the great lakes to the high Canadian Arctic. This ice sheet was part of the last ice age and is now referred to as the Wisconsin Glacier. A warming period caused the melting of the Wisconsin Glacier some 11000-14000 year ago which was directly responsible for the creation of the Bronte Creek Ravine. The resulting water from the million of tons of melting snow and ice carving and eroding the landscape as it flowed.On geological time scale, this ravine is considered very young. The cross section is a steep “v” which shows that the valley has not had long to erode. The sides of the ravine will continue to erode due to wind or water events, thus changing to a wider V.As you continue along the trail look around you and notice the size of the Bronte Creek ravine and imagine the volume of water it would have taken to carve this valley.
Point of Interest 3 - The 3 Terraces
The area you are now standing on was the previous delta or mouth of the creek as it entered the glacial Lake Iroquois, an ancestor of Lake Ontario. Lake Iroquois had a much higher water level then Lake Ontario has today. At some unknown point, the water level of the lake quickly dropped, leaving its previous shore line behind. Keep in mind that fast moving water erodes more material then slow moving water. So when the lake level dropped, the flow rate of the river increased which eroded more shoreline material then when the flow rate was slower. This process creates a flat plateau of land and a steep slope called a terrace. The lake level dropped three times creating three terraces, the first of which you are standing on right now. If you look in front of you, you will see the edge of the second terrace. As you continue along the trail look around you and you will notice the step-like plateaus of land (note: the third terrace can be hard to find! Can you see it?).Upon completion of the trail we invite you to visit the Nature Centre (open seasonally) where you can see a display model of the ravine.Please proceed to post 4 which is located in the lower valley. Please use the sloped gravel path.
Point of Interest 4 - The Brick Kiln
The local bedrock is made of a sedimentary rock called Queenston Shale. When this rock is exposed and weathered it changes to a red clay. The Queenston Shale of the Half Moon Valley has been exposed during the creation of the valley, making the ravine an excellent resource for extract clay. This clay has been used in the making of many different products, the most prevalent being bricks.In the mid 1800’s the clay in Half Moon Valley was collected, shaped and fired in kilns (large hot ovens) to make bricks. A brick kiln was built and operated close to this location between the years of 1850 to 1874 first by Thomas Willoughby and later Edwin Brown. The bricks from this kiln were used to make the local school house and the Fred Breckon farm house whichs was located next to Spruce Lane Farmhouse.
point of interest 5 - Fantastic Flora
You are now standing in an area that was once part of the creek bottom. This ½ moon shaped valley was carved out when the water levels were higher, since then the creek has found a new path leaving this wet, low lying area. Because this area is so low and sheltered, water collects here creating cool, wet conditions. The decay of dead plant material in this valley has been slowed by this environment, creating a deep black humus soil. These unique conditions allow some unusual trees and plants to prosper here. Trees such as Yellow Birch, Red Ash, and Cedar grow in these distinctive conditions. Yellow Birch produces thousands of confetti like seeds. Since these seeds have very little stored energy, unlike an oaks’ fleshy acorn, yellow birch seed must find nutrients in the soils soon after germination. Yellow Birch seeds tend to start growing on fallen trees using the nutrients stored in these rotting logs. As the tree establishes itself the log continues to rot as normal eventually leaving a void. This leaves some adult Yellow Birch looking like their trunks are on stilts.
Point of interest 6 - Where are all the trees?
This meadow in front of you is an excellent example of natural succession. Natural succession is a process that gradually changes bare ground to a mature forest. This is occurring in the meadow because at some point the vegetation and topsoil were stripped away, leaving the bedrock exposed. In this case, the red clay of the Queenston Shale bedrock was probably collected and used for brick making. Over the past century or more, grasses and other herbaceous plants started to grow anchoring the existing soil. As these plants die and decay, they add organic matter and increase the amount of soils. They also act like a net traping wind blown plant material which decays and thus increases the amount of soil. This eventually builds a healthy base for other larger plants and trees to grow. White Ash and Staghorn Sumac are some of the first large trees and shrubs to grow in the newly formed soil. This process will continue eventually allowing species such as White Pine, Maple and Oaks to grow as well as more lush shade tolerate ground plants like ferns, may apples and mosses.
Water Power
Timber! The water of Bronte Creek played an important role in the establishment of early industries. Brick makers needed water near by as did the forest operations. Having a mature forest close to a water source to float product to the shipping ports of Oakville or to power sawmills made this area a desirable timber resource.Between 1826 and 1835 before the demand for sawn lumber reached this area, the timber of the area was marketed in four major forms.• White Oak was being used for barrel staves and schooner building.• Trees were felled and burned to produce ash – for potash an early fertilizer• Timber was burned in covered earthen piles to produce charcoal, which supplied factories and blacksmiths in Hamilton• The other form of export was that of squared timber- used for masts for sailing shipsWilliam Crooks and sons operated two sawmills along Bronte Creek between 1827 and 1850. Two more lumber merchants William Bates (1833) and James White (1850) each owned a sawmill which indicates that the park area was involved in the lumber boom of the 1850’s. In 1840 Oakville exported 555, 501 feet of pineboard, while just 10 years later the number jumped to 4, 518,000 feet.When this area (where you are now standing) was bought by James White it was reportedly covered by as fine a pine forest as there was on the continent. Pine trees stood clear and straight, 60 and 70 feet before the first limb and stood together so thick that the sun could hardly shine through. In 1861 the water powered mill produced 300, 000 feet of board and employed 5 sawyers at $18.00 per month.Imagine you are standing here during the lumber boomThe trees around you are White Pine; tall, straight, and towering into the air. Shouts of “Timber!” echo off the valley walls as these giant trees crash to the ground. The smell of smoke from a nearby fire floated on the cool, heavy air. Teams of horses hooked up to fallen logs and their braces snapped tight as they begin their long trip to the mill.
Fisheries
Another major natural resource of the area was the fisheries of Bronte Creek. Salmon, trout and cisco herring where listed as being plentiful up until the mid 1800’s. From the days of the First Nation Peoples to today the creek has been fished by its nearby residents, even supporting a small fishing industry for a time. This period of prosperity between 1820 and 1860 brought growth not only to the lakefront ports but also to the inland farming regions. Increasing populations meant hotels, schoolhouses, stores and post offices were needed. A growth cycle still experienced with population developments of today.The location of the Creek has had a strong influence in shaping what human activity or industry took place near it shores. While not generally navigable today, the creek continues to be a source of wealth in terms of natural resources. Through the previous trail stops we have discovered that settlers utilized the creek as a source of power, harnessing it with sawmills and flourmills. The physical presence and composition of the valley and its stream, allowed for these developments all the while being significantly affected by them. Human activity itself has worked to spoil the fisheries and the forests of Bronte Creek, while urban sprawl has all but destroyed the areas agricultural potential.Follow the trail up the gravel slope to climb out of the lower valley. Keep to your right to proceed to post 9.
Microclimates
After that steep climb take a moment to rest at this lovely scenic vantage point.Look at the types of trees around you and then compare them to those across the ravine . . . do you see a difference? The influences of sunlight, temperature and moisture have resulted in dramatic variations in climate throughout the Bronte Creek valley. They are called microclimates. The glacial melt water created the steep sided and meandering nature of the valley which now limits the amount of sunlight certain areas of the valley are exposed to. You are surrounded by coniferous or cone baring tree species such as Eastern Hemlock and Eastern White Pine that have adapted to living in a cool, moist environment. The climate on this side of the ravine is influenced by the smaller amounts of sunlight it gets since it faces the northeast. Across the ravine, you will see a community of deciduous or broad leafed trees such as Oak, Hickory and Maple. These trees grow well in the warm, dry climate this southwest side provides since it receives plenty of sun and wind.
Buried Ravine
This is one of of the reasons why Bronte Creek is protected as a provincial park as this feature is provincial significant.Directly below where you are standing is a deep and completely buried ravine. This ravine was created by a river of the same size, flowing in the same direction that Bronte Creek does today. During the last glacial period some 14, 000 years ago, the old watercourse was filled with gravel and debris pushed by the advancing icesheet. Years later when the ice melted, the water carved a new route and formed a new creek – Bronte Creek. This new creek exposed the ancient gravels of the old ravine or buried ravine. The gravel that fills the old ravine has been cemented together due to the groundwater percolation and high calcium carbonate concentrations. Although it looks stable it is fragile in nature. Erosion by a spring and groundwater run-off moving through the old watercourse (now filled with cemented gravel) hollowed out a cave on the opposite valley wall. This cave is believed to be the only one of its kind in Ontario and was reportedly the hiding place of political rebellion leader William Lyon Mackenzie during his flight from Toronto in 1837.If you grew up in the Oakville/ Burlington area before the park was established you might have had the opportunity to explore the cave. At some point in the late 1980’s early 1990’s the cave’s fragile structure collapsed, making access impossible.
White Pine
Look around you. The tall Eastern White Pine trees link us to the more recent logging history of the area. Note the broken branches on the trunks that extend almost all the way to the base of the trunk. The thickness of these branches is proof that these trees were allowed to grow in abundant sunlight. Trees that experience sunlight from all sides enable the bottom branches to grow as much as the upper ones. During the logging period of the 1920s, these trees would have been far too small to log so they were left and grew quickly in the open sunlight. Further cutting in 1946 would have allowed the lower branches to continue to receive large amounts of sunlight. The cutting that took place in the 1940’s was that last major lumbering of the area.Bronte Creek Provincial Park was established in 1974 to protect the diverse ecosystem of the ravine. It is park policy to allow fallen trees to lie where they fall, returning important nutrients to the environment. You can see young maple saplings reaching for the sunlight, starting the next generation of forest trees.
conclusion
We hope you enjoyed walking the Half Moon Valley Trail and using the Pocket Sights guide. This trail links us to the history of Bronte Creek in many ways. It demonstrates the creation of the river valley from the time of the ice age, as well as connects us to some of the industries that have affected its physical and geological features. The Half Moon Valley Trail gives us a new perspective of the history of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Stay connected with events and program happening in the park year round by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @OPBronteCreek.Consider becoming a member and volunteer with the Friends of Bronte Creek Park. More information on what Friends are and do for the park www.BronteCreek.org.
trail finished
You have now emerged from the forest canopy and are standing on the Ravine Trail.If you walk to your left you will return to the trail head and spruce lane farm area.If you wish to explore the park further turn to your right - the ravine trail continues along the top of the ravine to exit near parking lot A. Look for other pockets sights points of interest marked throughout the park.
