Short Hills Bench - The Lay of The Land

The Lay of The Land

The Short Hills Bench forms a shelf of land jutting out of the Niagara Escarpment midway up and bounded to the east by a valley of “short hills” carved by small creeks. This valley, now the Short Hills Provincial Park, was the original pre-glacial course of the Niagara River and site of an ancient rendition of Niagara Falls. The Short Hills Provincial Park is the headwaters of the 12 Mile Creek which flows north to Lake Ontario. To the south and west the Short Hills Bench is bounded by the dolostone capped rock-face of the Niagara Escarpment while its northern boundary is an open plain that ends at the top of a series of steps leading to Lake Ontario.