Origin of name
Toronto is an Iroquois word meaning "place where trees stand in the water". It refers to the area north and south of what is now Lake Simcoe (then known as Lake Toronto), where the Huron Indians planted tree saplings to corral fish. The portage between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron along this route was called the Toronto Portage.
Geography and climate
A simulated-colour image of Toronto taken by NASA's Landsat 7 satellite.
Late spring scene in High Park, in Toronto's west end.
Topography
Toronto covers an area of 629.91 square kilometres (243.21 sq mi), with a maximum north-south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi) and a maximum east-west distance of 43 kilometres (27 mi). It is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north and the Rouge River to the east.
The city is further intersected by two other rivers and numerous tributaries: the Humber River in the west end and the Don River east of downtown. The many creeks and rivers create large tracts of densely-forested ravines, and provide ideal sites for parks and recreational trails. However, the ravines also interfere with the city's grid plan, and this results in major thoroughfares such as Finch Avenue, Leslie Street, Lawrence Avenue, St. Clair Avenue and Keele Street terminating on one side of ravines and continuing on the other side. Other thoroughfares such as the Bloor Street Viaduct are required to span above the ravines.
During the last ice age, the present site of Toronto was beneath Glacial Lake Iroquois. Today, a series of escarpments mark the lake's former boundary, known as the Iroquois Shoreline. The escarpments are most prominent from Victoria Park Avenue to the mouth of Highland Creek, where they form the Scarborough Bluffs. Other noticeable sections include the area near St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street and the Don River, and south of Davenport Road from Caledonia to Spadina Avenue.
Climate
Toronto's climate is moderated by its southerly location within Canada and its proximity to Lake Ontario; its climate is among the mildest of any place in Canada east of the Rocky Mountain range. The city experiences four distinct seasons with considerable variance in daily temperature, particularly during the winter months.
Toronto winters are usually accompanied by several cold snaps where maximum temperatures drop to the -10 °C (14 °F) to -15 °C (5 °F) range, often made to feel colder by windchill. Mild days also occur throughout winter, with temperatures around 5 – 9°C (40 – 50 °F). The average maximum temperature in January is -2.1 °C (28.2 °F), and the average minimum is -10.5 °C (13.1 °F). Summer in Toronto is characterized by long stretches of humid weather. The average July maximum temperature is 26.8 °C (80 °F), and the average minimum is 14.8 °C (58.6 °F). Daytime temperatures sometimes approach or exceed 35 °C (95 °F), but usually for very brief periods.
Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but summer is usually the wettest season. The average yearly precipitation is 793 millimetres (31.7 in), with an average annual snowfall of about 115 centimetres (46 in).
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Weather averages for Toronto | |||||||||||||
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Avg high °F |
30.0 |
31.6 |
40.3 |
52.3 |
65.3 |
74.3 |
79.5 |
77.5 |
69.3 |
56.8 |
45.3 |
35.2 |
54.8 |
|
Avg low °F |
18.9 |
20.7 |
28.4 |
38.8 |
49.8 |
58.6 |
64.2 |
63.1 |
55.8 |
45.1 |
36.0 |
25.3 |
42.1 |
|
Avg high °C |
-1.1 |
-0.2 |
4.6 |
11.3 |
18.5 |
23.5 |
26.4 |
25.3 |
20.7 |
13.8 |
7.4 |
1.8 |
12.7 |
|
Avg low °C |
-7.3 |
-6.3 |
-2.0 |
3.8 |
9.9 |
14.8 |
17.9 |
17.3 |
13.2 |
7.3 |
2.2 |
-3.7 |
5.6 |
|
Precipitation (in) |
1.9 |
1.8 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
2.8 |
3.2 |
2.8 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
30.1 |
|
Precipitation (cm) |
6.1 |
5.1 |
6.6 |
7.0 |
7.3 |
7.2 |
6.8 |
8.0 |
8.3 |
6.5 |
7.6 |
7.1 |
83.6 |
|
Source: Weatherbase Nov 2006 | |||||||||||||