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After going around in Hamilton, Ontario looking for a river/creek to check out the iconic Niagara Escarpment of the city, I decided to check out the Devil’s Punch Bowl which is located in Stoney Creek, Hamilton. Most of the waterfalls located in the old city of Hamilton are out of reach/barricaded/no-go zones with fines for trespassing because of safety reasons. Nearby Albion Falls and other waterfalls like Tiffany and Chedoke in the old city of Hamilton cannot be explored close up because of the tourists and locals that have died and severely injured themselves from falling while on the cascading waterfall. Today I was surprised to realize that the bottom of the Devil’s Punch Bowl was unbarricaded and so off I went to explore it. It seems the only place that tourists and people go to when visiting the Devil’s Punch Bowl is the observation deck at the top of the falls which offers a nice view of the falls. This is evident as I noticed that there was barely any trash at the bottom of the gorge and down river. The height of this falls is 37 metres. Today the fall is dry with no water. Theres a large Timmy’s cup on the bottom right for size comparison (it isn’t mine though!). There are various formation in this rock exposure of the falls and assigning loose rocks from the ground to the right formation can be a hassle.

Today I decided to go and visit a roadcut that I red on one of the Silurian literatures I got my hands on (a big thank you to those that led me to those PDFs relating to the geology of the Niagara Escarpment). It turns out the roadcut on the Niagara Escarpment is near my home which is a pleasant suprise to me, considering that I have been disappointed by the Queenston formation. This roadcut is actually several exposures that run on an access road that can lead one to the upper part of Hamilton, Ontario. Here is the exposure I decided to explore. I chose this exposure as the access is a busy boulevard with cars driving by with no sidewalks and pedestrians. I had several people honk and call out to me as I was exploring the site. Maybe I should have worn a safety vest of some sort? Is that even necessary?

Today I managed to explore and observe an exposure of the Queenston formation up close here in Hamilton, Ontario. I chose a site along the Red Hill Valley Expressway that was easy to access and get down to for a close look. The creek is right next to the highway. I have always passed by this exposure and anticipated the day I'll be able to observe it. The Queenston formation is the last Ordovician formation in south-western Ontario before the rocks hit the Silurian age. The Queenston is what overlains the Georgian Bay formation, the formation I use to hunt in frequently in Toronto, Ontario. This is Red Hill Creek as it passes by next to the Highway.