Caption Large Left Image: Decew Falls and Ravine below, Caption Top Right Image: Ravine below Decew Falls and river flowing from the falls, Caption Bottom Right Image: Top of Decew Falls and Turbine Shed 

 

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General Information

Hiking westward from Morningstar Mill, you will gradually descend the Niagara Escarpment and enter into Short Hills Provincial Park. This is an interesting area where the normally linear escarpment has been broken into a jumble of hills and valleys. Deer are a relatively common sight as you hike up and down along this stretch of the Bruce Trail.

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Directions

From Toronto: Head Southwest on QEW approximately 96.5km

geological significance

Decew Falls cascades 22 metres (72 feet) into a bowl-shaped amphitheatre just behind the mill. The Decew Formation is a fine grained grey dolostone of the silurian age (approximately 443 to 417 million years ago). The rock here can be found in a thickness of up to 12 feet. The strata is underlain by the rochester shale, making it a cave bearing formation. The shale is somewhat impervious to water, so the water within the rock pools above the shale. The waters constant movement erodes and dissolves tunnels below. The DeCew Formation can be seen as far west as Hamilton, the obvious conchoidal fracturing being a feature that immediatly identifys the strata.

Recreational

Hiking, Walking Trails