Tiffany Falls #071107

Type: Ribbon

Height: 21 metres

Width: 6 metres

Source: Tiffany Creek

Waterfall Definitions:

Ribbon:

The height is notably greater than its crest width; stream forms a thin "ribbon" of water.

Classical:

The height and crest are nearly equal.

Curtain:

The height is notably smaller than its crest width.

Cascade:

The vertical drop is broken into a series of steps causing water to "cascade" down the incline.

Tiffany Creek, a Spencer Creek tributary, eventually flows into Cootes Paradise. Tiffany Falls is 22 metres high and 6 metres wide. It is classified as a Ribbon waterfall, meaning its height is notably greater than its crest width, forming a thin “ribbon” of water. The smaller Washboard Falls, upstream from Tiffany Falls, is called a Classical Cascade. It is 5 metres high and 6 metres wide. Tiffany Creek flows year round, but due toits relatively small watershed area, water flow tends to be flashy and variable.

Similar to the rest of the escarpment lands throughout Hamilton, this area is home to the federally and provincially endangered Butternut tree. Due to the butternut canker, this tree is tragically declining across Ontario and eastern Canada.

The V-shaped ravine contains very steep forested talus slopes, crowned by an open carbonate cliff rim biotic community, which is very rare in Ontario.

This waterfall, made up of an Upper and Lower Falls, is surrounded by typical Bruce Trail terrain: rocks to step over and steep descents. At the Lower Falls, a ribbon waterfall, Tiffany Creek tumbles 21 metres from a broad valley above the escarpment into a V-shaped ravine below. It is an imposing sight, towering above visitors and surrounded by dolostone cliffs on either side.

The Upper Falls at 7 metres is a much smaller classical waterfall, which has also been called Washboard Falls. Access is from a parking area just off of the road on Wilson Street. A short side trail leads to the waterfalls. Tiffany Falls was named after the area's first doctor, Dr. Oliver Tiffany.

Description:

The Tiffany Falls study area is located in the northeast corner of Ancaster, immediately west (down slope) of the Highway #403 road cut across the Niagara Escarpment. This study area encompasses a scenic ravine with small waterfalls, and the forested lower escarpment slopes. This north- to northwest-facing segment of the Niagara Escarpment is located at the southeast corner of the major Dundas Valley re-entrant. The natural rock exposures in the Tiffany Creek valley and artificial rock-cuts along Highways #2 and #403 exhibit representative sections of the local bedrock. This area also supports a few rare species and constitutes a crucial link between the greenbelt along the Niagara Escarpment in the Hamilton urban area to the east, and the extensive natural areas in the Dundas Valley to the northwest.

Vegetation:

Most of this study area is comprised of escarpment and ravine forests. Small forested areas are present along the brow of the escarpment, including natural broadleaf upland woods and disturbed coniferous plantations. The escarpment rim forests were considered significant in the previous ESA study, but were not adequately assessed during the 1991 surveys. A strip of riparian woods is present along the lower creek.

Community Description

AQUATIC - POND: Inline pond used as breeding site by uncommon salamanders. AQUATIC - SHALLOW WATER STREAM TERRESTRIAL - CONIFEROUS UPLAND WOODS: Eastern Hemlock - Oak sp. / Mesic. Steep ravine slope. Medium aged to mature trees. Sparse herb layer. TERRESTRIAL - BROADLEAF UPLAND WOODS: Sugar Maple - Red Oak - American Beech / Mesic. (Ravine slope. Medium aged to mature stand. Scattered patches of Hemlock.) Sugar Maple - Red Oak - White Ash / Mesic. (Broadleaf stand with a small Hemlock and White Pine component. Mix of age classes.) Sugar Maple - Basswood - Black Walnut / Mesic. (Ravine slope. Black Walnuts in this community were planted in straight lines.) Hawthorn sp. - Butternut -Black Walnut / Mesic. (Area logged in the past and is regenerating with Hawthorns.) TERRESTRIAL - BROADLEAF FLOODPLAIN FOREST: Butternut - Black Walnut - Sugar Maple - White Elm / Wet-Mesic to Mesic. Narrow, variable floodplain community. A few large Willows and Hemlock occur here. Some small areas dominated by Manitoba Maple and Eastern White Cedar. TERRESTRIAL - OLD FIELD TERRESTRIAL - TALL SHRUB THICKET

Landform:

Physiography and Topography: This study area encompasses a north- to northwest-facing segment of the Niagara Escarpment at the southeast corner of the Dundas Valley, a major east-west trending re-entrant in the Niagara Escarpment. The central feature of this study area is a two-step waterfalls formed by Tiffany Creek as it descends the escarpment. The creek occupies a broad valley above the escarpment, and a V-shaped ravine below the escarpment. The total relief in the study area is about 100 metres (140 to 240 m elevation). Slopes of up to 30 degrees are common.

Bedrock Geology: Site-specific mapping of the rock exposures along Tiffany Creek is not available. The lower drift and talus covered slopes are underlain by shales of the Queenston Formation and interbedded shale, sandstone and carbonate strata of the Cataract Group. The exposure at Tiffany Falls represents the stratigraphic sequence from the upper Grimsby Formation (at the top of the Cataract Group), to the Ancaster chert beds in the Goat Island Member of the Lockport Formation. A variety of lithologies (including sandstone, shale, limestone and dolostone) are exposed in these outcrops. The upper waterfalls appears to be related to the low, generally buried, secondary scarp formed by the Eramosa Member at the top of the Lockport Formation. The exposed units are all of Silurian age. In addition to the natural exposures along Tiffany Creek, bedrock is exposed in road cuts in the vicinity. The informal type section for the Ancaster chert beds unit is the rock-cut on the south side of Highway #2, in the northwestern arm of the study area. The extensive rock-cut along Highway #403 adjacent to this study area is one of the longest roadcuts along the escarpment face, and provides excellent exposures of the complete Escarpment sequence from the Queenston Formation through to the Lockport Formation. However, because of safety and traffic flow considerations, stopping is not allowed along the expressway and this exposure is not accessible.

Overburden Geology: Surface mapping is not available for the immediate vicinity of this study area. The overburden consists primarily of Halton Till, which is generally overlain by glaciolacustrine sand and silt deposits above the escarpment. Overburden depth ranges from less than 1 m along the upper escarpment face, to 15 m along the lower slopes and on the upper tableland. Above the escarpment, the Tiffany Creek sub-watershed is bound by the broad low ridges of the Niagara Falls Moraine to the north, and the Fort Erie Moraine to the south. Both of these end moraines parallel the brow of the Niagara Escarpment throughout the Niagara Peninsula, but have not been traced to the west or north of the Dundas Valley. The Niagara Falls moraine appears to be truncated at the brow of the escarpment in the eastern portion of this study area. Soils: Little soil development has occurred on the steep ravine and escarpment slopes present in much of this study area. Ancaster silt loam and Ancaster silt loam - Oneida clay loam soils have developed on the well-drained, till-covered tablelands above the escarpment.

Hydrogeology: Data obtained from water wells on the brow of the escarpment indicated that aquifers are located on at least three levels: at the bedrock surface, and at depths of 10 m and 25 m below the bedrock surface. Groundwater seepage is apparent at various levels in the Highway #403 roadcut and along the escarpment slopes. Hydrology and Surface Drainage: Tiffany Creek, a tributary stream in the Spencer Creek system, flows north through this area. This section of the stream has a steep gradient, including two waterfalls: Tiffany Falls and a smaller upper falls known as Washboard Falls. A small dammed inline pond is present above Washboard Falls. The headwaters zone of this stream consists largely of cleared agricultural, industrial and residential lands. Parts of the upper stream have been channelized, and the stream passes through a culvert under Highway #403. During dry periods, flow over Tiffany Falls is reduced to a trickle and only intermittent pools are present in the stream channel below the falls. The confluence of Tiffany Creek and Ancaster Creek is situated immediately downstream of this study area. Overland and sub-surface flow from the eastern portion of this study area enters directly into Ancaster Creek. The forests on the steep slopes in this area are important to stabilizing the soils and maintaining water quality in Ancaster Creek, which includes important fish habitat.