Henley Island is located just outside of Port Dalhousie. Port Dalhousie was formally a small historic town but is now a district located in the northern part of St. Catharines. In 1934, Henley Island was only 400 meters wide, with its landscape consisting of flat land and a few trees surrounding its outskirts. As of 2019, Henley Island has expanded to be around 800 meters wide. The island holds boathouses for both the St. Catharines Rowing Club and the Ridley Graduate Boat Club. In addition, the island has a small running path, and a small parking lot. Martindale Pond, which surrounds Henley Island, is mainly bordered by suburbs. The Queen Elizabeth Way crosses over the south of Martindale Pond, and there are viewing stands located towards the north side of the pond. Martindale Pond was originally an artificially constructed lake that was used by vessels to navigate the earlier routes of the Welland Canal. The first Welland Canal began at the mouth of the Martindale Pond, followed the Twelve Mile Creek to Port Robinson, and finally connected to the Welland River. The Welland River connects to the Niagara River and then drains into Lake Erie. Building the Canal was labour-intensive work done by European immigrants with very few tools to work with.

The Royal Canadian Regatta has been hosted at Henley Island since 1903, after being established in Toronto in the 1800s. The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta was moved to Henley Island and now Martindale Pond is its permeant location. The change in location was because the locks from the Welland Canal allowed control of water levels for races. The Royal Canadian Henley is one of North America's premiere Regattas. It hosts competitors and visitors from all over the world and brings thousands of athletes each year. Additionally, the island has also hosted the 2015 Pan-Am Games and World Rowing Championships in 1970, 1999, and will be hosting again in 2024. When the island is not holding large events, it is used by the St. Catharines Rowing Club, Brock University Rowing Team, and Ridley Graduate Boat Club.

Municipality: St. Catharines

Local area name: Port Dalhousie

Other identifying names or descriptions: Henley Island

Latitude and longitude: 43° 11' 36 N 79° 16' 21 W

Physical Dimensions

Length: 825 m

Width: 215.5 m

Surface Area: 137,910.95 m²

Elevation:

Highest / lowest point: 115 m / 80 m

Henley Island is located in the former historic town of Port Dalhousie. Port Dalhousie is now a district in the City of St. Catharines in the Niagara Region. Henley Island is located in Martindale Pond, which is an artificially made pond. Like most of St. Catharines, Henley Island has been affected by previous iterations of the Welland Canal. The first, second, and third Welland Canal started at the mouth of Martindale Pond. Henley Island is also a tourist attraction, known for hosting the Royal Canadian Regatta. The Royal Canadian Regatta has been held at Henley Island since 1903. This is one of North America's premier regattas, that host thousands of athletes from all over the world. This brings many visitors into Port Dalhousie and St. Catharines every summer.

Map 1: Google Maps - Henley Island and Martindale Pond

Plant species in the Martindale Pond varying from in-stream, on-the-bank, and common canopy vegetation. The in-stream vegetation includes algae, macrophytes, hornwort, tape grasses, European frog-bit, European water‐milfoil, rush, horsetail. European frog-bit and European water-milfoil are both invasive species. Riparian vegetation includes speckled alder, silky dogwood, sweet gale, little bluestem, and numerous fern species. The common canopy vegetation includes maple, white and red pine, eastern white cedar, tamarack, white and black spruce, red oak, basswood, ash, poplar, yellow and white birch, jack pine, balsam fir and balsam poplar, butternut (which is endangered), lichens and mosses.

The animal species on and around Henley Island consist of amphibians and birds. Common amphibians in the area include salamanders, spring pepper frog, bullfrog, mud puppy, and green frog. Then the birds on the island are mainly migratory birds. These include black duck, mallard, wood duck, Canada geese, northern pintail, northern shoveler, green-winged teal, brant geese, arctic tern, red-throated loon, and great blue heron. Other birds to not in the area are the Harlequin Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Merlin, Bald Eagle, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and The Least Bittern

There is some threatened and rare wildlife around Henley Island. These include the red-shouldered hawk, peregrine falcon, and the least bittern.

The Niagara Escapement separates two plains in the Niagara Region. North of the escarpment is the Iroquois Plain, and south is the Haldimand Clay Plain. With Henley Island north of the escarpment, it would fall in the Iroquois Plain. The soil on Henley Island is Tuscola – Red phase and Brant – Red phase. Around 23-12,000 years ago, the Niagara escarpment was covered in a sheet of ice 2-3 kilometers thick. This was known as the Wisconsin glacier. This glacier would have carved the basin for the original Martindale Pond.

Martindale Pond has also been constructed for public events and a viewing stand for rowing events. This results in a naturalized and artificial water shoreline. Lake water levels fluctuate and seasonal conditions like ice and wind vary year-round.

Henley Island was expanded from its original length of 400 meters to 800 meters when the bottom of Martindale Pond was dredged to meet course requirements for the 1999 World Rowing Championships.

Soil Survey Complex Map - Showing Henley Island

The major hydrological features that surround Henley Island is Martindale Pond. Martindale Pond is connected to Lake Ontario and to the Twelve-Mile Creek.

The retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier formed the Great Lakes surrounding the Niagara Pennisula, Niagara Falls, and smaller lakes in the region, including the Martindale Pond.

Martindale Pond is an artificially-modified pond. It was originally expanded for the first through third iterations of the Welland Canal. The pond was also expanded for the 1999 World Rowing Championships. This was done to bring the rowing course up to the current international standards. To meet the depth requirement, 100,000 to 130,00 m3 of sediment needed to be drudged. This sediment was then used to expand Henley Island from its original length of 400 meters to 800 meters.

Before European settlement began in Port. Dalhousie, the land as well as most of St. Catharines was owned by three aboriginal groups. These groups included the Anishinabewaki, the Attiwonderonk, and the Haudenosaunee.

Map of Aboriginal Groups in Niagara Region

European Settlement began in Port Dalhousie with the building of the first Welland Canal. Martindale Pond was used by vessels to navigate the early routes of the Canal. The first canal was built in 1829, second in 1851, and third in 1881. As construction on the early Welland Canal progressed, small communities to house labourers and their families started to establish along the sides of the Canal. These small communities later became towns in the St. Catharines area such as Merritton, Thorold, and Port Dalhousie.

Henley Island is mainly used now for recreational sporting purposes. It houses the boathouses for the St. Catharines Rowing Club, the Ridley Graduate Boat Club, and the Brock Varsity Rowing Team. The Island also holds a small running path.

Henley Island is well-known for holding the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. The first regatta was held in 1880 as the first championship for the Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta has been held at Henley Island since 1903, after being established in Toronto in the 1880s. This event moved around yearly before Henley Island was decided for its permeant location. Henley Island was chosen because it allowed for control of water levels due to past Welland Canal infrastructure.

Martindale Pond during Royal Canadian Henley Regatta

Because of rowing infrastructure for the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, it allows for other rowing events to be held in this location. Henley Island has held the 1970 and 1999 World Rowing Championships. It has also been recently announced that it will be holding the 2024 World Rowing Championships. The island also hosted the rowing portion of the 2015 Pan-Am Games.

For the public recreational use, Henley Island holds a small running trail on the south side of the Island, a kayak bay with a map of possible routes on the north side of the island, and a small grass area for picnics or playing with dogs.

Henley Island and Martindale Pond are owned by the City of St. Catharines. Henley Island is zoned as conservation/natural area and major green space. The shores of Martindale Pond are zoned as major green space. In regard to provincial plans, Martindale Pond and Henley Island fall into the Greenbelt Plan.

There is easy access to Henley Island. The area is open to the public for water use such as kayaking, canoeing, picnics, and other recreational uses. The boathouses are considered private property that blocks public use from the majority of the west side of the island. The running trail towards the south of the island is also fenced off.

Private and public access to the island plays a large part in how the island is used. If there was easy access to the south side of the island, it would encourage more people to use the area as a green space. Even with access to the green space on the island, it is hard to get to which would deter people from using it.

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February 7). Retrieved from https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-geology/niagara-geological-areas/the-wisconsin-glacier-niagara/.

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2009. Available: Scholars GeoPortal http://geo2.scholarsportal.info (2019, November 06).

This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Mia Dawes for the Brock University course TMGT 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 07, 2019.

All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.