How were the Toronto Islands formed?
Over many thousands of years, millions of tons of sand have eroded from the Scarborough Bluffs into Lake Ontario, where currents took the sand and deposited it in the Toronto harbour, forming a land mass. The oldest records show a 9 km (5.5 mi) long sand spit sticking out from the bottom of where Woodbine Avenue now is. That’s right, the Toronto Islands actually used to be connected to the mainland and weren’t islands at all! Eventually that permanent connection was washed away by a storm in 1858 (after being previously damaged in 1852), permanently severing the connection to the mainland. Unfortunately, the Toronto Islands are now at risk of eroding and eventually disappearing entirely. Thanks to the development of the Leslie St Spit (aka Tommy Thompson Park) to the east which blocks the currents, the Toronto Islands no longer grow in size like they used to. Lake Ontario now beats at the shores of Gibraltar Point, steadily eating away up to 8 metres (26 feet) of the island per year, and it could be severed in two in less than 20 years.