Golden Horseshoe

The Golden Horseshoe is a densely populated and Industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario in southern Ontario , Canada . Although it is a geographically named region, Golden Horseshoe is more frequently used to describe the megapolis that stretches across the area.

The built-up region extends from Niagara Falls at the eastern end of the Niagara Peninsula , wraps around Lake Ontario west to Hamilton , anchored by Toronto on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario , continuing to the east of Oshawa and spreading inland in all directions away from the Lake Ontario shoreline.

A July 13 , 2004 report from the provincial Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal entitled ''Places to Grow'' coined the term Greater Golden Horseshoe, extending the boundaries west to Waterloo Region , north to Barrie , and northeast to Peterborough . A subsequent edition released February 16 , 2005 broadened the term further, adding Brant , Haldimand and Northumberland Counties. Statistics Canada defined the region first in its 2001 census as the '''Extended Golden Horseshoe''', combining many CMA 's.

Under the most recent definitions, the population was 7,910,585 in the 2001 census with an estimated population of 8,600,000 as of early 2006. Of these people approximately 5,600,000 live in the Greater Toronto Area . Following the guidelines of the Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area s, it's the 5th most populated greater combined urban area in North America after New York City , Mexico City , Los Angeles , and Chicagoland . There is yet a further, but less used definition of an international Megapolis which extends across the border into western New York state, including the Buffalo-Niagara Area and Rochester, New York urban areas. The total population in this definition is almost 11 million (making it '''4th''' most populous urbanized region (or megapolis) in North America).

The "horseshoe" part of the region's name is derived from the characteristic Horseshoe shape of the west end of lake ontario with Burlington roughly positioned in the centre. The "golden" part is historically attributed to the region's wealth and prosperity, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary . (An alternative explanation often quoted attributes it to its bright, or "golden", appearance from Space , as a result of a continuous urban stretch of nighttime lights; however, the name predates Satellite Imagery .)

LIST OF REGIONS

The following regions are in the Golden Horseshoe:

The Greater Golden Horseshoe also includes these regions:

Haldimand

Six Nations Reserve

Brant

Kitchener-Waterloo

Guelph

Wellington

Dufferin

Simcoe

Kawartha Lakes

Peterborough

Northumberland

EXTERNAL LINK

Places to Grow

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Golden Horseshoe