Devil’s Punch Bowl – A stunning geographical feature along the Niagara Escarpment

June 2023

Southern Ontario is full of stunning geographical features and Hamilton’s Devil’s Punch Bowl is just one of them. Found along the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek, a suburb of Hamilton, Devil’s Punch Bowl is a 120-foot ribbon upper waterfall and an 18-foot lower classic waterfall, both a part of the Hamilton Conservation Authority maintained Devil’s Punch Bowl Conservation Area.

With easy access by car and along the 500-mile-long Bruce Trail, Devil’s Punch Bowl somewhat resembles the Horseshoe Falls in nearby Niagara Falls, due to the distinctive shape of the cliff-face.

Over the passage of over 450 million years, through four great ice ages, the water left behind by the melting ice sheets became home to an abundance of corals and other organisms that became fossilized as the sea bottom deposits changed into rock.

Streams of fast-moving water also resulted from the melting ice, which increased water levels, causing erosion that carved out the land, exposing the different layers of colourful Ordovician and Silurian stratified rock segments that make up the Niagara Escarpment, and forming what would become the Devil’s Punch Bowl. Some of the layers include Queenston Formation red shale, Cabot Head grey shale, limestone and shale dolomite.

Formation of the Devil’s Punch Bowl has declined over the years, with the water flow frequently drying completely or down to only a trickle. The stream still picks up intensity during rain and as snow is melting in the spring.

This part of the Niagara Escarpment also provides a spectacular view of Stoney Creek and Hamilton Harbour from the lookout, just to the north of the punchbowl. Views of East Hamilton, Burlington, Stoney Creek and weather permitting, the Toronto skyline, can also be seen from the lookout platform.

Another feature of this lookout is the 33-foot-high cross, a landmark that overlooks Stoney Creek community. Built by William Sinclair and first illuminated on 18 December 1966, it was originally planned to be lit up only during Christmas and Easter for six weeks. However, with the help of the donations from the Knights of Columbus, the cross lights up automatically every night.

The Devil’s Punch Bowl is also the beginning point of the Dofasco 2000 Trail, a seven-mile trail through upper Stoney Creek that features a long boardwalk section through Vinemont Swamp Forest.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Punch_Bowl_(Hamilton,_Ontario), https://conservationhamilton.ca/conservation-areas/devils-punchbowl.