I lucked out. The forecast was iffy. The drive was fairly long. I wanted to grab some sunrise images at the Port Credit Harbour, about an hour’s drive at 4:30 in the morning (closer to two hours during the day). But, the fog was present and in the forecast through sunrise that morning at my Orangeville, Ontario home.
I went ahead with my plans. The fog was not an issue as I got closer to Mississauga. At Port Credit, a community within Mississauga, the conditions were ideal. I came away with some pretty good photos. Some, I’ve shown here while others can be found at Dreamstime as stock photos (my Dreamstime portfolio).
The beauty of arriving at such an early time of day is the lack of human interference. Normally, this place is a headache for parking and is crowded with wandering people. Arriving before sunrise, I might have come in contact with two other people while at the location. The early hour also allowed me to get to areas that might be considered off limits later in the day. Although, there is no actual signage warning about going around the fence at the end of the pier and scrambling to the end of the breakwater…
We included this location in this Dreamstime blog article: Lake Ontario Sunrise Locations
Port Credit Sunrise Image Gallery
High resolution versions of these images and other photos from the same day are available at Dreamstime. Want to earn cash from your own photos? Why not sign up for free with Dreamstime and start submitting now: Become a paid photographer!
Starting from the top left and moving left to right, here’s what you’re seeing. In the top corner is the first photo of the day, showing the Port Credit pier curving out to Lake Ontario. The second image was actually one of the last of day, a long exposure shot blurring the waves hitting the breakwater on Lake Ontario.
The third picture is one with a story. And, it’s probably a story that many don’t actually know, despite the obvious presence of a sunken ship close to shore. The ship has sat in the harbour, an extension to the breakwater, since it was intentionally sunk on June 21, 1974. The boat was last named the Ridgetown but started life on the Great Lakes as the SS William E. Corey in 1905.
The actual launch date was June 24, 1905 for the William E. Corey. Built by the Chicago Shipbuilding Company in Chicago, Illinois, the Great Lakes freighter is 173 metres or 569 feet in length with a height of 9.4 metres or 31 feet. It’s top speed, when not sitting on the bottom of the lake, was ten knots.
In 1963, the ship was sold to the Upper Lakes Shipping Company and renamed Ridgetown. On that June 21, 1974, the same year Port Credit became part of Mississauga, the Ridgetown was loaded with stone and sunk.
On the bottom left, the skyline of downtown Toronto looms in the background, just over the breakwater. The middle bottom image shows boats in the marina adjacent to the pier. The bottom right photo looks upstream along the harbour and Credit River.
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit was established back in 1834 and was a native community until the Mississaugas left for the Six Nations Reserve in 1847. Located where the Credit River flows into Lake Ontario, Port Credit was formerly an industrial hub but is now mostly residential.
A smoke stack once dominated the skyline here. In 1994, the St. Lawrence Starch Plant smoke stack was demolished. While in existence, it stood 98 metres or 320 feet in height.
In 1974, the town became part of Mississauga, Ontario. That year was the inauguration of the city of Mississauga, amalgamating several smaller towns in the area.
Port Credit to Caledon Time Lapse Video
Below is a time lapse video taken on the way home from Port Credit on the morning the above images were taken. The route runs through Mississauga, past the City Centre area (and Absolute World Towers) and up highway 403/410/10 to Caledon.
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