Leslie Street Spit and Tommy Thompson Park
Tommy Thompson Park is located on Leslie Street Spit, a man-made peninsula that extends about 3 miles into Lake Ontario.
Construction of the spit began in the late 1950s, and it has been the site for the disposal of dredged material from the Outer Harbor and surplus fill from development sites within Toronto.
The park was established on the spit in 1995 and provides critical habitat for many birds and animals as well as aquatic species. The biological diversity makes it home to many research and monitoring projects, as well as an urban wilderness for Toronto residents.
These Landsat images from 1973, 1987, and 2011 show the growth of the spit over the years as material was added and eventually transformed into a more permanent site.