GTA: Greater Toronto Area Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mississauga

Mississauga never used to be so large a location, but at the turn of the century it ended up becoming a major hub for commercial businesses and immigrants looking for a place to live. As such, Mississauga became a city in its own right despite being built as a bedroom community for Toronto only slightly to the east. Home to Toronto's International Airport (Pearson), Mississauga also rests on the shores of Lake Ontario to the south and is a part of Peel Region. Depicted are Square One and the Marilyn Monroe towers, as they're informally called.

Answer: Scarborough

Stretching fifteen kilometers across the northern shore of Lake Ontario, the Scarborough Bluffs begin at the edge of Toronto proper and continue across the shoreline until getting closer to Pickering to the east. The region north of that is Scarborough, an extremely multicultural region home to more than six hundred thousand residents.

The Bluffs were formed by glacial erosion during the last ice age.

Answer: Rouge Park

Rouge National Urban Park can be found in Pickering, east of the city, and was established in 2015 as a protected urban stretch reaching from the Lake Ontario waters to the south to the Oak Ridges Moraine in the north, encompassing the border between Scarborough and Pickering.

A former home to indigenous people, the park is a campground, archaeological hotspot, and education site and home to numerous trails, right in Ontario's capital.

Answer: Brampton

Found north of Mississauga and northeast of Toronto proper, Brampton is another location built to expand into suburbs which evolved into its own city. The central reach of Peel Region, Brampton is very much inhabited by a number of different cultures and races, many of which are split into neighbourhoods; the majority of people living in Brampton at the turn of the century were immigrants with minorities outnumbering English-speaking residents two to one.

As such, the city is vibrant and frequently engaged in varied cultural events.

Answer: The Kawarthas

Lake Scugog, found out at Port Perry at the furthest reach of the GTA (in the east), is a shallow part of the Trent-Severn Waterway leading out to the Kawarthas and Peterborough. The region is considered one of Ontario's cottage country stretches; many of the Kawartha Lakes are home to resorts and private cabins used year round.

The word Kawartha very loosely translates to the Objiwe for 'land of reflections'. It's a couple hours' drive away from Toronto's core if you don't fight traffic.

Answer: Holland Marsh

The Holland Marsh, found north of Toronto in York Region and Simcoe County, is partly dense wetland stretching up towards the Nottawasaga Valley and partly reclaimed farmland, fuelling a strong agricultural industry in the region. Originally settled by the Dutch as far back as the 19th century, the area slowly built up with smaller towns while Toronto continued to expand.

The marsh stops well before reaching Barrie and cottage country to the north.

Answer: Hamilton

Occasionally stretching the limit of the acronym GTA, some refer to the region as the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area because of Hamilton's proximity and industry. For many years, Hamilton was regarded as nothing more than a 'Steel Town', and while said industry is still a big part of Hamilton, the city has since expanded to become a more artistic community. Home to more than 700,000 people, the city sits on the far-west end of Lake Ontario and is somewhat of a gateway to the southwestern corner of the province and the Niagara Region.

Answer: Bronte Creek Provincial Park

Bronte Creek Provincial Park, bordering the city of Burlington on the GTA's west edge, became an established park, and one of the closest to Toronto, in 1975. The park hosts nature trails, preserved land, campsites, and recreational areas. The creek itself stretches twelve kilometers through the park and into Lake Ontario to the south. Oakville and Burlington are both part of the Halton Region west of the city, considered in the 2010s to be one of the safest places to live in the country.

Answer: Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe stretches as far south as Bradford and as far north as Orillia, covering a significant portion of Simcoe County, but also Durham on its eastern shores (including Brock, both part of the northern edge of the GTA). Brock is part of a relatively small municipality which includes the town of Beaverton and Cannington, the edges of which are marked by the Trent-Severn Waterway as it flows towards Lake Huron further to the northwest.

Answer: True

Most travelers don't realize that Toronto, sitting on Lake Ontario, has a series of islands only a short ferry ride away from its shores. These islands (including Ward's Island, Centre Island, and Olympic Island amongst others) are a permanent home for a few residents but are otherwise covered with parkland, free of vehicles (except emergency vehicles) and beaches.

The islands also house Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, one of Canada's busiest despite taking only a few international planes.