Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
Waterdown is a small town located to the north of the city of Burlington (Aldershot), north east of the city of Hamilton and about 64kms (39 miles) west of Toronto, Canada.
It’s population in 1975 was approximately 2,300 people and belonged to the Township of Flamborough (which was later amalgamated with the city of Hamilton in the late 1990s). The town was primarily accessed east-west via Highway 5 (Dundas St.) and Highway 6 which ran north-south, west of the village.
The southern edge of the village borders on a precipice of the Niagara Escarpment overlooking the city of Burlington and Lake Ontario. It’s elevation is approximately 150m (492 ft.) above the water’s surface of Lake Ontario.
Click on the elevation map below to enlarge. The location marked “211m” is approximately where Pat McCarthy took his photos. The red area depicts the higher elevation, escarpment plateau.
Pat McCarthy took his photos from within an abandoned quarry, west of the village, south of Highway 5, and east of Highway 6. Approximate GPS coordinates are 43°18'50.1"N 79°54'28.0"W
Unlike today where development has pushed the edge of town south of Highway 5 (Dundas St.), the area was largely empty, overgrown fields and wilderness.
The view from the quarry was largely panoramic and, given the elevation, the sky was unobstructed by city skylines or other human made structures.
Location Characteristics & Topography
Below are several satellite images detailing the area. Note references in each image to the “Sheppard Quarry”. This is where Pat McCarthy was photographing birds that day before spotting the UAP.
The view is above the western edge of Waterdown, looking south east over the Escarpment to Burlington and Lake Ontario below.
The quarry from where Pat McCarthy took his infamous photos of the UAP on the western edge of town.
The view looking north to Waterdown.
Example of looking up at the Escarpment cliff edge from a lower elevation.