|
| |
|
Facts
about Niagara Falls |
 |
|
Where
is Niagara Falls ? |
|
Collectively they
are called "Niagara Falls"
|
|
|
|
Categorized
by these three names: |
American Falls
(between Prospect Point and Luna Island) far left
Bridal Veil Falls
(between Luna Island and Goat Island) mid left
Canadian/Horseshoe Falls
(between Goat Island and Table Rock) right
|
American
Falls & Bridal Veil Falls |
 |
| photo credit: Al
Melhinch |
|
length of brink: 1060 feet |
|
height: 176 feet (due
to rocks at the base actual fall is 70 feet) |
|
volume of water: 150,000
U.S. Gallons per second |
| Actual amount varies, there are two
hydroelectric plants which draw water into their |
| reservoirs prior to the Falls. Their
intake greatly affects the volume of water flowing over |
| the falls. The amount of water
being siphoned away depends on two variables. The time |
| of year, and the time of the
day. Flow is greatest in the daytime during peak tourist |
| season (June, July, and
August). In the event of an emergency the flow can be |
| somewhat reduced by the
hydroelectric companies increasing their intake. |
| The Bridal Veil Falls is named for
its appearance. It is located next to the American falls, |
|
separated by a small piece of
land called Luna Island.
|
|
Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls |
|
length of brink: 2600 feet
height: 167 feet
volume of water: 600,000 U.S.
gallons per second
|
|
Interesting fact: According to the U.S.G.S.
(United States Geological Survey) of Niagara |
|
Falls, it appears that almost 1/3 of the
Canadian Falls lies within US Territory. |
|
|
|
|
|
A Brief History of the Falls
|
|
Information below graciously provided courtesy of
Niagara Parks Ice
Age History of the Niagara River and Whirlpool Rapids
The Niagara River, as is the entire Great Lakes Basin of which the
river is an integral part, is a legacy of the last Ice Age. 18,000 years
ago southern Ontario was covered by ice sheets 2-3 kilometers thick. As
they advanced southward the ice sheets gouged out the basins of the
Great Lakes. Then as they melted northward for the last time they
released vast quantities of meltwater into these basins. Our water is
"fossil water"; less than one percent of it is renewable on an annual
basis, the rest leftover from the ice sheets.
The Niagara Peninsula became free of the ice about 12,500 years ago.
As the ice retreated northward, its meltwaters began to flow down
through what became Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, down
to the St. Lawrence River, and, finally, down to the sea. There were
originally 5 spillways from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Eventually these
were reduced to one, the original Niagara Falls, at Queenston-Lewiston.
From here the Falls began its steady erosion through the bedrock.
However, about 10,500 years ago, through an interplay of geological
effects including alternating retreats and re-advances of the ice, and
rebounding of the land when released from the intense pressure of the
ice (isostatic rebound), this process was interrupted. The glacial
meltwaters were rerouted through northern Ontario, bypassing the
southern route. For the next 5,000 years Lake Erie remained only half
the size of today, the Niagara River was reduced to about 10% of its
current flow, and a much-reduced Falls stalled in the area of the
Niagara Glen.
About 5,500 years ago the meltwaters were once again routed through
southern Ontario, restoring the river and Falls to their full power.
Then the Falls reached the Whirlpool.
It was a brief and violent encounter, a geological moment lasting
only weeks, maybe even only days. In this moment the Falls of the
youthful Niagara River intersected an old riverbed, one that had been
buried and sealed during the last Ice Age. The Falls turned into this
buried gorge, tore out the glacial debris that filled it, and scoured
the old river bottom clean. It was probably not a falls at all now but a
huge, churning rapids. When it was all over it left behind a 90-degree
turn in the river we know today as the Whirlpool, and North America's
largest series of standing waves we know today as the Whirlpool Rapids.
The Falls then re-established at about the area of the Whirlpool
Rapids Bridge upriver to our right, and resumed carving its way through
solid rock to its present location.
|
|
|
|
Straddling the Canadian-United States
International Border and both in the Province of Ontario
|
|
and the State of New York,
Niagara Falls attracts some 12 Million tourists to her majestic
|
|
awesome beauty each year.
|
| The Niagara is a fairly young river, only 12,000 years old!, a
microsecond in geological time. The |
| Niagara Escarpment, which was created by erosion is
much older. The glaciers pressed down on |
|
the land during the last ice age and laid down
layers of sediment, then the slow process of erosion
|
| of ice and water ate at the surface
of the escarpment |
| . |
|
The mighty river plunges over a cliff of
dolostone and shale. Niagara Falls is the second largest
|
| falls on the globe next to
Victoria Falls in southern Africa. |
|
One fifth of all the fresh water in the world lies in the four Upper
Great Lakes-Michigan, Huron,
|
| Superior and Erie. All the outflow empties into the
Niagara river and eventually cascades over |
| the falls. |
|
|
At the bottom of the falls, the water travels 15
miles over many gorges until it reaches the fifth
|
| Great Lake-Ontario. The land between the lakes does not slope at an even grade, but forms a |
|
spectacular drop approximately the same height as a 20 story building and this is known as
the |
| "Niagara Escarpment" Two billion years ago it was buried under a blanket of
ice. |
| As the years past, the process of erosion took place, (and still does) five
distinct 'gorges'
were |
| formed-Lewiston Brange Gorge, Old Narrow Gorge, Upper & Lower Great Gorges and
the |
| Whirlpool Narrow Gorge. |
|
Approximately 500 years ago the river encountered an
obstacle that caused it to 'split into two
|
| channels', thus Goat Island was
formed named after John Stedman whose goat herds froze to |
| death in the winter of 1780).
This was the original sediment left from a vanished Lake Tonawanda |
| (an Indian name). |
| On the eastern part of the island, the American Falls took shape, the
Horseshoe Falls, is on the |
|
western side, where the river angles some 90 degrees.
|
|
|
The water flow on the American side of the falls is much
less in strength because of Goat Island,
|
| whereas Horseshoe Falls has no obstruction to
divert it. |
| It should be noted that a third much narrower falls exists. Over
the
years these falls have been |
|
called at different times; Luna Falls, Iris Falls and is
currently named Bridal
Veil Falls.
|
|
| Man has not been able to completely control
the flow of the water over the falls, even modern |
| engineers have tried. Much of the water
today is fed through underground channels and pipes to |
| nearby hydro electric power
stations. |
|
Do the
Falls Freeze over in the Winter? |
|
 |
Yes and
No...... We'll try to explain
| The tremendous volume of water never
stops flowing, However, the falling |
| water and
mist create ice formations along the banks of the falls and river. |
| This
can result in mounds of ice as thick as fifty feet. If the Winter is cold for |
|
long enough, the ice will completely stretch across the river and form what |
| is
known as the "ice bridge". This ice bridge can extend for
several miles |
| down river until it reaches the area known as the lower
rapids. |
|
| Until 1912,visitors were allowed to actually walk out
on the ice bridge and |
|
view the Falls from below. February 24th of 1888 the
local newspaper
|
| reported that at least 20,000 people watched or tobogganed on
the ice. |
| Shanties selling liquor, photographs and curiosities abounded. On
February |
| 4th 1912 the ice bridge broke up and three tourists lives were lost. |
|
|
There can also be a great deal of
"mini-icebergs" which flow down the
|
| Niagara River from frozen Lake
Erie. The flow of ice has been reduced |
| considerably by the yearly installation
of the "ice-boom" on Lake Erie. The |
| ice-boom is a
long floating chain (2miles- 3.2 KM) of steel floats strung
across |
| the
Niagara River from Buffalo New York to Fort Erie Ontario. |
| It is set in
place during the month of December and removed during the |
| month
of March or April. It is maintained by the New York State Power |
| Authority.
The ice boom helps prevent
the ice from clogging the river and most |
| importantly the hydroelectric companies
water intakes. |
|
|
|
Spring
Ice flowing underneath the North Grand Island Bridge |
| HOWEVER.... The flow
of water was stopped completely over both falls |
| on March
29th 1848 due to an ice jam in the upper
river for several hours. This |
| is the only known time to have occurred.
The Falls did not actually freeze |
| over, but the flow was stopped to the point
where people actually walked out |
| and recovered artifacts from the
riverbed! |
|
 |
|
The "Ice Bridge"
underneath the Rainbow Bridge. 1997
|
 |
|
|
|
Interesting
facts about Niagara Falls |
| The flow over the
American Falls was stopped completely for several months |
| in 1969. The idea was
to determine the feasibility of removing the large |
| amount of loose rock from the
base of the falls to enhance it's appearance. |
| In
the end the final decision was
that the expense would be too great. |
|
 |
| photo credit: Lindsay
News & Photo |
| The word "Niagara"
is derived from the Iroquois Indian word "Onguiaahra" |
| meaning "the
strait" |
| There
is an international boundary between the United States and Canada. |
| Before the invention
of film, tourists would sketch pictures of the Falls. |
| The flow was also
halted over both falls on March 30th 1848 due to an ice jam |
| in the upper river. |
|
The movies Niagara and
Superman were filmed in part at the Falls.
|
|
In the past ten years,
two daredevils lost their lives trying to conquer Niagara.
|
| In the evenings,
intense spotlights bathe the falls with different shades of color. |
| The first person to
go over the Falls in a barrel and survive was a 63 year old |
| female
schoolteacher. |
|
| High wire tightrope
acts used to be performed across the river. Most notably |
| was "Blondin" who once
actually carried his manager across on his back, |
| stopping midway to rest ! |
|
| The Falls make a
tremendous sound as the water goes over and lands at the |
| bottom. |
|
| Twenty percent of the
worlds freshwater lies in the Great Lakes, and most flows |
| over Niagara Falls. |
| |
|
