Niagara Falls Facts

Not many people out there would need an introduction to the marvelous Niagara Falls located on the US-Canadian border. Even if you haven't visited them as yet, you must have at least heard of them in some or the other context - after all these falls have become an important attribute of the popular culture today. Movies, television, music, literature - you name it and you will find a citation of Niagara Falls in that field. Moving on from popular culture, there also exist several other attributes of these falls - on the geographical and historical front, which are quite fascinating in themselves. Niagara Falls do boast of being the most powerful - if not the tallest or the biggest, waterfall in North America.

Interesting Facts about the Niagara Falls

It is a well-known fact that Niagara Falls are not the highest falls in the world, with as many as 500 waterfalls in different parts of the world being taller than these falls. However, there do exist some amazing facts about these falls which not many people can boast of being aware of. Did you know that the American Falls completely dried off when its water was diverted in 1969? Did you know that these waterfalls play an important role when it comes to power generation in the United States as well as Canada? It's the facts like these that make the Niagara waterfalls all the more interesting.

• The Niagara Falls are divided into two sections - the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls, with the biodiversity rich Goat Island separating the two. The Horseshoe Fall - which has a drop of 173 ft, is 2600 ft wide, while the American Fall - which has a drop of 70 ft, is 1600 ft wide.
• The formation of Niagara Falls can be attributed to the retreating of Wisconsin glacier somewhere around 10,000-12,000 years ago. Other than the formation of Niagara river and these falls, the Wisconsin glacier retreat was also responsible for the formation of five Great Lakes of North America.
• Even though it is not very high, the copious amount of water that gushes down the falls makes it a spectacular sight. On an average, around 4 million cubic feet of water flows along the crest line of Niagara Falls. In times of high flow, this amount increases to 6 million cubic feet.
• Other than its natural beauty, Niagara Falls are also renowned for hydroelectricity power generation. The power produced by hydroelectricity plants at Niagara Falls is shared by the United States and Canada. Owing to its power generating capacity of 2.4 gigawatt, Niagara Falls is the largest power producer for the states of New York.
• Other than hydroelectricity power generation at Sir Adam Beck Station in Ontario & New York State Power Authority, Niagara Falls also provide water for drinking and facilitates a range of recreational activities - including fishing and boating.
• In order to clear the buildup of rock at the bottom of the American Falls it was dammed in June 1969. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers built a dam measuring 600 feet (180 m) across and diverted its water to the Canadian side. It took almost six months for the team to complete their task, after which the dam was blown off and normal water flow was restored.
• The flow of water on both sections on Niagara Falls has been stopped only once on 29th March, 1848. Unlike in 1969 - when the flow was stopped by humans, in 1848 it was stopped as a result of ice jam in the upper course of the river.
• As ferocious as it appears to be, Niagara Falls has attracted daredevils from different parts of the world for quite some time now. Back in October 1829, American daredevil Sam Patch aka 'The Yankee Leaper' jumped from a raised platform right into the base of the waterfall.
• On 24th October, 1901, a 63 year old woman went over the falls in a barrel and became the first person to do this amazing publicity stunt which has been pulled off by as many as 14 people since then.
• Other than jumping and barrel ride, tight rope walk is yet another stunt which has brought many acrobats to the Niagara Falls - including stalwarts like French tight rope walker Jean François "Blondin" Gravelet and William Hunt aka The Great Farini.

Some Fun Facts for Kids

Taking into consideration the fact that kids will be least interested in the aforementioned facts like how much electricity is generated at the power plants at Niagara Falls or what will happen to the Falls if the erosion continues at the current rate, we decided to compile some simple, but interesting Niagara Falls facts for them.

• Niagara Falls are estimated to be approximately 12,000 years old.
• These falls - which are located at the US-Canadian border, separate US state of New York from the Ontario province of Canada.
• The word Niagara is derived from the Iroquois word "Onguiaahra" meaning 'thundering noise of the water'.
• The Niagara waterfall system is basically made up of two falls - the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
• Other than the two, there also exists a relatively smaller waterfall known as the Bridal Veil Falls which is located on the American side of the system.
• Approximately 3,160 tons of water flows over the Niagara Falls every second, and eventually falls at the speed of 32 ft per second.
• The erosion caused by these falls is making the Niagara gorge wear down at the rate of 1 foot per year.
• In its 36 mile course, the deepest point of Niagara river lies at the point where the water falls. (In fact, its depth here equals the height of the Fall at 52m.)
• The 'Maid of the Mist' boat tour of Niagara Falls is the most famous tourist attraction of this region.
• Several acrobats have performed tight rope walks over the Falls - one of the most famous was that by French acrobat and tight rope walker - Charles Blondin, who carried his manager across the Falls on his back.

Even though the erosional activity at Niagara Falls continues, the rate at which it is occurring has come down by a great extent over the last few years mainly due to diversion of water for hydroelectricity power plants. At the ongoing rate, it will take around 50,000 years for the Falls to disappear. However, that is just a speculation and nobody knows for sure what will happen to Niagara Falls in future. Some speculations suggest that the waterfall will be eventually replaced by rapids, while others suggest that the American Falls could dry up in another 2000 years from now.