Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yes, so we arrived in Canada and found our hotel situated on the brink of the Canadian falls. What I didn't realize was that there are actually three falls at Niagara Falls and none of them are actually named Niagara. Two of the three falls are on the American side and are called the American Falls (creative, eh?) and the Bridal Veil, because, well, it looks like one. The Canadian Falls are called the Horseshoe Falls, which is interesting to me because apparently when they were first documented, they actually weren't very much in a horseshoe shape. The falls have eroded a little bit each year until they reached the location they are in today. In fact, they erode about 8-10" per year. The erosion used to be a couple feet per year, but the power station upstream from the falls is able to regulate the flow enough to reduce the amount of erosion. Approximately 90% of the water in the Niagara River goes over the Horsehoe Falls and 10% goes over the American and Bridal Veil Falls. Other interesting facts I learned:
- The daily flows over the falls between April and October is 100,000 cubic feet per second, however, at night, the Ontario Hydro and New York State Power Company divert about half of the water into gigantic storage reservoirs for hydro generation.
- Niagara Falls drains all the water from 4 of the 5 Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie. The Niagara River then flows north, which is uncommon, to Lake Ontario.
- Only once in history have the falls ever stopped flowing. On March 29, 1848, massive ice flows created a dam at the mouth of Lake Erie where the Niagara River begins and the river became dry for about 2-3 days. During this time, people scavenged on the river bed for artifacts from many wars including the War of 1812.
- Niagara Falls got their name from the local Indian Tribes. The Neutral Indians were the leaders of a group of ten tribes of the Iroquois Nation. Other tribes included the Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Huron, Petun, Erie and the Susquehannock. The name Niagara originates from the Neutral Indian name "Ongniaahra" meaning "Thunder of Waters".
This was the view of the Horseshoe Falls from our hotel room:
Here is another view from our hotel. You are looking across the Niagara River from Canada to New York. The American Falls and Bridal Veil are to the left and the Horseshoe Falls are on the right.
We went on the "Journey Behind the Falls" where you take an elevator 170 feet below the rock and then walk in a tunnel 800 feet behind the falls. The tunnel is 7 feet tall by 4 feet wide, so a bit clausterphobic. There are two tunnels that branch off from the main tunnel that lead right out to the falls. From there, you can see the water plunging into the pool. There was also an observation deck where you just get soaked! You get to wear these sweet yellow ponchos that make you look like the Yellow Pages.
Some other pics that I like:
