Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls History
The name "Niagara" evolved from the Neutral Indian tribe, who used the word "Ongiara" on maps as early as 1641. At the Falls,there is a 90° bend in the river. The name is usually interpreted as "the strait" or "the neck" or "Great Throat" or "Thunder of Waters". By the time the first white men arrived, the name in general use was "Niagara". The first written record of Niagara Falls was by a French Catholic missionary priest, Fr. Louis Hennepin, in 1678.
Nagara Fallls originated approx. 12,000 years ago at the end of the ice age, at the Niagara Escarpment. This is an elevated ridge of land, starting at the Niagara River Gorge and extending 725 km (440 miles) north through the province, to Georgian Bay. Geologists say 430 million years ago, much of North America was covered in a shallow tropical lake. The sediment deposited from that was compressed into a hard limestone called Dolomite, more resistant to erosion than the surrounding land. The surface of the ridge is the exposed floor of the ancient tropical sea. In 1990 the United Nations designated the Niagara Escarpment a World Biosphere Reserve.
From the Escarpment at Queenston Heights, Niagara Falls eroded back approx. 1 meter (3 ft.) per year, to their current location 11 km (7 miles) up river.
Niagara Geography
Since the Niagara River acts as the border between the USA and Canada, the Falls are divided- 2 American and 1 Canadian. The small Bridal Veil Falls is part of the American set. An island called "Goat Island", seperates the American and Canadian Falls. This island is part of America's first state park, and they have access to the island by two bridges from the US side. The border comes down the middle of the river, to the right of Goat Island. Then, it is the larger Canadian Horseshoe Falls, with more than 90% of the river water flowing over them.
The Canadian Horseshoe Falls are 57 meters (188 feet) high, with the river depth below the Falls being another 56 meters (185 feet). The Horseshoe Falls are 670 meters (2200 ft) across on the crest line. The view of all 3 waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls is better from the Canadian side.
There are higher waterfalls in the world, but many of the highest ones have little water flowing over them. Niagara Falls has the largest volume of water. It is the great volume, combined with the height that makes them so spectacular. During peak season, April 1 through October 31, 2832 cubic meters per second (100,000 cubic ft. per second) flow over Niagara Falls in the daytime hours.
Four of the Great Lakes- Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie, all drain through the Niagara River, into Lake Ontario, and out the St. Lawrence River, into the Atlantic Ocean. This results in a large volume of water flowing over Niagara Falls- up to one fifth of the world's fresh water supply. The Niagara River is 58 km (36 miles) long, connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.