Interesting Facts About NIAGARA FALLS

Niagara Falls At Night

Niagara falls, which are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, have always been popular for its enchanting beauty and its overpowering fascade. The name Niagara originates from an Iroquois word Onguiaahra which means the strait. Here are some interesting facts about Niagara falls:

1. Although the Niagara Waterfalls are not exceptionally high, they are very wide. The length of brink is 1060 feet while its overall height is 176 feet.

2. Niagara Falls are located on the international border that separates the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York.

3. One of the oldest and best known tourist attractions at the Niagara Falls is the boat cruise called MAID OF THE MIST, which is named after an ancient Ongiara Indian mythical character.

4. Niagara Falls are known for their stunning display of rainbows, or lunar bows which create a beautiful display of colors when the light of the moon hits the mist formed by the Falls 

5. Several people have attempted to conquer the Niagara Falls. In October 1829, Sam Patch, jumped from a high tower into the gorge below the falls and also survived the jump.

6. Niagara Falls includes two major sections which are divided by Goat Island. These two sections are the Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side and the American Falls on the United States side. These waterfalls when merged together as a whole, are known as Niagara Falls.

7. When winter rolls in, the water doesn't cease to stop flowing from atop - where mist is created thus forming ice along the banks of the river. Ice as deep and as thick as 50 feet is formed, where it can span the river in an icy layer of solid ice, known as the ice bridge.

8.  The Niagara Falls had long been identified as a potential source of power. One of the very first attempts to utilize the Niagara Falls as a source of energy was in 1759. In 1759, Daniel Joncaire built a small canal above the waterfalls to power his sawmill.

9. Augustus and Peter Porter later purchased this place along with the entire American falls in 1805 from the New York state government. They enlarged the original canal in order to provide hydraulic to power their gristmill and tannery.

10. There are 14 species of plants, both endangered and quite rare, that are located in the Niagara River Gorge.

11. In 1853, the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company was chartered, which eventually constructed the canals that were to be used for electricity generation.

12. In the year 1881, under the leadership of Jacob Schoellkopf, power was generated using the Niagara waters. The power was sufficient to illuminate both the Falls as well as the nearby Niagara Falls village.

13. The original Niagara Falls were near the sites of present-day Queenston, Ontario, and Lewiston, New York. However owing to the erosion of their crest, the waterfalls have retreated several miles southward.

14. The Upper Steel Arch Bridge, which was called back in the day as the Honeymoon Bridge, collapsed due to pressure caused from increased ice formation, in the gorge below the falls. The collapse occurred on January 27th, 1938.

15. Niagara Falls were formed as a result of glaciers receding at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation and from the water of the newly-formed Great Lakes, which together created a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean.