Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls isn’t the highest waterfall. But, for sheer size and volume of water, it can’t be beat. Four Great Lakes drain through the Niagara River and spill over Niagara Falls. The volume of water varies depending on the season and how much water is being diverted through power plants, but 700,000 gallons per second is not unusual for summer.

There are actually three waterfalls at Niagara Falls, forming a giant arc across the Niagara gorge. The widest, at 2,200 feet, is Horseshoe Falls, forming the border between Canada and the US. Its plunge basin is deeper than the height of the waterfall you can view. In Niagara Reservation State Park, between Goat Island and Luna Island sits a narrow strand of falls called Bridal Veil Falls. Between Luna Island and mainland US is the 1,060-feet wide American Falls.

It is hard to believe that such a simple thing as water, one of the most basic of elements, can create such a wonder and attract people from around the world. Niagara Fels has been visited by kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, movie stars, the rich and the famous, and by millions of other people – all seeking a view of this water falling over a cliff. It is not water in itself, however, nor the height of its fall, that makes Niagara Falls so spectacular. Instead, it is the immense quantity of water. The only one water falls in the wourld, Victoria Falls in Africa, carries more water. The rain that falls in the drainage basin of the four upper Great Lakes, a vast geographic area encompassing a large fraction of the interior of North America, collects in the lakes and eventually funnels through the nohow Niagara River on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Water that is now foaming over the Falls may have fallen years ago somewhere in the rugged wilderness of north-west Ontario, or on the dairy farms of Wisconsin, or the industrial cities of Illinois.

Niagara Falls Facts in numbers

• The larger Horseshoe Falls drop about 53 m and is 792 m wide.

• The American Falls drop about 21 m and is 323 m wide.

• 90% of the water of the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls.

• The rapids above the Falls reach a maximum speed of 40 km/h - a fact that will take your breath away.

• The fastest speeds occur at the Falls: 109 km/h - stunning.

• The water through the Whirlpool Rapids below the falls reaches 48 km/h, and at Devil’s Hole Rapids 36 km/h

• The Niagara River is a connecting channel between two Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario.

• The elevation between the Erie and Ontario lakes is about 99 m.

• The Niagara River is about 58 km long.

Niagara River - Satellite view

• Did you know about the fact that Niagara Falls has retreated 11 km toward Lake Erie, in the past 2,500 years? It may be the fastest moving waterfalls in the world.

• The average fall from Lake Erie to the beginning of the upper Niagara Rapids is only 2.7 m.

• Just below the Niagara Falls Canada is the deepest section in the river, it is 52 m.

• The Niagara Gorge is 11 km long.

• More than 168,000 m3 of water goes over the crestline of the falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.

Interesting Niagara Falls Facts

Niagara Falls is not the biggest waterfall in the world, but the fact is that it is the famous. Niagara waterfalls face directly toward the Canadian shore. The most complete views of Niagara Falls are available from the Canadian shoreline, and it is the best spot for some amazing pictures.

Niagara region is very rich in water, since it is surrounded by two lakes. Did you know that there are over 70 Niagara waterfalls, other than Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls?

The original Niagara Falls was near the sites of present-day Queenston, Ontario, and Lewiston, New York, but erosion of the crest have caused the waterfalls to retreat several miles southward.

At Grand Island, the Niagara River divides into the west channel, known as the Canadian or Chippawa Channel, and the east channel, known as the American or Tonawanda Channel.

Water always flows down to the sea, and the land slopes downward through the Great Lakes Basin from west to east - but the Niagara River actually flows north. The brown foam below Niagara Falls is a natural result of tons of water plummeting into the depths below. The brown color is clay, which contains suspended particles of decayed vegetative matter. It is mostly from the shallow eastern basin of Lake Erie. The beautiful green color of the Niagara River comes from the dissolved salts and very finely ground rock. Estimated 60 tons of dissolved minerals are swept over Niagara Falls every minute.

Amazing Niagara Falls Facts - Niagara Gorge

Provided info are not about Niagara waterfalls... there are some amazing facts in the neighborhood like Niagara Gorge and its famous whirlpool.

• The huge volume of water rushing from the Niagara Falls is crushed into the narrow Great gorge, creating the Whirlpool Rapids that stretches for 1.6 km.

• The water surface here drops 15 m and the rushing waters can reach speeds as high as 9 mps.

• The Whirlpool is a basin 518 m long by 365 m wide with depths up to 38 m. River makes the elbow here, sharp right-angled turn.

In the Whirlpool, you can see the reversal phenomena. When the Niagara River is at the full flow, the waters travel over the rapids and enter the pool, then travel counterclockwise around the pool past the natural outlet. Pressure builds up when the water tries to cut across itself to reach the outlet and this pressure forces the water under the incoming stream.

The swirling waters create a vortex, or whirlpool. If the water flow is low (water is diverted for hydroelectric purposes) the reversal does not take place; the water merely moves clockwise through the pool and passes to the outlet. Below the Whirlpool is another set of rapids, which drops approximately 12 m.

More amazing facts about Niagara Falls

Did you hear about the Niagara Falls fact that the waterfalls dried up and frozen Niagara Falls?!

In March, 1848 Niagara Falls had stopped. It lasted for thirty hours. The river dried up, and the fact is that millions of tons of ice became lodged at the source of the river, causing the channel to be completely blocked. From June to November, in 1969, the US Army Corps of Engineers completely blocked the flow of water over the American Falls. As they were doing some testing and surveys, the number of visitors significantly increased due to the rumors that Niagara Falls dried up.

Frozen Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls Facts - Weather:

The coldest months in Niagara Falls are November through March with the average temperature between -6 and 4°C.

April and October are also brisk. June, July and August are balmier, with average highs of 25°C and lows of 15°C.

We hope that reading and being familiar with the above amazing and the most interesting Niagara Falls facts combining with your visit and experience will make your Niagara story incredible.