Niagara Falls in the Niagara River, W N.Y. and S Ont., Canada; one of the most famous spectacles in North America. The falls are on the international line between the cities of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Niagara Falls, Ont. Goat Island splits the cataract into the American Falls (167 ft/51 m high and 1,060 ft/323 m wide) and the Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls (158 ft/48 m high and 2,600 ft/792 m wide). The governments of the United States and Canada control the appearance of the surrounding area, much of which has been included in parks since 1885.

The earliest written description of the falls is that of Louis Hennepin (in Nouvelle Découverte, 1697), who was with the expedition of Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, the French explorer, in 1678. In the 19th cent., daredevils attempted to brave the falls in barrels, boats, and rubber balls. The great Blondin performed (1859) on a tightrope over the falls, which continue to be a major center of international tourism. Historical and natural history material relating to the region is in the Niagara Falls Museum in the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Formation

The falls were formed c.10,000 years ago as the retreating glaciers exposed the Niagara escarpment, thus permitting the waters of Lake Erie to flow north, over the scarp, to Lake Ontario. The escarpment has been gradually eroded back toward Lake Erie, a process that has formed the Niagara Gorge (c.7 mi/11 km long); the Whirlpool Rapids and the Whirlpool are there. Horseshoe Falls is eroding upstream at a faster rate than the American Falls because of the greater volume of water passing over it. A great rock slide occurred (1954) at the American Falls and formed a huge talus slope at its base. Water was diverted from the American Falls for several months in 1969 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the bedrock and to remove some of the talus.

Hydroelectric Power

International agreements control the diversion of water for hydroelectric power; weirs divert part of the flow above the deeper Canadian Falls to supplement the flow in the shallower American Falls. Hydroelectric-power developments were authorized under the Niagara Diversion Treaty (1950), which stipulated a minimum flow to be reserved for the falls and the equal division of the remaining flow between the United States and Canada. In the United States the project was undertaken by the Power Authority of the State of New York. Water is diverted from the river above the upper rapids into underground conduits (46 ft/14 m wide and 66 ft/20 m high). It is then conveyed overland, dropping 314 ft (96 m) to a point below the lower rapids where, as it returns to the river, the water passes through turbines that power 13 generators of the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant (1,950,000-kW capacity; opened 1961). Associated with the New York hydroelectric-power project is the construction in the area of new roads, bridges, and parks. In Canada the project was undertaken by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Water is diverted from the river above the falls and is fed into the Sir Adam Beck Generating Stations (1,775,000 kW; 1954) by way of a series of tunnels and canals.

Bibliography

See I. H. Tesmer, Colossal Cataract: The Geologic History of Niagara Falls (1981); E. McKinsey, Niagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime (1985); G. Strand, Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies (2008).

Niagara Falls, 160‐foot waterfall on the border of the United States and Canada, over which the Niagara River waters of Lake Erie flow into Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls was first seen by Europeans in the late seventeenth century. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, Niagara became America's most popular tourist destination. For the romantic “pilgrims” who visited Niagara before the Civil War, it evoked the emotions of the sublime and symbolized the nation's grand destiny. Niagara's image as a national shrine was enhanced by the many artists who painted it, notably Frederick Church and his panoramic Niagara of 1857. Though often depicted in a pristine state, Niagara Falls became increasingly desecrated by shops, sideshows, and factories. In response, Church, Frederick Law Olmsted, and other prominent citizens succeeded in 1883 in securing legislation to establish the New York State Niagara Falls Reservation, one of the first parks to protect scenery. Although the park only pushed back the surrounding commercial and industrial activity, it did restore naturalness and free access to the falls.

From the Civil War to the 1930s, Niagara Falls enjoyed a great vogue as a honeymoon destination. Niagara also attracted performers, such as the celebrated jumper Sam Patch, and daredevils who went over the falls in barrels. In 1895, Niagara became a major source of cheap hydroelectric power, and at the end of the twentieth century about one‐half of Niagara's water was diverted to drive turbines. Although no longer as important culturally as in the nineteenth century, Niagara continued to play a role in popular culture—as in the 1953 Marilyn Monroe movie Niagara and the 1980 film Superman II, for example—and to epitomize America for many foreign tourists.
See also Painting: To 1945; Romantic Movement; Tourism.

Bibliography

Elizabeth R. McKinsey , Niagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime, 1985.
John F. Sears , Sacred Places: American Tourist Attractions in the Nineteenth Century, 1989.

John F. Sears

NIAGARA FALLS

NIAGARA FALLS is a stunning 167-foot drop between Lakes Erie and Ontario, on the United States-Canada border. A major tourist attraction, it also generates huge amounts of hydroelectric energy. Composed of the American Falls and the Canadian, or Horseshoe, Falls, Niagara Falls obstructed early European navigation, and because Fort Niagara was extremely strategically significant, its portage road was precious to both Britain and France.

During the 1880s, a group of U.S. investment bankers formed the Niagara Falls Power Company and enlisted many eminent scientists and engineers for a hydroelectric project. By 1902 Niagara Falls power stations were producting about one-fifth of the total U.S. electrical energy. In the 1920s technological advances enabled the company to transmit power economically for hundreds of miles, in a large distribution network that established the pattern for twentieth-century electric power. Its abundant, inexpensive power also stimulated massive growth in such energy-intensive industries as the aluminum and carborundum industries. In 1961, after a U.S.-Canadian treaty increased the amount of water allowed for power generation, the Niagara Falls Power Company built a new, 1.95-million kilowatt plant. It was the largest single hydroelectric project in the Western Hemisphere up to that time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berton, Pierre. Niagara: A History of the Falls. New York: Kodansha International, 1997.

———. A Picture Book of Niagara Falls. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1993.

Irwin, William. The New Niagara: Tourism, Technology, and the Landscape of Niagara Falls, 1776–1917. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.

McKinsey, Elizabeth R. Niagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Robert W.Bingham

James E.Brittain/d. b.

See alsoCanadian-American Waterways ; Electric Power and Light Industry ; Energy Industry ; Explorations and Expeditions: British ; Explorations and Expeditions: French ; Hydroelectric Power ; Tourism .

Niagara Falls city (1990 pop. 61,840), Niagara co., W N.Y., at the great falls of the Niagara River opposite Niagara Falls , Ont.; inc. 1892. Tourism is one of its oldest industries, and many state parks are in the area, but in recent years its Canadian sister city has surpassed it as a tourist destination. There is a gambling casino in the city. One of the world's first hydroelectric plants was built there; it was replaced betweeen 1963 and 1965 by a plant capable of producing 2,100,000 kW. The city is also a port of entry. Several bridges span the river to Canada. Niagara Univ. is there. Historically a maker of abrasives, mechanical and electrochemical products, and paper and aluminum goods, the city saw its industrial base decline severely after World War II, and since the 1960s the population has fallen by nearly half. Settled by Native Americans, the site was occupied by the French in the 1680s, captured by the British in 1759, and settled by Americans in 1805. Lost to the British during the War of 1812, it was regained after the Treaty of Ghent in Dec., 1814.

Niagara Falls, Canada, USA 1. Two cities by the famous Falls on either side of the Niagara River in Canada and the USA. Niagara may be an Iroquois word meaning ‘Across the Neck’, ‘At the Neck’, or ‘Land cut in Two’. A popular meaning, however, is ‘Thundering of Waters’. The Falls are in two parts, separated by Goat Island.2. Canada (Ontario): named Elgin in 1853, Clifton in 1856, and Niagara Falls in 1881.3. USA (New York): a British Fort Schlosser was built here in 1761 and a settlement called Manchester was established in 1805. Although both were destroyed in 1812 development continued and the city was renamed as now after the Falls.

Niagara Falls city (1991 pop. 75,399), S Ont., Canada, on the Niagara River opposite Niagara Falls , N.Y. Formerly called Clifton, it is a port of entry, an important industrial city, and the home of Canadian factories for many well-known U.S. firms. Electric power supplied by the falls supports industries that manufacture chemicals, abrasives, silverware, machinery, sporting equipment, and paper products. The falls are also an international attraction that anchor a tourist industry that includes a casino, hotels, and various amusements. Between the city and the falls and along the gorge below the falls is Queen Victoria Park.

Niagara Falls the waterfalls on the Niagara River, consisting of two principal parts separated by Goat Island: the Horseshoe Falls adjoining the west (Canadian) bank, which fall 47 m (158 ft), and the American Falls adjoining the east (American) bank, which fall 50 m (167 ft). They are a popular tourist venue, especially for honeymooners, and an attraction for various stunts.

Niagara Falls Waterfalls on the Niagara River on the border of the USA (w New York) and Canada (se Ontario); divided into the Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls, and the American Falls. The Canadian Falls are 48m (158ft) high and 792m (2600ft), wide; the American Falls are 51m (167ft) high and 305m (1000ft) wide.