Niagara Falls, Ontario – Tourists in plastic bags at tamed record falls

The Niagara Parkway from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Niagara Falls follows a row of well-groomed estates, lawns, trees; everything is green, green, green. One chic winery follows after the other, in this region are most of Canada’s wineries. In the end of each vine row there is a red blooming rose bush.

The lookout terrace at the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls offers the best view to the falls. Lake Erie pours fourth in the 56 km long Niagara River and the in the 99 m deeper Lake Ontario what causes a high flow speed. Niagara Falls consist of the smaller American Falls and the larger Horseshoe Falls. The last mentioned are 54 m high and 675 m wide that does not automatically mean the falls are spectacular. The masses of water are the astounding fact despite reduction to up to 75 % due to several hydroelectric power stations. 154 millions tons are thundering into the depth every minute in summer, a bit more than half in winter. The water withdrawal reduced erosion of the falls a lot. In former times the falls moved backwards about one metre per year, nowadays it is just 30 cm in ten years. Since their formation 12,000 years ago the falls nibbled 11 km off the soft limestone. Mint green water shoots over the edge and lathers whitely when hitting the ground. A huge mist cloud spurts up to the edge. Every few minutes a Maid of the Mist, how every single boat full of tourists is called since 1846, approaches the bottom of the falls. Visitors packed in plastic bags there hear the deafening roaring.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.