The beautiful Niagara Falls located on the border of
Ontario, Canada and New York, USA.
Three waterfalls are made up by one Niagara Falls. The three
waterfalls are the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.
The bridal Veils falls are the smallest and the Horseshoe the biggest falls.
The huge vertical drop is over 165 feet (50 meters). Niagara Falls created
around 10000 years ago.
Niagara Falls is a source of hydro-power producing large
amounts of electricity. The Niagara River is a connecting channel between two
Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario.
Niagara Falls has moved back seven miles in 12,500 years and
may be the fastest moving waterfalls in the world. The total area drained by
the Niagara River is approximately 684,000 square kilometers (264,000 sq. mi.).
About 500 other waterfalls in the world are "taller" than Niagara.
The Angel Falls in Venezuela is tallest at 979 meters (3,212 ft.). However,
some of the tallest falls in the world have very little water flowing over
them.
It’s the combination of height and volume that makes Niagara
Falls so beautiful.
It is illegal and risk going over the Niagara Falls. A
number of people have tried it anyway, some succeed, some were injured and some
were killed. First tightrope walker to
cross the Niagara Falls did so in 1859.Then a class teacher tried and achieved
on October 24, 1901, 63-years-old Annie Edson Tylor was the first person to go
over the falls in a barrel as a publicity stunt; she survived, bleeding, but
virtually unharmed. In 2012 Nick Wallenda became the first person to cross the
Niagara Falls by tightrope in 116 years. He did so after receiving permission
from both the Canadian and United States governments.
The Niagara Falls is named both for their beauty and as a
valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between
recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the
stewards of the Niagara Falls.
The waters of the Niagara River are used by a combined
Canada/United States population of more than 1,000,000 people for a wide range
of purposes such as: Drinking water, Recreation (boating, swimming,
bird-watching), Fishing, Industrial cooling water supply, Receiver of municipal
and industrial effluents, Hydro-power generation.
The Niagara Falls is visited by around 30 million people
every year from all over the world. The Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest
state park in the United States (1885).