Agra Falls, like no other place on earth, its beauty is only matched by its ferocious
power.
The falls bring people from all over the world for a bevy of reasons.
Some are daredevils who want to cheat death going over the falls in a barrel.
Some want to be married.
Some just want to get extremely close to one of the top wonders of the world, spilling
over 1.5 million gallons a day.
Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international
border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.
They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.
The three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls.
The Horseshoe Falls lie on the Canadian side, and the American Falls on the American side.
The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side.
Believe it or not, there was one time when the American Falls were actually shut off.
In June 1969, the Niagara River was completely diverted away from the American Falls for
several months through construction of a temporary rock and earth dam.
While the Horseshoe Falls absorbed the extra flow of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
studied the riverbed, and mechanically bolted and strengthened any faults they found.
Faults that would have left untreated would have hastened the retreat of the American
Falls.
The falls were restarted in November 1969, restoring the flow to the American side.
Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined
falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world.
With a vertical drop of more than 165 feet, Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall
in North America.
The Niagara Falls are renowned for both their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric
power.
Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial use has been a
challenge since the 19th century.
The Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station
in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls.
Completed in 1895, the Niagara Falls plant was the first large plant in the world to
generate and transmit electrical current by means of Nikola Tesla's Polyphase Alternating
Current System.
Today Niagara is the biggest electricity producer in New York State, generating 2.4 million
kilowatts, enough power to light 24 million 100 watt bulbs at once.
This low-cost electricity saves the state's residents and businesses hundreds of millions
of dollars a year.
The Made of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls.
The actual boats are also named Made of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral
in each case.
The boats start off at the calm part of Niagara River, near Rainbow Bridge, and takes its
passengers past the American and Bridal Falls and then into the dense mist spray inside
the curve of the Horseshoe Falls.
It's also known as the Canadian Falls.
The tour is available starting from either the Canadian or the American side, returning
to the starting point in each case.
The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is an international steel arch bridge across the
Niagara River Gorge.
It is a world-famous tourist site.
It connects the cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, and Niagara Falls, New York, United
States.
The bridge was officially opened November 1, 1941 and permits no commercial trucks, cars
and personal trucks only.
The Falls attracts daredevil and stunders of all types.
On October 24, 1901, a 63-year-old Michigan school teacher, Annie Etzin Taylor, was the
first person to go over the Falls in a barrel as a publicity stunt.
She survived, bleeding, but virtually unharmed.
Maria Speltarena, a 23-year-old Italian woman, was the only woman to cross the Niagara Gorge
on a tightrope.
Today, stunting without park approval carries a maximum fine of $10,000.
You may not know this, but you can actually see and feel what it is like to get behind
the Falls.
Located at the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the Table Rock Welcome Center is
a tour called Journey Behind the Falls.
Horses take you 150 feet through bedrock to tunnels leading to two portals behind a massive
sheets of wood.
You can also go outside on the observation deck at the very foot of the Falls.
The sound and fury of this mighty spectacle is at its fullest.
This is a must-do for any visit to the Falls.
The Falls at night are my favorite time to visit.
The colors make for some spectacular sights, and with little patience, some amazing photos.
Niagara Falls is at the top of my list for one of the world's greatest wonders.
If you get a chance to visit, you've got my personal recommendation to do so without
hesitation.
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