Niagara Falls Fun Facts

1) Longest Horseshoe

The length of the Canadian, or Horseshoe, brink is 2,600 feet; that is 792.4 meters! Compared to the combined length of the other falls, 1060 feet, that is quite an impressive sized waterfall. The Horseshoe shape may make this waterfall seem smaller, but it is quite the opposite in fact.

2) Around 10 000 years old

The features that became Niagara Falls were created by the Wisconsin glaciation about 10,000 years ago. The same forces also created the North American Great Lakes and the Niagara River. All were dug by a continental ice sheet that drove through the area, deepening some river channels to form lakes, and damming others with debris. Scientists argue there is an old valley, St David’s Buried Gorge, buried by glacial drift, at the approximate location of the present Welland Canal.

3) American & Canadian Side

Niagara Falls sits in the middle of New York, in the US, and Ontario in Canada. This means that people can visit from either (or both) countries. In New York, tourists can see the sights from the Prospect Point Park Observation Tower, and from Ontario, there is a range of large tourist areas which visitors can use to access Niagara Falls.

4) Hydroelectric Power

Niagara Falls was the largest hydropower facility in the Western World when the first hydroelectric project went live in 1961. It now produces a phenomenal amount of electricity for the US state of New York, around 2.4 gigawatts. There are several hydropower plants in and around Niagara Falls now, all producing electricity for America and Canada.

5) Three Waterfall

Some people think that Niagara Falls is just one giant waterfall, but actually, there are three in total. There are the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Canadian (Horseshoe) falls, from far left to right. The name ‘Niagara Falls’ is just a collective name for all three of the waterfalls together.

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Source :
https://www.marriottonthefalls.com/blog/2014/08/13/niagara-falls-top-10-facts