Beside the Niagara falls

by Dr. Rohini Jayaratne

Straddling the Canadian-United States border both in Ontario and New York, the Niagara Falls attracts some twelve million tourists to witness her majestic and awesome beauty, which makes her a force of nature to be reckoned with.

The word Niagara comes from the word onghiar (pronounced on-ge-ara) meaning "thunder of waters". The home of Indians in the days of yore, it was usurped in battle by daredevil Europeans like William Hunt and Mathew Webb to name a few, who searched for new lands to call their own. The region has a rich and diverse history.

Collectively called the Niagara Falls it is made up of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. The American Falls has a clear drop of 70 feet and the volume of water is 150,000 US gallons per second.

The Bridal Veil Falls is narrower resembling the virgin veil of a bride and is named for its appearance. Separated by a small island called Tuna from the American Falls, Horseshoe Falls in Canadian territory has a brink of 2600 feet, a drop of 167 feet and its volume of water is 600,000 US gallons per second. A survey of the Niagara reveals that one third of these falls lies in US territory.

The flow of water in the Niagara falls is greatest in the daytime during the peak tourist season from June to August. The actual amount of water that can be siphoned away depends on two variables: the time of year and time of day. In an emergency there are two hydro electric plants which can reduce the flow by drawing water into their reservoirs and increasing their intake.

The Niagara river, like the entire Great Lake Basin of which the river is an integral part, is a legacy of the last Ice Age 18,000 years ago. Thick sheets of ice scattered and gouged out the basin of the Great Lake and released large quantities of melted water into these basins called "fossil water".

Throughout a period years the melted water flowed down through water became Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario down to the St. Lawrence River and finally to the sea. There were five spills from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, eventually reduced to one original Niagara Falls at Lewiston.

From here it began its steady erosion through bedrock. After 5500 years melt water routed thru S. Ontario territory and the river and falls reached their full power. The youthful Niagara river tore out the glacial debris of a river bed, scoured it clean and became a churning rapids.

When it was over it left a 90 degree turn in the river known in North America as the Whirlpool Rapids. The falls then re-established itself at about the area of Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and resumed caving its way through solid rock to its present location.

To understand the rich and diverse history of the Niagara region one has to visit it. There is the start of a unique journey through the Cave of the Winds beneath the American Falls.

Navigating through catwalks to the Hurricane Deck surrounded by the thundering power of water cascading down from hundreds of feet above clad in rain suits to ward off the sprinkling spray we are regaled with tales of Indian tribes who lived off the land struggling to preserve their supremacy and way of life and of battles fought between nations in a struggle for supremacy of land and waters.

The boat journey in the aptly named Maid of the Mist into the frothing waters beneath American and Horseshoe Falls brings back memories of pioneering Europeans, who sought a new world to call their own, and of intriguing inventors who brought in great discoveries that defeated the Indians and shaped the way for a new era.

The 230 ft. Observation Tower looks towards the falls and down stream to Rainbow Bridge. There are also the high speed elevators that provide access to the gorge and a boarding area for Maid of the Mist. It is also a perfect photo platform.

One could relax at the top of the falls in a restaurant savouring the magnificent sight and sounds of the thunderous falls. Strolling along the nature trails one learns that Niagara is a youthful river 12,000 years old, only a micro second in geological time. The Niagara Encarpment created by erosion is much older. The river plunges over a cliff of dolostone and shale.

The Niagara Falls is the second largest in the world outdone only by Victoria Falls in South Africa. One fifth of the fresh water in the world lies in the upper great lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie.

The outflow empties into the Miagara river and cascades over the falls. At the bottom of the falls the water travels 15 miles over many gorges until it reaches the fifth great lake Ontario. The land between the slopes does not slope at an even gradation but forms a spectacular drop, the height of a 20 storey building.

This is the Niagara Encarpment. Five hundred years ago the river split into five channels because of an obstructing Goat Island, named after Shedman, a daredevil European whose goats froze to death in 1780. This was the original sediment left from an Indian Lake.

In the East the American Falls took shape. Horseshoe Falls on the western side is where the river angles 90 degrees. Waterflow on the American side is much less in strength because of Goats Island. Horseshoe Falls cascades magnificently as there are no obstacles preventing the flow. The Bridal Veil Falls is much narrower.

Man has not been able to completely control the flow of water over the falls. Modern engineers have fed much of the water into hydro electric power stations. The tremendous volume of water that never stops flowing and the mist create ice formations along the banks of the falls forming an ice bridge.

Visitors walked on the bridge till 1912 when some tourists lost their lives when the bridge broke up unexpectedly. There are also mini icebergs but these have been reduced by the installation of the boom.

It is a long floating chain, two miles of steel strung across the river from Buffalo to Ontario. It is set in place in December, removed in April and maintained by the New York Authority to help prevent ice clogging. In 1848 due to an ice jam the flow of water stopped for several hours. People walked on it and recovered artifacts from the river bed.

This is the only known time it has occurred.

Tourists have lost their lives trying to conquer Niagara. The first person (name unknown) to go over Niagara Falls was a 63-year-old teacher in a barrel. Gazing at the falls at night illuminated by a stunning panorama of colour, water and lights, listening to the roaring sound of water as it cascades down one can only think that it is just as well to be speechless as no one can hear you over the roar.