Niagara Falls Facts
Niagara Falls facts that you will find here, general facts, the most interesting and simply amazing facts are collected for one reason only… to show you why Niagara Falls is one of the World’s Natural Wonders.
- General facts
- Facts about Niagara Falls in numbers
- Interesting facts
- Facts about Niagara Gorge
- Other amazing and weather facts
- Related articles
Niagara Falls Facts – General Info
So where is Niagara Falls located? Use the provided link for the fact about the accurate geographical location and maps of the waterfalls.
- Niagara waterfalls are located between two cities: Niagara Falls Ontario, and Niagara Falls New York.
- The fact is that Niagara is divided into the American Falls and Niagara Falls Canada or usually called Horseshoe Falls.
- The fact about the popularity… Niagara Falls has over 10 million visitors every year. Summer or winter, people are constantly coming attracted by this natural wonder and its amazing attractions.
- Amazing fact is that one million gallons of water every two seconds, from four of the Great Lakes is funneled into the fifth one, at Niagara Falls city.
- Did you know about the fact that Niagara Falls is consisted of three adjacent waterfalls on the Niagara River; Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil Falls?
- Goat Island splits the course of the Niagara River, resulting in the separation of the Niagara Falls Canada to the west from the American and Bridal Veil Falls to the east.
American Niagara is also hiding some great facts about these amazing waterfalls… the smaller Bridal Veil Falls is separated from the main falls by Luna Island. Luna Island is accessible via a pedestrian bridge from Goat Island.
There is an interesting fact about Niagara Falls or romantic story, how Luna Island got a name.
Niagara Falls is a great location for rainbows (or solar bows) which are made when the sunlight reflects off the Niagara Falls mist.
Over one hundred years ago, Niagara Falls was also one of the best locations for rainbows and lunar bows. A Lunar bow is a rainbow created
by the light of the moon shining on the mist created by the Falls.
In 1860 lunar bows were last reported. The best time was when the moon was full and high and the sky clear of clouds. One of the best locations to view this phenomenon was Luna Island on the American side of the river.
The best Niagara Falls attractions are situated close to the waterfalls, on Canadian side, where the Table Rock center and the best Niagara Falls hotels are. This is the place where you want to be.
Niagara Falls Facts in numbers
- The larger Horseshoe Falls drop about 53 m and is 792 m wide.
- The American Falls drop about 21 m and is 323 m wide.
- 90% of the water of the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls.
- The rapids above the Falls reach a maximum speed of 40 km/h – a fact that will take your breath away.
- The fastest speeds occur at the Falls: 109 km/h – stunning.
- The water through the Whirlpool Rapids below the falls reaches 48 km/h, and at Devil’s Hole Rapids 36 km/h (See Jet Boat attraction).
- The Niagara River is a connecting channel between two Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario.
- The elevation between the Erie and Ontario lakes is about 99 m.
- The Niagara River is about 58 km long.
- Did you know about the fact that Niagara Falls has retreated 11 km toward Lake Erie, in the past 2,500 years? It may be the fastest moving waterfalls in the world.
- The average fall from Lake Erie to the beginning of the upper Niagara Rapids is only 2.7 m.
- Just below the Niagara Falls Canada is the deepest section in the river, it is 52 m.
- The Niagara Gorge is 11 km long.
- More than 168,000 m3 of water goes over the crestline of the falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.
Interesting Niagara Falls Facts
Niagara Falls is not the biggest waterfall in the world, but the fact is that it is the famous.
Niagara waterfalls face directly toward the Canadian shore. The most complete views of Niagara Falls are available from the Canadian shoreline, and it is the best spot for some amazing pictures.
Niagara region is very rich in water, since it is surrounded by two lakes. Did you know that there are over 70 Niagara waterfalls, other than Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls?
The original Niagara Falls was near the sites of present-day Queenston, Ontario, and Lewiston, New York, but erosion of the crest have caused the waterfalls to retreat several miles southward.
At Grand Island, the Niagara River divides into the west channel, known as the Canadian or Chippawa Channel, and the east channel, known as the American or Tonawanda Channel.
Water always flows down to the sea, and the land slopes downward through the Great Lakes Basin from west to east – but the Niagara River actually flows north.
The brown foam below Niagara Falls is a natural result of tons of water plummeting into the depths below. The brown color is clay, which contains suspended particles of decayed vegetative matter. It is mostly from the shallow eastern basin of Lake Erie.
The beautiful green color of the Niagara River comes from the dissolved salts and very finely ground rock. Estimated 60 tons of dissolved minerals are swept over Niagara Falls every minute.
Amazing Niagara Falls Facts – Niagara Gorge
Provided info are not about Niagara waterfalls… there are some amazing facts in the neighborhood like Niagara Gorge and its famous whirlpool.
- The huge volume of water rushing from the Niagara Falls is crushed into the narrow Great gorge, creating the Whirlpool Rapids that stretches for 1.6 km.
- The water surface here drops 15 m and the rushing waters can reach speeds as high as 9 mps.
- The Whirlpool is a basin 518 m long by 365 m wide with depths up to 38 m. River makes the elbow here, sharp right-angled turn.
In the Whirlpool, you can see the reversal phenomena. When the Niagara River is at the full flow, the waters travel over the rapids and enter the pool, then travel counterclockwise around the pool past the natural outlet. Pressure builds up when the water tries to cut across itself to reach the outlet and this pressure forces the water under the incoming stream.
The swirling waters create a vortex, or whirlpool. If the water flow is low (water is diverted for hydroelectric purposes) the reversal does not take place; the water merely moves clockwise through the pool and passes to the outlet. Below the Whirlpool is another set of rapids, which drops approximately 12 m.
The perfect spot to see Whirlpool, and take amazing pictures, is right above it, in the Niagara Whirlpool Aerocar or Spanish Aero Car.
More amazing facts about Niagara Falls
Did you hear about the Niagara Falls fact that the waterfalls dried up and frozen Niagara Falls?!
In March, 1848 Niagara Falls had stopped. It lasted for thirty hours. The river dried up, and the fact is that millions of tons of ice became lodged at the source of the river, causing the channel to be completely blocked.
From June to November, in 1969, the US Army Corps of Engineers completely blocked the flow of water over the American Falls. As they were doing some testing and surveys, the number of visitors significantly increased due to the rumors that Niagara Falls dried up.
Niagara Falls Facts – Weather:
The coldest months in Niagara Falls are November through March with the average temperature between -6 and 4°C.
April and October are also brisk. June, July and August are balmier, with average highs of 25°C and lows of 15°C.
We hope that reading and being familiar with the above amazing and the most interesting Niagara Falls facts combining with your visit and experience will make your Niagara story incredible.
