Alison's World & Adrianism: The Niagra Falls, USA and Canada

Thursday 27 January 2011

The Niagra Falls, USA and Canada

The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 27 km north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 120 km south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which--two-thirds according to the US Geological Survey--lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side.The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.

Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide and is the most powerful waterfall in North America

We took a ride on The Maid In The Mist, a boat tour of Niagara Falls. (The actual boats used are each named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls. We were give ponchos to wear, and it didn't matter that is was raining the day we visited anyway, as naturally, everyone ends up getting wet!

Somehow, after the Victoria Falls on the Zim/Zam border, with lush jungle surrounding it, The Niagara Falls with all the large buildings surrounding it, seemed so wrong.