NIAGARA FALLS Although it’s not the tallest in the world, its beauty is from its height and the incredible volume of water that runs down.
Niagara Falls is made up of three waterfalls: the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.
You are almost always guaranteed to see a rainbow if you’re on the Canadian side of the Falls.
About 28,000,000 (28 million!) liters of water travel down Niagara Falls every second. It would take the average household approximately 7.5 years to use the amount of water that flows over the falls in a second.
About 20% of the drinking water in the U.S. is water that has flowed over the falls.
Back in 1848, the flow of water was diminished to a small trickle for a few hours (it did not freeze completely). This occurred due to an ice jam upstream in Niagara Falls.
The falls welcome roughly 30 million people annually.
The Maid of the Mist first began operating in 1846, making it the oldest tourist attraction in North America.
Most of the decks that make up the Cave of the Winds are torn down and rebuilt every year. Otherwise they’d be crushed and destroyed by ice. Niagara Falls has been used for hydroelectric power. It is actually the largest producer of electricity in the state of NY.
It is illegal to try to descend the falls. One who does attempt to do it is fined $10,000. More often than not, it’s not the money, but their life that is lost. Probably, the most famous stunt is to descend the falls in a barrel. The first to do it was a 63-year old school teacher in 1901.
Others seek publicity through other means. In 2010 Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He did this with the approval of the U.S. and Canada. (The first person ever to accomplish this was Charles Blondin in 1859.) Nik’s wife, apparently jealous of all the attention her husband received, set the Guinness World Record for the highest suspension last month. She hung by her teeth from hoop 300 feet above the water. The hoop was attached to a helicopter which flew across the falls.
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