Niagara Falls

The name- Niagara Falls (Onguiaahra) - derives from the language of local native tribes and means "the strait". .

Discovery of the Niagara Falls

The region was originally inhabited by the Native American tribe Seneca. In 1678, they showed the falls to a French priest, Louis Hennepin, whose words saying that the world cannot take another such beauty, had been quoted in Europe for many years after.

Journey Behind the Falls

The Niagara River leads water from Lake Erie , creates the Niagara Falls and flows into Lake Ontario . The larger of the two Niagara Falls is located on the Canadian side. It is called the Horseshoe Fall (the name is derived from the shape of the fall- it resembles a horseshoe) . This waterfall is 55 m high and 300 m wide. You can even get behind the fall and look at it from the "inside". The Journey Behind the Falls costs C$6, including a raincoat. The fall on the American side is 51 m high and 250 m wide. The Niagara River is divided into the two branches by the Goat Island. You can get there by a bridge, which creates the border between the USA and Canada, so you need a passport with a valid visa to get there. You can descend deep down into the so-called Cave of the Winds and get in close proximity of the falls. The nearest you can get to the falls is by the ship called Maid of the Mist.

Romantic locality

The Niagara Falls are neither the highest nor the widest but definitely the most visited waterfalls- about 12 million tourists visit it every year. Thousands of Americans choose this place for their honeymoon despite the well-meant warning that those waterfalls are to be the first (or the second) disappointment of their married life.

Legend of the Maid of the Mist

According to the legend, a ghost of a beautiful Native American girl, whose name was Maid of the Mist, appears at the Niagara Falls. The legend says that the girl was being forced to marry a man she did not love and therefore decided to commit suicide. She let her canoe be drifted on the Niagara River to the falls, where the current caught her and she drowned. However, her soul flew out of the water like an arrow. If the weather is good, you can see the ghost of the girl- she appears in the form of a rainbow.

Hydroelectric power plant

There is a power plant designed by Nikola Tesla on the Canadian side of the falls. Even though large amount of the water (1/4 of the flow) is directed by underground canals into this plant, the strength of water that falls from the Niagara Falls is still so mighty that it gradually carries away rocks on the bottom of the river and the waterfall thus moves up river.

Attempts to cross the waterfall

The falls have always attracted suicides as well as adrenaline-seekers who long to conquer the great mass of water, either in various types of vessels or with no equipment at all. Recently, Kirk Jones reputedly "just fell" into to water and after a few meters- under the falls- simply got out and went home. There is also an older story of a man who managed to overcome the fall but died shortly afterwards as a result of injuries caused by slipping on an orange peel.

The city Niagara Falls

The whole region of the Niagara Falls is one large tourist attraction. Visitors who spend more days in the city Niagara Falls visit the surrounding natural parks and historical monuments, such as the Fort Erie, the Fort George, the Fort Niagara and also the local museums. Bu sure not to look for the Niagara Falls Museum on the River Road, often stated in guidebooks as a museum that presents all the crazy attempts to overcome the fall. It was cancelled long time ago.

GPS: 43.0776654489, -79.0701484680  Edit

Altitude: 155 m  Edit

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	Oak Hall Museums, 0.9 km	Add to the plan
	Skylon Tower Lookout towers, 1.1 km	Add to the plan
	Believe it or not! (Niagara) Museums, 1.6 km	Add to the plan
	Niagara Square Shopping Centre 4.6 km	Add to the plan
	Laura Secord Museums, 9.7 km	Add to the plan
	Lake Gibson Lakes, 13.7 km	Add to the plan
	The Pen Centre 14.1 km	Add to the plan
	Fort George Museums, 19.3 km	Add to the plan

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