Brother Island (Niagara River)

Niagara Falls State Park is located in the City of Niagara Falls in Niagara County, New York, United States. The park, recognized as the oldest state park in the United States, contains the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and a portion of the Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls).

Goat Island (previously called Iris Island) is a small island in the Niagara River, in the middle of Niagara Falls between the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The island is at the southwest corner of the City of Niagara Falls (and of Niagara County), New York, in the United States and is part of Niagara Falls State Park. Goat Island has no residents, but is a destination for tourists visiting the falls on the U.S. side. It has several viewing points, including from Terrapin Point. Goat Island is connected to the U.S. mainland by two bridges that carry foot, car, and trackless train traffic, and to the smaller Luna Island (adjacent to the American Falls) by a pedestrian bridge. Goat Island is largely wooded and is interlaced with foot trails. The Cave of the Winds tour elevator provides access down to the foot of the falls.

The Three Sisters Islands are islands which lie off the south shoreline of Goat Island. The islands are part of Niagara Falls, New York. Accessible from Goat Island, the Three Sisters Islands are located just beyond the Canada/U.S. border in Niagara Falls, New York. The islands are named after Celinda, Angelina, and Asenath Whitney (all three of whom are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, NY), daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney of Niagara Falls, New York. General Whitney (also buried in Oakwood Cemetery), was a prominent early settler of Niagara Falls, New York. The General moved to Niagara Falls, N.Y. in 1810 and is best known as the founder and operator of the Cataract House Hotel located near the upper rapids just above the falls. General Whitney's daughters are believed to be the first settlers to have trekked to the three small islands. Before European settlers arrived in North America, Iroquois shamans made sacrifices of food and gifts on the islands and communed with He-No (Mighty Thunderer), the spirit who dwells in the mist-enshrouded cave at the base of the falls. Modern day psychics believe any one can hear the voices of the spirits if they listen carefully while visiting the Three Sisters Islands. Each island supports a variety of microhabitats and has its own floristic character. The Three Sisters Islands are connected by bridges, allowing pedestrians to walk to all three for grand views of the raging rapids in the Niagara River right before its descent over the Horseshoe Falls.

Luna Island is a very small uninhabited island in the Niagara River in the U.S. state of New York.

Bridal Veil Falls is the smallest of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. It is located on the United States side in New York state. Luna Island separates it from the American Falls and Goat Island separates it from the Horseshoe Falls. Bridal Veil Falls faces to the northwest and has a crest 56 ft (17 m) wide. Bridal Veil is similar in appearance to American Falls, starting with a vertical fall of 78 ft (24 m) followed by the water violently descending the talus boulders to the Maid of the Mist pool 103 ft (31 m) below. The total vertical drop is 181 ft (55 m). The crest elevation of the Falls is 508 ft (155 m). The Cave of the Winds attraction allows visitors to walk up to the base of Bridal Veil Falls. A pedestrian bridge crosses from Goat Island to Luna Island several yards (meters) upstream from the crest of the falls. The waterfall has also been known in the past as Luna Falls and Iris Falls.

The Cave of the Winds was a natural cave behind Bridal Veil Falls at the Niagara Falls. The cave was some 130 feet (40 m) high, 100 feet (30 m) wide and 30 feet (9 m) in depth. It was discovered in 1834, and originally dubbed Aeolus's Cave, after the Greek god of winds.Guided tours began officially in 1841, through Goat Island and descending down a staircase closer to the falls, into the cave. A rock fall closed the tour in 1920. It officially reopened in 1924, bringing visitors to the front of the Bridal Veil instead of behind it, on a series of decks and walkways. Tropical storm-like conditions can be experienced, as winds can reach up to 68 mph (109 km/h) underneath the falls. The cave was obliterated in a massive 1954 rockfall and subsequent dynamiting of a dangerous overhang.

Terrapin Point (formerly Terrapin Rocks) is an observation area located in Niagara Falls, New York at the western tip of Goat Island, next to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is one of two major observation areas to overlook the falls and lower Niagara Gorge on the New York side, the other being Prospect Point further downriver. Before the second half of the 20th century Terrapin Point was a group of rocks on the brink of the falls, disconnected from Goat Island. They were known as the Terrapin Rocks because they resembled giant tortoises.In 1827, the then owners of the land on the American side, brothers Peter and Augustes Porter, built a 300-foot wooden bridge from Goat Island to just off the edge of the falls. In 1833, they added a lighthouse-like building, Terrapin Tower, to this viewpoint. Its height is estimated at 30 to 45 feet, its diameter at 12 feet. A spiral staircase inside allowed visitors to reach a viewing platform. Although the tower quickly attracted many visitors, there were also critical voices that found it disturbing in view of the beauty of the waterfalls. In 1873 the Porter brothers lost interest in the Terrapin Tower and blew it up. The bridge lasted longer. It can still be seen in photos from 1934. By 1954, however, it had also disappeared.While work was being carried out on the dredging of the upper Niagara River in 1954–1955 to spread the flow of water more evenly along the crest of the Horseshoe Falls, dirt and fill from the dredging was taken over to Terrapin Point, increasing its area and affording visitors views of the cataract not seen before. the Terrapin Point fill area was turned over to the New York State Division of Parks on 3 November 1955. However, this area was closed to tourists after 1969, due to cracks being found in the rock foundation. In 1983 the United States Army Corps of Engineers blasted away 25,000 tons of unstable rock, added more landfill, and built diversion dams and retaining walls to force the water away from Terrapin Point. Altogether 400 feet (120 m) of the Horseshoe Falls was eliminated, including 100 feet (30 m) on the Canadian side. According to author Ginger Strand, the Horseshoe Falls is now entirely in Canada. Other sources say "most of" Horseshoe Falls is in Canada. The remaining surface was scaled, and reopened to tourists in September 1983. It was off Terrapin Point that daredevil Nik Wallenda began his high-wire walk over the Falls in June 2012. Wallenda was the first to walk a high-wire directly over the brink of the Falls.

The Niagara Scow (also called the Old Scow or Iron Scow) is the unofficial name of the wreck of a small scow that brought two men perilously close to plunging over the Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the Niagara Falls, in 1918. The wreck can still be seen, upstream of the falls.

Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, which straddles the international border of the two countries. It is also known as the Canadian Falls. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York. Formed by the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America that has a vertical drop of more than 50 m (160 ft). During peak daytime tourist hours, more than 168,000 m3 (5.9 million cu ft) of water goes over the crest of the falls every minute. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by flow rate. Niagara Falls is famed for its beauty and is a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Balancing recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century. Niagara Falls is 27 km (17 mi) northwest of Buffalo, New York, and 69 km (43 mi) southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls was 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 over and through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean.

The American Falls is the second largest of the three waterfalls that together are known as Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Unlike the much larger Horseshoe Falls, of which approximately 90% is in Ontario, Canada, and 10% in the U.S. state of New York, the American Falls is entirely within the United States.

Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows over Horseshoe Falls. The remaining 10% flows over American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. It is located between Terrapin Point on Goat Island in the US state of New York, and Table Rock in the Canadian province of Ontario. These falls are also referred to as the Canadian Falls.

The Cataract House was a hotel in the neighborhood of Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York. The hotel was established in 1825 but destroyed by fire in 1945. It was a major stop on the Underground Railroad and it was the largest hotel in Niagara Falls. The hotel's name refers to the large and powerful waterfall next to property.