Horseshoe Falls

The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are differing theories as to the origin of the river's name. According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, Niagara is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps of the area. According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called Ongniaahra, meaning "point of land cut in two".The river, which is occasionally described as a strait, is about 58 kilometres (36 mi) long and includes Niagara Falls in its course. The falls have moved approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) upstream from the Niagara Escarpment in the last 12,000 years, resulting in a gorge below the falls. Today, the diversion of the river for electrical generation has significantly reduced the rate of erosion. The total drop in elevation along the river is 99 metres (325 ft). The Niagara Gorge extends downstream from the Falls and includes the Niagara Whirlpool and another section of rapids. Power plants on the river include the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations (built in 1922 and 1954) on the Canadian side, and the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant (built in 1961) on the American side. Together, they generate 4.4 gigawatts of electricity. The International Control Works, built in 1954, regulates the river flow. Ships on the Great Lakes use the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, on the Canadian side of the river, to bypass Niagara Falls. The Niagara River also features two large islands and numerous smaller islands. Grand Island and Navy Island, the two largest islands, are on the American and Canadian sides of the river, respectively. Goat Island and the tiny Luna Island split Niagara Falls into its three sections, the Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and American Falls. Unity Island lies further upstream, alongside the city of Buffalo. The Niagara River and its tributaries, Tonawanda Creek and the Welland River, formed part of the last section of the Erie Canal and Welland Canal. After leaving Lockport, New York, the Erie Canal proceeds southwest until it enters Tonawanda Creek. After entering the Niagara River, watercraft then proceed southward to the final lock, where a short section of the canal allows boats to avoid the turbulent shoal water at the river intake and enter Lake Erie. The Welland Canals used the Welland River as a connection to the Niagara River south of the falls, allowing water traffic to safely re-enter the Niagara River and proceed to Lake Erie.

Cedar Island was a small, uninhabited and elongated island located in the Niagara River near the Canadian shore, opposite the Table Rock observation area at the brink of the Horseshoe 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.

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.

Table Rock was a large shelf of rock that jutted out from the Canadian shore of Niagara Falls, Ontario, just north of the present day observation and commercial complex. Revealed in the mid-18th century as the Horseshoe Falls receded, Table Rock was the first major vantage point for tourists of the early and mid-19th century. In 1818, the first part of the rock collapsed, followed by minor rockfalls in 1828 and 1829. The most notable rockfall occurred in July 1850, when roughly one-third of the point collapsed into the Niagara Gorge. A driver was washing his carriage on the point when the rock structure gave way. The man escaped, but the carriage was destroyed.Further rockfalls occurred in 1853, 1876 and 1897. For safety purposes (with the Ontario Powerhouse directly in the gorge below), the remaining rock was blasted in 1935. Table Rock is a popular stop for tourists. During the winter months, the site's proximity to the mists from Niagara Falls causes the shelf and surrounding areas to be covered by a thin sheath of ice, which has been captured by many photographers. The Table Rock Welcome Centre is located on Niagara Parkway and is linked to the higher Fallsview Tourist Area by the Falls Incline Railway.

Journey Behind the Falls (known until the early 1990s as the Scenic Tunnels) is an attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada located in the Table Rock Centre beside the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is open year round and run by the Niagara Parks Commission.

The Table Rock Welcome Centre (also known as Table Rock Centre and formerly as Table Rock House) is a retail and observation complex located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada at the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, several hundred feet south of the former rock formation which bears its name. The complex consists of two buildings connected by an indoor pedestrian mall and anchored by "The Grand Hall", a multi-level indoor observation complex, completed in 2008. The north building, originally constructed in 1926, houses a first-floor retail store and the Welcome Centre, Niagara's Fury, a whitewater simulation, plus the ticket offices for the tunnels Journey Behind the Falls attraction. The upper level contains multiple specialty stores, and an additional outdoor observation plaza. The south building, constructed in 1974, has a first-floor fast food snack bar, additional retail space, and a second-floor, semi-formal restaurant overlooking the Horseshoe Falls and the upper Niagara River. Owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission, Table Rock Centre provides the best direct path from the Horseshoe Falls observation area to the Falls Incline Railway (courtesy of a new bridge constructed in 2008 spanning the Niagara Parkway), which transports passengers to the Fallsview Tourist Area above the Niagara Escarpment.

Queen Victoria Park is the main parkland located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada opposite the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Established by the Niagara Falls Park Act in 1885 and opened in 1888, the park is operated by the Niagara Parks Commission and is considered the centerpiece of the Niagara Falls recreational tourist area. The park is known for its outstanding flower displays of daffodils and roses in-season, with many of the plantings done in a carpet-bedding design. Queen Victoria Park is also the focal point for the annual winter Festival of Lights.

The Rankine Generating Station is a former hydro-electric generating station along the Canadian side of the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, slightly downstream from the older Toronto Power Generating Station. It was built in for the Canadian Niagara Power Company and named for company's founder William Birch Rankine (b. 1858), a New York City (and later of Niagara Falls) lawyer originally from Geneva, New York who died three days after (in Grafton, New Hampshire) the station opened in 1905 and renamed in 1927. Acquired by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in 1950 and in 2002, the station became a wholly owned subsidiary of FortisOntario (and part of Canadian owned Fortis Inc.). It was decommissioned in 2006. It reopened in July 2021 as a tourist site.

The Ontario Power Company Generating Station is a former generating station located along the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, just below the Horseshoe Falls.

The Falls Incline Railway, originally known as the Horseshoe Falls Incline is a type of funicular railway (an inclined elevator) in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It is located beside Niagara Falls at the Horseshoe Falls. The line was built in 1966 for the Niagara Parks Commission by the Swiss company Von Roll. It adopted its current name in the 1980s. Originally built with open-air cars, it was rebuilt in 2013 with enclosed cars to permit year-round operation.Unlike the other incline railways at Niagara Falls, the Falls Incline was not built to descend into the Niagara Gorge below the falls. Instead it links the Table Rock Centre and Journey Behind the Falls, on the Niagara Parkway just above the falls to the higher level Fallsview Tourist Area, including the Minolta Tower, the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and several hotels. The Niagara Parks Commission claims that the funicular is the world's slowest. The funicular has the following technical parameters: Length: 59.8 metres (196 ft) Slope: 30 degrees Cars: 2 Capacity: 40 passengers per car Configuration: Double track Maximum speed: 1 metre per second (197 ft/min) Journey time: 62 seconds Track gauge: 1,850 mm (6 ft 27⁄32 in) Traction: Electricity

The Toronto Power Generating Station is a former generating station located along the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, slightly upstream from the newer Rankine power station. Completed in 1906 in the Beaux-Arts-style, the station was designed by architect E. J. Lennox and was built by the Electrical Development Company of Ontario (owned by William Mackenzie, Frederic Thomas Nicholls, and Henry Mill Pellatt) under supervision of Hugh L. Cooper to supply hydro-electric power to nearby Toronto, Ontario.The plant is built on top of a deep wheel pit, with turbines at the bottom of the pit, turning generators at the top by means of long vertical shafts. The water from the turbines runs out through a brick-lined tailrace which eventually comes out at the base of the falls. In its prime, it had a generating capacity of 137,500 horsepower (102,500 kW).The plant ceased operations on February 15, 1974 as Ontario Hydro looked to make better use of the available water downriver at the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations in Queenston. In addition, the plant produced "25 Cycle" electricity, now largely unused. The vacant plant was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983, due to its importance in the development of business, industry and technology in Ontario, its status as the first wholly Canadian-owned hydro-electric facility at Niagara Falls, and the unusual application of Beaux-Arts design to an industrial plant.Ownership of the Toronto Power Generating Station was transferred to the Niagara Parks Commission in 2007. Structural assessments were subsequently undertaken in order to consider future adaptive reuse options for the facility. In its current empty state, the plant has been the subject of urban exploration activities.