Niagara Falls consists of two regions: The Horseshoe falls and the American Falls. The Horseshoe Falls are located on the Canadian side whereas the American Falls face the United States. These two are separated by the Goat Island. The Horseshoe Falls are 177 feet high. Actually the real falls are only 70 feet high, but the presence of rocks underneath heightens the effect.
The width of the Horseshoe Falls is about 2600 feet. Its counterpart, the American Falls is only 1060 feet wide. A small section of these Falls known as the Bridal Veil Falls is situated on the American side and the Luna Island fall divides these from the main Falls. The name Bridal Veil has been given due to its appearance. Actual amount of water varies due to the presence of two hydroelectric plants that pull the waters of the Niagara River into their reservoirs. Their siphoning, greatly affects the flow of water over the cliff.
The Niagara River is a bequest of the Ice age. The formation of the Falls started some 18,000 years ago, when the ice sheets of the Niagara River started flowing southwards towards the basins of the Great Lake. Through the span of next 10,000 years, the Niagara Falls took their present shape. The Falls are around 177 feet high and are spread over a large area. The intensity of water falling from here amounts to about six million cubic feet per minute over the crest line when the flow of the river is at its maximum; but on an average 4 million cubic feet per minute of water falls. This intensity makes it the most powerful waterfall in the entire North America.
The Niagara Falls are not only breathtaking, they serve a variety of purposes to the progress of America. Do you know that these Falls serve as a major source of electricity for Ontario? Yes, the Niagara Falls has been an important hydroelectric power source. Moreover they have a major role in the tourism of America and its industrial and commercial purposes cannot be underestimated.
You can easily travel to the falls from the state of New York and if you are spending the nights at one of the Buffalo hotels, you can get your transportation to the falls arranged by hotel.
Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing agency that offers integrated Internet marketing solutions and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. (http://www.emarketingeye.com/ )
