Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is not one waterfall but three: Horseshoe Falls, the largest, straddles the border between Ontario, Canada, and New York State; the smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls both drop entirely on the US side. All three line up along the southern rim of the Niagara Gorge, carved by the Niagara River as it drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario — making this the highest-flow waterfall in North America and the seventh by volume in the world. During peak tourist season, more than 168,000 cubic metres (6 million cubic feet) of water per minute rolls over the crest. Step into the mist and it's worth learning to tell the three falls apart, the two islands — Goat Island and Luna Island — that divide them, and how the flow itself has been tamed to serve both electricity and spectacle.
United States · 4 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Bridal Veil Falls
The smallest of the three falls, wedged between two islands: Luna Island separates it from American Falls on one side, and Goat Island separates it from Horseshoe Falls on the other. The crestline is only about 56 feet (17 m) wide, facing northwest — cross the pedestrian bridge from Goat Island to Luna Island and you're standing just a few steps upstream of the edge. The water drops vertically about 78 feet (24 m), then races down the talus heap piled at the cliff's base. That close-up angle — where you can watch the plunge from almost underneath — is what sets it apart from its more thunderous neighbors.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
American Falls
The second-largest of the three Niagara falls, and the only one that lies entirely within the United States — unlike Horseshoe Falls, which is nine-tenths Canadian, this one belongs wholly to New York State. From the American side you can look almost straight down over the edge, even walk to within a few feet of the crest. But the sheet of water crossing the lip is surprisingly thin — only about two feet (60 cm) deep — and what really defines the falls is the massive talus heap at its base, which breaks the cascade into an uneven W shape.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Horseshoe Falls
The largest of the three falls and the one that spans the international border — which is why it's also called the Canadian Falls. After upstream diversions for hydroelectric generation, roughly 90 percent of the Niagara River's remaining flow tips over this crest, leaving the other 10 percent for American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. The falls stretch between Terrapin Point on Goat Island, New York, at one end and Table Rock in Ontario at the other: one waterfall, two countries.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Niagara Escarpment
The wall of water you're watching is a river cresting a north-facing rock ledge. When the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age, the newly formed Great Lakes drained through the Niagara River, which cut across and over this escarpment on its way to the Atlantic. The falls exist because of an accident of geology: a cap of hard, erosion-resistant rock sits on top of softer layers that the river undercuts far more easily. The dramatic drop at the lip is not a hole the water carved — it is the scar left by thousands of years of that ancient cliff face being eaten away, one slab at a time.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Niagara Falls?
Bridal Veil Falls, American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and more — 4 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Niagara Falls guide free?
All 4 guides are free.