Niagara Falls
The word “Niagara” came from an Indian word “Ongwaahrait” and it has the meaning “the strait”. There is an international boundary between the United States and Canada. The birth of Niagara Falls can be traced back more than 12,000 years to the end of the last glacial period. During periods of peak flow in the summer and fall, more than 700,000 gallons of water per second pour over Niagara Falls; and the water that flows over Niagara Falls is at 25-50% capacity and at any given time.
Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S. it was established in 1885 as the Niagara reservation. Niagara Falls State Park was one of the first several reservations that eventually became the cornerstones to the New York State Office
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Niagara Falls’ vertical height is over 176 feet tall in some places. There are 3,160 tons of water that flows over Niagara Falls every second. This accounts for 75,750 gallons of water per second over the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 681,750 gallons per second over the Horseshoe Falls. The water falls at about 32 feet per second over the Falls, hitting the base of the Falls with 280 tons of force at the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 2,509 tons of force at the Horseshoe Falls. Niagara Falls is capable of producing over 4 million kilowatts of electricity, that is shared with the United States and Canada. Around 50 to 75 percent of the water that flows along the Niagara River is diverted from going over the Falls to a hydroelectric generating station. The power generation facilities along the Niagara River supply more than one-quarter of all power used in New York State and Ontario. Energy from the Niagara River has been harnessed for hydro-electric power generation as far back as the mid-eighteenth …show more content…
During the Autumn and Winter months, looking down from the edge of the Niagara Gorge the air above the turbulent water is at times white with wheeling and diving gulls. Due to its importance for migrating birds, the Niagara River corridor was the first site named as a globally significant Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society in 1996.Niagara’s waters provide the gulls with a smorgasbord of small fish, which become stunned by the churning waters. While Winter hosts the most spectacular bird’s gatherings in the park, Spring and Fall are excellent times to see many varieties of migrating warblers, including yellow chestnut-sided, black-throated blue and black-throated green, Cape May and blackburnian among many others. Bonaparte’s herring and ring-billed gulls arrive in the Fall and stay through Winter. In Summer, a ring-billed gull breeding colony in the Cave of the Winds area is perhaps the largest in the area. During the Spring and Summer months visitors may see double-crested cormorants and wading birds like a black-crowned night heron, green herons, and great blue herons. Amongst the many different types of birds, you can see during the different seasons, there are several types of squirrel species that can be seen in the park as well. Since squirrel species are the predominant mammals seen in the park, including the familiar eastern chipmunk, gray squirrel (also in