“It’s Niagara Falls. It’s one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. Who wouldn’t want to walk across it?“- Nik Wallenda, 2012
The mighty Niagara Falls is one of Planet Earth’s most spectacular sights, a vast sheet of water that forms a natural border between the United States and Canada. Composed of three separate falls – the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls, it’s far from the tallest in the world, but in our opinion it’s definitely the most interesting! Here are 10 amazing facts about the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls, something that everyone should one day witness for themselves.
● It’s not its height that makes Niagara so famous (around 500 falls are taller) – it’s the sheer volume of water going over it. The five Great Lakes make up nearly 20% of the freshwater on Earth, and four of them drain into the Niagara River. That means if you drink a glass of tap water in the USA, there’s a reasonably good chance it’s flowed over the Falls at some point.
● On Goat Island, which sits between the Bridal Veil and Horseshoe Falls, there is a monument to the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, who devised a system to generate energy from Niagara Falls that was used to power industries in nearby Buffalo. Tesla believed the Falls could one day power the entire Eastern United States, and in actual fact it’s still the biggest producer of electricity in New York State.
● In 1901, on her 63rd birthday, a former teacher named Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to survive going over the Falls in a barrel. With only her lucky pillow and a daring streak of adventure on her side, she emerged in good shape, all things considered, with just a small cut to the head. Although she did make a point of saying she’s rather be blown to bits by a cannon than go over it again!
● Since Taylor’s experience, more than 20 other people have gone over the Falls in some fashion, either on purpose, or by accident. In 1984, after years of planning, Karel Soucek survived a 75mph drop over the Horseshoe Falls that lasted just over three seconds, followed by 45 minutes of bouncing around on the rocks at the base before he was finally rescued. That takes some guts – watch him go here!
● The athlete Nik Wallenda crossed the Falls from the United States side to Canada by tightrope in 2012, taking just 25 minutes. His incredible feat was watched by around 120,000 people in Canada alone, but he still had to carry his passport with him to present on arrival, which begs the question, if he had forgotten it, would they have made him go back the same way he arrived?
● Now, if you think Wallenda’s crossing was impressive, consider Charles Blondin, who crossed the Niagara Gorge several times by tightrope, each time doing something different: once blindfolded; once pausing to cook and eat an omelette halfway through, and once even carrying his manager on his back – we bet he took a decent percentage of the takings for that stunt!
● By the way, if you’re interested in emulating any of these daredevils, know that permission for stunts is only granted every 20 years or so, in order to preserve the integrity of the feat, and there’s a fine of at least $10,000 if you try something illegally, plus the cost of rescue. At Tinggly, we embrace the spirit of adventure, but so far no-one in the office team has yet volunteered to go over Niagara. Maybe one day…
● During summer and fall, when the Niagara River is in peak flow, over 700,000 gallons of water tumble down every single second – to put that into perspective, 700,000 gallons of fuel would be enough to power 11 long-distance Boeing 747s. In 1848 however, an ice jam upriver once caused Niagara’s flow to be reduced to a mere trickle.
● For almost 100 years, a small boat has been wedged close to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls – you can see parts of it today. Two unlucky sailors who were stranded on the scow after it broke loose from its tugboat were finally rescued after 17 nervous hours.
● The Falls were created by glacial activity around 10,000 years ago, and scientists estimate that they will have completely eroded within the next 50,000 years, so see them while you still can! Around 13 million people do visit the awesome beauty of Niagara Falls every year, often on honeymoon, and celebrities who have taken the famous Maid of the Mist boat tour include Marilyn Monroe, Stephen Hawking and Sylvester Stallone.
Do you know someone visiting the area soon? Why not gift them a full-day Niagara Falls experience, including a boat-trip, which they can combine with a spot of wine-tasting or even an amazing helicopter ride over the Falls!
Experience travels in another way. Experience gifts by Tinggly:
