10 Interesting Niagara Falls Facts

The Niagara Falls are the most powerful waterfalls in North America. These voluminous waterfalls are situated on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario and forms the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. Here are 10 interesting facts about niagara:

1. Niagara Falls is the most popular day trip for visitors to Toronto.

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2. Niagara Falls began at the end of the ice age, 12,000 years ago, and has eroded back 1 m (3 ft) per year over a distance of 11 kilometers (7 miles) to its current location.

Niagara falls

3. The first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel was a 63-year-old school teacher from Michigan. Annie Taylor tackled the Falls in 1901 and survived.

AnnieTaylor

4. Jesse Sharpe, a 28 year old from Tennessee, went over Niagara Falls in a kayak on June 5, 1990. Robert Overacker, a 39 year old from California, used a jet ski to go over Niagara Falls on October 1, 1995. Neither of them survived.

Jet ski niagra

5. On October 20, 2003, Kirk Jones, a 40-year-old Michigan man, intentionally went over Niagara Falls without any protection and survived. He swam out at the bottom.

Kirk Jones

6. Over five million horsepower or four million kW hours of electricity are generated by the Niagara River.

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7. During the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, over 80% of the land battles took place along the Niagara River.

niagara river

8. On December 24, 1814, the Americans and British signed the Treaty of Ghent, called the Peace of Christmas Eve. With the conclusion of the war, peace was returned to the world’s longest undefended border.

FortNiagara

9. Niagara-on-the-Lake was home for Ontario’s Parliament. Among other noteworthy legislative achievements, the world’s first anti-slavery law was passed here in 1793.

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10. The other facts about niagara fallsthat the world’s first railroad suspension bridge was erected over the Niagara River in 1848.

niagara bridge