Want To See The Niagara Falls Up Close? Just Take A Boat!

Twelve million visitors a year can’t be wrong! Yes, Niagara Falls is a must-see. On average, every minute, around 140,000 cubic metres of water go over these massive waterfalls. That’s about a million bathtubs every minute! The water comes from Lake Erie in the Great Lakes area of the US. There are three falls: Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side, is nearly 800 metres wide and the most powerful; the American Falls and the smaller but beautiful Bridal Veil Falls are on the US side. Together they have highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world. 

death!

The most famous incident happened in 1960, when a young boy survived a descent over the Falls after a boating accident. Seven-year old Roger Woodward was only wearing a lifejacket. He was probably saved by a “water cone” that formed to cushion his fall. Every year, about 12 people use the iconic Falls for a spectacular suicide. It is impossible for police to access the Falls. In 2009 a would-be suicide survived jumping over the Horseshoe Falls.

Queen of the Falls

Many people have tried to ride the Falls, in wooden barrels, inner tubes and on jetskis. The first person to go over the Falls in a barrel was Annie Taylor, a schoolteacher from Michigan. In 1901 she went over on her 63rd birthday, wearing a skirt. To test her custom-made barrel, she sent her cat over the Falls first. Cats have nine lives, of course! Contrary to legend, the cat didn’t travel with her on the big day, but her lucky heart-shaped pillow did. The grave of this iconic “daredevil” is in the Stunters Section of Niagara Falls Oakwood Cemetery.  

illegal

Sometimes the daredevils survive: sometimes they don’t. A jetski stunt in 2011 ended tragically when the parachute didn’t open. 

There are heavy fines for illegal stunts at the Falls, but there are also exceptions. In 2012 an American stuntman, Nik Wallenda, crossed the Falls on a 5cm-wide tightrope. The 33-year old Wallenda was the first person to walk across the Falls on a tightrope, setting a world record. He crossed the Falls over 60 metres above the water in about half an hour. It was night, there were high winds and rain. Against Wallenda’s wishes, the ABC TV network insisted on securing him by a rope. The walk cost a million dollars. 

US or Canada?

The US side of the Falls has a lot to offer. A fascinating “Daredevils” museum tells the story of the attempts to cross the Falls. Also, the Americans have created beautiful parkland from which to enjoy the Falls. The Canadians, for once the baddies in the story, have built casinos on their side. Still, it is only from the Canadian side that you can really appreciate the full power and beauty of the Falls. If you want to experience both, you can just walk across the border.

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Interview: Wet wet wet

Niagara Falls, which straddles the border between the United States and Canada, is one of the seven wonders of the world. There are in fact three waterfalls; the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. 

One man who knows them well is Captain John WiIliams. He is the captain of the Maid of the Mist, a Canadian pleasure boat that shows tourists the Falls in all its glory:

Captain John Williams (Canadian accent): Where we load is probably just about a kilometre downriver of the Falls, so that makes the trip, in a way, manageable, that we can carry a lot of people each day ‘cause each trip is less than half an hour, but, as we power out from the dock, it’s fairly common, and then we get into some rough waters in front of the American Falls, and a little bit of mist, but that’s only just a bit of a preview, because the Horseshoe Falls, about 90 per cent of the Niagara River comes over the Horseshoe Falls, which is in the Canadian side of the river. And so, once you kind of power into the Horseshoe, the Falls are all around you, and there’s a lot of turbulence and the spray is very heavy some days, and it’s really quite an experience. Even people that grow up around here and have never been on the boat, and when they do it, they don’t realise how big the Falls are until you’re looking up at it, instead of standing at the top, looking down. 

surprising

At 53 metres, the Horseshoe Falls isn’t in fact the tallest waterfall in Canada: that prize goes to the 85-metre Montmorency Falls in Quebec: 

Captain John Williams: That’s the thing with Niagara Falls that I think fascinates most people is not so much the height, but the width and the actual volume of water, and the fact that it’s just drainage from a lake. So, if you look around here, there’s no run-off from the mountains or glaciers or anything like that, and I think that kind of takes a lot of people by surprise because we really are in the industrial heartland of North America, the Great Lakes Basin, and you just don’t expect to see such a natural wonder here in the middle of a city. 

the happy day

Niagara Falls’ relative proximity to the cities of Buffalo in the United States and Toronto in Canada helps bring in the tourists. Every year a few individuals face large fines, imprisonment and even death by riding over the Falls in barrels. There are also couples who get married at Niagara Falls, although they tend to do so as passengers aboard the Maid of the Mist:

Captain John Williams: It’s usually a casual wedding, usually like a second marriage, or people renewing their vows, things like that. So it’s... it’s more of a casual thing, although at times it’s very formal, where they have all the bridesmaids in their dresses and their groomsmen in tuxedos and things like that. It’s a quick wedding, but, yeah, they get all dressed up, so it’s usually, by the end of it, they’re a little soaked, but they don’t seem to mind! 

For more information: www.niagarafallstourism.com