THE CANADIAN HORSESHOE FALLS located in Niagara Falls, Ontario CANADA
approximately 20 miles downstream on the Niagara River from Fort Erie.
The falls are 833 metres or 2,500 feet wide. They have a drop of 60 metres
or about 180 feet. Some tourists have been overheard asking,
"Do they turn the falls off at night?" As odd is it may seem the answer is YES!!
Notice the bridge like structure in the upper left corner of the picture?
It is a control dam that actually controls the flow of water going over the falls.
At one time in excess of 2 trillions litres or 5,000,000,000 gallons of water
PER HOUR flowed over the edge of the falls. Put another way, 35,000,000 gallons
of water PER MINUTE roared over the edge of the natural wonder. Half of this volume
is now, diverted for hydro-electric power, by both, the governments of
Canada and the United States. At night the water is diverted through huge
tunnels under the city that fill
huge reservoirs that are used to make hydro-electric power by the hydro plants located nearby.
The Niagara Region is the largest producer of hydro-electric power, currently in the world.
If you were to stand at the brink of the falls in early morning you can notice a marked
difference in the water level.