Although
erosion and recession have been slowed
in this century by engineering, the falls
will eventually recede far enough to drain
most of Lake Erie, the bottom of which
is higher than the bottom of the falls.
Engineers are working to reduce the rate
of erosion to retard this event as long
as possible. The Falls drop about 170
feet (52 m), although the American Falls
have a clear drop of only 70 feet (21
m) before reaching a jumble of fallen
rocks which were deposited by a massive
rock slide in 1954. The larger Canadian
Falls are about 2,600 feet (792 m) wide,
while the American Falls are 1,060 feet
(323 m) wide. The volume of water approaching
the Falls during peak flow season is 202,000
ft³/s (5,720 m³/s).1,2 During
the summer months, when maximum diversion
of water for hydroelectric power occurs,
100,000 ft³/s (2,832 m³/s) of
water actually traverses the Falls, some
90% of which goes over the Horseshoe Falls.
This volume is further halved at night,
when most of the diversion to hydroelectric
facilities occurs.
The
name "Niagara" is said to originate
from an Iroquois word meaning "thunder
of waters". The region's original
inhabitants were the Ongiara, an Iroquois
tribe named the Neutrals by French settlers,
who found them helpful in mediating disputes
with other tribes. Native American legend
tells of Lelawala, a beautiful maid betrothed
by her father to a brave she despised.
Rather than marry, Lelawala chose to sacrifice
herself to her true love He-No, the Thunder
God, who dwelled in a cave behind the
Horseshoe Falls. She paddled her canoe
into the swift current of the Niagara
River and was swept over the brink. He-No
caught her as she plummeted, and together
their spirits are said to live forever
in the Thunder God's sanctuary behind
the Falls. The Niagara Movement, a civil
liberties organization, first met here
in 1905.
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