Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciations (the last ice age), and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls is very wide.
Niagra Falls Waterfall
The Niagara Falls is a voluminous waterfall on the Niagara River, straddling 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 (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. Currently, it is one of the more famous tourist attractions in the world and a popular honeymoon destination.
Renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power, the Niagara Falls is able to manage the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses. This has posed a challenge for the overseers of the falls since the 1800s.
Accordingly, the Iroquois and Seneca consider the Niagara Falls as the home of a water spirit and thunder god. The sound of the roaring falls was a comfort and music to the local peoples. The falls name comes from the Iroquois, Nee-ah-gah-rah which basically meant ‘Thundering Waters.’
The falls are really three separate water falls on the Niagara River. It is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island. The Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.
Several legends and myths surrounds these falls. One of which has variations in Native American culture and is the legend of the creation of the Horseshoe Falls. According to the stories, a young maiden fell over the Niagara Falls in her canoe and was caught in the arms of Heno, a god of thunder who lived in the falls. He brought the maiden into the home he had beneath the thundering water where he and his sons cared for her until she’d recovered. By then, one of the younger sons had fallen in love with the maiden. He and the maiden married and she made her home with the gods in the falls. However she grew lonely for her people and wished to visit them. Her chance came when Heno learned of an evil snake that swam down the river thus poisoning the waters. It planned to kill the maiden’s people with the poisoned water and eat their dead.
Upon learning of this, the maiden begged Heno to take her out of the falls so that she could warn her people. He agreed and thus she was able to save them by encouraging them to move from the poisoned water to Buffalo Creek.
The snake finding that the people were gone went to follow them by swimming up the river. Angered, Heno sent a thunderbolt to kill it. The snake died and its body became caught on the cliff in a horseshoe shape creating the falls