Niagara_River

Niagara River

Niagara River

River in New York, United States and Ontario, Canada

Not to be confused with Nagara River.

The Niagara River (/naɪˈæɡərə/) is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are differing theories as to the origin of the river's name. According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, Niagara is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps of the area.[6] According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called Ongniaahra, meaning "point of land cut in two".[7]

Quick Facts Location, Countries ...
Satellite image of Niagara River flowing north from Lake Erie (bottom) to Lake Ontario (top). The river flows around Grand Island, and then flows over Niagara Falls. It narrows in the Niagara Gorge, where two hydropower reservoirs are visible, and then widens after exiting the gorge. The Welland Canal is visible on the far left.
American Falls with Goat Island to its right

The river, which is occasionally described as a strait,[8] is about 58 kilometres (36 mi) long and includes Niagara Falls in its course. The falls have moved approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) upstream from the Niagara Escarpment in the last 12,000 years, resulting in a gorge below the falls. Today, the diversion of the river for electrical generation has significantly reduced the rate of erosion. The total drop in elevation along the river is 99 metres (325 ft). The Niagara Gorge extends downstream from the Falls and includes the Niagara Whirlpool and another section of rapids.

Power plants on the river include the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations (built in 1922 and 1954) on the Canadian side, and the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant (built in 1961) on the American side. Together, they generate 4.4 gigawatts of electricity. The International Control Works, built in 1954, regulates the river flow. Ships on the Great Lakes use the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, on the Canadian side of the river, to bypass Niagara Falls.

The Niagara River also features two large islands and numerous smaller islands. Grand Island and Navy Island, the two largest islands, are on the American and Canadian sides of the river, respectively. Goat Island and the tiny Luna Island split Niagara Falls into its three sections, the Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and American Falls. Unity Island lies further upstream, alongside the city of Buffalo.

The Niagara River and its tributaries, Tonawanda Creek and the Welland River, formed part of the last section of the Erie Canal and Welland Canal. After leaving Lockport, New York, the Erie Canal proceeds southwest until it enters Tonawanda Creek. After entering the Niagara River, watercraft then proceed southward to the final lock, where a short section of the canal allows boats to avoid the turbulent shoal water at the river intake and enter Lake Erie. The Welland Canals used the Welland River as a connection to the Niagara River south of the falls, allowing water traffic to safely re-enter the Niagara River and proceed to Lake Erie.

History

Watercolour by Elizabeth Simcoe depicting the Niagara River from Queenston Heights, c. 1793
Niagara River at Queenston, Ontario, then known as Queenstown, Upper Canada, c. 1805 watercolour

The Niagara River and Falls have been known outside of North America since the late 17th century, when Father Louis Hennepin, a French explorer, first witnessed them. He wrote about his travels in A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America (1698).[9]

The Niagara River was the site of the earliest recorded railway in America. It was an inclined wooden tramway built by John Montresor (1736–1799), a British military engineer, in 1764. Called "The Cradles" and "The Old Lewiston Incline", it featured loaded carts pulled up wooden rails by rope. It facilitated the movement of goods over the Niagara Escarpment in present-day Lewiston, New York.[10]

In 1781, the Niagara Purchase was signed, involving a 6.5-kilometre-wide (4.0 mi) strip of land bordering the west bank of the Niagara River, connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.[11]

Several battles occurred along the Niagara River, which was historically defended by Fort George (Canadian side) and Fort Niagara (American side) at the mouth of the river and Fort Erie (Canadian side) at the head of the river. These forts were important during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the United States) and the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Queenston Heights took place near the river in the War of 1812.

The river was an important route to liberation before the American Civil War, as many African-Americans escaping slavery on the Underground Railroad crossed it to find freedom in Canada. The Freedom Crossing Monument stands on the bank of the river in Lewiston to commemorate the courage of the escaping slaves and the local volunteers who helped them secretly cross the river.

In the 1880s, the Niagara River became the first waterway in the world harnessed for large-scale generation of hydroelectricity.[12][13]

On the Canadian side of the river the provincial agency Niagara Parks Commission maintains all of the shoreline property, including Fort Erie, except the sites of Fort George (a National Historic Site maintained federally by Parks Canada), as a public greenspace and environmental heritage.

On the American side, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation maintains several state parks adjacent to Niagara Falls and the Niagara River.

Today, the river is the namesake of Niagara Herald Extraordinary at the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

Cities and settlements

Whirlpool Aero Car crossing Niagara Whirlpool

Cities and towns along the Niagara River include:

More information Name, Country ...

Pollution

The Niagara River is listed as a Great Lakes Areas of Concern in The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.

Crossings

Main article: List of crossings of the Niagara River

The Niagara River has a long history of both road and rail bridges spanning the river, both upstream and downstream of the Falls. This history includes numerous bridges that have fallen victim to the harsh conditions of the Niagara Gorge, such as landslides and icepacks.

Parks

Niagara Glen features many rapids downstream of Niagara Falls

The following parks are located along the Niagara River:

More information Name, Country ...

A Niagara River Greenway Plan is in progress in the United States.

Hydrologic features

Map this section's coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

More information Feature, Location ...

Islands

Several islands are located on the upper river upriver from the falls:

More information Name, Location ...

Military posts

United States Coast Guard Fort Niagara Station was once a United States Army post. There are no Canadian Coast Guard posts along the river. Fort Mississauga, Fort George and Fort Erie are former British and Canadian military forts (last used 1953, 1965 and 1923 respectively) and are now parks.

Navy Island Royal Naval Shipyard was used by the French Navy in the 18th century as a naval base and by the Royal Navy from 1763 as a small shipyard, and abandoned around 1818 after the ratification of the Rush–Bagot Treaty in 1817.

Roads

On the Canadian side the Niagara Parkway travels along the River from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.

NY 18F lines the river on the state side from Fort Niagara to Lewiston. Niagara Scenic Parkway on the state side only travels along the River from the Falls to Lewiston. The remaining river sections (with some interruptions) are covered by the LaSalle Expressway, NY 384, NY 266 and I-190 (Niagara Thruway) / New York Thruway.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Inferred from Lake Erie. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  2. [2]
    Inferred from Lake Ontario. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  3. [3]
    "Facts & Figures - Niagara Parks, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada". Archived from the original (online) on December 9, 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
  4. [4]
    Water Resources Data New York Water Year 2003, Volume 3: Western New York, USGS
  5. [5]
    "Niagara River Corridor". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  6. [6]
    Bruce Trigger, The Children of Aataentsic (McGill-Queen's University Press, Kingston and Montreal,1987, ISBN 0-7735-0626-8), p. 95.
  7. [7]
    Stewart, George R. (1967) Names on the Land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company; p. 83.
  8. [8]
    Mobot.org
  9. [9]
    Hennepin, Louis. A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1903. Accessed December 8, 2008.
  10. [10]
    Porter, Peter (1914). Landmarks of the Niagara Frontier. The Author.
  11. [11]
    "Niagara Purchase | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  12. [12]
    Electricity and its Development at Niagara Falls Archived 2009-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. University at Buffalo, June 2004. Accessed December 8, 2008.
  13. [13]
    "Niagara Falls History". Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  14. [14]
    Google (September 4, 2018). "Niawanda Park" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  15. [15]
    "Black Rock Canal". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved Jan. 3, 2013.
  16. [16]
    "Chemicals of Concern in the Niagara River Tributaries - 1988-89". Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1993.
  17. [17]
    "Whirlpool State Park - Niagara Falls, New York". Nyfalls.com. 1935-09-13. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  18. [18]
    "Waterways and Canal Construction, 1700-1825. Buffalo, N.Y." Archived from the original on February 6, 2012.
  19. [19]
    https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/NY/NY_Niagara%20Falls_144235_1901_62500.jpg
  20. [20]
    https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/NY/NY_Niagara%20Falls_128711_1949_24000.jpg
  21. [21]
    https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/NY/NY_Niagara%20Falls_128712_1965_24000.jpg
  22. [22]
    Linnabery, Ann Marie (January 28, 2017). "NIAGARA DISCOVERIES: The lost islands of the Niagara River". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  23. [23]
    Island Dispatch, 16th June 1989
  24. [24]
    "Tonawanda Town 8, Riverside Land Company, Atlas: Buffalo 1915 Vol 3 Suburban, New York Historical Map".
  25. [25]
    "County Map Atlas No. 8". Archived from the original on October 2, 2006.
  26. [26]
    "Strawberry Island - Motor Island Shallows Coastal Fish & Wildlife Habitat Assessment Form" (PDF). NYS Department of State. October 15, 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  27. [27]
    "Grand Island: NYPA approves contract for Strawberry Island wetland restoration, habitat improvement". Niagara Frontier Publications. March 30, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  28. [28]
    http://niagara.nypa.gov/EcologicalStandingCommittee%5B%5D
  29. [29]
    Pignataro, T.J. (August 22, 2015). "Restoration of Frog Island hailed as Buffalo comeback story". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  30. [30]
    "Frog Island Habitat Restoration". October 2013.
  31. [31]
    Sotelo, Gabriella (September 2, 2021). "Nesting Common Terns Get a New Island Home in Buffalo". Audubon. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  32. [32]
    "Niagara River Islands History - Tower Island, Niagara Falls USA". 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  • Tiplin, Albert H.; Seibel, George A. and Seibel, Olive M. (1988) Our romantic Niagara: a geological history of the river and the falls Niagara Falls Heritage Foundation, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 0-9690457-2-7

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niagara River.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Niagara".
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Niagara_River, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.