Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls (/naɪˈæɡrə/, Cayuga: Gahnawehtaˀ or Tgahnawęhtaˀ) is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.

From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction.

Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

The Niagara

The Hotel Niagara is a landmark hotel in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York.

History

The hotel was built by Niagara Falls businessman Frank A. Dudley and operated by the United Hotels Company. The 12 story, steel frame and concrete hotel was designed by prominent Buffalo architects Esenwein and Johnson and considered a skyscraper when it was built between 1923 and 1925. It is currently located 1/4 mile from the Horseshoe Falls, it is one block from the Seneca Niagara Casino. It has nearly 200 guest rooms as well as convention facilities. It has been known by various names including The Hotel Niagara; John's Niagara Hotel; Park's Inn; International; Days Inn-Falls View; and Travelodge Niagara Falls.

It was reportedly the home of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio while filming Niagara in 1952.

The property closed for renovations in 2007, which never took place. In 2010, the property was foreclosed by the State Bank of Texas, which expressed no interest in ownership, after the owners, Amidee Hotels & Resorts, abandoned the property and allowed it to fall into foreclosure after their parent company, Amidee Capital Group, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The building was condemned by the Niagara Falls Department of Code Enforcement after the heating system failed, which caused water pipes in the building to burst. The city shut off the water when that happened, leaving the building without running water or a functional fire sprinkler system, which constitutes several code violations.

Niagara

Niagara may refer to:

Geography

Niagara Falls and nearby places

Niagara River

The Niagara River (/naɪˈæɡrə/ ny-AG-ra) 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 name of the river. 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. According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called "Ongniaahra", meaning "point of land cut in two".

The river, which is occasionally described as a strait, 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.

Niagara Gorge

Niagara Gorge is an 11 km (6.8 mi) gorge carved by the Niagara River along the US-Canadian border in New York and Ontario. It begins at the base of Niagara Falls and ends at the Niagara escarpment near Queenston, Ontario, where the falls originated about 12,500 years ago.

The river has formed the gorge, and the Falls has receded upstream and south toward Lake Erie, by slow erosion of hard Lockport dolomite (a dolomitic limestone or dolostone) which is the surface rock of the escarpment combined with rapid erosion of relatively soft layers beneath it.

The force of the river current in the gorge is one of the most powerful in the world. Because of the dangers this presents, kayaking the gorge has generally been prohibited. However, on isolated occasions, world class experts have been permitted to navigate the stretch.

Tourists can bounce and splash through the rapids of the Niagara Gorge in rugged jetboats, which are based at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, at Lewiston, New York, and in midsummer at Niagara Glen Nature Center on the Niagara Parkway in Ontario.