Dry Niagara Falls??!!
A few days ago, a friend sent me a picture he thought had been doctored or faked. It shows the U.S. side of Niagara Falls without any water.
I thought this was pretty amazing looking and obviously the photo is quite old. I did a little research and found that in 1969, someone decided that they should clean up the rocks at the base of the falls. A dam was built, the water was stopped, and the result you see above was the result.
Once the water was stopped, it was determined it was going to be too expensive to actually clean up all those pesky rocks.
posted by Jim McBee @ 8:26 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Actually the cost of the removing the rock from the base of thr American Falls wasn't the only factor in deciding to leave the rock where it is.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers discovered that the cliff face of the American Falls is riddled with cracks and fissures, and that the rocks that reach about half-way up the cliff face are actually "propping up" the fragile cliff. Removing them may have resulted in a series of rock slides that would eventually reduce the American Falls to a series of decending rapids rather than a waterfall.
I was 9 at the time and lived in Batavia, NY, about 30 miles away. My family took at least one trip to see the dry falls. I remember it vividly as it was almost incomprehensible to me that the mighty falls I had seen many times in every season for years was dry. Now I have to go find the pictures we took. Though I've lived away from the area for years, Niagara Falls will always be one of my favorite places.
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