The Niagara Falls are on the watercourse of the Niagara River. They lie on the border between the United States and Canada. The Falls with an average annual flow rate of 2,400 m3 per second have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world. The Niagara Falls stopped flowing for over thirty hours in 1848.
The Niagara Falls consist of three waterfalls, the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The falls are of recreational, commercial and industrial significance. Twin cities, Niagara Falls Ontario and Niagara Falls New York have grown up on either side of the falls. Significant amounts of electrical power is generated by the falls and they attract millions of tourists every year.
In March 1848 the Niagara Falls stopped flowing. Mills and factories which depended on the falls for power had to shut down. The river bed was exposed and people walked on the river bottom. For a time no one knew why the falls had stopped which caused fear and anxiety among the local residents.
Eventually word arrived that the head of the Niagara River at Lake Erie had been blocked by ice. The ice stopped water flowing from the lake into the river for over thirty hours. The ice eventually moved and the river began to flow again bringing the Niagara Falls back to life.
The Niagara Falls fell silent as the flow of water stopped in the year 1848 On This Day.
Niagra Falls
