Due Diligence for Daring Do

[rareboy]

But, isn't there a power station on the Niagara? I think they can control the flow like a lot of hydroelectric stations.

You are right.

And the flow of water is regulated to ensure that there is a certain volume that goes over the falls while still maintaining capacity further downstream for the generating stations.

 

[Kahaih]

But, isn't there a power station on the Niagara? I think they can control the flow like a lot of hydroelectric stations.

I believe there are a few power plants using the river from above the falls. There is other industry using it, too.

All together, they use (divert) about 75% of what would otherwise go over the falls.

If not for the government protecting tourism, industry would likely divert all of it.

 

[gsdx]

/\ May take a look at your link later. Thanks.

I wonder how much difference there is in the speed of the flow at different areas of the horseshoe. Also, as I recall, the US Fall is sort of a more leisurely sideshow separated from the more raging horseshoe by a good size Island.

The Canadian side is much more spectacular, anyway.

The rapids above the Falls are quite shallow. That's why it is so much faster than at the crest. Even Olympic swimmers cannot out-swim the current. As I mentioned above, the speed of the water at the crest is about 30 kph. An Olympic 50 m swimmer (the shortest and fastest race) can only manage just over 8 kph.

 

[rareboy]

I believe there are a few power plants using the river from above the falls. There is other industry using it, too.

All together, they use (divert) about 75% of what would otherwise go over the falls.

If not for the government protecting tourism, industry would likely divert all of it.

It is why the amount was regulated...because yeah...otherwise it would be drained down to a trickle.

 

[Kahaih]

The rapids above the Falls are quite shallow. That's why it is so much faster than at the crest. Even Olympic swimmers cannot out-swim the current. As I mentioned above, the speed of the water at the crest is about 30 kph. An Olympic 50 m swimmer (the shortest and fastest race) can only manage just over 8 kph.

Just like most rivers, though, the water along the banks/edges is usually moving way slower than out in the middle where the water is usually much deeper.

I've actually stood in the shallows at the top of a high water fall, much smaller and tamer than Niagara, of course, and illegal, too. But the difference in the currents was very observable. It was a great firsthand experience, but somewhat reckless, too. I don't recommend doing it.

 

[Kahaih]

I wonder if there should be repercussions for people who eat too much stuffed cabbages

I think the daredevil in this situation would be the nitwit who takes hold of your finger. Earning percussions and repercussions for all.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Actually, I believe it was back in the seventies when they shut off the US side for repairs. Must not have been much of a force to be reckoned with. LOL

Yes, in 1969 a temporary dam diverted the water to the Canadian side, shutting off the American side of the falls.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

If there's one universal truth - suicide never goes as planned!

The man on Niagara's edge may not even know that the flow rate of the falls can be reduced by the International Niagara Control Works.

 

[NotHardUp1]

If there's one universal truth - suicide never goes as planned!

The man on Niagara's edge may not even know that the flow rate of the falls can be reduced by the International Niagara Control Works.

That was the man. I suspected suicide attempt since they never told how he got there. But, it was only a guess.

To the comment about algae, I'm not sure all streams do. Water temperature in cold regions inhibits algae, as does the low light. That said, I have no idea about the Niagara.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Over centuries the Niagara Falls have retreated due to erosion of the underlying rock.
In the 1950's Canada and the USA agreed on flow control infrastructure to reduce the volume of the river flow.
Due to this flow rate reduction the migration of the Falls as slowed greatly.

 

[NotHardUp1]

^Indeed, all waterfalls progress over time to just rapids as they are worn down over centuries and milennia.

Ironically, the policy to "conserve" the falls is unnatural, and therefore the opposite of Conservationism.

 

[rareboy]

If you've ever been To the Falls, it is like looking down at a huge civil works paving project.

When I was a kid, my dad made it clear he hated what the Falls had become...and some years ago, I was at a conference and surveying the landscape and all I saw was tat, and meaningless tourist exploitation. Parks Canada has tried to create the illusion of a real traditional Parks Canada visitors centre and experience..but the casinos and the trashy hotels that have destroyed the landscape just render the Falls themselves as an almost meaningless fragment of the experience there.

I look forward to the Falls just becoming rapids one day and killing people whitewater rafting.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I was in training south of Toronto in 2016 or so, and drove up by way of Buffalo, and saw the Falls, but did not ride a boat to it.

The carnival midway that perches on the bluff is grotesque, and it made me want to never return.

 

[Kahaih]

If you've ever been To the Falls, it is like looking down at a huge civil works paving project.

When I was a kid, my dad made it clear he hated what the Falls had become...and some years ago, I was at a conference and surveying the landscape and all I saw was tat, and meaningless tourist exploitation. Parks Canada has tried to create the illusion of a real traditional Parks Canada visitors centre and experience..but the casinos and the trashy hotels that have destroyed the landscape just render the Falls themselves as an almost meaningless fragment of the experience there.

I look forward to the Falls just becoming rapids one day and killing people whitewater rafting.

Do they still light up the falls every night?

Talk about tacky . . . A horrible thing to do to a "natural wonder".

The old black and white photos from long ago are fascinating. I seem to remember seeing photos of large groups of people walking all the way across the top of the falls as some sort of annual winter event when they iced over. No water/flow regulating back then, either.