Niagara Falls

I had sensibly taken several factors into consideration in order to arrange my trip to Niagara Falls:

1) Coops was going to Germany for work, so I could keep myself occupied with new scenery.
2) The weather forecast predicted that the drive there would be in lovely sunshine with a temperature just above freezing.
3) The day I would have there may possibly snow, but would still be in the positive area of the barometer.
4) The drive back would be in sunshine also, allowing for an uneventful trip back though New York state just for something different.

Unfortunately Coops' trip was moved back, so I effectively wasted valuable entertainment activity, then the weather closed in with a nice display of freezing rain (um kinda like hail, but tinyer and more annoying, not to mention slippery and dangerous) mixed with snow = 70km p/h on the freeway. The day I had at the falls turned on snow, freezing rain (or maybe just frozen waterfall mist) and 40km p/h winds. Then the drive back began amazingly well (oh, except the scrutiny from US Immigration about driving a car that I had no legal claim to over the border - appropriate use of resources people!) until I ran into a freak instant but brief snow fall directly west of Lake Ontario.

However, I was blown away by the falls. Not literally, despite the winds, but I can't help compare it to Victoria Falls, although there's something in me that just can't rate a North American wonder over an African one.

Its a 6hr trip, give or take, from Ottawa to Niagara Falls, so I arrived late in the afternoon and couldn't help but head pretty well straight down to The Falls. I drove past the American and Bridal Veil Falls first, then realised that the hugely impressive Horseshoe Falls were just around the corner when I had to hit the wiper blades, despite the distance from the water fall to the road.

They light up both the American Falls and Horseshoe falls from 7pm until 10pm, so I headed down to catch the display:

American Falls on the left and the more narrow Bridal Veil Falls on the right by night.

Horseshoe Falls by night.

There's all these facts about the falls that I can't really be bothered to type, so hopefully the diagrams below will actually be worth the '1000 words' they claim to be:

Although not the biggest falls by any stretch of the imagination, they are up there with the largest volume of water over falls anywhere, which has resulted in significant erosion.

This diagram depicts the rate at which the falls have been receding, although the rate has slowed now that the power of the falls are being harnessed for good (hydro-electricity) and not bad (er...bluescreens for early Superman movies).

Horseshoe Falls at sunrise this morning.

Oh, by the way, if you hadn't worked it out by now, if you click on the images they'll open bigger, and possibly even better....go Super Pictures - up, up and away!