Niagara
Niagara is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 43.17°, -79.05°
About Niagara
The Niagara River ( ny-AGG-ər-ə, -grə) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The river, occasionally described as a strait, is approximately 58 kilometres (36 miles) long and is known for the Niagara Falls. Over the past 12,000 years, the falls have moved roughly 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) upstream from the leading edge of the Niagara Escarpment, creating a gorge below the falls. Today, the diversion of the river for electricity generation has significantly slowed the rate of erosion. The total elevation drop along the river is 99 metres (325 ft). The Niagara downstream from the falls, includes the Niagara Whirlpool and additional rapids.
Power plants on the river include the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations (built in 1922 and 1954) on the Canadian side, and the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant (built in 1961) on the American side, collectively generating 4.4 gigawatts of electricity. The International Control Dam, constructed in 1954, regulates river flow. Ships on the Great Lakes use the Welland Canal, part of the St.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Niagara River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Niagara in Depth
History
The Niagara River and Falls have been known outside of North America since the late 17th century, when Father Louis Hennepin, a French explorer, first witnessed them. He wrote about his travels in A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America (1698).
The Niagara River was the site of the earliest recorded railway in America. It was an inclined wooden tramway built by John Montresor (1736–1799), a British military engineer, in 1764. Called "The Cradles" and "The Old Lewiston Incline", it featured loaded carts pulled up wooden rails by rope. It facilitated the movement of goods over the Niagara Escarpment in present-day Lewiston, New York.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Niagara River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Niagara: Key Facts
| Length | 53 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 6 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 665,000 km² |
| Source | Lake Erie |
| Mouth | Lake Ontario |
| Drainage system | Lake Ontario drainage basin |
| Tributaries | Scajaquada Creek, Tonawanda Creek |
Facts from Wikidata Q182343 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Niagara: Quick Answers
- Where is Niagara?
- Niagara is located in United States, at 43.1708° N, 79.0494° W.
- Are there dams on the Niagara?
- No dam on the Niagara is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.