Niagara Gorge

Niagara Gorge
Niagara River flowing through Niagara Gorge (from eastern brink north of Niagara Whirlpool). The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge is visible in the background.
Location New York and Ontario
Geography
Coordinates 43°07′15″N 79°04′14″W / 43.1208°N 79.0705°W / 43.1208; -79.0705Coordinates: 43°07′15″N 79°04′14″W / 43.1208°N 79.0705°W / 43.1208; -79.0705

Niagara Gorge is an 11 km (6.8 mi) gorge carved by the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.[1] It begins at the base of Niagara Falls and ends at the Niagara Escarpment near Queenston, Ontario, where the Falls originated about 12,500 years ago.[1][2] The Falls have receded upstream toward Lake Erie by slow erosion of hard Lockport dolomite (a dolomitic limestone or dolostone, which is the surface rock of the escarpment), combined with rapid erosion of the relatively soft layers beneath it.[3]

The force of the river current in the gorge is one of the most powerful in the world; because of the dangers this presents, kayaking the gorge has generally been prohibited. On multiple occasions, the rapids of the gorge have claimed the lives of people attempting to run them.[4] However, on isolated occasions, world class experts have been permitted to navigate the stretch.[5]

Tourists can bounce and splash through the rapids of the Niagara Gorge on commercial tours in rugged jetboats, which are based at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, at Lewiston, New York, and in midsummer at Niagara Glen Nature Center on the Niagara Parkway in Ontario.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Niagara Falls Geology Facts & Figures". Ontario's Niagara Parks (niagaraparks.com). Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "Erosion at Niagara Falls". Samizdat (samizdat.qc.ca). Retrieved 21 August 2011. Excerpt from Ian T. Taylor, In the Minds of men: Darwin and the new World Order, 1987; TFE Publishing, 1999 ( ISBN 9780969178897), pp. 81–84.
  3. ↑ Corrigan, Patricia (2007). Waterfalls. Infobase Publishing. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-0-8160-6436-6.
  4. ↑ "American Whitewater - Niagara Gorge, Niagara New York, US". www.americanwhitewater.org. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  5. ↑ "American Whitewater - Niagara Gorge, Niagara New York, US". www.americanwhitewater.org. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  6. ↑ "Niagara Whirlpool Jet Home Page". Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours Inc. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
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