Blink Once—3,160 Tons of Water in Mid-Air Over Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS: POWER & PACE

WATER IN FREE FALL

• Average peak-season flow (daytime):

  • ≈ 100,000 cu ft per second

  • ≈ 3,160 short tons per second

  • ≈ 757,000 U.S. gal per second  

Breakdown

• Horseshoe Falls: ~682,000 gal/s (≈ 90 % of total flow)

• American & Bridal Veil Falls: ~76,000 gal/s  

QUICK VISUALS

• Fills an Olympic pool (≈ 660,000 gal) in under 1 second.

• Weight equal to 14 fully loaded Boeing 747s dropping every second.

HYDROELECTRIC MUSCLE

• Robert Moses (U.S.) + Sir Adam Beck (Canada) stations: ≈ 4.7 GW total capacity

  – Power for ~3.8 million average North-American homes.

  – Comparable to three large nuclear reactors.

NIAGARA’S SLOW CREEP (CREST RETREAT)

Horseshoe Falls

• Erodes ≈ 1 FT (30 cm) per year.

  – ≈ 1 inch (2.5 cm) per month.

  – About one credit-card length (≈ 3.4 in / 8.6 cm) every 3–4 months.

American & Bridal Veil Falls

• Erode ≈ 1 FT (30 cm) per decade.

  – ≈ 1 inch per year.

  – About one credit-card length every 3 years.

Why the gap? Horseshoe takes ~90 % of the river’s flow and has little protective talus at its base, while the U.S. falls receive far less water and sit behind a thick rock pile that slows undercutting. Flow-diversion tunnels built since the 1950s have further reduced erosion at all three falls.

Notes

• All flow and erosion figures are approximate (≈) and rounded for clarity.

• Daytime “tourist-hour” flow is about 100 000 cfs (≈ 2 832 m³/s); off-peak flow is about 50 000 cfs.

• Modern crest-retreat rates: Horseshoe Falls ≈ 1 ft (30 cm) per year; American & Bridal Veil ≈ 1 ft per decade.

• Historical average retreat ≈ 7 mi (11 km) in 12 500 years; rates slowed after mid-20th-century water diversions.

• Horseshoe Falls drop ≈ 57 m (188 ft); width ≈ 670 m (2 200 ft).

• American Falls drop ≈ 57 m to the river (21–34 m above the talus); width ≈ 260 m (850 ft).

• Unit conversions: 1 cubic foot = 0.028 316 8 m³; 1 m³ of water ≈ 1 metric tonne; 1 cfs ≈ 0.028 3 m³/s.

• Values can change with seasonal flow management; check source agencies for the latest updates.  

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Sources

1. Niagara Parks Commission. “Niagara Falls Geology — Facts & Figures.” Updated 2024.  

2. International Joint Commission (IJC). Technical reports on Niagara River flow-control and erosion management, 2017 – 2023.  

3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District. “Niagara Falls Erosion Study — Summary Report.” 2019.  

4. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers & International Joint Commission. “American Falls Dewatering Study — Final Report.” 1969.  

5. Hayakawa, Y. S., & Matsukura, Y. “Rate of retreat of Niagara Falls and the evolution of Horseshoe Falls.” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2010.  

6. Marple, R. T., & Talwani, P. “Geologic history and structural controls of Niagara Falls.” Geological Society of America Bulletin, 2000.  

7. Clamen, M., & Macfarlane, S. “The International Control Structure at Niagara Falls.” Journal of Great Lakes Research, 1990.