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From June to November 1969 the American Falls were dewatered. This action cut back the normal flow of 60,000 gallons a second to almost nothing. Most of the diverted water was either sent over the Horseshoe Falls or diverted to the Robert Moses generating plant's upriver intakes. The action enabled Canadian and US power companies and the US Army Corps of Engineers to do on-the-spot inspections and aerial photographs of the river bed's rock formation. This was all part of a plan to reduce erosion to the Falls.
Must have been an amazing sight to see. I've posted some pictures of the falls as they normally run just for comparison.
Barcroft Media via Fame Pictures
In 1969 the falls went quiet as the Niagara river was temporarily diverted. The dam can be seen in the upper right.
Barcroft Media via Fame Pictures
Niagara falls without water as seen in 1969.
Kike Calvo / AP file
The falls as they normally run, as seen in June, 2009. A natural phenomenon, Niagara Falls sees between four and six millions cubic feet of water go over its crest every minute. The Falls are 188 feet high, with the deepest section of the Niagara River just at their base-going down 170 feet.
Barcroft Media via Fame Pictures
While the water was diverted, large amounts of fallen rock could be seen at the base of the falls.
AP file
Thousands of tons of ice choke the Niagara River below Niagara Falls as the breakup from Lake Erie moves downriver on April 22, 1966. American Falls is on the left, Horseshoe Falls at top center in this view from prospect point on the American side of the river.
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This is so wonderful to see this magnificent place WITH & without water.
What the hell does politics have to do with anything?
Yep, he's a Republican.
Nah...clearly a liberal....wanting the redistribution and all.
Aalan, it's all about small minds. Don't have room for anything else.
Yes it is interesting to see without water. Been there a number of times and never saw these pictures before.
Flex - you're just being silly. Politics? It's about Niagara Falls - not politics. Grab your binky and go back to bed.......
Seeing the effects of the power of nature in a way that's almost never seen? Somehow that's a Republican agenda?
hi...Yes it was magnificent. i was 21 the and live in buffalo. my bf and i went there and actually walked in the bed of rocks to get to a small island. it was great!
Face it, bringing politics into this is truly the sign of a complete nipplehead and there are plenty of those on both sides of the fence. Methinks it's time for those politicizing this to do a close up inspection of the backside of a Equus africanus asinus.
AWESOME PICTURES!!!
I never knew they did this. I saved them to my computer. I'd like to blow them up and frame them.....these would be a fantastic conversation piece!
It is not possible to make any utterance without giving away one's political affiliation. For example, "I like ice cream" clearly means "I'm a bleeding-heart Liberal", while "I think I'll sleep in on Saturday" just screams "I'm a NeoCon, and I bomb you if you like ice cream."
neocon means new conservative.They are former democrats who became republicans because they believed the democratic party was weak on national defense.Google it in its original definition.
Traditional Conservatives used to believe that the US needed to keep it's nose out of everybody else's business and concentrate on matters at home.
Neo-Cons believe that the US has a responsibility to manipulate the rest of the world for the advantage of their priveleged supporters, the big corporate interests. Since that's where the money is, Neo Cons have won out, and our country has been sold off to the highest bidders.
It's already too late to do virtually anything about it as corporate interests have moved most operations overseas and now require the US military (and taxpayer dollars) to make sure that they can reap huge profits while paying workers .33/day without benefits.....
These photo's tell it like it was. My wife and I acutally walked on the river bed. They were going to remove some of the fallen boulders so they could take a closer look at what was making the falls crumble. This was done only on the American side. That's when they discovered that the lower layer of rock was softer than the upper layer. The water will eventually wear away the lower layer causing the upper layer to crack and fall. This eventually over years built up the pile of boulders seen below the falls. The end result was to leave the boulders in place to help protect the falls from more erosion. After completing the study (lasting months) they removed the man made dam and the water again began to once again go over the falls. It did kind of fool with your mind knowing that if that dam broke you were going over the falls.
let's go cowboys! @!$%# the redskins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I saw Niagara Falls when it "it was turned off". I took pictures of it when I was a 12 yrs old. Love seeing them now.
I was there, 8 years old at the time, but I do remember it. I have a picture of my Mom and my brother and myself standing in front of what would have been the falls. It was pretty cool. Remember my Dad telling us "this is something you might never see again in your life". The funny thing is when I tell someone I was at the falls when the (turned) the water off, they look at me like I'm crazy.
1.1 deleted, Flex-538784 derailing about a Viner's political stance.
You're suspended for a day for violating #4 and #5 of the Code of Honor.
How the hell did some awesome pics of the Falls turn into a degenerate conversation about politics?
Anyway the pics are great and keep posting the wonders of nature and man like this. But are those rocks what kill people when they go over?
If they could just move all the man made trashy structures it may be worth a visit.
what is interesting is to see photos from 150 years ago, and read about the area - almost everything HAS been removed - the whole top of the gorge was lined with factories
clear eye - The American side has alwya been on the trashy side up to the 80's (my last visit). I would recommend on staying on the canadien side, much more open and cleaner for your stay and cross over to the American side to see goat island during the day. A visit to the skylon (canadien side) should also be on ones travel agenda.
When I was home from university in 1969, The falls were a must see visit. The most memorable view that I rememder seeing was the size of a hole in the middle of the channel that a small home could easily fit into.
Manmade eyesores??? Did you ever see pics of the Falls in the mid-50's for example with all those wooden advertisement signs and little honeymoon motels and souvenir shoppes? It hasn't been this clear since naked indians fished from the shores. Decades ago the place looked like an industrial dump, especially the canadien side.
I was actually there and sadly wasn't impressed....7 year olds!
Ha ha....I know what you mean. I was around 5 years old when this took place. My parents brought us kids up there to see this and I basically though the same thing - What's the big deal? Don't they do this all the time? What did I know? I was only 5.
Definitely love to see photos of this. It truly was an amazing thing to be able to divert that much water for that amount of time. I just wish I had been older to really appreciate it.
I too was there...I was almost 12. My parents were a tad bit disappointed after driving for something like 12 hrs!
There was a pipe on the USA side that had all this black gooey stuff coming out. My dad had pictures of it. Remember, the late 60's was "Give a HOOT...Don't POLLUTE!!"
We're the same age, Chris...I remember feeling a little weak-kneed out there, 'cause what if ya slipped and rolled all the way down and right over the edge!! But honestly I was much more excited about the manned space program and Tigers baseball at the time, lol.
Yup'r ..... I was 11 when my Dad took me there ..... me and my sisters had a blast that day. NY side had always stunk, I have always gone to the Canadian side at least once a year to visit Clifton Hill area. The Walzing Waters, Fatima Shrine, Whirpool Rapids, Panasonic and Skylon Towers, the AeroCar over the Devils Hole ...... my fav was spending hours at Maple Leaf Village and riding the giant Ferris Wheel ...... too bad they too got stupid and trashed it to put up that damn casino ...... I havent bothered to go back since.
I went at 9 years old & still remember how much nicer, cleaner, & friendlier the Canadian side was.
4 deleted, Shot a man in Reno... derailing about modern-day politics. Try here.
you would think they would have removed the rocks at the base while it was diverted
Why? Those rocks may very well slow down the erosion of the rock and soil at the base.
LOL! My question asked and answered!
Are you a republican?
If my memory serves me, the rocks were removed because the build up of them would eventually turn the falls into rapids, which nobody wanted. I think that was the main reason for daming the river.
BTW, the falls also froze one winter. The quiet actually gave people insomnia.
Yes they did remove the rocks and I believe they also installed some metal beams to help stop the erosion.
Sometimes an ice bridge will form across the falls and that is something to see.
Yes, there was an article on this in the NY Times the other day, where they mention that the original goal WAS to remove those rocks, but then it proved to be too costly, so they removed some, and shored a number of faults up with metal bolts(?).
As I recall, the main reason for the diversion WAS to remove the rocks so that the water drop would be more dramatic.
However, when geologists studied the strata, they determined that the rocks were actually protecting the base of the falls. And, if the base was left unprotected, it would undermine the falls, with accelerated break-offs, eventually ending up with the same result only farther upstream.
They were afraid of really messing things up, and decided to pretty much leave the rocks in place.
It was determined that the rocks at the base were essential to keeping the falls in tact. I know this to be a fact.
If they removed some, it was not very much.
As is is, the falls are retreating at an alarming rate. by our great grandchildren's time (okay, for some of us make that great, great grandchildren), the fall will almost make it to the mouth of lake Erie...
There is a plack on the wall on the Canadian side that shows where the falls were in 1900 or there about. The falls are now 40 or 50 feet further up the river from the plack...
And in the 1600's the Falls were even farther downstream. What's wrong with letting the Falls keep moving upstream like they have been doing for thousands of years? Oh, right -- that would get in the of "progress". Silly of me to even think that Big Corporate would ever allow such a thing.
hexdragon, it may have taken only about 100 years for the Falls to move 40 or 50 feet upstream, but it took a lot longer for them get to where they are from where they were only 500 or so years ago. The erosion of the Whirlpool may have taken only weeks (or perhaps only days), but it took hundreds of years to get from there to where the Falls are now -- a distance of less than 4 miles.
And, believe or don't, the flow of the river itself is being affected by not only the diversion of the water upstream, but also by the fact that the rocks and boulders being sheared off at the Falls are NOT being cleared away by the NATURAL force of the water. They may help to protect the riverbed, but by piling up at the bottom of the Falls they are creating a rapids. In another 40 or 50 years there may not be a Niagara Falls on either side of Canada/U.S.A. border.....
.. Actually the Army Corp of Engineers point to the water shut off was to view and study the possiibility to do just that. Many of the giant rocks were so big they would have to be blasted with explosives and would have caused much damage to the surrounding rock, so they eventually gave up the idea.
Geologists must have been in heaven. Finally getting to study the rock layers and formations under the Falls for the first time. You look at the waterless shots and it reminds you a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. Seeing the power of the water falling normally then makes you wonder what waterfalls at the Grand Canyon must have looked like.
The gradual uplift of the desert plain through which the Colorado flowed caused the river to carve the canyon as the land mass gradually rose. There probably wasn't really any major waterfall action as a result, although there are now some very beautiful smaller waterfalls on Havasu creek which feeds into the Colorado. Here's some spectacular photos:
http://www.terragalleria.com/photos/?keyword=grand-canyon-waterfalls
You're right Henry, and you can add one more: 4,000-5,000 years ago, when the natural dam at the Bosporus broke, allowing the rapid flooding of the entire Black Sea region, where there are now ancient houses hundreds of feet under water along the original shorline. This event is theorized by many to be the factual origin of the Noah's flood myth.
Dang Henry, you almost had me sitting on the edge of my chair there!! I bet that was something to witness...good post!
They say that lake Ontario was 5 times larger after the glaciers melted, until a dam somewhere around the Hudson river broke. There are boulders the size of aircraft carriers that they found on the sea floor outside the mouth of the Hudson from this flood...
"the power of the water falling normally".... Yeah, right. Fact is the Falls actually have less power now than they did in 1900 -- because of all the diversion into/for the powerplants and other Industrial needs. Want to see the real power of the Falls -- have the powerplants and such shut down for a week!
good point
Definitely worth a visit. Its a spectacular and awesome work. Just make sure you go to Canada, not the US side. The view is better, and Niagara Falls itself is one of the ugliest, run down and depressing cities I've ever visited. (My apologies to the residents.) It gives Detroit a run for its money. And please, don't drink the water! Ironically, in a city associated with a natural wonder of water, the water smells of petroleum and fish and tastes like chemicals. That includes soda in restaurants, as its mixed with local water in the machines. Absolutely vile.
I agree, it is a wonderful place to visit. I have seen it from both sides and you're right, it is a nicer view from Canada. You're right also about the water, buy bottled water and carry it with you
I agree the American side is horrible! Came through there around dusk thought we had made a wrong turn. The Canadian side is wonderful clean with better views, we stayed on the American side and walked across the Rainbow Bridge. Next time we'll just right on to Canada
Gosh, what would Marilyn think!
There is a huge difference in the parks on either side of the Falls. The Canadian side is very sculptured, very clean and very touristy : Wax museums , Ripleys Bielieve it or Not. The American side is more natural(The park ). The city of Niagra Falls New York is very Industrial. You can smell Chemical Processing. LOve Canal is a neighborhood in Niagra Falls New York.
Mikyl,
If only we had done a little better in the War of 1812, the entire falls would be on our side of the border now. :))
I live in Buffalo ...... no need to apologizeto the people who live there..... they got exactly what they have deserved ..... when you have people voting for 3 to 1 Dem to Repub for the last 57 years and still voting Dem every single election and when the blame game starts, the Repubs get it.
.... what do you expect when the name of the game in NY is to find ways to get others to subsidize and provide your needs ...... not much left after all those social programs to spend on infrastructure and the like, lol
cool.
It's still an amazing sight to see. We visited this past summer.
Despite the negative comments above, I think it is cool. How would you feel standing in that river bed knowing all that water could rush toward you at any minute. Beautiful pictures I think it is a cool place.
Finally... a truly interesting story that doesn't involve Sarah Palin.
Or Obama, Reid or Pelosi!
Where did you see an interesting story about Palin?
Or Beck, Boehner, or McCain!
Is that to say that, with rare exception, in order for a story to be truly interesting it MUST involve Sarah Palin?
DallasTex, another small mind with room for nothing but politics and hate.
In response to the Sarah Palin remark, I say "There truly must be a God".
How about Paris Hilton?
Wait a minute - John Boehner is going to cry again.
That's what keeps Niagra Falls running....Boehner's upset that he hasn't been able to sell Niagra Falls to the special interests.......yet.
AWESOME pics!!!! Alot of really STUPID comments on here!!!!!! Talk politics somewhere else, this story is about a waterfall not our idiotic govt.!!!!!!
The falls went "quite?"
You beat me too it. :) I was going to say the same thing!!!
"quite" dry
Quite a big difference between 'quiet' and 'quite'
Just another proof that spellchecker is not proofreader.
Teach, try "you beat me to it". No wonder the kids can't right. Or is that write? I don't no witch is write. So sad.
Thanks for catching my typo. It's been fixed. They did indeed go 'quiet', not 'quite.'
You should've just added quiet to make is say the went quite quiet.
We lived in nearby Tonawanda, NY, at the time, and my parents took me and my brothers to see the dewatered falls that summer. As an 11-year-old, I had no concept of how they could have stopped all that water, and it was a bit scary to see all the huge rocks. We used to have school field trips to the Robert Moses plant to see the huge generators and the power lines streaming away from the river gorge. They had a viewing station overlooking the gorge, which was also breathtaking because it was so deep.
I too grew up in Tonawanda, and remember the Power Plant quite well. For some reason, that place always scared me as a child!
What about the gondola ride across the whiripool?
There is a resturant we always went to in Buffalo. it was tiny, but they served Beef on Wick and had wonderful German Potato salad. I probably won't spell it right-Schwabbles? Ring any bells? We would come in off the thruwayI-90 through Clarence. We'de also pick up cans of a soft drink that was fizzy and had a bite to it, kinda like a gingerale. Niagara, Buffalo-that whole area has been economically hurt for many years. It's still like any other American city-its still home and a place of memories. That's why the falls are so important. It put's the area on the map and you never forget the beauty and awe of the water rushing over into the gorge!!
Kitty the restaurant you mentioned Schwabl's is still there in West Seneca. I can only guess that the ginger ale type pop you referred to would be Vernor's.
mulhaupt and bluestar - Got any memories of ted's or louies hot dogs?? How about Bocces pizza or Beef on wick? Original Buffalo wings? Went to Kenmore west myself.
Definately the original Vernor's; that was ginger ale aged in oak casks. A real childhood memory. Now it's marketed by A&W with fake flavoring, aged as long as it takes the bottle to get to the supermarket and nowhere like the original. Another American icon lost.
As for the comments made about Niagara Falls New York---it is an old industrial town consisting of industries that require copious amounts of low cost energy (electricity) providing jobs and money into New York State. It doesn't deserve to be 'knocked'
but unfortuanatly most of the power gets diverted to ther states ....... we pay higher electricity bills here than most places in the country ....... much of what is avail is used to subsidize companies in area ( Corp Welfare )
Hmmm. Going over the Falls without any water. Now that would've been a daredevil feat!!
I was there. It was an amazing sight. I got to stand on the riverbed. Recently I came across my own pictures.
We were able to take the walk to the bottom of the falls without rain protection.
I grew up in Tonawanda, too, and my family visited the falls at this time. The public was actually allowed to walk across a portion of the dry area above the rim. Mom discovered a small seashell at the edge of the riverbank that she has to this day.
There is a site out there which shows the Falls frozen nearly to a stand still. I don't remember the site, but I believe it happened in 1911 or 1912. It'll blow your mind, especially if you've actually ever visited the Falls.
Went to the Falls on our Honeymoon in January 1970. It was during one of the longest cold spells NE Ohio ever saw. But it was not enough to freeze the Falls. I remember my bride and I standing where the last picture was taken and feeling the tremendous cold. Thankfully we will celebrate number 41 on the 10 of January.
Just Google Ice Bridge and Niagra Falls
master q,
congratulations on a feat rarely seen anymore (41years with the same person)
any plans to re-visit the falls?
Did they find Jimmy Hoffa?
Lol!
Good catch, Wayne!
I was 13 then, I remember going to see them dry. As I remember, there were a number of historical artifacts found as well. It was pretty cool!
The Falls are magnificent, but unfortunately, as "please explain" says, the city is a pit. Amazing that this world renowned natural wonder is not better exploited for tourism on the US side!! The park on the American side is very nice, with Goat Island between them. The gorge is fabulous, the escarpment so interesting. My dad used to fly a small plane, back in the day we loved flying the length of the Niagara River, from Buffalo to Fort Niagara (which is pretty cool, too!) So much history there, another underexploited tourist draw.
my dad andf I used to get mad and then laugh about how stupid people were to have the Canadians show us how it could be done and all these years later all we can do is wonder, what happened?
The political corruption in Niagara Falls Ny is the reason the area dosent progress. Politicians come an go -make promises and do nothing for this great attraction, The canadian side uses the Niagara Falls as their front door and the policitians in Niagara Falls keep their city the back door and no one has ever done anything about it. greed is a very bad thing for any area. It is such a shame someone cant do something including the current mayor
andrea.....funny you should mention that....I was there when it was shut-off....they allowed you to walk across the river bed well back from the edge....I remember continually looking upstream at the dam, hoping they knew what they were doing.
The Canadian side looks so beautiful with parks and gardens in contrast----it was financed as a gift from that eccentric prospecter Sir Harry Oakes, who gave the money to the Canadian Government for the beatification of the Canadian Falls------------incidently, he was an American, born in Maine.----------------there has been an effort by New York State to dress up the American side and it looks much better than it did.
You guys are quick pointing out "the falls went quite".... Does the death of print journalism also mean the death of good editing?
When they dewatered the falls geologist studied the rocks at the bottom and determined if they removed them the wall would colapse. So they didn't. The main purpoose of dewatering was to make the falls look as dramatic as the horseshoe falls. There is a PBS special called Niagara, this is a much more indept look at the history of the falls.
Never been there and I hope some day I will make it. But I would like to see it from the Canadian side I bet it's much cleaner than the usa.
And be sure, if you go over in a barrel, to pick the Canadian side. It's not any safer during the fall, but there's less chance of being sue,d and if you do get hurt, you get free health care!
Having lived in Canada for three years during college, I know that Americans in Canada still have to pay for health care - so if you're crazy enough to go over the falls and actually survive, make sure to bring along your checkbook and health care information in a waterproof container! Good luck!
free medical care yea right. some one will pay,and may die waiting for the service.
My family took us up there to see it when I was a kid. There are a lot of people who don't even believe me, that this ever happened. I can't wait for my husband to see this!
We were there too... wasn't it great? I was just showing some friends kids the pics last week....