most known falls in the world are Niagara Falls. And it carries this rank quite deservedly, emotions from only one view of this miracle of the nature cannot be expressed in words.
Niagara Falls are located on border between the USA and Canada. Raduzhny Bridge which is used for movement of passenger vehicles and pedestrians between these two countries is downstream thrown. Noise from falls it is heard for several kilometers. And at Niagara a roar such that it is impossible to catch anything. By the way, from Indian Niagara means the roaring water.
Height of the Niagara Falls is 53 meters. The bottom of the American falls covers a heap of stones because of what its visible height — only 21 meters. Width of the American falls — 323 meter, the Horseshoe falls — 792 meters. The volume of the falling water reaches 5720 m3/s. The general width of the Niagara Falls exceeds 1200 m - it is the world's fifth falls on width of the front of the falling water.
Niagara is world-famous, every year it is visited to 16 million tourists. Around falls it is possible to find various hotels, motels, viewing towers and other. Near falls built two cities with the identical name Niagara Falls. One of them Canadian, and another - American. In fact Niagara call three falls on the Niagara River which separates the American state New York from the Canadian province of Ontario. Two falls are used in the tourist sphere of tourists, and the third – as a power source. Tourists most of all are interested in the Niagara falls - it is the Horseshoe falls sometimes in addition called the Canadian falls, the American falls and the Veil falls. In spite of the fact that the height difference is not really high, falls are very wide, and on the volume of the water passing through it Niagara Falls are the most powerful in North America.
In the nineteenth century by means of energy of falls nearby settlements were lit. Later the huge underground pipelines connected to turbines were constructed. This energy quite was enough for supply of the American city of Buffalo. Today the Niagara power plants develop up to 4.4 gigawatts of the electric power. Since 1829 from Niagara Falls 14 people jumped. Some jumps were deadly, and survivors paid a penalty as jumps from falls are illegal both in the USA, and in Canada.
When cars pass by falls, drivers involuntarily reduce speed approximately to 10 km/h. Above and below falls on a watercourse for convenience of tourists bridges for admiring are built by a grandiose show. The tourists fascinated by sorcery of a phenomenon do not look away from falls. At night falls are lit by unique illumination. A yoke of light and shade against the background of the falling water so bewitches that tourists can be motionless for hours, admiring this show. In a sunny weather across all territory of falls it is possible to observe numerous rainbows.
But it has a small competitor, it is the Iguazu Falls which is between Brazil and Argentina.
Numerous researches showed that every year Niagara Falls move upstream to one meter. The approximate age of falls is estimated at 50 thousand years, and during this time it moved upstream almost on 10 km. If this regularity proceeds, then through 20 thousand years the falls will come very close to Lake Erie and will disappear.