Sound_n_Fury Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Why don't they shut the falls off again, and remove the rocks on the American side so it doesn't have to suck. 287611[/snapback] Sound like a plan. Please send the New York State Parks Department a couple billion dollars and they'll get right to work on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 25, 2005 Author Share Posted March 25, 2005 Why don't they shut the falls off again, and remove the rocks on the American side so it doesn't have to suck. 287611[/snapback] From one of the url's in an earlier post..... "The flow over the American Falls was stopped completely for several months in 1969. The idea was to determine the feasibility of removing the large amount of loose rock from the base of the falls to enhance it's appearance. In the end the final decision was that the expense would be too great." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Why don't they shut the falls off again, and remove the rocks on the American side so it doesn't have to suck. we should just invade canada so we can get the better falls. Seriously though, our falls is embarassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 we should just invade canada so we can get the better falls. Seriously though, our falls is embarassing. 287628[/snapback] I still remember the Labatt Blue comercial that channel 11 (Candian Station) showed in Buffalo "Isn't it great that our Falls are better than theirs? Well, the same goes for beer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 From one of the url's in an earlier post..... "The flow over the American Falls was stopped completely for several months in 1969. The idea was to determine the feasibility of removing the large amount of loose rock from the base of the falls to enhance it's appearance. In the end the final decision was that the expense would be too great." 287625[/snapback] Hmmm...IIRC, a factor was that removal of the rubble would furthur expose the face to erosion. The river bed, Falls and gorge is topped with so-called Lockport dolomite, a hard limestone, but is underlain with the so-called Rochester sandstone, which is readily eroded. Several other strata exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Sound like a plan. Please send the New York State Parks Department a couple billion dollars and they'll get right to work on it. 287621[/snapback] Easy. Just get a few earthmovers and push all that rock over to the Canadian side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiew Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 So while we're on the subject of the falls. Does anyone know what that rusted barge is doing jammed above the Horseshoe falls. It was there the whole time I lived in WNY and is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 25, 2005 Author Share Posted March 25, 2005 So while we're on the subject of the falls. Does anyone know what that rusted barge is doing jammed above the Horseshoe falls. It was there the whole time I lived in WNY and is still there. 287649[/snapback] The story of the barge getting stuck.... http://www.niagarafrontier.com/scow.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 The story of the barge getting stuck.... http://www.niagarafrontier.com/scow.html 287652[/snapback] Thanks - good story. For anybody interested, here's a short rundown about the WNY geology. No surprise about flooded basements in the area... http://www.iaw.com/~falls/origins.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB27 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Private boats go over the falls on a fairly regular basis. They break free from their moorings or docks, and float down until they go over. Occasionally they get hung up on the rocks and are eventually towed out. I remember being a little kid (7 or 8) and my father taking me to the falls. We actually saw a boat coming down the Niagara River. We watched it for at least an hour as it would get caught on the rocks, sit for a while, and then move a little closer. We watched it disappear over the falls. It would have been really great to see it from a better spot and actually see it hit the bottom. We were on goat island I think when we watched it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiew Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 That's so cool! Thank you LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 From one of the url's in an earlier post..... "The flow over the American Falls was stopped completely for several months in 1969. The idea was to determine the feasibility of removing the large amount of loose rock from the base of the falls to enhance it's appearance. In the end the final decision was that the expense would be too great." 287625[/snapback] Actually, the rubble is holding up the face of the falls. It would erode into a long rapids if the rubble was removed. Eventually , the American falls will be no more when the Horseshoe falls erodes back far enough. The horseshoe falls was almost a quarter mile further downstream (very near the American Falls) when Father Hennipen (the first white man to see it) "discovered" it in the 1600's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRT88 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Why don't they shut the falls off again, and remove the rocks on the American side so it doesn't have to suck. 287611[/snapback] I'm hoping you aren't serious. The talus actually helps the face of the American falls from collasping. Removing it would likely destroy the American falls in a rather short period time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Today, they can stop the water that goes over the falls quite easily. The hydro plant that is just up from the falls can easily take in all the water that is flowing by, and spit it out below the falls. One of the good sides to the hydro plant is that the river will never be dammed due to ice again. There was an interesting program on Discovery that talked about the Niagara Escarpment, and the creation of the falls geologically. They talked briefly about the ice dam and how the hydro plant prevents it from ever happening again, and how they could turn the falls off. 287531[/snapback] Yeah--it was a British production actually.It was terrific.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_of_manhattan Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Great story Labatt. Does anyone else remember in the late 60's or early 70's when they dammed the Falls to check out the rock erosion--they diverted the water flow to the Horseshoe falls. I can't remember the exact dates..but I do remember my dad taking me (I was 9 or 10 at the time) and him pointing out that the rocks at the base of the falls were as big as our house...... I see it -- it mentions the 1969 shut off in the same story at the bottom. 287518[/snapback] It was pretty cool - they gated off a small piece of the bed so that you could walk where water normally flows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 That is an amazing story! Did it mention where the water went during the period of the ice-dam? It had to back up and raise the elevations of the upper Niagara/Lake Erie? I sense that was the anxiety along with the imminent surge of water when the thing broke? I take the population was a lot more sparse back then and the flooding that ensued in the surrounding area was not that destructive? This had to be well before the inner and outer breakwaters were constructed at Buffalo, severly leaving the city's waterfront vulnerable to "slosh" or seiche... Thus making the ice at the mouth more apt to move in such a pattern? Not to mention fewer obstructions along the way, ie: bridges, Black Rock Channel, etc... I can't imagine the ice forming locally with such a swift moving current? I guess that is why we have the ice-boom now? People don't realize that when then pressure behind the boom gets too great, some ice is realeased down the river over the boom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 we should just invade canada so we can get the better falls. Seriously though, our falls is embarassing. 287628[/snapback] Actually, I remember hearing somewhere that early on the American side was quite nice. The Falls and the area in NY was well on its way to being ruined by human exploit and economical development if it weren't for NYS creating the first state park in the country there? Ah... How we pine for the good ole days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Hmmm...IIRC, a factor was that removal of the rubble would furthur expose the face to erosion. The river bed, Falls and gorge is topped with so-called Lockport dolomite, a hard limestone, but is underlain with the so-called Rochester sandstone, which is readily eroded. Several other strata exist. 287635[/snapback] Which explains why NF will be a nice set of rapids in front of Buffalo in a couple thousand years? What exatly is the time frame? Doesn't it move south so many inches a year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRT88 Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 It used to move several feet a year but since the restrict the amount of water that flows over the falls it has slowed. Not sure of the exact figures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Which explains why NF will be a nice set of rapids in front of Buffalo in a couple thousand years? 288079[/snapback] And both people who still live in Buffalo will be locked in a debate over where to build the new Peace Bridge over them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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