Niagara Falls is an amazing sight anytime of year but if you are able to see it on the rare occasion that it freezes, you are in for a real treat. Temperatures in the Niagara Falls area dropped as low as -2 degrees and much of the water that flows over the falls is frozen. Pictures of the falls have surfaced, showing a spectacular scene and capturing something that doesn’t happen very often.
The falls has partially frozen before. There are several historical news stories and Niagara Falls websites that have reports and photos of the American Falls freezing in 1909, 1936 and 1949. These photos look very similar to the recent photos of the frozen falls, but even though you can’t see the water moving, it is.
The Niagara River handles 212,000 cubic feet of water per second. Nearly 76,000 gallons of water flow over the American and Bridal Veil falls every second. Because the water flowing over the falls is so deep, powerful and fast moving, it is almost impossible for it to freeze completely. An ice bridge does form at the base of the falls in the winter and usually stays until Spring.
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While the American Falls has frozen and nearly stopped flowing before, the larger, Horseshoe Falls has not come as close to freezing solid. An ice boom was installed on Lake Erie to help block large sheets of ice from flowing into the Niagara River, blocking the falls and allowing it to freeze.
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Whether Niagara Falls is completely frozen over or not, the photos are still amazing to see and it could be many years before we see it this frozen again.
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What do you think of the frozen Niagara Falls photos?
Images via YouTube. and Wikimedia Commons.