NIAGARA RIVER

The Niagara River is the legacy of the last Ice Age. The entire Great Lakes Basin of which the river is an important part. The ice about 18,000 years ago southern Ontario was enclosed by ice sheets 2-3 kilometers thick. Then, its about 12,500 years ago it retreated northward, its melt waters began to flow down through what became Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, down to the St. Lawrence River, and, finally, down to the sea. About 5,500 years ago the melt waters were once more routed through southern Ontario, restoring the river and Falls to their full power. Then the Falls reached the Whirlpool. At the bottom of the falls, the water travels 15 miles over many gorges until it reaches the fifth Great Lake-Ontario. Our water is "fossil water"; less than one percent of it is renewable on an annual basis from the ice sheets. A large amount of the water today is fed through underground channels and pipes to close by hydro electric power stations