The day Niagara Falls ran dry

[Chris_]

The day Niagara Falls ran dry: Newly-discovered photos show the moment the iconic waterfall came to a standstill

In June 1969, U.S. engineers diverted the flow of the Niagara River away from the American side of the falls for several months.

Their plan was to remove the large amount of loose rock from the base of the waterfall, an idea which they eventually abandoned due to expense in November of that year.
During the interim, they studied the riverbed and mechanically bolted and strengthened a number of faults to delay the gradual erosion of the American Falls.

UK Dail Mail

I've never heard of this before, but these pictures are amazing.

[thundley4]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyBtnUZESk0[/youtube]

[ColonialMarine0431]

I never knew about this. Pretty cool.

The day Niagara Falls ran dry: Newly-discovered photos show the moment the iconic waterfall came to a standstill
It's taken 41 years, but a previously unseen set of photos of the mighty Niagara Falls reduced to nothing more than a barren cliff-top have finally surfaced.
The stark images reveal North America's iconic - and most powerful - waterfall to be almost as dry as a desert.
In June 1969, U.S. engineers diverted the flow of the Niagara River away from the American side of the falls for several months.

More photos and video plus brief article HERE

[ColonialMarine0431]

Woops. Sorry for the dupe. I even searched before I posted. Mustv'e missed it. 

[MariaKerry]

I never knew about this. Pretty cool.




More photos and video plus brief article HERE

This pics most amazing one never seen Nigara like this before. Do you have more pics like this?

[Eupher]

As I recall, the attempt was made to clean out the rocks and boulders underneath the falls, but it turned out to be too daunting a task. They may have cleaned out some, but not to the extent they had planned. So they just left the big stuff lay there and turned the spigot back on.

[CG6468]

We saw the Falls turned off back then. Really weird stuff. Have Super 8 movies of it, and some photos somewhere.

Like they could fool Mother Nature...   

[Alpha Mare]

Niagra trivia-

On March 29th 1848, papers reported that Niagara Falls ran dry. During a weather related occurrence, a south-west gale blowing off of Lake Erie caused ice to jam and dam up at the mouth of the Niagara River causing the water flow to be severely restricted. The water over the Horseshoe Falls and American Falls to be reduced to a trickle for approximately thirty (30) to forty (40) hours. The roar of the Falls fell silent.

The river bed was quickly drying. Fish and turtles were left floundering on now dry land. A number of people made their way into the gorge to the riverbed. Here they saw articles that had been lay on the river's bottom that had been hidden for hundreds of years. Souvenirs picked up included bayonets, guns barrels, muskets, tomahawks and other artifacts of the War of 1812.



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After dusk each night during the tourist season, the water flow rate going over the Falls is reduced to only 50,000 cubic feet per second. This allows the Hydro Authorities to draw more water for hydro generation.


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The Great Blondin


http://www.reservationsystems.com/niagara_daredevils/jean_francois_gravelet.html

[Alpha Mare]