According to estimates, it will take another 50,000 years for Niagara Falls to erode back as far as Lake Erie. The estimate was made using the average yearly rate of erosion — currently about one foot per year. The falls have already receded a fair amount in their 12,000 years of existence — estimates put the edge of the falls about seven miles further down river than where it is today.

The Welland Canal was built in the late 19th century to allow ships to bypass Niagara Falls while traveling between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Eight locks work to lift (or lower) ships from Lake Ontario, which sits about 320 feet above sea level, up to the level of Lake Erie, at about 570 feet above sea level. On average, it takes about 12 hours to complete the bypass.

Charles Blondin — born Jean François Gravelet — is best known for being the first person to cross Niagara Falls on tightrope. Some 5,000 spectators watched as he successfully carried a balance pole 160 feet above the Niagara Gorge. The stunt, performed in June 1859, was the first in a series from the “Daredevil of Niagara Falls.” He would also push a wheelbarrow across, do it blindfolded, and even once had his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back.

While explorers such as Samuel de Champlain had witnessed the mighty Niagara Falls in their travels, it wasn’t until Belgian priest Louis Hennepin wrote “Description de la Louisiane” — a book published in Paris in 1683 and later translated into English as “A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America” — that their glory was described to Europeans on paper, putting Niagara on the map across the pond.

Aside from the falls themselves, Clifton Hill — the self-professed “street of fun” — might be the most iconic part of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The bustling tourist strip is home to dozens of neon signs advertising various attractions such as amusement parks, haunted houses, restaurants, wax museums, arcades, and souvenir shops. It is also home to the Skylon Tower, which offers some of the best views of the falls in the city.

The term “ice bridge” refers to the heavy mounds of ice and slush that form at the base of Niagara Falls. As frozen material makes its way from the upper Niagara River over the falls, the chunks get jammed along the banks, leading to more ice accumulation. Aided by the forceful falls, it starts to form massive lumps that eventually freeze.

Nikola Tesla, an American engineer and inventor, built the first hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls in partnership with the businessman George Westinghouse. The plant, located on the Niagara River, began generating electricity in 1895 and was able to transmit electricity over long distances thanks to Tesla's groundbreaking alternating current (AC) system, which used the power of the falls to turn turbines and became a model for other power plants around the world.

While several landscape artists from the Hudson River School movement depicted the mighty Niagara Falls in their work, Frederic Edwin Church’s was perhaps the most famous among them. The 1857 oil-on-canvas work depicts the Horseshoe Falls as seen from the American side of the border. It is now housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

According to Iroquois legend, Lelawala, grief-stricken over the death of her husband, paddled her canoe to the middle of the Niagara River planning to let the falls take her. However, she was caught by the god of thunder and brought back to his home behind the falls. The Maid of the Mist is also the name of the sightseeing boat tour around the falls.

Niagara Falls is known for the many daredevils who have attempted stunts in its thundering waters, but the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel was a 63-year-old retired schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor. In her custom-made barrel, Taylor completed her stunt — conceived of as a way to garner some fame and make some retirement money — on October 24, 1901.

Opened in 1941 and named as a symbol of friendship between the U.S. and Canada, Rainbow Bridge connects Ontario and New York state’s tourist areas of Niagara Falls. The bridge sits 202 feet above the Niagara Falls and spans 1,450 feet across. Visitors can cross the bridge between the two countries by foot, bicycle, or car.

Niagara Falls, and more specifically the Niagara River above the falls, has been a major source of hydroelectric power in both Canada and the U.S. since the late 19th century. The two U.S. facilities — the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant and the Lewiston Pump Generating Plant — make up the Niagara Power Project, and together they produce the majority of New York State’s electricity.

In 1953, Marilyn Monroe starred in the Henry Hathaway-directed film-noir thriller “Niagara” about a honeymoon that turned into an affair — and from there, a murder mystery. While in Ontario filming, Monroe stayed two weeks at the General Brock hotel (now called the Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls). Guests can request room 801 to stay in the room Monroe stayed in while filming.

Goat Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Niagara River, located between Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. It is located on the U.S. side of the border, and its paved trails, part of Niagara Falls State Park, are accessible by foot or by car via bridge. The island also provides bridge access to Luna Island, which offers up-close views of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

The nutrient-rich makeup of Niagara Falls gives the water its stunning green hue. It is estimated that about 60 tons of dissolved minerals wash over Niagara Falls every minute. The minerals, which consist mainly of dissolved salts and rock flour (very finely ground-up rocks), come primarily from the water’s limestone bed, but also from the shale and sandstone that are under the limestone layer.

The name Niagara is derived from an Iroquoian word believed to mean “thundering waters” or “thunder of the waters.” The name Onguiaahra first appeared in writings and on maps as early as 1641. The falls were of great significance to the early Iroquois people who inhabited the region and may have believed the roar of the waters to be from the thunder god who lived within.

The three separate waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls are American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are located on the U.S. side of the Niagara River, while Horseshoe Falls — the largest of the three — is located on the Canadian side (because of this, it is sometimes simply called the Canadian Falls).

Niagara Falls is a group of three separate waterfalls on the Niagara River. These three falls span the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the state of New York. Approximately 3,160 tons of water flow over Niagara Falls every second, the largest flow rate in North America. The natural wonder welcomes some 12 million tourists each year.

The Niagara River flows between two Great Lakes. From the river’s head at Lake Erie, it runs for approximately 35 miles before plunging over Niagara Falls and then travels through the Niagara Gorge and the Whirlpool Rapids to the foot of the Niagara Escarpment before finally flowing into Lake Ontario. From Lake Ontario, the water flows into the St. Lawrence River and eventually makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean.

In the early 1800s, Theodosia Burr, daughter of future Vice President Aaron Burr, traveled to Niagara Falls on her honeymoon, later influencing other high-society friends to do the same and turning Niagara Falls into the self-billed “Honeymoon Capital of the World.” With the increased ease of international travel, the falls have fallen off as a top honeymoon destination, but many of the kitschy relics such as heart-shaped hot tubs remain.