Our Adventure to Niagara Falls

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Our Adventure to Niagara Falls

• Miss Adrienne Knowles
• 4th grade class
• Chenango Bridge Elementary

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New York State Learning Standards/Themes and
Objectives

• Social Studies Standards 1 and 3
• Themes include Time, Continuity, and Change
  People, Places and Environment
• Objectives
• - Students will be able to locate Niagara Falls
  on a map.
• - Students will be able to identify important
  historical dates and share how the Falls were
  formed.
• - Students will be able to describe two ways in
  which the Falls are used.

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We have arrived

• We are finally here. We have traveled to the
  border of Canada, yet are still in the United
  States. As we are walking over to the edge, by
  the fence, we feel a mist of water spray upon our
  arms and faces. We look out to observe Niagara
  Falls.
• Hows the view?
• http//www.cliftonhill.com/niagara_falls_falls_cam
  _qtvr_tablerock/

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I will be your Niagara Falls tour guide today

• Niagara Falls is a set of enormous waterfalls
  which are located on the Niagara River, on the
  border between the United States and Canada. It
  consists of three separate waterfalls. The first
  called the Horseshoe Falls, also called the
  Canadian Falls, the American Falls, and the
  smallest of the three, the Bridal Veil Falls.
  The Horseshoe Falls, which are crescent shaped,
  lay in Ontario, Canada and the American falls lay
  in Niagara Falls, New York, where we are right
  now.
• Look at the maps. Can you find where Niagara
  Falls is located?

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• We will first discuss the history of the Falls
• The name Niagara is said to originate from an
  Iroquois word onguiaahra meaning The Strait.
  The regions original inhabitants were the
  Ongiara, an Iroquois tribe.
• The Native American legend about the Falls goes
  like this
• There was a young woman engaged by
  her father to a man she did not like. Rather
  than marrying him, she chose to sacrifice herself
  to her true love, the Thunder God. He lived in a
  cave behind the Horseshoe Falls. She paddled her
  canoe into the rapid current of the Niagara River
  and was swept over the falls. Her love, the
  Thunder God, caught her as she was falling over
  the edge of the falls. Together their spirits
  are said to live forever in the Thunder Gods
  sanctuary behind the Falls.

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The Formation of the Falls

• Niagara Falls was formed about 12,000 years ago.
  Glaciers moved north, allowing water from Lake
  Erie to flow over the Niagara Escarpment. The
  Niagara Escarpment is a ridge that extends in an
  arc across the northern Great Lakes region, from
  Wisconsin to New York. Erosion slowly pushed the
  waterfall about 7 miles upstream, forming the
  Niagara Gorge. Since erosion has slowed due to
  water-diversion projects built in the 1950s and
  1960s, it will take about 30 years for the falls
  to recede the distance it once did in a year.
  The Horseshoe falls use to reduce about 3 feet
  per year. In 1954 a large section of the American
  Falls broke off, creating a huge rock slope, at
  the base of the Falls.

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Here are some important dates of Niagara Falls
historical background

• 1678
• A Franciscan monk and Louis Hennepin, an
  explorer, became the first European explorer to
  stumble upon theFalls.
• 1759-
• The first known effort to harness the water.
  Daniel Joncaire built a small canal above the
  Falls to power his sawmill.
• 1846-
• Now, one of the most famous tourist attractions
  in Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist makes its
  first voyage as a ferry, charging a fee to
  transport people, cargo, and mail across the
  river, and then it becomes a sightseeing boat,
  like today, taking visitors close to the
  Horseshoe Falls.
• March 1848-
• For the first time in record history, the falls
  went dry due to strong westerly winds keeping
  water in Lake Erie and an ice jam that dammed the
  rivers water near Buffalo, New York.
  Interestingly, the townspeople explored the
  riverbed and the edge of the falls, finding
  artifacts from the War of 1812.
• July 1848-
• Charles Ellett, an engineer directs the first
  service bridge across the Niagara gore. Then
  seven years later, John Reobling completes
  another suspension bridge. This was first to be
  suspended by wire cables to carry the weight of a
  train, with two levels, one for carriage and the
  other for railway traffic.
• July 15, 1885-
• The Niagara Reservation State Park opens,
  bringing 750,000 visitor.
• 1941-
• The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission completed
  the third current crossing of Niagara Falls with
  the Rainbow Bridge which carries vehicles and
  people, and is still in use today.

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Now I will share Niagara Falls hydroelectric
history

• The Falls large volume of flow and its steep
  drop gives the river great power. In 1853, a
  water canal to use the waters of the upper river
  to power machinery in mills and factories was
  built below Niagara Falls. In 1896 the first
  large-scale hydroelectric facility was opened on
  the U.S. side.
• - Photo of the world's first commercial
• alternating current hydroelectric
• generators at the Edward Dean
• Adams Station, Niagara Falls. 

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The Barrel BrigadeThere is a group of
daredevils from Americas past who challenged
the Horseshoe Falls by taking a ride over them.
Fifteen adventurers have faced the Falls since
1901. I will tell you some of their stories.

• Annie Edson Tylor was the first women and the
  first person to go over the Falls in a barrel.
  She arrived at the falls in 1901 as a poor 63
  year old widow. She thought the stunt would give
  her an opportunity to make some money. She faced
  the falls on October 24, 1901 in a barrel she
  made herself. She did survive but made no money.
  
• George Stathakis on July 4, 1930 went over in a
  wooden barrel and got caught behind the Falls for
  14 hours. He didnt have enough air to survive
  before he got rescued, and died. However, his 105
  year old pet turtle that he took with him
  survived.
• Steven Trotter and Lori Martin on June 18, 1995
  became the first woman and man to go over the
  Falls together in one single barrel. They
  survived with only small injuries.
• Here is a photo of Bobby
• Leach who went over the Falls
• on July 25, 1911 in his barrel
• and survived.

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Lets board the Maid of the Mist

• (click here) http//www.maidofthemist.com/en/
• The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara
  Falls. The boat starts off at a calm part of the
  Niagara River and takes its passengers past the
  American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the
  intense mist inside the curve of the Horseshoe
  Falls. The tour is available starting from either
  the United States side or the Canadian side of
  the river. Dont forget to bring a poncho
  because youre sure to get wet!

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Here are some interesting facts Id like to share
with you

• Horseshoe Falls is eroding upstream at a faster
  rate than the American Falls because of the
  greater volume of water passing over it.
• The water that runs over the falls comes from the
  Great Lakes and 90 of the water goes over the
  Horseshoe Falls. Today, the amount is controlled
  by the Canadian and American governments to slow
  erosion.
• Niagara Falls has been one of the most popular
  destinations for honeymooners in the world since
  promoters for the area helped institute
  honeymooning as a tradition in the
  mid-nineteenth century.
• Click below to find an interactive aerial photo
  that allows you to click on the Niagara Falls
  area to look at photos and learn more.
• http//www.niagarafallslive.com/Niagara_Falls_Inte
  ractive_Map.htm

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• Explore On Your Own!
• Get a great view from different areas around
  Niagara Falls.

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As we conclude our tour

• Id like you to remember that the Falls is not
  only known for its breath-taking beauty which
  attracts people from all over the United States
  and the World, but also provides us with a source
  of hydroelectric power. We also cannot forget
  its remarkable historical background. We are
  faced with the challenge to preserve this natural
  wonder of the world.
• I hope you enjoyed your tour today and please
  
• come back and visit again!

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Follow-up Activity

• Now that you have visited Niagara Falls you can
  make a post card to send back to your family or
  friends and share your experience with them.
  Tell them what you saw and learned. Be sure to
  create and design a front to your postcard
  relating to Niagara Falls and your experience.

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Sources

• -"Niagara Falls (waterfall)," Microsoft Encarta
  Online Encyclopedia 2006http//encarta.msn.com/en
  cyclopedia_761578254/Niagara_Falls_(waterfall).htm
  l
• -The History Channel.com http//www.history.com/mi
  nisite.do?content_typemini_homemini_id1062
• -Online reference for Niagara Falls Information.
• -http//www.niagara.com/niagnews/

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Questions???