Niagara Falls is the collective noun for three waterfalls which straddle the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York.

About 10,000 years ago, the falls were created by the Wisconsin glaciation. When the ice melted, the upper Great Lakes emptied into the Niagara River, which followed a re-arranged topography across the Niagara Escarpment. In time, the river cut a gorge and because of the interactions of three major rock formations, the rocky bed did not erode evenly.

During peak tourist hours, more than six million cubic feet (168,000 m) of water goes over the crest of the falls every minute. According to the timeline of the far future, in roughly 50,000 years Niagara Falls will have eroded away the remaining 20 miles (32 km) to Lake Erie and will cease to exist!

The Horseshoe Falls border the international boundary between Canada and the US, are 2,600 feet (790 m) wide and have a drop of 180 feet (57 m).

The American Falls are solely within the US, are 1060 feet (320 m) wide and have a drop of between 70 and 100 feet (21 to 30 m) because of the presence of giant boulders at the base.

Thank you, dear LeAnn, who gave us the best advice ahead of our visit … take your passports, park the car on the American side of the falls, walk across Rainbow Bridge into Canada, board the Hornblower boat, put on your rain coat and enjoy the thrill. We did, and, amazingly, there appeared a rainbow in front of rainbow bridge!