Power of Nature…

Six million gallons a minute sourced from the upper great lakes rushing toward Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway and on to the Atlantic.  An incredible phenomenon, to see the concentrated power of so much water and gravity at work.  The energy of a closed system of water replenishment in the upper great lakes through rain and snow across a massive watershed fed into rivers feeding and replenishing the great lakes.  Nature’s concentrated force visible at this nexus of power.

Timing…

10,000 years ago a gorge created by a collapse of limestone, formed the opportunity for the falls, and as the mass of water erodes the falls at nearly a foot per year, in some 50,000 years the falls will have receded into nothing but the flow of a river.  We are fortunate to have seen it while we can. 😉

Power…

Nikola Tesla…

saw this great power of water dropping some 180 feet and realized this could be tapped to spin a turbine, to turn a shaft linked to magnetic rotors, which spinning past copper stators would produce electric energy to power industry and homes through distribution of alternating current electricity.  Together with George Westinghouse they conceived a power plant which was built on this site.  In 1905 it went into service and operated for 101 years.

The power of invention…

and thought, and massive amounts of manual labor, dynamite and machinery allowed for tapping into the power of water and gravity and transport it to where it could be used productively.  Amazing the work done and illumination accomplished.

The power plant is now a museum worth seeing.  The 2200 ft. tunnel which once was used for the outflow of water that had turned the 11 turbines of the power plant, is now a walkway which leads to a viewing platform near the base of the horseshoe falls offering another view of the power of water and gravity…

The romance of nature…

the moonrise over the falls at night as they are lit by the power of electric light, an accident of timing, human innovation and celestial power, but beautiful nonetheless.

Niagara Falls 2024