Horseshoe Falls

The Horseshoe Falls — straddling the border between New York State and Ontario, with about two-thirds on the Canadian side — are the dominant feature of Niagara Falls and the largest waterfall by flow volume in North America. The 57-metre drop across an 800-metre curved brink carries about 2,800 cubic metres of water per second at peak flow, creating a permanent cloud of spray and a roar audible from kilometres away.

The American views of the Horseshoe Falls are from Goat Island and the Three Sisters Islands at the southern end of the state park. These are close and vertiginous, looking into the curve of the falls from above and beside. The Canadian views are generally considered superior for the full panoramic effect of the entire falls at once, and many visitors cross the Rainbow Bridge specifically for this. But the American side — standing at the brink of Goat Island with the water rushing past your feet toward the drop — has its own overwhelming quality.

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A story
The Horseshoe Falls recedes upstream by about 30 centimetres per year as the flow erodes the soft sandstone beneath the hard dolostone cap rock. Over the past 12,000 years since the last ice age, the falls have moved approximately 11 km upstream from their original position at Queenston. At the current rate of erosion, the falls will eventually reach Lake Erie — in roughly 50,000 years. Since the early 20th century, water diversion for power generation has reduced the erosion rate significantly.