There’s nothing that compares to the beauty and fascination of the Niagara Falls.
Similarly, history and facts prove that this beautiful location is also one of the hottest tourist sites around the globe. And when you think of amazing natural wonders in the United States, it usually comes out on top. Likewise, the Grand Canyon and the beautiful Great Lakes follow closely. But have you ever wondered what the Niagara Falls drained would appear as?
Yes, we’re very serious. One of the most popular sites and nature’s glory was once dewatered in 1969. And viewers simply can’t handle the news. Here’s a closer look at the mysterious reason why and more.
The Niagara Falls- an epic expanse of water and more
People couldn’t help but hold their emotions when news of the Niagara Falls getting drained came out. And that’s because this place serves as a giant fascination for not years, but centuries.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors embark on a journey to the famous natural wonder. And there’s even been a series of methodologies involving daredevils jumping across the edge. Likewise, let’s not forget the tourist-friendly boat rides known as Maid of the Mist.
85,000 cubic feet of flow reduced to a trickle- Niagara Falls drained becomes a reality
Each year, this beautiful natural wonder gets a record-breaking 85,000 cubic feet per second of water. And while truly understanding this fact is incomprehensible, just the sound of it fascinates many.
But did you know that in the year 1969, the Niagara Falls received almost no torrents of water gushes over its edge? And that means the Niagara Falls drained concept was no longer a fantasy. It was actually happening.
Overall, the Niagara Falls is made up of three waterfalls. And the American Falls is the second largest of them all. But did you know that the American Falls was once dewatered for months? But what was the reason?
There were a great number of growing concerns that if immediate action wasn’t taken, the whole Niagara Falls would be lost. And that meant permanent Niagara Falls drained would be the reality of today.
Similarly, this was related to the great many rock slides that the Niagara Falls was prone to. And that meant a possibility that all the falls would erode completely.
Engineers stem the flow in an effort to study Niagara Falls’ fascinating geologic makeup
So now we have a little bit of info on why the Niagara Falls drained. Engineers wanted to get down and dirty in terms of studying the falls’ geology. And that was only possible by stemming the waterfall’s flow.
But who took the responsibility of carrying out such a major task in 1969? Well, we’ve got the combined American-Canadian commission to thank.
A very ‘Dry Niagara Falls’ was once a bitter reality of the past
In June 1969, the world was about to witness the unthinkable.
1200 trucks made their way to the geographic wonder, dumping around 28,000 tonnes worth of rocks. These rocks made their way towards a cofferdam. This is a dam that’s temporarily placed upstream.
Meanwhile, this diverted water away towards the famous American Falls, and into the Horseshoe Falls. And as water soon started drying out, the engineers began working.
Above all, when the Niagara Falls drained, onlookers were super excited. They had never seen such a bare river bed.
The cofferdam was soon removed after a span of 5 months. And that meant the Niagara Falls would soon return back to its old charming self. Similarly, it’s flow also resumed back to normal and fans couldn’t be happier.
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