What is the significance of Niagara Falls?

Niagara Falls is one of Canada's most recognised natural landmarks, formed by the Niagara River as it drops over a 57-metre escarpment between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on the Canada-United States border. The Canadian side, the Horseshoe Falls, is 670 metres wide and carries roughly 90 per cent of the river's flow, making it the largest single waterfall by volume in North America. Approximately 168,000 cubic metres of water plunge over the Canadian falls every minute.

The falls have been a symbol of Canada-United States cooperation since the Treaty of Washington in 1871 and the establishment of the Niagara Parks Commission by the Ontario government on April 30, 1885, the first provincial parks agency in Canada. Queen Victoria Park, opened in 1888 along the Canadian shore, was the first park to make the Falls freely accessible to the public on either side of the border.

Hydroelectric generation began at Niagara in 1881, and the Sir Adam Beck stations on the Canadian side, opened in 1922 and 1954, contribute about 13 per cent of Ontario's electricity. Generation capacity is split between Canada and the United States under the Niagara Treaty of 1950, with the falls themselves protected from drying out by minimum-flow regulations during daylight hours and the tourist season.

Niagara has shaped Canadian tourism for two centuries: the Maid of the Mist tour boats began operating in 1846, the Spanish Aero Car cable car opened in 1916, and the modern resort city of Niagara Falls, Ontario hosts about 14 million visitors each year. The city is also a centre of the Canadian wine industry, with the Niagara Peninsula classified as a Vintners Quality Alliance designated viticultural area producing world-class ice wines from frozen Vidal and Riesling grapes.