After the 30-hour debacle in March of 1848, engineers knew they had to spring into action to prevent anything like that from happening again. Now, to stop ice from blocking the flow, yearly precautions are taken. A three-kilometer ice boom is installed where the mouth of The Niagara River meets Lake Erie.
22 steel pontoons work together to control the amount of ice that makes it into the river. But 1848 wouldn’t be the last time the water would stop falling. Only the next time, it was man who made it happen.
Until the mid 1960’s, ice could block the flow of the water petty far up the river. Usually, however, everything continues as usual. Or at least, the falls continue to produce at least 50,000 gallons per second. But on some occasions, like the 2014-2015 polar vortex, the falls freeze up completely. Take a look at the picture below, that has begun circulating the internet and is referred to as the “frozen falls".
Visiting Niagara around this time of year has proven to be dangerous. Certain safety precautions have been instilled since three visitors lost their lives to falling ice in the area.
People who live in the area are accustomed to the sound of the rushing waters – and they have been since there were people living in the area. So, you can imagine how if that sound were to suddenly come to a halt, residents may be a little shocked. That’s exactly what happened when, for the first time in 1848, the Niagara Falls stopped, well, falling.
For 30 hours, on March 29th, millions of tons of ice blocked the flow from Lake Erie. And, just as Mother Nature had caused the dam, she took it away with some strong gusts of winds just over a full day later.
Debris at the base of The American Falls was starting to concern everyone. So, in 1969, the U.S Army decided to intervene. The Army Corp of Engineers started studying what measures they could take, if any, to remove the blockage.
But before anything could be done, the International Joint Commission had to be consulted. After all, this wasn’t just the U.S involved, since the falls are in Canada, as well.
The Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of Niagara was the first one to be sculpted to give it a better appearance, at the request of citizens and those who oversaw everything. In the late 1950’s, cofferdams had been erected to dry out the area so everything could be chiseled and contoured.
This resulted in the Horseshoe Falls area being the most desirable viewing spot in all of Niagara. And because of that, the citizens of Niagara Falls, New York, decided that it was time their side get a makeover, too. And thus, they began the 1969 American Falls projects.