FEATURES SEE NIAGARA FROM A BARREL

Press, 6 December 1985, Page 11

FEATURES SEE NIAGARA FROM A BARREL

One of the world’s greatest natural spectacles is deteriorating at an alarming rate. ROD DEW discovered apparently insurmountable problems confronting Niagara Falls when he visited Canada recently as a guest of CP Air and the Canadian Government Office of Tourism.

... but make it soon >'7 ■ ■ . ' • f ' ■ '■< ‘ ; because the fines are getting bigger

A death-defying plunge over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel might still be regarded by those of adventurous spirit as the ultimate thrill. But the risk of perishing in the swirling cauldron 54 metres below the lip is now matched by an equally daunting fine for survivors. In October a 48-year-old Canadian, John Munday, realised a 20year dream when he took the plunge over, Horseshoe Falls, and lived to tell his tale — in court. The barrel fall, which he described as a “terrifying experience,” cost him nearly 52000 in fines. Mr Munday admitted before the hearing that he had been obsessed with the waterfall stunt, in spite of the fact that he could not swim and held a natural fear of the water. His was an unusually determined effort. He was already on two years probation for an earlier attempt which was foiled by Niagara Parks police.

This undoubtedly promoted the stiff fine. It will be surprising, nevertheless, if the previous largest fine for going over the falls of $650 will ever be repeated. Mr Munday now holds the distinction of being the tenth person to plummet over the falls in a barrel, and the seventh to survive the experience. He is, however, only the latest in a long line of daredevils whose feats of reckless courage and skill at Niagara have become merged in the legend of the ancient falls.

Perhaps the most famous of these was the French showman, Charles Blondin, for his tight-rope walk across the falls in 1859 — a feat he repeated many times with variations, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, and carrying a man on his back.

Today, he is immortalised in the Canadian tourist town of Niagara Falls, which has a life-size figure of a man crossing above the main street on a wire. The town itself is a maze of 1 attractions and entertainments. There is an extensive: fun fair with North America’s largest ferris wheel, Canada’s only museum dedicated to Elvis Presley, water slides, Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” museum, Louis Tussaud’s waxworks, and a marineland. Niagara Falls has become a wonderland of show business, full of razzamatazz and colour. The falls themselves, however, remain unchallenged as the main tourist attraction — for the present. The day I arrived at Niagara ’Falls in the company of a small group of New Zealand journalists it L was raining and bitterly cold. The ‘ main tourist period was at an end, the yellow maple leaves were beginning to fall, and the first sprinkling of snow was expected within a few weeks. The extensive car parks were almost empty, apart from a small row of tourist buses waiting for sightseers who were clearly not coming on this day.

A short distance away, a vast cloud of mist could be seen rising from the Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian part of Niagara Falls. Conditions could not have been worse for viewing what is accepted as one of the world’s truly great natural spectacles. But every now and then, a blustery wind would thrust the mist aside, revealing something of the overwhelming grandeur of the falls. There is an almost hypnotic effect in watching that vast expanse of the Niagara River sweeping over the falls and into the gorge below. Depending on the season and the draw-off for hydroelectric power, up to 15 million cubic feet (or aobut 400,000 tons) of water cascades over the lip every minute.

Looking doWn into the boiling waters at the foot of the falls, one can be almost overcome by a great sense of insignificance. At this time, it is not difficult to understand the emotions which drive such people as Charles Blondin and John Munday to challenge the awesome power represented by the Niagara Falls.

The ceaseless roar is minddeadening, and explains the name Niagara, given by the Iroquois Indians. It means “Thunder of Waters.” The falls are on the border between the United States and Canada, and are split in two by Goat Island. The American Falls, which are almost straight across, are obviously in the United States.

The Horseshoe Falls, or Canadian Falls, which are by far the most spectuclar, are in Ontario. Both countries have developed a thriving tourist industry based on the falls, although the finest views of both falls can only be obtained from the Canadian side of the border.

For those who like to get close to the action, it is possible to take a ride on a small boat which will poke its nose into the spray at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls. And if you don’t mind getting wet, you can get access to caves which have formed behind the sheets of water of both falls.

But probably the best way to get the falls in perspective is from above. Four giant towers have been built, each providing magnificent views of both falls. The tallest of these is the CP Hotels Skyion Tower, which soars 236 m (775 ft above the Niagara Gorge and gives a view of some 12,000 square kilometres of countryside. Serviced by “Yellow Bug” elevators which can rocket from bottom to top in 52 seconds, the tower features a revolving restaurant and an observation deck with windows specially treated for photography. The Niagara River itself is a great spectacle. It forms part of the border between New York State and Ontario and features impressive rapids both above and below the falls.

Draining almost a quarter of the North American continent through the Great Lakes, the river links

two huge inland seas, Lake Erie and, 53 kilometres westward, Lake Ontario. In places, the river is five

kilometres wide, and drifts lazily through the countryside. It narrows appreciably as it approaches the falls. The velocity increases so much that the < water cascading over the falls reaches out about 15 metres in front of the lip.

The total fall from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is about HO metres, and half of this occurs at the falls. After the falls, the river enters the picturesque Niagara Gorge, flanked by perpendicular walls of rock up to 98 metres high. About three kilometres below the falls, the river transforms into the vast Whirlpool Rapids and, below these, where the river has worn a large circular basin in the rock, is the celebrated Whirlpool.

On its own, the Niagara River will always be a fascinating tourist attraction. The future of the Niagara Falls, however, is not so certain, at least in the long term. In the thousands of years since the melting of a vast ice sheet and the formation of the Niagara River, the falls have moved 11 kilometres upstream as limestone layers have been broken off by the force of the

water and shale has been washed away. " ' ; • This has been of great concern for many years, a concern accentuated how that the trend is backed by scientific fact. In the last 200 years alone, the Horseshoe Falls have receded 295 metres.

The tremendous rush of water is chewing away at the lip of the smaller American Falls at a rate of between five centimetres and 17 centimetres annually. The deterioration of the lip on the 915 metre curve of the Horseshoe Falls is even greater. In one recent year, about 1.5 metres was eaten away. The annual average loss has been in excess of 61 centimetres. If the recession was allowed to continue at this rate, the American Falls would dry up within a century as the Horseshoe Falls captured all the water.

Technology took a hand, and this outcome is no longer likely. Huge tunnels under the cities of Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara

Falls, Ontario, can carry up to 75 per cent of the river’s flow to electric power generators. This diversion, above the falls, has greatly reduced the river’s cutting power. For two-thirds of the year, only a quarter of the natural flow Casses over the falls. For the alance of the year, the flow is maintained at half.

Unfortunately, this may only have replaced one problem with a much worse one. Considerable evidence exists to suggest that the river no longer has the power to wash away the fallen rock at the base of the falls. The 305 metre wide American Falls are already badly affected. The build up of rock at the base is now expected to transform the falls into steep rapids. At the present rate,

this will occur within the next century. ( Fallen rock has also built up under much of the crestline of the Horseshoe Falls, although this is not yet apparent to the casual observer. Under present conditions, the build up will continue until a' large part of the Horseshoe Falls will appear as the American Falls do today. Anybody planning a trip over the falls in a barrel would be well advised to make this sooner rather than later.

There is hope that the flow will be sufficient to keep the centre portion of the Horseshoe Falls open, but even this might prove misplaced. The magnificent Horseshoe Falls might already have deteriorated to an irreversible stage. The “moving falls," it seems, are about to become the “disappearing falls.” Such is the price of hydro electricity generating capacity equivalent to nearly five million horsepower.

River losing its power