PRESERVING NIAGARA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 4 May 1931, Page 5

PRESERVING NIAGARA

The crumbling of a portion of the brink of the Niagara Falls on the American side is a reminder that in the course of time —probably thousands ol years—the great world wonder will disappear. On the other side Canada lias taken steps to ensure that the erosion of the escarpment of the falls, which lias been receding at a rate of over three feet a year, shall be modified. The Canadian Government is spending oyer £350,0C0, not only in the further utilisation of Niagara for power, but in establishing an unbroken crest-line. Exposed shoals above the horseshoe are being removed, and submerged weirs are being laid diagonally and at irregular intervals across the current. By means of excavations, too, water is being deflected from the swifter channels, and the force of the falls is being evenly distributed over the whole of the brink. The preservation is being achieved without in any way marring the scenic beauty of what a. writer. 250 years ago, described as “a vast and prodigious cadence of water which falls down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch that the universe does not afford its parallel.”