"It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...waterfall!"

The Horseshoe Falls is the largest of three waterfalls that separates Canada and the United States, and forms the Canadian side of the Niagara River. The waterfall got its name from its natural curving crest shape of 900-meters in length. Thousands of tourists visit the Horseshoe Falls each year and are in awe at the natural phenomena that it is. The Horseshoe Falls works with the two waterfalls on the American side of the Niagara River to produce the highest flow rate of any waterfall on Earth. If you can imagine, many brave people in the past have risked their lives going over the 51-foot rushing waterfall in a barrel or boat; some have event tight roped across it!

Movies filmed at this location include Superman II (1980) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). Superman II stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Heckman. The Horseshoe Falls was used in a scene of this film when a child falls over the barrier of the waterfall. Superman dives into the mist and crashing waves to save the child. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End stars Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and Orlando Bloom. The Horseshoe Falls was used in a scene to depict the pirate ship falling over a waterfall. In order to film this, the producers of the movie worked with Niagara Falls staff to hang a crane over the Horseshoe Falls to get a perfect view of the raging water.

More than 12,000 years ago the Horseshoe Falls began to form at the end of the Ice Age. Large amounts of water were released from the melting ice which caused it to drain into Niagara River. The water eventually rushed over the edge of the Niagara Escarpment creating what is now known as the Horseshoe Falls. At the time of its creation, it is estimated that the edge of the falls was seven miles further down river than it is today. Until the flow of water began to be controlled in the 1950s, the brink of the falls moved backward about three feet each year due to erosion.

Since the early 1900s there have been attempts of people going over the falls and attempting to survive. The first successful attempt at this was made on October 24th, 1901 by a 63-year-old school teacher named Annie Edison Taylor. Annie plunged over the Niagara Falls in a barrel on her 63rd birthday as she did not have enough money to survive after her husband had died in the Civil War. She came up with the idea to go over the Niagara Falls in a barrel seeking fame. Annie did survive, but her fame was not enough to make her money. She did inspire a number of people to attempt the stunt for years after. This is why tourists today often find themselves getting a photo in front of a green screen of them falling over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Phone: (905) 358-3268

Email: info@niagaraparks.com

Website: https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/play/falls-experiences/table-rock/

Twitter: @NiagaraParks

Facebook: @niagaraparks

LinkedIn: Niagara Parks Commission

All lookout points for the Horseshoe Falls are wheelchair accessible and there are wheelchair rentals available in the summer months at the Table Rock Welcome Centre which is located directly beside the Falls.

Copyright for all sources remains with the original creators.

Info Niagara. (2020). Canadian Falls. Retrieved from http://www.infoniagara.com/attractions/canadian_falls/

Lester, R. (1980). [Picture of Superman at the Horseshoe Falls] [Photograph. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/342766221609892440/

Niagara Falls Canada. (2016). The Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Retrieved from https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/blog/the-canadian-horseshoe-falls/

Niagara Falls Canada. (2018). Movies Filmed in Niagara Falls. Retrieved from https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/blog/movies-filmed-in-niagara-falls/

Niagara Parks. (2020). Niagara Falls Geology: Facts and Figures. Retrieved from https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit-niagara-parks/plan-your-visit/niagara-falls-geology-facts-figures/

Niagara River. (2020). Niagara River Ecology. Retrieved from https://ourniagarariver.ca/niagara-river-ecology/

Verbinski, G. (2007). [Picture of Captain Barbosa's ship] [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsO5sW0tZm4