Sequel to my previous post: [tag]Niagara falls[/tag]: evening

Some more pictures:
[tag]Queen Victoria Park[/tag] at Niagara Falls is called the ‘heart’ of Niagara parks. During peak seasons, it has thousands of daffodils, rock garden and some beautiful trails.

A tree in Queen Victoria Park

[tag]Rainbow Bridge[/tag] across the Niagara river connects US and Canada. The deep blue something Niagara river downstream of the falls looks ferocious. This bridge was constructed in 1941 and is about 290m long.

Rainbow bridge

Its was a long, albeit extremely pleasurable walk from Casino Niagara (where one can park for free) to the point close to the falls. Walking along this path next to the river was awesome. At one point, we were surprised – it suddenly started raining – but soon enough it was dry. Then we realized that it was not the rain, but tiny droplets of water getting sprayed from the Niagara falls. The sound (noise!) of the falls starts rising as we approach and it’s impossible to hear without shouting.

View of Canadian Niagara falls and the road along the river

Another view of Niagara Falls (Canadian side)

Niagara falls, Canada

The Niagara falls are divided into two parts. One part is a straight line and the other is a horseshoe. The straight part is in US territory, while the curved one is Canadian. It is generally accepted that view of the whole area is many times better from the Canadian side than the US. Many people pop across the border just to take a look

Niagara falls, US

The falls are illuminated at night, and they look colorful and pretty!

Niagara falls, US

The [tag]city of Niagara Falls[/tag] glitters at night. There are a number of casinos, hotels, restaurants and bars. In the picture you can see a ray of white light that illuminates the falls. The two pictures of US falls shown above are the result of the same beam.

Niagara falls town at night

Finally, there are lots of things to do after you have had enough of the falls

Experimental shot. Artistic, no?

Wonder who plays that Guitar!

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• Niagara’s Man Made Wonder – Welland Canal (5)
• Toronto Islands – I (8)
• Toronto Biking (12)
• Tale of Two Cities – Spring edition (26)
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On the way to Niagara Falls from Toronto is the [tag]Welland Canal[/tag]. It is a man made construction that connects [tag]Lake Ontario[/tag] and [tag]Lake Erie[/tag]. Lake Erie is about 100 meters above lake Ontario and guess what this canal does…. it lifts the ships up! awesome, isn’t it? Canadian Encyclopedia describes it as follows:

The Welland Canal is a navigational canal 43.5 km long, crossing the Niagara Peninsula of southwestern Ontario from Port Weller on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. It overcomes a height difference of 99.4 m between the 2 lakes and bypasses the turbulent Niagara River and [tag]Niagara Falls[/tag].

The [tag]ships[/tag] pass thru a series of ‘locks’ or gates that slowly raise their height. I was at lock 3, which has the St. Catharines Museum and plenty of space to watch the action:


View of QEW from Lock 3:


Queen Elizabeth Way. (Freeway that connect Buffalo, New York, USA and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto and its western suburbs):


As the ship approaches, a bridge over a local road opens:


Gates open to let the ship enter:


Ship enters the lock:


Water is pumped into the lock to “lift” the ship up:


CSL Assiniboine. Its a beautiful ship. (notice the level):


Finally, the ship is elevated:

Children were screaming and cheering the rising ship while the crew members happily waved back at them. I have heard that sometimes crew members from foreign ships toss a few foreign currency coins at children, its worth the fun.
This large ship was going upstream, but we also saw two small sailboats going downstream.
Finally, if you are still clueless about how the whole thing works, see the little animation (source)

Related posts

• Niagara Falls (13)
• Toronto Islands – I (8)
• Toronto Biking (12)
• Tale of Two Cities – Spring edition (26)
• Rabbits and Reindeers (31)