Misplaced Pages

Niagara Whirlpool

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Niagara Whirlpool is a natural whirlpool within the Niagara River located along the Canada–U.S. border between New York and Ontario . The whirlpool is in the Niagara Gorge (a gorge on that border), downstream from Niagara Falls (a group of three waterfalls on that border). The whirlpool's greatest depth is 125 feet (38 m).

#494505

6-785: There are two state/provincial parks located alongside the whirlpool: Whirlpool State Park , on the USA side, and Niagara Glen Nature Reserve , on the Canadian side. It is estimated that the whirlpool formed approximately 4,200 years ago by the upstream erosion of the Niagara Escarpment by the Niagara River. Niagara Falls is located along the boundary of the Niagara Escarpment and has been retreating upstream since its formation. During this normally slow process,

12-406: A counterclockwise motion during normal flow. When more water from the river is diverted to the surrounding hydroelectric power plants , however, the whirlpool direction often reverses. There are two state/provincial parks located alongside the whirlpool. On the U.S. side is Whirlpool State Park . On the Canadian side is Niagara Glen Nature Reserve . The Whirlpool Aero Car , which traverses

18-469: Is a day-use park offering a playground, picnic tables and pavilions, hiking and biking, a nature trail, fishing, and cross-country skiing. A visitor center is open during the summer months from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. A stone staircase within the park descends into the Niagara Gorge; a 300-foot (91 m) section of the staircase was reconstructed in 2016. The park

24-400: The Niagara River. This sharp and sudden change in direction of water flow, coupled with the rapid flow of water exiting the Niagara Gorge (speeds as high as 30 feet per second (9.1 m/s)), resulted in turbulent swirling of the river. Further erosion of the harder rock has resulted in a rounded basin that extends just to the side of the actual river's course. The whirlpool naturally spins in

30-544: The retreating falls intersected with an ancient pre- glacial river bed inside Saint David's Buried Gorge . During the retreat of ice from the Wisconsin glaciation of the Last Glacial Period , the gorge was filled with loose sediment and rock . When the falls intersected with this buried gorge, the river quickly washed away the filled-in silt and rocks. The ancient buried gorge was nearly perpendicular to

36-693: The river above the whirlpool, travels between two points on the Canadian side, and briefly enters U.S. territory four times during the trip. Whirlpool State Park Whirlpool State Park is a 109-acre (0.44 km ) state park located in Niagara County , New York , north of the city of Niagara Falls . The park overlooks the Niagara Whirlpool on the Niagara River and the lower Niagara Gorge . Whirlpool State Park

#494505