Today the weather was good in the morning so Mark and I went to the Niagara Falls. On the way there we stoped at Fort George and I learned a bit about canadian history.
“Fort George National Historic Site is a historic military structure at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, that was the scene of several battles during the War of 1812. The fort consists of earthworks and palisades, along with internal structures, including an officer’s quarters, blockhouses to accommodate other ranks and their families, and a stone powder magazine, which is the only original building on the site. Opposite the fort, across the Niagara River, stands Fort Niagara in New York, which can be seen from Fort George’s ramparts.
Fort George was built by the British Army after Jay’s Treaty (1796) required Britain to withdraw from Fort Niagara. The new fort was completed in 1802 and became the headquarters for the British Army and the local militia.
Fort George was captured by U.S. forces in May 1813 at the Battle of Fort George. The American Army used the fort as a base to invade Upper Canada, but were repelled at the Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. The fort was recaptured by the British Army in December.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_George,_Ontario)
After visiting the fort we went to a nice little town called Niagara at the Lake. All the houses looked like back in the days. We bought some fudge and I sended my first postcards. Then in the afternoon we went to the Niagara falls. Unfortunally the oil of the car was empty so we had first to stop at a garage to fix it. We had enough time to look at the falls later on. So finally I saw them – big and majestic. Very beautiful. The area around them looked like a american theme park, not really my thing. But for the falls it was worth it to come and do photos. On the way back home we came into a quite dangerous thunderstorm with lots of lightenings but we arrived finally safe back in to Toronto.
“Niagara Falls is divided into the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet (53 m), the height of the American Falls varies between 70-100 feet (21 m) because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet (792 m) wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet (323 m) wide. The volume of water approaching the falls during peak flow season is 202,000 cubic feet per second (5,720 m³/s). By comparison Africa’s spectacular Victoria Falls has over 15 million cubic feet (424,750 m³) of water falling over its crest line each minute during the peak of the wet season (250,000 cu ft/7,079 m³ per second). Since the flow is a direct function of the Lake Erie water elevation, it typically peaks in late spring or early summer. During the summer months, 100,000 cubic feet per second (2,832 m³/s) of water actually traverses the Falls, some 90% of which goes over the Horseshoe Falls, while the balance is diverted to hydroelectric facilities. This is accomplished by employing a weir with movable gates upstream from the Horseshoe Falls. The Falls flow is further halved at night, and during the low tourist season in the winter, remains a flat 50,000 cubic feet per second (1,416 m³/s).” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls)
You look so beautiful!!!!