Niagara Falls Frozen Over in 1911

Niagara Falls was compltly Frozen in 1911. Makes you wonder how cold it had to of been for Niagara Falls to Freeze.

The number one question everyone asks about this set of images is, "Does Niagara Falls ever really freeze over like this?" And the answer is yes. During an extended winter cold snap a hardened crust of ice can accumulate over parts of the falls -- American Falls in particular -- creating an amazing, naturally-formed ice sculpture, if you will, that has been known to reach a thickness of 50 feet. Neither the river nor the falls ever freezes solid, mind you. The water continues to flow beneath the ice at all times, albeit reduced to a mere trickle on rare occasions when ice jams block the river above the falls.

Historically, when this blanket of ice has spanned the entire Niagara River, the phenomenon has been known as the "ice bridge." Just as you see in the photos, people used to stroll and frolic on and around the frozen falls and even walk across the ice bridge, though no one has been allowed to do the latter since 1912, when the bridge unexpectedly broke apart and carried three tourists to their deaths.

Niagara Falls Completly Frozen in 1911

more information and photo's of Niagara Falls Frozen 1911 at urbanlegends.about.com

Niagara Falls went Dry March 29 - 31, 1848

Even in the coldest months, the river waters continue to flow, carrying Lake Erie and Niagara River ice over the cataract and into the great basin below the Falls. Some of these blocks of ice are quite large and able to temporarily withstand the erosive forces of the raging waters. When the temperatures are right, some of the falling water freezes instantly on the block ice and form great ice falls in front of the actual waterfalls. Such formations grow further forming castle turrets and other outcrop patterns as the mist settles on them. On occasion, a ice bridge forms across the Niagara River within the Great Gorge below the Falls as a result of the laying down of these ice blocks.

 

On six reported occasions (1883, 1896, 1904, 1909, 1936 and 1947), the water flow over American Falls has been totally blocked by ice and ceased to fall. But only once has this happened to the much larger Horseshoe Falls (originally known as the Canadian Falls): March 29-31, 1848, the Days Niagara Falls Went Dry.

 

 

There appears to have been nothing terribly unusual about the winter of 1847-48 nor the onset of spring in March. Nor was there any evidence that the ice on Lake Erie was unusually thick. But during the night of March 29-30, 1848, the great cataracts over both falls diminished, slowed to a trickle and then stopped completely! When the local residents awoke on the morning of the 30th, something felt wrong...indeed, something sounded wrong. There was...silence. No roaring water filled the ambient background as it had every morning in anyone's memory.

Many rushed to the Falls and saw: rock and ice and some ponds and pools of water. The Niagara River had stopped flowing, and both the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls had stopped, well, falling! Soon too, the Welland River which receives its waters upstream of the Falls was reduced to a freshlet and the water wheels at factories and flour mills ground to a halt.

Despite the limited and slow communication network of the day, a reported 5000 people from as far as Hamilton, Ontario and Buffalo, New York converged on the scene, jamming local roads. Thousands attended special church services, convinced that the incident was a prophetic sign of greater disasters yet to come.

photo's Courtesty Niagara Parks Commission

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