ABSTRACT
Niagara Falls might be the best example of that sensation in American History. The Falls are a natural wonder, a bare example of exploited nature, a widely recognized tourist attraction, and a source of massive hydropower. Niagara Falls demonstrated the great diversity of water use, from passive admiration of its beauty to aggressive manipulation of its power. Niagara Falls formed more than 12,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age when a deluge of water from melting ice drained into the Niagara River, which flows north from Lake Erie. Indigenous peoples knew about the Falls for many years before European explorers. The period of French control of the area ended in 1759 with the British capture of the fort and the defeat of the French elsewhere in Canada. Railroads in Canada and the United States especially encouraged greater access to the Falls.
