Perhaps not a single waterfall in the world is as popular as Niagara. Throughout the year, it is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists who are fascinated by the unsurpassed beauty of this miracle of nature. In 2014, people who visited this beautiful place were struck by a very rare sight. They saw that Niagara Falls froze. Why is this happening?
Causes of Freezing Waterfall
Many people wondered why Niagara Falls froze. It's no secret that in recent years the Earth has been subject to various natural disasters that present mankind with very unexpected surprises. So, in the United States in recent years, abnormally cold and snowy winters have been observed almost annually. If a few decades ago it was impossible to imagine North America, covered with a large layer of snow and freezing at a temperature of -30 … -40 ˚С, now such weather is almost no surprise. Severe frosts contributed to the rapid freezing of even such a powerful stream of water as there is in Niagara Falls.
Ice complex Niagara Falls
Everyone knows that the height of this waterfall exceeds 50 m. The entire complex of the Niagara Cascade consists of 3 separate elements. So, the Canadian waterfall, which is often called the Horseshoe, has a width of 792 m. The so-called Fata has the smallest size - only 17 m. And the third - the American Falls - is 323 m wide. In this huge complex, after freezing, a certain amount of water still continues to flow. In this case, numerous ice growths are formed.
Excursion into the distant history
The earliest documented evidence of the freezing of Niagara Falls dates back to 1948. At that time, people who saw such an extraordinary sight were not only delighted, but also scared. It seemed to many that the end of the world had come, since such a phenomenon had never been observed in their memory. And on March 29, 1848, the channel of the Niagara River was completely blocked for several hours by a huge ice iceberg, which broke off on Lake Erie. At this time, the flow of water almost completely stopped.
Some people, who recently asked the question whether Niagara Falls freezes, did not know the information that such a rather rare phenomenon has already been recorded not only in documents. This miracle of nature was also captured in photographs. So, in the USA, Niagara Falls froze back in 1912. Since at that time many already had cameras, people had the opportunity to capture this unforgettable sight. Then Niagara Falls froze almost completely for 40 hours. Until 1912, onlookers were always allowed to go out onto the ice floes in order to observe the waterfall tamed by frost from below. They even erected tents intended for the sale of liquor. After the misfortune happened on February 4, 1912, namely the death of three tourists on a broken ice, people are not allowed to enter the foot of the frozen Niagara Falls. It is noteworthy that after more than 100 years, this unusual phenomenon again repeated twice in one month.
Very few sources mention the freezing of Niagara Falls in 1932, because it was very fast. Then, severe frosts managed to stop the flow of water for only a few hours, so there were very few witnesses to this event.
Explanation of meteorologists why Niagara Falls froze
Many people cannot understand the reasons why such an unusual and rare phenomenon arose. In the area where the river flows. Niagara, the air temperature in January very rarely drops to -6 … -8 ˚С. That is why a sharp cooling caused such an unforgettable phenomenon. According to meteorologists, Niagara Falls is completely frozen due to prolonged exposure to the polar funnel. It was she who brought abnormal frosts to the territory of the United States. So, in January 2014, the air temperature for several days fell below the norm by 16-19 ° C.
Falling water, forming a thick fog, during severe and prolonged frosts creates ice formations that are located under the waterfall. Only when winter is extremely harsh do they cover Niagara Falls almost completely. At the same time, a characteristic “ice bridge” forms on the river, stretching for several kilometers.
Niagara Falls froze this year twice. For the first time, streams of water were almost completely chained with ice. This sight was especially clearly seen at the American Falls, whose height reaches 34 m. It was he who made up the main tourist attraction located on the border of the United States and Canada. Downward streams of water turned into many-meter icicles. Re-freezing was only partial. At the same time, viewers saw not only huge blocks of ice and icicles, but also streams of water seething among them. An amazing sight, presented by a waterfall frozen in several places, delighted the audience for only a few hours.
Impressions of people visiting Niagara Falls
The many tourists who visited this beautiful place in early January 2014 were delighted that the powerful streams of water flowing from the top of the cliff and not reaching the bottom turn into numerous blocks of ice with amazing patterns. As a result of forty-degree frosts, even the Niagara River turned into a small stream. However, in this anomalous event, tourists and local residents saw their advantages. A huge stream of people wishing to admire the giant icicles, the length of which sometimes exceeded 50 m, did not stop for several days.
The popularity of images of a frozen waterfall
Despite the losses caused by the cold, many photographers successfully earned money on images of a frozen waterfall. The most popular photographs are huge icicles and views with night illumination. Hundreds of bloggers from all over the world have posted unique photos on the pages of their sites and share with everyone their desired impressions of such natural beauty. At the same time, many experts say that there are a lot of fake pictures of the waterfall on the network.
Enterprising Americans at their famous tourist site even installed a video camera that broadcasted live from it. Everyone who wants to see with their own eyes how Niagara Falls froze (2014), photos can be seen here.
