1.
Niagara Falls, New York
–
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 50,193. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, the city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Western New York region. While the city was occupied by Native Americans, Europeans who migrated to the Niagara Falls in the mid-17th century began to open businesses. After the 1960s, however, the city and region witnessed an economic decline consistent with the rest of the Rust Belt as industries left the city, globalization has played a large role in the decline of manufacturing in the city. Despite the decline in industry, Niagara Falls State Park. The population, however, has continued to decline from a peak of 102,394 in the 1960s due to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the area, before Europeans entered the area, it was dominated by the Neutral Nation of Native Americans. European migration into the area began in the 17th century, the first recorded European to visit the area was Frenchman Robert de la Salle, accompanied by Belgian priest Louis Hennepin, who was the first known European to see the falls. The influx of newcomers may have been a catalyst for already hostile native tribes to turn to warfare in competition for the fur trade. The City of Niagara Falls was incorporated on March 17,1892 from the villages of Manchester and Suspension Bridge, thomas Vincent Welch, a member of the charter committee and a New York state assemblyman and a second-generation Irishman, persuaded Governor Roswell P. Flower to sign the bill on St. Patricks Day, george W. Wright was elected the first mayor of Niagara Falls. By the end of the 19th century, the city was an industrial area. In 1927, the city annexed the village of La Salle from the Town of Niagara, the village was named for the French explorer Robert de la Salle. who built his ship, the Griffon, on the shores of the Niagara River five miles east. Industry and tourism grew steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century due to a demand for industrial products. Paper, rubber, plastics, petrochemicals, carbon insulators and abrasives were among the major industries. This prosperity would end by the late 1960s as aging industrial plants moved to less expensive locations, in addition, the falls were incompatible with modern shipping technology. In 1956, the Schoellkopf Power Plant on the river just downstream of the American Falls was critically damaged due to a massive collapse of the Niagara Gorge wall above it. This prompted the planning and construction of one of the largest hydroelectric plants to be built in North America at that time, causing an influx of workers
Niagara Falls, New York
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The city of Niagara Falls. In the foreground is the waterfall named
Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls, New York
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The Niagara Falls mill district downriver from the
American Falls, 1900.
Niagara Falls, New York
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The contaminated neighborhood of
Love Canal received national attention in 1978.
Niagara Falls, New York
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View of city and American Falls from Niagara Falls, Ontario.
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
3.
Waterfall
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A waterfall is a place where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of an iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls are commonly formed in the course of a river. At these times the channel is narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens slowly, as the watercourse increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks material from the riverbed. Whirlpools created in the turbulence as well as sand and stones carried by the increase the erosion capacity. This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream, often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge downstream as it recedes upstream, and it will carve deeper into the ridge above it. The rate of retreat for a waterfall can be as high as one, eventually, the outcropping, more resistant cap rock will collapse under pressure to add blocks of rock to the base of the waterfall. Waterfalls normally form in an area due to erosion. After a long period of being formed, the water falling off the ledge will retreat. Eventually, as the pit grows deeper, the waterfall collapses to be replaced by a steeply sloping stretch of river bed, a river sometimes flows over a large step in the rocks that may have been formed by a fault line. Waterfalls can occur along the edge of a trough, where a stream or river flowing into a glacier continues to flow into a valley after the glacier has receded or melted. The large waterfalls in Yosemite Valley are examples of this phenomenon, another reason hanging valleys may form is where two rivers join and one is flowing faster than the other. Waterfalls can be grouped into ten classes based on the average volume of water present on the fall using a logarithmic scale. Class 10 waterfalls include Niagara Falls, Paulo Afonso Falls and Khone Falls, young Wrote Waterfalls, form and process this work made waterfalls a much more serious topic for research for modern Geoscientists. Ledge waterfall, Water descends vertically over a cliff, maintaining partial contact with the bedrock. Block/Sheet. Classical, Ledge waterfalls where fall height is equal to stream width. Curtain, Ledge waterfalls which descend over a larger than the width of falling water stream
Waterfall
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Angel Falls in
Venezuela is the world's tallest at 979 m (3,212 ft).
Waterfall
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Aerial view of
Victoria Falls on the
Zambezi River in southern Africa
Waterfall
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Aerial view of
Iguazu Falls on the Iguazu River between Brazil and Argentina
Waterfall
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Aerial view of
Niagara Falls in the state of
New York,
US, and province of
Ontario,
Canada
4.
Niagara River
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The Niagara River is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States, there are differing theories as to the origin of the rivers name. According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called Ongniaahra, the river, which is occasionally described as a strait, is about 58 kilometres long and includes Niagara Falls in its course. The falls have moved approximately 11 kilometres upstream from the Niagara Escarpment in the last 12,000 years, today, the diversion of the river for electrical generation has significantly reduced the rate of erosion. Power plants on the river include the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations on the Canadian side, together, they generate 4.4 gigawatts of electricity. The International Control Works, built in 1954, regulates the river flow, ships on the Great Lakes use the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, on the Canadian side of the river, to bypass Niagara Falls. The total drop in elevation along the river is 99 metres, the Niagara Gorge extends downstream from the Falls and includes the Niagara Whirlpool and another section of rapids. The Niagara River also features two large islands and numerous smaller islands, grand Island and Navy Island, the two largest islands, are on the American and Canadian sides of the river, respectively. Goat Island and the tiny Luna Island split Niagara Falls into its three sections, the Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and American Falls, unity Island lies further upstream, alongside the city of Buffalo. The Niagara River and its tributaries, Tonawanda Creek and the Welland River, formed part of the last section of the Erie Canal, after leaving Lockport, New York, the Erie Canal proceeds southwest until it enters Tonawanda Creek. The Welland Canals used the Welland River as a connection to the Niagara River south of the falls, allowing traffic to safely re-enter the Niagara River. The Niagara River and Falls have been known outside of North America since the late 17th century, when Father Louis Hennepin and he wrote about his travels in A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America. The Niagara River was the site of the earliest recorded railway in America and it was an inclined wooden tramway built by John Montresor, a British military engineer, in 1764. Called The Cradles and The Old Lewiston Incline, it featured loaded carts pulled up wooden rails by rope and it facilitated the movement of goods over the Niagara Escarpment in present-day Lewiston, New York. Several battles occurred along the Niagara River, which was defended by Fort George and Fort Niagara at the mouth of the river. These forts were important during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Queenston Heights took place near the river in the War of 1812. The river was an important route to liberation before the American Civil War, the Freedom Crossing Monument stands on the bank of the river in Lewiston to commemorate the courage of the escaping slaves and the local volunteers who helped them secretly cross the river. In the 1880s, the Niagara River became the first waterway in North America harnessed for large-scale generation of hydroelectricity
Niagara River
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Satellite image of the Niagara River. Flowing from Lake Erie in the south (bottom of image) to Lake Ontario in the north, the river passes around Grand Island before going over Niagara Falls, after which it narrows in the
Niagara Gorge. Two hydropower reservoirs are visible just before the river widens after exiting the gorge. The
Welland Canal is visible on the far left side of this image. (Source: NASA Visible Earth)
Niagara River
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The American Falls with Goat Island to its right.
Niagara River
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Queenston, Ontario, then known as Queenstown, Upper Canada, in a c. 1805 watercolour by army surgeon Edward Walsh. The Niagara River is clearly visible.
Niagara River
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The Spanish Aero Car crossing the
Niagara Whirlpool
5.
Niagara Falls
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They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge. From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, the Horseshoe Falls lies on the border of the United States and Canada with the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also on the American side, the international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction. Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and flow rate. The falls are 17 miles north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, while not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six cubic feet of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow. The Niagara Falls are famed both for their beauty and as a source of hydroelectric power. Balancing recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 188 feet, while the height of the American Falls varies between 70 and 100 feet because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet wide, the distance between the American extremity of the Niagara Falls and the Canadian extremity is 3,409 feet. The volume of water approaching the falls during peak season may sometimes be as much as 225,000 cubic feet per second. The average annual rate is 85,000 cubic feet per second. Since the flow is a function of the Lake Erie water elevation. This is accomplished by employing a weir – the International Control Dam – 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, water diversion is regulated by the 1950 Niagara Treaty and is administered by the International Niagara Board of Control. The current rate of erosion is approximately 1 foot per year and it is estimated that 50,000 years from now, even at this reduced rate of erosion, the remaining 20 miles to Lake Erie will have been undermined and the falls will cease to exist. The features that became Niagara Falls were created by the Wisconsin glaciation about 10,000 years ago, the same forces also created the North American Great Lakes and the Niagara River. All were dug by an ice sheet that drove through the area, deepening some river channels to form lakes
Niagara Falls
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Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
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Louis Rémy Mignot, Niagara (Brooklyn Museum)
Niagara Falls
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Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls
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American Falls (large waterfall on the left) and
Bridal Veil Falls (smaller waterfall on the right)
6.
Horseshoe Falls
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Horseshoe Falls, also known as Canadian Falls, is part of Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, the remaining 10% flows over American Falls. It is located between Terrapin Point on Goat Island in the US state of New York, and Table Rock in the Canadian province of Ontario, in 1955 the area between the rocks and Goat Island was filled in, creating Terrapin Point. In the early 1980s the United States Army Corps of Engineers filled in land and built diversion dams. Altogether 400 feet of the Horseshoe Falls was eliminated, due to erosion, the falls will continue to move in relation to the boundary line in the future. The official national maps for both Canada and the United States indicate that a portion of the Horseshoe Falls is located within the United States
Horseshoe Falls
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The Horseshoe Falls in
Niagara Falls, Ontario, is one of the world's most voluminous waterfalls, renowned both for its beauty and as a source of
hydroelectric power.
Horseshoe Falls
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Horseshoe Falls, viewed from 16th floor of a hotel on Fallsview Blvd
Horseshoe Falls
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Horseshoe Falls, viewed from
Table Rock Centre in Niagara Falls, Canada
Horseshoe Falls
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View from beside & behind the Horseshoe Falls.
7.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
Ontario
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Algonquin Provincial Park, Cache Lake
Ontario
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Flag
Ontario
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Summer at
Sandbanks Provincial Park on Lake Ontario.
Ontario
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The
Niagara Escarpment on the
Bruce Peninsula.
8.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
U.S. state
–
U.S. states
9.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
New York (state)
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British general
John Burgoyne surrenders at
Saratoga in 1777.
New York (state)
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Flag
New York (state)
–
1800 map of New York from
Low's Encyclopaedia
New York (state)
–
The
Erie Canal at
Lockport, New York in 1839
10.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
11.
Goat Island (New York)
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Goat Island is a small island in the Niagara River, located in the middle of Niagara Falls between the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The island is at the southwest corner of the City of Niagara Falls, New York, Goat Island is connected to the U. S. mainland by two bridges carrying foot, car, and trackless train traffic, and to the smaller Luna Island by a pedestrian bridge. Goat island is wooded and is interlaced with foot trails. The Cave of the Winds tour elevator provides access down to the foot of the falls, the island was formed during the recent retreat of the falls as it cut inward through the Niagara Escarpment. The Niagara Rivers channel splits in two above the falls, creating two sets of falls, one on side of the island. In 1959–60, the eastern side was extended about 8.5 acres for additional parking. Fill was provided from excavation for the construction of the Robert Moses State Parkway, in 1955 the area between the Terrapin Rocks and Goat Island was filled in, creating Terrapin Point. In the early 1980s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers filled in land and built diversion dams. All together 400 feet of the Horseshoe Falls was eliminated, including 100 feet on the Canadian side, according to author Ginger Strand, the Horseshoe Falls is now entirely in Canada. Other sources say most of Horseshoe Falls is in Canada, the islands western end is slowly being eroded by the falls and the entire island will eventually disappear as the falls erode further upstream. The waters around Goat Island are relatively shallow and studded with islets and rocks, many of them scenes of dramatic rescues, john Stedman—an early pioneer and miller—kept a herd of goats on the island. Upon returning to the island after the winter of 1780, Stedman found all but one of the goats had died. The islands preservation as parkland is due to the efforts of Augustus Porter. Porter purchased the island and allowed a group of Tuscarora Native Americans to live on it and sell their crafts to the tourists who came to the falls by stagecoach, in spite of pressure, Porter refused to tame the environment on the island. In 1817, he built a bridge to the island for tourists. It was swept away by ice, so another was built the year downstream. Basil Hall called it one of the most singular pieces of engineering in the world, almost seven hundred feet long, it soon became the regions best-travelled walkway. In 1885, the island was included in the Niagara Reservation State Park which is the oldest state park in the U. S, the island is home to the Tesla Monument which honors the Serbian-American inventor, Nikola Tesla
Goat Island (New York)
–
American Falls and Goat Island in winter from the
Skylon Tower
Goat Island (New York)
–
View of American Falls from Goat Island
Goat Island (New York)
–
Seen from Spot Satellite
12.
Coastline paradox
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The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the properties of coastlines. The first recorded observation of this phenomenon was by Lewis Fry Richardson, more concretely, the length of the coastline depends on the method used to measure it. Various approximations exist when specific assumptions are made about minimum feature size, the basic concept of length originates from Euclidean distance. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, a straight line represents the shortest distance between two points, this line has only one length, the length of basic curves is more complicated but can also be calculated. Using shorter and shorter lines will produce sums that approach the true length. A precise value for this length can be established using calculus, the following animation illustrates how a smooth curve can be meaningfully assigned a precise length, However, not all curves can be measured in this way. A fractal is by definition a curve whose complexity changes with measurement scale, whereas approximations of a smooth curve get closer and closer to a single value as measurement precision increases, the measured value of fractals may change wildly. However, this relies on the assumption that space can be subdivided indefinitely. The Planck length, many orders of magnitude smaller than an atom, is proposed as the smallest measurable unit possible in the universe, coastlines differ from mathematical fractals because they are formed by numerous small events, which create patterns only statistically. In reality, permanent features of the coastline of order of size 1 cm or less do not exist, because of erosion, in most places the minimum size is much larger than this. Thus the concept of a fractal is not applicable to the coastline. For practical considerations, a choice of minimum feature size is on the order of the units being used to measure. If a coastline is measured in kilometers, then small variations much smaller than one kilometer are easily ignored, to measure the coastline in centimeters, tiny variations the size of centimeters must be considered. Using different measurement methodologies for different units also destroys the usual certainty that units can be converted by a simple multiplication, extreme cases of the coastline paradox include the fjord-heavy coastlines of Norway, Chile and the Pacific Northwest of North America. Coastline problem Fractal dimension Gabriels Horn, a figure with infinite surface area. Post, David G. and Michael Eisen, how Long is the Coastline of Law. Thoughts on the Fractal Nature of Legal Systems, journal of Legal Studies XXIX, January 2000
Coastline paradox
–
An example of the coastline paradox. If the coastline of
Great Britain is measured using units 100 km (62 mi) long, then the length of the coastline is approximately 2,800 km (1,700 mi). With 50 km (31 mi) units, the total length is approximately 3,400 km (2,100 mi), approximately 600 km (370 mi) longer.
13.
Scree
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Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, volcanoes or valley shoulders that has accumulated through periodic rockfall from adjacent cliff faces. Landforms associated with these materials are called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically have a concave form, while the maximum inclination corresponds to the angle of repose of the mean debris size. The term scree comes from the Old Norse term for landslide, skriða, formation of scree or talus deposits the results of physical and chemical weathering and erosion acting on a rock face. During the day, water can flow into joints and discontinuities in the rock wall, if the temperature drops enough, for example in the evening, this water may freeze. Since water expands by 9% when it freezes, it can generate forces that either create new cracks or wedge blocks into an unstable position. Special boundary conditions may be required for this to happen, the efficiency of freeze/thaw processes in scree production is debated by scientists. Many researchers believe that ice formation in large open crack systems cannot generate high pressures, many argue that frost heaving, like that known to act in soil in permafrost areas, may play an important role in cliff degradation in cold places. For example, Lech dl Dragon, in the Sella Group of the Dolomites, derives from the waters of a glacier. The melting process of the glacier is slowed by the protective layer of scree. Eventually a rock slope may be covered by its own scree. The slope is then said to be mantled with debris, fellfield Lava stringer Mass wasting Weathering
Scree
–
Talus at the bottom of
Mount Yamnuska,
Alberta,
Canada.
Scree
–
Climber on talus slope on the west flank of
Cross Fell,
England.
Scree
–
Talus cones on north shore of
Isfjord,
Svalbard,
Norway.
Scree
–
The lake
Lech dl Dragon in the
Dolomites,
Italy.
14.
Luna Island
–
Luna Island is a very small uninhabited island in the Niagara River, located in the U. S. state of New York. Luna Island is located in Niagara Falls, New York between Goat Island and Niagara Falls State Park and it is between the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, which are two of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. It is approximately 130 feet wide and 350 feet long, the geology of the island is dolostone rock and concrete base in the area around the falls. White cedar trees cover the end of the island and shrubs along north end. The original bridge to the island was wooden, added in the 1800s, spectators can view the falls from Luna Island and the proximate Goat Island, both of which are accessible by pedestrian bridges that cross the rapids of the Niagara River upstream from the falls. Spectators on Luna Island can stand a few feet away from both Bridal Veil Falls and American Falls by walking across the island, representatives of the nearby Schoellkopf Geological Museum often come to Luna Island where they bring photographs and answer questions about Niagara Falls. The island is said to derive its name from the ability of an observer, when standing on the island during a full moon, to see lunar rainbows in the Niagara mist
Luna Island
–
Spectators on Luna Island (right) as seen from Goat Island (bottom) looking towards Bridal Veil Falls (lower right) and American Falls (Upper right).
15.
Rapid
–
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a run and a cascade, rapids are characterised by the river becoming shallower with some rocks exposed above the flow surface. As flowing water splashes over and around the rocks, air bubbles become mixed in with it and portions of the surface acquire a white colour, forming what is called whitewater. Rapids occur where the bed material is resistant to the erosive power of the stream in comparison with the bed downstream of the rapids. Very young streams flowing across solid rock may be rapids for much of their length, rapids cause water aeration of the stream or river resulting in better water quality. Rapids are categorized in classes, generally running from I to VI, a Class 5 rapid may be categorized as Class 5. 1-5.9. While class I rapids are easy to negotiate and require no maneuvering, river rafting sports is carried out where many rapids are there in the course
Rapid
–
Rapids featuring whitewater, close to the
Rhine Falls
Rapid
–
Violent water below
Niagara Falls
Rapid
–
Rapids on the Mississippi River, Pakehnham, Ontario, Canada
Rapid
–
Rapids of a river in Norway,
Øvre Årdal 14 May 2015
16.
Niagara Falls, Ontario
–
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on 12 June 1903, across the Niagara River is Niagara Falls, New York. The city is dominated by the Niagara Falls, a set of three large waterfalls on the Niagara River. The American and Horseshoe falls can be best seen from the Canadian side of the river, the natural spectacle attracts millions of tourists yearly. This area, which stretches along the Niagara Parkway and tourist promenade, is concentrated at the brink of the falls. Further to the north or south, golf courses are operated alongside historic sites from the War of 1812 and this area was long part of the Iroquois Confederacy territory, five powerful First Nations mostly along the southern edge of the Great Lakes. The Niagara Falls area has had some European settlement since the 17th century, louis Hennepin, a French priest and missionary, is regarded as the first European to visit the area in the 1670s. French colonists settled mostly in Lower Canada, beginning near the Atlantic, loyalist Robert Land received 200 acres and was one of the first people of European descent to settle in the Niagara Region. He moved to nearby Hamilton three years due to the relentless noise of falls. Tourism started in the early 19th century and has been a part of the local economy since that time. The falls became known as a wonder, in part to their being featured in paintings by prominent American artists of the 19th century such as Albert Bierstadt. Such works were reproduced as lithographs, becoming widely distributed, in addition, Niagara Falls markets itself as a honeymoon destination, it is the self-proclaimed honeymoon capital of the world. In 1856, the Town of Clifton was incorporated, the name of the town was changed to Niagara Falls in 1881. In 1882, the community of Drummondville was incorporated as the village of Niagara Falls, the village was referred to as Niagara Falls South to differentiate it from the town. In 1904, the town and village amalgamated to form the City of Niagara Falls, in 1882, Irish author Oscar Wilde visited Niagara Falls after lecturing in Buffalo during a lecture tour of North America. He stayed at the Prospect House in Niagara Falls, New York, an Internment camp was set up at The Armoury in Niagara Falls from December 1914 to August 1918. In 1953, the American actress Marilyn Monroe filmed Niagara here and this was a major event for the city
Niagara Falls, Ontario
–
Skyline of Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
–
Skyline of Niagara Falls, Canada, as seen from
Niagara Falls State Park across the river in the United States
Niagara Falls, Ontario
–
Looking north on the Niagara River towards Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
–
Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Fallsview area is in the background.
17.
Rockfall
–
A rockfall or rock-fall refers to quantities of rock falling freely from a cliff face. The term is used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mine or quarry workings. Alternatively, a rockfall is the downward motion of a detached block or series of blocks with a small volume involving free falling, bouncing, rolling. The mode of failure differs from that of a rockslide, a tree may be blown by the wind, and this causes a pressure at the root level and this loosens rocks and can trigger a fall. The pieces of rock collect at the bottom creating a talus or scree, rocks falling from the cliff may dislodge other rocks and serve to create another mass wasting process, for example an avalanche. A cliff that has favorable geology to a rockfall may be said to be incompetent, one that is not favorable to a rockfall, which is better consolidated, may be said to be competent. Typically, rockfall events are mitigated in one of two ways, either by passive mitigation or active mitigation, the rockfall still takes place but an attempt is made to control the outcome. In contrast, active mitigation is carried out in the initiation zone, some examples of these measures are rock bolting, slope retention systems, shotcrete, etc. Other active measures might be by changing the geographic or climatic characteristics in the zone, e. g. altering slope geometry, dewatering the slope, revegetation. Design guides of passive measures have been proposed by Ritchie, Pierson et al, the effect of rockfalls on trees can be seen in several ways. The tree roots may rotate, via the energy of the rockfall. The tree may move via the application of translational energy, and lastly deformation may occur, either elastic or plastic. Dendrochronology can reveal a past impact, with missing tree rings, as the tree rings grow around and close over a gap, a macroscopic section can be used for dating of avalanche and rockfall events. Earthquake Kinetic energy Landslide Potential energy Protection forest Rockslide Slope stability SMR classification Q-slope
Rockfall
–
Rockfalls from steep hillsides frequently disrupt road traffic in the mountainous regions of
British Columbia,
Canada.
Rockfall
–
Steel nets installed for rockfall protection on
Sion Panvel Highway in
India.
18.
Prospect Point Observation Tower
–
The Prospect Point Observation Tower is a tower located in Niagara Falls, New York, United States just east of the American Falls. The area of the tower and Prospect Point was once known as the High Bank Industrial/Mill District, the tower was originally built in 1961 and extensively refurbished between 2001 and 2003. Improvements included a pre-cast concrete plank observation deck, a stainless steel deck railing system, improved high-speed elevators, new rest rooms. The tower, constructed of aluminum, glass, and steel, visitors enter the tower at the ground level from Niagara Falls State Park. It sees eight million visitors annually, the Maid of the Mist loads at the base of the tower. Official website Media related to Prospect Point Observation Tower at Wikimedia Commons
Prospect Point Observation Tower
–
The observation tower in 2013
19.
Rapids
–
The Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System is a United States Department of Defense system used to issue the definitive credential within DoD. RAPIDS uses information stored in the DoD Defense Enrollment and Eligibility Reporting System when providing these credentials, used together, these two systems are commonly referred to as a DEERS/RAPIDS system or DEERS/RAPIDS infrastructure. These include, but are not limited to, Photographs Fingerprints The information is stored solely in the DEERS System, other redundant systems or repositories shall not be utilized without compelling justification for their need. RAPIDS provides distinct identification that is used as proof of identity and it may be used as a Geneva Convention Card in accordance with DoD Instruction 1000.13. It may also act as a card for Uniformed Services benefits. Ex, usage of the commissary on military installations or application for insurance discounts for veterans, DD FORM 1172-2, FEB2011, Application for Uniformed Services Identification Card/DEERS EnrollmentDoD Directive 1000.25 - DoD Personnel Identity Protection Program
Rapids
Rapids
Rapids
Rapids
20.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
–
The United States Army Corps of Engineers, also sometimes shortened to CoE is a U. S. Although generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection in the United States, the Corps of Engineers provides outdoor recreation opportunities to the public, and provides 24% of U. S. hydropower capacity. The corps mission is to Deliver vital public and military engineering services, partnering in peace and war to strengthen our Nations security, energize the economy and their most visible missions include, Planning, designing, building, and operating locks and dams. Other civil engineering projects include flood control, beach nourishment, design and construction of flood protection systems through various federal mandates. Design and construction management of military facilities for the Army, Air Force, Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and other Defense and Federal agencies. The history of United States Army Corps of Engineers can be traced back to 16 June 1775, colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washingtons first chief engineer, however, it was not until 1779 that Congress created a separate Corps of Engineers. One of its first tasks was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill, the first Corps of Engineers was mostly composed of French subjects who had been hired by General Washington from the service of Louis XVI. that the said Corps. Shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York, until 1866, the superintendent of the United States Military Academy was always an officer of engineer. During the first half of the 19th century, West Point was the major and, for a while, the General Survey Act of 1824 authorized the use of Army engineers to survey road and canal routes. Separately authorized on 4 July 1838, the U. S and it was merged with the Corps of Engineers on 31 March 1863, at which point the Corps of Engineers also assumed the Lakes Survey District mission for the Great Lakes. In 1841, Congress created the Lake Survey, the survey, based in Detroit, Mich. was charged with conducting a hydrographical survey of the Northern and Northwestern Lakes and preparing and publishing nautical charts and other navigation aids. The Lake Survey published its first charts in 1852, in the mid-19th century, Corps of Engineers officers ran Lighthouse Districts in tandem with U. S. Naval officers. The Army Corps of Engineers played a significant role in the American Civil War, many of the men who would serve in the top leadership in this institution were West Point graduates who rose to military fame and power during the Civil War. Some of these men were Union Generals George McClellan, Henry Halleck, George Meade, and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston, the versatility of officers in the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the success of numerous missions throughout the Civil War. They were responsible for building pontoon and railroad bridges, forts and batteries, the destruction of supply lines. The Army Corps of Engineers served as a function in making the war effort logistically feasible. This method of building trenches was known as the zigzag pattern, from the beginning, many politicians wanted the Corps of Engineers to contribute to both military construction and works of a civil nature. During World War II the mission grew to more than 27,000 military, included were aircraft, tank assembly, and ammunition plants, camps for 5.3 million soldiers, depots, ports, and hospitals, as well as the Manhattan Project, and the Pentagon
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
–
Colonel Debra Lewis, the Gulf Region Division Central District commander with Sheik O'rhaman Hama Raheem, an Iraqi councilman, celebrate the opening of a new women's center in Assriya Village that the Corps helped construct in 2006.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
–
USACE Logo
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
–
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dredge Tauracavor 3 in New York Harbor.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
–
Mississippi River Improvement, 1890.
21.
Talus (fortification)
–
The talus is an architectural feature of some late medieval castles, especially prevalent in crusader constructions. It consists of a face at the base of a fortified wall. The slope acts as an defensive measure in two ways. First, conventional siege equipment is less effective against a wall with a talus, scaling ladders may be unable to reach the top of the walls and are also more easily broken due to the bending stresses caused by the angle they are forced to adopt. Siege towers cannot approach closer than the base of the talus, furthermore, defenders are able to drop rocks over the walls, which will shatter on the talus, spraying a hail of shrapnel into any attackers massed at the base of the wall. Glacis Counterscarp Siege Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Talus, james, Charles, A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, T. Egerton, pp. 227–228,908
Talus (fortification)
–
The
Krak des Chevaliers, with a tall and clearly defined talus
Talus (fortification)
–
The walls of the citadel of
Tughlaqabad.The walls and towers are reinforced with a solid talus.
Talus (fortification)
–
The walls of the
Sassanian fortress at
Derbent featuring tall taluses.
22.
Niagara Gorge
–
Niagara Gorge is an 11 km gorge carved by the Niagara River along the Canada–US border in New York and Ontario. It begins at the base of Niagara Falls and ends at the Niagara escarpment near Queenston, Ontario, the force of the river current in the gorge is one of the most powerful in the world. Because of the dangers this presents, kayaking the gorge has generally been prohibited, however, on isolated occasions, world class experts have been permitted to navigate the stretch. Gorge Niagara Escarpment Niagara River Niagara Whirlpool
Niagara Gorge
–
Niagara River flowing through Niagara Gorge (from eastern brink north of
Niagara Whirlpool)
Niagara Gorge
–
The Niagara River whirlpool basin in Niagara Gorge
Niagara Gorge
–
Niagara Gorge trail near the
Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.
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