Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812.
Fort Erie
The reconstructed Old Fort Erie
Founders of the Niagara Movement in Fort Erie.
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger suggests it is derived from a branch of the local Neutral Confederacy, referred to as the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps. George R. Stewart posits that it comes from an Iroquois town named Ongniaahra, meaning "point of land cut in two."
The Niagara River at Niagara Gorge in May 2008
Satellite image of Niagara River flowing north from Lake Erie (bottom) to Lake Ontario (top). The river flows around Grand Island, and then flows over Niagara Falls. It narrows in the Niagara Gorge, where two hydropower reservoirs are visible, and then widens after exiting the gorge. The Welland Canal is visible on the far left.
American Falls with Goat Island to its right
Niagara River at Queenston, Ontario, then known as Queenstown, Upper Canada, c. 1805 watercolour
