Grand Island is an island town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 21,389 representing an increase of 5.00% from the 2010 census figure. The town's name is derived from the French name La Grande Île; Grand Island is the largest island in the Niagara River and the third largest in New York state. The phrase La Grande Île appears on the town seal.
South Grand Island Bridge
September 2001 satellite image of Grand Island, Niagara Falls is visible at the top left corner.
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 river's name. According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, Niagara is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps of the area. According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called 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