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I wrote this Point of View
because I want much more for you than just mindless content about niagara falls rides. With any luck you'll find some
useful information to put to good use.
Historical background
While the moniker “Niagara” is said to come from an Iroquois word “Onguiaahra”, or “The Strait”, I have discovered the folklore to be a more captivating story. The legend from Native American Indians tells of Lelawala, a gorgeous maiden bespoken by her father to an Indian warrior she despised. She opted to sacrifice herself to the Thunder God He-No instead of wedding a man she did not love. The chronicle says that she paddled her canoe over the falls and into He-No’s arms. Together their souls will live always in the Thunder God’s refuge behind the Falls.
You in all likelihood already know that tourism is the areas chief source of income. This really began during the early 1900's and even Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte visited with his bride. After our Civil War the railroads began publicizing the area as a holiday spot. It wasn't hard given the history to glamorise Niagara Falls as an idealistic honeymoon destination.
The tourism industry savored another boom immediately after World War One. It was the car that furnished a much need boost to the industry. Travel to the area turned much easier and was one of the best holiday destinations that New Yorkers could drive their shiny new motorcars to.
Almost from the instance that Niagara Falls was discovered man has been attempting to harness the massive water flow as an eternal supply of energy. The first successful endeavor to use the falls as an energy source was documented in 1759 when Daniel Joncairs powered his sawmill with a small man made canal. The major evolution came in 1883 when Nikola Tesla devised the three-phase system of alternating current power transmission. This engineering science made it possible to transport electrical energy over long distances. Today Niagara Falls will bring approximately 4.4GW of power to the encircling areas of both the United States and Canada.
Preservation efforts
Once Europeans started to settle in the Niagara Falls area it was rapidly targeted by developers and enterprisers alike as a way to realise a fast fortune. Unlike today most of the land in the area was privately owned and was easily acquired for development. This came at a price to the innate beauty of the area. Luckily a group of worried citizens directed by noted artist Frederick Church organized the Free Niagara movement. This organisation was successful in convincing the general community that Conservation of the area was in its best interest.
In 1885 the Niagara Reservation State Park, engaged by New York State, started out purchasing land from developers in an endeavor to retard the overpowering development in the region. The Canadians followed suit in the same year with the Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park. Both organisations have been hugely successful at keeping up the area and restricting development so that succeeding generations will be able to enjoy this natural wonderment.
Niagara has so much to offer. From a deep history of romance and adventure to a major natural wonder. If your deliberating a holiday to the metropolitan area, I’m certain you’ll be able to locate enough to do. I have numbered many good books at the end of this article or you can visit Amazon for a entire list of books on Niagara Falls. Please remember to depart the area as decent as you discovered it and to leave the barrel at home.
Niagara Falls : An Intimate Portrait - by John Grant
Fodor's Toronto 2006 : With Niagara Falls & the Niagara Wine Region (Fodor's Gold Guides) - by Fodor's
In the Mad Water: Two Centuries of Adventure and Lunacy at Niagara Falls - by T. W. Kriner
Niagara Falls Volume II (Images of America) - by Daniel M. Dumych
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