NIAGARA FALLS POWER INTRODUCTION.
As our readers know, Niagara Falls
is situated upon the Niagara River, which is the connecting-link
between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The surface
of Lake Erie lies 330 feet above that of Lake Ontario.
The high level upon which Lake Erie is situated abruptly
terminates at Queenstown, which is near the point
where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario.
From Lake Erie to the falls the level of the river
is gradually lowered a little less than 100 feet,
and most of this (making “the rapids”)
occurs in the last mile above the point where it takes
a perpendicular plunge of 165 feet into a narrow gorge
extending for seven miles, through which the river
runs, gradually falling also 100 feet in that distance.
The river above the falls is broad, varying from one
to three miles in width, but below that point it is
suddenly narrowed up to a distance of from 200 to
400 yards.
It is supposed that at one time the
fall was situated at the bluff overlooking Queenstown,
near Lake Ontario, and at that time was very much
higher than it is at present. Through long ages
of time the water has gradually eaten away the rock,
thus forming the gorge. It is estimated by different
geologists that the time required to wear away the
rock back to the present position of the fall has required
from 15,000 to 35,000 years. Some authorities
place the rate of wear at three feet per annum and
others not more than one. It is well known, however,
that this erosion is constantly going on, and if nothing
is done to check it the time will come when the gorge
will extend up to Lake Erie and drain it, practically,
to the bottom. This is a matter, however, that
the people of this and those of several succeeding
generations need not worry about.
In the early days, before the country
was settled and the banks of the river were lined
with trees, and no houses, hotels or horse-cars were
to be seen; when the puffing of the locomotive was
not heard echoing from shore to shore; when no bridges
spanned the river to mar its beauty, and when nature
was the only architect and beautifier, Niagara Falls
must have been one of the most attractive spots on
the earth; at least it is the place of all places
where the mighty energies of nature are gathered together
in one grand exhibition of sublime power. Here
for ages this same grand exhibition had been going
on, and although there was no human eye to see it,
those of us who believe that nature is not a thing
of chance, but that it was planned by an intelligence
infinitely superior to that of any man, can easily
imagine that the Great Architect and beautifier of
this same nature, not only plans but enjoys the work
of His own hand. Why not? For ages the same
sun, in his daily round, has reflected that beautifully
colored rainbow, here the product of sunshine and
mist. The same water, through these successive
ages, has been lifted to the clouds by the power of
the sun’s rays, and has been carried back to
the fountain-heads on the wings of the wind, and there
has been condensed into raindrops, that have fallen
on land, lake and river, and in turn has been carried
over this same waterfall in its onward course toward
the sea, only again to be caught up into the clouds;
and thus through an eternal round it has been kept
moving by that mighty engine of nature, the sun.
It is said that “the mill will never grind with
the water that has passed.” This is true
only in poetry. As a matter of fact, “the
water that has passed” may often return to help
the mill to grind again.
Water-powers have been utilized in
a small way for many years for the purpose of generating
electricity through the medium of the dynamo, but
nowhere in the world has the application of the force
been made for this purpose on such a grand scale as
at Niagara Falls. When one stands on the bank
of the river and sees the great waterfall as it plunges
over the precipice, exerting a force of from five
to ten million horse-power, one is overwhelmed in
contemplation of its possibilities as a source of
energy that may be converted into work, mechanical
and chemical, through the medium of electricity.
The genius of man has devised a way
by which some of this constantly wasting energy may
be converted into electricity and distributed to different
points to perform various kinds of work. But the
amount utilized as yet is scarcely a drop when compared
with that which might be if the whole torrent could
be set to work in the same manner as a very small
portion of it now is.