NIAGARA FALLS.
Of all the sights to be seen on this continent, there is none that equals the great Falls of Niagara River, situated about twelve miles north of Buffalo, in the State of New York.
On first beholding this most wonderful of all known cataracts, one is overawed by its surpassing grandeur, "and stunned by the sound of the falling waters as by a roar of thunder."
For quite a distance above the falls, the Niagara River is about one mile wide, and flows with great swiftness.
Just at the edge of the cataract stands Goat Island, which divides the waters of the river, and makes two distinct cataracts; one on the Canadian side, and one on the American side of the river.
The one on the Canadian side, called from its shape the Horse-shoe Fall, is eighteen hundred feet wide, and one hundred, and fifty-eight feet high. The other, called the American Fall, is six hundred feet wide, and one hundred and sixty-four feet high.
As the immense body of water leaps over this vast precipice, it breaks into a soft spray, which waves like a plume in the wind. At times, when the rays of the sun strike this spray, a rainbow is formed which stretches itself across the deep chasm, and produces a beautiful effect.
During the winter, much of the water and spray freezes, and as each moment adds to the frozen mass, some curious and wonderful ice formations are produced.
Sometimes, during a very cold winter, the ice at the foot of the falls forms a complete bridge from one shore to the other.
An interesting feature of a visit to these falls is a descent to the level of the foot of the cataract behind the great sheet of water.