Niagara Falls...Slowly I turn, Step by step, I walked up to...

I needed some shots to submit for a club assignment on "Ice". Since it is just past the peak of Winter, visitors to Niagara Falls get to see the falls under "Maximum Ice Conditions". It is only a 45 min drive from my house... and this time of year, it is almost like a ghost town. In keeping with the theme, we need a song about Ice... Ice Cube, Ice-T... no, how about something like an "Ice Age", like a caveman.... hey, like the Geico Caveman advertisements. DOWNLOAD: Remind Me. By Royksopp

Many people don't know that Niagara Falls is not the name of the waterfalls. It is derived from the old town of Niagara, that now straddles the border. Namely Niagara Falls, New York, USA and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The falls once known as "The Falls at Niagara, are now called "American Falls" at Niagara Falls N.Y. and "Horseshoe Falls" at Niagara Falls Ontario. Just to the left of American Falls is a thin thing called "Bridal Veil Falls"... but it is covered over with ice this time of year.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo of the American Falls from the N.E.

As we walked up toward Horseshoe falls I took another of the American Falls. For those that are unfamiliar with this place, just across the river and ice is the U.S.A. Which means that Canada gets the best view of the falls.

I think it is funny that Canada provides the lights for both countries. The reason the light beams are so prevalent in the photo..... the shear volume of water spray in the air from nearby Horseshoe Falls.

Horseshoe Falls

Behind the mist and spray which got us fairly wet, I took this shot of Horseshoe Falls in a 90 Second exposure. This photo does not give the shear size justice, so for my friends from Europe and Japan, Horseshoe Falls is 800 Meters Wide, and 55 Meters high, but dumps 186,000 cubic meters of water over it's edge every minute.

The foot of Clifton Hill.

When I was a kid, other than the view of the falls, Clifton Hill was the place to go. A short walk from the Falls is a place where you can find amusements of all sorts, from scary "Fun houses", to rides, Wax museums, theaters, bars and Freak shows. Today Clifton Hill runs for several kilometers of various entertainment facilities. Oh yea... it is all built on a long, gradual hill.

The New Fallsview Casino

Today, the Casino is the big entertainment facility at the falls..... most likely why there was nobody looking at the falls on this clear March evening.... they were inside one of the two casinos at Niagara Falls.