29122017 Visitors take photographs at the brink of

29/12/2017 Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, as cold weather continues through much of the province on Dec. 29, 2017.

29/12/2017 Tourists enjoy the spectacular views of Niagara Falls at Prospect Point Saturday. Fabian Loennig of Germany, tries to see out of the ice-covered viewer. He and his parents are traveling in the U. S. for the holidays. Sharon Cantillon

Free shuttle today from Canalside to frozen Niagara Falls, Dec. 30, 2017 Tourists come from far and wide to see the winter beauty of Niagara Falls. They enjoy the spectacular views at Prospect Point, 2017.

3/1/2018 Winter transforms Niagara Falls into winter wonderland Ice coats the rocks and observation deck at the base of the Horseshoe falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Jan. 3, 2018. The cold snap which has gripped much of Canada and the United States has nearly frozen over the American side of the falls. Visitors take photos of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Jan. 3, 2018.

1866 Niagara Falls Sept 2 d 1866 Niagara Falls frozen below Table Rock. Barker, George, 1844 -1894 -- Photographer

1880 The Ice Bridge, circa 1880's

1906

1911 Frozen Niagara Falls in 1911. You can see people walking right at the bottom of the waterfall

Cave of the winds in winter niagara falls, date unknown

1911

Niagara Falls frozen in 1911

Like a miniature glacier rising out of the waters below Niagara Falls, the ice bridge is a tale of natural wonder. While the waters never stop flowing, the perpetual mists created by the falling waters will freeze into layers of ice 50 feet or more thick. With a prolonged and cold winter, the ice can build up to the point where it is known as an ice bridge. The ice bridge at Niagara Falls is created when ice and slush from Lake Erie flows over Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls frozen in 1911

1920

1936 American Falls frozen over, probably 1936

1/2/1938

2014

In the wake of the January 2014 "polar vortex" that brought bitterly cold weather to much of the eastern half of the United States, a number of photographs were circulated via social media purporting to show Niagara falls in a frozen state 2014

2014

2014

2014 In this photo, the American side of Niagara Falls is pictured on Jan. 8, 2014

1876 Maria Spelterini walking a tightrope across Niagara Gorge, from the United States to Canada, with her feet in peach baskets, 1876

1901 The Victorian Daredevil Dame who threw herself off the Niagara Falls in a Barrel She was a fragile-looking 63 year-old widow, barely getting by as a school teacher at the turn of the century, but Annie Edson Taylor didn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself. This is the outlandish story of a woman who took a barrel ride down the Niagara Falls in 1901 and became the first daredevil to survive the 174 foot journey and tell the tale …

Annie was sealed inside her 1. 4 metre by 1 metre barrel, which was pressurized using a bicycle pump and weighed down by a 200 lb anvil to help it keep an upright position in the rapids. A nail-biting 20 minutes later, the barrel was spotted bobbing back up on the surface of the water. Just like the cat, Annie had miraculously survived the plunge uninjured, except for a small gash on her head. She had been momentarily knocked unconscious after the drop but walked herself safely back to the river bank.

1911 Bobby Leach and his barrel after his trip over Niagara Falls, 1911

29/01/2015

Niagara and patents In 1893 Richard Dean Adams, who headed up the Niagara Falls Cataract Construction Company sought Tesla's opinion on what system would be best to transmit power generated at the falls. Over several years there had been an off again - on again series of proposals and open competitions on how best to utilize power generated by the falls with many systems being proposed by several US and European companies including two phase and three phase AC, high voltage DC, and even compressed air. Adams pumped Tesla for information about the current state of all the competing systems. Tesla advised Adams that a two phased system would be the most reliable, and that there was a Westinghouse system to light incandescent bulbs using two phase alternating current. Based on Tesla's advice and Westinghouse's demonstration that they could build a complete AC system at the Colombian Exposition, a contract for building a two phase AC generating system at the Niagara Falls was awarded to Westinghouse Electric. A further contract to build the AC. The mid 1890 s saw the conglomerate General Electric, backed by financier J. P. Morgan, involved in take over attempts and patent battles with Westinghouse Electric. Although a patent sharing agreement was signed between the two companies in 1896[75] Westinghouse was still cash strapped from the financial warfare. To secure further loans Westinghouse was forced to revisit Tesla's AC patent, which bankers considered a financial strain on the company (at that point Westinghouse had paid out an estimated $200, 000 in licenses and royalties to Tesla, Brown, and Peck. In 1897, Westinghouse explained his financial difficulties to Tesla in stark terms, saying that if things continue the way they were he would no longer be in control of Westinghouse Electric and Tesla would have to "deal with the bankers" to try to collect future royalties. Westinghouse convinced Tesla to release his company from the licensing agreement over Tesla's AC patents in exchange for Westinghouse Electric purchasing the patents for a lump sum payment of $216, 000; this provided Westinghouse a break from what, due to alternating current's rapid gain in popularity, had turned out to be an overly generous $2. 50 per AC horsepower royalty

If inspecting the waterfalls on the Niagara River, it is better to start from the U. S. side. Then, after you are delighted by what you saw, you can start viewing from the Canadian side, and the U. S. side may seem less daunting. Although each side has its own unique nuances.