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Niagara Falls: | |
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Welcome to the Olympia Motel where you and your Family are our guests in one of North America's Most exciting cities Niagara Falls. Noted as one of the seven wonders of the world people come from every corner of the globe to enjoy the splendor and feel the power of the mighty falls. But that's not all we have to offer. There is shopping, museums, attractions, fine dining, night clubs and a bevy of scenic and historic wonders that only Niagara has to offer, only moments away.
For the Connoisseur there are the many fine wineries, that Niagara is famous for and don't forget to bring your golf clubs as we offer some of the most interesting and scenic courses in all of Canada.
Then its time to relax and enjoy the great food in our licensed dining room, where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This is only the beginning of your most magnificent vacation yet! Only minutes from your door when you stay at Olympia Motel, Niagara Falls, Canada
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Olympia Photo Album
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About Niagara Falls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Niagara Falls is a set of massive waterfalls located on the Niagara River in eastern North America, on the border between the United States and Canada. Niagara Falls (French: les Chutes du Niagara) comprises three separate waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls (sometimes called the Canadian Falls), the American Falls, and the smaller, adjacent Bridal Veil Falls. While not exceptionally high, Niagara Falls is very wide. With more than 168,000 cubic meters (6 million cubic feet) of water falling over the crest line every minute it is the most powerful waterfall in North America and possibly the best-known in the world.
Niagara Falls is renowned for its beauty, and is both a valuable source of hydroelectric power and a challenging project for environmental preservation. A popular tourist site for over a century, the natural wonder is shared between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls, one of the three Niagara Falls. |
A view of the World Famous Niagara Falls Canadian skyline |
The American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and a Maid of the Mist boat. |
The name "Niagara" is said to originate from an Iroquois word "Onguiaahra" meaning "The Strait." The region's original inhabitants were the Ongiara, an Iroquois tribe named the Neutrals by French settlers, who found them helpful in mediating disputes with other tribes.
Native American legend tells of Lelawala, a beautiful maid betrothed by her father to a brave she despised. Rather than marry, Lelawala chose to sacrifice herself to her true love He-No, the Thunder God, who dwelt in a cave behind the Horseshoe Falls. She paddled her canoe into the swift current of the Niagara River and was swept over the brink. He-No caught her as she plummeted, and together their spirits are said to live forever in the Thunder God's sanctuary behind the Falls.
Some controversy exists over which European first gave a written, eyewitness description of the Falls. The area was visited by Samuel de Champlain as early as 1604. Members of his party reported to him on the spectacular waterfalls, which he wrote of in his journals but may never have actually visited. Some credit Finnish-Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm with the original first-hand description, penned during an expedition to the area early in the 18th century.3 Most historians however agree that Father Louis Hennepin observed and described the Falls much earlier, in 1677, after traveling in the region with explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, thus bringing them to the world's attention. Hennepin also first described the Saint Anthony Falls in Minnesota. His subsequently discredited claim that he also traveled the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico cast some doubt on the validity of his writings and sketches of Niagara Falls. Hennepin County in Minnesota was named after Father Louis Hennepin.
1837 woodcut of Niagara Falls, from Etats Unis d'Amerique by Roux de Rochelle. |
The Niagara Movement, a civil liberties organization, first met here in 1905 |
During the 19th century tourism became popular, and it was the area's main industry by mid-century. Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte visited with his bride in the early 19th century[3]. Demand for passage over the Niagara River led in 1848 to the building of a footbridge and then Charles Ellet's Niagara Suspension Bridge. This was supplanted by German-American John Augustus Roebling's Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge in 1855. After the American Civil War, the New York Central railroad publicized Niagara Falls as a focus of pleasure and honeymoon visits. With increased railroad traffic, in 1886 Leffert Buck replaced Roebling's wood and stone bridge with the predominantly steel bridge that still carries trains over the Niagara River today. The first steel archway bridge near the Falls was completed in 1897. Known today as the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, it carries vehicles, trains, and pedestrians between Canada and the U.S. just below the Falls. In 1941 the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission completed the third current crossing in the immediate area of Niagara Falls with the Rainbow Bridge, carrying both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Especially after World War One, tourism boomed again as automobiles made getting to the Falls much easier. The story of Niagara Falls in the 20th century is largely that of efforts to harness the energy of the Falls for hydroelectric power and to control the rampant development on both the American and Canadian sides which threatened the area's natural beauty.
For more fascinating information about Niagara False click here.