So I’m looking at these satellite pics of the Niagara Falls region and I’m wondering what sort of signage is in place to warn boaters about the falls presence? And how far down the Niagara river do boats generally go? Are they allowed in it at all (the Welland Canal is visible to the left of the river in the pics)?
In the satellite picture there’s a bridge right at the mouth of the inlet from Lake Erie, are they allowed past that? Is there a constant Coast Guard (and/or its Canadian equivalent) patrol in the area for this?
That’s a good question. I don’t happen to have any charts for any of the Great Lakes, but I may be able to borrow one. If I can I will let you know what the specific sailing directions are for that stretch of water.
Well, there are a number of things that cross the Niagara River.
At the upstream end of the river, near Buffalo and Fort Erie, there are the Peace Bridge and the International Railway Bridge.
There is also an ice boom at the Lake Erie end of the river, but it is not in place year round:
A kilometres or so above the Falls is the Chippawa-Grass Island Pool Control Structure, which is a set of adjustable baffles or weirs that help to direct water to the inlets of the hydroelectric plants. I imagine that would be a good barrier. But it doesn’t go all the way across the river.
From visits and from pictures I’ve seen, the Niagara River seems to be pretty unobstructed between the Control Structure and the Falls. If you launch a rowboat downstream of the Control Structure, as far as I could tell, there’s nothing to stop you from going over.
Perhaps it’s foolish to mention this, but I remember seeing a sign in a movie. In the scene, the people were on a boat (fighting or some such-- anyway, they were’nt paying attention to where they were going) and saw a sign that warned that the falls were a mile or two ahead. I dimly recall it saying something like “Strong Current: Falls Ahead.”
I’d always assumed that they must have something like that in place. Once you got within sight or earshot of the falls on a boat, it would be too late-- the current would be too strong for you to be able to go back upstream. They have to have some sort of warning system, otherwise, stupid tourists would be swept over all the time.
I haven’t been there in over 15 years, but I recall seeing warning signs on the American shore within a few hundred yards of the falls. I even have photos of them. They were lettered in white paint [letters under 12" /30cm high] on dark stained wood planks: ‘national park rustic’-style signs popular in the 1970s. They seemed more for decoration or to warn impetutous tourists against foolish stunts. There were clearer signs on the Canadian shore, but I don’t recall the exact distances from the falls. Offhand I’m not sure whether these rustic signs began or ended at 100 yds, but my vague sense is that they continued, almost humorously, to the last 50 ft or so.
At the time, I doubted that they would be of any use to legitimate river traffic; it would be difficult for any craft cruising heedlessly downstream to turn against that current and shallow draft within 100 yds. The signs might have sufficed, if they were meant to be seen from an additional 100m further upstream, but I think the better (highway style) signs even further upstream would have already warned off anyone willing to take a prudent hint.
I wonder if those signs still survive today. In hindsight, they seem rather dated, and a bit crudely painted – perhaps the work of a Chamber of Commerce or local “beautification” committee rather than a Federal agency or mandated warning.
What I’m wondering is (not being able to find any online nav charts) what’s considered the ‘point of no return’ if you will. And how far upstream is it? Is there a line of large bouys anchored across the channel somewhere? Or is it just so well known that anyone boating within a hundred miles should know about it?
I’ve been there a lot but never in a boat, always on land. I’m not sure what’s really far up stream, but down by the falls there’s aren’t any coastguard stations or anytng to speak of. Of course, by this point the current is really quite strong and if you’re in a boat you’re probably already past the point of no return.
There is a well known barge that is lodged on the rocks on the river (US side) that’s been there since 1918. Go to this page and scroll down nearly to the bottom to see a picture of it. It’s a rather shallow rocky area IIRC. I think there’s a good chance boats would get grounded before they tumbled over the edge.
Now the horseshoe falls I do believe has a much calmer, deeper river flowing into it.
I distinctly remember that there are signs, but I forget what they say. They’re necessarily understated, but not as silly as ‘Warning: Falls Ahead’. If you look at topographic maps or aerial photos of the area near the falls, you can see a seawall extending to the border on the Canadian side – I think that’s the limit of navigation. There are other hazards near the Falls, such as hydroelectric intakes, that would also be marked. However, boats can go very close to the Falls without danger, and there are a lot of boats on the Niagara River; there are a few marinas even quite close to the Falls.
The barge that’s been mentioned is very close to the falls; I think it’s well upstream of the hydroelectric intakes, and it can be seen from the Falls itself.
DakotaDog, the scow was working on the American side when it started to drift, but it lodged on the Canadian side, and the workers were rescued from the Toronto Power Plant.
Roches, the scow is beyond the intakes, and the seawall you linked to is actually part of the hydro intakes rather than any barrier to prevent watercraft from entering the falls area.
The area above the falls is very shallow and rocky. I suspect that there are signs at the top indicating that boaters should not proceed, but I don’t beleive that there is any barrier.
On lower part of the river, I think there are signs indicating not to go beyond the escarpment at Queenston Heights, but I’ll be darned if I can find anything about it…
Navigation is prohibited from the mouth of the Welland River downstream. Go to this site and do a search for Niagara and NY for the region. You’ll find a bunch of charts for the Upper Niagara River. On the US side, that region is called a “Safety Zone” and on the Canadian side it is called a “Prohibited Area”. I understand there are warning signs attached to a pedestrian bridge but I have never been able to find photos of them online. I don’t know what they say, if it were me I might word them as “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Pass This Sign.”
Dang, this is a Cecil question I’m going to ask about the posts in this thread: does the current before a fall really get that much stronger? Why? At what distance? I tend to think that the strength of current is a function of the quantity of water and how fast it’s moving. But what causes the water to move faster? Nothing, really. Does the river narrow appreciably before the falls? That would increase current.
Now, I don’t mean within 10 feet of the falls, but you’re all talking several hundred yards!
WAG - the current at the surface gets stronger. The surface will not be horizontal right up to the precipice - the water will be becoming shallower from the top down, ie sloping downwards. It wouldn’t have to be a very great change, only a few inches, for it to represent tonnes of water per second.
I boat and SCUBA the upper Niagara river many times a year. You can boat anywhere on the upper river from the mouth at lake Erie, to the area where the east and west channels meet up near Navy Island. A trip around Grand Island about 17miles. The river is a max depth of about 30 ft with an 16 mph current at narrowest point under the PEACE BRIDGE at the mouth of lake Erie. Looking at the satellite map. on the north shore just upstream from Goat Island is a small inlet that the coast guard tend to keep a rescue boat in case someone is unable to stop due to engine trouble. The Canadian and American hydro electric plants can divert over 75% of the river water away from the falls in about 15 minutes in an emergency to aid in a rescue. Had to do it this past spring of 2016 due to a boat that lost power and grounded on rapids above the falls. I hope this answers all your questions
In the Lower River you can boat from the where the river meets lake Ontario, south (Upstream) to where the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge crosses the river. They have hydro boat tours that will take you further upstream towards the falls it is an awesome ride but very wet.
There is some narrowing due to Goat Island, but also, if the posts above mine are correct, the river gets shallower as well if it is 30 feet deep upstream, since it is visibly quite shallower than 30 feet at the falls. Since volume of flow = width * depth * speed, and the width and depth got smaller, the speed is higher. (That is, past the last water intake since the flow drops there.)
You’d be surprised at how many tourons get swept over waterfalls in Yosemite NP in spite of signage that warn that swimming above them will result in death.