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Niagara Falls Geological History

Niagara Falls Geological History

The Story of the Falls began 600 million years ago. The future site of the Great Lakes stood at the centre of a broad, shallow sea that covered much of North America. Beneath these waters were the already ancient Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield-the bowl- shaped basement of our continent.

For 100 million years, rain and wind and the lapping of waves ground rocks into powder. This material collected, layer after layer, in the concave sea bottom, depositing soft sediments over top of the harder Pre-Cambrian rock.

Suddenly, the Earth shook, pushing forth the Appalachian mountains. Rivers flowed in new patterns, carrying mud westward. Where the rivers intermingled, huge muddy deltas formed, sprawling over 600 kilometres, from east of what is now Lake Ontario to beyond the present shore of Lake Huron. That mud, cemented by the eons, forms the distinctive purple-red shale called the Queenston Formation and the sandy ledge-forming rocks of Niagara Gorge.

The waters over the future site of the Falls were tropical, for Central North America lay much closer to the equator than it does today. In this warm sea, tiny creatures built massive honeycombed reefs that appeared as gray and white shoals in the troughs of waves. As these coral makers died, the churning of water broke up their homes, sent in a rain of lime dust to the sea floor. The Lockport Dolomite, which forms the caprock of the Niagara Escarpments, consists largely of these ground up coral reefs.

By 300 million years ago, the inland sea had drained away. Its legacy: a saucer of sediments atop the Pre-Cambrian shield nearly five kilometres deep. Fifty million years later, while the first reptiles were slowly establishing their dominion over the planet, great rivers crisscrossed central North America, etching patterns into this soft, sandy rock and undermining the harder limestones. This random erosion formed the basins for Lakes Michigan and Huron, and later, Erie and Ontario.

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National symbols of Canada

The National symbols of Canada represent all that the nation stands for, its people, places, traditions and cultures. For every citizen of Canada, the National symbols offer a sense of pride and honor in being a part of such a beautiful and diverse nation. The various National symbols of Canada are:

• The National flag

• The National anthem

• The National animal

• The Maple leaf

• The Coat of Arms

National Flag

The National flag of Canada was officially adopted and inaugurated in the year 1965 after several years of political debate over the flag’s design. The National flag holds a special place of honor as one of the foremost national symbol of Canada and therefore treated with much reverence.

Canada’s official National flag is colored red and white, the country’s official colors, and its center bears a maple leaf which is Canada’s traditional emblem.

National anthem

O Canada was officially declared the National anthem of Canada on 1st July, 1980, a century after it was first sung in 1880. The original lyrics of the anthem were written in French by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier and the music was composed by Calixa Lavallée. Over the subsequent years, several English versions of the anthem were also created. The official English version of the anthem was written by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir.

As a National symbol of the country, O Canada is sung at sporting events, school assemblies and other formal occasions of national importance.

National animal

The Beaver is Canada’s National animal and its discovery is intrinsically associated with the discovery of the country itself. As an official National symbol, the beaver appears on several Canadian memorabilia like stamps and coins. The beaver is a symbol of ingenuity and perseverance. The beaver officially became the emblem of Canada on 24 March, 1975.