Coastin Carl
NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day ORIGIN & HISTORY
On March 29th, 1848, ice blockages caused rivers to run dry and reduced the flow of water to such an extent that Niagara Falls’ 3,160 tons of water per second flow came to a halt. Locals celebrate with Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day, and with plenty of great hotels in the area, it’s not hard to come celebrate with them! NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day is celebrated on the 29th Day in March.
This is the only known time to have occurred naturally. The Falls did not actually freeze over, but the flow was stopped by an ice jam up the river to the point where people actually walked out and recovered artifacts from the riverbed!
In 1848 a unique event happened. The rushing sound of the water from Niagara Falls ceased and that was freakishly scary. The Falls ran dry. Some people swore that it was a sign that the end of the world was imminent. People couldn’t understand that this could be a natural phenomenon. They began praying in the churches about the catastrophic occurrence.
1848’s weather was exceptionally frigid. It caused the ice to be very thick. In March warm weather caused large masses of packed up ice to move through Lake Erie. This ice piled up at the mouth of Lake Erie. Strong wind helped to fortify an ice dam that took 30 hours to be created.
At midnight on March 29th, 1848 there was a shift in the water level by morning the entire river bed from Fort Erie to the falls to the crest of the falls was exposed. Flour mills in the area operated on the power of the water just like much of Ontario and western New York depends on the water of the Niagara today. When the people that owned the mills saw that they weren’t functioning it created much apprehension. By March 30 wind reversed the direction and it broke up the temporary ice dam by that afternoon things returned back to normal. Even though the ice dam broke free allowing water to flow again in the Niagara the People would never forget what happened.
The Niagara Falls area was a site that boomed in the early days of Canada. The Earliest tribes next to Niagara Falls were known as Onguiaahra. They were farming people and hunted for deer and elk and also fished in the lakes and their tributaries. Their crops were mostly beans, corn, and squash. In the 1800s the area of Niagara was called Elgin. There was another neighboring town called Clifton that Elgin merged into it in 1856. In 1881 the name Clifton received the name, Niagara Falls. The word Niagara is taken from the word Niagara which is taken from the word “onguiaahra” which means thundering noise.
HOW to Celebrate & Observe NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day?
Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.
Here are some activities that you can do on NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day!
💙 VISIT the falls
💙 CONSERVE water
💙 READ up
💙 RAISE Social Awareness
Use social media posts with the hashtags #NiagaraFallsRunsDryDay, #NiagaraFalls, #Honeymoon, #FunHolidays, #MarchHolidays, #Holiday, #FindADayToLOVE, #iHEARTdays to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you ❤️ NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day.
LEARN more about importance of NIAGARA FALLS
FIVE Fun Facts you never knew about NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day
- The word “Niagara” is derived from the Iroquois Indian word “Onguiaahra” meaning “the strait”
- Nearly 20% of the world’s freshwater lies in the Great Lakes and most flows OVER Niagara Falls.
- There is an international boundary between the United States and Canada.
- The Superman movie was filmed near the falls.
- The first person to go over the falls and survive was a 63-year-old school teacher in a barrel!
Famous PEOPLE also born on March 29th
-
Denton True “Cy” Young
American MLB pitcher & manager best known for the creation of the Cy Young Award a year after his death to honor the best pitcher in each league for every season. Born 1867.
CY YOUNG Quote
“One of the fellows called me Cyclone but finally shortened it to Cy and its been that ever since.”
“All us Youngs could throw. I used to kill squirrels with a stone when I was a kid, and my granddad once killed a turkey buzzard on the fly with a rock.”
-
Vangelis
Greek composer, born Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, best known for scoring films with his trademark synthesizer sounds such as Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. Born 1943.
VANGELIS Quote
“Scientifically, believe it or not, music drives everything, because music equals universe and universe equals music.”
-
Sam Walton
American businessman & entrepreneur who was once the richest man in the world and best known for founding the Walmart juggernaut, the world’s largest corporation and employer. Born 1918.
SAM WALTON Quote
“Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures.”
“If you don’t listen to your customers, someone else will.”
Why we L💜VE NIAGARA FALLS RUNS DRY Day
For more than 200 years, Niagara Falls has been the “Honeymoon Capital of the World”. Even my parents went on their anniversary. Standing there against the majesty of the falls and your loved one in your arm, it’s easy to see how. We also love how on that fateful day in 1848, the “thundering waters” ran dry, the noise stopped, and folks had to stop and witness the mighty awesome power that God possesses.
