Grady Hillhouse of Practical Engineering took a look at the ingenious engineering behind the historic Niagara Falls. Hillhouse further notes that the hidden infrastructure, installed to overcome shipping challenges, is just as grand as the falls themselves. Another important note is that these concerns and solutions are addressed on both sides of the border between the United States and Canada.
The same thing that makes it impressive for tourists (the big drop) makes it valuable for power and a major challenge for shipping. And out of that comes all kinds of fascinating infrastructure, not only to facilitate the tourism but the other stuff too: a major canal with locks and aqueducts, the international dam control gates, pumped storage reservoirs, epic tunnels, towering gates, massive hydropower plants, and so much more.
