Author : Alex F. Young
ISBN : 9781840338928
Cover : paperback
Price : £12.95

The geology of the Escarpment at Niagara is of layers of shale and sandstone topped off by a hard layer of limestone. However, as the water erodes the lower levels, it undercuts the upper levels, and the limestone breaks away. Unless the process is stopped or halted, the erosion will reach Lake Erie in 25,000 years. Added to this is the destructive power of icemelt powering down the river. Hence, although this illustrated history only deals with a few hundred years, the area has seen a lot of change, with only four of the thirteen bridges built over the river surviving. This new book, illustrated with 19th and 20th-century photographs, old postcard images and transportation advertising brochures, tells the story of the Falls – about how tourism developed over the decades, the industrialisation on the American side, and, of course, all the various daredevil exploits such as high wire crossings or going over the Falls in a barrel! Alex Young’s captions tie it together to make for an attractive and informative souvenir of this natural wonder.