Editing Niagara Falls (section)

==Industry and commerce==

===Hydroelectric power===
{{see also|List of Niagara Falls hydroelectric generating plants}}
[[File:Harnessing the Niagara River's power in Niagara Falls, New York, c. 1901.jpg|thumb|New York side of [[Niagara Gorge]], c. 1901]]

The enormous energy of Niagara Falls has long been recognized as a potential source of power. The first known effort to harness the waters was in 1750, when [[Daniel-Marie Chabert de Joncaire de Clausonne|Daniel Joncaire]] built a small canal above the falls to power his sawmill.<ref name="Eisenstadt2005">{{cite book|author=Peter Eisenstadt|title=Encyclopedia of New York State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC&pg=PA1110|date= 2005|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-0808-0|page=1110}}</ref> Augustus and Peter Porter purchased this area and all of American Falls in 1805 from the New York state government, and enlarged the original canal to provide [[hydropower|hydraulic power]] for their gristmill and tannery. In 1853, the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company was chartered, which eventually constructed the canals that would be used to generate electricity.<ref name="Pool1897">{{cite book|author=William Pool|title=Landmarks of Niagara County, New York|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028832230|year=1897|publisher=D. Mason|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028832230/page/176 176]}}</ref> In 1881, under the leadership of [[Jacob F. Schoellkopf]], the Niagara River's first [[hydroelectric]] generating station was built. The water fell {{convert|86|ft|m|order=flip}} and generated [[direct current]] electricity, which ran the machinery of local [[watermill|mills]] and lit up some of the village streets.

The Niagara Falls Power Company, a descendant of Schoellkopf's firm, formed the Cataract Company headed by Edward Dean Adams,<ref>{{cite news|title=Honor for E.D. Adams: Engineers to Award the John Fritz Medal for Niagara Development|date=March 17, 1926|work=The New York Times|page=6|id={{ProQuest|119063396}}}}</ref> with the intent of expanding Niagara Falls' power capacity. In 1890, a five-member International Niagara Commission headed by [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Sir William Thomson]] among other distinguished scientists deliberated on the expansion of Niagara hydroelectric capacity based on seventeen proposals but could not select any as the best combined project for hydraulic development and distribution. In 1893, [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse Electric]] (which had built the smaller-scale [[Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant]] near [[Ophir, Colorado]], two years earlier) was hired to design a system to generate [[alternating current]] on Niagara Falls, and three years after that a large-scale AC power system was created (activated on August 26, 1895).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PXpNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA719 "The electrical features of Niagara"]. ''The Electrical World'', Volume 29, 1897.</ref> The [[Adams Power Plant Transformer House]] remains as a landmark of the original system.

[[File:Westinghouse Generators at Niagara Falls.jpg|thumb|Ten 5,000 HP Westinghouse generators at Edward Dean Adams Power Plant]]

By 1896, financing from moguls including [[J. P. Morgan]], [[John Jacob Astor IV]], and the [[Vanderbilt family|Vanderbilts]] had fueled the construction of giant underground conduits leading to turbines generating upwards of {{convert|100000|hp|MW|lk=on|order=flip}}, sent as far as Buffalo, {{convert|20|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} away. Some of the original designs for the power transmission plants were created by the Swiss firm Faesch & Piccard, which also constructed the original {{cvt|5,000|hp|MW|order=flip}} waterwheels. Private companies on the Canadian side also began to harness the energy of the falls. The [[Government of Ontario]] eventually brought power transmission operations under public control in 1906, distributing Niagara's energy to various parts of the Canadian province.

Other hydropower plants were being built along the Niagara River. But in 1956, disaster struck when the region's largest hydropower station was partially destroyed in a [[landslide]]. This drastically reduced power production and put tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs at stake. In 1957, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed the Niagara Redevelopment Act,<ref>{{USStatute|85|159|71|401|1957|08|21|H.R.|8643}}</ref> which granted the [[New York Power Authority]] the right to fully develop the United States' share of the Niagara River's hydroelectric potential.<ref name="nypa" />

In 1961, when the Niagara Falls hydroelectric project went online, it was the largest hydropower facility in the Western world. Today, Niagara is still the largest electricity producer in New York state, with a generating capacity of 2.4&nbsp;GW. Up to {{convert|1420|m3/s|ft3/s}} of water is diverted from the Niagara River through conduits under the city of Niagara Falls to the Lewiston and [[Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant|Robert Moses]] power plants. Currently between 50% and 75% of the Niagara River's flow is diverted via four huge tunnels that arise far upstream from the waterfalls. The water then passes through hydroelectric turbines that supply power to nearby areas of Canada and the United States before returning to the river well past the falls.<ref name="NMAH">{{cite web| url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=251| title=Niagara Falls Original Turbines| publisher=[[National Museum of American History]], Smithsonian Institution| access-date=June 19, 2008}}</ref> When electrical demand is low, the Lewiston units can operate as pumps to transport water from the lower bay back up to the plant's [[reservoir]], allowing this water to be used again during the daytime when electricity use peaks. During peak electrical demand, the same Lewiston pumps are reversed and become generators.<ref name="nypa" />

[[File:Robert moses niagara power plant 01.jpg|thumb|[[Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant]] in [[Lewiston, New York]]]]
To preserve Niagara Falls' natural beauty, a 1950 treaty signed by the U.S. and Canada limited water usage by the power plants. The treaty allows higher summertime diversion at night when tourists are fewer and during the winter months when there are even fewer tourists.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ytwDAAAAMBAJ&dq=1954+Popular+Mechanics+January&pg=PA115 "Niagara Power Goes Under Ground"] ''Popular Mechanics'', April 1952, p. 115.</ref> This treaty, designed to ensure an "unbroken curtain of water" flowing over the falls, states that during daylight time during the tourist season (April 1 to October 31) there must be {{convert|100000|ft3/s|m3/s|order=flip}} of water flowing over the falls, and during the night and off-tourist season there must be {{convert|50,000|ft3/s|m3/s|order=flip}} of water flowing over the falls. This treaty is monitored by the International Niagara Board of Control, using a [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] gauging station above the falls. During winter, the Power Authority of New York works with Ontario Power Generation to prevent ice on the Niagara River from interfering with power production or causing flooding of shoreline property. One of their joint efforts is an {{convert|8800|ft|m|adj=mid|-long|order=flip}} ice boom, which prevents the buildup of ice, yet allows water to continue flowing downstream.<ref name="nypa">{{cite web |url=http://www.nypa.gov/facilities/niagara.htm |title=NYPA Niagara |publisher=Nypa.gov |access-date=October 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114025315/https://www.nypa.gov/facilities/niagara.htm |archive-date=January 14, 2009 }}</ref> In addition to minimum water volume, the crest of Horseshoe falls was reduced to maintain an uninterrupted "curtain of water".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Macfarlane|first1=Daniel|title=How engineers created the icy wonderland at Niagara Falls|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/01/07/how-engineers-created-the-icy-wonderland-at-niagara-falls|access-date=January 9, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 9, 2018}}</ref>

In August 2005, [[Ontario Power Generation]], which is responsible for the [[Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations|Sir Adam Beck stations]], started a major civil engineering project, called the [[Niagara Tunnel Project]], to increase power production by building a new {{convert|12.7|m|adj=on}} diameter, {{convert|10.2|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}} water diversion tunnel. It was officially placed into service in March 2013, helping to increase the generating complex's [[nameplate capacity]] by 150&nbsp;megawatts. It did so by tapping water from farther up the Niagara River than was possible with the preexisting arrangement. The tunnel provided new [[hydroelectricity]] for approximately 160,000 homes.<ref name="NiagaraFrontier-TechFacts">[http://www.niagarafrontier.com/tunneltechnical.html "Niagara Tunnel Project Technical Facts"], ''NiagaraFrontier.com'', updated November 2012.</ref><ref name="OPG-Website">{{cite web |url=http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/new_projects/ntp/index.asp |date=March 21, 2013 |title=Niagara Tunnel Now In-Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119130706/http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/new_projects/ntp/index.asp |archive-date=November 19, 2013 |website=Ontario Power Generation |access-date=April 11, 2013}}</ref>

===Transport===
[[File:Map of the Welland Canal.png|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Welland Canal]] connects [[Lake Ontario]] and [[Lake Erie]] through a series of eight locks, allowing ships to bypass the {{convert|51|m|ft|abbr=on}} high Niagara Falls]]

Ships can bypass Niagara Falls by means of the [[Welland Canal]], which was improved and incorporated into the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] in the mid-1950s. While the seaway diverted water traffic from nearby Buffalo and led to the demise of its steel and grain mills, other industries in the Niagara River valley flourished with the help of the electric power produced by the river. However, since the 1970s the region has declined economically.

The cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, and Niagara Falls, New York, United States, are connected by two international bridges. The Rainbow Bridge, just downriver from the falls, affords the closest view of the falls and is open to non-commercial vehicle traffic and pedestrians. The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge lies {{convert|1|mi|km|order=flip}} north of the Rainbow Bridge and is the oldest bridge over the Niagara River. Nearby [[Niagara Falls International Airport]] and [[Buffalo Niagara International Airport]] were named after the waterfall, as were [[Niagara University]], countless local businesses, and even an [[asteroid]].<ref name="Asteroid">Asteroid ''12382 Niagara Falls'' was named after the falls.</ref>