Niagara falls is 17 miles north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario. It is on the Niagara River and straddles the international border, so Niagara Falls is both American and Canadian.

There are 2 major sections of the Falls the Canadian (or Horseshoe) Falls and the American Falls, which can be broken down to that and the Bridal Veil Falls, a smaller fall in very close vicinity to the American falls, separated by an island.

The American Falls dump 150,000 gallons of water per second from a height of 176 feet (though due to the rocks at the base of the falls, the water "falls" only 70 feet, then runs down the rocks the remainder of the distance. 

The Canadian 'Horseshoe' Falls is 167 feet in height and dumps a massive 600,000 gallons of water per second. 

The Niagara River and The Niagara Falls are both very young (in geological time) forming about 12,000 years ago around the time that the last ice age was coming to an end. The glacier receded and filled the Great Lakes with the run-off from the four northern lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) routed through the Niagara River. The Falls then spill into Lake Ontario after travelling 15 miles over rapids and gorges. The Falls most likely began as a massive area of rapids, and over time, eroded the landscape to create the Falls we see today.

In 1759 Daniel Joncaire built a small canal above the Falls to power his sawmill.

In 1805 Augustus and Peter Porter purchased that area and enlarged the canal for provide hydraulic power for their business

Founded in 1853, Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company eventually constructed new canals to provide electrical power.

In 1881, they were eventually able to send a direct current to the Falls and a nearby village.

By 1896, they harnessed enough power to send it to Buffalo, NY

Between 50% and 75% of the water running through Niagara Falls is run through tunnels to harness the power

Many people wonder if the Falls freeze in the winter. The flow of the Falls has never been completely stopped by being frozen, and the only known time the Falls stopped flowing completely was in 1848 when an ice jam up river caused the flow to stop completely. Now, the mist coming up from the Falls does freeze, sometimes freezing as thick as 50 feet.

In 1969, the American Falls' water was diverted in order to see if it was feasible to remove the rocks at the base of the Falls to make it "prettier". It was determined that it would be too costly.

The word “Niagara” was derived from the Iroquois Indian word “Onguiaahra” meaning “The Strait”

From 1842 to 1905 the average rate of erosion was 3.8 feet per year
From 1906 to 1927 it was reduced to 2.3 feet per year.
Since then, it has been much less than 1 foot per year. This goes along with the advancements in water diversion in using it for power.

Niagara Falls attracts 12+ million tourists each year.

It is the second largest Falls in the world, next to the Victoria Falls in South Africa.