Waterfalls

There are a number of spectacular waterfalls at the cliff edge of the Niagara Escarpment, the most well known being Niagara Falls. Erosion through the millennia has created a magnificent gorge such that these falls on the Niagara River are now located 12 km upstream from the main Escarpment brow.  

Waterfalls in the Niagara Escarpment area range from small cascades like “Anthea’s Falls” (2 metres in height) in Grey County to dramatic ribbon falls like Tews Falls (41 metres) in the City of Hamilton’s Spencer Gorge.

One has only to look at the abundance and variety of Escarpment waterfalls to gain a sense of how the Escarpment was formed over 400 million years ago. Layers of rock (strata) are openly visible at most of the falls, showing a living timeline of the processes of erosion and weathering that have shaped the Escarpment over time.  

Types of waterfalls

Cascade: The vertical drop is broken into a series of steps which causes the water to cascade down the incline.

Classical: The height and crest width are nearly equal.

Curtain: The height is notably smaller than the crest width resembling a wide “curtain”.

Ribbon: The height is notably greater than the crest width and the stream forms a thin ribbon of water.

The City of Hamilton is perhaps best known for the number and variety of waterfalls in its municipal boundaries; it is known as the “City of Waterfalls” with 65 identified waterfalls.  

<! - - Click here for a Google Earth map of Hamilton’s waterfalls.  - - >

Further information on Hamilton’s waterfalls at the Hamilton Conservation Authority site.

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