Niagara River

Length: 34 miles (55 kilometers)

Located in New York and Ontario, Canada; issuing from Lake Erie between Buffalo, NY, and Fort Erie, Ontario (Canada); flows north around Grand Island and over Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario; the river forms part of the U.S.-Cananadian border. The upper section of the river is navigable for 20 miles to a series of rapids above the falls; in its last 7 mi/11 km it is again navigable, from Lewiston, NY, to Lake Ontario. The New York State Barge Canal enters the river at Tonawanda, NY; the Welland Canal, several miles west on the Ontario side, is a lake-freighter route around the falls. Hydroelectric power is generated by diverting water from the river above Niagara Falls to generating plants. Many bridges cross the Niagara R., notably Peace Bridge (1927); bridges linking Grand Isl. with both shores (1935); Rainbow Bridge (1941) below the falls; and American Rapids Bridge (1960), linking Goat Island with the mainland.