MAID OF THE MIST

The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls. (The actual boats used are each named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.)

After a 10 minute wait for our Peoples Mover Bus, We boarded it only to get off in the MAID OF THE MIST stop.

One of the most exciting adventures of all, there was quite an ample of crowd for that all year through.

Since we didn't have to wait for the queue to end up , with our tickets already in hand we boarded the tour.

As usual before we boarded We were asked to wear the PONCHOS to avoid ourselves getting drenched by the mist.

The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and took us past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls.

This tour is available starting from either the Canadian or U.S. side of the river, returning to the starting point in each case.

Water rushes all around as you "soak" in the excitement and explore the roar of the Falls!!

However these diesel-engined boats are not available all year through.

They operate late April/early May (weather dependent) to October 24 each year.

This boat departs every 15 minutes from the dock.

At the end of the tour, we get off, dispose our ponchos and enter the Maid of the Mist Plaza which comprises of some gift shops, serves as a food outlet,a Welcome Centre, and ticket to daily entertaintments.

Every dollar we spend for the Park, goes to the Presevation of the Park.It has operated without tax dollars since 1885.

HISTORY

The first Maid of the Mist was launched in 1846 as a ferry service between the Canadian and American sides, pre-dating by two years the construction of the first suspension bridge at the site. However, with the opening of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge further downriver in 1848, the ferry service lost business, and by 1854, became a tourist attraction instead with the launch of a more luxurious boat.

Financial difficulties and the impending American Civil War forced the boat to be sold to a Montreal firm in 1860, and formal service was not restored until 1893, when two new boats were constructed and launched under a new partnership, Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company. These boats sailed the lower river until April 22, 1955, when they burned in a pre-season accident. Later that year, they would be replaced by the type and style of boat still seen today.

The Maid of the Mist is well known for its role in the July 9, 1960 rescue of Roger Woodward, a seven-year old boy who became the first person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls with nothing but a life jacket. The boat involved in the rescue (known as Maid II) was retired from service in 1983 and relocated to the Amazon River, where it served as a missionary ship for years after.

Access to the river-level attraction on the United States side was provided by the Maid of the Mist Incline Railway, a funicular railway, between 1894 and 1991 to travel between street level and the boat dock. As this service proved increasingly inadequate in transporting the growing passenger base of the 1990s, four high-speed elevators replaced the railway by the start of the 1991 tourist season. On the Canadian side, the dock is reached walking down a ramp to river level.

Courtesy: Wikipedia.

FACTS ABOUT NIAGARA

• The average depth of the water below Niagara Falls is 170 ft(52 meters) long,which is as deep as the Niagara Gorge banks are high.

• Less tha 10% of the water flows over the American Falls,with balance flowing over the Horseshoe Falls. It is the massive volume of the water over the Horeshoe Falls which gies the green colour to the falls.

• Canadian Falls: 170 ft(52 m. Brink measures 2,500 feet (750 meters)

• Orginally 202,000 cubic feet per second flowed over Niagara falls however now the water is more controlled in its flow and has been diverted for Power Generation.

• As seen in my earlier post, the brinks have eroded due to the enormous force. It has eroded as much as6 feet per year which brings it to their present location. However it has been controlled a lot more these years.