Niagara Falls Will Eventually Disappear

The immense power of Niagara Falls is actually the engine of its own slow-motion self-destruction. This geological drama unfolds as the Niagara River flows over a resilient cap of dolostone rock, which sits above softer layers of shale and sandstone. The force of the plunging water erodes the softer rock beneath, creating an undercut. With its support gone, the hard caprock eventually fractures and collapses into the gorge below. This relentless cycle of undercutting and collapse is what causes the falls to slowly but surely retreat upstream.

Since the end of the last ice age, this process has carved a seven-mile path backward from its original location near present-day Lewiston, New York. While the natural erosion rate was once several feet per year, human intervention has significantly slowed it down. The large-scale diversion of water for hydroelectric power generation has reduced the modern retreat to about one foot annually. Still, the march continues. Geologists project that in approximately 50,000 years, the falls will have eroded all the way back to their source, Lake Erie. At that point, the magnificent cataract will vanish, replaced by a