If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls, you were likely thrilled with the site before you. So much water rushes over the falls at any given time it sometimes boggles the imagination.
Back in 1969, they decided to take this natural wonder and do a little investigative work. They wanted to see if the waterfall was deteriorating too quickly, so they diverted the water from the American side.
This was no small task because 3,160 tons of water flow over the falls every second and fall at 32 ft./s according to the Niagara Falls State Park website. Diverting that large amount of water must’ve been quite a feat.
It took the Army Corps of Engineers to redirect the water to the Canadian side. It was part of a large project to look at erosion that was taking place in the area.
The Niagara Falls website says: “In 1969, an earthen dam was built across the head of the American Rapids, de-watering the American Falls. For six months, geologists and engineers studied the rock face and the effects of erosion.”
As expected, they found a lot of mud and rock underneath the falls when the water was diverted. They also found the remains of a man and woman.
The Toronto Sun published an article within days after the discovery, saying that the decomposed body of the woman was found first. Engineers were actually looking for the body of a man who was seen jumping over the falls, but they did not find him until the following day.
Even though the remains were found in 1969, they have never been able to identify the man or the woman. They also never were able to say why the bodies were in the fall.
They also found a number of other things when they diverted the water, including millions of coins that were likely dropped her throat into the water by visitors.
It took six months for the engineers to look at everything and determine that removing rock at the base of the American Falls would be too expensive. They decided to allow the erosion to take place at its normal rate and release the water back to the American side of the falls.
