Here's what Niagara Falls looked like when it was turned off for the first time in 12,000 years

Mon, 04/10/2023 - 12:56

Niagara Falls dried up in 1969. A boat is seen in the water in the distance. — Niagara Falls dried up in 1969.
AP

In 1969, the US Army Corps of Engineers dumped 27,000 tons of rock to dam the Niagara River and stop the American Falls.
They were assessing a growing pile of boulders at the bottom out of concern the falls could become rapids.
But in the end, engineers found the boulders were necessary to prop up the face of the falls.

"They tamed it and now they will unleash it."

According to The New York Times in 1969, that was how a tourist characterized the historic moment that the Niagara River was released to gush down over the American Falls once again after it had been cut off for six months.