Niagara Whirlpool - north of Niagara Falls, Ontario - Places of Geologic Significance on Waymarking.com

The Niagara Whirlpool formed nearly 4,200 years ago when the erosion and recession of Niagara Falls, which up to this point was a sluggish process, reached a soft spot in the landscape. Saint David's Buried Gorge was an ancient, pre-glacial river valley filled in with soft glacial silt and stone. When Niagara Falls eroded its way into this hidden gorge, it rapidly began washing away the gorge's soft filling. It is speculated that when the Falls hit the buried gorge, it was just a matter of weeks, perhaps even days of violent erosion while it carved out the Whirlpool basin. It was a swift and powerful geological event considering the Falls had taken nearly 8000 years to get to this point.

Saint David's Buried Gorge ran perpendicular to the current path of the Fall's erosion, and resulted in a 90 degree turn in the river. Just upstream the narrow Niagara Gorge at the Whirlpool rapids sends water jetting into the Whirlpool basin. It hits the solid rock basin across the Whirlpool at Niagara Glen. Thousand of years of these forces has resulted in a dimpling of the basin; giving it an oval shape that juts past the turn in the river.

When the Niagara River is at full flow the Whirlpool will flow in a counterclockwise direction. When the river flow drops, usually when more flow is diverted to the power plants, the flow of the whirlpool reverses (clockwise). This usually happens during the tourist off-season (November 1 through April 1).

The Niagara River reaches depths of 125 ft (38 m) as it passes through the Niagara Whirlpool.

Source: (visit link)

Waymark is confirmed to be publicly accessible: yes Parking Coordinates: N 43° 07.083 W 079° 04.132 Access fee (In local currency): .00 Requires a high clearance vehicle to visit.: no Requires 4x4 vehicle to visit.: no Public Transport available: yes Website reference: [Web Link]

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