The Former Upper River

There is one prominent feature of the gorge and the physical geography of Niagara Falls, NY that never seems to get a mention as a prominent part of our natural history. It is what I refer to as "The Former Upper River".

We know that the falls began about 10,000 years ago on the escarpment at what is now Lewiston-Queenston. At that point, all of the Niagara River was what we would now call the upper river. As the falls gradually eroded it's way northward to where is is today, the upper river retreated as the lower river advanced. All of what is now the gorge was once a part of the upper river.

Has anyone ever wondered what this river of the past was like?

First of all, The Former Upper River did not occupy exactly the same area as the gorge and the lower river now occupies. The river was about twice as wide as the gorge is today. It pretty much resembled the upper river as seen today around Grand Island but was deeper. The area taken up by the extra width is today mostly on the American side of Niagara Falls, NY. A large area of the city is on what was once on the bottom of the former upper river.

The former upper river can also be seen on the Canadian side from Ontario St., the side streets down to River Rd. The terrace on which Queen Victoria Park and Oakes Gardens is now located was also carved by flowing water when it was part of the former upper river and Lake Tonawanda.

To see what was once the bottom of the former upper river, let's drive north on Main Street, away from the falls area, starting at Pine Ave. Look to your left, the west, as you pass the side streets. You will see the outline of what was once the river basin.

When you pass the Library and get to Lockport Road, things change. You will notice that Main Street makes a long and gradual drop. This section of Main St. all the way to Van Renselaer Ave. is crossing the old river bed. To see the river bed from the top, go north on 11th St. from Lockport Rd. and look west (left) along the side streets.

The best place to get an idea of the scope and depth of the former river is to drive on Ontario Ave. from 11th St., west to Whirlpool St. You will then be at what was the bottom of the river and about halfway across.

Remember that in those days the surface of the upper river and the top of the falls was maybe fifty feet higher than the surface of the upper river at the falls is now because the falls had not broken through the ridge at Hubbard's Point. The terrain around the intersection of Main St. and Ontario Ave. has been distorted by the construction of the old railroad bridge, it is obvious that the ground was excavated beneath the bridge to accomodate Main St.

If you wonder why this former river bed does not continue past Niagara University north to Lewiston, the answer is that while the falls was in what is now the northernmost section of the gorge, between the whirlpool and Lewiston, the flow of water through the river was far less than it was later. This is because during those times of the early falls, the Niagara River was only draining water from Lake Erie and not all of the Great Lakes.

The drop that you see on Van Renselaer Ave. when going east from Main St./Lewiston Rd. is not a part of the former river bed. That drop represents the northern reaches of the former Lake Tonawanda.

You may be wondering why the former upper river is so wide compared to the gorge of today. The answer to that now becomes clear. The gorge was carved by the falls eroding it's way northward from it's starting point on the escarpment about 10,000 years ago. We know that when the falls began, it's flow was much less than it later became. This caused the falls, and thus the gorge, to be narrower than it would have been had there been more flow at that point.

When more water began to flow over the falls, at the time it was about where Whirlpool State Park is now, it did not widen by much, it eroded faster. This is why the gorge is only about half as wide as the former upper river today.

You may notice that Main St. from Lockport Rd. northward resembles the gradual slope of an impact crater like those I discovered on the Canadian side. I was hoping to have found a third impact crater.

However, after careful observation I have determined that the slope on Main St. in Niagara Falls, NY is not an impact crater. The layout of Main St. is somewhat deceptive in that it suddenly changes direction at Lockport Rd. so that is cuts across the former river basin. The bowl that thus formed was carved by flowing water and is not an impact crater.