NIAGARA FALLS - INTRODUCTION Niagara Falls (waterfall), great waterfall, east central North America, on the Niagara River, in western New York and south-eastern Ontario. One of the world's most scenic sights, it consists of two cataracts: the Canadian, or Horseshoe, Falls (49 m/161 ft high), on the Canadian side of the river, and the American Falls (51 m/167 ft high), on the United States side. The waterfalls are separated by Goat Island, New York. The crestline of the crescent-shaped Canadian Falls, which carries about nine times more water than the US cataract, is about 790 m (2,592 ft) long, and the fairly straight crest of the narrower and slightly steeper American Falls measures about 305 m (1,001 ft). A small section of the American Falls near Goat Island is also known as Bridal Veil Falls. Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is on the border between the United States and Canada. It actually consists of two waterfalls, the American Falls in western New York and the Horseshoe Falls in Ontario. Bridal Veil Falls and the Cave of the Winds, shown here behind a curtain of water, are part of American Falls. Every year millions of tourists visit the falls.Grapes-Michaud/Photo Researchers, Inc. Niagara Falls is a great tourist attraction, luring millions of visitors each year. The falls may be viewed from parks located on either side of the river, from observation towers, from boats, from Goat Island, and from the Rainbow Bridge, located a short distance downstream. The bridge connects the town of Niagara Falls in Canada with the town of the same name in the United States. Visitors may also enter the Cave of the Winds, a natural cavern situated behind a curtain of falling water near the base of the American Falls. Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, probably visited Niagara Falls in 1613. Father Louis Hennepin, a Flemish (see Flanders) monk, is known to have visited the waterfall in 1678; he later published an eyewitness description of it.