September 29, 2019: Gorgeous Gorges

We've been away for a couple of weeks exploring rivers and gorges in western New York and Vermont.  We saw more human related sights than natural ones, including some where the touch of man is not immediately obvious, like at Niagara Falls.  The total flow over the falls is an impressive 100,000 cubic feet of water per second (that's 748,000 gallons every second).

Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side

But that's just half of what the flow was before water was diverted for electricity;  imagine what the falls looked like when the flow was 202,000 cubic feet per second.  And the current 100,000 cubic feet over the falls is only during the day when they increase the flow for the tourists.  A dam was installed to regulate the flow, so at night the river flow is reduced to just 50,000 cubic feet per second - which raises the river behind the dam by five feet over night.  Before the tourists arrive in the morning they open up the dam for their viewing pleasure.  Doing the math reveals the average flow is just over a third of what it was naturally, but remember that most of the diverted water is returned to the Niagara River below the falls after generating a great deal of clean energy.

The American Falls with the Observation Tower, the Rainbow Bridge to Canada, and the Niagara River beyond.

The other massive man-made river project we saw was the Erie Canal system.

The Erie Canal approaching Lockport, NY.

The entrance to the Lockport Locks; the original set of five locks is on the right, with the new two-lock set on the left.

This 339 mile long canal (a total of 524 miles including the feeder canals) was completed in 1825, well before the railroad arrived.  The canal system allowed efficient transportation to the interior of the United States, enabling greatly increased commerce and development west of the coastal cities.  Today the canals are used primarily for pleasure boating.

A tour boat enters the first lock.

We also visited an impressive gorge in Letchworth State Park, carved out by the Genesee River.

The gorge has been called the "Grand Canyon of the East".

An entrepreneur tried to turn this river into a transportation canal as well but was stymied by the steep incline and hard stone, so today it is mostly in its natural state.

Then on our return back through Vermont we made a stop at Quechee Gorge near Woodstock, a mix of man and nature.  Although a dam was built above the gorge as part of the country's reaction to the destructive floods of the 1930's, the gorge itself is relatively untouched.

The Quechee Gorge carved by the Ottauquechee River, seen from the Route 4 bridge.

Looking back up at the bridge from the river below.

When you're in the Woodstock Vermont area I recommend a visit to the Marsh-Billings National Park.

The Marsh-Billings farm.

A 2-3 month old calf.

There is a beautiful working farm you can visit, as well as 20 miles of hiking trails through rolling hills and old farm land.

Looking east toward home:  The White Mountains viewed from Mt. Tom in the Marsh-Billings National Park.

Upon arriving back in Meredith I was happy to find we haven't missed the local foliage season as it's just getting started.

The leaves are just starting to turn color here in Meredith.

And of course it was good to see that our loon chicks and parents are still here, with the parents still providing food for them.

Although I haven't seen the two chicks together so I can't say that both Harley and Davidson are still on the lake - can anyone confirm they're both still here?

I'm looking forward to watching both the seasons and the loons evolve throughout the magnificent fall season.