Since the late nineteenth century, Niagara Falls has been heavily
engineered to generate energy behind a flowing façade designed to
appeal to tourists. Essentially, this natural wonder is now a tap:
huge tunnels channel the waters of the Niagara River around the Falls,
which ebb and flow according to the tourism calendar. Fixing Niagara
Falls reveals the technological feats and cross-border politics that
facilitated the transformation of one of the most important natural
sites in North America. Daniel Macfarlane details how engineers,
bureaucrats, and politicians conspired to manipulate the world’s
most famous waterfall. During the first half of the twentieth century,
the United States and Canada explored various ways to maximize
hydropower from the Niagara River while “preserving” the Falls.
Decades of environmental diplomacy and transborder studies led to a
1950 treaty that allowed new hydro-electric stations to funnel most of
the river’s water to generate power. To facilitate these diversions
and lessen the visual impact of redirecting so much water, the two
nations cooperated to install a range of control works while reshaping
and shrinking the Horseshoe Falls. This book offers a unique
perspective on how the Niagara landscape embodies both the power of
technology and the power of nature.
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Environment, Energy, and Engineers at the World’s Most Famous Waterfall
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780774864244
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
University of British Columbia Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter