Niagara River at U.S. side of Niagara Falls, as seen from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (photo from Wikimedia)

16 October 2026

When we think of the Niagara River most of us think of Niagara Falls without realizing that the river is a whole lot more.

In case you missed it, Ryan Sajdak, science teacher in the Buffalo Public Schools since 2017 and New York State Master Teacher Fellow, used NOAA data, USGS lidar and river gauges to create this animation of Niagara River flow from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

View his animation here and on his website at Ryan Sajdak: Niagara River in Motion

Since I live far from the Niagara area I was surprised to learn:

Did you know there’s a whirlpool?

Did you know 70% of the river flow goes underground around the falls (to the power plants) instead of over them? Did you know the river flows less overnight because the power plants take in more water while we’re not watching? See Sajdak’s Around the Falls map and animation here.