Most people see Niagara Falls during the summer. This is because most of us take our vacations during the summer months. The Falls are worth seeing any season of the year; but they are most wonderful in the winter. You are here looking from Luna Island toward the American Falls. A large part of the surface where the water is shallowest is covered with a sheet of ice and snow. The heavier parts of the falls are almost free from the touch of winter. At our backs are the Canadian Falls which carry nine times as much water as do the American Falls. At the end of the bridge is a tunnel which leads to the big electric power plant a quarter of a mile down stream. In this power plant are installed the great turbine generators which produce almost half a million horse power of electrical energy. This electricity runs the street cars of Buffalo, Syracuse, and other cities in

New York, and is transmitted to Cleveland. Father Hennepin was the first white man to see the Niagara Falls. He discovered it in 1678. LaSalle built a fort here in 1679. During the war of 1812 many battles were fought about Niagara. The state of New York has reserved 107 acres as a park on the American side of the Falls. Canada has a larger reservation on the Ontario side. On the banks of the Niagara Falls is located the city of Niagara Falls. This city has a population of about 43,000 (1915). It is 16 miles north-northwest of Buffalo. Niagara Falls has become a great center for the manufacture of wood pulp, paper, chemicals, and prepared foods. Several trunk lines of railway cross Niagara River at this point. The electric power furnished by the Falls adds greatly to its importance.