5 ms·

The Hidden Engineering of Niagara Falls

194 points by chmaynard 1y ago

glitcher 1y ago
Grady Hillhouse does such an amazing job of presenting engineering topics to the layperson very thoughtfully. I'm not an engineer, but I always get completely drawn into their videos even when it seems like something I would have no interest in. I didn't know anything about the engineering surrounding the Niagara Falls region, but this latest video leaves me curious about how the two countries managed to work together in those early years, with all of the disputes and collaborations involved.
- curtistyr 1y ago
  This reminds me of how international cooperation can lead to incredible feats—like the International Joint Commission managing the Great Lakes. I've been thinking about how such collaborations laid the groundwork for modern projects. It's fascinating to consider how they navigated those challenges without today's tech. How do you think these early efforts influenced later international endeavors?
- ourmandave 1y ago
  I binged watched his whole series on the waste water lift station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdcXkmvXXwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdcXkmvXXwU When people complain, "every time I see road workers they're just standing around." Well watch this series and see the number of different crews and steps it takes to do major construction.
  - space_ghost 1y ago
    "Every time I see a programmer they're just staring at their monitors." :D
hommelix 1y ago
There are quite a few documents about the building of the Niagara power plant at oldwoodward gallery: http://www.oldwoodward.com/gallery/index.php?/search/psk-20251021-h2tfN6TgE3 http://www.oldwoodward.com/gallery/index.php?/search/psk-202... If the search link doesn't work, search for Niagara in the photo gallery.
e-master 1y ago
I highly recommend visiting the niagara parks power station museum on the Canadian side - they have a very interesting exhibition of the old power plant. You can even go down to the old tunnel and walk through it to see how the water was diverted back into the river, fascinating stuff. The Welland canal is also very interesting. There's something really cool about seeing a large ship moving _on_ a bridge while driving under that same bridge with a car. Also, the city of Welland has some nice bike trails iirc.
- PradeetPatel 1y ago
  Is that the one not too far from the statue of Tesla donated by the Serbian government? I vaguely remember visiting it a good few years ago...
  - e-master 1y ago
    Yes, I think so, it's right next to the parking lot. I visited it about 3 years ago, but back then the tunnel was not accessible yet, it is now. Also, not sure if this is true, but our tour guide told us that Tesla himself actually never set foot on the Canadian side of the falls.
rob74 1y ago
While it's nice to have a transcript of a YouTube video, if the text says "this is a map of the isthmus", it would be a good idea to actually put the map on the page.
0xd3af 1y ago
So happy to see Practical Engineering on HN! One of my all time favourite channels. I implore anyone to go back through the back catalogue of seemingly mundane subject matter (sewers, for instance), you'll be surprised. Great channel, very well done.
- burntoutgray 1y ago
  It's always inspiring to watch videos of tangible engineering with atoms.
boriskourt 1y ago
Grady is also on Nebula, its a very nice place to watch these if you like the video format. There are a few engineering creators on there that make really high quality work.
comrade1234 1y ago
I was at Niagara Falls a few years ago and it just seemed kind of weak. I mean, yes it was impressive but thinking about the rivers I know and have seen that empty just into Lake Superior, and multiplying that by all of the other rivers that empty into the great lakes, it just didn't seem like it was enough water. And so I looked it up and it was correct. Almost all of the water that would go over the falls is redirected to power generation. A secondary good effect is that this reduces erosion of the falls - before this they were eroding and moving up river at least three feet per year and eventually would reach Lake Ontario which would empty the lake.
- pif 1y ago
  > eventually would reach Lake Ontario You mean Lake Erie, don't you?
  - junker37 1y ago
    I'm pretty sure they mean Lake Ontario. It's been a while since I've been there. But I believe the water falls from Lake Ontario into Lake Eerie.
    - pif 1y ago
      From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls : The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. [...] The river [...] is approximately 58 kilometres (36 mi) long and includes the Niagara Falls.
      - junker37 1y ago
        Thx! I had always thought it was the other way around.
- noahjk 1y ago
  > they were eroding and moving up river at least three feet per year and eventually would reach Lake Ontario which would empty the lake. It's not often we witness a large-scale geographic shift - while obviously we needed to preserve the lake in this scenario, imagine watching this unfold as a great lake disappears. That would be a sight to see! (Granted, assuming 36 miles between the falls and the lake, that would happen ~60,000 years from now)
JCM9 1y ago
Really enjoy this YouTube channel. Things are being a bit phoned in on these “articles” though as it’s just a transcript of the video and references images and content that aren’t in the article, which makes it difficult to read.
sunu2788 1y ago
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zara762 1y ago
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Insanity 1y ago
This was a fun watch! I love in Ontario and go to the falls a few times per year. I just love looking at them and ponder about nature, and the scale of time. It’s one of my favourite places to go, and definitely where I take anyone visiting from abroad.
qrush 1y ago
I grew up close to Niagara Falls and my dad was a firefighter there for ~30 years who had to practice rappelling down the gorge to save people (which sadly happens too frequently). His favorite story from the last time they "shut the falls off" was that they found tons of loose change in the rocks around the rapids - people were racing to get it and bringing back buckets of money. (Of course, they also found a few bodies as well...)
gregorymichael 1y ago
What a great video. From the talk track, to the visuals, to the "flow", to the confident but accessible sprinkling of technical terms. Loved this. Go Bills.
tug2024 1y ago
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194 points by chmaynard 1y ago

Grady Hillhouse does such an amazing job of presenting engineering topics to the layperson very thoughtfully. I'm not an engineer, but I always get completely drawn into their videos even when it seems like something I would have no interest in. I didn't know anything about the engineering surrounding the Niagara Falls region, but this latest video leaves me curious about how the two countries managed to work together in those early years, with all of the disputes and collaborations involved.

curtistyr 1y ago
This reminds me of how international cooperation can lead to incredible feats—like the International Joint Commission managing the Great Lakes. I've been thinking about how such collaborations laid the groundwork for modern projects. It's fascinating to consider how they navigated those challenges without today's tech. How do you think these early efforts influenced later international endeavors?
ourmandave 1y ago
I binged watched his whole series on the waste water lift station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdcXkmvXXwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdcXkmvXXwU When people complain, "every time I see road workers they're just standing around." Well watch this series and see the number of different crews and steps it takes to do major construction.
- space_ghost 1y ago
  "Every time I see a programmer they're just staring at their monitors." :D

hommelix 1y ago

There are quite a few documents about the building of the Niagara power plant at oldwoodward gallery: http://www.oldwoodward.com/gallery/index.php?/search/psk-20251021-h2tfN6TgE3 http://www.oldwoodward.com/gallery/index.php?/search/psk-202... If the search link doesn't work, search for Niagara in the photo gallery.

e-master 1y ago

I highly recommend visiting the niagara parks power station museum on the Canadian side - they have a very interesting exhibition of the old power plant. You can even go down to the old tunnel and walk through it to see how the water was diverted back into the river, fascinating stuff. The Welland canal is also very interesting. There's something really cool about seeing a large ship moving _on_ a bridge while driving under that same bridge with a car. Also, the city of Welland has some nice bike trails iirc.

PradeetPatel 1y ago
Is that the one not too far from the statue of Tesla donated by the Serbian government? I vaguely remember visiting it a good few years ago...
- e-master 1y ago
  Yes, I think so, it's right next to the parking lot. I visited it about 3 years ago, but back then the tunnel was not accessible yet, it is now. Also, not sure if this is true, but our tour guide told us that Tesla himself actually never set foot on the Canadian side of the falls.

rob74 1y ago

While it's nice to have a transcript of a YouTube video, if the text says "this is a map of the isthmus", it would be a good idea to actually put the map on the page.

0xd3af 1y ago

So happy to see Practical Engineering on HN! One of my all time favourite channels. I implore anyone to go back through the back catalogue of seemingly mundane subject matter (sewers, for instance), you'll be surprised. Great channel, very well done.

burntoutgray 1y ago
It's always inspiring to watch videos of tangible engineering with atoms.

boriskourt 1y ago

Grady is also on Nebula, its a very nice place to watch these if you like the video format. There are a few engineering creators on there that make really high quality work.

comrade1234 1y ago

I was at Niagara Falls a few years ago and it just seemed kind of weak. I mean, yes it was impressive but thinking about the rivers I know and have seen that empty just into Lake Superior, and multiplying that by all of the other rivers that empty into the great lakes, it just didn't seem like it was enough water. And so I looked it up and it was correct. Almost all of the water that would go over the falls is redirected to power generation. A secondary good effect is that this reduces erosion of the falls - before this they were eroding and moving up river at least three feet per year and eventually would reach Lake Ontario which would empty the lake.

pif 1y ago
> eventually would reach Lake Ontario You mean Lake Erie, don't you?
- junker37 1y ago
  I'm pretty sure they mean Lake Ontario. It's been a while since I've been there. But I believe the water falls from Lake Ontario into Lake Eerie.
  - pif 1y ago
    From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls : The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. [...] The river [...] is approximately 58 kilometres (36 mi) long and includes the Niagara Falls.
    - junker37 1y ago
      Thx! I had always thought it was the other way around.
noahjk 1y ago
> they were eroding and moving up river at least three feet per year and eventually would reach Lake Ontario which would empty the lake. It's not often we witness a large-scale geographic shift - while obviously we needed to preserve the lake in this scenario, imagine watching this unfold as a great lake disappears. That would be a sight to see! (Granted, assuming 36 miles between the falls and the lake, that would happen ~60,000 years from now)

JCM9 1y ago

Really enjoy this YouTube channel. Things are being a bit phoned in on these “articles” though as it’s just a transcript of the video and references images and content that aren’t in the article, which makes it difficult to read.

sunu2788 1y ago

[dead]

zara762 1y ago

[dead]

Insanity 1y ago

This was a fun watch! I love in Ontario and go to the falls a few times per year. I just love looking at them and ponder about nature, and the scale of time. It’s one of my favourite places to go, and definitely where I take anyone visiting from abroad.

qrush 1y ago

I grew up close to Niagara Falls and my dad was a firefighter there for ~30 years who had to practice rappelling down the gorge to save people (which sadly happens too frequently). His favorite story from the last time they "shut the falls off" was that they found tons of loose change in the rocks around the rapids - people were racing to get it and bringing back buckets of money. (Of course, they also found a few bodies as well...)

gregorymichael 1y ago

What a great video. From the talk track, to the visuals, to the "flow", to the confident but accessible sprinkling of technical terms. Loved this. Go Bills.

tug2024 1y ago

[dead]