In Niagara, water plays a vital role in shaping our landscape and society. Our collection of Geosites helps tell this story.The Niagara Aspiring Global Geopark is nestled amidst the beauty of Ontario’s Lower Great Lakes region. Embraced by Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, two of the world’s largest bodies of freshwater, the Geopark is home to many natural wonders including cliffs, vistas, waterfalls, gorges, beaches and fertile agricultural plains. Our Geosites tell the story of these natural wonders, bringing together the worlds of scientific inquiry and Indigenous perspectives through the principles of two-eyed seeing, in order to foster a deeper understanding of our planet's history and interconnectedness. Indigenous peoples first inhabited Niagara as the melting glaciers retreated northward, revealing the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario and the mighty Niagara River. Also revealed was the most striking feature of the peninsula’s landscape, the Niagara Escarpment, as well as the Onondaga Escarpment, which traces a similar east-west path across southern Niagara between Fort Erie and Hagersville. These escarpments influence the locations of watercourses, wetlands, plants, and animals but were also the source of chert (flint), a hard but brittle stone that could be flaked to make sharp-edged tools, including spear and arrow points, knives, drills, and hide scrapers. It was the lifeblood of the region’s first inhabitants. But the crown jewel of the Geopark is Niagara Falls, arguably the greatest natural wonder in Canada. For hundreds of years, Niagara Falls has profoundly affected the way humans see the Earth. Prior to the Age of Enlightenment, in the 17th and 18th centuries, there was no real concept of deep time and the age of our planet. The Earth was proclaimed to be 6,000 years old. But eventually, through scientific reasoning and painstaking measurements, the Niagara Gorge was determined to be at least twice as old as the presumed age of the earth! People continued to flock to the Niagara, now aware of this new revelation, including perhaps the most famous visitor of all, Charles Darwin, who, in the early stages of writing On The Origin of Species, wrote: "What a wonderful fact this breakdown of old Niagara is - how it disturbs all the calculations about lengths of time." (Charles Darwin in a letter to Charles Lyell, March 12, 1841) At the Niagara Geopark, as you walk in the footsteps of Niagara's Indigenous communities and scientific pioneers like Charles Darwin, you'll gain insights into the Earth's evolution and how this has impacted the communities that live in the area. After a day of exploration, make your visit even more memorable by visiting one of Niagara's many museums, galleries, wineries or farm-to-table restaurants. |  Niagara Parks Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara Falls Geosite |
