Canada's oldest national park was established in 1885 in the Canadian Rockies. The park, located 110-180 km west of the city of Calgary in Alberta, covers an area of 6641 km2 in a mountainous region characterized by numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forests, and alpine landscapes. The Trans-Canada Highway runs from Lake Louise, known as Banff Windermere Boulevard in the south, to Jasper National Park, and as Icefields Boulevard (Ice Boulevard) north of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, both located in New York. Formed by the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America with a vertical drop of more than 50 m. During peak daytime tourist hours, more than 168,000 m3 of water flow over the crest of the falls every minute.
Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, measured by flow rate. Niagara Falls is renowned for its beauty and serves as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Balancing recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century.
Niagara Falls is situated 27 km northwest of Buffalo, New York, and 69 km southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. The falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path over and through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean.