How to Survive Niagara Falls

4 min read

Can you imagine plummeting from these 50-meter-high (164 ft) waterfalls at speeds reaching 109 km/h (68 mph), all while being crushed by three tons of water every second? In 1960, a young child was swept over the Falls with an older family friend following a boating accident on the Niagara River. Only one of them survived the ordeal, but how? And who was it? The answer might surprise you.

Today we will explore the three most exciting and harrowing stories of people who survived going over this magnificent but deadly natural wonder.

Located on the border of Ontario, Canada, and New York State, this amazing waterfall system is comprised of three different waterfalls with a combined width of 1,204 m (3,950 ft ). Below the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls are churning rapids that can drag you along at 48 km/h (30 mph). If the fall doesn’t kill you, these rapids below could. So, we should warn you, never try to imitate the historic feats in this video.

How did a daredevil use a barrel to go over the falls? Why would an anvil help you survive? What all-natural phenomenon could save your life?

Number 3: The Barrel Jump

On October 24, 1901, schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor performed one of the most amazing stunts in the history of Niagara Falls. Not only because she was the first person to survive going over the Falls, but also because she was 63 years old. She used a modified barrel filled with compressed air equipped with an anvil to ensure she hit the water below feet-first rather than upside down. Pillows and a leather harness helped buffer her landing. She was certain it would work after sending her cat over on a successful test run a few days earlier.

After 17 minutes, she reached the shore, a little battered but alive. Her barrel invention was so successful that other Falls daredevils imitated her technique and design over the next several decades. Unfortunately, not all of them were as successful as Taylor.

Number 2: The Plunge-O-Sphere

In 1961, Nathan Boya designed a ball-shaped steel structure he named the Plunge-O-Sphere, which was covered in multiple layers of rubber and metal. It also included an air tank that would provide oxygen for up to 30 hours. That’s foresight, right? Despite hitting some rocks on his landing that put a good dent in the Plunge-O-Sphere, Boya surfaced without a scratch. His wallet didn’t fare so well. He was fined $100 for the stunt, more than $950 today.

Number 1: The Miracle Child

Remember the two people we began our story with? Seven-year-old Roger Woodward and his 17-year-old sister Deanne were enjoying a leisurely boat ride on the Niagara River with family friend James Honeycutt when disaster struck. After hitting an unidentified object, the boat’s motor failed. As the three began to be pulled into churning waters and closer to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. The boat capsized, and all three were thrown into the rapids. Roger and Deanne had time to put on life jackets. Honeycutt didn’t.

Fortunately for Deanne, two passersby were able to pull her to shore. Roger and James went over the falls together. Roger survived. James, in his efforts to shield Roger from the rapids, drowned.

Roger has described going over the edge as a peaceful moment, like floating in the clouds. Niagara Falls historian Paul Gromosiak says that Roger was probably saved from drowning in part by a strange phenomenon known as a water cone. These can form when air trapped at the bottom of the falls is pushed upward. In Gromosiak’s words, “it’s like a hand reaching out,” and it may have been the reason Woodward was able to be rescued by the crew of the famous Maid of the Mist boat with only some cuts and bruises.

Besides being dangerous, going over Niagara Falls is illegal. So don’t think about doing anything extreme, and stick to watching the spectacle from a safe distance. If you’re looking for a waterfall adventure, how about taking a dive into the Devil’s Pool found at the top of Victoria Falls?