All language subtitles for Undiscovered Vistas Series 1 08of14 Niagara Escarpment 1080p HDTV

(♪♪♪)

The Niagara Escarpment.

Hundreds of miles
of breathtaking landscape.

An ancient wall of rock
standing strong

against the powerful forces
of time.

It brands
the Great Lakes Region

from Lake Ontario to
Lake Michigan.

A captivating part of the world
that tells magical stories

of age-old
tropical coral reefs,

colossal glaciers

and haunting
First Nation's lore.

Epic, enchanting
and everlasting.

The Niagara Escarpment is
a true geological masterpiece.

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The Niagara Escarpment.

An ancient meandering cliff.

450 miles long.

At its highest point,
almost 1,700 feet.

The escarpment weaves its way
through the Great Lakes Region

in the heart
of central North America.

Stretching from
Upstate New York,

on the south shore
of Lake Ontario,

northwest through the
Canadian province of Ontario.

It fringes Lake Huron
and Lake Michigan

and trails off
just past Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In its present state,

the Niagara Escarpment
is one of the geological gems

of North America.

But there is no question

that the crown jewel
of the escarpment itself

is Niagara Falls.

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A true phenomenon
of the natural world.

It straddles the border between
Canada and The United States

and is part of the
Niagara River-

a 36-mile waterway that connects
Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

The water from
four of the five Great Lakes

passes through here,

on its way to Lake Ontario
and beyond.

From north to south,

the river features
an elevation drop of 330 feet.

More than half the drop
in elevation happens right here.

The crest line of these falls
covers only 600 yards

of the Niagara Escarpment's
450 miles.

Yet, the impact is
so dramatic,

it has become one of the most
popular tourist destinations

in North America.

It is the only section
of the escarpment

that most will ever see.

It's ancient geological history
and composition

is no different than any other
part of the escarpment.

Except for one thing, water.

More than 45 million gallons
of water-

that's the total combined volume
that goes over the crest lines

of the American
and Canadian falls every minute.

More than the volume
of an Olympic-sized

swimming pool every second.

Most comes over this crest
on the Canadian side.

Horse Shoe Falls,
named for its shape.

It is 170 feet high,

with a crest line more than
2,000 feet wide.

Niagara Falls was born
about 12,000 years ago

when water released
from melting glaciers

poured into what is now
the Niagara River.

Today,

water from the river hurls over
the edge of the escarpment

at a speed of
32 feet per second.

The level of erosion
that has occurred here

is far greater
than at any other point

on the escarpment.

12,000 years ago,

Niagara Falls was 7 miles
downriver from where it is now.

Around the turn of the century,

the rate of the falls erosion
was about 4 feet each year.

Today, it's been
artificially reduced

to less than 1 foot per year
on the Canadian falls.

The reason for this
manmade intervention is that

this part of the escarpment is
more than just a pretty picture.

In addition to precious
tourist dollars,

Niagara Falls generates
valuable hydroelectric power,

a resource worth preserving.

There is a small portion
of the Horse Shoe Falls

on the American side,

along with two more
distinct sections of the falls.

At 56 feet wide,

the Bridal Veil Falls
is the smallest section,

named for its unmistakable
resemblance to a bridal veil.

On the other side of this
precarious piece of land,

is the American Falls.

A much larger section
of the falls

that connects to Prospect Point
in New York State.

It is 180 feet high.

It's crest line
is 1,075 feet wide.

Perhaps the most memorable
human intervention

in the history of
Niagara Falls happened here.

In 1931 and 1954,

sections of rock fell to the
bottom of the American falls.

Fears grew that this section
of the falls would soon erode,

crumbling into a series
of unsightly rapids

and in the process,

dealing a huge blow
to the local economy.

In 1969, a team from the US Army
was called upon

to actually stop
the American Falls completely

and they did it.

The army built a 600-foot dam

from almost 30,000 tonnes
of rock

to divert the flow of water.

The result
was a truly bizarre sight.

The dolomite capped portion
of the Niagara Escarpment

was naked for all to see.

With the giant tap shut off,

army personnel cleared
some of the fallen rock

from the base of the falls,
to improve its appearance.

Engineers mechanically bolted
some faults on the escarpment

to prevent further erosion.

After they had collected as much
research and data as they could,

the dam was removed
in November of the same year.

Today, 75,000 gallons
per second flow over the crest.

It's a staggering amount.

Yet, it represents just 10%
of the total amount of water

flowing over the entire falls.

In all its glory,
Niagara Falls is spectacular

and the escarpment
on which it is found,

is one of the most beautiful
geological marvels

on the continent
and the planet.

It's ancient origins
begin underwater.

>> To understand
the Niagara Escarpment,

we have to understand
a very long time scale,

a geological time scale.

>> For millions of years, the
crust under the Michigan basin

was relatively stable.

Gently warping
to form a giant basin,

about 480 miles across.

>> During the Silurian Period,
which was 450 million years ago,

that large basin
was a large inland sea.

So, right now through here,
450 million years ago,

we'd have to be anchored
in a boat

to have this conversation.

>> The Silurian Period occurred
200 million years

before dinosaurs
roamed the earth.

Animals with backbones
were only just appearing

in the oceans.

This vast, calm inland sea
is referred to by geologists

as the Michigan Basin.

It represents a rare
geologically peaceful time

for this part of the planet.

>> The geologic history
of Canada,

you see violent episodes
when you build mountains

and then there're quite episodes
when seas cover much of Canada.

So, the thing about modern reefs
and the Caribbean,

beautiful, nice clear,
aquamarine waters

and that covered huge areas
of Canada at one time.

And that's because there was
no mountain building going on,

it was quiet tectonically.

The Niagara Escarpment
and the whole parts of Ontario

records perhaps the quietest
period in the history of Canada.

About 400 million years ago,

there were these giant
inland seas

that virtually covered
the whole country.

And there's no modern analog,

there's no modern parallel
anywhere in the world today.

>> During the Silurian Period,

the tectonic plate
of continental North America

was at lower latitudes
than it is today.

Geological forces caused
the Michigan basin to sink down

in the middle
and rise along the edges.

Sea levels rose,
the climate warmed.

The vast shallow seas
basked in sunlight.

And transformed this body
of water into a giant incubator

that sparked an explosive period
in the evolution of marine life.

Amazing things began to happen.

Coral reefs formed.

The first ever fish with
cartilage skeletons appeared.

Plants began to grow on land.

Then, air breathing creatures
such a millipedes, centipedes

and primitive arachnids,

helped create the earliest
terrestrial food web.

This primordial ecosystem
thrived for millions of years.

Immeasurable numbers
of marine creatures

lived and died here,

while rivers fed the inland sea,

bringing sand, silt and clay
into the water.

Coral and shells built up,

along with a growing deposit
of calcium.

These layers began to harden.

Time passed.

Sand became sandstone.

Clay became shale.

Calcium carbonate
became limestone.

Magnesium in the water
infiltrated

layers of calcium carbonate mud,
creating dolomite-

a rock similar to limestone
but much harder.

Layer upon layer,

these dramatically different
rock types built up.

Water levels
in this ancient sea,

changed frequently,

as did the location
of the ancient coastline.

The sea slowly dried up.

Then
about 200 million years ago,

everything changed.

These layers, built up
over millions of years,

formed the building blocks
for the escarpment.

>> It's important to understand
that in the sea,

the layers are being laid down
one on top of each other

over millions of years.

>> Once many layers of sediment
were laid down

in the shallow
inland Silurian Sea,

the warping of the basin

elevated the sediments
above water

to expose the edge of the basin
as an escarpment.

>> And so, you've got an edge
that's now exposed

and those top layers,

which were composed of a member
of lifelike reefs

and all those living organisms,

formed in conditions
that had a lot of magnesium.

So, it's not just
calcium carbonate,

which is limestone.

It's calcium carbonate with
a secret ingredient, magnesium.

So, it's
calcium-magnesium carbonate,

which is much harder.

So, those top plates
in that basin are hard rock,

really hard rock compared
to the softer ones below.

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>> With the inland sea gone,

further geological shifting
occurred in the region.

The edge of the Michigan Basin
began to lift,

marking the first
physical statement

of the Niagara Escarpment
as we know it today.

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Over millions of years,

natural erosion
wore down the landscape,

obliterating softer layers
of sandstone and shale.

But dolomite
is significantly harder,

so hard that not even
the weathering power of time

can penetrate it.

For 200 million years,

dolomite shielded
the softer rock

from earth-shaking events.

But there was
one force in nature

it could not withstand, ice.

Unimaginably vast ice sheets,

crept down
to the Michigan Basin.

>> In many ways, it's the events
of the last 2 million years,

in other words,
quite recent to geologists,

which have been
the most profound.

Because it seemed the repeated
development of ice sheets,

which, you know,

we're not talking about
something in a hockey arena,

we're talking about ice sheets
that are 3 or 4 kilometers thick

and they're moving and they're
dragging debris at their base.

So, they're very, very
effective agents of erosion

and all the main lakes in Canada

that lie around
the edge of the shield,

including the Great Lakes,
have all been dug out,

basically, by ice sheets.

So, the last 5 minutes,
if you like,

of the geologic history
have been the most profound

in terms of how they've affected
the landscape in Canada.

>> For 2-1/2 million years,
these monstrous sheets of ice

gave the region
an epic pounding.

>> For about a million years
to 10,000 years ago,

was our last glacial period

and we had
four successive glaciers

across this landscapes,

the last one leaving about
10,000 years ago.

So, here again, this landscape
which we have the escarpment

but then, you've got
3-1/2 kilometers thick of ice.

And so, there's a lot of weight
and a lot of plowing,

a lot of, you know,
pushing with the force

behind that weight of the ice.

And also,
at the base of the ice,

you have boulders and some rocks
the sizes of houses.

The grid of that base
is very aggressive.

So, you've got this
monumental scouring pad

that's scrapping across
the landscape as well.

And it's shaped--

in some area you can see
the corrugated nature of it,

where it's just, kind of,
plowed and found weaknesses

that's able to dig out,
in other areas where it's--

Like someone was playing with it
and scraping it all around

and shaping it.

So, it's clearly being
manipulative by the glaciers.

Over the next
few thousand years,

glaciers that conquered the land
began their retreat.

The giants were melting,

water frozen in time
for thousands of years

pooled at the feet
of the glaciers.

One by one, ice dams burst under
the weight of the rising water.

Temperatures increased,

unleashing violent floods
onto the surrounding land.

And finally the Great Lakes
region was freed

from its frozen oppressor.

With the weight
of its icy burden lifted,

the Niagara Escarpment
continued to rise.

>> That's a tremendous amount of
weight on top of the landscape

and when the glaciers retreated,
taking that weight off,

it's like pulling your finger
out of a wet sponge,

it slowly springs back.

And that rebound, it's known as
"Isostatic Rebound"

that has occurred
on the landscape here,

it's even happening now.

We're actually rebounding
at about 30 cm a century.

And we probably have about
another 40 meters to go

in South West Ontario to
fully recover from the glaciers.

>> The epic geological history
of this place

is now interwoven
with its ecosystem.

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In most areas of the escarpment,
water bleeds through the rock,

quenching ancient cedar trees,
some nearly 2,000 years old

that cling precariously
to the bluffs.

Both humans and wolves
use these cliffs

as a look out for massive herds
of caribou,

which ranged much farther
south during colder times.

There are signs that humans
inhabited these rocks

more than 13,000 years ago.

The escarpment is dotted with
ancient settlements,

villages and campsites.

Many of these histories
are long forgotten.

But here on the Bruce Peninsula,

the lore of some First Nations
peoples has endured.

>> This is part
of the traditional homeland

of the Saugeen First Nations.

This is an alliance
of two First Nations,

the Chippewas of Nawash
Unceded First Nation

and the Saugeen First Nation.

(♪♪♪)

This is part
of their traditional homeland.

And this area then, became part
of the province of Canada

in 1854.

And that's when the name
was changed

from Saugeen Neyaashiinigmiing
or Saugeen Peninsula--

Indian Peninsula
to Bruce Peninsula.

And that was done
to honor James Bruce,

who was Canada's
Governor General at that time.

>> Tribes of First Nations'
peoples have lived along
the escarpment

for thousands of years.

For them, some of the
amazing rock formations

are sacred sites.

Some indigenous people
have strong spiritual beliefs,

intrinsically connected
to the landscape.

This interweaving
of spirituality and geology

has been coined "Geomythology".

It is the study
of oral traditions

created by pre-scientific
cultures

to explain
geological phenomenon.

>> My focus has always been
the stories

and being able to work here in
Bruce Peninsula National Park,

I then have the opportunity
to take our people--

my people's traditional stories
and connect these stories

to the current
geological research.

>> One of the most
striking stories is the
legend of Standing Rock.

For the Huron First Nation,
the afterlife was referred to as

"The Path to the Village
of Souls".

This pathway was marked
by a rock called "The Watcher".

Here, the deceased waited
for their turn

to walk through a door
and into the underworld-

the Village of Souls.

According to legend,

to gain entry
into the village of souls,

the dead were required
to enter a cabin

where a man named
"Pierce-head" waited .

As the dead souls entered,

Pierce-head cracked their
skulls open,

pulled out their brains
and kept them for himself.

A macabre tale.

But it was believed
that as a rite of passage

to the afterlife,

the brains of the dead needed
to be removed

as an act of mercy,

so they could not bring
their memories to the afterlife

or yearn for their past lives.

This rock and these caves

are physical representations
of this mythology.

To this day, the standing rock
is a haunting site.

It appears to change
its appearance

depending on lighting
and vantage point.

Because of this,

it is thought that the
First Nations' people here

saw it as both The Watcher
and the Head Piercer.

The cracks and fissures
leading down to the rock

might've been thought of
as the meeting place

of the upper, middle
and the lower worlds.

The varying rates of erosion

of the dramatically different
rock types here

are one natural contributor
to these unique formations.

But there is another cause,
winter.

>> What ends up happening
is water is continuously,

kind of, seeping through the
rock from high up on the cliffs.

This limestone is full of
fissures and tunnels

and different cracks
and crevices

where water is continuously
seeping into the cracks.

As the water freezes in the fall
and onwards to the winter time

that that the ice expands

and over time that thawing
and freezing of that water

in those cracks
and those fissures

has the effect of breaking apart
and crumbling apart

the cliff face.

And over time, of course,
the rock breaks free

and crashes down
on the shoreline below.

Now, the result of this

is that you get everything
from smaller plate-size rocks

that are a little bit
challenging to walk on

but sometimes,

you get these really
incredible sized boulders.

(♪♪♪)

>> Imposing as it may seem,

the escarpment is actually
being pushed back,

eroded bit by bit,

by waves and weather
from the outside

and freeze and thaw
from the inside.

While it is hard to imagine
that it will one day be gone,

the effects of time
are precisely

what make it so compelling.

Four miles off the coast
of the Bruce Peninsula,

sits one of the
Niagara Escarpment's

most remarkable sites.

This is Flower Pot Island.

These columns of rock were
once part of the cliff face.

Over millions of years,

softer rock of the escarpment
crumbled away,

eroded by wind and rain,

ice and pounding waves.

Only the harder rock remained
in the shape of flower pots.

This extraordinary landmark
of the escarpment

is located in Fathom Five
National Marine Park.

It is accessible only by boat

and it is a haven for hikers
and explorers.

The flower pots are each
about 60 feet high.

There was a third flower pot,
until it collapsed in 1903.

Someday, time will claim
the remaining two.

But until then, their hard
dolomite caps will endure.

(♪♪♪)

The powers of the elements here
are merciless.

They carve and shape all parts
of the Niagara Escarpment,

leaving incredible
rock formations in their wake.

Just south of Flower Pot Island,
is Indian Head Cove.

Overlooking the cove
is overhanging point.

>> The top layer,
the cap rock is dolomite,

which is much more resistant
to erosion

versus the softer material
which is underneath.

And you can see it's like plate.

So, the hard rock is just
hanging out there

as it's slowly being undercut.

>> As you're walking up above
on the cliff,

there's an opportunity
where there's a bit of a rock

that comes right out

and it gives you
the opportunity to, kind of,

stand out on that point

and get almost 180° sweep
of the water

and the area around you.

It's really quite impressive.

Some of these incredible
landscapes

have incredible effect
on people.

When you stand out
on the cliff edge

and you're looking over
these vistas,

you can't help but feel tiny,
you can't help but feel small.

And at the same time,
it really fills you up with,

you know,
with all the good stuff.

You feel better,
you feel healthier,

you feel, like, you can,
you know, go back

and you're full of energy
and it's--

it's a really nice place
to be and to visit.

>> Just underneath the overhang,

is a view
that is equally compelling

but very different

because it allows you
to look back in time.

>> Millions of years ago,
that high cliff face now,

was actually,
right at sea level

and the waves of the water
at that time

were working away
at that rock face

and really chiseling it out
and carving it out.

What a lot of visitors will do
is they'll actually hike down

underneath the cliff top

and what they find is a pretty
remarkable geological formation

where the rock has been carved
or cut out, over time,

from all the different forces
of erosion and wave action.

>> The opportunity to stand
inside a natural structure

created millions of years ago

is one taken by more visitors
each year.

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>> Here you have
within 3 to 4-hour drive

large urban centers.

And within 20 minutes
from the parking lot,

you can find yourself
completely alone

in this amazing,
spectacular area

with these sweeping vistas
of these cliffs

and this Georgian Bay water
and this pristine landscape.

And it's pretty incredible
to have that accessibility

in such a short distance
from major urban centers.

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If we were to go back
10 years,

we'd be looking at
our visitation in the park here,

which would be around
150,000 visitors a year.

What we've seen
in the last 8 years

is a meteoric rise
in visitation,

to the point where now in
Bruce Peninsula National Park,

we're getting about
300,000 visitors a year.

When you combined
that with Fathom Five,

the number is roughly up
around half a million.

For visitors to Bruce Peninsula
National Park

to get the full experience,

they need to go beyond dry land
and be prepared to get wet.

This is the Grotto.

>> This carbon here
is very striking.

There aren't too many areas
south of the Bruce Peninsula

where you see these sea caves,
the sinkholes,

some of the different features.

So, the landscape here
is really quite dramatic.

>> The Grotto is an example
of a feature

that was formed by wave action.

Waves beating against
the shoreline

was able to erode out
and create the grotto.

You can see areas,
that popcorny lookin' rock-

that's evidence
of an old reef.

So, that's rock
that's 400 million years ago

during the Silurian period,
there was reefs there.

>> For geologists,

the Grotto is yet another
marvelous puzzle piece,

used to uncover the
vast geological history here.

For the ancient humans
who lived off this land

for thousands of years,

it provided shelter
along the coast.

Today, for hikers
and divers alike,

it's an experience
of a lifetime.

>> The Grotto it's cool.

It's a sea cave.

The shoreline has
lots of sea caves.

But the Grotto is different

because it also has
the obvious entrance

that people scramble down to
and that's an experience.

You feel rewarded
when you get down

and, actually, more rewarded
when you get back out.

There's also
an underwater entrance

where light can come through

and it creates a bit of a hue
in there

and it's because of the light
from the outside.

So, diver's know there's
that entrance

and they come through there.

So, you have these two entrances

and it's just
in a remarkable location.

It's just a nice place to visit.

>> For new visitors,

one of the most surprising
aspects of this place

is the water.

In this part of the world,
this far north,

crystal clear turquoise water
is not a common sight.

>> When you look at the water,
it's remarkable.

You feel this could be
Mediterranean and Caribbean,

it's just crystal clear
or gin-clear water.

You can see down 20 meters,
30 meters,

40 meters actually
to the bottom.

And in simple terms, water,
H2O, is a blue chemical.

So, pure water is clear,
blueish chemical.

So, what you're looking at
is water

almost in its purest form.

So, there is very little
other stuff in it.

So, there's very other little,
let's say, silt,

which is gonna change
the color of it

and change how far
light can penetrate.

Or life, like, algae,
like phytoplankton.

So, the more stuff
that's in the water,

it's gonna effect it's colors,

it's gonna effect how far
light can penetrate.

>> Under normal circumstances,

freshwater in this region
wouldn't look this way.

But there is a unique
combination of factors

at play here.

This water has been filtered.

>> Zebra and quagga mussels,
which are an invasive species

that have colonized
the Great Lakes,

have drawn so much nutrients
and energy to the lake bottom,

to themselves that the lake
is less productive.

So, in the spring time,

this area would have had
a large algal boom, diatom bloom

that would've affected
the water clarity.

You wouldn't be able
to see as much.

But we're not getting
those large algal blooms,

so our water clarity
in spring time

is even more clear
than it historically was.

And that's a shift.

It's a shift
in the whole food web

and the whole dynamics
of the lake.

>> Not surprisingly,

these waters offer
some of the best snorkeling

and scuba diving
in North America.

The water offers
incredible visibility.

The submerged rock formations
in the lake

are just as beautiful
as those on dry land.

And there are shipwrecks.

There are hundreds of
shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.

Some as shallow as 10 to 20 feet
below the surface.

The number of shipwrecks here
might surprise some

but the Great Lakes waterway
is a busy shipping route

that runs all the way to the
Atlantic Ocean

and is subject
to powerful storms.

The shipwrecks along this part
of the escarpment

are among the best in the world
for underwater explorers.

>> Our visitors, even
if they don't have any
experience snorkeling

or scuba diving,

can relatively easily get out
to these shipwrecks

and go for a swim

and experience them
and see them.

But again, that clear water,

you know, makes for
an incredible diving experience.

>> These shipwrecks are
protected by Canada's
National Parks

and by the gentle fresh water
in which they rest.

Salt water is not so forgiving.

Sea worms in the ocean
bore into

and eventually destroy
shipwrecks.

But not here.

The rarity of this level
of preservation

is a big draw for divers.

Ships frozen in time

help make this one of the top
freshwater diving locations

in the world.

For the advanced diver,

a deeper look can bring you
much farther back in time.

Between 5,000
and 10,000 years ago,

before the glaciers
fully melted;

dry land, rivers
and massive waterfalls

connected the Bruce Peninsula
with Manitoulin Island

some 50 miles north.

>> If we were
to take away the water,

it looks like what a river

or a fall system
would look like today.

It's quite-- still quite evident
on the lake bottom.

And that continues on down
90 meters deep.

And that's just to the
surface of the sediment.

Keep in mind, the bedrock
is actually probably

another 100 meters below that.

>> Melted glacial water
from Lake Huron

drained into Georgian Bay

down a giant,
prehistoric waterfall.

It's roar was so loud,

it's estimated that it could
be heard almost 10 miles away.

But the glaciers
continue to melt,

water levels at the base
of the falls rose.

The Great Lakes as we know them,
came to be.

And this ancient waterfall

large enough to rival
even Niagara Falls

became completely submerged.

For visitors
to the Niagara Escarpment

who prefer staying above
the waterline,

there are still waterfalls
that have not been claimed

by the great glacial melt.

This is Inglis Falls,
a stunning waterfall.

A gentle cascade.

A 60 foot brush stroke.

Left behind by time and erosion.

This is where the Sydenham River
meets the Niagara Escarpment

along the Bruce Trail
near Owen Sound, Ontario.

Here, water seeps through
the dolomite cap rock

and slowly erodes
the softer rock underneath.

Through the ages,

hunks of dolomite lose their
support and tumble down.

Bit by bit.

It's a process called
"Spring Sapping"

and Inglis Falls
is the stunning result.

The falls are part
of the region recognized

by the United Nations
Education,

Scientific
and Cultural Organization,

as a World Biosphere Reserve.

>> UNESCO's World
Biosphere Reserve

concept or idea is about
40 years old now.

And it tries to promote
and recognize

the ideas of conservation.

(♪♪♪)

There's lots of change happening
on the landscape

and I can't help but think
of the foresight

of those individuals

who envisioned
the importance of this corridor.

I'm not sure if it weren't
for those protective measures,

whether we'd be standing here

or somebody would be telling us
to get off their property.

But the fact is

anyone can come and experience
this firsthand,

can develop their own
connection to this place

and see the importance
of it firsthand.

People have a connection
to this area

because it's authentic.

It's a real place.

We haven't manufactured
a theme park.

This is a real place,
where you can get cold and wet

and stub your toe on rocks
and you can swim

and climb up cliffs,
you can see trees,

you can hear birds,
it's real.

>> The peninsula has always
drawn people here.

And for the native people,
this is where they hunted,

this is where they harvested
for food and for medicine.

They fished out in these waters.

And they actually still do that
to this very day.

I think for all people,

it's the sheer beauty
of this place,

helps them or draws them,
brings them

and keeps them connected
to the peninsula,

so that they keep coming back
again and again and again.

Taking a group
of school children

out to Indian Head Cove
and the Grotto

and coming out to the shoreline
and hearing them say, "Wow".

That's--
yeah, that's what makes me...

...feel good.

And I'd-- for me,
it's always a blessed day

when I can take a group
of school children out

and show them this place.

>> It's a moving experience.

It moves you.

You feel something.

I was speaking with
a colleague

who took some visitors out
in the escarpments

and one of the women
on their tour,

who was from overseas broke down
and started crying.

And he couldn't understand
what was wrong

and he went to her and he said,
you know, "Is everything okay?

What can I do?"

And she was so overwhelmed
with the vastness of this space,

the water and these--
the vastness and the size

and the scope of the escarpment
that it moved her to tears.

That's something.

I mean, that's-- it's special.

(♪♪♪)

>> Here on the Niagara
Escarpment, the stillness
can be beautiful,

spiritual...

...and chilling, all at once.

(♪♪♪)

Born at sea,

scored by ice,

ground down by time.

It is forever
a work in progress,

an unresolved
geological masterpiece.

(♪♪♪)

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