Waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment

Reviewed by Dean Goss

I'll sum up my thoughts about this book in one word: disappointment. The Niagara escarpment has dozens of fine waterfalls. This book covers some, but omits others. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the inclusions, so I'll guess the author ran out of time and made the editorial selections based on what was available at deadline. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

Hamilton, Ontario touts itself as the city with the highest relative density of waterfalls in the world. In my opinion, they stretch that number to unacceptably high levels by counting every drop from legitimate watercourses to dribbling drainage ditches. This book is a fairly accurate portrayal of that notion. Some of the waterfalls probably should not have made the cut.

The book IS fairly well written, but however good the text might be, the photographs simply don't pass muster. According to the back of the book, the photographer has a bachelor's degree in photographic arts. I find that hard to believe. The shots are often badly composed, poorly exposed, and several are poorly focused.

The Bottom Line: Skip this book and try to find a copy of Scott Ensminger's "Niagara's Sisters" instead.