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The Canadian Niagara, or Horseshoe Falls are 54 m high and 675 m wide, with a flow of 155 million litres. The falls were formed some 10.000 years ago as retreating glaciers exposed the Niagara Escarpment, diverting the waters of Erie Lake into Ontario Lake. The falls have eroded the soft shale and limestone of the escarpment some 1,2 m per year and now stand 11 km from their place of origin present-day. This region was first the home of various Iroquoian and Algonquian peoples. The French arrived in the 17 th century, and tangible evidence remains at Niagara Fort, which surrendered to British and colonial forces in 1759.