Niagara Falls is one of the great wonders of the world. It is a huge tourist attraction for both the American and Canadian borders providing an amazing view for people of all ages.

But what if this body of water that just so happens to have the highest flow rate of anywhere in the world was suddenly was not flowing anymore?

This almost absurd idea is about to be a reality. In the near future the falls are planned to be "turned off" for renovation to prevent erosion and renovate the bridges.

You may ask yourself how can the 600,000 gallons of water flowing off the falls every second be suddenly stopped? Workers have constructed a way to discontinue almost all flow from the falls.

Believe it or not, the falls have already been turned off in 1969. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made the decision to turn off the Falls to clean up the area and research its erosion.

During this "dewatering" of the falls worker will renovate the bridges of 115 years. The bridges cross the Niagara River above the American Falls and have deteriorated too much for further use. The amount of time the falls is estimated to be off is still undetermined due to the lack of a final plan of action.

Engineers will build a dam between the upstream tip of Goat Island and the U.S. mainland, a distance of just 350 feet.

The dam will be made of boulders, gravel and other landfill. Water in the great American Falls will then be slowed down to almost a halt and redirected over Horseshoe.

This historic occurrence is planned to happen again in the next three to six years.