Did you know that one-fifth of the entire surface fresh water
on this planet is found in the upper four Great Lakes – Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie? All of this water eventually makes its way north and over Niagara Falls. This is not the typical direction of flow for a river in this part of Canada. The reason is that the Niagara River is more like a strait than a river; it has no valley below the Falls, only a series of spectacular gorges through which the water races northward to Lake Ontario. It also does not swell in size from the source to mouth as other steams do, for there are hardly any tributaries to feed it.
 
The same amount of water that enters the river from Lake Erie pours from its mouth at Lake Ontario.
 
As I write this blog I look at two different maps found in historic Niagara Falls books that list the Niagara River as the Niagara Strait.
 
Your choice …Niagara River or Niagara Strait.