You’ve probably seen the photos. They circulate every few years on Facebook or TikTok—eerie, blood-red water cascading over the jagged rocks of the American Falls. It looks like a scene straight out of a horror movie or some ancient plague. People naturally start asking: did Niagara Falls turn red, or is the internet just doing that thing where it makes stuff up for clicks?
Honestly, the answer isn't a simple yes or no. It depends on which "red" event you’re talking about. There’s a mix of historical freak accidents, modern light shows, and some very convincing Photoshop jobs floating around. If you stood at Prospect Point today, the water would be its usual majestic, misty teal. But there was a specific time when the "Blood Falls" rumors weren't just rumors.
The 2017 "Blood Water" Incident
Back in 2017, a localized event sparked a massive wave of "did Niagara Falls turn red" searches. It wasn't the entire river, but a blackish-red, foul-smelling discharge that seeped into the water near the base of the falls. People were horrified. Tourists on the Maid of the Mist were literally surrounded by a dark, murky plume.
It wasn't a miracle. It wasn't a sign of the apocalypse. It was actually a mistake by the Niagara Falls Water Board. During a routine maintenance project at the wastewater treatment plant, they discharged accumulated sediment and "carbon filter backwash." While it looked more black or deep burgundy than bright red, in the churning white foam of the rapids, it took on a distinctly rusty, bloody hue. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ended up fining the board $50,000 for that little stunt. It was a PR nightmare that fueled the "red water" myth for years.
Nature’s Palette: Silt and Iron
Sometimes the water turns a brownish-red naturally. This usually happens after a massive storm.
High winds over Lake Erie—the shallowest of the Great Lakes—churn up the bottom. This lake bed is full of clay and iron-rich silt. When that sediment gets pushed down the Niagara River, the water loses its clarity. It transforms from that famous "Niagara Green" (which comes from about 60 tons of dissolved minerals flowing over every minute) into a muddy, reddish-orange mess. It isn't "blood," but if you're looking at it from a helicopter on a cloudy day, it's easy to see why someone would snap a photo and claim the falls are bleeding.
The Art of the Illumination
If you see a photo of Niagara Falls looking vibrant, ruby red, and it looks too perfect? It’s probably the lights.
Since 1925, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board has been bathing the falls in color at night. They recently upgraded to a massive LED system that can produce almost any color imaginable. They turn the falls red for all sorts of reasons:
- Canada Day (July 1st)
- World Tuberculosis Day
- Heart Health Awareness month
- Various charity requests
When those high-powered LEDs hit the mist, the effect is incredible. It looks like the water itself has changed color. A lot of the "proof" people post online asking if the falls turned red is just a long-exposure photograph taken at 9:00 PM on a Tuesday during a charity event.
Why the "Blood" Rumor Never Dies
Humans love a good omen. Historically, "red rivers" were seen as warnings. But at Niagara, the water's color is a complex cocktail of physics and biology.
One thing people often overlook is the "Whirlpool Teal" effect. The reason the water is normally green is due to "rock flour"—finely ground limestone and shale produced by the sheer erosive power of the falls. This suspended dust scatters light. When you add organic matter, like algae blooms which can happen in late summer, the color shifts. While we haven't seen a massive red tide event in the Niagara River specifically, other bodies of water nearby have turned reddish due to Chromatiaceae (purple sulfur bacteria).
Fact-Checking the Viral Hoaxes
We have to talk about the 2013 and 2019 "viral" photos. These are the ones that show the falls looking like strawberry syrup.
Those were fake.
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Digital artists often use Niagara Falls as a canvas for color-grading practice. They take a high-res shot of the Horseshoe Falls, isolate the water channel, and shift the hue slider to red. These images go viral because they're striking. But if you look closely at the "red" water in these photos, the white mist is often still white. In a real scenario where the water was red, the mist—which is just tiny droplets of that water—would also be pink or red. Physics doesn't take a day off for a photo op.
Navigating the Niagara "Blood" Mystery
So, if you're trying to figure out if you've missed a major geological event, keep these points in mind:
- Check the source of the "red" color. Is it nighttime in the photo? If yes, it's definitely LEDs.
- Look at the weather. Was there a major gale-force wind on Lake Erie 24 hours prior? If so, you're looking at natural silt and clay.
- Search for EPA or DEC reports. Any time the water turns a strange color due to chemicals or sewage, the New York or Ontario environmental agencies are required to file public reports.
- Observe the mist. Real colored water creates colored mist. If the "blood" is in the river but the spray is white, someone is playing with Photoshop.
The reality of Niagara is more interesting than the hoaxes. The falls move about a foot a year through erosion. They've "stopped" twice—once in 1848 due to an ice jam and once in 1969 when the Army Corps of Engineers literally turned off the American side to study the rock face. But they have never, in recorded history, naturally turned red due to a biological or geological "miracle."
To get the most out of your next trip, check the official Niagara Falls Illumination calendar. It lists exactly when the falls will be turned red for specific causes, allowing you to see the "Blood Falls" effect in person without the environmental disaster. You should also keep an eye on the Lake Erie turbidity sensors; if the turbidity is high, you might catch the river in its rare, "rusty" natural state.