Churchill Falls, Labrador, Canada

Facts & Statistics
Place Name	Churchill Falls
Place Status (Type)	falls
Location	Labrador, Canada, North America
Latitude	unknown
Longitude	unknown

Churchill Falls , spectacular waterfalls of the upper Churchill R., 245 ft/75 m high, SW Lab., NE Canada; known as Grand Falls until renamed (1965) in honor of Sir Winston Churchill. Four mi/6 km above the falls, the Churchill R. narrows to 200 ft/61 m and negotiates a series of rapids before dropping into McLean Canyon, from which sheer cliffs rise several hundred feet on either side. The river flows 12 mi/19 km through the canyon over a series of rapids. The total drop from the rapids above the main falls to the end of McLean Canyon is 1,038 ft/316 m. Because of their isolated location and harsh surroundings, the falls never became a tourist attraction. Churchill Falls has one of the largest hydroelectricity-generating capacities (5,225,000 kw) in the world. It was completed in 1974 and most of the power is sent to the Montreal area. First explored (1839) by John McLean, a trader of the Hudson Bay Co.