CHURCHILL FALLS

formerly Grand Falls, part of a series of cataracts and rapids on the Churchill River, southwest of Michikamau Lake in west Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada. Lying 250 miles (400 km) from the river's mouth, the falls drop 245 feet (75 m), forming part of the river's 1,100-foot (335-metre) descent within a 16-mile (26-kilometre) stretch. The falls plunge into the McLean Canyon, which is bounded by sheer cliffs several hundred feet high. An average water discharge of 30,000 to 40,000 cubic feet (850 to 1,100 cubic m) per second accounts for the development of a large hydroelectric station near the falls; it is one of Canada's most important hydroelectric resources. Visited in 1839 by John McLean of the Hudson's Bay Company, the cataracts were called Grand Falls until 1965, when both falls and river were renamed in honour of Sir Winston Churchill, who died that year.