 The current rate of erosion is approximately 30 centimeters (1 ft) per year, down from a historical average of 0.91 m (3 ft) per year.According to the timeline of the far future, in roughly 50,000 years Niagara Falls will have eroded the remaining to Lake Erie and cease to exist.In the 1870s, sightseers had limited access to Niagara Falls and often had to pay for a glimpse, and industrialization threatened to carve up Goat Island to further expand commercial development.