If you start in Pittsburgh and travel the 981 mile length of the Ohio river, you will face only one barrier needing structural intervention to make the journey. The Falls drops 26 feet over 2.5 miles, resulting in a rapid. A channel was dug along the eastern bank and a dam built to aid navigation. This exposed the river bed and is now one of the largest exposed Devonian fossil beds in the world. Due to rising and falling waters, the landscape is constantly changing and is now a protected area