Terrapin Point was created in 1955 when authorities decided to fill in the area between Goat Island and a disconnected group of half-submerged rocks on the brink of Horseshoe Falls. It is a significant observation area for the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls. Terrapin is derived from an Algonquian word referring to a turtle species (the Diamondback terrapin) and was used because the rocks looked like giant tortoises.