The word Niagara (Iroquois Nation pronunciation "Nee-ah-GAh-rah") comes from the Iroquois word onghiar, meaning "Across the Neck" or "The Strait" but is popularly translated as "Thundering of Waters". It was their name for the waterfall at the point where the other Great Lakes empty into Lake Ontario. It was later adapted by European settlers as Niagara Falls.