Despite the Midwest and the East Coast currently experiencing freezing cold temperatures due to the polar vortex, it's apparently still not cold enough to completely freeze Niagara Falls. Which means that many the pictures of the Falls circulating on the Internet are either fake or very misleading.

It turns out that many of the viral photos of a frozen-solid Niagara Falls were actually taken years ago, reports BuzzFeed. And, according to Environment Graffiti, the notion that Niagara was frozen solid may have happened only once in history, and it likely took place in 1848.

In actuality, the 167-foot tall waterfall "partially froze" this past Tuesday when the polar vortex plummeted temperatures to a record -2 degrees and ice began forming on the American side of the falls, reports E! News. Although this is a far cry from photos in which the entire waterfall appears to be frozen, Reuters photographer Aaron Harris still managed to capture a number of amazing shots of the mesmerizing sight.  

The Washington Post's Caitlin Dewey also explains that the partial freezing of Niagara is actually pretty typical when winter temperatures drop near zero.  

"Naturally, it being that cold, ice flows and giant icicles form on the falls, and in the Niagara River above and below the falls, every year. It's nothing out of the ordinary. It is not, to put it bluntly, big polar vortex news," she writes. "It would take a lot more than a few days of cold weather to completely shut that off."

Calling the idea that the falls could freeze over "ridiculous," she adds that almost "76,000 gallons of water flow over the American and Bridal Veil falls every second, at a speed of 32 feet per second. It would take a lot more than a few days of cold weather to completely shut that off."