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GEOGRAPHIC MONOGRAPH 
 
 PREPARED UNUKR THK AU.SIMCEiS nr THE 
 
 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 
 
 GARDINER G. HUBBARD, PRESIDENT. 
 
 NIAGARA FALLS AND THEIR HISTORY 
 
 HY 
 
 PROF. G. K. GILBERT, 
 
 U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
 
 NOTE. -Separate Copies of this Paper can be purchased from the American 
 Book Company. New York City, at twenty cents per Copy. 
 
 -J 
 
I I 
 
I > • : 
 
 NIAGARA FALLS AND TllEIL' [[ISTOlx'V 
 
 I^v (i. K. (iiij!i;K"i 
 
 Thk .li'rcjit catai'iH't is tlu' ('iiil)O(lniioiit of 
 
 |»o\vej'. Ill ('V<'iy sccoi.d, luicfiisiiinly, scncii 
 
 liousaiid tons of wat<M' leap fi-oiti a clirt' one 
 
 liniidrtMl and sixty feet liij^ii, and tin- coiitinu- 
 
 ons l)lo\v llicy strik<' makes the earth ti-cinldc. 
 
 Ft is a s))('<4acl(' (*f 
 ,i;"i'eat beauty. The 
 (dear, .ii'i'een, ))oui'in,L;' 
 stream, forced \\\\]\ 
 <<;voy\'h]^ speed au'aiiist 
 
 
 I'liythiuic jets whii-h 
 burst and spread till 
 all the u'reeu is lost in 
 uAvhite (doud of spray, 
 on wlii<di the raiid)o\v 
 floats. lts(diannsare 
 the theme of many 
 a _i>'ifted bard and 
 artist, but the fusciiia- 
 tion of its eve)'-vai'ii'(l 
 yet continuous mo- 
 tion, aud the a\ve that 
 waxes rather than 
 wanes with familiarity, are not to lie felt at secoud-liand; and so 
 the woi'ld, in lonj>' procession, ^'oes to see. Among' the multitude 
 there are some whose appi'eciation of its power has a utilitai'ian 
 lihase, so that they think most of the myriad wheels of industiy 
 its energy may some day turn; and tliere are a few wlio ivcog- 
 
 the 
 
 air, pai'ts into 
 
 Fi.i. 1. 
 
 AiiU'i'iciui Full from below. 
 
 (Copyright, I.St).'), liy Aun'rioaii Book Com[)aiiy.) 
 
L'<)4 
 
 NiA(i.\i;A i-Ai.i.s AM" iim;!!; liisroiiv. 
 
 iii/.«' it ;is a .uivat iiatui'al t'li^iiir, ami in its activity and its siii'- 
 roiiiKliii.us sec an iiupvcssivc olij. rt lesson ot'^vo^iiTaphic pro^Tcss. 
 Its a'sthctic and ntilitafian asjifcts need no «'Xi>onnd<'i", l)nt its 
 iivoiivaiiliif siiiiiilicancc is too little a|H>i-eeiated. This [»a[»eren- 
 
 deavol'S to tell ill simple lansi'Ua.liV some of the loiv of tiie )»)■()- 
 
 I'essional p'o,i>i'a[iher and yvoloiiist, in order that the layman 
 may ^ain pleasni-e not only from the lieanly and ,i>Tandeiir of 
 ihe scene, ImiI thron^ii understaiidinii' its nieanin.u' as a jiart in 
 the ^reat drama of nature. 
 
 Nature is fidl of chanp'. The laid we >a\v yester<iay is a 
 (lower t(»-day; the leaf that was hroad and ^i-eeii in sumniei-, in 
 aiitttnin is sjiriveled and lirowii ; the laish we knew in clnldliood 
 is now a laita<l, spreadin.ii' tree. Such chaiiji'es are easily seen, 
 liecause tlu'y fall within the s[.an «»f a man's life, and so the 
 [irinciple of ]ier]ietnal ])ro,i>ress in the oi-i;anic world is f'aniiliar 
 to all. I'roiii'ess in the inorji'anic world is so slow that it is less 
 easily seen, and tlieiv is a wides]ire;id im|)ression that the hills 
 ;ire everlasliiii;' and niH-lianji-in,n'. This inii»vession is false. Not 
 only hills Imt mountains, jilains, and valleys, are jtei-petually 
 jicted on l)y heat and cold, sunshine and rain, Avind and stream, 
 and are ,-j,radually chanii'ed. X.»t only do tliey now iin(h^rj>;-o 
 chanue. 1m1 !iy such a.iivnts each feature was oi-iginally formed, 
 and hv >\\i-\\ aii'ents it will eventually he transformed into a 
 feature of different tyi»e. Thus every element of the landseai»e 
 has an oriiiin aial a history. To relate these is to explain it. 
 This monouraiih may he repirdec] as an ex]>lanatory account of 
 Niaii'ara Falls and tlie associated natural features. 
 
 11 ii: J)KaixactE system. 
 
 The drainaii'e system of the St. Lawrence is of exceptional 
 cliaracter. in most re^'ions the freshly fallen rain n'atht'rs into 
 rills; tlu'se, as they run, join one with anotlier, making- hrooks ; 
 brooks are united into i-ivei's; and rivers fl(»wto the sea. In all 
 its joui-ney fr(»m the hillside to the sea, the water moves forward 
 without halt. This uninterrupted journey is rendered possible 
 l»y a wonderful adjustment of sl(»]tes. The channel of the rill 
 slojtes towar<l the brook, the bed of the ]>i'ook slopes toward the 
 river, and the river bed slopes toward the sea. Impelled by 
 gravity to flow downhill, the Avater moves contiimally forward 
 from the beginning to the end of its journey. In the draiiuigo 
 
TJIF. UKAlNAdi: SYSTEM, 
 
 lu:) 
 
 (listi'ict of tlu' St. Ljnvvt'ii'-o tliciv is no sndi continuity of slo]i('. 
 Tilt' district is comitosi'd mainly of a <>'fouj» of <;iTat liasiii-likc 
 hollows, ill cacli of wliicli llic sui'facc slopes toward sonu' central 
 point, ai;<l not toward the month of the rivei'. Kacli hasiu is 
 Idled with water to the level of the lowest ]>oiiit of its rim, and 
 ca(di of the hd- > thus formed is a storage reservoir receiviii.u' a 
 ui'ou]» of streams from the sni-roundiny country, and ponriiiii' an 
 even discharge over its rim to one of its nei^hhors. Lakes 
 Sujterior and ]Mieliiprn di^charu'e to Lake Huron; Huron over- 
 (lows to Erie; and Erie, liavinu' thus received all the outflow n\' 
 the up]ier and .yreater lakes, sends its snriilus throu^'h the Nia,ii'- 
 ara to Ontario. The Nia.yara Kiver is thus, fi-om one ]>oint of 
 view, a strait connectinti' two inland seas; fi-oin another point of 
 view, it is a part of tlio St. Lawrence Iiiver, — the i>ai't conne<'t- 
 in.ii' two urciit expansions. N'jewed ejihei' way, it departs so 
 widely from the ordinary or normal river that its name is almost 
 misleadiiii;-. 
 
 In a normal tlraina.uv systi'in the sloi»e is not everywhere 
 eipially stee]): it is u'eiitler ill th<' Ked of the main stream than in 
 the Iteds of tributaries, and it varies from point to point >o that 
 the current, es]»ecially at low water, shows an alternation of 
 rai>id an<l <juiet reaches. The stream- of the Laureiitian ,-\stein 
 not only exhilat these alternations, Unt have many cataracts 
 whei'e the v»-ater cascades down a rocky stairway or lea[»s fi'oiii 
 the }>rink of a cliff. 
 
 A normal river receives most of its water directly from rain 
 or meltiiiii' snow, and varies Avith the season, swellin,i;' to a Hood 
 ill time of storm or at the spriii.<;' snow meltiiijn', and (hvindlin,-i' 
 to relative insio'iiilicaiice in time of di'oUiiht. Tlie water of 
 Nia,ii'ara comes only remotely from storm and thaw. Tlie Hoods 
 of the triliutaries are storeil hy the lakes, to whose broad sur- 
 faces they add l»ut a thin layer. The volume of Niag-ara deiiends 
 only on the heiu'lit of Lake Erie at Lutfalo, and from season to 
 season this lu'iiiht varies but little. On rare occasions a westerly 
 uale will crowd the lake water toward its eastern end, and the 
 rivei' wdl gTOW larji'e. On still rarer occasions a winter stoi-m 
 will so pile nil or jam the lake ice at the entrance to the river as 
 to make a (him, and for a (hiy or two the river will lose most of 
 
 its water. 
 
 A normal rivei', with its continuous current, rolls forward the 
 peb))les loosened by its tributaries till they reach its mouth. 
 
 i 
 
206 
 
 NIAdAlIA lAl.l.s ANI> 1111:11; IIIS'ldKV, 
 
 The rains that make it^ lldods (lislod.nv pai'tif-Ics of soil, and wasli 
 tlirni into lilt' tiiI)UlaiM<'s in sndi niultitnde that tliry <lisco|or 
 the watt'i-, 'riic |M'l)li|('s of its IumJ and the mnd with which it is 
 disco|(,rc(| arc tin' i'i\-ci''s load, wjiich it ti'anspoi'ts fi'oni the face 
 of tlu' land to the bed of the sea. The triltutaries of Nia,ii'ara 
 carry theic loads oidy to the lakes, Avhcre the loads sink, and lea\e 
 the water pure, Thus Niajiara is ever clear, ISometinies, when 
 storm waves lash the shoi'esof Ki'ie, a little sand is waslicd to the 
 liead of the I'ivei', and cai'ried downsti'cani ; sonietinies a little 
 uiud is washed iido the rivei' l>y the small creeks that ivadi its 
 liaid<s. Thus Niagara is not al>solutely devoid of load, hut its 
 burden is so minute tliat it is hai'd to detect. 
 
 A /' ^ '■' 
 
 'I'llK 'IWO I'LAIXS, 
 
 From Lake Ei-ie to Lake Ontario the Xia<i'ai'a runs uortli- 
 Avai'd. ^J'he lonyvr axes of the lakes trend ueaiiy east and west, 
 
 and the lakes lap past eacli 
 other for a distance of f(»rty 
 miles, iHcludin«il)etw<'eii their 
 pa i-allel shores a strijtof land 
 alxmt twenty-five miles \\'u\i\ 
 This stiip, whei'e the river 
 crosses it, consists of two 
 plains, sliar])ly separated by 
 a cliff or escarpment. Tlie 
 rehitions of the plains to the 
 escarpment and to tlie lakes 
 ai'e shown by the maj) (Fiti'. 2) 
 and the bii'd's-c_\-e view (Fig. 4). The upper and l))'()ader plain 
 has a g'ently undulating- surface, which does not differ greatly in 
 height from the surface of Lake Erie. Along the shore of that 
 lake it rises in a low ridge, and there is also a gentle rise toward 
 the <^scarpment. Its middle ])art is di-ained l)v two sluii'ii'ish 
 creeks, — the Tonawanda, flowing to the river from the east ; and 
 the Chippewa, from the west. The lower and narrowei- plain 
 follows the shore of Lake Ontario, and I'ises gently thence to the 
 foot of the escarpment. Its ui)per i)art is of rolling contour, like 
 the u]>per plain ; its lower is remai'ka1)ly snumtli and even, having 
 once been the l)ed of a lak<". The escarpment is a steep slope 
 about two hundred feet high. Near the top it is generally a rocky 
 
 •Ki. 
 
 -Xiiiiriira K'ivcr and \'ic'iiiit\- 
 
•I'm; TWO I'l.AiNs. 
 
 •Jo; 
 
 cliff, iiiviii^'a sliiii'itlx .lofiiit'd hotnidiiry to tln> n]»]MM' ]ilalii : iit tlif 
 Itottoiii it iiU'i'jiTs iiisciisildy wiili the iowci' plain. 
 
 TIk'sc sui't'acc tVatni't's ai'f <l<'(iiiit»'ly I'olatt'tl not (Hily t<» llif 
 pcculiai'itics of the v'wcy, l»iit to tli<' rocky framework of llic 
 couiiti'y. The I'ocks arc (lat layci-s oi' strata I'cstin;;' oiic upoii 
 another, and of nearly nnifoi-ni thickness for .yreat distances. 
 Nearly Init not ([uite level, they slo))e u'cntly towai'd the south; 
 tlie descent, (»r di|>, amounting' (Mi the avera<;'e to thii'ty-fi\'e feet 
 per mile. Their arrann'cnieiit is illustrated l)y V\<x, .'1, wjiicli nircs 
 ji iiorth-and-south profile, with such a section of the formations 
 
 LAHE 
 
 EHIL 
 
 Upper 
 
 Plain 
 
 CSCARPM tNT 
 
 \ 
 
 LAK£ 
 Law»r Plain onTAfiiO 
 
 I'lii. r.. — I'lotili' ami Sccfidii I'nnn liiikc to Lnki'. 
 Vciiiciil scul(> {ti'ciifi'i' tliiiu liorizdiitiil. Biisi' line ri'iiresfiitH mu li'Vil. 
 
 as u.i.ii'ht lie seen if a xcry d<'e)i ti'cncli were du.ii' from lake to 
 lake. The heavy line at the left, and the helt helow dix'ided into 
 blocks, re]iresent limestones, rix'ks notahly hard and stronii", 
 while the int erven iui-' spaces aic occupied chielly 1>\' shales, 
 which ai'c relatively soft and weak. ( )riuiiially all the forma- 
 tions extendetl farthei' to the north, hut they ha\e lieen woi'n 
 away; and, since the soft rocks were remoxed niore easily than 
 the hard, the edu'es of the hard ai'c left somewhat |ironnnent. 
 This association of hard rocks with uplands and cliffs is not rare, 
 hut is ratlicr the mile in inlly and mountainous disti'icts. Tu the 
 last itrecediuji' monog'ra))li of this series, ^Ir. Willis descrihes the 
 l)lateaus and I'id.u'cs of the Appalachian district, showinii,- how 
 frost and storm slowly hut persistently ate out the soft ro(d<s, 
 and tlu' rock waste was washed into streams, till valleys and 
 lowland ]tlains wim'c made. 
 
 The hiiiher of the two limestones presenieil in the dian'ram is 
 calU'd the Corniferous limestone. It makes a low ridi^v alouij,' 
 the north shore of Lake EiMi-, and dijis heiieath the lake. The 
 Salina sliales occupy the middle part of the upi»er plain, and di)) 
 licneatli the CoiMiiferous. The second limestone, called the 
 Xia,ii'ara limestone, constitutes the noilhern ]>ai-t of the uppei' 
 plahi, and the escari>ment everywhei'e niai'ks its nortliei'n limit. 
 Its full thickness is about a hundred and forty feet, luit in some 
 places it has Iteen ,ui'eatly I'cduced by the wastin.i-' of its upiM'i- 
 surface, IJelow it is a ureat seiies of mud rocks or shales, a 
 
•JOS 
 
 NI.V(.Ai;.\ I'Al.l.s AM' IIII.IK IIISKHJV. 
 
 tllfHlSillMl feet thick, illt<'l-l'II|>1t'il IK'JII' the t(>l» liVJl few lllill ImmIs 
 1)1' lillirstoiii' iillii sniMlstolit'. 'I'licsc sllJllt'S occupy llic lower 
 
 part o|' the csciir|»iiiciit iiml tlic wliolc of the lower phiiii. Their 
 
 softness illld the liiirdliess of the Niaiiai'il lilliestolie iiUiiled the 
 
 erosi\(' a.u'eiits in iiiakiiiu' the e>-carpnieiit and thi' lower plain. 
 
 ( Ker all this I'ocky I'oundation lies a inant le of loose material. 
 — clay, sand, u'l'ax'el, and bowlders, — collecti\-ely calleil the dfifi. 
 its oi'diiiai'y thickness is thirty or forty feet : 1 d tlieie ai'e p!ace>. 
 especially on top of tin- escarpment, where it is nearly al»ent, and 
 elsewlii-re it lills hollows or is liuilt into hills with a thickness of 
 se\'eral hnmlred feet. It was spread o\ei' t he count i'\' after the 
 broader featui'es of the to|ioMrai>h\' had heeu shaped, and the 
 au'ency 1»\' which it was de|iosite(l was movinu' ice, a^ will he 
 explained a little later. 
 
 TIIF, IITVF.i; AMI 'IIIF, (lOlidF.. 
 
 From Lake Rri(> the Niauai'a lvi\ei- runs over a low say in the 
 i'id<ie of Coruifei'ons limestone. Where the current crosses this 
 
 rocky harrier, it is rapid and dis- 
 turbed. Thence t'or lifteen miles 
 it (lows alioNe shales, but rarely 
 touches them, the baid<s and bed 
 coiisistinii' chiejly of di'ift. The 
 channel is broad, an<l the watei' 
 ulides alonu' with uinT(ftle(l sur- 
 face. Tllell, a little below the 
 
 mouth of ('hii>iM'wa ("reek, the 
 Xiaii'ara limestone a[»pears in the 
 bed, and the whole habit of the 
 stream is ([uickl\" chaniied. Foi' 
 a thousand yai'ils it is a broad, 
 roai'iuu' rajml, tumblinu' o\ei' one 
 ledu'e after anothei' with tumultu- 
 ous hasto; and then It pours 
 o\'er a ]nvci]»ice to the bottom 
 of a narrow, deep, steep-walled 
 H'orye. For seviMi miles it courses, 
 with alternation of dee]>, boilinu' 
 
 Fl(!. 4. — 15ir(rs-cvc \"w\\ of thi' Xi- , -, • i j. • i 
 
 iiiTiini Miyvv from Lak.' Oiiti.rio. Bt- l"H)ls aild Uari'oW, Violent rapids. 
 
 Vdiitl llic Ontiiiio slioi'c me till- Lower tJu-OUSiil tills <;'orSiV, wliose steeit 
 I'litiii. IvsciU'iiiiii'iit. Uiiiicr I'laiii, iiiul ,, ' „ , ' i ' i ,^ 
 
 Luke Eri... Walls ot I'ock tlieii tui'ti abruptly 
 
 i 
 
THE IMVr.l; ANI> TIIF, (lOUdF,. 
 
 liOl) 
 
 to the ri^iit jiiid It'll, iiml iiici'uv with tlir faiM' oi' tl scjirp- 
 
 iiit'iit. ^riit'iict' to Liiki' (>iit!iiii> lilt' width is iiinil'-rJilt', iiml tii.- 
 • •iiiTciit is stroiiii- iiihl (li'c|i liflwt't'ii s1t't'|i hiiiiUs ol' ri'il vhiilf 
 ciippcd with drift. 
 
 Thus I'ov two thivijs of its joiinicy iicross thf ii|i|n'r iiliiiii tlif 
 ri\('i' travels on ttip ol' ihf plain, ami then for Ihf I'ciiiaininu 
 tliii'd it runs iVoni t\\i> hnndrfd to thrt'c hnndi'cil feet lu'low tlif 
 |,liiin in a narrow nvncli. 'JMiis conli-ast is tin- ,uvo«iTai>hi<' t'aft 
 on which scicnt-ilic intcrt'st in Xiayara has ccntfrt'ii, ami il> iin- 
 ]io)'1aii(*t' is not rcadil)' oNfrcstiniatcd. 
 
 Thf walls of thf trench are vertical cliffs in their upitei' part, 
 and ai'e Ihei'e sei'ii to tie composed of the same limestone that 
 niidiM'lies the iilain. Tiie limestone cliffs are of nitMlci'atc lieiLiht, 
 
 Pi, J. 5. — Cross Scctiinis ot' Xiu^'iir;! Kivor. 
 
 II two milts Inflow tUf cuciinnm'nt : ''• '» U"«' luln•(>wp^<t |>iirt of the Koruc; r. in ;i iiioii,! puit ct 
 the j-'ortte; (/, two iiiiKs iilmx (> tlif (iills. f^ciilf. iilnmt ■J.ikmi fctt ^ 1 iiirli. 
 
 and from tlieii' hase there usually starts a talus or apron of frag- 
 ments, which descends to the I'iver's etlye. The p'lieral aiti>ear- 
 ance of the o'or.ii'e is fairly illustratetl l»y the view in Fi.t-. 7. lietv 
 and there the talus is scaut or alto*i'ether absent, so that the 
 strata, can Ix'seen; and wherever tlie\ can he seen, exaniinatii>ii 
 shows the two siiles to have the same ImmIs, in the same ortler, 
 and at the same heiii'hts. First <'ome i-ray shales aht)Ut tifty feet 
 thick; then a l.lue-,«i'ray limesttine full of fossil shells, ainl ten t>r 
 fifteen feet thick. This is the Cliiitoii limestone of .li'eolouisT,-: 
 aud it is so firm, as et)m]tared with tlie heds immeiliately ahovc 
 and below it, that rain and frost have affected it less, and it 
 ]>ro.iects iH'Voud its i:ei,ii'lib<.rs. There are several itlaces wheiv 
 the' ed^'e of the bed is a cliff, tlnni.ii'h the ailjaceiit shales aiv 
 covered hy fallen fra,i>'iuents (Fi.u'. (i). Next l)elow are ureeu-gray 
 shales, with thin hmestoue beds, aud a soft, j>-ray san<lstono, the 
 whole occupyiuii' a vertical s^iace of abt^ut thii'ty feet : and then 
 tlie coh)r chauii'es to a briglit re<l, which chai-acterizes tlu> l(»wer 
 lieds. These are chi<'t1y shales, but there are soft sautlstoiies 
 aiuou^ them; aud tliere is one hard sandstone bed, of a pale 
 
210 
 
 \t;.;iaha falls and thfiu Hisnutv. 
 
 gray oolor, which stands out ]ivoHiiiit'iitly like the ('liiitoii lime- 
 stone, and f(»i' th«' same reason. It is twenty feet or more in 
 thickness, lifs oiu^ Jinndred and twenty feet below the (linton 
 limestone, and is called the qnartzose sandstone (see Figs. 10 and 
 l21). The ol)serv(»r who sees these various rocks, hard and soft, 
 gray and red, matched bed for bed on the ()]»j»osite sides of the 
 
 Fill. (I. — Clitr and Talus of Auicrifaii ]iaiik aliovc tlii' Whirlpool. 
 
 Tbf Niagara liniestoiic aitpoars in tlie uitpcr cliff; the Clinton, in the lower. Tlie 
 quartzose saudstoue is not seen, UfinK lu'low tlie water. 
 
 gorge, and who studies tlieni a1 tlie angh's of the walls, so as to 
 realize that each is a great level plate, which, if continued through 
 the air, would l»ridge the chasm to its companion in the ojiposite 
 wall, never doubts that the rock beds were originally continuous, 
 and that the gorge is of later origin. As to the way in which 
 the gorge was made, there has been some dit^'ercMice of opinion. 
 One or two writers have thought it was a crack of the earth 
 violently rent apart, and one or two others have thought it was 
 washed <;ut by ocean tides; but the prevailing ojnniou is that it 
 was made by the river that flows through it, and this opinion is 
 so well grounded that it is hardly worth while to considei- its 
 rivals in this place. Thi; agency of the river is shown by the 
 modern recession of the cataract, by banks, terraces, gravels, and 
 shells, marking earlier positions <if the river bed, and by a clifh" 
 
 it 
 

 TIIF. liECESSIOX OF THE t ATAIiACT. 
 
 211 
 
 over whicli jmrt of tlu> river oiiee poured us a catiiraet. It is 
 (lualified Ijy a Iniried ehainiel beli^iigiiig" to an earlier and differ- 
 ent system of drainage. As these evidences are intimately con- 
 nivted with the history of the cataract and river, they will be set 
 foi'tli somewliat fully. 
 
 THE liECESSION OF THE CATAIJACT. 
 
 MoPEiiN Recession. — The catai-act is divided unequally by 
 (ioat Island. The part on th(» soutlnvestern or Canadian side is 
 the broader and deeper, and is called the Horseshoe Fall ; the 
 
 Fl(i. 7. — Tlio Goi'go l)cl<i\v tlic WliirliHK)!. with I'ail »( tlii' Wiiirljwol in the 
 
 Fdfcjrri'iiiKl. 
 
 other is the Am<-ricaii Kail. As shown by the map (Fi.u'. l.'»), llie 
 Horseshoe Fall is at the end of tiie li'oi'g'e ; the American, at its 
 side. The < liff over which the water jiours is from one hundred 
 and forty to (»ne hundred and seventy feet hiji'h, nieasui-ed from 
 the water of the i-iver below. It is <-omiM)sed of the Niau'ai-a 
 limestone at top, tVom sixty to eighty feet thic''; and the shales, 
 
L'lL> 
 
 nia(;ai;.\ falls axd tiieik iiisToitv. 
 
 etc., beneath, as ab'eady desci'ihed. At tlie ed.n'e of each fall, 
 where oik' can look for a distance under the sheet of descending 
 water, the liniest<^ne projects like a cornice l>eyon<l the wall of 
 
 Fio. S. — The Hoi'Keslioe Fall, t'roio the (.'aii; ili;iii Bank. 
 
 shale; so that there is a strip of the upper rock which is not 
 directly supported by the lower, but is sustained by its oavu 
 strength. From time to time portions of this cornice have l)eeu 
 seen to break away and fall into the pool of water below, and 
 other fallings have made themselves known by the earth tremors 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^_^^^^^L^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 .v,4 
 
 1 
 
 "'i.^.|:iiW?tMfr%4^ 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 l''lii. !l. — Tlic .Aiiiciicaii Fall, from tlio (.'aiiadiaii ilaiiK 
 
 they produced. TLsually the falling masses have l>een large; so 
 that tlieir subtraction has produced conspicuous changes in the 
 contcmr of the cataract, and their dimensions have been esti- 
 mated in scores of feet. Nearly all have broken from the clitt" 
 undei', or at the edge of, the Horseshoe Fall. As these catas- 
 trophes depend on the projection of the limestone without sup- 
 
THE KEC'ESSION Ol" THE CATAKACT. 
 
 213 
 
 SZ2Z2^5r::5 
 
 least tAvcuty ItM't tliick, its ^^^^^^^'. '^' >/• ' v ' \ 
 is so ii;ivat as to move most, ^-^^^^ ^ ^'l- .|;j^:^ '';(; '- -^■''',[ 
 ei'ha])s oven the largest, ol" the ps§ir??^5^^%^__ -;-"'•: ^^ _ / ' -^: ' 
 
 Fid. 10. — Profile iiiul Section ;il Miil- 
 (Ue of Horsoslioe Fall, snowiii;,'' AiTiinge- 
 llU'Ut of Uocks iilld I'roliilble Depth of 
 I'ool iimlei- l-'nll. 
 
 N.[.., Xia4.'iii-ii liiiifKt(uic; CI,., Clinton linif- 
 Htoue; q.S.. iniiivt/.iiscsaiKlstouu. Scale, 
 aoo t'cct = 1 iiicli. 
 
 port, Ave are wavvaiitecl in supposing that it is g'rtidiially <le])riv(Ml 
 of support by the removal of th(^ softer rocks heiieatli; and, al- 
 thoiiji'h it is impossil)le to see what takes i»Uiee amid the fearful 
 rage of Avaters, we nav properly infer that that very violtMK-e 
 makes the cataraet an engine of 
 destrueiion by which the shales 
 are battered and worn away. 
 Uiahn- the middle of the Horse- 
 shoe, where the pouring sheet is 
 at least tAventy feet thick, its f^^ 
 force ' . — 
 
 or perl 
 
 fallen blocks of limestone, and by 
 rolling them about make them 
 serve as Aveapons of attack. 
 
 In lS-27 ('apt. Basil Ihdl, of 
 the British Navy, nunU' a care- 
 ful (h'aAving of the Horseshoe 
 Fall by the aid of a camera hicifht. 
 
 The use of that instrument gives to his (h-awing a cpiaUty (»f 
 accuracy Avliich constitutes it a valuable record. Sixty-eight 
 years aftei'Avard, in IS!)."), a photograph Avas made from the same 
 spot, and our illustrations (Figs. 11 and V2) l)ring the two pic- 
 tures together for comi»arison. Q'he bushes of his foreground 
 have groAvn into tall trees Avhich restrict the view, itiiV the re- 
 gion of greatest change is not concealed. A vertical line has 
 been drawn through the same point (Third Sister Island) in each 
 picture to aid the eye in making the comparison. The ct)nspie- 
 uous changes are the broadening of the gorge l)y the falling- 
 aAvay of its nearei- wall, and the enlargement of the Horseshoe 
 curve both l)y retreat to the ri.uht and by retreat in the direc-tion 
 away from the spectator. In \M'2 Professor James Hall, State 
 geologist of XeAV York, nunh' a careful instrumental survey of 
 the cataract for the purpose of ivcording its outline, so that sub- 
 sequent recession might be accurately measured by ineans of 
 future surA-eys. His Avork has been repeated at various times 
 since, the last survey Ixnng by Mr. A. S. Kibbe, assistant State 
 engineer, in ISDO. The outlines, as determined by these surveys, 
 are reproduced in the chart on pagv 2W (Fig. i:'.), which shows 
 that the greatest change has occurred in the mid<lle of the Horse- 
 shoe curve, Avhere the thickness of the descending stream is 
 
2U 
 
 M.\(i.\];A FALLS AND 'IIIF.Ii; IIISTOHV. 
 
 . V.'. iv!^^^-''M 
 
 iiiiiiill 
 
 ii #1 
 
 ! .'^f:r^V)^V.;^^^\^Ji|;|/■:^ 
 
 'kkm^-- 
 
 ,1 :>ii^ ilM^^"-^*'" wMH 
 
 
 
 
 
 I- 
 
I'lii; lii.cr.ssioN di' im; ( aiai;.\( i' 
 
 ■ji; 
 
 
I I 
 
 TTT 
 
 2](i 
 
 NlAGAltA FALLS AND I IIKil! HISTOKY. 
 
 greatest. In tliut I'egioii about two hundred and tAventy feet of 
 file limestone l)ed liave been carried awuy, and tlie length of the 
 gorge has been increased by that amount. From these data it 
 
 has been ('omi)uted that the cataract 
 is making the gorge longer at the rate 
 of boiween four and five feet a year, 
 and the general fact determined by the 
 observation of falling masses and thti 
 compai'ison of pictures thus receives 
 a definite expression in the oi'dinary 
 tenns of time and distance. 
 
 The agent which lias wrought such 
 important changes dui-ing the brief 
 peiiod to which careful observation 
 
 Fig. 13. — Outlines of the Crest | , ,..,,, •<> .1 ii ^ 
 
 of tiie Horseshoe Fall. hiis been hnuted IS manitestly ahle to 
 
 The vertical hiuI bori/ontal lines holloW Ollt tllC entire gorge if Oldv 
 are -tX) feet apart. ., i ,. -i ^i ^i 
 
 granted enough time, and the tlieory 
 which ascribes the making of the gorge to the work of the falling 
 water is thus strongly supjiorted. 
 
 MonE OF Kecessiox. — Before i)assing to other facts l)eariiig 
 on this point, it is well to call attention to certain peculiarities 
 of the process whereby it differs from the normal process of 
 <-ataract erosion. Pure Avater has little itower to erode solid 
 rock. It can jack up loose pai'ticles or roll them along; but 
 firm, coherent rock cannot be lirokeii by so soft a tool. Rock 
 is, indeed, worn away by rivers, and the erosion accomplished 
 in this way is enormous; but the water does it indirectly l)y 
 carrying along rock fragments which nil) and pound the solid 
 I'ock of the river bottom. The rock fragments are of the same 
 material, generally s|»eaking, as the solid rock, and they wear it 
 away just as diamond dust weai's tJie solid gem. As already 
 }iointed out, the Niagara is peculiai' in that its current carries 
 no rock fragments. The geographic; wt>rk performed by the 
 cataract is practically dependent on tlie tools furnished l)y the 
 blocks of fallen limestone. It is therefore of prime importance 
 to the work of the cataract that it shall be able to roll the lime- 
 stone fragments al)Out, and thus grind them against the river 
 bed. A study of the different parts of the cataract, comparing 
 one Avitli another, shows that the water has this power only 
 where its body is great ; namely, in the middle part of the Horse- 
 shoe curve. Under each edge of that fall and under the Amer- 
 
T^ 
 
 ■JiiF, lii'.cEssiox OF rill' ( aiai;aci'. 
 
 21] 
 
 iciiii Fall ^rcat blocks of liinestoiic lie a< llicy havf fallen, iiiaiii- 
 fcstly too lai'gv to 1)0 iiiovod by tlio moderate stivams that beat 
 ajrainst tliciii. Some of thoso arc shown in the <j,<'n(M'al \i<'\v (»f 
 the Ilorsi'shoc I'al! (V\^. .S), jiiid nioiv clcavly in tlic view of tlio 
 Anu'iicaii Fall (Fi<;'. !»). The block at the cxtron.o ri<;ht of the 
 American Fal' s also itietiireil in l''i<i-. 14. The resistance o])|)ose(l 
 l)y these blocks makes _. -. - 
 
 the rate of erosion (»f the 
 American Fall comi»ara- 
 tively slow. In fact, it is 
 so slow that attempts to 
 measiii'e it have thus far 
 been imsiiccessful, be- 
 cause tlu' chanf''es which 
 have taken i)lace in its 
 outline l»etween the dates 
 of sui'veys have been little 
 ^•reater than the inaccu- 
 racies of the surveys. 
 Where the heaviest body 
 of water pours down, the 
 )>locks are not merely 
 moveil, but are made to 
 di^' a deep hollow in the 
 shale. The precise depth cannot be measnred, because the mo- 
 tion of the Avatei' is thei'e too violent for sounding'; but a little 
 farther down the river, where the catai-act ])erfoi'ined its Avork 
 only a few centui'ies a.i^-o, the jilumnict shows a de)»th of nearly 
 two hundred feet, and it is ])robablt' ihat the hollow dircctl}' 
 under the Horseshoe is not shallower than tliat. The p'neral 
 fact ap]ieai"s to be that in tlu» center of the main stream the 
 water diii's deeply, and the brink of the fall recedes rapidly. 
 After the g'or^v has been leiii>'thened by this pi-ocess, it is some- 
 what widened by the fallin,^' in of its sides; and this fallina; in 
 is in a measure aide<l by tiie thinner water streams neai' tlu* 
 banks, which dear away the smaller limestone fraji'meiits. lhon<i;h 
 leaving the laru'ei'. Aftei- the cataract has altosi'ether jtassed, 
 the clift' is fuither modified by frost. The wall of shale, beinjj; 
 wet by spray or i-ain, is exposed to the cold air of winter, and 
 the water it contains is frozen. The expansion of freezing 
 breaks the rock, either cruml)ling it or causing flakes to fall 
 
 I'm. ]4.— Tlif "Kock of A<r<'s." ji I'ullcii lilcH-k 
 
 iif Xiagiira liiiiicstoiic iit tlic Koutlii'i'ii Eiigc 
 
 I'f the Anici'ii'iiii I''all. 
 
1>1S 
 
 N(A(i\i;.\ lAI.I.S AND 'lIlHIi; II IS'l'OliV. 
 
 I I 
 
 away. In tliis \v;i>- tlic sliak> is cntcii Itack, aii<l tlio limostom* 
 al)()v<' is made to fall, until ciiou^li fallen frii<ini(>nts have l)een 
 accumulated to protect tlie reniaindci- (»f the shale from fr<^st, 
 
 after whicli time the jtrocess of 
 
 chanu'e hecc^mes exceetlin^ly slow. 
 Thus two different modes of 
 cataract recession are illustrated 
 by the two falls of Niii^ara. They 
 resemble each othei- in the most 
 essentud ])articular, — that the 
 soft shaU' beneath is avovu away, 
 and the hard limestone above 
 falls for lack (^f su]>]>ort, — but 
 they diti'er widely in other re- 
 spects. In the recession of the 
 Horseshoe Fall, the blocks of 
 limestone are i)estles or grinding' 
 tools by which the shale is beaten 
 or scoured away. In the reces- 
 sion of the Amei'ican Fall, the 
 limestone blocks have no acti\e 
 share, but are rather obstructive. 
 The falling- water, striking them, 
 is si)lashed against the clitit', and 
 this splashing is the only force 
 continiuilly api)lie<l to the shale. 
 In the spring, ice cakes are drifti^l 
 from Lake Erie into the entrance 
 of the river, and float to the falls. 
 Borne with the water, they, too, 
 nmst be dashed against the <'litt' 
 of shale, and, though softer than 
 the shale, they probably hel[) to 
 dislodge it. The recession in one 
 case is far more rapid than in the 
 other, the dii¥erence being explained primarily l)y the difference 
 in the volume of the water. 
 
 Old River Banks and Gravels. — As just explained, the re- 
 treating cataract lengthens the gorge most rapidly in the niiddh^ 
 of the stream, where the water is deepest. As the gorge is ex- 
 tended, the current turns toward its head from both margins, 
 
 Fi(i. l.j. — The Niagara Gorge, sliowiiig 
 Physical Features. 
 
 Old river banks are sUown by dotted lines; 
 sUell localities, by crnsnes. 
 
Tin; liKCKssioN oi- Tin; <'ai.\I!.\( r. 
 
 •Jill 
 
 Hiul ]»orti()iis of the rivci' bed on citlicr side ai'c lliiis ji'i-jiduiilly 
 iilmiidoiird ]»y flic watfr. After tlit'sc sti'i[ts of river l>e(l lia\e 
 l)(>c<)iiie (li-y liiiid, they retjiiii <'ertiiiii fe.itui'es l»y wliieli they can 
 he re('()j>'ui/-ed. Usually the whole of the drift is washed away as 
 far as the water exUMnhMl, so tliat the loek is l>ai'e, oi- neai'ly bare; 
 and tlie edjjo of the midisturlx'd drift at tlie iiiaryiii ttf this strip 
 of bared I'ock lias a siee]i slope, wliicli so closely resembles the 
 niodciTi banks of the river abo\c the cataract that the iniau'ina- 
 tiou readily restores the former outline of the water (see l'''ii>'. 1(i). 
 
 Fui. l(i. — OKI liivfi- liaiik ami liivcr UimI, Ciif Mile A'urili ut Aiiiericuii Fall. 
 
 Soinetiuies the river, after riinnin.u' for a while at <Mie Icn'cI, has 
 been drawn down to a lower level, and the change has caused a 
 seeoud bank to be produced, the space between the first and 
 second banks staudin<»' as a bench of land, or tei'race. At some 
 points there ai-e tAvo or three such terraces. Alonjz,' the o-i-eater 
 part of the iJ,or<>'e these old banks can be found on both sides, 
 and there are few spots where they do not survive on one side 
 or the other. The farthest point to which they can be traced 
 downstream is about half a niiU' from the end of the i;oi'ii'e, and 
 
2'J() 
 
 MAd.VUA FALLS AM> IHF.llt IMSIOKV. 
 
 tlu'V thus serve to show thut all the reumiiMh'r of tlie ^or^e lias 
 lieeii wi'ou^rlit (lurii)^ the life of the river;. for it is evi«hMit that 
 the i'iv«'r eould not run on tlie upliind Avhile the jjor^e was in 
 existence. 
 
 In a few eases, wheie llie lop of the limestone lies rather low, 
 the old river ImmIs are not excavated (h>vvn to tlie rock, hut tlieii- 
 terraces are partly carved in drift. Jn yet other places tlie old 
 rivci- not only carried away material, but made additions, leav- 
 ing' a <le]»osit of j^ravel jiiid sand that had heeii rollecl aloii^' by 
 the current. In this ji'rjivelly dejMtsit, shells ha\'e been found at 
 a. uumbei- of [ilaces, jind they ai'e all of such kinds as live in the 
 (piieter parts of the river at the jtreseut time. 
 
 On the chart on ^>aj»'e 'JIS (Fiji,'. 1.')) the most important of the 
 ohl river ]>anks are shown, and also a. number of spots at which 
 shells have been found in tlii' rivei' gravels, 
 
 FosTEK Flats. — About two miles and a half scmtli of the 
 ('scarpment the g'or^'e assumes a peculiar i>hase not elsewhere 
 seen. It is unusually wide at the top; but the river is quite 
 narrow, and runs close under the cliff on the east«M'u or Amerieau 
 side. On the Canadian side an irreji'ular lowland lies between 
 the cliff and the river, but this is encroached on by a quadran- 
 gular projection of the oliii". The lowland is Foster Flats; and 
 
 
 •<,_^^^ 
 
 Flu. 17. — Binrs-cye View of Foster Fliits, lonkiii}; Soiitliwest (Forests omitted). 
 
IIIK HECKSSION of IHK CATAUAt r. 
 
 221 
 
 tlic rlif'f jnnjcctioii, VVint»'rf»:i'»'«'ii Flnt. Tlicsc iiml otlitT Ifiilui't's 
 of til*' loi'jility iirc |iovtniyi'<l in tlic Itii-d's-cyc \'n'\v (Kiu'. 17), iiixl 
 also ill tlir iuiii» (Kij;'. IS). TIk' iiiii)* roi»r«'s*'iits tin' slojx^s of tin' 
 liiii<l by inouiis of contour lines, oi- lines of ('(|iial lieii^lit, diawn 
 iit vt'Vticiil intervals of twenty feet. 
 
 Winteryreen Fliit is a piatfonn of limestone a little lieluw tlie 
 i;euernl level of the iilaiii, and sepai-ated from the plain liy a 
 steep liliiff. This hliiff is one of the old rivei' hanks, vei-y simi- 
 hif to the one pietui'ed in l''i^'. 1(>, and the platform is pai't of the 
 fiver's hed. Kollo\vin<;' the direction of flow — parallel to the 
 hank — to tile point J (Fiji'. IS), the observer Hnds himself on 
 the brink of a cliff over which 
 the water evi<lently descended 
 ill ji cataract ; and befor*' him, 
 exteiidilij;:from the foot of the 
 cliff to tin' point />, is a de- 
 scending' valley with the form 
 of a riverbed. From Wiiiter- 
 irreen Flat onlv its n'eiieral 
 shape can be made out, as it 
 is clothed with forest; but 
 when one u'ets down to it, he 
 finds it a northward-sloping 
 plain, boumh'd by steep sides, 
 and strewn here an<l there wi tli 
 irreat fallen blocks of lime- 
 stone whicdi the river current j,^^^ m.-Map ..r h\,st.., fimIs. 
 
 could not remove. The left 
 
 bank of this channel has the ordinary jn'otile of the Avail of the 
 g.(,i.g.<i^_.i cliff ,)f tlit> Niafi:ara limestone at toj) and a talus sloj^e 
 below, covered by blocks of the same ro<'k. The ri^'ht wall is 
 lower, risiiiii: at niost but fifty feet above the channel, and .uradn- 
 ally disai»pearin^' northward. It is merely the side of a low rid.ue 
 wliich separates the al)andoiied channel from the I'iver bed at 
 the east. Its surface is exceedino'ly ru,i»;ii'ed. bein.u' <'overed by 
 hn^e blocks of limestone, so that tlu> rid<re seeming'ly <'onsists of 
 a heap of them; but there is doubtless a nuchms of uiidistnrb.>d 
 shale, with a remnant of the (Minton ledj^e. Eastward from 
 VVinterj>;reen Flat there is a continuous descent from the lime- 
 stone cHff to the river; but this is less steej. than the ordinary 
 talus slope of the gorge, and it is cumbered, like the ridge, by 
 
.)<)■» 
 
 
 \ <.,iv(. torvnco at al>«>n1 tho 
 
 l::::i:i::::r:z:;:>;i:---i:M!i::.i::^-^. '-- 
 
 . ,„ ,|„, ,,s,-,,vi.""'"'' '".' ' ,' ' vi„.' tlu' l'"sUi.m '-,'•.'• '"^i 
 
 Hw onlv a. lln.t ol"-'' ''"', *" ' . , '■A.n..n..m, Fall vl .■.■„.. 
 '^ , „„ ,1,,. ,„.>iv niin.lly- ""'" , . , ,,„ss,HlU,a"'l 1""* 
 
 into tl,o P"!-- "V"' f ,ist,t,.v,l«-am.. I'-ss "-■"V'. '" ,r. 
 V„|l thvoujlll til.. l"ss "1 Ill's «.ll' ^.^.,,,,,,1 ,,^ ,l,.t,.U. 
 
 ';, . of n„. V,,...., i-v."« ;:; V „iih.« "V,.,- .11.; -s, ™ 
 
 Vov a tin,.. tl,..f.. was a .-a,! > „„„,,„., r„|ls ov.., 1"^ 
 
 , a,.. «..'■«.. .i..^t - "•;■ ;:;; ' ,- ,,a.i ......"^i' *" ,^»''";;;: x,,: 
 
 4. ,.-.,11 The lsau(l^vJl^ n»H . u^ i)0(\ostal <m *^H'^'* 
 
 :;;:,;;;"n./Att,.v.iu.,.a.u-a<..sj; 1-^^,^^^^^ 
 
 ;:;,:,•;; r.,-^;:".a,..,.. r'""\p':„:; ' w: :,.:; time t.>e .tvoam 
 
 fallv vovaul f<'V l>'s 1'"'Hs 't 1 ^' - .^^,.j i,„5,voss,ve to st. .1 
 
 tovveut's poAvev to tvaiisixnt. 1 ^ Horseshoe 1 aU ot 
 
 ^ Ut l;oUo^v out a ^^^^V^^J^i^ .node of action, to the 
 ? ^,^- tmt was rather coiiipauiDR yiuoroiis. J-li*' 
 
 to-aa> , hut ^ a. ,^^ .ouiewhat i»«^^ ^ f ,orrespouds 
 
 American Fall, tluavi I ^^^^ prohabl> cone i 
 
 slope eastward trom AMntei.ie 
 
THE IIECESSION OF Till: CATAltACI'. 
 
 U'ja 
 
 closely with wliiit one \V(»iiM liud tiiiilri- tlic Aiiiri-icaiii Full it' ihc 
 river were stopped and tlie pool dniiiietl. 
 
 Thus Koste)- iiiid \Viiiter;;reeii (hits i"e]teat the story told liy 
 the old river hunks uud the shell-hem'iny' yrnvels. There was a, 
 time when there was no ^'orp', hut when the river ran o\er the 
 top of the )>lain nearly to its edp-; and since tlmt time the^orj^t^ 
 luis been j;ra<lnall\' dn^' ont Ity the power ol* the plunjiin;^- watei-. 
 
 Bi:(ilNNlN(i or JiKCKSSioN. — When the ueoyrapher notes that 
 some natural process is producing' chan<i('s in the Teatures of the 
 land, he naturally l(M>ks hackwurd, if he can, to see what were 
 the earlier features which ]»recede(l the changes in i»roy:ress, and 
 lo(»ks forwai-d to see what will he the e\-entual condition if 
 chanj^es of the same sort are continued. 'IMie tracing of the his- 
 tory of chaiij;e in either direction is ai)t to Ite dilhcult, Itecause 
 it is not easy to tell what allowances to make for chanj;'es of cii*- 
 cumstaiice or condition. In tracinu' the early history of Xia/^^ara 
 such dilliculties as these ai'is« , hut there is one ditlicidty A\hich 
 is not alto^'ether unfortunate, hecause it leads to the discovery 
 that the Niaj^'ara histoi-y is delinitely r<'lated to one of the most 
 iiiti'restin^' events of the ji'eoji'i'a]thic development of the conti- 
 nent. 
 
 llaN'injz,' learneil fi'om the cataract that it is en,u'a<i('(l in the 
 work of ^■or.u'e makinj;', and having learned from the old ri\'ei' 
 beds along the margins of the gorge and from the old cataract 
 clitf at Fostei- Flats that this Avork of g' ge making has l>een 
 cai'i'ied on through thcAvhole length of the gorge, Ave are carried 
 hack in imagination to an e))och when the river ti'aveled on the 
 upp'r [>lain all the Avay fi"om Lake Erie to the escai']>ment, and 
 there descemh'd. The general history is clearly traced back to 
 that jioint, l»ut there it seems to sto]* abi'uptly. AVe may com- 
 l)art' the river to a'l artisan sawing the jilatcau in two. The 
 Avork goes on mev dy and the saw cut is still short. As geolo- 
 gists reckon time, ii is not long since the task was begun. Hut 
 Nature's artisans cannot stand idle; Avhile they live, they must 
 AVork. So, before this task Avas begun, either IIm- stream had 
 some other task or else thei-e was no Niagara KiNci'. It seems 
 impossible to suggest any other task, and all geog)'ai»hers are. 
 agree(l that there Avas n<ine. The river's first Avork Avas the dig- 
 ghig of the gorge, and the date of its beginning was the (hite of 
 the river's beginning. 
 
 The nature of this beginning, the sei'ies of events Avhich led 
 
2l»4 
 
 MAliAKA lALI-S A\l> TllHli: HISIOIIV, 
 
 r\ 
 
 \'l 
 
 t ! 
 11 
 
 lip to it, or, ill otluT Avords, tlir cause of tlic I'iver, was loii^' 
 s(>ii,ulit in vain; and an intcrcstin*!,' ciiaptcv ini»;'lit lie written on 
 the fruitless search. Tlie needed lig'iit was an understandiii,ii' of 
 tlie origin of the drift ; and it was not till a young Swiss geolo- 
 gist, Louis Agassiz, l)rought from the Al]>s the idea of a drift- 
 l)earing ice field that the (liscovery of Niagara's ])edigree l)e<'anie 
 possible. 
 
 DFA'FJ,()l':MFAr OF I'lli: I.AritFA'lIAN LAKES. 
 
 The Ice Sheet. — The history of the great Canadian glaciei- is 
 a large subject, to Avhich some future monograi»li of this sei-ies 
 will doubtless be devoted. Any account of it which can be 
 given here must needs be inude(|uate, yet a full un<lei-standing 
 of Niagara cannot be reache(l without some kuowledge of the 
 glacier. lu the iaiesT of the geologic ])eriods the climate of 
 North America uuderweiit a series of remarka])le changes, be- 
 coming altenuitely colder and warmer. While the general tem- 
 perature WHS loAv, there was a large ar(^a in Canada o\'ei' which 
 the fall of sncnv in winter was so dee]» that the heat of summer 
 did not fully melt it; so that each year a certain auiount was left 
 over, and iu the course of centuries the accumulation a<'(|uired 
 a depth of thousands of feet. Hy i»ressure, and by melting and 
 freezing, the sn(nv was [)acked, and AvehU^l into ice. When the 
 climate again l»ecame wai-mei', this ice was gradually melted 
 away; but while present it performed an important geograjthic 
 woi-k. Ice iu large masses is plastic; and when the ice sheet 
 had become thick, it did not li<' inert and motionless, liut si)read 
 itself outward like a mass of pitch, its edges slowly ]»ushing 
 away from the central tract in all <lirections. This motion car- 
 I'ied the ice l)or(h'r into regions of wai'uier climate, Avhei'e it was 
 melted; and for a long ])erio(l there was a slow but ciMitinuous 
 movement from the central region of accunuikition to the mar- 
 ginal I'egion of waste by melting. The ]>rincipal region of ac- 
 cunudation was north and noi'theast of the (}reat Lakes, and 
 the flowing ice passed ovei' the lake i'egion, invading all our 
 Noi'thern States. Where the ice pressed on thegi'oun<l, it enve!- 
 (»]ied bowhh'rs, ]»ebbh^s, and whati'Ver lay loose on the surface; 
 and as it movt^l forward, tliese Avei'e cari'ied with it, l»eing 
 ([ragged over the solid rock, and scraping it. Thus the country 
 was not merely swej^t, l»ut sci'atched and ]>loAved, Avith the result 
 that its surface was Avorn lUnvn. The amouid of weai' was not 
 
DKVELOI'MENT OF IHK i,Al ItF.N TIAN LAKES. 
 
 'J-J.') 
 
 everywhere the same, hut varitMl tVoni ]»hi('e to i»la<'e, and iiumy 
 Itasins were hollowed out. WIhmi tlif jivneral eliiiiatc hccaint' 
 jjjrachudly wanuei-, tlir waste of ice nt'ai- its iiiar«iin exceeded the 
 supply, and the extent ot the slicct was diminished. WIhmi th<> 
 ice was f^'one, the stones and cartli it had jncked u]> and ui-ound 
 up renuuned on the land, hut in new positions. The_\- wcit 
 si»read and heaped irre«>'ularly over the surl'atM', constitutini; the 
 manth' of diift to which refcivncc has already l»ccn made. 
 Thus by the double process of hoUowin^r and heaitin<i', the face 
 of the land was i-eniodcled ; so that when the rain once more fell 
 on it, and was i^athered in streams, the old watei- ways were lost, 
 and new ones had to he found. 
 
 This remodel i Hi;' ,ua\'e to the Laui'entian system of water 
 ways its abnormal character, suppl>iii.u' it with abundant lakes 
 and waterfalls. Not only were the (Jreat Lakes ci'eated, but a 
 multitude of minor lakes, lakelets, [londs, and mai-shes. If the 
 reaiU'i" will study some ucmmI map of the Tnifed States or of 
 North Amei'ica, he will see thai this lake district includes New 
 Enji^land also, and by tracing its extent in otliei' dii'ections he 
 can g'et a fail" idea of the ma.u'uitude of the ice sheet. 
 
 The lakes have had a marked inllueiice on the histor>- and 
 industries of mankind. Still watei- makes an easy roadway, and 
 the (diuin of (ireat Lakes not oid>- ^'uided ex]>loration and early 
 settlement, but has determined the chief routes of commei'ce 
 ever since. The most easti'rly of the ice-made basins, instead of 
 holdinji' lakes, recei\-e arms of tin- sea, ^'iviufi,' to New York and 
 New Enji'laud some of the best hai'boi-s in the world. Each cat- 
 aract is a water power, and tiie lakes and ponds upstream are 
 natural stora^'e resei'voii-s, holdiiiii" back ^h)ods, and doling the 
 water out in time of di-ouu'ht. So Chicaiio an<l New ^'ork City 
 are the centers of trade, and New En.uiand is a land of hum- 
 ming' spindles and lathes, liecaus<' of an iti\asion loiiy' aii'o i>y 
 Canadian, ice. 
 
 The (Hstrict of the Niaji'ara lay far within the extreme limit 
 of the ice, and tli*' di'ift there lyin.u' on the rocks is part of tli«' 
 jj:reat ice-spread mantle. Wherevei- that di'ift is freshly remov«Ml, 
 whetluM- Ity the natural excavation of streams or the artificial ex- 
 cavation of (luarrymen and builders, the nick lieneath is found 
 to be polished, and covered by jtarallel sci-atches, the result of 
 rubbing bv tiie ice and its yrittv loa(L These sci'atches show 
 that in this [)articular district the ice moveil in a direction about 
 
226 
 
 NIAGAIJA FAJ.LS AM) THEIH HISTOKY. 
 
 ^1 
 
 ' i 
 
 
 I 
 
 o()° Avest of south. They cjiu 1»»' seen on the western brink of 
 the g'org'e four hundred yai'ds l)e]ow t]ie raih'oad suspension 
 In-id^c, in the beds of several creeks near tiie Whirlpool, and at 
 various (|uarries above the escarpment. The ])est opportunity 
 to study them is at a ,yroup of (piarries near the brink of the 
 escai'i>ment, about two miles west of the river. 
 
 lcE-])AMiiED Lakes. — During- the period of final melting of 
 the ice sheet, when its southern margin was gradually retreating 
 across the region of the Great Lakes, a nund)er of temporary 
 lakes of i>eculiar character weiv formed. In the accompanying 
 
 sketch map of the Great Lake 
 region (Fig. 19) the broken 
 line marks the position of the 
 southern rim of the St. Law- 
 rence basin. It is the water- 
 shed between the district 
 draining to the St. Lawi'ence 
 and the contiguous districts 
 draining to the Mississippi, 
 Ohio, Sus(|U(dianna, and Hud- 
 son, When the ice sheet was 
 greatest, its southern margin 
 lay south of this watei-shed. 
 The rain Avhich fell on the 
 ice, uniting with the water made by melting ice, ran from the 
 ice field on to the land, and fiowed awa,v' with the rivers of the 
 land. Afterward, when the extent of the ice lu-d been some- 
 what reduce(|, its margin lay partly beyond and i)artly within 
 the basin of the lakes; but the wtiter from it c(mld not fiow 
 down the St. Lawrence, l)ecause that valley was still occu- 
 pied by the ice. It therefoi'e gathered between the ice front 
 and the watershed in a series of lakes, each of which found 
 outlet southward across some low point in the watershed. To 
 see this clearly may reipiire some effort of the imagination. 
 The reader should bear in mind that the watershed is not n sim- 
 ple ridge, but a rolling upland of varying height, with here and 
 there a low pass. The St. Lawrence l)asin is not simple and 
 r(^gular in form, but is made up of many smallei' ])asins separated 
 by minor u)»lands or watersheds. Some of these watersheds 
 ai-e shown on the map. When the iee occu])ied part of nunor 
 basins, it acted as a dam, holding the water back, and making 
 
 Fi(i. 11). — Thf firciit ],iik("s jiiid tlifir 
 Dniinnfic l)iNtri<-fs. 
 
 The watei'slii'ds Ixmndiiis tlip draiua^c disti-icts 
 iiri' I'l'iu't'sc'iitrd by dotlcd nnd ln'cdicii lines. 
 
DEVELOrjIENT OF THE LAi:i{EN'J'IAN EAKES. 
 
 227 
 
 it iill the basin until it could flow in some other direetion. As 
 the position of the ice front changecl, these lakes were changed, 
 being made to unite or separate, and often to abandon one chan- 
 nel or outlet when another was opened at a lower level. Some- 
 times there were chains of lakes along the ice margin, one lake 
 draining to another across a minor watershed, and the lowest 
 <liscliarging' across the main watershed. 
 
 Wherever water ran from a lake, it moditied the surface. 
 TJie loose drift was i>asily moved l)y the current, and each stream 
 quickly hollowed out for itself a channel, — a trough-like passage 
 with flattish bottom and steep sides. When tiic lakes aft<M"war<I 
 disappeared, the channels lost their streams, but tlieir forms iv- 
 mained. They are still to be seen in a lunxlreil passes among 
 the hills of the Northern States. The larger and longer-lived of 
 the lakes carved by their waves a still more consjticuous record. 
 In ways explained by Professor Shaler in the fifth monogi-aph 
 of this series, the waves set in motion by storms cut out strands 
 and clifts from the drift and l)uilt up harrici' beaches, so that 
 after the lake watei's had departed there were t(M'races and ridges 
 on the hillsides to show where th(^ shores ha<l been. Many of 
 the old channels have been found, some of the old shore lines 
 have been traced out and mai'ked on maps, and by such investi- 
 gation the history of geographic changes in the (Jreat Lake 
 region is gradually being learned. 
 
 At one stage of that history there was a long lake occupying 
 the western part of the Ontario basin, much of the Erie, part of 
 the Huron, and probal)ly part of the .Michigan. Its outHow 
 crossed the main watershed at diicago {(', Fig. 19), and its east- 
 ern extremity was near Batavia (/>) in western New York. The 
 ice mass tilled the greater part of the Ontario basin, and kept 
 the water from (.'scaping eastward. AVheii it melted from that 
 region, the water shifted its outlet fi-om ('hicago to a low pass 
 at Rome (7/), where it discharged to the ^Mohawk valley. This 
 change loAvered the lake surface several hundred feet, and, by 
 uncovering watei'sheds that had before be(Mi submerge(i, sepa- 
 i-ated the Huron, Ph'ie, and Ontario l)asins, and three lakes took 
 the place of the single long lake. In the Huron basin Avas a lake 
 half walled by ice; in the Erie basin, Lake Erie; and in the 
 Ontario basin. Lake Iro(|Uois, an ice-dammed lake with its outlet 
 at Home. 
 
 Th(^ draining away of so large a liody of watei- occupied some 
 
i 
 
 ij 
 
 il: 
 
 228 
 
 NIAGAltA FALLS AN'1> TMEIIi UrSTOKV 
 
 time, SO tliat tli<' hike 1('V<>1 wms <j;i'ii»iujilly lowered. WIhmi it 
 reached tlie pass between the Erie and Ontario l)asins at Buffalo, 
 and Lal«'s Erie and ]ro<iuois,\vere thereby parted, the Erie level 
 could fall no lower, hut the Irocjuois continued downward. As 
 soon as there was a ditiference of level, a stream heu-an to How 
 from Lake Erie, and that stream Avas the infant Nia*;"ara, newly 
 liorn. it was ;i short stream, because the ed,i»'e of the lro(iuois 
 Avatcr was close to Buffalo; Init it g'rew lon^'er day by day, as 
 fast as the Iro(piois ed,i>'e receded, it had no channel until it 
 uiade one, l»ut its ^-i-owiuii' end, in foliowinj;' the I'ctreating' lake, 
 selected at each instant the dii'ection of steepest s]o[)e; and as 
 the slopes had l)een fori>!(-d by the jj:lacier, it may be said that 
 the ji'lacier ])red(4ermined the course of the rivei'. 
 
 Durinji' some centuries oi' millenniums of its enrly life the 
 rivei' \v;is shorter than now, because the li'o(|nois Lake Hooded 
 nioi-e land than the ( )ntai'io, and kept the river nearer the escarji- 
 nient; but in course of time the ice dam disappeai'ed, the lake 
 outlet was I'cmoved from ivonie to the ^riiousaiul Islands, part 
 of the lake bottom was laid bai'«' by th.e retiriiiii; water, and the 
 i-i\er sti'etched itself oxer the broadened plain. It ,i>'rew, in fact, 
 to be a few nnles lonii,-<'r than now, and there wei-e other chang'es 
 in len<;tli : but the entire story is too lon<;-aud inti'icate for these 
 pa<>('s. 
 
 TuK ('Axrixd or Baslns. — 'rh«' «>'eog'rapherK who haveuiai»ped 
 the «>lacial lakes by traciuii' theii- shore lines have also measui'ed 
 the hei<>,hts of these lines at many points. From these measui'e- 
 ments they have found that th<' lines ai-e uot level. The surface 
 of each ice-danuned lake was, of ccuu'se, level, and its waves, 
 beatiiiii' on the shoi'es, carNed beaches aud strands all at the 
 same le\('l. But these abandoned strands, preserved as terraces 
 on the basin slopes, are not level uow ; and it is thei'<'fore inferred 
 tluit the eai'tli itself, the I'ocky foundation on which the terraces 
 r<'st, has (diany-ed its form. TIh' id<'a of earth movements, the 
 slow rising' of some disti'icts and the sinking' of others, is not 
 ■■ 'w: ]»ut, until these old shore lines were studied, it was not 
 
 )wn that such changes had recently affected the l^ake re«i'ion. 
 
 The de})arture of the old shore liiu's from hori/ontality is of 
 a systematic <diaract(>r. They all rise toward the north and east, 
 an<l fall toward the south and west. The amount of this tiltiui;' 
 or inclination is not the same e\-erywhere, nor is it e\-erywhei'e 
 in precisely the same direction; Itut the genei'al fa<'t jilainly 
 
 m 
 
 kno 
 
 I 
 
DKVKLUl'MENJ OF JHK LAIUENTIAX LAKES. 
 
 .).)(> 
 
 appears, that tli<' uorthcastcni portion of tlic ( Jrcat Lake district 
 lias ])vvu raised or the soutliwi'sterii portion has Imvh lowered, or 
 l)oth, several hundred feet since tiie epoch of these ice-daninicd 
 lakes, i.e., since tlie time when the Canadian i<'e she*'t was 
 sloAvly melting away. Tlie eft'ect of this cliangv was to tip or 
 cant each lake basin, and the effect of the cantin.^' was similar t.. 
 tin' ett'ect of canting a hand Itasin containing water. In the 
 hand l)asin the water rises on the side toward which the l.asin is 
 tipped, an<l falls away on the opposite side. In the lake hasiii 
 there was u constant supply of Avater from rain an<l streams, so 
 that it was always filled up to the level of the lowest point of its 
 rim, and the surplus of water Howed away at that itoiiit ; so. 
 when it was canted, the changes in the extent of the lake were 
 partly controlled l>y the <»utflow. If the outlet was on the north- 
 eastern side of the liasiii, the southwesterly canting would make 
 the water rise ahnig its southwestern shore, the suhmergetl area 
 l)ehig thereby enlarged. Jf the outlet was toward the southwest, 
 theu^the canting would (b-aw the water away from the n<»rth- 
 eastern slopes, and diminish tin' submerged area. If the l(»\ves1 
 point of the rim was originally on the northeasl side, the caul mu' 
 might lift this part of the rim so high that some point on the 
 soivthwest side would become lowest, an<l the ]>oint <»f outlet miglil 
 thus be changed from north (»r east to south or west. The evi- 
 <lence of the old shoivs an<l channels shows that all these possil/le 
 changes have actually occurred in the lake basins, and that s<.nie 
 of them were related in an important way to tlu' history of the 
 
 Niagara River. 
 
 The gradual canting affe<-ted the size of Lake Krie, Lake 
 Ontario, and the temporary Lake Iroipiois, making each grow 
 toward the s(Uithwest. When Lake Erie was hoi-n. its length 
 could not have been more than half as great as now. and its area 
 was n)uch small. 'r. The original Lake Huron may have ha.l 
 about the same size as the present lake, but its b.rm and positn.n 
 were ditt'erent. L(>ss land was coveivd at the south and west, 
 more land at the north and east, and the outlet was at North 
 Bay (.V, Fig. ID)- ^^Y ^^i'' tipping of the basin the lake was 
 made graduallv to expand toward the west and south till at last 
 the water reached the pass at the hea<l of the St. Clair Kiver. 
 Soon afterward the water ceased tiowing through the North Bay 
 outlet The water then gradually withdrew from the northeast- 
 eru re«iou till linallv the shores assumed their present position. 
 
 i 
 
, il'i 
 
 5l 
 
 230 
 
 NIAGARA FALLS ANI> IHEUi HISTOllV. 
 
 At ail <>arlit'r stajiv, wliile the North May district was l)lockt'(l l)y 
 the ice sheet, it is })r()l»al»le that the Itasin had an outk't iieai" 
 Lake Siineoe (N), l»ut the evidence of this is less coini)lete. If 
 the Ilnron water crossed the basin's rim at that point, it followed 
 the Trent valley to Tiake Ircxiuois or Lake Ontario; when it 
 crossed the rim at Xorth Bay, it f(»llowed the Ottawa valley to 
 the St. Lawrence; and in each case it reached the ocean withont 
 passing thronju'li Lake Erie and the Niaj^ara Riv(>r. Thus there 
 Avas a time Avhen the Niagara Kiver received no water from the 
 Huron, Michigan, or Su|»erioi' Itasins, but from the Erie basin 
 alone. It was then a comj)aratively small stream, for the Erie 
 basin is only one eigiith of the whole district now tributary to 
 the rivei-; and the cataract more nearh' resembled the Amei'ican 
 Fall than the Hoi-seshoe. 
 
 THi: WHIRLPOOL. 
 
 The \Vliiilpo(»l is a peculiar poinr in the course of the river. 
 Not only docs the channel there make an. a,bru])t turn to the 
 right, but with e(|ual abruptness it is enlarged and again con- 
 ti'acted. The pool is a d»'ep oval basin, citnununicating through 
 narrow gateAvays with the goi'ge al)ovc and the gorge below. 
 The torrent, rushing Avith the speed of an ocean greyhound from 
 the svei^p, shalloAV jiassage known as the Whirljiool Rapids, 
 enters the pool and courses over its surface till its lieadAvay is 
 checked. The initial im])uls(» jn'eA'ents it from turning at once 
 toward the channel of exit, and the cui'rent circl(»s to the left in- 
 stead of the right, folloAving the curved margin of the pool, and 
 finally descending under the entering stream so as to I'ise beyond 
 it at the outlet. Thus the Avatei' (h^scribes a conii)leto loo]>, a 
 ]»eculiarity of cui-rent ([uite as remarkable and rare as the feats 
 of raihvay engineering which bear that name. In the chart of 
 the Whirlpool (Fig. 20) the surface currents are indicated by 
 arroAvs ; and some idea of the appearance of the currents may be 
 obtained from the view in Fig. 7, where the swift incoming cur- 
 rent crosses the foreground from right to left, and the exit cur- 
 rent occupies the mi<ldle of the ]»icture. In the smoother tract 
 betAveen these two visible cun-ents the Avat<'r rises after passing 
 imder the nearer. These curi'ents can be watched from any of 
 the surrounding cliffs, and there is a fascination about them akin 
 to that of the cataract itself and the AVhirlpool Kapids. 
 
'iiiK \\iiii;li'o(>l. 
 
 •j;;i 
 
 F\>.. •_>(!. —The Wliil'l|M.nl. 
 
 liock is iiiiliiMtfil by cmsslintcliiiur; dril't, 
 
 l>y (lots. Arrows iii(li<iilo tin- 
 
 (tiri'ction of current. 
 
 The ^'oro-e above, tlic ,uof,iiv Ix'low, and two sides of the 
 Whirlpool are walled by rock; hut the reinaiiiiiiii' si(h', that op- 
 posite to the iiieoniiu.u- stream, shows no rock in its wall (Fiys. 
 20 and 21). On the north .side, the ed<>'e ol' the Xia.iiai'a hineston.' 
 fan be trueed to A (Fi.u'. 20) with all its usual chni'aetiM-.s Imt 
 there it disappears ]»eneath the drift. The Clinton limestone 
 disai)pears in a similar way Just 
 below it, and the ([uai'tzose sand- 
 stone, which there skii'ts the mar- 
 gin of the water, is a little more 
 qnickly covere<l, Ix'inu' hist seen 
 at />'. On the south l)ank the 
 Niaf»Tira limestone can Ite traced 
 fai'ther. Its edg-e is visible almost 
 ecnitinuonsly to A', and is laid 
 bare hi the bed of a small creek 
 at ./''. The Clinton bed is simi- 
 larly traeeable, with slight in- 
 terruption, to I); and the (piart- 
 zose sandstone passes nn<lei' tlie 
 drift at ('. Where each ro"k le(lgt> is last seen it }>oints toward 
 the northwest, and betrays no tendency to curve around and 
 join its fellow in the ojiposite wall. In the intei-vening sjiacc 
 the side of the goi'ge seems to be com]>osed entirely of drift. 
 Hand and clay, pebbles and bowhU'rs, make u[) the slope; and a 
 beaeh of bowldei's margins the water from //io ('. ii is infcned 
 from this arraugenient of rock and drift that thei'e was a dcp 
 hollow in \ho plain befoi'e the drift was spread by the ice. th<' 
 drift being dei)osited in it and over it until it was filled and 
 covered. The parallel dii'ections of the i-ock ledges suggest that 
 the hollow was part of a stream channel running northwestwai'd ; 
 and this interpretation is borne out uot only by certain to[>o- 
 graphie featnres two or three miles away, Imt by a stud;-' of the 
 bed and banks of Bowman (*reek (Fig. 1")). That stream, which 
 rises two miles away, has carved a ravine where it approaches 
 the Whirlpool. The noi'theast bank of the i-avine (Fig. 20) setMiis 
 to be composed entirely of drift; but the op])osite bank, thousjh 
 cliietly of drift, lays l»are the rock at a innnber of places, reveal- 
 ing a sloping wall descending towai'd the northeast. The bed 
 of the stream in general shows nothing but di'ift ; but theiv is 
 one place where the creek swerves a little to tlie southward, and 
 
•J.-J-J 
 
 MAdAKA lALLS AM) lllKIi; IIIHTOKY. 
 
 
 k 
 
 for a few roils jtrt'sscs aiiiiinst the rock slope; jiiid it has there 
 made a siuall cut into the rock, cascadiiiu' at one point over a 
 sandy ledj^c that is harder than th«' associated shale. 
 
 With the aid of tliis information, it is easy to understand the 
 pi'culinr features of the \Vhii-l)>ool. ^riie Xia<>aj"a Kiver did not 
 seek this old channel and thus find an easy way northward, hut 
 ran U[)on it accidentally at one ))oint. Its coni'se on the jdain 
 was determined for it hy the slopes of tlu' drift, and the arranj^e- 
 meiit of these slojx's hai)pened to iiiiide the water aci'oss the 
 buried channel at the AVhirli)ool. In malgni;' th<' w'<>'"p!."<' from the 
 AVhirljxM*! to the escari»uient, an<l also in makin«;' the u])i)er part 
 of the .n'oru'c, the I'iver found hard I'ock to he reuioved; and it 
 woi'ked as a quarryman, diii',i;in,u' d<»wn helow in the softer rocks 
 with such tools as it had to use, and thus underminin.u,' the lime- 
 stone ca}). At the AVhirlpool there was no uee<l to (juarry, be- 
 cause there was no limestoue cap; and, to carry out the homely 
 fiii'ure, the i-iver mei'cly du*;' in a li'ravel pit, sliovelinj>; the loose 
 drift ([uickly away. This work of excavation did not cease 
 when a channel of the usual width had b«'en opened, because the 
 auii'le in the course of the river set the <'urreut stron<>:ly against 
 the bank of drift, and caused it to dear out a basin in the old 
 <'hannel. Ha<l the drift been wholly, as it is pai'tly, of saud, still 
 more of it avouM have been carried out; but it incluih'd large 
 bowldei's, aud tli'se were soi-ted out aud accuuiulated until they 
 uiade a sloping wall or sheathiug', wliieh covers all that part of 
 the sand below the level of the pool, and resists further enoroaeh- 
 uieut by the water. So the peculiar forui of the i'iver at this 
 place was caust'd by the old chaunel with its tilling of loose sand 
 and gravel. The looped current evidently depends on the pecul- 
 iar shape of the channel. The water enters the pool with such 
 iuipetus that it is carried past the outlet, and the I'eturu curreut 
 follows th(^ bottom of the pool because that route is the easiest. 
 
 TIME. 
 
 Just under the escarpuient where it is divided by the river 
 staud two villages, — the American village of Lewistou, the 
 Caiuidian village of Queenstou. Lewistcni is built partly ou au 
 old beach of Lake Ii'ocjuois, and near its steauiboat wharf is a 
 gravel j>it where one cau see the pebbles that Avere wovu round 
 by rolling up and doAvn the old strand. That part of the escarp- 
 
TiMK. '2:ys 
 
 uieut whicli overlooks Lewistoii is souicwliat ttM-rjicod, oi' divided 
 into st»')>s, ;iiid was called "The Tlifee Mountains" a century 
 aji'o, when loads that had ]»een hrou.u'ht by hoat to the landing' 
 (Lewiston) Avere toilsomely cai'i-ied up the steep ascent on t .eir 
 way to othei' Itoats j>lyin<i,- on the upjtei- Nia^'ava. 
 
 The escarpment a hove (^ueenston is called (^)ueenst on Ileiiihts; 
 and from its ei'est rises Brock's monument, a slen<ler slialt <'oni- 
 memorati\e of a battle between iii'itish iind Amei'ican soldiers. 
 Within this shaft is a s])ii-al staircase, and tVoin a little chambei- 
 neai' the toji one can look throunh ]>ortholes fai' away in all 
 • lirections. Eastward and westward inns the escarjtnient, and 
 the eye follows it for uiany miles. South wai-d stretdies the 
 n]>})er ])laiii, di\'ei*sitied by low, rolling"' hills, and divided in the 
 foreground by the .n'org'e. lu the still air a clovid of spi-ay ho\-- 
 ers over the cataract, and a cloud of smoke at th<' hori/on tells 
 of Buffalo. Northward lit's lilue Ontario, and strai^'lit tn its 
 shore flows the (h>ep-elunnieled, majestic Niagara, di\idini;' the 
 smooth «jreen loAvland into ])arts even nioi'c closely kin than the 
 Iti'other uatious by which they are tilled. Beyond the Avatei-, an<l 
 forty unles away, ji'leams Scarboi'o ( 'liff, where the lake waves are 
 underniiniuii" a hill of drift; and twentv or thirty uiiles farther 
 the iina«'iuation may supply — wliat the eai'th's roundness <'on- 
 ceals froui the eye — a hiuher upland that l)oun<ls the Ontario 
 basin. 
 
 Tlie Bi'ock uionuuient, theXiaijara jioru'c, and the Ontario 
 basin aiv three pnxlucts of human or of natural work, so related 
 to time that their mapiitudes help the mind in g'raspinii; the time 
 factor in Nia,iiara history. The monument, measured in diameter 
 by feet and in heiiilit by scores of feet, stands for the epoch of 
 the wlnte nuin in Amei-ica. The li'orj^i', measured in width l»y 
 hundreds of yards and in length ]>y miles, stands for the ejioch 
 since the ice age. The basin, measured in width by sco)-es of 
 miles and in length by hundreds of miles, stands foi' a period be- 
 fore the ice, when the u]»lands and lowlands of the region were 
 carved fi-om a still greater upland. The monument is half a 
 century old; the gorge was begun some tens or hundreds, or 
 possddy tliousands, of centuries ago; and the hollowing of the 
 basin c<»nsumed a time so far lieyond oui' compi'eliension that 
 we can only say it is related to the gorge epoch in sonu' su<'h way 
 as the gorge epoch is related to the monument's half century. 
 
 The glacier nuide changes in the Ontario l»asin. but they were 
 
 
2M 
 
 MA(i.\ll.\ I'AIJ-S AND TIIKIl! IIISToKW 
 
 I I 
 
 I • 
 
 I 
 
 siimll in oomiiarisoii willi its ori«;iiml si/r, uiid the hasiii is cliiolly 
 the work of other nji;<'iits. Hct'oi'c tlic jjUumuI »<;•«' it was a I'ivcj- 
 vallry, uixl we may obtain sonic idea of its oi'i<;Mii ])y tliiiikiii<;' of 
 tlir Nia,uara ,uor<;»' as tlic l)('<iinnin<;' of a I'ivrf valley, and ti'vin<;' 
 to inia>;iiH' its mode of j^rowinj;' hi'oadcr. It lias already Iieeii 
 exi)laiiied (p. 2lS) tluit the ^orjic walls fall hack a littl«> after the 
 cataract has hewn them out, but seem to eonie to rest as soon as 
 all the shale is covered by talus. So uearly do they ai>i>roacli 
 rest that their protile is as steep near the mouth of the ,ti'or<;e as 
 it is one mile below the cataract; but, in fact, they are not un- 
 changiiijj,. \Vat»M' ti"ickliii<i,' over the limestone clitt" dissolves a 
 uiinuteiiuantity of the rock. This makes it porous, tiud lichens 
 take I'oot. Licheusand other plants add something;' to the watei- 
 tha. incrt'ases its solvent jMnver. The frau'nients of the talus aic 
 eaten faster b(>cause they exiyose uiore surface. Each winter the 
 frost distui'bs some of the stones of the talus, so that they slowly 
 uiove down tlio slope; aud whei-ever the shale is laid bare, frost 
 and i-ain attack it agaiu. Thus, with ahnost intinite slowness, — 
 so slowly that tlu' entire aji"<' of the gorji,*' is too short a unit for 
 its measurement, — the walls of the gor^'c are reti'cating from the 
 river. At the same tiuie e\-ery creek that falls into the gorye is 
 making a narrow side goi'ge. The strongest of them has worked 
 back only a few Innalred feet (Fig. 1.")); but in time they will 
 trench the i»lain in many dii-ections, aud each trench will open 
 two walls to the attack of the elements. Spa<'e foi'bids that we 
 trace the 2)rocess further; but enough has been said to sIk)w 
 that valleys are made far more slowly than gorges, and that the 
 ancient shaping of the land into valley and upland was a far 
 greatei' task than the comparatively modern digging of the 
 gorge. 
 
 The middle tei'ui of our time scale, the age of the gorge, has 
 excited great interest, because the visihle work of the river and 
 the visible dimensions of the gorge seem to afford a means of 
 measuring in years one of the periods of which geologic time is 
 com})osed. To measure the age of the river is to determine the 
 anti([uity of the close of the ice age. The pi-incipal data for the 
 UK^isurenient are as follows: (1) The gorge now grows longer at 
 the rate of four or five feet a year, and its total length is six or 
 seven miles. (2) At the Whirlpool the rate of gorge making- 
 was relatively very fast, bt>cause oidy loose material had to be 
 removed. Whether the old channel ended at the Whirljiool, or 
 
 
TIME. 
 
 L':i5 
 
 oxteiult'd for somo distance* southwiii'd on tlu* line <»r the river, is 
 u matter of doubt. (IJ) Part of the time the volume of the river 
 was so much h>ss that the rate of recession wns more like that of 
 tlie American Fall than that of the Horseshoe. Some sug«;estions 
 as to the compai'ative extent of sk)W work iind fast work are to 
 be obtained from the })rofil(* of the bottom of the ju:orf;;e. \Vhilt3 
 the vobime of the river was Uirge, we may supposi* that it dug 
 deeply, just ! it now digs nn(h'r tlu' Horseshoe Fall (see p. I'K!) ; 
 while tlie volume was small, we may suppose that a deep pool 
 
 Fio. '21. — Lonffitudiiial Section of tlio Ningiira Gorgp, with Dia(?i'am of tlic 
 
 Wfstt'ni Wall. 
 
 The biiHP line i» iit sen Icvfl. It 1« (Uvldcd into iiiIIph. Wntor, hliick ; drift, (lotted; Niiipira 
 
 limestone in bloek pattern ; Hliiiles, lirolien lines; K, tallH: It, liillway liridgen; 
 
 W, whirlpool; Foster, Foster l-'lat*; K, eseuriiiuent. 
 
 was not nuide. Fig. 121 exhibits the approximate deitth of the 
 water channel through the length of the gorge; and by examin- 
 ing it the reader will see tluit the depth is great near the mouth 
 of the gorge, again from the head of Foster Flats to the Whirl- 
 pool, aud theu from the bridges to the Horseshoe Fall. It is 
 small, imlicating slow recession, in th<> neighborhood of Foster 
 Flats, and also between the AVhirlpool and the railroad lii'idges. 
 The problem is coni})licat(>d by other factors, but they are prob- 
 ably less important than thost^ stated. 
 
 Before the nuidtn-u rate of recession had been det(n'mined, 
 there were many estimates of the age of the river; l)ut their 
 basis of fact was so slender that they were hardly more than 
 guesses. The first estimate with a better foundation was made 
 by Dr. eTulius Pohlman, who took account of the measured rate 
 of recession and the iulluence of the old <'liannel at the Whirl- 
 pool ; he thought the I'iver not older than 3,500 years. Dr. J. W. 
 Spencer, adding to these factors the variations in the river's 
 volume, computes the river's age as 3'2,()()() years. Mr. Warren 
 Upham, having the same facts before him, thinks 7,000 years a 
 more reasonable estimate. And Mr. F. B. Tayloi', while re- 
 garding the data as altogether insufficient for the solution of 
 the problem, is of opinion that Mr. Upham's estimate should be 
 multiplied by a number consisting of tens rather than units. 
 Thus estimates founded on substantially the same facts range 
 
Ml 
 
 236 
 
 NIAOAKA FALLS AND IIIKIIi HIHTUllV. 
 
 from thousands of yoars to hundreds of thoustuuls of years. 
 For niyself, I uni disposed to agree with Mr. Taylor, that no es- 
 timate yet made has great value, and tlie liest result ol>tttinable 
 nuiy perhaps bo only a rough approximation. 
 
 '•I'l 
 
 BOOKH Ol' HKFEKENCE. 
 
 Hall,, Basii,, U.N. Forty Etcliiii>,'H, fnnii SkctchcH iiiado with tlir> Pnmpra Liwlda in 
 Nortli Aim-rica in \H'2~ mid W2H. K(liiil)iii%'li and London, 1S'_'!). 
 
 Haul, .Iamks. Niafjtara Falls: itH rant, i'rcscnt, and iVoHpective CoudiUon (Nat. 
 HiHt. of New York, Ueohw, I'art IV.). AUiaiiy, 1H4;!. 
 
 Lyki.i-, CiiAUi.KH. TnivcU in North Amorica. London, 1H45. 
 
 Tyndai.l, .FoiiN. Some CMisi-rvations on Niaj,'ara (Popular Science Monthly, vol. iii., 
 
 IHTIt). 
 PoiiLMAN, .Ti-Mfs. Th(* Life-History of Niagara (TraiiH, Am. Inst. M ining Engineers, 
 
 1888). 
 GlUiKUT, a. K. Tho History of the Niagara River (Sixth Ann. Kept, romniissioners 
 
 State Ueservation at Niagara). All)any, 1890. 
 KiBBE, Auo. 8. Kcport of the Survey to determine the Crest Lines of the Falls of 
 
 Niagara in 1890 (Seventh Ann. Kept. Commissioners State Ueservation at 
 
 Niagara). Albany, 1891. 
 SiiAi.EK. N. S. The Oeology of Niagara Falls (The Niagara Book). BulTalo, 1893. 
 Si'ENCEK, J. VV. Tho Duration of Niagara Falls (Am. .Tour. Science, 3d Series, vol. 
 
 xlviii., 1894). 
 Tayi.oh, F. H. Niagara and the Ureat Lakes (Am. Jour. Science, 3d Series, vol. 
 
 xlix., 189u). 
 
Mr«'^i'. .'li.