The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-17 00:00:00

THE FALLS OF THE NIAGARA.

The Falls of the Niagara afford a magnificent ex-
ample of the progressive excavation of a deep valley in
a solid rock. That river flows from Lake Erie to Lake
Ontario, the former lake being 330 feet above the
latter, and the distance between them being 32 miles.
On flowing out of the upper lake the river is almost on
a level with its hanks, so that if it should rise perpendi-
cularly eight or ten feet, it would lay under water the
adjacent flat country of Upper Canada on the west,
and of the state of New York on the east. The river,
where it issues, is about three-quarters of a mile in
width. Before reaching the Falls it is propelled with
great rapidity, being a mile broad, about 25 feet deep,
and having a descent of 50 feet in half a mile. An
island at the very verge of the cataract divides it into
two sheets of water ; one of there, called the Horse-
shce Fall, is 600 yards wide, and 158 feet perpendicular ;
the other, called the American Falls, is about 200 yards
in width, and 164 feet in height. The breadth of the is-
land is about 500 yards. This great sheet of water is pre-
cipitated over a ledge of hard limestone, in horizontal
strata, below which is a somewhat greater thickness of
soft shale, which decays and crumbles away more ra.
pidly, so that the calcareous rock forms en overhang-
ing mass, projecting forty feet or more above the hol-
low space below. The blasts of wind, charged with
spray, which rise out of the pool into which this enor-
mous cascade is projected, strike against the shale beds,
so that their disintegration is constant. They also
waste away at certain seasons by the expansive act'on
of frost. The superincumbent limestone being thus
left without a foundation, falls from time to time in
rocky masses. When these enormous fragments de-
scend, a shock is felt at Jame distance, accompanied by
a noise like a distant clap of thunder. Alter the
river has passed over the Falls, its character, observes
Captain Hall, is immediately and completely changed.
It then runs furiously along the bottom of a deep •wall-
skied valley, or huge trench, which has been cut into
the horizontal strata by the continued action of the
stream during the lapse of ages. The Led of the river
here is strewed over with huge fragments of rock ; the
t.l fis on both siees are in most places perpendicular, and
the ravine is only perceived on approaching the edge of
the precipice. The waters, which expand at the Falls,
where they arc divided by the island, are contracted
again, after their union, into a stream not more than
160 yards broad. It is remarkable that the water of
the pool into which the cataract is precipitated, and
that of the narrow channel immediately below, instead
of being in a state of tremendous agitation, is so tran-
quil as to allow a ferry-boat to cross with case, and
even to approach within the reach of the spray,
without experiencing any unusual motion. Various
explanations have Lem offered of this phenomenon.
According to Mr. Gibson, tho vast body of sea-green
water, instead of plunging deep, as a solid column
lightlyom f brokenr.theß
would do, into the sheet below, is drawn out in its de-
is
by
scent of 160 feet into white rolls of- attentlated foam.
fle conceives, therefore, that most of the water falls
ibn.aßyl
it,:hti
he forme
\v.h
debrise of spray,twhhei
cFh
l,andFalls
wimmediatelyet iriee fvo ofirsteed a
itntb
tlehBer2e9sf
foot
who had livecdvv:4l3l'yjetianrs.'inhtehaatscpearsttaiontectlhefrocmou
had been the first 'natrpye,rasnocnl
the Falls
o„,i settler there, that during that period
yards, in
consequence
Canada side had receded 40 or 50
the shale, and :trice of the continued removal of
It secuaser(iltug. of the limestone, above de-
scribed.rate of recession of the .rltlito speculate on tae future
height of the precipice may' Falls, for as they retreat the
by the varying hardnoas oth'' reduced or augmented
rocks, the division of the
stream by islands, and other
In"ifYing circumstances.
If in the course of many thousand
should reach Lake Erie, 25 miles
sa Jeers the Falls
distant
might be effectually drained, inasinucilas the present
that lake
height of the Falls far exceeds the greatest de ti of
l the
lake. It has been supposed that in this case thele sudden
escape of the water might occasion a deluge on the low
lands bordering Ontario ; but in reply, air.
Del
Beebe has objected, that as the bottom of Lake Erie
shelves very gently from the shore, the discharge, even
after the cataract had receded to the lake, would take
place gradually, and it would require time before the
river channel was cut back to where the water is
deepest. It may also be questioned whether the entire
area of Lake Erie may not be converted into dry land
' before the falls recede to its shores, so shallow is this
lake, its average depth being only 10 or 12 fathoms,
and so fast is it filling up with sediment.