The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1883-01-31

The rsi Of the series Of Hectares proposed 10 b
given by Prof. Hitchcock. under the auspices d
| tho Y. NJ. c. A. was delivered At the Iyeeum. Men
anu street on the evening Of the ssh inst and u
large audience. Mr.. Amasa Pratt, President u
| the Y. NJ, c. A. intreauced Prod. Hitchccck and
that gentleman spoke Substantially as fcllows
taking for his subject the . Falls Of Niagara
The Niagara River i only Is miles long, con.
Meeting Lakes Erie and Ontario along the bound
AIRY between the Cni,ra States and Canada Il i
Of enormous dimensions, hovever. ioooooooo tons
Of water pour the prccipcc every hour. 20 tho
average depth of leo feet above the surface OF the
stream beneath. 20 the bottom Of the river Il ma,
be rs much more. Looking down upon II as from,
a balloon. We can see the whole course Of the
stream with its rapids whirlpool and quiet Gov,
and we and the country to be an elevated plateau,
nearly 600 feet above tho OCEAN. The edge OF the
plateau is the HIGHEST portion Of H. ss il slopes
sontheriy.
From Lake Enc. above, near Buffalo, il is %.
miles TO the Pals. Length Of the gorec or canon
below the Falls TO Lewiston, Is miles Prom
lewiston to Lake Ontario, II Is 81 miles Total Is
miles.
Elevation Of Lake Erie. SO feet above the ocean.
From the Lake 70 the Rspids-iS feet descent
Rapids ls4-rnile lcns' 81
Descent in the gorge 100
Lake Ontario is sts feet above the ocean and
SIS feet below Lake Erie.
The FAN is divided ly Goat Island, giving what
is called the american FAll upon the east, 100
feet wide and l6t feet deep. and the Canadian or
Horsrshoe Fall. 200 Sect wide and lis feet deep.
The river Is miles wide. At y miles above the
Falls, and 100 feet at the Whirlpool. midway in
the gorge. The river has therefore been gaining
in width from the mouth of the gorge TO tho Falls.
The edge of the plateau has been called the Ma
cara esoarpment. II Is precipice facing Lake
Ontario and may be traced as much as so miles
through New York and Canada.
Now we can understand what has been done at
Niagara. With plateau inclined to the south 70
hind it. The waters from the various rivers in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Canada would
NIL up the basin TO its very edge. At Lewiston
there would seem to be slight depression where
would disappear and the gorge begin TO be ex-
cavated, then commenced the gradual falling Of
the water over the clid. pounding. hammering the
rocks below and washing out the palverised
material into the lower lake. The common opin-
ion is that the Falls had existence as distinct
to-day when the wearing action commenced, and
that the cataract has gradually cut Its way back
for several miles at the rate OF one foot annually,
thus requiring period of about 5000 years for
its accomplishment. As fast as the Fails reoeded
the great lake would become drained-for the cliff
is $50 feet high while the present cataract only leo
1t seems very simple matter to accept this gener
al conclusion-but there are several facts going TO
show ersa. many steps in this progress. First,
we have TO consider that the existence of catar-
act IN canon IS an exception TO the usual method
of erosion. You have heard Of the immense
OF miles of eorees, but no cataracts like Niagara
The descent IS greater and yet Niagara has hardly
ITS double IN any part Of the world. A river
viii naturally WEAK uniform channel in plateau
country. II the rock varies in character then the
gorge will wear faster in the soft places II the
softer rock is found at the lower part of the river
there may be u cataract where the hard rock joins
It. That IS the case At the present Niagara The
everything limestone Is quite hard and the shale
beneath is very soft and the rate Of excavation Of
the top Just balances the pounding of the soft
shale beneath, and thus the recession is uniform
at present.
the whirlpool. The river changes its course
abruptly AZ this point and it is very much narrower
below The water Is very swift. and any floating
object may rush with railroad speed around it for
days before passing out below. The residents fear
the Whirlpool as much as they do the rapids, and
Will not venture 50 much as to put hand or foot
into the water at either locality for fear Of being
drawn in On scrutinizing the walls of the whiri-
pool We md part Of it composed of sand and
gravel. and on looking further discover the outlines
of an ancient gorge filed up with earth running to
ST. Dayids, a distance of three miles. l under
stand this ancient gorge corresponds in width with
the wider part of the chAsm above the Whirlpool.
Here IS an additional fact in the history of Niagara
and 1t indicates the former discharge of tho waters
at St. David's instead of at Lewiston. and il ex-
plains the origin of the Whirlpool.
The lecturer next described wonderful ancient
channel across the plateau in Canada, discovered
only recently by Professor Spencer, and presented
the theory thSt Lakes Erie and Huron did not ex-
Isl them that this ancient Niagara river flowed
through these two lakes and joined Lake Ontario
at its extreme western angle The latter lake may
have been river also. The period must have
preceded the time of the st. Dayid's channel, be
cause the nature of the material filling the more
western ravine was introduced by the glaciers Of
the ice age while the sand in the latter seems TO
have been silted in after the ice had disappeared
Professor Hitchcock concluded his lecture by
saying that the periods indicated by the study OF
Niagara rocks included total span of S6l 600
wears and that even those figures DO not attempt
to even approximate TO the truth, but 10 impress
upon our minds the fact that geology requires rs
10 believe in the sxistanes of the eerth during
tumsnse period of time previous to the age Of man
On the evening of the 18th inst. Prof. Hitchcock
gave the second lecture in the course choosing as
his subject the " Ice Age" large audience was
present whom even the rainy and unpleasant
weather could not prevent from being present at
the literary treat presented. Prof Hitchcock went
to Hawaii yesterday. and the next lec.ure in the
course will not be gwen until early in March.