News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-12-04
THE ORIGIN OF NIAGARA.
HOW THE GREAT CATARACT AND
GORGE WERE FORMED.
A Graphic and Interesting Account OF
Those Now Famous Places by DIR.
POhlman.

Graphic and Interesting Account OF
| Those Now Famous Places by DIR.
POhIman.
From the Buffalo Courier.l
DR.. julius Pohlman says: SIN tracing
the origin of this river, about whose
banks cling such recollections of mys-
terry and tragedy, we must go back to
the pre-glacial times when the bed of
the great lakes was occupied by river
and Tonawanda Valley contained a lake
fifty miles in length and from ten to
twenty miles in width, with possible
maximum depth of sixty feet. The
stone formation. Being about fifty feet
lower than the southern one, the over
| flow of water was toward the Ontario
Valley. The outlet found its way into
the present channel of Niagara River
somewhere near the Upper rapids OF the
river above the falls.
'iFrom here the waters met no obstacle
and in their flow predetermined the river
gorge between the falls and the whirl-
pool, and continued in a straight course
north, through the side of the whirl-
pool, and thence through the Valley of
| ST. David's in Canada and onward
through the Ontario Valley. l have
made careful searches, and find this track
of the river from the whirlpool through
Canada. By and by the Tonawanda
Lake began to subside, and finally was
reduced to river with a wide, low val
ley on each side. The course of the
river in making its way out of the valley
of the ancient lake changed. 1t flowed
into the channel of the present Niagara,
where the present Tonawsnda River
enters now. 1t curved around the
southern margin of Grand Island, which
formed shallow part of the northern
margin of the lake, and had risen as a
peninsula in the course of time, and then
flowed north into the original channel of
the outlet, thus determining the two
branches of the present river. The
branch of the Niagara River which sep
arates the island from the mainland Is of
quite modern origin, as testified to by
soundings. Well, the erosion across the
thin bed of Niagara limestone naturally
cut one or the other parts of the outlet
| deeper than the rest, and combining the
smaller channels gave birth to a number
of larger and smaller islands, known at
present as Goat, Bath, Luna, the Sisters,
and so forth.
"The branches of the river Joined
again into one stream as they approached
the heavy Niagara limestone at about
the site of the new suspension or foot
bridge, and rushed north for about
three-quarters of mile, where they fell
over precip;ce of about one hundred
feet. Goat Island extended northerly
in triangular prolongation with its apex
somewhere abreast of the northern end
of the present American fall. Below
this fall of one hundred feet that have
spoken of the river descended in rapids
over shale until it encountered the Gin
ton limestone, near the railway suspen-
sion bridge, where it took another leap.
From here a short rapid carried it to the
entrance of the whirlpool, where another
fall was caused by quartzose sandstone
of the Medina group. Thence there
was rapid current to Ontario basin.
The volume of water then was exceed
ingly small as compared with the esti-
mated 90, 100000 cubic feet of the pres
ent. Now, at the time of the glacial |
period the movement of the ice sheet |
was in a northeasterly direction. The |
channel of the great river which I re, |
marked abont in the beginning was ex- |
cavated deeply and the valley of the
great lakes was formed. When the Arc
tic climate again changed into temper
ate one, the ice sheet retreated north |
west, and in its melting spread over the
land all the ground-up material as well |
as the rocks which had been caught up |
and carried under, and the valleys of the |
st. David's, Tonawanda and others were |
more or less filled up with drift The |
ol OF hn OI1 10 |
from the whirlpool was also in |
Guided in the filling process. After long |
ages the ice disappeared and the bed it |
lad occupied became the seat of the
chain of great lakes. At this time Lakes
Erie and Ontario formed two large bodies |
of water and we're at the same level |
that is, their surfaces were even with |
Lewiston Heights. The waters in the
lakes began to suhside and a mud fiat
appeared between them, extending from
Buffalo to Lewiston. An outlet from |
Lake Erie was formed through this flat,
and we have the present Niagara
River"
81 have always been taught that Nj
agara Falls were originally at Lewiston |
and wore their way back" said the re-
porter.
"That is the popular theory, but it is
erroneous. In that case we must sup.
pose that Like Ontario was lower pri-
Marty than Lake Erie. 1t was not. / |
nave found traces of the beach which its |
urface touched up on the mountain side. |
Both lakes subsidized together, and Mag
ra RIVER wore out its present channel |
u flowing from one lake to another. OF |
course you understand it has required |
ages, thousands of years, to accomplish |
his work.
"Why didn't the river follow the old |
channel and empty through ST. David's |
Valley ?"
because the valley was drift-flled, !
md there was not shallow valley from |
the whirlpool to Lewiston. The erosion |
vas very rapid. 1t was the line of the |
least resistance. Hence the bend of the |
river at right angles at the whirlpool is
accounted for. As the excaN att III of the |
lower gorge was progressing the falls of |
the pre-glacial river came again into &C
zion. The two lower falls became rapids |
and the upper fall began to recede in
horseshoe form. The retrocession
brought it TO the apex of Goat Island.
opposite Prospect Park, when the cata:
-act divided and formed the American |
and Horseshoe falls. The northern |
margin of Goat Island was quickly un-
dermined and destroyed by the combined
action of the waters, and was compelled
to recede with the Canadian fall"
Have the falls retreated recently, and
if so, how far ?"
"We have few measurements, and it
is great pity. By comparing a survey
made by Professor Hall, in 1847, with
one in 1876 we find that the Horseshoe
Fall has retreated 100 feet in thirty-four
years"