The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1885-01-08
HOW NIAGARA CAME ABOUT.
Tho Curious Story That Il Told BY .
J, GeOloglst,

Tho Curious Story That Il Told BY
Geologlst.
[Cor. Buffalo Courierl
DR.. Julius Pohlman, a local geologist
at Niagara Falls, gives the following
theory OF how the present cataract came
into existence: I'm tracing the origin
of this river, he said, I'VE must go away
back into 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 twelve miles in width, with posi-
BILE maximum depth OF sixty feet. The
northern barrier of the lake was of lime
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 the Niagara river
somewhere near the upper rapids of the
river above the falls. From here the
waters met no obstacle, and in their
flow predetermined the river gorge be-
tween the falls and the whirlpool, and
continued in q straight course north
through the side of the whirlpool, and
thence through the valley Of st. David's,
in Canada, and onward through the
Ontario valley.
81 have made careful searches and
find this track of the rivur from the
whirlpool through Canada. By and by
the Tonawanda lake began to subside,
and finally was reduced to river with
a wide, low valley 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
TOnawanda 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 peninsula in the course of
time-and then flowed north into the
original channel of the outlet, thus de-
termining the two branches of tho
present river. That branch of tho Mag
ara river which separates the island
from the main land 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,
etc.
"The branches of the river Joined
again into one stream as they ap
preached the heavy Niagara limestone
at about the site of the new suspension
or foot bridge, and rushed north fol
about three-quarters Of mile, WHORE
they fell over a precipice of over 100
feet. Goat island extended northwest.
erly in a triangular prolongation, with
it's apex somewhere abreast Of tb,
northern end of the present American
fall. Below this fall of 100 feet, that
have just spoken of, the river d.
scendcd in rapids over shale until it en-
countered the Clinton limestone nes
the railway suspension bridge, where i
took another leap. From here q shor
rapid carried it to the entrance, of tn
whirlpool, whore another fall was cause
by Quartzose sandstone Of the Medin
group. Thence therc was rapid cur
rent to Ontario basin. The volume o
water then was exceedingly small a
compared with the estimated 10000, 90
cubic feet minute OF the present.
| Now, at the time of the glacial perio
the movement of the ice sheet was in
northwesterly direction. The channt
of the great river which remarke
about in the beginning was excavatc
deeply, and the valley Of the geat lake
was formed. When the Arctic regio
again changed into temperate one, th
ice sheet retreated northward, and i
melting spread oyer all tho land tn
ground.up material, as we'll as the rock
which had been caught up an
carried under, and tho vale,
of St. David's, Tonawanda and Other
were more or less completely filed u
with drift. The channel of the old Tor
AMANDA river from the whirlpool WI
also included in the filing process
After long ages the ice disappeared, an
tho bed it bad occupied became the Sc;
,, of a chain of great lakes. At this tin
lakes Erie and Ontario formed two larl
bodies of water and were at the san
. level that is, their surfaces were eve
:. with Lewiston heights. The waters
tho lakes began to subside, and a mi
! flat appeared between them, extendir
/ from Buffalo to Lewiston. An outl
! from Lake Erie was formed through til
q iat, and we have the present Niaga
q river"
d Applications Of Luminous Paint.