The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1889-01-24
NIAGARA FALLS.
View of the Past and the Future
of the Grand Cataract.

Scientific View of the Past and the Future
of the Grand Cataract.
Julius Pohlman, ex-president of the
Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences,
has made a thorough research into the
geological and scientific history of
Niagara falls with special reference to
the time occupied by natural changes
in the cataract. their nature, effect,
and probable future character. He has
prepared paper embodying all these
points, prepared for the New York
Tribune, which is given below:
The first scientific survey of the falls
was made in 1912 by Prof. James Hall,
the state geologist of New York, and
all of our exact knowledge dates from
his maps. Prof. Hall then gave them
the height of the American fall as 167
feet and of the Horseshoe fall rs 15S
feet, counting the elevations from the
waters edge Oct A, 1912; and he adj
mits that this starting point can vary
from four to twenty feet with the rise
and fall of the water below the falls.
He gave the width of the American
fall at 600 feet and that of the Horse
shoe fall as 1900 feet.
The lake survey went over the
ground again in 1875, and in these
thirty-three years the southernmost
point of the Horseshoe fall has receded
16O feet, while i'm the brink of the
American fall differences of forty feet
were apparent.
When the American Association for
the Advancement of Science met here
in 1886 the section of geology decided
l,u #
session, and for that purpose Prof
Woodward of Washington and some
of his assistants surveyed the brink of
the falls again. They found an aver
age recession for the whole face of the
falls of about two and one-half feet
per annum; but as the central parts OF
the curve, where the water is deepest,
retreated faster than the edges the
southernmost point of the Horseshoe
fall was found to have travelled south
about 200 feet since 1875. or about 800
feet since 1842-nearly nine feet every
year. In view of such rapid changes
it seems highly probable that the old
est pictures of the falls, which always
place the Horseshoe fall considerably
nearer than they are to-day, are prac'
tically or at least partially correct.
If the rate of retrocession remains
during the next 500 years as it has
been for the last forty-tive years the
inner edge of the Horseshoe falls viii
have passed to the east of Goat island
and as the line of deepest water is neal
the Canadian shore all the waters o
the river will pass over the Horseshoe
fall, oblitcrating the American fall en-
tireiy and Transforming Goat islant
into a peninsula, on which the smalle
islands of to-day-Bath. Luna, Chaplin
etc.-will appear as little hilltops.
The fall will then perhaps be highe
than to-day, because the present de
scent of fifty feet over the rapids vii
be added to the height of the cataract
minus the number of feet needed t,
give the necessary current to the rive
below, which mt present is fifteen fee
to the mile. Considering that eve
now the Horseshoe fall no longer re
cedes south, but more east than south
which recession will be more easterl
vet in the course of time, it will hav
to travel about five miles in that direC
ton before the Niagara shaie, whic
now occnpies the lower half of the fac
| of the falls, is under water and the II
PROCESSION by means of undermining
stopped. For at present the change
: that take place are due to the fact thu
: the upper eighty feet of the face
, formed of hard limestone, while I'll
lower eighty feet is composed of sof
easily crumbling shale, which the spra
| can wash away with ease to such a
, extent that the everything limestone
lose their support, break off, and tun
) BILE down with corresponding chang
| in the appearance of the edge of IL
= falls. Then the changes will be a
4 complished simply by the erodir
power of the water, and the falls wi
G remain near the northern end of Graz
$ island for practically unlimited tim
We thus see that after the falls of t
: day have receded perhaps three-qua
l tcrs of mile there will be only on
! fall; and when that one fall has trave
) ed east and south four miles more an
reaches Grand island it will again b
divided into an American and Can;
. dian cataract, this time separated b
Grand island, and. like the falls of t.
5 day, the western branch will carry I'll
: largest amount of water, will reced
e faster, and. be the lower of the two
. height. The hope of finally hayin
4 the falls at Buffalo must be abandone'
for from that point of Grand island
I the city of Buffalo only rapids can e:
list on account of the nature of the vi
deriving rock, which is soft.
!. AS the retrocession of the falls
: Niagara began in what may be callt
, geologically the most recent period Il
!, time necessary for it to arrive at
= present site has had a very impOrta1
4 bearing upon the question of the as
. :. of man on the American continent. !
!, long as it was considered necessary
!, claim several hundred thousand yea
. for the age of Niagara alone the age
> the human race had to be computed
perhaps half million of years; l
;, matter how little such high fgur
agreed with other discoveries the rocl
, gorge of the Niagara always presents
an insurmountable obstacle again
I. any reduction of time. But since '
;, have discovered that after all Il
: work of excavation could have be-
= accomplished in perhaps 5000 yea
our computation of the age OF 4
: human race has settled down to re
:, sonable figures. which give to the be
y of sand and gravel in which the 0lde
human implements have been foul
> an age of perhaps 10000 to 600
years; and anthropologists claim tn
" all the facts so far collected agree wi