The Cordova daily times., 1920-02-17

natural wonders within few
 hours motor ride of busy city, says
 London Graphic. Yet such is the story
 of Red Rock canyon, in southern Cali
 fornia, an enchanted spot so rich in
 it's unique beauty, and of such scien-
 tific import that the president of the
 United States is asked by some of
 the leading men and organizations of
 the Pacific coast to set it apart as a
 national monument. This romantic
 rainbow-hued gorge contains a wealth of amazing structures reared and carved and even painted by the ele- ments, and yet comparable only to the classics of ancient and modern archi- lecture. Its fossil beds, practically un- touched, give promise of paleontolog- ical treasure, and recent finds in it's caves interest ethnologists.
 The canyon is gash in the south ern end of the Sierra Nevada noun tains. Its mouth opens upon the northwestern edge of the Mojave des- 'ert. It is 126 miles from Los Angeles. For nearly century the prosaic pio- neers who passed that remote way paid no heed to it's vivid charm. It was the decision to extend the state high way from Los Angeles to Bishop that led to the discovery of the beauties of this gorge. Until the surveyors re- turned and reported the existence of strange and wonderful rock formations nf ;o Is, all the more remarkable when we remember the Americans love of travel, and that these are the days of railways and motorcars. Shortly now the canyon with its many won- ders will be on the main trail of civ i1fzation, and tens of thousands of tourists and others will soon admire it with rapture and astonishment The new roadway approaches to within 50 feet of the scenic marvels which the government is petitioned to protect and preserve. =: - ..
 Miracles of Form and Color.
 That section of the canyon which contains the inspiring works embraces a little more than four square miles, is several miles removed from the desert, and lies at an altitude of 5000 feet. On approach from either direction turn brings the walled-in miracles of form and color suddenly into view-an entrancing picture; pillars and col umns, plain and f1uted and chased; pilasters and colonnades, tiny and ti- tanic, tier upop tier, mile after mile, far skyward; arcades, balustrades, cor ridors; temples, castles, cathedrals, towers, domes, spires, sphnxes, gar goyles-all perfectly nodded and ex- quisitely adorned by the lord of crea- tion. ! Moreover, they are untouched and unmaPfed as yet by the blundering vandal hand of man; buried city, an acropolis, and scores of other fan cies become realities. On an eminence at the canyons head stands the Tenn pie of the Sun, an impressive gray pile, 125 feet high. approached through a series of terraced entranceways, with partially crumbled walls forming an elhptical inclosure approximately 15O feet in diameter-an ideal amphi- theater. Those who look upon this temple find it difficult to believe that 1t is not human handiwork. Near by, the mystic region, rises the Sentinel Tower, imposing rather than beautiful. It is apparent ly harder and more substantial than its neighbor. Biologists say it has held It's commanding bulk aloft for thousands of centuries. The walls are pinkish gray, and the ponderous flinty capstones a brilliant red. A mile di- agonally opposite is the colossal pile known as the Acropolis. This is, per haps, the crowning feature. More than 450 feet high and 1000 feet long and solemnly aloof, 1t has been likened to the Athenian Acropolis because of a marked resemblance, and as we'll to the mammoth temple ruins of Baalbec in northern Syria. Seen from any angle 1t is mysterious, awe-compelling, cer- tain to leave lasting imprint on the mind of all observers. .e as.
 The Closed Cathedral.
 Still is another masterpiece ln the Closed Cathedral, study in magnifi- cent coloring, so gorgeous and yet so softly harmonious that no wielder Of the brush dares hope to equal It. It is of tremendous size, with an en- trance 25 feet high and 15 feet wide. solidly blocked at depth of l2 feet. Pure white, deep blue, yellow, red, green, and all the intervening shades figure in the decorative scheme, and in places give the suggestion or stained glass windows. The whole as- pect is of antiquity, enhanced by crack or fault diagonally through the front-evidence of slide before the processes of erosion began. The ca thedral effect is so realistic that one inyoluntarily listens for bells to in- +oro +ho hnur Or ca1l to prayers.