Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-19
ROCK SLIDE MAKES
CHANGE IN CONTOUR
OF NIAGARA FALLS

Continued From First Page.)
way. Tons Of falling debris were thrown
clear of the waterfall and plunged into
the river. Mist and spray from the
lower stream enveloped the falls, rising
hundreds Of feet in the air above the
brink. The detonation was terrific,
Frazier said. It shook the foundations
Of his home, the roar reverberating
through the gorge and re-echoing for
several seconds. Within few minutes
there was another terrific roar that
sounded as If the steel Of a great build
ing were being rent and shaken. and
another huge section of the rocky wall
and obscured his view of the cataracts,
Frazier said.
Cleveland Tourists See Slide.
Arthur Baker Of this city, with a
party of Cleveland tourists, was at
Prospect Point as the two slides oc-
Cured. q They obtained less Spectac-
ular view of the plunges of rock and
ice. Baker said the noise was terrific
as the first section of the brink gave
way and the mist and foam that rose
from the lower river obScured his view
CT the falls and the ground beneath
him trembled so that he was compelled
to grasp the iron railing that skirts the
gorge bank to keep his feet. The trem-
bling was like that caused by an earth
quake and Baker and his companions
were terror stricken. After the second
plunge of rock the mist cleared away
and Baker noted the deep cleft in the
brink of the cataract
Both Baker and Frazier place the
time of the first crashes of rock and ice
at between 5:35 and 5:45 pm. Saturday.
The Horseshoe, or Canadian Falls,
were not affected
The 1000-foot crest of the American
Falls before the slides was in an I'M
broken line, but there now is a rift in
the line about 300 feet from Luna
Island.
The U-shaped indentation in the
brink created by the slide is estimated
to be $50 to 200 feet deep and $50 feet
in width.
Cave Of Winds Unaffected.
Apparently the Cave Of the Winds has
not been affected, though the broken
rock and stone may have DISTRACTED the
pathway leading to this scenic feature
of the Falls. Because of the prevalence
CT ice and snow, no attempt has been
made to enter the cave. A fall Of rock
in the cave eight years ago injured sew
eral sightSeerS.
Interesting data on the erosion of the
falls was given today by Walter McCul-
lob, civil engineer of this city and who
for several years engineer to the Niagara
State Reservation Commission. Mr.. Nc
Culloh said that five or six years ago
he made a survey of the rocky bed of
the river just above the brink of the
American Falls when water was rum
ming very low and 1t was possible to
walk across the river bed.
Predicts Another Crash Soon.
At that time, he said, he noted a
crack in the rock about so or so feet
back from the brink of the falls. The
crevice was filled with debris and logs
and he. predicted at that time that the
rock would give way. A similar crevice
in the rock was noted by Mr.. McCulloh
about $50 feet out from Prospect Point.
He predicted today that this section
of the falls will crash soon.
DR.. Reginald H. Pegrum geology pro-
fessor at the University of Buffalo, said
that while erosion was the main cause
of the slide, Winter weather and the ice,
causing cracks and scars in the rock
surface, undoubtedly were contributing
factors.