Evening star., 1936-05-09

~ lONEER Gays are mere again!
II A new trail will be blazed by
Washington sightseers. The
L Nations first official metro
politan Geological Wonders" tour is
planned for the District of Columbia
by the National Parks Service. Donald
Edward McHenry, Grand Canyon
Park naturalist, will conduct the
unique tour similar to those of our
famous national parks.
Few people realize the unheralded
wealth of natural phenomena included
within the limits of the Nations
Capital.
Petrified wood, $4,000, 900 years old,
is found near Soldiers Home. Traces
of gold and iron deposits are within
our city limits Fossil sharks teeth
as large as the hand and dinosaur
bones collected here tell the tragic
fate of ancient monsters. Remnants
of ancient mountains, perhaps three
to five miles high, remain in George
town, and Great Falls once roared
where Key Bridge now stands.
Scientists from all parts of the world
have long studied two strange rock
outcrops near Eighteenth and Harvard
streets. The curious public, however,
has wondered over the significance of
these unusual outcrops. One reveals
a gap of millions of years in the
record of the earth. The other dra-
matically exposes. more eloquently
than words, the result of the twisting
and warping of the earth's crust. Such
exposures are exceedingly rare in a
large city, and geologists are zealouSly
endeavoring to preserve them.
Park Naturalist McHenry, recently
transferred to Washington after four
years of lecture and nature service at
Grand Canyon, is well equipped to
relate the fascinating story of Wash
ington geology. Strikingly sturdy, this
blond, rangy leader, a former professor
of botany at Oklahoma A. and NJ, is
well versed in many branches of
nature studies. Inspired by DR.. Ray
S. Bassler. internationally known
geologist of the United States National
Museum, who has acquainted numer-
GUS science students with the local
natural phenomena, McHenry planned
this interesting itinerary.
Upon studying former program OF
nature activities for the general pub
lie here" McHenry said, Il was sur
prised to learn that local flowers and
birds have been emphasized more
than the unusual geological phe-
nomena of Washington"
THIS unique 12-mile tour will start
l. at ! o'clock, Sunday, May II, from
the front entrance of the new Ma
tional Museum, on the Mall. AL
though the sightseers will proceed
by automobile, every one is advised to
wear hiking clothes. Those without
cars may communicate with Mr.. Nc
Henry at the National Capital parks
offices in the Navy Building, telephone
National $500, and transportation will
be arranged at a nominal fee.
Leaving the museum, the tourists
will follow McHenry to Thirty-sixth
street and Prospect avenue in George
town, the initial point of interest.
Great Falls, millions of years ago,
actually dominated the stretch of Po-
tomac River visible from here. The
swift waters have slowly eaten deep
gorge through the dark blue igneous
rocks to the present position. Nc
Henry clearly explains this by phe-
nomena observed from the vantage
point near the river.
Conspicuous in the distance are the
Arlington radio towers. Northwest of
the towers one sees the level horizon.
But southwark sharp descent is fol-
lowed by another long, smooth plain.
The upper level is part Of the Pied
mont Plateau. From the Blue Ridge
Mountains it extends eastward, a
broad, undulating plateau of hard
ancient rock.
The low-lying plain south of the
towers is a portion Of the Atlantic
Coastal Plain, which lies between the
plateau and the Atlantic Ocean, COM
posed mostly of sand, clay and gravel
deposits.
Together, these two photographic
areas cover most of the Eastern
United States.
The boundary between the Pied
mont and Coastal Plains is called the
Fall Line. Falls and rapids easily
form along the line where hard rocks
and soft, sandy deposits meet. The
early settlements were built along the
FAN Line, because of the available
waterpower and the fact that the
head Of navigation is here. For these
reasons. Washington. philadelphia
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