r Geology and Topography of Western New York. 108 
been the escarpment. In either case, the ravine could not have 
been formed. 
~ Bat let the reader Sunes , os river flo Wisi nearly on a level 
with its banks; the high prominences, A, B, ©, directing the 
course.of its current, and the less elevated bank, near the ravine, 
flooded at high tide. Let him imagine such a tidal wave as the 
Bore, or even an ordinary flow of a few feet rise, meeting t 
current of the river at this place, and he will readily perceive, ” 
that both currents would be deflected towards the ravine, which, 
as the elevation advanced, would be left dry at its upper extrem- 
ity, and new portions of its rocky bed « exposed to ple watery 
below the limestone strata, we may suppose the. inclined plane, 
to which I have alluded, and of which the present rapids formed 
the upper extremity, had attained its greatest extent. The more 
~ rapid disintegration of the shale would then undermine these 
harder strata, and the work of recession commence ; but whether 
at, or above the whirlpool, I have no data on which to form an 
pe certainly not below, however. 
re are other indications, further down the river, which 
strongly corroborate these views. The indent on the American 
side, called the Devil’s Hole, is a notch, embracing about two 
acres ; and to those who have not seen the place, its name, per- 
haps, may convey some idea of its gloomy and forbidding aspect. 
It is difficult to account for the excavation of this notch on any 
supposition but that of a force applied in the direction of the 
river from below. By inspecting the wood cut, -it will be per- 
ceived, that it is but the continuation of the gorge ; and this 
strikes the beholder with peculiar force when standing on the 
point E, and looking down the river. The high bank, also, on 
: ite shore, marked D, occupies a position well calculated 
to deflect the tidal wave directly into this notch. Bloody Run, 
which is laid down as entering the river through this chasm, 
drains but a few hundred acres, and is so situated, that a branch 
of the river could never have flowed through its channel ; were 
it not so, the thick bed of clay and gravel, which occupies the sur- 
face to within a few feet of the precipice, would be equally con- 
clusive’against the stipposition. Its bed is ‘perfectly dry, except 
during wet seasons of the year ; and it cannot be supposed to have 
done much towards this gigantic work of excavation. The name 
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