TWO NATURAL BRIDGES. 77 



the mountain, the water from the spring is an important agency in under- 

 mining the separated part and forming the bridge arch. 



Sewanee natural bridge. The Sewanee natural bridge is located in 

 Franklin County, three miles northwest of Sewanee, on the west side of 

 Lost Cove. The capstone of the mountain at this point, the Sewanee con- 

 glomerate, is the rock in which the bridge occurs. Going down a slight 

 declivity for a hundred yards, one suddenly comes to the upper bluff and 



FIG. 1. Sewanee natural bridge. (Photo by Judd.) 



sees lying at his feet this wonder of the Cumberland Mountains, while 

 beyond stretches out the narrow, sinuous valley of Lost Cove, flanked by 

 the densely wooded mountains in the distance. In the autumn, when the 

 foliage takes on the colors of the rainbow, this picturesque spot supplies 

 a scene of charming beauty. 



The bridge is made of coarse, white, alternating hard and soft sand- 

 stone, containing a few small, white, quartz pebbles. The length of the 

 inner span is 27 feet, its height 18 feet, while the thickness of the rock in 

 the center is five feet. At this point it is made of two thin parallel bands 

 of sandstone, the lower one three feet, and upper one two feet thick. The 

 width of the arch at this point is seven feet. The length of the bridge 

 from where it leaves the main bluff to where it joins again, is 130 feet. 

 At the ends of the bridge the width has increased from 7 to 25 feet. The 



