VIEW PEOM POWELL’S PLATEAU. 
165 
be seen, but from distant points to the southward it is very conspicuous 
for its splendid alcoves, buttresses, and cusps, which are carved upon a 
scale of grandeur somewhat unusual even for the Grand Canon. Nothing 
can surpass the magnificence of the Red Wall group along the facade. Its 
entire bulk is presented in a single plinth, which is recessed by alcoves or 
deep panels 1,200 to 1,500 feet wide, with finely sculptured buttresses 
intervening between them. Very ornate also are the rows of pinnacles 
carved out of the cherty limestone forming the summit stratum of the pla- 
teau. These are well displayed upon the eastern crest. They are from 
180 to 200 feet high and stand about 100 feet apart. 
Towards the west, Powell’s Plateau divides into a series of slender 
promontories pointing towards the river, and several of these have detached 
buttes just beyond the main cusps. The view from this end is also instruct- 
ive as well as very grand. The river here is gradually passing out of and 
above the granite, and the topography of the cation passes by a gradual 
transition from the features peculiar to the Kaibab to those of the Kanab 
division. The Red Wall group is much less eroded than in the heart of 
the Kaibab division, but much more so than in the Kanab. The great 
middle terrace of the Kanab division begins to appear. It is much cut 
up by side gorges and minor amphitheaters, but the greater part of its mass 
still remains. Towards the west and northwest these lateral gorges in the 
Red Wall group become fewer and smaller, while towards the southeast 
they become more numerous, deeper, and wider, until only the cloister 
buttes remain. All this is indicative of a more advanced stage of the gen- 
eral erosion in the Kaibab than in the Kanab division. This in turn may 
be traced directly to the greater altitude and greater rainfall of the former 
with a correspondingly greater efficiency of the eroding agents and causes. 
On the return from Powell’s Plateau to the Kaibab it will be interest- 
ing to look into the great gorge which has received the name of Muav 
Cation. It heads at the saddle and extends southward, opening into the 
channel which drains the next great amphitheater. As we look into it we 
are in a measure shut out from the view of the immense spectacle displayed 
in the main chasm, and the mind is not under the sway of those over- 
whelming effects which the panoramic scenery of the canon always pro- 
