CHAPTER XI. 
THE PARIA PLATEAU AND MARBLE CANON PLATFORM. 
Triassic strata of the Paria Plateau. — Recession of cliffs and the effect of faulting upon its rate. — Causes 
of retardation in the recession. — Drainage system of the surface of the plateau. — Valley of the 
Paria River. — House Rock Valley. — The smaller drainage channels attributed to the moist climate 
of the glacial period. — The Marble Caiion platform. — The Marble Cation. — The Little Colorado 
and its relations to the region through which it runs. — The Echo Cliff monocline. 
The platform between the Echo Cliffs and the Kaibab possesses some 
features which merit a brief notice. It is divisible into two subordinate 
portions. Upon the north of it is an extension of the Triassic formation, 
which forms a terrace of considerably greater altitude than the remaining 
portion. The southern portion has for its surface the Carboniferous for- 
mation and contains the Marble Canon. The Triassic portion has received 
the name of the Paria Plateau, and the other has throughout this work 
been called the Marble Canon platform. 
The Paria Plateau presents some very instructive considerations in 
connection with the recession of cliffs. To appreciate them it is necessary 
to glance at the structural, topographic, and stratigraphic relations. An 
examination of the map will show that this plateau consists of a mass of 
Triassic beds which project far beyond the main line of the Vermilion Cliffs. 
At the village of Paria the main front of the Vermilion Cliffs terminates 
abruptly. The marginal line of the Triassic formation here changes its 
trend, running southward along the Kaibab wall for a distance of nearly 
30 miles; then swinging easterly in a large semicircle reaches the Colorado 
at the head of the Marble Canon. In this semicircle the Triassic Cliffs are 
the exact countei’part in all respects of the main Vermilion Cliffs west of 
Paria village; only the line of frontage has for some reason been left far 
in advance of the main line. It is to be remembered here that the Paria 
Plateau is separated from the Kaibab mass by the great East Kaibab mono- 
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