Niagara Falls 



1843 ^ e autnor does not accept the theory that the gorge may have been 



Hall due t° dislocation of the strata or worn by action of the sea. " Both in 



relation to the former condition and the future recession of the falls, we 

 may regard the problem as undecided with respect to time. . . . The 

 conclusion then, seems inevitable, that the river has been the great agent 

 in excavating its own channel, from near the escarpment between Lewiston 

 and Queenston, to the present position of the cataract; that the recession 

 has been aided by the character of the rocks, presenting alternate hard 

 and soft strata; and that descent was overcome, not by one perpendicular 

 fall but by several." 



The article goes on to cite the historical evidence furnished by the 

 accounts of various travelers in support of the recession of the Falls. The 

 existence of fresh-water deposits on Goat Island is effectively used in aid 

 of the conclusions regarding the recession of the Falls. 



I am fully convinced from the facts presented, that the exist- 

 ence of the falls and the Niagara river in the present position, is of very 

 recent date geologically." 



The discussion of the future of the Falls is not very satisfactory owing 

 to the lack of data at the time. The account is accompanied by a 

 stereotyped bird's-eye view of the river and the Falls and by a facsimile 

 of the Hennepin view. There are also several diagrams showing the strata. 



HALL, James. Trignometrical survey and map of Niagara Falls. 

 (Geology of N. Y., pt. 4. Fourth geological dis't. Pp. 402-404.) 



This is the first of its kind, a point of departure for later surveys. It is 

 based upon a careful survey made by Mr. Blackwell in 1841 and 

 reviewed in 1 842. 



1847 



1847 BAKEWELL, ROBERT. Observations on the whirlpool and the rapids 



Bakewell below the falls of Niagara. (Am. jour. sci. 2d ser. 1847. 4:25—36.) 

 The author, an Englishman, spent six days at Niagara in 1829, and 

 eight days in 1846, studying the geology and physical features of the 

 vicinity. His work is valuable from his ability to compare the results of 

 his own observations made on these two visits seventeen years apart. This 

 paper contains curious illustrations which " are designed to account for 

 the origin of both " whirlpool and rapids. 



1847 The geology of Niagara Falls. (Chambers' jour., Oct. 9, 1847. 



8:229-231.) 



A brief study based on Bouchette, Hall, and Lyell. 



562 



