37 



Lewiston to Niagara Falls — At the landing at Lewis- 

 ton there is a good view of the front of the escarpment and 

 the mouth of Niagara gorge. 



The railway between Lewiston and Niagara ascends 

 by a loop to the top of the sandstone terrace, passes through 

 a short tunnel and enters the mouth of the gorge more than 

 140 feet (43 m.) above the water. For about two miles 

 (3-2 km.) the railway runs along the steep face of the gorge 

 wall, cutting the strata obliquely as it ascends. As the 

 rocks dip gently toward the south, and the railroad as- 

 cends in the same direction, it cuts all the strata from the 

 Whirlpool sandstone up to the Lockport (Niagara) lime- 

 stone exposing good sections for examination and for the 

 collection of fossils. 



Below Niagara university the railway turns away from 

 the river through a deep cut in the Lockport limestone and 

 soon reaches the level of the plain in which the Niagara 

 gorge is made. After passing Suspension bridge, the train 

 runs for nearly a mile along the brink of the Upper Great 

 gorge and some fine views are obtained of this part of the 

 river, including the falls about two miles (3 km.) away. 

 For a few moments there is a fine view backward from the 

 right side of the train, into the head of the narrow gorge 

 of Whirlpool rapids. 



Niagara Falls and the Rapids from the American 



Side. 



Old River Terraces. — Entering Prospect park at the 

 Soldiers monument, the level of the ground is seen to des- 

 cend by two rather ill-defined steps or terraces. Thesi 

 terraces are composed mainly of gravel and mark old levels 

 of Niagara river when the falls were located probably one 

 and a half miles (2-4 km.) or more below their present site. 



Prospect Point. — One of the finest views on the 

 American side is to be obtained from this point. It is at 

 the northern end of the American fall, where the water 

 passes smoothly over the brink. The American fall is 

 seen lengthwise along its crest, the observer's feet 

 being but little above the level of the water. Viewed 

 in this way the protruding and re-entrant angles of the 

 crest seem relatively much greater than they really are, 

 for the crest line is nearly straight. The water sheet pas- 

 sing over this fall is much thinner than that of the Horse- 



