25 



there are other characters which more or less vaguely 

 suggest a further subdivision of two of these sections. 

 These subdivisions are indicated in the older two of the 

 four more obvious divisions. One of these is confirmed 

 by the lake history; the other is not. Beginning at the 

 mouth of the gorge, one might conclude at a first glance 

 that the first or oldest section extends all the way from 

 the mouth of the gorge to the bend of the river below 

 Niagara University and that this part of the gorge is there- 

 fore a unit in the river history. But such is not the case. 



First or oldest Section. (Lewiston branch gorge.) 



For about 2,000 feet (610 m.) south from the 

 mouth of the gorge the cliff lines are somewhat irregular 

 and the average top width is about 1,400 feet (430 m.) 

 or about 100 feet (30 m.) greater than the remaining 

 part extending to the university. Based on gorge charac- 

 ters alone, the reasons for making a division point here 

 might perhaps seem insufficient. But in this case, other 

 facts relating to the river history, as well as the greater 

 weight of the lake history, established quite clearly the 

 reality of a division point about at this place. In his 

 studies of the Niagara gorge a number of years ago, Mr. 

 Gilbert found that for a relatively short period Niagara 

 river poured over the escarpment at five different places, 

 the present place being the most westerly. The river, 

 therefore, discharged only a fraction of its volume through 

 any one channel, and yet three of the channels east of 

 Lewiston indicate relatively large volumes. Altogether, 

 the several channels seem to show clearly that the total 

 volume of the river was nearly if not quite as large then as 

 at present and certainly several times larger than the dis- 

 charge of Lake Erie alone. It seems certain, therefore, 

 that the irregularities and extra width of the first 2,000 feet 

 (610 m.) of the gorge belong to the time of divided flow 

 over the escarpment. In the lake history this correlates 

 with the time of early Lake Algonquin. 



The Old Narrow Gorge. 



From this division point up to the bend below the 

 university, the gorge is remarkable for the straightness 

 of its cliff lines and the eveness of its top width. This is 



