In one place, south of Mount Emma, Powell's party saw where
vast floods of lava had flowed from it into the river.
They declare that "a
stream of molten rock has run up the Canyon three or four miles, and down,
we know not how far. The whole north side, as far as we can see, is lined
with the black basalt, and high up on the opposite wall are patches of the
same material, resting on the benches, and filling old alcoves and caves,
and giving to the wall a spotted appearance." All these volcanic mountains
can be seen from Hopi or Yavapai points, near El Tovar.
The Algonkian Strata. The Algonkian strata of the Grand Canyon are by far
the most interesting; Major Powell was the first to call attention to their
existence in his report of explorations of 1869-1872, and he discusses
their origin and history as far as was possible with the small amount of
data he had at hand. Later Dr. Charles D. Walcott, his successor as
Director of the United States Geological Survey, and now the Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution, spent a full winter in the heart of the
Canyon, especially studying the unique formations. Unique they are, for,
though found elsewhere on the earth, they are exceedingly rare, and, up to
this time; had received little study and were unknown and unnamed. The area
studied by Walcott lies at the very entrance to the Grand Canyon, near
where the Marble Canyon and Little Colorado Canyon join the main one.
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