They afford a good opportunity to those who have never before
seen such specimens of aboriginal art, to examine a fairly representative
lot of them.
CHAPTER IV. The Grand Canyon At El Tovar
If guests at the Canyon will take this book in hand and, line by line, read
this chapter, just as they would listen to the talk of a friend in whose
knowledge they confide, they will leave the Canyon with fewer erroneous
conceptions than are quite common now.
El Tovar Amphitheatre. The first thing to be observed is that El Tovar
rests in the centre of the curve of a wide crescent, named El Tovar
amphitheatre, the arms of which extend out into the heart of the Canyon,
and shut in the scenery from the east and west, concentrating the view.
These arms afford an excellent opportunity for seeing the various
carboniferous deposits. The topmost is the cherty limestone, the layers of
which lead the eye to the crossbedded sandstone, a creamy buff in color,
and composed of a soft, sugary sand. Each of these walls is from five
hundred to six hundred feet high, though in some parts of the Canyon they
are reduced to not more than four hundred feet.
Maricopa and El Tovar Points. El Tovar is six thousand eight hundred and
sixty-six feet above sea level; the highest part of the point on the left
is seven thousand and fifty feet, and on the right seven thousand feet. The
point to the left, Maricopa Point, is a portion of the great promontory
known as Hopi Point, to which all Canyon visitors should go. That to the
right is El Tovar Point.
Heights and Depths. The height of the lime and sandstone walls can readily
be measured by looking down upon the rudely carved mass of red sandstone
slightly to the left, which has been called the "Battleship." The top of
this is five thousand, eight hundred and sixty-seven feet above sea level.
Now look up to the Maricopa Point above, seven thousand and fifty feet. The
difference is one thousand, one hundred and eighty-three feet, which is
practically the height of these two strata.
Bright Angel Creek. Almost at the first glance, the attention is arrested
by the break in the north wall, slightly to the right of where we stand,
which makes a wide lateral gorge running at right angles to the main course
of the river. This is Bright Angel Gorge, showing the course of Bright
Angel Creek, which flows between its lower walls. It received its name from
Major Powell, when he and his party descended the river. Earlier in their
explorations they had ascended a side stream, and one of the men had
declared it to be a dirty devil of a river; and for many years it bore the
name "Dirty Devil River," until Powell changed it on the map to Fremont
River.
