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. While
the series cross the river and are a fine feature of Red Canyon Trail, the
main study was done on the north side. Dr. Walcott thus locates the site of
his studies: "This area, between 35 degrees 57 minutes and 36 degrees 17
minutes north latitude, and between 111 degrees 47 minutes and 112 degrees
west longitude, is in the valley portion of the Canyon, between the mouth
of Marble Canyon and a point south of Vishnu's Temple, a little west of
where the Colorado River changes its course from south to southwest. It is
wholly within the greater depths of the Grand Canyon, east and southeast of
the Kaibab Plateau. The intercanyon valleys of this portion of the Grand
Canyon extend back from three to seven miles west of the river, and are
eroded in the crest of the Monoclinal fold that forms the eastern margin of
the Kaibab Plateau."
There are also interesting remnants of Algonkian directly opposite El Tovar
to the west of the Bright Angel Creek. They are easily discernible by their
brilliant geranium or vermilion color. They extend for a mile or more
westward, and rise above the Tonto sandstones, which properly belong above
them.
The most remarkable deposit and exhibition of Algonkian strata in the
Canyon, so far as known, occurs directly east of the great Kaibab Plateau,
opposite the Little Colorado River. Here there must be several, possibly
five or six thousand feet of these interesting strata, which Nature has
allowed to remain up to our day. Geologists are now investigating them more
thoroughly than ever before, and we may expect, when they publish the
reports of their labors, that our geological knowledge of the Algonkian
epoch, and possibly of other puzzling matters, will be much increased by
the light they will throw upon them.
CHAPTER XIV. The Canyon - Above And Below
The Canyon Rim. There are several rather remarkable and surprising points
of difference between the Canyon on the rim, and the Canyon in its depths.
Above, the whole Canyon region, save during the rainy season, is waterless,
and while not barren, owing to the growths made possible by winters' snows
and summers' rains, it is a veritable desert as far as water, whether in
streams, creeks, rivulets or springs, is concerned.
Drainage of the Canyon. On both sides of the Canyon, all the surface water
of the rains drains away from the Canyon for miles, and not until it has
flowed, perhaps from within a few feet of the edge of the abyss itself,
from twenty to a hundred miles, does it empty into the drainage channels
which, burrowing down into the earth, reconvey the water back, by
circuitous routes, into the depths of the Canyon, there to add to the flow
of the Colorado.
Rain at El Tovar. Take rain that falls, for instance, at El Tovar itself,
within sight of the Canyon. After a heavy storm, the visitor may see it
dashing down the Bright Angel Wash (up which the railway runs) to Bass
Station, where it turns and enters the narrower section of the Wash. It
flows in a general southwesterly direction, and enters the Coconino Wash,
which discharges into the open plain, once the bed of the great inland
Eocene Sea. Here it disappears.
An Underground Stream. In this plain are some breaks in the rocky bed,
which allow the water to flow down to join the underground current of the
Havasu (or Cataract) Creek, which runs on the northern slope of Bill
Williams Mountain. This underground stream (as explained in the chapter on
Havasu Canyon) emerges at the head of the village of the Havasupai Indians,
in a thousand springs, and then flows on, over several precipices, to the
lower levels, thus making the exquisite waterfalls that have rendered this
Canyon world-famous. It finally reaches the Colorado some fifteen miles
away, where its clear blue waters are soon lost in the muddy flood of the
"Red."
Water in the Canyon. After one has ridden in the hot summer sun over this
waterless region, and seen the waterwagons of the miners and sheep men, and
the great train of water-tanks being hauled for the guests at El Tovar, it
is a surprise and a wonder to find below, in the heart of this rocky-walled
Canyon, a mighty river dashing its headlong way to the west. Many a time,
after a week of riding horseback on the plateau above, until every particle
of moisture seemed to have evaporated from my body, have I gone down the
trail to the river and camped there, enjoying a swim several times a day,
and rowing up and down one of the quiet stretches, between the rapids,
where boating is not only possible but reasonably safe. In the Bright Angel
and the Shinumo on the north side, and the Havasu on the south side, one
may swim, or at least soak and paddle, in cooling waters, where waving
willows, giant sycamores, and green cottonwoods sway above the streams, and
rich verdure of great variety lines their banks. What a wonderful
contrast, - above and below!
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