We now come to the red-wall limestone nearly six
hundred feet in thickness.
What a striking, massive wall it is, and how
impressive, when seen even at this immense distance. This wall is red only
because it is stained by the color washed down by the rain from the red
strata above. In reality, it is a rich creamy lime, but only where the red
strata above have been degraded and washed away does the natural color of
this wall appear.
The Plateau. Below the red-wall limestone, there are several strata of red
and gray and olive rocks that slope to the plateau. This plateau is not
quite so wide on the north side as on the south, owing to El Tovar being
located in the recess of a great amphitheatre. It is from these plateaus
that the finest views of the real Canyon can be obtained. The visitor,
sitting on the porch or on the rim at El Tovar, cannot realize that below
his feet, as it were, there is an almost exact duplication of the wall and
slopes of talus, the thrilling precipices, the alcoves, recesses,
promontories and the like, that he sees on the north side. And yet a trip
down the trail on to the plateaus reveals these stupendous facts in a
manner that is surprising even to those who, for years, have been familiar
with them. How much more, then, is such an experience to a tyro. I have met
men who were world-wide travelers, and who were visiting the Canyon for the
first time; some of these were expert geologists, yet they refused to go
down the trail, with the excuse that they could fully grasp the scenery
from the rim.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 39 of 322
Words from 10039 to 10332
of 85893
