Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1898: Volume 54, November 1898Various
Science
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1898: Volume 54, November 1898
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
In some of the cañons of the Great Walled River, the Colorado of the
West, turrets, pinnacles, and even natural arches stud the walls
with countless imitations of architectural forms, every bend of the
stream offering some fresh novelty. In parts of Marble Cañon the high
walls are eroded into endless alcoves, caves, towers, weather-beaten
castles, and a thousand and one weird or fantastic forms. One night,
just below our camp, was a perfect semblance of a ruined castle. Around
the indentations which answered for crumbling windows clung carelessly
bunches of mosses and ferns, while at one side from a mass of emerald
verdure, rendered greener and sweeter by contrast with the miles on
miles of barren red cliff up and down, gushed forth a clear spring whose
waters, churned to silver, dashed through the vines into the deep river
a hundred feet below.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--THREE BROTHERS TURRETS.]
In the Cañon of Desolation, twenty-four hundred feet above the surface
of the river, surrounded by pine trees, is a formation that seemed
from below so exact a counterpart of a pioneer log cabin that it was
difficult to believe it was only a deception. The beetling wall which
it surmounted was named "Log Cabin Cliff."
Another class of resemblances are those called "domes." The Domes of
the Yosemite are a well-known example, but the Five Domes of the Virgin
River in southern Utah are perhaps quite as wonderful, while having the
advantage of more inviting color. The region surrounding them is one
of the most remarkable scenic spots on the continent, and in time will
become as celebrated as the Yosemite or the Yellowstone. It has fewer
freaks and curiosities, perhaps, but probably more real beauty. Not far
from the Five Domes are the Temples of the Virgin (Fig. 8), similar to
the domes, but more rugged at the top. These are veritable temples of
the gods, solid as the rock-ribbed earth itself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account