The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous CataractsHolley, George W. (George Washington)
History
The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts
Holley, George W. (George Washington)
Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) -- Description and Travel; Niagara River (N.Y. and Ont.) -- History; Waterfalls
While this barrier was unbroken, Lake Erie as extended would have
covered all land that was not twenty-six feet higher than the present
level of the river at old Schlosser landing, since the water there is
sixteen feet below the level of Lake Erie. It is not difficult to trace
this barrier on a good map. From old Fort Grey it stretches eastward a
short distance past Batavia, and thence turns to the south through
Wyoming into Cattaraugus County. In the latter county it forms the
summit level of the Genesee Valley Canal. This summit is a swamp sixteen
hundred and twenty-three feet above tide water, and the water runs from
it northerly through the Genesee River into the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
and southerly, through the Alleghany, into the Gulf of Mexico, while
within a short distance rises Cattaraugus Creek which flows west into
Lake Erie.
The gradual rise of the Niagara barrier as it extends to the east was
demonstrated by the surveys of Captain Williams. By the Gill Creek line
to Lewiston he found its elevation above the river, as has been stated,
to be sixty feet. By the Cayuga Creek line to Pekin it was sixty-four
feet, and by the Tonawanda Creek line to Lockport it was eighty-four
feet, as is also shown by the surveys of the Erie Canal.
To the west the barrier extends from Brock's Monument to the ridge which
bounds the westerly side of the valley of the Chippewa Creek, and thence
around the head of Lake Ontario into the Simcoe Hills.
At that period all the islands in the Niagara River valley were
submerged. The lower sections of the valleys of the Chippewa, Cayuga,
Tonawanda, and Buffalo creeks were also submerged. The site of Buffalo
was, probably, a small island, and many other similar islands were
scattered over the broad expanse of water.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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