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Titan of Chasms The Grand Canyon of Arizona
Titan of Chasms The Grand Canyon of Arizona
THE TITAN OF CHASMS By C. A. HIGGINS THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLORER By J. W. POWELL THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD By CHAS. F. LUMMIS INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS Fortieth Thousand PASSENGER DEPARTMENT THE SANTA FE CHICAGO, 1903. INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS Fortieth Thousand PASSENGER DEPARTMENT THE SANTA FE CHICAGO, 1903. Copyright, 1899, by H. G. Peabody. Bright Angel Creek and North Wall of the Canyon....
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Its History
Its History
The Colorado is one of the great rivers of North America. Formed in Southern Utah by the confluence of the Green and Grand, it intersects the northwestern corner of Arizona, and, becoming the eastern boundary of Nevada and California, flows southward until it reaches tidewater in the Gulf of California, Mexico. It drains a territory of 300,000 square miles, and, traced back to the rise of its principal source, is 2,000 miles long. At two points, Needles and Yuma on the California boundary, it is
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As Seen From the Rim
As Seen From the Rim
Stolid, indeed, is he who can front the awful scene and view its unearthly splendor of color and form without quaking knee or tremulous breath. An inferno, swathed in soft celestial fires; a whole chaotic under-world, just emptied of primeval floods and waiting for a new creative word; eluding all sense of perspective or dimension, outstretching the faculty of measurement, overlapping the confines of definite apprehension; a boding, terrible thing, unflinchingly real, yet spectral as a dream. Th
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The Trip to the River
The Trip to the River
Only by descending into the canyon may one arrive at anything like comprehension of its proportions, and the descent can not be too urgently commended to every visitor who is sufficiently robust to bear a reasonable amount of fatigue. There are four paths down the southern wall of the canyon in the granite gorge district—Mystic Spring, Bright Angel, Berry’s and Hance’s trails. The following account of a descent of the old Hance trail will serve to indicate the nature of such an experience to-day
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The Ives and Wheeler Expeditions
The Ives and Wheeler Expeditions
In the fall of 1857 Lieutenant Ives, of the engineer corps of the army, ascended the Colorado River on a trip of exploration with a little steamer called the Explorer; he went as far as the mouth of the Rio Virgin. Falling back down river a few miles, Lieutenant Ives met a pack train which had followed him up the bank of the stream. Here he disembarked, and on the 24th of March started with a land party to explore the eastern bank of the river; making a long detour he ascended the plateau throug
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Major Powell’s Several Trips
Major Powell’s Several Trips
In this same year I essayed to explore the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, together with the upper canyons of that stream and the great canyons of the lower portion of Green River. For this purpose I employed four rowboats and made the descent from what is now Green River station through the whole course of canyons to the mouth of the Rio Virgin, a distance of more than a thousand miles. From Kaibab Plateau, Looking South. In the spring of 1870 I again started with three boats and descended the ri
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The Plateau Region
The Plateau Region
The Grand Canyon of Arizona and the Marble Canyon constitute one great gorge carved by a mighty river through a high plateau. On the northeast and north a line of cliffs face this plateau by a bold escarpment of rock. Climb these cliffs and you must ascend from 800 to 1,000 feet, but on their summit you will stand upon a plateau stretching away to the north. Now turn to face the south and you will overlook the cliff and what appears to be a valley below. From the foot of the cliff the country ri
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Marble Canyon
Marble Canyon
Above the Paria the great river runs down a canyon which it has cut through one plateau. On its way it flows with comparative quiet through beautiful scenery, with glens that are vast amphitheaters which often overhang great springs and ponds of water deeply embosomed in the cliffs. From the southern escarpment of this plateau the great Colorado Plateau rises by a comparatively gentle acclivity, and Marble Canyon starts with walls but a few score feet in height until they reach an altitude of ab
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The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon
From here on for many miles the whole character of the canyon changes. First a dike appears; this is a wall of black basalt crossing the river; it is of lava thrust up from below through a huge crevice broken in the rock by earthquake agency. On the east the Little Colorado comes; here it is a river of salt water, and it derives its salt a few miles up the stream. The main Colorado flows along the eastern and southern wall. Climbing this for a few hundred feet you may look off toward the northwe
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As Seen by the Geologist
As Seen by the Geologist
In the last chapter of my book entitled “The Canyons of the Colorado” I have described the Grand Canyon in the following terms: The Grand Canyon is a gorge 217 miles in length, through which flows a great river with many storm-born tributaries. It has a winding way, as rivers are wont to have. Its banks are vast structures of adamant, piled up in forms rarely seen in the mountains. Down by the river the walls are composed of black gneiss, slates, and schists, all greatly implicated and traversed
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Its Length
Its Length
We measured the length of the Grand Canyon by the length of the river running through it, but the running extent of wall can not be measured in this manner. In the black gneiss, which is at the bottom, the wall may stand above the river for a few hundred yards or a mile or two; then to follow the foot of the wall you must pass into a lateral canyon for a long distance, perhaps miles, and then back again on the other side of the lateral canyon; then along by the river until another lateral canyon
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As Seen Traveling Down Stream
As Seen Traveling Down Stream
For eight or ten miles below the mouth of the Little Colorado, the river is in the variegated quartzites, and a wonderful fretwork of forms and colors, peculiar to this rock, stretches back for miles to a labyrinth of the red-wall cliff; then below, the black gneiss is entered and soon has reached an altitude of 800 feet and sometimes more than 1,000 feet, and upon this black gneiss all the other structures in their wonderful colors are lifted. These continue for about seventy miles, when the bl
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The Work of Erosion
The Work of Erosion
The erosion represented in the canyons, although vast, is but a small part of the great erosion of the region, for between the cliffs blocks have been carried away far superior in magnitude to those necessary to fill the canyons. Probably there is no portion of the whole region from which there have not been more than a thousand feet degraded, and there are districts from which more than 30,000 feet of rock have been carried away; altogether there is a district of country more than 200,000 squar
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Winter and Cloud Effects
Winter and Cloud Effects
In winter some of the characteristics of the Grand Canyon are emphasized. The black gneiss below, the variegated quartzite, and the green or alcove sandstone form the foundation for the mighty red wall. The banded sandstone entablature is crowned by the tower limestone. In winter this is covered with snow. Seen from below, these changing elements seem to graduate into the heavens, and no plane of demarcation between wall and blue firmament can be seen. The heavens constitute a portion of the faç
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Of the Canyon, and Other Wonders
Of the Canyon, and Other Wonders
At the head of the list stands the Grand Canyon of the Colorado; whether it is the “greatest wonder of the world” depends a little on our definition of “wonder.” Possibly it is no more wonderful than the fact that so tiny a fraction of the people who confess themselves the smartest in the world have ever seen it. As a people we dodder abroad to see scenery incomparably inferior. But beyond peradventure it is the greatest chasm in the world, and the most superb. Enough globe-trotters have seen it
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Preliminary
Preliminary
There is only one way by which to directly reach the Grand Canyon of Arizona, and that is via the Santa Fe (The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway System). There are three ways of reaching the Canyon from the Santa Fe—rail from Williams, private conveyance from Flagstaff and Peach Springs. The route from Flagstaff is not available in winter. The Peach Springs route is open in winter, but now little used. The bulk of the travel is via Williams, sixty-five miles north to Bright Angel—open
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Three Gateways
Three Gateways
There are but three points from which an easy descent may be made of the south wall to the granite gorge of the Grand Canyon: 1. At Grand View, down Berry’s (Grand View) or Hance’s (Red Canyon) trails. 2. At Bright Angel, down Bright Angel Trail. 3. At Bass’ Camp, down Mystic Spring Trail. While the canyon may be reached over trails at other places outside of the district named (such as Lee’s Ferry Trail, by wagon from Winslow; Moki Indian Trail, by way of Little Colorado Canyon; and Diamond Cre
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The Ride from Williams
The Ride from Williams
Because of recent improvements in service the Grand Canyon of Arizona may now be visited, either in summer or winter, with reasonable comfort and without any hardship. No one need be deterred by fear of inclement weather or a tedious stage ride. The trip is entirely feasible for the average traveler every day in the year. Leaving the Santa Fe transcontinental train at Williams, Arizona, passengers change in same depot to a local train of the Grand Canyon Railway, which leaves Williams daily, and
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At Destination
At Destination
The hotel at head of Bright Angel Trail is reached early in the evening. The tourist then finds himself on the verge of a high precipice, from which is obtained by moonlight a magnificent view of the opposite wall and of the intervening crags, towers, and slopes. The suddenness, the surprise, the revelation come as a fitting climax to a unique trip. After nightfall the air becomes cold, for here you are 7,000 feet above the sea; yet the absence of humidity, peculiar to these high altitudes, make
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Bright Angel Hotel
Bright Angel Hotel
The Bright Angel Hotel is managed by Mr. M. Buggeln, who also controls the stage line, trail stock, guides, etc. The hotel comprises a combination log and frame structure of eight rooms, with three frame annexes containing forty-six sleeping rooms, and (for summer use) several rows of tents, all clustered on the rim and surrounded by pines and spruces. Each room in the annexes has one or two beds, a stove, dressing table, and Navajo rugs. In the log-cabin part of the main edifice are two large r
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Down Bright Angel Trail
Down Bright Angel Trail
The trail here is perfectly safe and is generally open the year round. In midwinter it is liable to be closed for a few days at the top by snow, but such blockade is only temporary. It reaches from the hotel four miles to the top of the granite wall immediately overlooking the Colorado River. At this point the river is 1,200 feet below, while the hotel on the rim is 4,300 feet above. The trip is commonly made on horseback, accompanied by a guide; charges for trail stock and services of guide are
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What to Bring
What to Bring
If much tramping is done, stout, thick shoes should be provided. Ladies will find that short walking skirts are a convenience; divided skirts are preferable, but not essential, for the horseback journey down the zigzag trail. Traveling caps and (in summer) broad-brimmed straw hats are useful toilet adjuncts. Otherwise ordinary clothing will suffice. A good field glass and camera should be brought along. Bright Angel Hotel. The round-trip ticket rate, Williams to Grand Canyon and return, is only
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Grand View
Grand View
Grand View (previously mentioned) may be reached in summer by private conveyance from Flagstaff, a distance of seventy-five miles; or at any time of the year by stage from Bright Angel, sixteen miles along the rim. The rate for round trip, Bright Angel to Grand View, is $2.50 to $5 each person, according to size of party. While Flagstaff is an interesting place to visit—with its near-by cliff and cave dwellings and San Francisco Peaks—and the trip thence to the Grand Canyon is a novel one, dista
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Bass’ Camp
Bass’ Camp
At the western end of the granite gorge is Mystic Spring Trail, an easy route down to the Colorado River and up the other side to Dutton’s Point and Powell’s Plateau. The magnificent panorama eastward from Havasupai Point takes in fifty miles of the canyon, while westward is the unique, table-like formation which characterizes the lower reaches of the river. The views from both rims are pronounced by noted artists and explorers to be unequaled. Present accommodations at Havasupai Hotel (Bass’ Ca
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Peach Springs Route
Peach Springs Route
The trip in winter from Peach Springs station down to the Colorado River, through Diamond Creek Canyon, is most enjoyable. Owing to the low altitude here (4,780 feet at Peach Springs and approximately 2,000 feet at the river) the air is usually balmy from November to April; in summer the heat is a considerable drawback. A journey of but twelve miles leads you through a miniature Grand Canyon with scenery increasingly sublime. On either side are abrupt walls and wonderfully suggestive formations—
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Flagstaff and Vicinity
Flagstaff and Vicinity
The town itself is an interesting place, prettily situated in the heart of the San Francisco uplift and surrounded by a pine forest. Its hotels, business houses, lumber mills, and residences denote thrift. On a neighboring hill is the Lowell Observatory, noted for its many contributions to astronomical science. San Francisco Peaks. Eight miles southwest from Flagstaff—reached by a pleasant drive along a level road through tall pines—is Walnut Canyon, a rent in the earth several hundred feet deep
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Announcement
Announcement
The Santa Fe has published a new and beautiful book on the Grand Canyon. It contains articles by Hamlin Garland, Harriet Monroe, Robert Brewster Stanton, Chas. S. Gleed, John L. Stoddard, Charles Dudley Warner, R. D. Salisbury, “Fitz Mac,” Nat M. Brigham, Joaquin Miller, Edwin Burritt Smith, David Starr Jordan, C. E. Beecher, Henry P. Ewing, and Thomas Moran, as well as the authors represented in this pamphlet. The book has more than a hundred pages, illustrated with half-tones and portraits; th
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