The Falls

Title: Description of the Geology of the Falls
Type: Newspaper
Date: 1883
Source: Colonel F.U. Farquhar

Description: Farquhar wrote this description of the waterfall as part of a speech about preserving the Falls.
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Activities:

1. Why would sandstone be considered a soft material?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Sandstone is made out of pieces of sand compressed together that are easily broken apart.
2. Why would man-made dams cause the erosion of the Falls?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: People have built dams near the Falls to direct the water. This causes the water to rush more forcefully through a smaller area and cause more erosion in that area.
3. If the sandstone erodes, but the limestone above it does not, why would that cause problems for the Falls?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: The limestone would not have the support of the sandstone and would crack and break up, causing the Falls to recede (move back).
4. What do you think a cubic foot of water is?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: A cubic foot of water is the amount of water it would take to fill a cube one foot high, one foot deep, and one foot wide. 50,000 cubic feet of water flowed over the falls per second at high water.