Geologists Are Now Investigating Them More
Thoroughly Than Ever Before, And We May Expect, When They Publish The
Reports Of Their Labors, That Our Geological Knowledge Of The Algonkian
Epoch, And Possibly Of Other Puzzling Matters, Will Be Much Increased By
The Light They Will Throw Upon Them.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Canyon - Above And Below
The Canyon Rim. There are several rather remarkable and surprising points
of difference between the Canyon on the rim, and the Canyon in its depths.
Above, the whole Canyon region, save during the rainy season, is waterless,
and while not barren, owing to the growths made possible by winters' snows
and summers' rains, it is a veritable desert as far as water, whether in
streams, creeks, rivulets or springs, is concerned.
Drainage of the Canyon. On both sides of the Canyon, all the surface water
of the rains drains away from the Canyon for miles, and not until it has
flowed, perhaps from within a few feet of the edge of the abyss itself,
from twenty to a hundred miles, does it empty into the drainage channels
which, burrowing down into the earth, reconvey the water back, by
circuitous routes, into the depths of the Canyon, there to add to the flow
of the Colorado.
Rain at El Tovar. Take rain that falls, for instance, at El Tovar itself,
within sight of the Canyon. After a heavy storm, the visitor may see it
dashing down the Bright Angel Wash (up which the railway runs) to Bass
Station, where it turns and enters the narrower section of the Wash.
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