6
thick a mile away from the river. A quarter
of a mile above the upper falls the river breaks into rapids, and foams
in eddies about huge, granite bowlders, some of which have trees and shrubs
growing upon them. Above the rapids the river is about 150 yards
wide, but, as it approaches the falls, high, rocky bluffs crowd in on both
sides, forcing the water into a narrow gorge, which, at the brink of the
falls, is about thirty yards wide. The most convenient and desirable
place from which to view the falls is from a ledge, easily reached, which
juts into the river a considerable distance, just below the falls, and
a few feet lower than their brink. It is so close that occasional
drops dampen one's face. The height of the upper falls is 115 feet.
The ledge is irregular, the water being much deeper on the west side than
on the east. Great rocks project in the face of the fall, tearing
and churning the waters into foam, with here and there a little strip of
green, which contrasts beautifully with the surrounding silvery whiteness
of the water.
Between the two falls the
river flows quietly, in a wide channel, between steep, timbered bluffs,
four hundred feet high. Just above the lower falls the bluffs again
converge; the one from the west stretching out as if to dam up the river,
which has, however, forced its way through a break, forty yards wide.
The rocky cliffs rise perpendicularly from the brink of the falls, to a
height of several hundred feet. The rocky formation is of a shelly
character, and slightly colored with flowers of sulphur. The plunge
of the water is in the direct course of the stream, and at the brink of
the falls it appears to be of uniform depth. It clears its bed at
a bound, and takes a fearful leap of 350 feet. The volume of water
is about half as great as that which passes over the American Fall, at
Niagara, and it falls more than twice the distance. The adjacent
scenery is infinitely grander. Having passed over the precipice,
the clear, unbroken, greenish mass is in an instant transformed by the
jagged edges of the precipice into many streams, apparently separated,
yet still united, and having the appearance of molten silver. These
streams, or jets, are shaped like a comet, with nucleus and trailing coma,
following in quick succession; or they look like foaming, crested tongues,
constantly overlapping each other. The outer jets decrease in size
as they descend, curl outward, and break into mist. In the sunlight,
a rainbow constantly spans the chasm. the foot of the falls is enveloped
in mist, which conceals the river for more than a hundred yards below.
These falls are exactly the
same in height as the Vernal Falls in the Yosemite Valley, but the volume
of water is at least five times as great. I think I never saw a water-fall
more beautiful than the Vernal, and its surroundings are sublime.
Its Indian name is said to mean "Crown of Diamonds;" and it certainly deserves
the name. I remember sitting on the rocky ledge just at the edge
of the falls, and with an opera-glass watching the water as they plunged
downward, breaking into myriads of drops; each drop, like a lens, gathering
prismatic tints from the shining sun, and flashing like diamonds of the
purest brilliancy. The lower fall of the Yellowstone reminds me of
the Vernal Fall, on the Merced. Though nothing, perhaps, can equal
the sublime scenery of the Yosemite, yet that only excels the lower falls
of the Yellowstone, and the grand cañon which extends for
many miles below them.
Below the falls the hills
gradually increase in height, while the river descends in a succession
of rapids through the cañon. At the falls the cañon
is not more than twelve hundred feet deep, but a few miles lower down it
is nearly eighteen hundred feet deep. Its average Go
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