You must not confuse this Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. When people speak of the Grand Canyon they usually refer to the latter because it is far greater than the canyon here shown. But while the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is not so deep nor so long as that of the Colorado River, it has beauties of its own. You are standing on Inspiration Point looking directly up the canyon toward Yellowstone Falls. This point juts out almost into the center of the canyon, and you are looking almost due southward. The falls are about 2 miles distant although it appears to be only a few hundreds yards away. The foaming waters of the Yellowstone River pours over the rocks at an elevation twice that of Niagara Falls. Then the river plunges down its gorge, leaping, dashing,

and falling in a zigzag course until it is lost to view behind a point that stands up like a sharp castle. If you were brave enough to peer almost below the point where you are standing, you would see the water 1,500 feet below. The most wonderful feature of these canyons is the coloration. The walls and crags are streaked and spotted with every shade of the rainbow. Some layers are brilliant yellow, others deep orange, others lemon; some are crimson, some pink, and still others, deep black. To relive these sharper colors are the soft pinks and the pearl grays. Intermingled with all, and crowning the hills, is the green of the pine forests. You will observe here the work of weathering called erosion. Rain and frost have worn away the rocks in some parts, leaving peaks, that look like spires, standing out sharply.