More has been written about Niagara Falls, perhaps, than any other falls in the world. This scene shows that all the things that have been said cannot possibly do justice to this greatest of American wonders. One can sit for hours or for days watching the mighty cataract, and every minute see something new and something different from what he had observed before. The colors, the mists, the whole complexion of the Falls seem to change from minute to minute, due to the shifting of the sunshine or of the wind. The water of the Great Lakes flowing from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario pass through Niagara River. This river is only 28 miles long. Nineteen miles of it is smooth, and then the rapids begin. In a half mile the descent is about 50 feet. Then suddenly the water pitches over the great ledge of Niagara and leaps away

through the narrow gorge below. The natural reason for the falls is simple. The layer of rock in the bed of Niagara River at this point is very hard and wears away slowly. The layers below it are softer and wear away easily. For this reason the waters have cut below the Falls a deep channel, but have worn down slowly the upper layer over which the Falls now pour. The gorge below marks the successive steps that the Falls have marched up stream in may hundreds of years. The irregularity of the Falls line is accounted for by the different degrees of hardness of the layers of stone in the bed of the river. The American Falls here shown are so named because they are on the American side of the river. The width of the American Falls measured on the crest is about 1/5 of a mile. The water that pours over this is about 10 feet deep.