Stereoview
The Devil's Hole, Niagara Falls, N.Y. U S A.
The Niagara River, is one of the shortest but one of the most famous rivers in the world, is a part of the system by which the waters of the Great Lakes are carried to the ocean. Its entire length is thirty-six miles. In its course it falls 336 feet. Over the American Falls, the descent is 159 feet; over the Canadian, 164, the difference being caused by the greater accumulation of rocks at the base of the former. Above and below the falls, this river exhibits remarkable combinations of Nature's work. Ther is no better place to study geology than from the strata of rocks to be seen in the gorge which the river has cut. In the memory of men now living, the Falls have receded to 100 feet.
Among the grotesque formations found in the rugged pathway of its retreat, is the "Devil's Hole." It is a terrible gloomy, rocky chasm in the bank of the river, between one hundreda nd two hundred feet deep, and is situated about three and a half miles below the falls on the American side. Overhanging this dark cavern is a perpendicular precipice from the top of which falls a small stream named the "Bloody Run". The chasm was cut by the continuous flowing of this stream, aided naturally by the enormous force of the Falls, when they were at this point.
