The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is "one of the most stupendous natural wonders of the globe." In its middle course the river had entrenched itself in a great plateau with a canyon 250 miles long and from 4,000 to 6,000 feet deep. If ten columns the size of the Washingston Monument were place one upon the other, rising from the stream level, they would not quite reach the elevation of the rim of the canyon, If all of Mt. Washington above sea level could be placed in this gorge, its summit would rise only a few feet above the rim. From the rim of the gorge the river at the bottom of the canyon appears no larger than a tiny brook. In our view we are a thousand feet below the level plateau top. It is inspiring to think that that little streamm, only a few hundred feet in width has cut this trench through the rocks, and carried away to the sea all these cubic miles of rock. The strata at the top are carboniferous. At the bottom it is sawing away on the old granite core of the continent. In its most magnificent portion the canyon is from 10 to 12 miles wide, and yet in the clear, dry air of the desert, the farther wall appears to be much less than a mile away. The canyon is perhaps most remarkable for its coloring and for the great variety in the rock formations. Each layer of rock has some distinctive shade. There are bands of red, green, brown, and gray. One layer, about 500 feet thick, has a brilliant red color; this layer is so situated that it may be seen from any point on the rim.
