Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

A WONDERFUL CATARACT

A despatch from Quebec to the "Boston Herald" says : — 'Marvellous stories are related by the few Momagnala and Naacapee Indians who have penetrated far into the Interior of Labrador renpeoting a cataract, benea'h whose terrific leap Niagara palea into insignificance. Bat one white man hat ever seen these falls, aod the Indians' ideas of measurements and* distanoea are so Imperfect that, even when their stories agree, it is exceedingly difficult to deduct from them anything like reliable data. An expedition recantly undertaken by Handel F, Holgie, FR.GS., aud H. Doff, Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, to' explore the interior of Labrador and investigate these falls unfortunately failed m its obj-ot, the explorers having been misled by erroneous calcalatioas as to distance and the exact position of the oataraot, and compelled to return m consequence of running short of provis'ona. They got so near to the object of their expedition, however, that they were enabled, from the general configuration of the country, to form what must be a tolerably correct estimate as to both the looation and magnitude of the cataract. This estimate agrees with the description of the grand falls furnished by Maclean, who vlaltad them m 1839, and whose further progress into the interior was stopped by them. He gave the width of the river Immediately above the falls at 1500 ft ., bat says that the oataraot itself 1b cot more than 150 ft. across, The height of the falls he estimates at 2000 ft, The falls are on the Grand or Petchikapou rlfer, which flows into Hamilton Inlet. They are 30 miles abore Jjake Wamfnlkap >v, a body of water which la itself 40 miles long, and situated 150 miles inland from the mouth of the river' Professor Hind gives this lake as only 100 miles from the moatb of the river, so th»t the expldltion of Messrs Holme and Doff has brought to light the fact that the best works hereiofore published upon this Una incognita contain anythiDg but reliable data. They agree, however, with Professor Hind that the elevation of tbe immense tableland, which forma the interior of Labrador, is about 2g50 feet. On this height of land are a •accession of great lakes, joined by brosd, pUo'd streams, fisd when these reach the erfge of the tableland they commence their wild career to the sea. The Molsie and Ooldwater Rivera descend by soooesslve falls, but towards the Boatb^epet the deaoent from the elevated tableland is quite sudden. This ia particularly .true o£ the Grand River, which has a drop of over the falls and ending at Lake Womtnikapou 2000 ft m the 30 miles oommeuolng with Tbsro is a alight rapid below the falls, but none near tha lake, and everything goes to shew that the height of tha Grand falls is very little, if anything, short of 2000 ft. They are by a great deal tbe highest falls m existence that are composed of any great volume of water. There are mere mountain torrents that fall from a greater height, and the gsatt fall pt the Yosemite Valley measures 2550f',, but it ia broken into three distinct leaps. Niagara, on the other hand, has a height of 164 ft oaly.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18890321.2.29

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2093, 21 March 1889, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
540

A WONDERFUL CATARACT Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2093, 21 March 1889, Page 3

A WONDERFUL CATARACT Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2093, 21 March 1889, Page 3

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert