LOST WORLD TO BE EXPLORED

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4329, 31 August 1937, Page 7

LOST WORLD TO BE EXPLORED

Plans are being made in America to explore a piece of territory in Colorado which scientists believe has never been trodden by the foot of man (says the ‘Daily Telegraph’). The area, situated in the Grand Canyon, consists of a densely wooded mesa—or small plateau— a mile long by three-quarters wide. It is 7,000 ft above sea level, at the top of a solid rock formation with sides so precipitous that until to-day no means have been found to scale them. What this isolated plot, left uni touched by a changing world for a period conservatively estimated as 100,000 years, contains in animal and plant life is a baffling and fascinating mystery. It is, of course, not to be expected that the denizens of this forest plateau will in any way resemble the antedilluvian beasts which peopled Conan Doyle’s romance, ‘ The Lost World.’ Scientists are hoping, however, that they wih find animals whose forms and habits, as the result of long separation from the rest of their creatures, are more primitive than, and show a different evolution from, their prototypes in the surrounding country. The slow process of erosion, which continued through untold ages, created the rugged grandeur of the Grand Canyon, is responsible for the inaccessibility of the unexplored mesa, picturesquely named “Shiva’s Temple.” To-da> the formation resembles a giant toadstool with the plateau as its head. The chief problem is to find a way to reach the summit. The denseness of the vegetation prohibits any idea of a landing by an aeroplane, autogiro, or blimp, even if a flying machine could be manoeuvred to reach the spot against the terrific wind currents that constantly sweep through the Canyon. The only other means of access is by ascending from the floor of the Canyon, and this is the route that the explorers are now planning to follow. | As a preliminary step a series of air j photographs has been taken by an aeroplane flying high overhead. It is hoped that these, when pieced together and carefully studied by experts, will show a possible route of ascent. The expedition will be under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History. Dr Roy Chapman Andrews, its director, who, with Dr Trubce Davidson, his chairman, has mapped out the details of the project, has given a fascinating picture of the possibilities of the adventure. “In the unexplored fastness of Shiva’s Temple,” he said, “ we have undoubtedly the most interesting experimental biological laboratory the world has ever offered. It is absolutely unique. “ Shiva's Temple lias been isolated, we think, since long before the first trace of man appeared on the American Continent 50,000 years ago, and we are prepared for surprises among such fauna as are still existing. “ We do not hope to find any of the larger annuals, but 1 see no reason why there should not be such smaller creatures as pack rats, squirrels, rabbits, and perhaps porcupines. Also innumerable types of insects which cannot fly “ The most remarkable thing about the whole project is the fact that the site of our explorations, untouched in all these untold centuries, is within j full view of one of the most popular i tourist centres of America, visited by | millions since the Grand Canyon was discovered. j Shiva’s Temple lies right at our front door, so to speak, and yet none has yet been able to penetrate its j mysterious recesses.” i