WATERFALLS OF WORLD

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18992, 17 April 1936, Page 10

WATERFALLS OF WORLD

JNJCEEASING SPO&IAffION ; rSACBIFICES FOR PROGRESS ■'lt is, indeed, the rapidly increasing >poliatiou, amounting in some cases almost to entire destruction, of so many of the notable waterfalls that has prompted me to the task of compiling l his book and to record some descriptions of the most famous of them whiio they still x-etain something of their pristine grandeur," writes Mr. Edward C. Bjishleiglt, in bis new book, "Among fee Waterfalls of the World." "In Europe," Mr. Hashleigh adds 1 , "there is scarcely a fall of any consequence which, if not actually attacked, is not at least earmarked for depredation, notably in Switzerland, and, of course, in Scandinavia, where the magnificent R-jukanfoss and numbers of his brethren have been largely shorn of their natural glory. The" Niagara of to-day is rapidly becoming «■ mockery of the Niagara that was. "Shoshone, on the Snake River in southern Idaho, which was long regarded as second only to Niagara in splendour on the whole North American continent, is already, to quote from a letter I received from Mr. Julian D. Sears, acting-Director ot the United States Geological Survey, Washington, .8.C., 'dry for the greater part of the year, all the water being diverted through the power house•;' and it js'.merely a question of time before 'others even as .remote..as the Grand. Falls

of Labrador on the Hamilton Eiver will share the same fate. Such in our mechanical age are the sacrifices which are being made on the altar of so-called 'Progress.' '"■np[GATION AND POWER "JTp take water for irrigation and to make som.e arid desert blossom like the ipse, to .which the destruction of the Shoshone iFajls is due, at least in part, is one thing; but to divert it solely, for. power where there is, as yet, no real or imperative need, as in the case of Niagara, is quite another, in spite of the specious arguments which are constantly being put forward by the exigencies of politicians or by .the grasping greed of a few financiers."

In dealing with the question as. to winch is the biggest waterfall, Mr. Hashleigh writes: — "As war as the. factor of volume is concerned, Guayra, on the Alto Parana, is in a class by itself, the Khon Cataracts on the. Mekong alone approaching it. Even its low water flow very greatly exceeds the mean of Niagara, while its' average yearly volume is far more than double that of the latter. "This vast mass of Guayra, however, is divided up into at least 18 fulls, .<■■« that as regards: any single undivided fall the Horshoe at Niagara, taking its mean yearly volume day in and day out, remains unsurpassed in that respect by any other in tho world; that is, of course, in its natural condition and before its waters began to be diverted."

IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND "Cauldron Snout is said to bo flic highest fall in England, though it is not. a sheer leap in the clear. Its bleak, moorland setting makes it singularly memorable," says Mr. Rashleigh, after explaining that the Snout is a slanting

basaltic cleft in the hills, down which the river surges in a roaring succession of cascades, dropping about. 2Oo'ff. in a distance of from 400 to EOOyds. Mr. Tiashleigh make* special mention, 100, of the famous falls at Moffat, in Scotland. , "The height of the Qrey Mare's Tail," lie writes, "is generally estimated at. about 000 ft. (llomach, however, plunges down for 370 ft.; and though the burn lias but slight, volume at ordinary times, if is impressive when in spate, and then provides a spectacle, as. it. shoots down over the black precipices, that is said to lie one of the finest, of its kind in our islands. "Another fall in Scotland of considerable height, which is not .much visited, is that of Eis-Coul-Aulin, on the south side of Loch Glencoul, and near its head, which is fpitid to drop about 300 ft.".