As the Yellowstone River flows from Yellowstone Lake toward the Missouri
River and the Gulf of Mexico, it leisurely twists and winds through the
Park until, about fifteen miles from its source, the river is converged
to a width of less than fifty feet. Through foaming cataracts it
suddenly rushes forward to hurtle down 112 feet in a graceful fall known
as the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone. The velocity of flow is so great
at the crest that the water pours over the lip of the canyon in a
graceful arc.
On approaching the Grand Canyon, a good view of the Upper Falls may be
had from an observation point about one quarter mile below Chittenden
Bridge.
A short distance beyond the Upper Falls the swift, surging torrent again
comes to a mighty precipice, this time with a drop of 308 feet—the
famous Lower Falls. Plunging over, it leaps downward with a thunderous
roar, and disappears in a cloud of spray, presenting an unforgettable
picture. A third of the fall is hidden behind this vast cloud of spray
which conceals the mad play of the waters beneath.
[Illustration: Cascades of Yellowstone River]
[Illustration: The thundering Lower Falls of the Yellowstone]
Not far from Grand Canyon Hotel is a stairway leading to the top of the
Lower Falls. It may also be viewed from the lower end of Uncle Tom’s
Trail which goes to the bottom of the Canyon. Looking upward at the
roaring cataract from that point, you are awed by its wild and
unharnessed power. Sunlight gives additional charm to the scene by
forming multi-colored rainbows in the filmy clouds of ascending spray.