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Show Water Gap Cut By Nature's Whip Saw Delaware Water Gap Is a vertical walled trench, 1200 feet deep, in the narrow ridge of Klttatlnny Mountain through which Dclawaro Illver Howb. Did tho river find this gatewny ready made through tho mountain or did It cut Its way through tho hard mountain moun-tain ledges, nnd if so how could it accomplish its mighty task? Yet tho study of tho geology of tho region tho following h(story has been worked out. After tho rocks had been formed, layer by layer, as sediments In tho sea they were folded fold-ed and tipped on end and worn down by naturo's forces to n gentle surface ncross which Delaware Itlvor flowed to tho sea. Tho top of Klttatlnny Range was then pnrt ot this surface and tho adjacent ad-jacent area that Is now lowlands stood nearly at tho camo level. Elevation Ele-vation of tho land caused tho Delaware Dela-ware and its tributaries to wear away tho softer rocks and leave tho harder hard-er rocks standing In relief as ridges. Tho hard rocks that composo Klttatlnny Kltta-tlnny Unnge formed rapids In tho Delaware where It crossed them but tho river gradually cut this barrier away. It Is easy to believe that streams can remove soft shalo and llmestono In their course, hut It may seem nt (lrst thought Impossible thnt water alono can cut away hard rock. The water, lion ever, Is only a medium for tho cutting Is dono by tho sand, gravel, nnd bowlders carried by tho stream, Just ns emery fed to n saw cuts through' tho hardest rock or steel. Largo iound holes which were ground into hard rocks by the churning churn-ing of pebbles nt the bottom of Binall falls have been left ns potholes in tho sides of gorges as tho ovldenco of such stream cutting. So tho Delaware, concentrating Its power on a small scctibn of tho hard rock of Klttatlnny Rango, wns able, .during long period to cut tho gnp through tho rocky barrier. Tho story Is told moro fully and In plnln language in tho text -printed on tho hack of tho United States Geological Ge-ological Survey's Delaware Water Gap which 1b told by tho Survey for 10 cents. |