civilized ku # 942 / ku # 904 ~ Au Sable Chasm
Monday, May 2, 2011 at 10:40AM 
The falls at Au Sable Chasm ~ in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen Just 13 miles down the road and river from my house, the Au Sable River (which is just 200 yards behind my house) plunges over the falls at the mouth of Au Sable Chasm. Needless to state, with the rain and snow-melt event of the past 10 days, the falls is currently quite a sight.
On a side note, Au Sable Chasm became a very popular tourist destination starting in the year 1870. It has subsequently been called "America's Oldest Natural Wonder" and "The Li'l Grand Canyon of the East" - keep in mind that the chasm was open for business 50 years before the first tourist facility was constructed at the "real" Grand Canyon.
The chasm is a visually stunning place, IMO, because it is so incredibly claustrophobic. While it is "merely" 2 miles long and 100-200 feet deep, the chasm is only only 20-50 feet wide which makes a hike to the bottom of and through the chasm a very closed-in "vertical" experience.
For such a diminutive "Natural Wonder", Au Sable Chasm really does pack quite a punch. I'd rank it as a most definite must see and a must do (the chasm tour) for any one visiting the area.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: Paul Maxim wrote: "... Am I seeing that picture correctly? Are there 2 sets of falls, separated by some kind of island or something? ... And was the Chasm called the "Grand Canyon of the East" before the gorge at Letchworth was given that name?
my response: There are 2 set of falls separated by some kind of island or something - think of whatever it is as a li'l Goat Island. Although, the second falls, the one on the right, is often non-existent during the drier Summer months. If you want to come up for a visit - and I hope you do - to see the complete falls extravaganza, come in the Spring or anytime around a good rainfall.
BTW, I emphasize the word "li'l" cuz that's the same word used in the Au Sable Chasm descriptor - "The Li'l Grand Canyon of the East". Whether or not that word was part of the label in order to distinguish it from the Letchworth label, I can not say. Your guess on the subject would be nearly as good as mine.
Reader Comments (2)
Sounds like my kind of place! I'll have to pay you a visit sometime. Am I seeing that picture correctly? Are there 2 sets of falls, separated by some kind of island or something?
And was the Chasm called the "Grand Canyon of the East" before the gorge at Letchworth was given that name?
I can hear the roar of the water, right hear in the UK! (That's a very clever composition by the way, though I'm sure that you made the image instinctively).