June 10, 2007 - Glen Creek 2, Watkins Glen

Canon 5D, 24 - 105 mm f/4L IS @ 35 mm, f/11, 1.6 sec., ISO 100, Polarizer

A few rays of sunlight penetrate the gorge at Watkins Glen. The almost heart-shaped area below this small waterfall was created by water and small stones (nature's sandpaper) swirling around the base. This action also tends to undercut the lip of the falls - as it has here. Eventually, the upper shelf will collapse, the falls will recede, and the process will start over again.

All waterfalls recede and eventually commit geological suicide. Niagara's Horseshoe Falls recedes at the rate of 2 to 5 feet per year (the American Falls recedes more slowly, at about 1 foot per year). When Niagara was first formed some 12,000 years ago, it was located near Lewiston. It has since moved roughly 7 miles to the south. Fascinating creatures, these waterfalls.......