imported>Kelisi: /* History */ "Evidence" is sing.subj. ∴ sing.v.

2025-04-01T20:53:07Z

History: "Evidence" is sing.subj. ∴ sing.v.

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{{short description|Sandstone gorge near Keeseville, NY, USA}}
{{Infobox valley
| name = Ausable Chasm
| length = {{convert|2|mi|km}}
| width =
| depth = {{convert|150|mi|km}}
| elevation =
| location = [[Keeseville]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| age = 10,000 years old
| photo = Ausable.jpg
| photo_caption = Ausable Chasm
| photo_size = 250
| label =
| label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|44|31|45|N|73|27|40|W|region:US-NY|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| watercourses = [[Ausable River (New York)|Ausable River]]
| map = New York#USA
| map_caption = Location in New York##Location in United States
| country = United States
}}
'''Ausable Chasm''' is a [[sandstone]] [[Canyon|gorge]] and tourist attraction located near the hamlet of [[Keeseville]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States,<ref name=awf>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWx1AgAAQBAJ&dq=Ausable+Chasm%2C+New+York&pg=PA41 |title=AuSable Chasm|work=Amazing Adirondack Wonders|publisher=Adirondack Wilderness Foundation|date=2011|isbn=9781458364159}}</ref> due west of [[Port Kent, New York|Port Kent]]. The gorge is about {{convert|2|mi|spell=in}} long and is about {{convert|150|ft|m}} deep.<ref name="CVNHPwebsite" />

Ausable Chasm is the namesake of the [[Ausable River (New York)|Ausable River]], which runs through the gorge and empties into [[Lake Champlain]] about {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} away. The gorge started forming about 10,000 years ago through [[headward erosion]] caused by Rainbow Falls, a {{convert|91|ft|m}} waterfall at the gorge's southern extreme.<ref name="rainbowfalls">{{cite web |title=Rainbow Falls - Ausable Freshwater Center |url=https://www.ausableriver.org/explore/hiking/rainbow-falls |website=www.ausableriver.org |publisher=New York Department of State |access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref> The gorge is a major tourist attraction and landmark in the [[Adirondacks]] region of [[Upstate New York]].

==Geology==
[[File:Protichnites at Ausable Chasm.jpg|left|thumb|''[[Protichnites]]'' trace fossils found at Ausable Chasm.]]
[[File:Ausable2.jpg|left|thumb|Rapids in the gorge.]]

Ausable Chasm is carved out of a 500-million-year-old, {{convert|520|ft|m|adj=on}}-thick exposure of [[Cambrian]] [[Potsdam Sandstone]]. The sandstone of the gorge, formed from ancient tidal flats,<ref name="nysm">{{cite web |title=Keeseville - Rare Fossil Jellyfish Embedded in Sandstone |url=https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/geology/resources/keeseville |website=New York State Museum |publisher=University of the State of New York |access-date=22 July 2024}}</ref> preserves ripple marks, [[ichnofossil]]s,<ref name="hudsonvalleygeologist" /> and rare mid-Cambrian [[Scyphomedusae]] jellyfish fossils.<ref name=Palaios>{{cite journal|author=Hagadorn, James W.|author2=Belt, Edward S.|name-list-style=amp|date=2008|title=Stranded in Upstate New York: Cambrian Scyphomedusae from the Potsdam Sandstone|journal=[[PALAIOS]]|volume=23|issue=7|pages=424–441|doi=10.2110/palo.2006.p06-104r|s2cid=129933062|url=http://www3.amherst.edu/~jwhagadorn/publications/04_HagadornBelt_new.pdf|access-date=2012-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619103818/http://www3.amherst.edu/~jwhagadorn/publications/04_HagadornBelt_new.pdf|archive-date=2012-06-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ausable Chasm itself is a result of the conclusion of the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]] at the end of the [[Pleistocene]], about 10,000 years ago. Prior to the formation of the gorge, the movement of the [[Laurentide ice sheet]] during the last glacial period carved deep cliffs along the [[Champlain Valley]], which were subsequently covered in glacial till.<ref name="RoadsideGeology">{{cite book |last1=VanDiver |first1=Bradford B. |title=Roadside geology of New York |date=1985 |publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co |location=Missoula |isbn=978-0878421800 |pages=325-328}}</ref> By the end of the last glacial period, the melting ice sheets formed the vast [[Champlain Sea]], which inundated the current location of the chasm.<ref name="CVNHPwebsite">{{cite web |title=Geology of the Champlain Valley |url=https://champlainvalleynhp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Geology-Guide-2020.pdf |website=Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership |access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref>

The formation of Ausable Chasm began in its earnest when [[post-glacial rebound]] caused the Champlain Sea to recede, and the [[Ausable River (New York)|Ausable River]], with considerably higher flow than today due to glacial meltwater,<ref name="hudsonvalleygeologist" /> began downcutting through the layers of glacial till.<ref name="CVNHPwebsite" /> Once the incipient Ausable Chasm had fully cut through the [[Superficial deposits|unconsolidated]] glacial till and reached the Potsdam Sandstone basement, the river fell over a buried scarp and formed the ancestral Rainbow Falls.<ref name="RoadsideGeology" /> As the falls [[Scarp retreat|receded]] due to [[headward erosion]], the river exploited vertical [[Joint (geology)|joints]] in the sandstone, resulting in the river following a sharp, angular course. Other than the natural weakness of the vertical joints, the horizonal beds of Potsdam Sandstone are resistant to erosion, contributing to the gorge's depth and narrowness. Over the next 10,000 years, the Ausable River in some places changed courses and left relict [[paleochannel]]s, with two, the Big Dry Chasm and Little Dry Chasm, being open to visitors along with the main gorge.

Ausable Chasm today is a [[Canyon#Box_canyon|box canyon]], with the Rainbow Falls having carved a {{convert|2|mi|spell=in}} long gorge from its ancestral location to the present-day visitor's center.<ref name=hudsonvalleygeologist>{{cite web|url=http://hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com/2013/11/ausable-chasm.html|date=November 2013|website=Hudson Valley Geologist|title=Ausable Chasm}}</ref> Modern development of the gorge has effectively been halted due to the construction of a dam upstream and the diversion of water from Rainbow Falls.<ref name="RoadsideGeology" /> Some formations that have been given names include Jacob's Well, a large [[Pothole (landform)|pothole]]; the Cathedral; the Devil's Oven, a cave formed by the Ausable River; Elephant's Head; the Flume; Sentinel Rock; and Table Rock.<ref name="ausablechamstrails">{{cite web |title=Tours at Ausable Chasm, Adirondacks NY |url=https://www.ausablechasm.com/trails-tours |website=www.ausablechasm.com |access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="visitorsguide">{{cite book |title=Ausable Chasm Visitor's Guide |date=2010 |pages=1-7 |url=https://issuu.com/lmossey/docs/ausable |access-date=24 July 2024}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Ausable Chasm Grand Flume.jpg|thumb|c.1875 photograph of the chasm by [[Seneca Ray Stoddard]]]]
Archeological evidence for Native American settlement has been found close to Ausable Chasm at Hallock Hill. In the 17th century, the land surrounding Ausable Chasm was contested between [[Mohawk people]] of the [[Iroquois]] Confederacy and [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribes. Native Americans left the area around 1810.<ref name="AusableTownHistory">{{cite web |title=Town of AuSable History - Town of Ausable, New York |url=https://townofausable.com/about/town-of-ausable-history/ |website=townofausable.com |publisher=Town of Ausable, New York |access-date=24 July 2024 |date=4 August 2014}}</ref>

In 1760, Major John Howe explored the chasm on ropes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Phil |title=Longstreet Highroad Guide to the New York Adirondacks |date=1999 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |isbn=9781461661986 |page=112 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pp-A-K2Wru0C&dq=Major+John+Howe+ausable+chasm&pg=PT126}}</ref> Five years later in 1765, early Irish settler William Gilliland encountered the chasm while exploring the shore of [[Lake Champlain]] on a [[bateau]].<ref name="AusableDiscovery">{{Cite web|url=http://ausablechasm.com/About/discovery-of-the-chasm|title=Ausable Chasm - Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks-Discovery of Ausable Chasm {{!}} History|website=ausablechasm.com|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref> Gilliland wrote in his journal that the gorge "is a most admirable sight, appearing on each side like a regular built wall, somewhat ruinated, and one would think that this prodigious clift was occasioned by an earthquake, their height on each side is from 40 to 100 feet in the different places; we saw about a half a mile of it, and by its appearance where we stopped it may continue very many miles further."

Although Gilliland's settlement was destroyed during the [[American Revolutionary War]],<ref name="AusableTownHistory" /> the growth of the logging industry spurred the settlement of the area around the gorge, creating the village of [[Keeseville]].The first bridge across the chasm, consisting of two logs planked with boards, was inaugurated in 1793.<ref name="AusableDiscovery" /> In the late 19th century, the chasm's Rainbow Falls was used to power Ausable Chasm Horse Nail Works, which produced two tons of nails a day. The factory closed in the 1925.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Laundree |first=Susan |date=May 1968 |title=The Ausable Horse-Nail Company |url=http://www.clintoncountyhistorical.org/app/webroot/assets/newsletters/NCN_45.pdf |magazine=North County Notes |location= |publisher=Clinton County Historical Association |access-date=24 July 2024}}</ref> In 1925, the [[AuSable Chasm Bridge]] was inaugurated, spanning the chasm at its southern extreme carrying [[U.S. Route 9 in New York|US 9]] over the Ausable River.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=1230|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: AuSable Chasm Bridge|date=February 1998|access-date=2009-06-14 |author=Steven Engelhart and Linda M. Garofalini|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]}} ''See also:'' {{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=1229|title=Accompanying 15 photos}}</ref>

==Tourism==
[[File:Bridge at AuSable Chasm.jpg|left|thumb|329x329px|[[AuSable Chasm Bridge]] and Rainbow Falls]]
Formal tourism at the chasm began in 1873 with the formation of the Ausable Company by a group of Philadelphia businessmen. Tours of the chasm were offered by [[bateau]] for 25¢, and wooden walkways were constructed.<ref name="AusableDiscovery" /> In the following decades, the chasm was visited by [[Thomas Edison]], [[John D. Rockefeller]], [[Harvey Firestone]], and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin]] and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]].<ref name="BeaconJournal">{{cite news |title=New York’s venerable Ausable Chasm offers beauty, nature, history, adventure |url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/lifestyle/travel/2015/09/26/new-york-s-venerable-ausable/10517556007/ |access-date=24 July 2024 |work=Akron Beacon Journal |date=26 September 2015}}</ref> In 1897, sitting president [[William McKinley]] visited the chasm and rode the rapids on the Ausable River. Later, silent movies including ''[[Three Jumps Ahead]]'' filmed at the chasm, sometimes using it as a dramatic backdrop for stunts.<ref name="visitorsguide" /> A 120-room hotel, the Hotel AuSable Chasm, was built in 1890 to facilitate tourism, but burned down in 1950.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fire Razes Ausable Chasm Hotel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/09/25/archives/fire-razes-ausable-chasm-hotel.html |access-date=24 July 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=25 September 1950}}</ref>

In January and November 1996, the chasm was hit by two devastating floods.<ref name="floods1996">{{cite web |title=The Devastating Floods of 1996 |url=https://www.ausablechasm.com/devastating-floods#:~:text=The%20Devastating%20Floods%20of%201996,75%C2%BAF%20in%20just%2012%20hours. |website=www.ausablechasm.com |publisher=Ausable Chasm |access-date=24 July 2024}}</ref> The first, on January 19th, was caused by the rapid snowmelt in the [[Adirondack Mountains]] due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Although the tourist infrastructure around the chasm was devastated, it was rebuilt and substantially strengthened. Nevertheless, on November 9th, seven inches of rainfall resulted in a [[100-year flood]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Flood November 1996 |url=https://www.weather.gov/nerfc/hf_nov_1996 |website=www.weather.gov |publisher=US Department of Commerce |language=EN-US}}</ref> which ripped apart the newly strengthened infrastructure. After the second flood, most of the tourist trails in the chasm were rerouted to higher ground.

The chasm, advertised as the "Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks", is presently operated as a tourist attraction which can be toured after a fee. In addition to five miles of trails which extend around and inside the chasm, activities offered include [[rock climbing]], [[rafting|whitewater rafting]] and a [[via ferrata]].<ref name="ausablechamstrails" />

==Cultural attractions==
*'''North Star Underground Railroad Museum,''' commemorating the [[Underground Railroad]] and operated by the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association, is on Mace Chasm Road in Ausable Chasm, New York on County Route 71, south of the junction of County Route 373 and U.S. 9.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/museum.php |website=northcountryundergroundrailroad.com|title=North Star Underground Railroad Museum}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery caption="Pictures from 1907 postcards" mode="packed" heights="150px">
Image:AusableChasmPointLookout.JPG | Lookout Point
Image:RainbowFallsAusableChasm.JPG | Rainbow Falls
Image:HotelAusableChasm.JPG | Hotel Ausable Chasm
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ausable Chasm}}
* [http://www.ausablechasm.com Official website of Ausable Chasm]
* [http://northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/museum.php Official website of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum]

[[Category:Landmarks in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Landforms of Clinton County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Clinton County, New York]]
[[Category:Canyons and gorges of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ausable River (New York)]]

Ausable Chasm - Revision history

imported>Kelisi: /* History */ "Evidence" is sing.subj. ∴ sing.v.