Trifter

The Grand Canyon of the East is located in Letchworth State Park in New York about 35 miles south of Rochester near the town of Perry. Inside the park the Genessee River has carved a beautiful gorge with walls as high as 600 feet.

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The exposed canyon walls are made up of mainly shales along with layers of limestone and sandstone. The area of the gorge used to be an inland sea as many marine fossils can be found in and around the canyon.

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The Grand Canyon of the East is not nearly as deep or spectacular as the real Grand Canyon but is quite scenic in its own right with three beautiful waterfalls tumbling along the Genessee as it flows through the canyon.

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Geologically the canyon is not that old as the last glacier from the last ice age some 20,000 years ago caused the Genessee River to change its course and then it began carving the present day canyon.

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Technically the highest waterfall in New York State flows into the canyon at Inspiration Point where Inspiration Falls drops some 350 feet. But Inspiration Falls is seasonal and often appears as just a stain on the canyon’s wall.

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There are an estimated 50 such falls that flow into the canyon from the Genessee’s tributaries and many of them are not seasonal like Deh-ga-ya-soh Falls pictured here.

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Letchworth Park is named for William Pryor Letchworth who was a Quaker that owned his own iron business at age 22. By his mid 30’s Letchworth was growing tired of the business and in 1859 he started buying up the land in and around the canyon and started building his estate on the canyon just above the Middle Falls which he named Glen Iris.

Letchworth moved to the estate and started doing charity work for the state. In 1906, at age 83, Letchworth bequeathed Glen Iris and his land to the state of New York and in 1907 the state named the park in his honor and he lived at Glen Iris in the park until his death in 1910.

At the North end of the park the Army Corp of Engineers completed the Mount Morris Dam on the Genessee River in 1952 to control flooding.

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The Mount Morris Dam is the largest flood control device east of the Mississippi and has helped to prevent the city of Rochester from the flood damage it had experienced frequently since the 1800’s.

The Gorge Trail in Letchworth Park along the rims offers hikers fantastic views of the canyon.

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There is only one bridge across the Grand Canyon of the East and that is a stone bridge just below the Lower Falls.

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The Middle Falls are the highest of the three main falls at 107 feet.

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The Upper Falls are 71 feet high and have a railroad bridge just above them

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while the Lower Falls are 55 feet high and considered the most impressive by many people.

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The Grand Canyon of the East in Letchworth State Park is a beautiful and magical place which was revered by the local Seneca Indians. It is well worth visiting and is easily reached by taking Exit 7 off nearby Interstate 390.

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