Edsen speaks:  "You could get much closer to the brink of the American Falls at Prospect Point until a massive section of rock ripped loose from that bank on July 28, 1954, and thundered into the talus [rock debris at the base of the falls].  Since that time, the railings hold you at bay at a safer distance...safer, perhaps, but a good deal of the thrill of the precipice is now missing from that vantage point."  [look ahead 2 pictures to image #11 for a good visual example of this]