Professional Paper No. 13 Series B, Descriptive Geology,.36

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR '

DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS

IN

SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND ADJACENT PARTS OF 

WEST VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY

BY

"W. a. TIGHT

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1903
CONTENTS,

Page.

Introduction........................................................................... 7

Location of the area. .......................................................... 11

Present drainage and its relation to adjacent drainage.............................. 13

Through-flowing streams ........................................................ 13

Indigenous streams.................................................................... 13

Pre-Glacial drainage of adjacent regions .................................................... 17

General topographic features............................................................... 23

Characteristics of the present river valleys.................................................. 29

Through-flosving streams.............................................................. 29

Ohio Valley ...................................................................... 29

Muskingum Valley................................................................ 36

Hocking Valley................................................................... 35

Srioto Valley ...................................................................... 36

Summary ...................................................................... 38

Indigenous streams ................................................................... 39

Middle Island Creek Valley........................................................ 39

Little Muskingum.and Duck Greek valleys.......................................... 39

Wolf Creek Valley................................................................ 40

Little Kanaxvha Valley............................................................. 40

Little Hocking Valley............................................................. 41

Federal Creek Valley ............................................................. 41

Sunday and Monday Creek valleys................................................. 41

Shade River Valley ...........J.............i.................................... 42

Leading Greek Valley ............................................................. 42

Kanaxvha Valley.................................................................. 43

Raccoon Creek Valley.........................I................................... 43

Synimes Greek Valley............................................................. 45

Big Sandy Valley ................i...............................................i 45

Pine Creek Valley ................................................................. 46

Little Scioto Valley ............................................................... 46

Summary ..................................................................... 46

Old high-level valleys..................................................................... 4T

General description .................................................................. 47

General distribution................................................................... 49

R
4 CONTENTS.

Old high-level valleys Continued. Page.

Special descriptions .-...-....---.....:.-.----.....-...--.........._..._........-....... 50

Teays and Flatwoods valleys....................................................... 50

California Valley.................................................................. 57

Layman, Barlow, and Fleming valleys........ ...................................... 58

Watertown Valley -.-.-....----.-......------.-.-..--:.._..............._....._... 59

Boxbury Valley ................................................................... 60

Torch Valley .... 1.........................................___...,.._...___....... 60

Coolville and Tappers Plains valleys ........... .................................... 61

Valleys at headwaters of Federal Creek and Hocking River........................... 62

Chester and Ohio Flatwoods valleys................................................. 62

Dutch Flat Valley, West Virginia .....................'............................. 63

Point Pleasant Valley ...............................'.............................. 65

Rodney Valley -..--..--..-----...-...-----........-..-...........--...-.......--. 65

Rio Grande and Centerville valleys --.-....-...---.--...........-.-.........._..... 65

Bedwell Valley............'.........................'.........................,.... 66

Cackley Swamp Valley............................................................ . 66

Camba, Keystone, and Jackson valleys.............................................. 66

Salina Plains Valley.................................................'.............. 67

Albany Valley.................................................................... 70

Vinton Valley .................................................................... 70

Wilkesvillc Valley .......... ..................................................... 70

McArthur Junction Valley .........^.............................................. 71

Wellston Valley ................................................................... 71

Berlin Valley.....'...........-.....-...-......-...-...........---..-.......-...... 72

Reconstruction of the old drainage system .................................................. 72

Reconstruction of the old topographic features ..............._-.............................. 77

Relation of present and restored drainage systems to geological structure....--.....-...---.--. 78

Relations of old and present river systems. ................................................... 81

Relation of present streams to their valley floors and to deposits within the valleys............ 84

The slender terraces .........-...--...-...-----..--...-.---...--..--..--..----..---...-.-- 88

The glacial deposits ..........---.-..--....----------.-.--.--.-.----.--...--.---...--.-..-- 90

Historical relations of the old high-level drainage system to the present-...................... 90
ILLUSTRATIONS. "

Page. 

PLATE I. Pre-Glacial hydrographic basins of the Upper Ohio Valley 1...................--..--- 7

II. A, View down a small ravine near Sardis; B, Section view of small ravine entering 

. the Ohio near Long Reach; C, View up the Ohio Valley at Long Reach; D, View 

up the Muskingum Valley froni Haruiar Hill; E, Cliffs bordering Ohio River at the 

col below Hocking, from opposite cliffs......................................... 24

III. A, View of the old topography of the Tertiary base-level; B, View of the Tertiary

peneplain of the lowland section ............................................... 26

IV. A and B, View from a high ridge north of Sardis; C, Ohio Valley looking down the

river from Parkersburg; D, Ohio Valley looking up the river from Parkersburg .... 28 

V. A, Old valley at Torch; B, Remnant of old gradation plain at mouth of Middle Island

Creek...:..............................-..................................... 30

VI. A, Ohio Valley at Sistersville, W. Va.; B, Shelving rock in Ohio near Syracuse; C, Ohio 

River and cliffs at Pomeroy; D, Old valley at Flatwoods, Ohio; E, Old valley near 

Dutch Flats, W. Va........................................................... 30

VII. A, Ohio Valley at the col below Gallipolis; B, Talus slope near the col near Gallipolis.. 32 

VIII. A, Ohio Valley at the col at Crown City; B, Ohio Valley at the Manchester col; C, 

Slender terrace on the Raccoon near Lathrop; D, Slender wave terrace on a branch 

of the Raccoon near Gallipolis ................................................. 34

IX. Topographic map of the Flatwoods and Teays valleys .............^................ 50

X. Silt cliffs at Barboursville........................................ ................ 54

XI. Map of drainage modifications in Washington and adjacent counties, Ohio .......... 58

XII. A, Old valley near MoArthur Junction; B, Old valley at Layman; C, Old valley at Barlow; D, Old valley at Flatwoods, east of Pomeroy, Ohio; E, Entrance of the" old valley 

into the Ohio Valley near Racine; F, Old Dutch Flats Valley, West Virginia...... 60

XIII. Map oi drainage modifications in parts of Ohio and West Virginia .................. 62

XIV. A, Old valley at Keystone; B, Old valley at Porter; C, Old valley at Rodney; D, 

Old yalley at Centerville; E, A ridge, road; F, The Ohio Valley below Portsmouth; 

0, Valley of the Little Muskingum............................................. 64

XV. Drainage map of Athens and part of Dover townships, Athens County, Ohio ...... 1. 68

XVI. Map of drainage modifications in Hocking, Vinton, and adjacent counties, Ohio ..... 70.

XVII. Map oi drainage modifications in parts ofOhio and Kentucky ...................... 74

FIG. 1. Drainage modifications at Barboursville .......................'..........,_.__....... 54

5
DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND 

ADJACENT PARTS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY.

By W. G. TIGHT.

INTRODUCTION.

The field work upon which this paper is based was carried on intermittently for 

several years. During the season of 1899 the work in Washington County, Ohio, 

was conducted under the direction of the Ohio State Academy of Science, the 

expenses being covered by a grant from the Emerson McMillin special research 

fund. The field work of the season of 1900 was done under the direction of Dr. T. C. 

Chambcrlin, chief of the Division of .Pleistocene Geology of the United States 

Geological Survey, and to him the author is greatly indebted for many valuable 

suggestions in relation to the work, and for an extended correspondence concerning 

the interpretations, during the preparation of this report.

The study of this particular region was the natural result of earlier studies of 

drainage modifications in Ohio, in the region more nearly adjacent to the glaciated 

area. Until a few years ago but very little systematic study of the drainage features 

of Ohio had been made. It is not intended at present to make a complete review of 

the earlj' literature, but to refer only to such portions of it as bear directly on the 

problem in hand. On account of the lack of good maps of Ohio it has not been 

possible to make the maps which accompany this paper as accurate as might be 

desired. They have been constructed from various published maps and from personal observations in the field; and, while they are not strictly accurate, it is hoped 

that they will set forth the facts with reference to the drainage modifications with 

sufficient clearness to enable anyone to follow the features in the field, or to serve 

for purposes of correlation. The map of Flatwoods and Teays valleys has been 

constructed from four topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey 

Ironton, Kenova, Huntington, and Charleston. The author is under obligations 

to Mr. H. M. Wilson, geographer of the Survey, for data furnished from the 

unpublished map of the Kenova quadrangle. The photographs illustrating the 

report were all taken by the author.
8 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

The special reason for undertaking the study of this particular region and for 

the importance attached to the correlations is that it occupies a>n intermediate position between the Pennsylvania regions on the east, which include the Upper Ohio 

Basin, where the drainage modifications have been so suggestively studied by 

Messrs. Chance, Stevenson, Lesley, Wright, Lewis, White, Spencer, Foshay, Hill, 

Chamberlin, Leverett, and others, and on which an excellent report has been published by Dr. T. C. Chamberlin and Mr. Frank Leverett; 3 the regions of central 

Ohio, including the Lower Scioto Basin, on which reports have been published by 

the author 6 and also by Mr. Leverett; c and the regions farther to the west. These 

relations are shown on the map, PL I.'

That the changes in the drainage within the region have been numerous was noted 

many times by the earlier geologists, but in all cases these changes have been considered merely as slight modifications of or deflections from the present lines, and but 

little attempt has been made to portray completely the drainage systems as they 

existed before the streams had their present courses. Within the glaciated area the 

drainage changes have been more extensively studied, and the causes of the modifications and deflections have been carefully worked out, with the result that the theory 

that the ice was a potent factor in producing such modifications in the regions over 

which it passed has been thoroughly established; but no explanation of the numerous 

changes in drainage that have been noted within this region, which lies entirely beyond 

the limits of the glacial invasion, has yet received general acceptance. The wellrecognized factors which operate to produce drainage modifications under normal 

conditions of erosion have seemed insufficient to account for the phenomena here 

observed. It was with the hope of completing correlations of the various modifications and of determining the factors which were operative in producing them that 

these studies were undertaken.

At a very early stage in the work it became evident that phenomena of considerable magnitude had to be considered. Some of the old drainage channels were so 

situated that it was certain that the present lines arc not merely deflections from them, 

but that they represented parts of a system of drainage which seemed to be very 

imperfectly related to the present system. It therefore became necessary to carry the 

work of collecting the data and tracing the old lines to such an extent that it was possible to map the old system. This work has now been carried so far, it is believed, that 

most of the important divisions of the old systems have been carefully determined. 

Later it may be found that in some minor details the work needs revision, and it is 

expected that subsequent work in the field will bring to light many new cases of modia Am. Jour. Sci., Vol. XLVII, 1891, p. 247.

6 Bull. Sci. Lab. Deuison Univ., Vol. IX, pt. 2, pp. 22-82.

c Ibid., pp. 18-21.
INTBODUCTION. 9

fication which have not yet been discovered, but it is thought that these will not 

interfere in any way with the general correlations which have boon deduced from the 

data already in hand.

On account of the lack of a topographic survey of Ohio, it has often been difficult 

to obtain satisfactory bench marks on which to base calculations of altitude. The 

bench marks .of the railroads and of the United States Geological Survey have been 

utilized as far as possible. The data based on aneroid reading's have been as 

carefully corrected as the emergencies of the case would permit. The exact elevations of the old valley floors and gradation plains are usually determined with considerable difficulty, as these arc often remote from any well-established datum line. 

Until the topographic survey of the State is accomplished it will not be possible to 

present such data except in very general terms.

In determining the exact altitudes of points used as bench marks during the 

field work, use has been made of all available sources of information. The McFarlane Geological Eailroad Guide, United States Geological Survey Bulletin No. 160, 

by Gannett, the river and canal surveys, the published reports of bench marks established by the United States Geological Survej% the State and private surveys, and 

railroad surveys have all been used. It has often happened that careful study of 

these various sources of information has shown the elevation of a desired station to 

be very doubtful. In some cases as many as five different figures are given by apparently equally good authority for the same station. In many cases the author has, by 

a carefully executed system of aneroid readings, been able to discriminate and determine the elevation most probably nearest the true one. In other cases, where the 

discrepancies were developed in the study, after the field work, and when experimental determination, even of a crude character, was impossible, various factors have 

been considered in determining the figure to be employed.

Through the kindness of the chief engineers of several of the railroads which 

traverse the region the following corrected list of elevations is offered. In view of the 

numerous discrepancies existing, the author does not consider it possible to state 

elevations in very exact terms; yet the great importance of being able to do this is 

recognized, since the determination of the grades of many of the valley floors is 

most essential, and the difficulty involved is most manifest when the grades are very 

low (only a few inches per mile) and the distance between stations is not .very great. 

For these reasons, in the determination of grades, base lines as long as possible have 

been employed, and the elevations of stations have been taken with as much accuracy 

as possible. It is believed, however, that the altitudes given represent approximately 

the correct elevations of the old gradation plains, valley floors, benches, terraces; etc.
10 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

Elevations of stations on the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad.

Station,

Vigo ..................

Ray ...................

Byer ...................

Elevation 

in feet.

629.5

664.5

634. 5

607.5

618.5

644. 5

648.5

701. 5

778.5

Station.

Hope Furnace ........

Marshfield.. ..........

Elevation 

in feet.

713.5

744. 5

738. 5

713.5

702. 5

712.5

816.5

646. 5

628.5

Station.

Stewart ......

Frost.......

Coolville .. .....

Torch ......... . .

Belpre ...........

Elevation 

in feet.

617.5

615. 5

607.5

627.5

718.5

630.5

634.5

642.5

Elevations of stations on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway.

Elevations of stations on the Toledo and Ohio Central Railway.

Station.

Ohillicotlie ............

Elevation 

in feet.

652.2 '

650. 2

617.3

617. 3

669.2

710

741.7

Station.

Wellston .............

 

Berlin................

Rocky Hill...........

Elevation 

in feet.

775. 6

734. 5

757.2

703

760

728

718

Station.

No. 1 Tunnel .........

No. 3 Tunnel .........

.

Elevation 

in feet.

758

701

886.8

850

677

Station.

Palos. .................

Mulfield... ............

Elevation 

in feet.

698.8

674.2

657. 7

653.8

Station.

Albany...............

Elevation 

in feet.

679.9

746.2

628.3

610.4

Station.

Langsville ............

Middleport ...........

Elevation 

in feet.

579.9

573.7

570.9
INTRODUCTION.

Elevations of stations on the Hocking Valley Railway.

11

Station.

Starr ..................

Elk Fork.. ............

Al c _A_r th 11 r

Elevation 

in feet.

728

708

893

775

760

801

729

785

713

730

700

791

Station.

Kadcliff ..............

TTawk ................

XUes. ........... ...

Glenn ................

Porter 6 ..............

FvGrsrrcGn

Kerr...... ...........

Elevation 

in feet.

796

645

639

627

696

677

606

727

698

662

690

591

Station.

Mills ..........-------

Flood '84.............

Flood '84.............

Flood '84..---.----...

Elevation 

in feet.

564

561

571

570

568

576

564

565

K7Q

571

Elevations of stations on the Detroit Southern Railroad'

Station.

Whitmans....... ----- .

Elevation 

in feet.

594. 3

656. 3

669.6

668.6

699.3

699.8

670.4

Run

Coa

Glp

\Ve

Ha

T,in

Station.

\Vellstoil .............

H a w k

Elevation 

in feet.

653.1

686.4

682. 1

708.4

629. 3

759.4

788.. 6

Station.

Hills......... .......

Elevation 

in feet.

865.5

838.7

779.1

652.5

673.4

LOCATION OF THE AREA.

The region under consideration embraces a large section of southeastern Ohio, 

parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, and the southeastward extension of the Kanawha-New River into Virginia and North Carolina. It includes all the territory 

drained by the Ohio River and its tributaries between New Martinsville, W. Va., 

and Manchester, Ohio.

Before the present drainage was developed this region constituted a basin which 

was drained northward through the Scioto River. From the east side of Scioto 

River, a little above Chillicothe, the bounding watershed passed through eastern Ross 

County, into Hocking County, where it crossed the present North Fork of Salt Creek
12 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

a few miles above Eagle Mills; thence, passing somewhat northward around the headwaters of Raccoon Creek, it crossed the present Hocking River a few miles above 

Nelsonville; thence, taking a northerly direction around the headwaters of Monday 

and Sunday creeks, it crossed the Muskingum near the north line of Morgan County. 

It then passed eastward in a rather tortuous line through northern Noble County 

between the waters of Duck Creek and Wills Creek; thence through Monroe County 

between, the waters of Cranes Nest Fork of the Muskingum River and Sunfish Creek, 

crossing the Ohio River a little below New Martinsville, W. Va.; thence in a rather 

direct southeast line across West Virginia to the State line near Monterej7 ; thence 

southwesterly along the State line between West Virginia and Virginia to within a few 

miles of the point where New River crosses the State line. From here it turned 

again toward the southeast, passing between the headwaters of the James, Roanoke, 

and New rivers to the Blue Ridge mountain range; thence, passing along this mountain1 range toward the southwest, it crossed the Virginia-North Carolina line, passed 

around the headwaters of New River, and again crossed the Virginia-North Carolina 

line. From there it crossed, in an almost direct northwest direction, the lower portion of Virginia, separating the waters of the Big Sandy from those of the Cumberland, Kentucky, and Licking. Continuing in this general direction, bearing slightly 

more to the north between the headwaters of the Little Sandy, Tygarts Creek, and 

Kinniconiek and the waters of the Licking, it again crossed the Ohio a few miles 

above Manchester, crossing the lower waters of Ohio Brush Creek a few miles above 

its mouth; thence it passed in a northerly direction, between the western tributaries 

of the Scioto, to the waters of Brush Creek, and reached the Seioto again in the 

vicinity of Chillicothe. In general the area included in the watershed had the shape 

of a somewhat irregular ellipse, with its long- axis in a northwest-southeast direction, 

one end lying near Chillicothe on the Scioto and the other high up on the eastern 

plateau. 

The most noteworthy modifications of drainage are found in Washington, Morgan, Athens, Fairfield, Hocking, Vinton, Ross, Meigs, Gallia, Jackson, Pike, Scioto, 

Adams, and Lawrence counties, Ohio; Pleasants, Wood, Jackson, Mason, Putnam, 

Kanawha, Cabell, and Wayne counties, W. Va.; and Boyd, Grcenup, and Lewis counties, Ky. ' This entire region lies outside the glacial boundary except a small portion 

of Fairfield and Ross counties (PI. I). The basins of the Muskingum above the 

north line of Morgan County, of the Hocking above Logan, and of the Scioto above 

Chillicothe do not properly belong within the region and will be discussed only in 

their relation to it.
DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO. 13

PRESENT DRAINAGE AND ITS RELATION TO ADJACENT DRAINAGE.

THROUGH-FLOWING STREAMS.

The streams which drain this area may be divided into two classes. The first 

arc the through-flowing streams, which derive their water supply from outside the 

region and are but little affected by the precipitation within it. To this class belong 

the Ohio, Muskingum, and Scioto, and, to a much less extent, the Hocking.

The Ohio enters the area on its northeastern side a little below New Martinsville 

and passes in a general southwesterly direction to near Huntington, where its general 

course becomes northwesterly, which it follows to Seiotoville, when it again flows 

to the southwest as far as Vanceburg; here it turns again to the northwest, passing 

out of the area a little above Manchester.

The Muskingum enters the area at the north line- of Morgan County and passes 

in a general southeasterly* direction, but with a very crooked course, to the Ohio at 

Marietta.

The Hocking flows into the area a few miles above Nelsonville and passes in a 

general southeasterly direction to the Ohio River at Hockingport. Its larger tributaries, Monday Creek, Sunday Creek, and Federal Creek, lie within the basin.

The Scioto enters from the north at Chillicothe and passes almost directly south 

to the Ohio at Portsmouth.

The relation of these through-flowing streams to the normal drainage of. the 

area forms a most interesting problem, the solution of which is attempted in the 

present discussion. .

INDIGENOUS STREAMS.

The second class may be called the indigenous streams, as they are probably 

consequential and lie wholly within the bounding watershed of the basin-like area. 

These may be mentioned in their order, passing from New Martinsville down the 

Ohio, which river is, of course, the present major drainage line.

The first considerable stream is Middle Island Creek, which is on the south side 

of the Ohio and empties into the latter near St. Marys. Its headwaters arc well 

up on the plateau against the side of the Monongahela Basin. Its general course is 

northwest, somewhat parallel to the old divide, to Middlebourne, in Tyler County; 

here it turns to the west and flows into the Ohio, making a very acute angle.

On the north side of the Ohio is the Little Muskingum River, which corresponds 

in a general way, in its relation to the Ohio, to Middle Island Creek on the south 

side. Its principal headwater tributaries are in Monroe County; they flow in a general southeasterly direction, turning almost squarely to the southwest when they meet
14 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the axis of the basin. The close parallelism of the Little Muskingum River with the 

neighboring section of the Ohio is noteworthy.

A little below the mouth, of the Little Muskiugum, Duck Creek enters the Ohio 

after traversing Noble and Washington counties. The lower course of Duck Creek 

is somewhat parallel to and very near the lower section of the Muskingum, and its 

relations to the latter stream arc abnormal and very interesting.

Below the mouth of the Muskingum the next important tributary of the Ohio is 

the .Little Kanawha. Its headwaters extend out upon the Allegheny Plateau, even 

to the south of those of the Monongahela Basin, and are intimately associated with 

the headwaters of Elk River and Gauley River, as shown by Mr. Campbell, and 

referred to in his article on drainage modifications a and elsewhere. The general ' 

course of the Little Kanawha with its associated tributary is toward the northwest, 

entering the Ohio at Parkersburg.

At Little Hocking the Little Hocking River enters the Ohio on the north side. 

Its basin includes a large portion of western Washington County and is divided into 

two rather separate sections, one drained by the east branch, which heads within a 

few miles of Marietta and runs remarkably parallel to the Ohio for many miles, the 

other drained by the Little Hocking proper.

Below the Hocking, in the southern part of Athens County and in Meigs County, 

lies the basin of Shade River, which is divided into three sections eastern, middle, 

and western. The headwaters of the eastern and middle sections extend to within a 

very short distance of the valley of the Hocking below Athens, and might suggest a, 

migration of the divide toward the larger stream, but other considerations, to be 

brought out later, are opposed to this view. The abnormal relations between the 

streams in the lower section of this basin and the Ohio are noteworthy.

The tributaries of the Ohio on the southern side between Parkersburg and the 

Kanawha River are all small, and rarely drain more than a small part of a single 

county.

At Middlcport, a few miles below Pomeroy, Leading- Creek enters the Ohio on 

the north side. This stream heads in the flat lands of southern Athens County, in the 

vicinity of Albany, and flows in a general southerly and southeasterly direction. 

Its features present many abnormalities, to be mentioned later.

South of the basin of Leading Creek lies the somewhat smaller basin of Campaign Creek. This stream rises in southwestern Meigs County, and flows in a general 

southeasterly direction, entering the Ohio at Cheshire, some distance above Point 

Pleasant.

At Point Pleasant the Kanawha comes into the Ohio on the south side. The 

upper section of the Kanawha is known under the name of New River, and its head-

«Jour. tteol., Vol. IV, 1896, pp. 669-670.
 PRESENT DRAINAGE. 15

waters m&y be said to be-almost on the Atlantic slope, for they lie well on the southeastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Its course is northeast 

to the vicinity of Christiansburg, where it turns to the northwest, and retains this 

general direction to the Ohio. Some of the peculiarities of this interesting river 

will be more full}' discussed later. It tn&y here be stated that it is the axial stream 

in this basin-like area, that it is antecedent to the Appalachian elevation, and that its 

lower tributaries are consequential. The deflection of the lower section of the 

Kanawha from Tcays Valley, below St. Albans, to its present position forms one of 

the early recognized and important changes in the area.

Some distance below Gallipolis the Ohio receives an important tributary, Raccoon Creek. The headwaters of Raccoon Creek are in southern Hocking County, 

and some of its branches approach very near to the valley of the Hocking. -Its basin 

is long and slender, intercalated as it were between the valleys of the Hocking' and 

the Scioto, and covering a considerable section of southeastern Ohio. The stream 

itself is very tortuous, and its abnormalities are very marked. In certain sections of 

its course man)7 of its smaller tributaries are flowing in a reversed direction to that 

of the stream, and meet it at'high angles.

A stream of somewhat similar character and peculiarities is Symmes Creek, 

wbich vises in southern Jackson County and flows through Gallia and Lawrence 

counties to the Ohio River opposite Huntiugton. Though a smaller basin than that 

of Raccoon Creek, it is of very similar form, and the abnormalities in its drainage 

arc full}' as marked.

At Guyandot, on the West Virginia side, the Guyaudot River enters the Ohio. 

The lower course of the Guyandot lies within Tcays Valley. At the point where it 

enters the valley it receives Mud RiA^er as a tributary. The latter also occupies a 

portion of Teays Valley west of Milton. South of Teays Valley the Guyandpt and 

Mud rivers occupy nearly parallel basins, and with Coal River and Twelvepole Creek 

drain most of the territory between the Kanawha and the Big Sandy.

The Big Sand}r enters the Ohio at Catlettsburg. Its headwaters lie well up on 

the plateau and are opposed by the headwaters of tae Cumberland. Its general 

direction is toward the north, .bearing somewhat to the west. The 'normal relation 

which the Big Sandy, Guyandot, and Coal rivers bear to the Kanawha as the axis of 

the basin is to be noted. This is also true of the Little Sandy and Tygarts Creek, 

which lie directly to the west of the Big Sandy Basin, although these latter are 

smaller streams and their general direction is more toward the northeast, with their 

headwaters extending toward those of the Licking River of Kentucky.

On the north side of the Ohio, a little above Wheelersburg, Piue Creek enters 

the Ohio. It drains the eastern part of Lawrence County and the western part of 

Scioto County; its headwaters are in Jacksou County. It flows for many miles almost
16 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

directly south, and then turns to'the northwest, running at a very acute angle with 

the Ohio until it meets it. Its abnormal direction is very striking. At Sciotoville 

the Little Scioto River comes in on the north side also. This stream is made up of 

several branches which are very irregularly disposed. Jts general direction is toward 

the south.

Below the Scioto, and within the area, the principal stream on the south side 

is Kinniconick River. This, with Salt Creek, drains the principal portion of Lewis 

County, Ky. Their headwaters are opposed by those of the Licking River, and their 

general direction of flow is toward the northeast, and opposite to that of the Ohio, 

which they meet at very sharp angles.

The other smaller streams to be noted are those tributary to the Muskingum in its 

lower section, which are Meigs Creek and Olive Creek on the north side and Wolf 

Creek on the south side. The latter is of special interest. Rising in northwestern 

Morgan County, it runs parallel to the Muskingum in a general southeasterly direction 

to the northwest corner of Washington County, where it turns abruptly to the north- 

. east, still nearly parallel to the Muskingum, and enters the Muskingum at Beverly. 

The south branch of Wolf Creek rises near the mouth of the Muskingum, a little west 

of Marietta, and flows roughly parallel to the Muskingum, but in an exactly opposite 

direction, that is, to the northwest, and joins the main stream only a miie or so above 

Beverly. The peculiarities of this relation are at once very striking and suggestive 

of important modifications.

The larger tributaries of the Hocking, within the area, are Monday Creek, 

which rises in southern Perry County and flows southward through the eastern 

section of Hocking County and enters the Hocking a little below Nelsonville; and 

Sunday Creek, which heads in a number of branches in southern Perry County 

and western Morgan County, flows toward the south, and enters the Hocking near 

Chauncey.

The only considerable tributary on the south side of the Hocking is Margaret 

Creek, which rises in the flat lands around Albany in southwestern Athens County 

and flows northward to join the Hocking at the great loop near Athens. Its direction of flow is almost exactly opposite to that of the larger stream.

The basin of Federal Creek lies north of the Hocking, below Athens, and its 

drainage is extremely interesting, as the axial stream is almost in the form of a 

circle, and its tributaries are arranged largely radially, on the northern side. It 

enters the Hocking a few miles below Gruysville.

In the basin of Raccoon Creek we note two tributaries on the west side. The 

smaller is the Elk Fork, which drains the central portion of Vinton County and 

flows in a general southeast direction, joining the stream a little above Radcliff; the 

othef is the Little Raccoon, which rises in southern Vinton County and flows through
PRESENT AND PRE-GLACIAL DRAINAGE. 17

the northeast corner of Jackson County to join the larger stream a little below 

Vinton in Gallia County.

A tributary to the Scioto on the west side is Scioto Brush Creek, which rises 

in numerous branches in eastern Adams County and flows almost directly east to the 

Scioto. Some of its southernmost headwaters rise within 2 or 3 miles of the Ohio 

River and flow in a northerly direction, making a circuit of more than 30 miles 

before the}7 join the main stream. North of the basin of Scioto Brush Creek is the 

Sunfish Creek Basin, which includes the western part of Pike County, and north of 

this the Paint Creek Basin, which opens into the Scioto at Chillicothe.

The adjacent drainage is extremely varied in its direction and general relations. 

To the north is the upper section of the Scioto, Hocking, and Muskingum basins, 

which furnish the water supply for these through-flowing streams. To the northeast 

lies the upper basin of the Ohio, including the Beaver, Allegheny, and Monongahela 

basins, which supply the water for the through-flowing Ohio. To the east lies the 

Shenandoah, which touches the basin at the headwaters of the Greenbrier; and the 

headwaters of the James, which are also opposed to those of the Greenbrier, and. 

reach very close to New River itself in the Great Valley. To the southeast lies the 

basin of the Roanoke, whose headwaters flow from the southeastern side of the Blue 

Ridge Mountains, and are opposed to many of the tributaries of the upper section of 

New River. Near the extreme headwaters of New River its smaller tributaries are 

opposed by the waters of Yadkin'and Catawba rivers, tributaries of the Great Pedee 

and Santee. To the southwest several of the headwater streams of the Tennessee 

reach in against the divide adjacent to the upper section of New River. To the west 

the Kentucky and Licking river basins form the bordering areas, and to the northwest lies the smaller drainage basin of Ohio Brush Creek.

It thus appears that surrounding the area discussed and that drained by the 

through-flowing streams the water passes northward to the lake system, eastward to 

the Susquehanna and Potomac systems, southward to the Atlantic slope system, and 

westward to the Mississippi system.

PRE-GLACIAL DRAINAGE OF ADJACENT REGIONS.

From the extensive studies carried on in western Pennsylvania by many authors 

it appears practical!}7 demonstrated that the Upper Ohio Basin suffered many changes 

in the arrangement of its drainage lines in connection with the advance and recession 

of the ice during the various stages of the Glacial epoch. A summary and review of 

this work has been given by Dr. T. C. Chamberlin and Frank Leverett, a in which 

may be found a somewhat complete reference to the literature on the subject. The

a Am. Jour. Sci., 3d series, Vol. XLVII, 1894, pp. 247-283.

9653 No. 13 03 2
18 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

general conclusions arrived at by these authors are that the Upper Ohio Basin was 

divided into three distinct sections in pre-Glacial times, as shown on the map (PI. I). 

These are the old Upper Allegheny, the Middle Allegheny, and the Lower Allegheny 

basins. The latter is included in the area under consideration. It is shown that this 

Lower Allegheny system included Monongahela, Youghiogheny, Conemaugh, and 

.Clarion rivers as its headwater streams, and that its lower .portion, which is here 

termed the Pittsburg River, extended northward along the line of the reversed 

Beaver and through Grand River into the Lake Erie Basin. A tributary of this 

basin on the western side is called Old Upper Ohio River. Its headwaters included 

those of Fishing Creek, which is now tributary to the present Ohio at New Martinsville, and from New Martinsville the general course of this stream was along that of 

the present Ohio reversed to the mouth of the Beaver.

Four hypotheses are offered in intei-pretation of the data. In all of them it is 

assumed, as supported by the facts, that the modifications which deflected all the 

water of the Upper Ohio Basin over the divide at New Martinsville into the region 

under discussion were inaugurated at or previous to the time of the very earliest ice 

invasion.

The pre-Glacial drainage directly to the north of the basin has been the subject 

of study for many years by the author, and his conclusions have been published 

chiefly in the Bulletin of the Scientific Laboratories of Denison University. He has 

discussed" the drainage modifications in the upper section of the Muskingum Basin, 

and shown that the pre-Glacial course of the Tuscarawas, instead of being south 

frotn Dresden, was toward the southwest, through an old abandoned valley, to 

Newark, in Licking County, and thence toward the south and southwest to the Scioto 

Basin somewhere in the vicinity of Lockbourne, south of Columbus, in Franklin 

County. The general features of this course are shown on PI. I, and the lower 

section of this old river is shown on PI. XVI, in the upper left-hand portion. One 

of the tributaries of this pre-Glacial stream, for which the name Newark River is 

suggested, had its headwaters near Bluerock, on the north line of Morgan County, 

and flowed thence northward to the main river, receiving a considerable tributary 

the Moxahala River at Zanesville.

Another minor tributary to the Newark River has been described by Mr. J. H. 

Davis, 6 who shows that the West Fork of Jonathan Creek is a composite stream, and 

that the portion west of the cast line of Perry County originally flowed westward, in 

pre-Glacial times, to join the Newark River somewhere in the vicinity of the old 

Licking' reservoir. Another somewhat larger tributary of the Newark River,, which 

is also contiguous to the area under discussion, has been described by the author/ 

who has shown that the upper waters of the Hocking have been greatly modified

"Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison Univ., Vol. VIII, pt. 2, pp.47-50. bldem, Vol. XI, pp. 165-173. cldem, Vol. IX.
PRE-GLACIAL DRAINAGE OF ADJACENT REGIONS. 19

and reversed; that the East Fork of Rush Creek, which heads near New Lexington, 

in Perry County, flowed almost directly westward past Bremen to Lancaster, where 

it received the waters of the upper Hocking, reversed, from a little above Nelsonvine, and together the two streams discharged toward the northwest into the 

Newark River, somewhere in northern Perry County. These relations are expressed 

on the map (PI. I).

It has recently been shown by some brief field studies that the headwaters of 

Clear Creek in southern Fairfield County were also tributary to this old line.

To the southwest of the Lancaster River Basin was a small basin drained by a 

stream for which the name Adelphi Creek is suggested. Its general relations are 

shown on PL XVI. This stream drained the western half of Hocking County. It 

is now a part of the basin of the North Fork of Salt Creek. The present valley 

of Salt Creek at Adelphi is about a mile wide and is very much obstructed with 

heavy glacial deposits.

A view from the cemetery hill at Adelphi toward the northwest and north 

shows the broad expanse of the overwash apron from the strong morainic 

ridge of one of the later ice invasions. While the deposits of till in the immediate 

valley at Adelphi seem to be of much earlier date than the morainic ridge which lies 

some distance northwest, the headwater streams of Salt Creek above Adelphi are 

all distributed over the overwash apron and the morainic ridges of the more 

recent glacial deposits. The broad valley formed between the moraine and the 

Carboniferous hills is described by G. Frederick Wright in his writings on the 

terminal moraine through Ohio.

To the southwest extends a long range of Carboniferous hills, over which is a 

more or less irregular veneering of glacial till; but it is evident that these hills offered 

effective resistance to the southward movement of the ice, which was not able to sur 

mount them to any large extent.

To the east the view extends into the mouth of the valiey of Laurel Creek, which 

is a rather broad valley bounded by rock walls having very mature contours. The 

direction of the valley is opposed to that of the present Salt Creek Valley, but normal to the restored drainage.

To the southeast the view is down the valtey of Salt Creek, but the features of 

the valley indicate clearly that the view in that direction is up the stream which was 

instrumental in shaping the valley, for the valley diminishes in width gradually in 

this direction and resembles very closely the view which is obtained in looking up 

the Laurel Creek Valley, except that the" former is somewhat larger. The tall 

which blocks the valley at Adelphi is accumulated in hillocks rising about 125 feet 

above the present stream, and it appears as if these deposits had at one time formed 

a complete barrier across the mouth of the valley, but had more recently been cut
20 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

through by the action of the stream. The till, where exposed, is of a light-yellow 

color and is weathered very deeply, in some places as much as 6 or 8 feet, and 

contains stones which are very much decayed even when obtained from several feet 

below the surface. Some sections of the till are bowldery, containing stones of 

granite, syenite, diorite, and limestone, ranging up to 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Below 

the weathered zone of yellow till is a light-blue till of undetermined thickness. Many 

of the contained stones are beautifully striated. In a few places the till shows some 

stratification, as though it might have been deposited in connection with a body of 

water. 

Passing down the present stream, or up the old valley, as it were, there appear 

to be two systems of terraces; an upper set, which corresponds in a general way to 

the elevation of the till deposits that block the.valley at Adelphi and that slope somewhat rapidly as they pass down the stream; and a second set, which lies at a much 

lower level and which appears to pass westward beyond the obstructions that block 

the valley and to be associated with the overwash apron of the outer moraine. These 

two sets of terraces differ also materially in their structure. The upper terrace is 

made up largely of very heterogeneous material, in most cases showing considerable 

water action in the process of its deposition, but in others resembling closely a typical 

till. These terraces are much more irregular and heterogeneous in structure, and 

are composed of coarser material, next to the morainic deposits in the mouth of 

the valley, and increase in the fineness of the materials and in the amount of stratification as the distance from the till hills increases. A section about a mile from 

Adelphi shows, in the upper part, a weathered zone of about 6 feet of finely stratified 

silt; below this the material is somewhat coarser for about a foot; then comes a large 

lenticular mass of very coarse material -about 4 feet in maximum thickness, embedded 

in a 15- or 20-foot bed of very fine sand; below this is a very regular belt of wellwashed gravel about 2 feet thick; and below that about 20 feet of very coarse 

materials, showing very little stratification and yet evidently waterlaid. Scattered 

somewhat irregularly through the whole deposit peppered m, as it were are 

numerous stones and bowlders, a few as much as 3 feet in diameter. Some sections 

a little farther down the valley showed a deposit of 30 or 40 feet, composed almost 

entirely of very fine silt. At Hayncs the valley is less than three-quarters of a mile 

in width, and the upper terrace deposits in this vicinity are composed entirely of fine 

silts and sand. In a few cases the sand is so coarse that it might almost be classed as 

gravel, and is as well sorted as if it had been run through a sieve. While the upper 

terraces are extensively preserved in the portion of the valley near Adelphi, down 

the stream they have been more largely removed, and in the vicinity of Haynes 

almost the last indication of them may be noted in a group of sand hills north of the 

station, almost in the mouth of the valley of a tributary creek. From the nature of
PRE-GLACIAL DRAINAGE 01' ADJACENT REGIONS. 21

this material it is easy to understand how the valley has been swept almost entirely 

free of the deposits. These sand hills near Haynes are very interesting remnants of 

the old terrace, as they have slopes of about 25° and are conical in form, rising one 

above the other in a progressive series to an elevation of about 200 feet above the 

valley floor. Below Haynes scarcely a remnant of these deposits was observed.

The terraces of the second or lower series are composed almost uniformly of 

well-washed coarse gravel. They slope down the stream, the material of the terrace 

becoming considerably finer, and the terraces themselves entirely disappearing a short 

distance below Haynes.

A few miles below Haynes, Salt Creek turns abruptly south westward, while the 

vallejs, continues eastward, growing rapidly smaller to South Bloomington and 

beyond. In this section of the valley there are deep.silt deposits, which are very 

finely laminated, showing, their deposition in slack water. These silts are leached to 

a great depth, so that they show no acid reaction at least 10 feet below the surface. 

Their material seems to be entirely of local origin, being the outwash from the neighboring Carboniferous shales and sandstones. At the point where this tributary joins 

Salt Creek the two valleys are about a quarter of a mile in width. From this point 

downstream the valley of Salt Creek gets rapidly narrower and its walls become 

steeper and more precipitous > until it reaches its minimum width near the Vinton 

County line, where it is a veritable gorge. Below this point it broadens again to 

Eagle Mills, where it unites with a tributary of about similar size which comes in 

from the east. From Eagle Mills the north fork of the valley widens gradually 

downstream. Its floor is deeply covered with gravel deposits in the form of high 

terraces. Just at the point where the stream emerges from the gorge, near the 

Lebanon M. E. Church, these terraces are about 75 feet above the present stream; 

they are composed of well-rounded gravel, all of which has undoubtedly been washed 

from the original deposits in the upper section of Salt Creek Valley through the 

gorge. From the characters of the valley from Adelphi to the gorge at the Vinton 

County line, and the tributaries, it seems certain that in pre-Glacial times there was 

a col in the old divide on the county line, which will be called the Eagle Mills col, 

and that the drainage of the section of the valley north of this col was the reverse of 

that of present Salt Creek. The nature of the deposits in the upper portion of this 

valley, around Adelphi and to the northwest, would seem to indicate that at the time 

of the maximum advance of the ice its front stood across the valley at Adelphi and 

offered a complete obstruction to the northwestward discharge of Adelphi Creek, 

thus impounding the waters until they rose over the Eagle Mills col. Into these 

waters were discharged the great burden of glacial debris which formed the upper 

terraces. The coarser material would naturally be deposited nearest the front of the 

ice, and the material would be finer farther down the stream. In the portion of the
22 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

valley beyond the main current that is, bej^ond the point where the present stream 

turns to the southwest the waters were almost quiet, except for the slight currents 

produced by the small tributaries, and in these quiet waters the heavy deposits of 

silt were laid down. As the Eagle Mills col was worn away, the flood waters from 

the ice removed pari passu the terraces previously deposited, but on account of the 

smaller volume of water in these small tributaries the silts in the blind end of the 

valley were not so completely removed. It would seem that this stage was followed 

by a recession of the ice from its position at Adelphi, which would probably mean 

a cessation of the supply of material, but, at least for a time, a continuation of the 

flood waters. Following this there must have been a readvance of the ice, or, what 

seems more certain, the advance of ice of another epoch, which reached the position 

of the outer moraine northwest of Adelphi. The overwash apron from this moraine 

extends to the deposits at Adelphi and passes down the valley of Salt Creek as a 

gravel train; but these gravels, which form the lower series of terraces, did not rise 

nearly to the height of the older series. After the deposition of these terraces the 

supply of material was stopped, while the flood waters continued, and the deposits 

were worn out to the level of the present stream, or nearly so. Since the falling off 

of the glacial floods the present stream seems to have accomplished little but the 

meandering of its course over the valley floor, with a certain amount of silting of its 

flood plain, as the stream is now on rock bottom, or nearly so. in the gorge at the 

Eagle Mills col. A comparison of the deposits in the mouth of the old valley at 

Adelphi and the neighboring moraine beyond the apron would indicate a great difference in the age of the two moraines, and would suggest that the modifications of 

drainage in the Salt Creek Basin and the reversal of the old Adelphi Creek were 

accomplished at the time of the earliest ice invasion of this region. This may bo 

correlated with the Illinoian of the western region, and possibly with the Kansan, 

while the outer moraine would seem to belong to the Wisconsin group.

The drainage features immediately adjacent, west of the Scioto, have not been 

so completely worked out. It is evident, however, that Ohio Brush Creek is a 

reversed stream, that the headwaters of this basin .were well down toward the mouth 

of the present stream, and that its pre-Glacial direction of discharge was toward the 

northwest, as indicated on the map (PI. I). The drainage changes on Paint Creek 

are discussed by Mr. Gerard Fowke. a

Farther to the west of the basin the drainage features have been also somewhat 

fully studied by Mr. Fowke, 6 and he has shown, as indicated on the map (PI. I), that 

the section of the Ohio River from the vicinity of Manchester to the mouth of the 

Little Miami passed back of the city of Cincinnati and joined the old Mill Creek

a Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison Univ., Vol. IX, pt. 1, pp. 15-24.

& Idem., Vol. XI, pp. 1-10; Ohio State Acad. Sci., Special Paper No. 3.
TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 23

Valley north of the city; that the Licking River crossed the present Ohio at Cincinnati and continued northward up the Mill Creek Valley, and together these streams 

passed northward to the Great Miami at Hamilton. Here they received another 

large tributary from the southwest, made up of the section of the Ohio and its tributaries, probably to the vicinitj^ of Madison, Ind. This stream, which is called Old 

Laughery, extended up the Great Miami reversed and through an old deserted 

valley in northwestern Hamilton County back to the Great Miami again, and thence 

on to Hamilton.

The conclusions of Prof. Joseph F. James/* of Cincinnati, with reference to the 

course of the Ohio up the Mill Creek Valley to Hamilton and down the Great Miami 

Valley, may yet prove to be an important link in the sequence of events, not only 

in the Cincinnati region, but in all the regions to the east.

The further continuation of the Newark River and of the northward-flowing 

stream at Hamilton is not so satisfactory determined as might be desired. In his 

first publication * the author suggests reasons for believing that this drainage was 

discharged northwestward along the line of St. Maiys reservoir and thence into 

eastern Indiana, where it probably turned to the southwest to join some tributaiy 

of the Mississippi Basin. Further evidence in support of this view is presented 

by Prof. J. A. Bownocker." He has also discussed drainage modifications of the 

Little Miami and Great Miami systems/'

As the drainage basins to the southeast and south were in no way influenced by 

the direct action of the ice or of its deposits, the contemporaneous modifications 

in these regions must be worked out along other lines, and the direct correlation in 

point of time is attended with man}7 difficulties; yet much admirable work has been 

done in this direction, although it is not possible to review the literature on the 

subject at this time.

GElN-ERAri TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

The general topographic features arc readily divisible into two sections, viz, an 

upper, the New River section, composed of the mountain division and the Appalachian 

Valley division, and a lower, the Kanawha section, embracing the plateau region 

from the Appalachians to the Ohio River as one division and the lowlands north 

of the Ohio River as the other division. The mountain division of the New River 

section includes the broad expanse of mountain belt in southern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina, which extends from the Blue Ridge on the east to the 

Unakas on the west. Between these there is an irregular arrangement of mountain

«Jour. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XI, pp. 90-101.

!>Bull. Sei. Lab. Denison Univ., Vol. VIII, pt. 2.

e Am. Geologist, Vol. XXIII, pp. 178-182; Ohio State Acad. Sei., Special Paper No. 3.

dOhio State Acad. Sei., Special Paper No. 3.
24 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

groups. The eastern crests of the Blue Kidge Mountains are lower than those 

of the more western ranges, but the stream courses cut through the. higher ranges 

at many points. The Appalachian Valley consists of a relatively low-lying belt, 

which is drained by three strikingly different systems. The northern portion is 

drained eastward through the gaps in the Blue Ridge made by the Roanokc and the 

James and, farther to the north, by the Potomac; the central portion is drained by 

New River, which cuts the eastward-facing escarpment of the .plateau; the southern 

portion is drained by the tributaries of the Tennessee, and may be said to be limited 

by the crest line of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the eastern edge of the plateau. 

The floor of the valley is often broken by lesser mountain masses. The two upper 

divisions form but a small element in the solution of the problem in hand. They 

have been described in detail elsewhere by Messrs. Hayes and Campbell ffl and by Mr. 

Bailey Willis.*

The upper division of the lower, or Kanawha, section that is, the Allegheny 

Plateau is a broad table-land, sloping gently to the northwest, with its eastern edge 

marked by the escarpment facing the Appalachian Valley. A fine description of this 

table-land, with numerous illustrations, is given by Messrs. Campbell and Mendenhall 

in a paper entitled " Geologic section along the New and Kanawha rivers in West Virginia."" In this paper, referring to the gorge of the Kanawha in the plateau, the 

authors say:

" He [the traveler] may stand within a few hundred yards of the brink of the 

New River gorge, and yet be unaware that a thousand feet below him flows a mighty 

stream in a canyon so narrow that he can cast a pebble from the edge of the cliff 

almost into the stream below.

"Closer investigation shows that this even surface slopes down the stream from 

an elevation of 2,600 feet above sea level on the southeastern margin of the coal field 

to 1,000 feet at the other extremity. A still closer examination shows that it is not 

a continuous surface, but that at a distance from the river it is interrupted by eminences which stand distinctly above it knobs and ridges rising out of the otherwise 

regular and continuous plain.

" If the traveler is a physiographer, he will see in these features an old, shallow 

river valley, the home of the ancestor of the present stream. * * *

" Some time during the Tertiary period of geologic history the crust of the earth 

remained for a long time free from oscillations, at least in the region of the coal 

field. The surface had previously been raised high above sea level in the interior; 

consequently, at the beginning of this period of quiescence erosion was very active, 

the streams rapidly corraded their channels nearly to baselcvel, and, as time progressed, these narrow channels were changed by lateral corrasion to broad valleys as

a Geomorphology of the Southern Appalachians, by C. Willard Hayes and Marius R. Campbell: Nat. Geog. Mag., 

Vol. VI, pp. 66-126.

6 The Northern Appalachians, by Bailey Willis: National Geographic "Monograph No. 6. 

"Seventeenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II, pp. -173-~>11.
TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 25

low as the bottoms of the original gorges. In this manner the regular surface, which 

now stands at altitudes varying from 1,000 to 2,600 feet, was produced near the baselevel of erosion. **'*.

"The topographic features of this region at the close of that interval of uninterrupted erosion were rounded and flowing, consisting of broad plains traversed by 

sluggish, meandering rivers, and low, rounded hills rising from the general even 

expanse of the broad valleys. * * *

"The termination of this condition of general quiet and uninterrupted erosion 

probably occurred late in Eocene time by a broad uplift, which may possibly have 

continued-at intervals down to the present. The uplift occurred in the form of an arch 

with a clearly denned axial line, which passes about through Hinton, W. Va., and the 

movement raised the broad plain from near sea level to its present altitude of 2,600 

feet. South of Hinton the uplift was less pronounced, and the surface was raised to 

an elevation of only 2,200 feet in the vicinity of Radford, in the valley of the upper 

New River. Toward the north the descent is much more rapid, the surface reaching 

2,200 feet at Fayette, 1,700 feet near Montgomery, 1,100 feet at Charleston, and 

1,000 feet near St. Albans.

" The first movement of this uplift caused a revival of the drainage, and the 

streams which had hitherto been too slugglish to corrade their channels now began 

actively to cut down toward sea level. * * *

"The result of this continued uplifting of the land and the downward cutting of 

the streams has been the production of the gorge. * * *

"Fontaine recognized the fact that the summits of the hills along New River are 

flat-topped, and if united would form an extended plain. He did not recognize this 

surface as a peneplain, but attributed it to difference in character of the rocks."

[n some sections, where the hard resisting beds of the Pottsville series and the' 

Fayette form the surface, the peneplain is well preserved, but, as these authors 

remark:

"Along the Kanawha River, owing to the softer character of the rocks, the peneplain was doubtless much more extensive than along New River, but the conditions 

which allowed of such extensive erosion also favored extensive dissection when the 

peneplain was uplifted, so that to-day it is difficult to find remnants of the plain 

which show its originally even surface. All of the ridges are terminated by sharp 

summits, but when the observer stands upon one of these high points the.neighboring summits blend into a regular sky line, which has the appearance of an extensive 

plain. On account of this great regularity of summits it has been assumed that they 

were once points in or near the surface of a peneplain, but they are now wasted to 

the last degree, and may be somewhat below the altitude of the original plain."

The southwestern extension of this plateau is mapped and described by C. Willard 

Hayes in a paper entitled "The physiography of the Chattanooga district,"" and is 

named by him the Cumberland Plateau. It is evident that the streams lying within 

the basin in this plateau region are consequent upon the slope of the old plain from

n Nineteenth Ann. Kept. V. 3. tieol. Survey, Part II, pp. 1-58. .
26 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SODTHEASTERN OHIO.

which the present peneplain was derived, their present courses being inherited from 

the streams that meandered over their broad valleys when this Tertiary plain stood 

near its base-level, and we can see in the extremely tortuous valleys of this region 

the evidence of the intrenched meanders of the older system, and occasionally, high 

up above the level of the present streams, rnay be found deserted oxbows which the 

revived streams have left by wearing through the necks of the upland spurs.

While the general surface of the old peneplain slopes from-its maximum elevation on the edge of the eastern escarpment to the Ohio Eiver, it does not find its 

lowest level along this line, but in many places crosses the Ohio Eiver with the same 

uniform descent to still lower levels, and thus the plateau passes gradually into the 

lowlands of the Ohio division, the present drainage lines in many cases showing but 

slight effects on the general surface of this gradually descending plain. Along the 

principal divides which parallel the major water courses of the basin the elevations 

are often some hundreds of feet above the level of the plain nearer the main drainage 

lines, so that a view from the table-land along one of these higher divides presents a 

picture of a very gently rolling, broad basin, in which the present drainage lines are 

deeply impressed. The interstream tracts and broad valleys extend generally northwestward, retaining very closely relative proportions in elevation; so that, while the 

surface of the peneplain near the Ohio River in the vicinity of Huntington, for 

example lies about 900 feet above tide, some points in the dividing range immediately north of this in Ohio, between the waters of Synmies and Pine creeks (which 

are tributary to the Ohio farther down) rise considerably above this elevation. 

These elevated portions of the old peneplain within the lowland area therefore represent the northwestward continuation of the interfiuvial tracts of the plateau division. 

The general features of the lowland division are not strikingly different from those 

of the plateau division already described. These general characteristics may be seen 

to good advantage from points on the divide separating the waters of the Little 

Muskingum from the Ohio. A view from this divide a few miles north of Sardis, 

looking northwestward (PI. III. J.), shows the broad basin-like surface of the 

plain with its gently rolling features, resembling very much the low base-level plain 

from which the present rough topography has been derived.. Scattered over this 

surface are the best farming lands of the region, while the present drainage channels 

lie deeply intrenched in narrow valleys 100 to 150 feet, or even more, below 

the surface of this plain. The trees in the center of the picture mark the position of the intrenched valley, and in order to pass from the meadow in the foreground 

to the farmhouses in the distance it is necessary, in this case, to descend to a depth 

of 250 feet to the floor of the intervening valley.

On the interfluvial tracts the surface of the upland plain often rises several 

hundred feet above the general level. PI. Ill, -Z?, is a view near such an elevation.
U. S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER No 13 PL. I

LEGEND

-I C H I G A N

Detroit

Lynchburg 

rhristiarishur

PRE-GLACL\L HYDROGRAPHIC BASINS OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY

BY V« G. TIGHT

JULIUS BIEN&.CO LITH.N.Y
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPEft NO. 13 PL. ll

A. VIEW ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY AND DOWN A 

SMALL RAVINE NEAR SARDIS.

B. VIEW OF SMALL VALLEY ENTERING THE OHIO NEAR 

LONG REACH.

C. VIEW UP THE OHIO VALLEY AT LONG REACH. D. VIEW UP THE MUSKINGUM VALLEY FROM HARMAR 

HILL. MARIETTA ON RIGHT.

JS. CLIFFS BORDERING THE OHIO OPPOSITE LITTLE HOCKING AT THE COL.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. Ill

A. VIEW OF THE OLD TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TERTIARY BASE-LEVEL. 

The timber represents the position of present drainage, 250 feet below the old plain.

£. VIEW OF THE TERTIARY PENEPLAIN OF THE LOWLAND SECTION, WITH THE SLOPE OF A MONADNOCK ON THE

RIGHT,
PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. IV

II. VIEW FROM THE SAME POINT AS A. 

The left edge of this view matches the right edge of A.

D. THE OHIO VALLEY, LOOKING UP THE RIVER FROM PARKERSBURG.

The present channel of the Little Kanawha is between the observer and the buildings m the lower right-hand corner. The trees rise from the almost

vertical cliffs which face the river.
U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A VIEW FROM A HIGH RIDGE NORTH OF SARDIS, LOOKING EAST.

C. THE OHIO VALLEY, LOOKING DOWN THE RIVER FROM PARKERSBURG,

Blennerhassett Island is seen in the channel. Point of view is the same as that of I), opposite. The two plates together show the great bend in the

Ohio at Parkersburg.
TOPOGEAPHIO FEATURES. 27

The general level of the plain is shown on the left of the picture, while to the right is 

shown the character of the slope which rises to the higher level. It is against those 

elevated portions that the back cutting of the present erosion is most prominent, and 

here is offered the finest-opportunity for the study of headwater phenomena.

In some sections of the basin along the eastern watershed the form and distribution of these monadnock-like elevations suggest that they are remnants of a still 

higher peneplain, probably of Cretaceous age, which is more perfectly preserved 

in the plateau regions lying farther southeast. The right edge of PL IV, J., 

joins the left edge of PI. IV, B, and together they show sonic of the features 

indicated. The point of view is about on a level with the top of the conical hill to 

the left of the center of PI. IV, A, and the top of the near ridge in PI. IV, B. The 

remnant of the Tertiary peneplain furnishes the rolling lands of the upland farms 

on which the buildings appear. The deep, steep-sided valley at the lower loft 

corner of PI. IV, J., cut about ^00 feot below the general level of the peneplain, 

shows the relations of the present drainage. The distant hills are 200 to 250 feet 

above the peneplain. PI. IV, B, shows more clearly the relations of the old remnants left above the peneplain.

Beginning with the upland peneplain as a base, representing the oldest wellmarked physiographic feature, wo note that its surface is cut into a system of 

valleys which are eroded to a depth of from 150 to 250 feot below the plain. The 

walls of these valleys are well graded, their slopes having been reduced in most 

cases to very low angles. The valleys present everywhere the characteristic features of very old topography. Their floors are often wide, indicating that the 

streams were well graded and had accomplished considerable work in broadening their 

flood plains. These valleys have been the principal subject of study in this work, 

and their characters and distribution will be discussed more fully below. It seems 

certain that after the first elevation the peneplain remained in a somewhat 

stationary position a sufficient length of time to allow these streams to wear down 

their channels nearly to base-level, to extend their valleys headward, to produce an 

extensive distribution of low cols in the old divides, and to develop the mature 

topography which is associated with these old valleys. In striking contrast to the 

features presented by these mature .forms are the valleys of the present streams. 

These, as already indicated, are every where cut into deep, narrow, V-shaped forms, 

varying in depth below the floor of the old valleys from a few feet in the very 

headwaters to 150 to 200 feet along the larger streams, or from 300 to 500 feet 

below the general surface of the old peneplain. The distribution of the present 

drainage in these deep valleys is notabty different from that of the high-level 

valleys of the mature form, and it is evident that the modifications took place in 

the interval between the occupancy of the old valleys by their streams and the
28 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

rejuvenation which has deeply intrenched the present drainage. The present streams 

in the deeper valleys do not flow on the rock floor of those valle37 s; they have their 

courses at varying elevations above the rook floor on silt or gravel fillings, and in most 

cases they are somewhat below the upper surface of the deposits which fill the 

valleys. It thus appears that a period of erosion was followed by a period in 

which deposition was the master feature, when the newly cut valleys were filled 

with river deposits varying in thickness from a few feet to 150 feet. This stage 

was terminated by a second period of erosion, when the streams cut deep channels in the previous deposits, leaving extensive remnants of those deposits in the 

form of marginal terraces along their courses; and at present, in most portions of 

the lowland area, the streams are still at work removing these deposits from the 

floors of their valleys. The most striking features, therefore, are the upland peneplain, the mature valleys of the old cycle, the deeply cut trenches of the present 

drainage, and the terrace filling in the bottoms of these trenches.

In some places where a present drainage line coincides with the old drainage the 

erosion has not completely removed the entire floor of the old valley; its fragments 

remain along the walls of the present stream as high-level terraces or rock platforms. 

Besides these prominent features, there is distributed almost everywhere over the lowland area a system of slender benches forming slight terraces on the slopes of the 

present valleys and of the older mature high-level valleys. These benches range in 

elevation from the level of the lower terraces in the present valleys to the surface of 

the general level of the peneplain; often the monadnocks distributed over the plain 

are completely encircled by one or more of these slender benches. These will receive 

more detailed discussion later. It is evident, however, that in point of time they are 

among the most recent of the topographic features.

With the exception of the modifications to be described later, the present 

streams are largely inherited from the drainage of the old cycle, and therefore have 

many features that arc characteristic of mature drainage, conspicuous among which 

is the development of the dendritic type. On account of this dendritic distribution 

of the minor drainage channels and the very deep trenching, the lowland region is 

generally hilly and rugged, and the relief is extremely pronounced, as will appear 

at once/from an examination of a topographic map of the Ironton region. The 

erosion has not, however, been so marked that the present drainage has been 

able to very greatly reduce the divides of the older cycle, so they persist as long and 

tortuous ridges with very even crest lines. In many sections these ridges arc so 

prominent that they must be considered in the construction of highways. A road 

map would in many cases be almost equivalent to a relief map, as the roads 

are divided" into two classes, known as ridge roads (PI. XIV, E) and valley 

roads. These often constitute two entirely separate and parallel systems with
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. V

A. OLD PRE-GLACIAL VALLEY AT TORCH, LOOKING WEST FROM NEAR LITTLE HOCKING

S. REMNANT OF OLD GRADATION PLAIN AT MOUTH OF VALLEY OF MIDDLE ISLAND CREEK, LOOKING UP THE 

CREEK FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE OHIO VALLEY AND ACROSS THE OHIO BOTTOM.
PBE3ENT BIVER VALLEYS. 29

very few connections except where the valley roads pass over cols at the headwaters 

from one valley into another, where they intersect the ridge roads.

Wherever the valley floors of the old cycle are not occupied by the present 

drainage lines thejr form belts of flat country which are always locally known as the 

plains, the'flats, or the flatwoods, and these names have often been helpful in locating 

these old valley remnants. These flat lands usually present favorable conditions for 

agriculture. While the deep trenching of the present drainage has made much of 

the region, unfit for agriculture, it has here and there revealed rich mineral deposits, 

and has wonderfully increased the facilities for mining.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRESENT RIYER VALLEYS.

THROUGH-FLOWING STREAMS. 

OHIO VALLEY.

On account of its narrow, gorge-like character, the valley of the Ohio in the 

division of this area below New Martinsville long ago attracted the attention of 

geologists who visited the region. This part of the vallej' presents one. of the longest 

straight stretches on the Ohio River from Pittsburg to Cairo, known as Long Reach, 

where there are over 16 miles of straight water (PI. II, O). The bottom lands on 

either side of the stream are very narrow, and the valley walls are very steep. The 

width of the valley near Sardis is scarce!}7 more than three-quarters of a mile, and 

increases gradually downstream toward Newport. To one standing ou the high 

ground bordering the river, and but a short distance back from it, the valley of the 

Ohio is entirely lost to view, and one would never suspect that the great river was 

flowing within so short a distance, for the upland surface seems to pass from the 

West Virginia to the Ohio side without perceptible lowering along the line of the 

stream. That this part of the valley is very recent is also shown by the form of 

cross section of the numerous small tributaries which enter the river from both sides. 

These small ravines are cut down to the level of the river, and have eaten back into 

the uplands, forming very narrow, V-shaped gorges. PI. II, B, shows the profile 

of one of, these ravines where it enters the valley of the Ohio, and A, of the same 

plate, is a view from the Ohio side looking down one of these short ravines toward 

the Ohio River, the distant horizon being the level of the peneplain on the West 

Virginia side. The sharp angle in the graded slope of the valley wall is quite apparent.

Another noteworthy feature of this part of the valley is the sharp truncation 

which the river has produced on all of the bordering hills that project" out as ridges 

against the course of the stream. PI. II, 0, is a view looking up the 16-mile 

stretch of water at Long Reach, and the steep slope of the bordering hills is quite 

apparent. These hills all show the gradual slope of the land during the old cycle of
30 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

erosion on the face of the hill away from the river, .and the steep slope of the new 

gorge on the face toward the river.

PI. VI, A, is a view of the valley near Sistcrsville, W. Va., looking down the 

river from the foot of the bluffs on the Ohio side.

At Newport the valley is considerably wider than farther up the stream, and 

opposite St. Marys, on the Ohio side, there is an old channel of the Ohio which 

leaves the river about a mile above St. Marys and passes around a high hill, returning 

to the river again at Newport. This valley, the floor of which is now covered with 

gravel deposits, is much larger than the valley of the Ohio directly at St. Marys, 

and undoubtedly represents the more direct line of the stream that originally carved 

the old valley.

Just above St. Marys, Middle Island Creek enters the Ohio, and remnants of the 

old high-level floor of Middle Island Creek are well preserved. PI. V, B, a view 

looking across the Ohio toward the mouth of Middle Island Creek and up the creek, 

shows the remnants of the old valley floor on both sides of the notch cut by the 

present stream. The old valley floor is here about 160 feet above the Ohio Hiver 

(770 above tide).

Farther down the river the valley continues to increase in width, and the bordering hills become less steep and precipitous as the mouth of the Little Muskingum 

River is approached. These characters continue down the Ohio past Marietta, but 

a few miles below Marietta the valley is preceptibly narrower.

On the north side of the river a very high range of hills forms the divide 

between the lower waters of the Muskingum and the headwaters of the East Branch 

of the Little Hocking and the South Bi'anch of Wolf Creek. These hills appear to 

be the northward continuation of the watershed which separates the waters of Bull 

Creek from those of the Little Kanawha, and the strength of this ridge seems to 

have been an important factor in producing the constriction of the Ohio Valley at 

this point.

From one of these high hills east of the Muskingum, marked Horizon Hill on 

the map (PI. XI), may be obtained one of the finest views of this region anywhere in 

the vicinity.

On this same ridge, somewhat farther north, on a very high hill, is a red brick 

Catholic church with a tall spire surmounted by a golden cross, which serves as a 

convenient landmark for a radius of 20 to 30 miles over this section of Washington 

County.

Farther down the Ohio toward Parkorsburg the valley of the Ohio increases 

rapidly in width and is from 2 to 3 miles wide, with very extensive bottoms on the 

Ohio side, at Belpre, near Parkersburg. The great width of the valley here is 

undoubtedly due to the fact that the river makes a very sharp bend and has worn
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. VI

A. OHIO VALLEY AT SISTERSVlLLE, W. VA-, AS SEEN FROM THE ROAD, WHICH IS NEXT TO THE CLIFFS ON THE

OHIO SIDE.

K. SHELVING ROCK EXPOSED BY LOW WATER IN THE 

OHIO NEAR SYRACUSE.

C. OHIO RIVER AND CLIFFS AT POMEROY.

J> OLD VALLEY AT FLATWOODS, OHIO. E. OLD VALLEY NEAR DUTCH FLATS, W. VA.
PRESENT RIVER VALLEYS. 31

back the bordering hills on the outer curve. PI. IV, D, is a view up the river at 

Parkersburg and Belpre.

Below the mouth of the Muskingum and extending down to the great bottoms 

at Belpre and still farther down the Ohio there are extensive gravel terraces, which 

represent the material carried down the Muskingum during the flood stage of the 

Glacial epoch. The Muskingum was one of the principal feeders to the valley of 

the Ohio of these glacial gravel trains. These terraces rise here to an elevation 

of about 110 feet above the river, or 660 feet above tide, and are extensively worked 

by the railroad company for gravel for ballast.

PI. IV, (?, is a view from Parkersburg down the Ohio. The valley is of rather 

uniform width from Parkersburg to Little Hocking, but it begins to narrow rapidly 

as it turns toward the south at the latter, point, so that within a few miles it is 

reduced in width to about three-quarters of a mile, and at the point marked "Col" 

on the map (PI. XI) it is a very precipitous gorge (PI. II, E}.

At Little Hocking, on the north side of the valley, at the mouth of the Little 

Hocking River, are extensive platforms of the old high-level valley floors, which are 

about 150 feet above the river, or 700 feet above tide. These platforms continue 

toward the west into the more complete valley floor in the vicinity of Torch.

A short distance below Little Hocking there is an old deserted waterway of the 

valley on the Ohio side, which is cut down nearly to the level of the present flood 

plain of the Ohio. This channel way, with the channel of the Ohio, incloses a 

considerable mass of the high table-land. It is stated by the inhabitants that the 

flood waters of 1884 passed through this old stream way. The sides of the channel 

are very precipitous, and the floor is covered with deposits of sand. It is evident 

from the character of the valley at the gorge that the river has here cut through 

a col in an old divide. This col will be called the Hockingport col. The abandoned 

channel was probably occupied simultaneously with the present valley of the river 

during the cutting of the col.

Below this eol the valley of the Ohio increases gradually in width again until it 

reaches another maximum in the vicinity of Letart. In this stretch of the river 

there are several points where the valley seems to be more or less constricted, but 

the evidence has not been very satisfactorily worked out, so the history of this 

section of the valley can not be presented with as much certainty as that of others.

At Letart, and for some distance above, there are extensive bottoms on both 

sides of the Ohio. The great width of the valley at this point is undoubtedly due to 

the sharp curve in the river as it passes from its southward to its northward direction. 

To one standing on any of the high hills back of the river on the West Virginia side 

it is not difficult to see how the river, in making this great bend, has worn back 

the hills on the south side, giving them all a steep and truncate appearance, and
32 DRAINAGE" MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

why the hills on the north side, being on the inner side of the curve, and having 

escaped the severe erosion of the stream, are low and rolling.

North of Letart and farther down the river the valley again narrows rapidly 

and the walls become much more precipitous, and it is evident from the character 

of the table-lands that the river in this section has cut through a number of old 

divides, the most marked of which lies near Pomeroy (PI. VI, B and O). Below 

Pomeroy the valley again broadens gradually until in the vicinity of Cheshire it is 

more than 2 miles wide. The bordering hills, however, are still steep and precipitous, 

often presenting vertical cliffs to the river front.

Opposite Cheshire, on the West Virginia side, there is a large deserted oxbow 

or bend of the old river. The floor of this oxbow is covered with thick deposits of 

sand and gravel and is known as the lower sand plains. These plains rise to an 

elevation of 160 to 175 feet above the present river, or about 630 feet above tide. 

The lower portion of these deposits, as shown by well drillings, consists largely of 

glacial gravels of rather uniform size, while the upper portion, amounting, as nearly 

as could be calculated from well drillings and sections, to 30 or 40 feet, is composed 

almost entirely of very fine sand, often passing into fine silts. On the northern end 

of this valley floor the sand has been wind-blown and is heaped up into hillocks or 

dunes rising 20 or 30 feet above the original plain of deposition and forming billowy 

ridges of considerable extent. As the gravels in this old oxbow are of glacial origin, 

it is evident that the river occupied this channel at some time during the deposition 

of the glacial gravel trains of the Ohio Valley.

While the valley at Cheshire is as wide as has been stated, the bordering hills are 

not so high as those in other sections of the valley, rising only, about 200 feet above 

the river. During the flood stages the river occupies the entire width of the valley 

and washes the talus slopes at the base of the cliffs on both sides. During the flood 

of 1884 the village of Cheshire was on an island in the river, as there is a deep 

channel way through the terrace deposits next to the cliffs on the west side of the 

village.

Farther down the river the valley again narrows rapidly, and the bordering hills 

become higher and more precipitous. Between the mouth of the Kanawha River 

and Raccoon Creek (PI. VII) the valley presents the gorge-like characters which are 

noticeable in the vicinity of Pomeroy and farther up the river, near New Martinsville. It is evident that here the river has again cut through several minor divides 

of the older cycle. There are in this vicinity a few remnants of the old gradation 

plains, lying at as great elevations as 200 feet above the river, or about 700 feet 

above tide.

Below the mouth of Raccoon Creek to the mouth of Little Guyandot Creek the 

valley of the Ohio is considerably wider than in the vicinity of Gallipolis, but as it
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO, 13 PL. VII

A. OHIO VALLEY AT THE COL BELOW GALLIPOLIS. 

The road is built on the talus at the base of a vertical cliff. The talus is covered with big rocks like the one in the center of the view and near the roadside.

B. TALUS SLOPE A HALF MILE BACK FROM I HE OHIO RIVER AND ABOVE THE MOUTH OF RACCOON CREEK, NEAR

THE COL BELOW GALLIPOLIS.
PRESENT BIVEE VALLEYS. 33

turns to the west below the mouth of the Little Guyandot it narrows rapidly, until 

at the bend near Crown City it is again a typical gorge about three-quarters of a 

mile in width and presenting vertical cliffs on both sides. (PI. VIII, A.)

From Crown City southward the valley widens gradually and continues to 

increase in width until, in the vicinity of Huntington and Catlettsburg, it is from 

1^ to 2 miles wide, and the bordering hills, while still often very precipitous, rise 

only to elevations of about 250 feet above the river.

The next marked constriction in the valley occurs but a short distance above 

Ashland, where the valley is again gorge-like in character and less than three-fourths 

of a mile wide. These changes in the width of the valley are -best shown on the 

topographic map (PI. IX). The map does not show the river as far as Crown City, 

but at the point shown at its upper limit the narrow character of the Ohio gorge may 

be seen, while below that point, at Gruyandot and Huntington, the greater width of 

the valley is brought out and the constrictions near Ashland and at Ironton are also 

very clearly shown. The constriction at Crown City unquestionably represents 

the position of an old col, as does also the one at Ashland, and these will be spoken 

of as the Crown City and Ashland cols, respectively.

Passing farther down the river, the valley broadens again rapidly to the great 

bend at Wheelersburg and Sciotoville, and along this .section of the valley the hills 

are more rolling; they rise only 200 to 250 feet above the river, and the bluft's 

facing the river are not so precipitous as in many other sections. Throughout this 

section there are numerous remnants of the old gradation plain with river deposits 

found as terraces at elevations of about' 150 feet above the stream.

At Wheelersburg there is a well-preserved remnant of the high-level valley 

floor which here, passes northward from the present river.

Between Sciotoville and Portsmouth the valley is again constricted, and there 

is another col, which will be called the Portsmouth col (PI. XVII). The valley 

is not so narrow at the Portsmouth col as at many other points where it has cut 

through ,old divides, but the bordering hills are very high, rising from 350 to 400 

feet above the river, and presenting very steep faces and often vertical cliffs to the 

river front, so that, while the valley is not so narrow, the location of a col at this 

point seems certain.

At Portsmouth the river bends southwestward and increases considerably in 

width (PI. XIV, E). To an observer in the Scioto Valley the valley of the Ohio 

below Portsmouth seems the natural and direct continuation of the Scioto, and 

to the observer in the valley of the Ohio below Portsmouth, looking up the river, 

the Scioto Valley seems the natural and direct continuation of the Ohio Valley, 

as the Scioto River Valley broadens as one passes up the Scioto, while the valley 

of the Ohio narrows rapidly upstream above Portsmouth. These features at this 

9653 No. 13 03 3
34 DKAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

point are very suggestive with reference to the direction of the old drainage lines, 

and indicate that the pld vallejr was continuous between the Scioto and the portion 

of the Ohio below.Portsmouth.

It is interesting to note that all the smaller tributaries of the Ohio farther downstream in this section enter the valley in a direction opposite to the course of the river. 

At Quincy, at the mouch of Kinniconick Creek, the topographic features indicate 

that the continuation of the valley of the Kinniconick was normally up the present 

Ohio Valley, or northeastward; and below the mouth of the Kinniconick the Ohio 

Valley begins to narrow rapidly until it reaches another marked constriction, in the 

vicinity of Manchester, where it is evident, from the steep sides of the valley walls 

and the elevation of the table-land on each side, that the river has here crossed another 

col, which will be known as the Manchester col. (PI. VIII, B.)

Throughout the entire course of the Ohio across the area discussed the valley is 

marked by numerous gravel terraces, which rise to elevations varying from 60 to 

120 feet above the river. These terraces are composed of glacial gravels, and represent the well-recognized gravel trains of the Ohio Valley. It is to be noted, however, that in the vicinity of the constrictions of the valley'there is a marked absence 

of these terraces, and that they are greatest in extent below the mouths of the 

Muskingum, the Hocking, and the Scioto, which were the principal feeders of the 

glacial material.' Throughout the area, also, the Ohio is now flowing about 30 to 

50 feet above the rock floor. In some of the sections it is probable that the river 

has removed its deposits almost to the depth of the rock, while at many other 

points, notably at Letart and near Sj^racuse, the river is flowing over rook shoals. 

It is evident from well data that the deeper channel lies under terraces on the 

opposite side. From observations through the different sections of the valley it 

would seem as though the river is now almost in a stage of equilibrium. In some 

sections it is undoubtedly eroding its channel and increasing its meanders, but in 

other sections it is evident that at flood-water stages it is leaving over its flood-water 

plain extensive silt deposits, so that the vertical erosion of the stream does not 

appear to be very marked at the present time.

It may be stated that the characters of the valley mentioned in the region of 

New Martinsville would apply very generally to most.of the course of the river, as 

the valley seems to be cut out of the old peneplain much as if it had been done by a 

carpenter's plane, truncating all of the bordering hills, whether they were low or 

high, in a very similar manner.

Another interesting feature in the relations of the minor adjacent drainage to 

the Ohio that may be noted in almost any section is the fact that so many of the 

smaller streams rise within a stone's throw of the river and make a circuitous route 

of several miles through deep gorges to the river, while the backward cutting of the
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. VIII

A. OHIO VALLEY AT CROWN CITY COL.

IS. OHIO VALLEY AT THE MANCHESTER COL. C. SLENDER WAVE TERRACE ON THE RACCOON NEAR 

LATHROP.

D. SLENDER WAVE TERRACE ON THE RACtUUN NEAR GALLIPOLIS.
PRESENT RIVER VALLEYS. 35

opposing ravines has been almost zero since the cutting of the great valley of the Ohio. 

This fact of itself seems to be conclusive evidence of the comparatively recent origin 

of the valley of the Ohio.

MUSK1NGUM VALLEY.

Where the valley of the Muskingum crosses the north line of Morgan County 

it has the features of a gorge. The bordering hills have very steep slopes and often 

present vertical faces to the river. They rise generally from 250 to 300 feet above 

the river. The valley gradually broadens southward through Morgan County and 

reaches its maximum width in this section 'near Eoxbury, where it bends sharply 

to the north and becomes rapidly narrower^ while its walls grow more precipitous, 

until at the col near the sharp bend to the south (see map, PI. XI) it is a narrow 

gorge. After passing the mouth of Meigs Creek the valley broadens again to the 

mouth of Wolf Creek, at Beverly, from which point it begins to narrow again on 

passing farther downstream, until it reaches a minimum at the point marked col on 

the map, a short distance above Lowell. From Lowell to its mouth it increases in 

size and width until, at Marietta, the valley is as large as that of the Ohio itself. 

(PI. II, D.)

Throughout the course of the valley there arc extensive gravel terraces in the 

broad and open portions, but these are entirely absent in the narrow section above 

Meigs Creek and very inconspicuous in the Lowell narrows. These terraces are the 

gravel trains which head far up the Tuscarawas and Licking in the morainic belts of 

the glaciated area.

HOCKING VALLEY.

The headwaters of the Hocking are distributed over the flat drift plain of central 

Fairfield County and are separated from the basin of the Scioto only by a low drift 

watershed. The river enters the hill country of southeastern Ohio at Lancaster, where 

it may first be said to be in a distinct valley. Here the valley is about a mile wide and 

the bordering hills are of mature form1. The valley narrows gradually downstream, 

reaching its minimum width a few miles above Nelsonville, near Lick Run, where it 

crosses a very prominent north-south divide of the old cycle. This point will be 

known as the Lick Run col. From this point it increases gradually in width again, 

especially below the mouth of Monday Creek, but is again suddenly constricted a 

short distance below the mouth of Sunday Creek, where it crosses another col in one 

of the minor divides, which will be called the Sunday Creek col; and a few miles 

below this there is another constriction, which will be called the Sugar Creek col. 

The determination of the col at this point is not quite so satisfactory as at the other 

points mentioned.
36 DBAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

At the great bend at Athens the valley of the Hocking is very wide, and it is 

evident that its great width is due to the sudden change in the direction of the stream 

and that the hills on the south side of the valley have been worn back, leaving 

extensive bottoms on the north side of the river. The features of the valley in 

the vicinity of Athens are shown on the map (PI. XV), on which the broken lines 

represent the position of the rock walls. A short distance below Athens the valley 

is considerably constricted again, and the valley walls present vertical cliffs on both 

sides. While the valley is not here as narrow as at some other points, the presence 

of the old col is shown by the great persistency of the old watershed at its maximum 

elevation up to the very edge of the walls of the valley.

Below this col, which will be called the Athens col, the valley gradually widens 

and the walls become less precipitous, although .they remain quite steep to the bend 

at Guysvillc. Below this point the valley gradually narrows again to the mouth of 

Federal Creek. Below this the narrowing1 is much more abrupt, and at the point 

marked "Col" on the map the valley is a very narrow gorge with vertical rock walls. 

There were here several channel ways during the cutting out of the old col by the 

present river. Some of these were cut nearly to the present level of the river, so 

that the bold rock cliffs and the numerous deep ravines present very picturesque 

scenery. Below this col the valley gradually broadens , again and the walls become 

less precipitous as far down as Coolville. Between Coolville and its mouth the river 

again passes through narrows That the narrows at this point are the site of an old 

col is not so evident as in the other cases farther up the river.

SCIOTO VALLEY.

The upper basin of the Scioto, north of a point above Chillicothe, lies wholly 

within the drift region, and all the drainage of the basin above this point is distributed over the surface of the great drift plain of the Scioto lobe. The streams 

generally occupy very shallow channel ways cut through the drift, though at some 

places through buried rock hills, where they have formed narrow rock gorges. 

These rock gorges undoubtedly determine the rate of cutting of the streams within 

the basin, as the rock offers much more resistance to erosion than the drift in which 

the streams lie throughout most of their courses. These rocky places serve as 

barriers to the rapid cutting of the streams. No prominent divides separate any 

of the tributaries of this basin, and the general features of the region are those of 

an extensive plain. These features are shown very clearly in the East Columbus 

and West Columbus topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey.

Where the river enters the hilly district of southern Ohio, a short distance 

above Chillicothe, it occupies a broad valley. 2 miles or more in width, with the high 

hills of the Waverly series rising some 200 feet above the river and forming the
PRESENT RIVER VALLEYS. 37

valle}' walls. These hills are well rounded and present the general features of the 

mature topography of the lowlands.

Southward the valley retains its width with considerable regularitj1-; there is, 

however, a perceptible narrowing toward the Ohio. A few miles below Chillicothe 

there is an old deserted valley, behind the immediate river hills, which was at some 

time occupied by the river.

The southern portion of this valley is. now occupied by the lower waters of 

Salt Creek. (Sec PI. XVI.) The region has not been examined by the author, but 

Mr. Grerard Fowke, of Chillicothe, in a correspondence with reference to the 

features at this point, writes as follows: 

" East of Chillicothe the river [the Scioto] flows around the base of Mount Logan 

on bed rock, but the drift filling still farther east is piled up more than 200 feet. 

This high gravel holds for several miles south and east toward Londonderry. I do 

not know whether the rock bed comes to the level of the stream; it is all covered up. 

The Salt Creek bottoms run up Little Creek, which ran in a straight course through 

the valley at Londonderry. There was a col on the stream above Londonderry. 

Salt Creek broke over this col on account of the mass of drift filling in the old channel. Londonderry stands over the mouth of Little Creek. The old Scioto flowed 

past Richmonddale and received the creek from the south near the county line, then 

swung west past Londonderry and into its present bed somewhere across the gravel 

deposits, and reached its present course at the first sharp bend above the mouth of 

Paint Creek."

Mr. Fowke further states:

" I am utterly unable to understand its [the Scioto's] present channel being so 

wide where the old'island lies, but the hills on both sides are very steep, and it may 

be that the immense drift deposits are only remnants of a deposit formerly reaching 

bed rock, a large portion of which has been carried away by Walnut Creek since the 

present lines were established. Walnut Creek and the other small stream near it 

once came into the Scioto at the big bend above the mouth of Paint Creek. Walnut 

Creek now. flows behind Rattlesnake Knob in a narrow gorge."

With reference to the small streams lying between the Scioto at Chillicothe and 

the North Fork of Salt Creek, Mr. Fowke writes:

" The four cols on these streams are clearhr marked. Each stream has an easy 

grade from the drift land on the north between the hills, which are high on both 

sides at the cols. These divides were rather low, except the one farthest to the east, 

which latter has very precipitous hills on each side of the stream. The first three to 

the west afforded a channel for the water and ice to a considerable extent, but not 

for a great while, as there was an outlet along the glacier's front around Sugar Loaf 

(near the river) into the Scioto. But the last gorge, the one toward the east, had 

more work to do. There was a sort of reentrant curve for several miles west of 

Adelphi, where the accumulated water rose to the level of the col and sent a vast
88 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

volume over it. There are huge sand deposits below this col all the way down the 

creek corresponding to those near the river. There are gullies in the sand bed 40 to 

50 feet deep, where nothing is exposed from top to bottom but fine sands and silts, 

laminated and sloping away from the channel of main discharge, the river making 

its way along the hills west of Chillicothe; and this great discharge through Walnut 

Creek, hugging the hills to its east, made a great area of eddies and dead water in 

which mud settled and bergs floated, dropping bowlders of two or three tons weight."

It thus seems to be the opinion of Mr. Fowke that the river which occupied 

this old channelway was a northward-flowing stream, but uo definite data are given 

as to the elevation of the rock floor of this valley. A few miles farther down the 

river, opposite Waverly, the valley wall of the Scioto on the east side becomes very 

much lower, and an extensive gradation plain of the old drainage system comes to 

the river at this point. While the valley at Piketon is nearly 2 miles wide, the hills 

on each side are high and present very steep fronts to the river, and it would seem 

as though the river at this point had also at some time cut off one of its older bends, 

as at the point below Chillicothe described by Mr. Fowke, although the data at 

present are not conclusive. A somewhat similar oxbow of the old valley is reported 

back of Lucasville, but this has not been examined by the author.

As the Ohio River is approached the valley of the Scioto becomes somewhat 

narrower, although its width is still very great and its walls are much higher, 

and, as has been already indicated in the discussion of the valley of the Ohio, the 

valley of the Scioto appears to be a direct continuation of the valley of the Ohio 

below Portsmouth.

SUMMARY.

The four valleys above described are those of the through-flowing streams, and 

the characteristics which they all seem to have in common are the occurrence at 

certain points, as indicated, of very marked constrictions in the width of the valleys, 

always accompanied by very steep valley walls or vertical cliffs, and in the intermediate sections a broadening of the valleys, with an accompanying reduction in 

the elevation of the bordering table-land and a rounding of the forms of the hills 

into the features of the mature topography of the lowland region.

In the case of the Ohio, Muskingum, and Scioto valleys the great gravel trains 

which head in the morainic tracts of the later ice invasion are marked features, and 

these are cut into systems of terraces, usually two or three, sometimes four, in 

a series.

The gravel train in the valley of the Hocking is not so extensive as in the other 

valleys, and the deposits seem to be of different ages, as is indicated by the amount 

of weathering which has taken place on the surface of the terraces. The valley 

seems to be swept much cleaner of these deposits, as but few of the terraces remain.
PRESENT KIVEK VALLEYS. 39

The amount of weathering on these extends to a depth of 6 to 8 feet, while the 

weathering on the upper terraces of the other valleys would rarely exceed 3 to 4 

feet. From the observations of the author he is of the opinion that the later gravels 

were not distributed down the valley of the Hocking. However, indications of 

them may be discovered later.

Many of the smaller tributaries of these large rivers show interesting peculiarities in the features of their valleys, and these appear to be of considerable 

importance in the correlation of the abandoned high-level valley floors.

INDIGENOUS STREAMS. 

MIDDLE ISLAND CEEEK VALLEY.

I

The valley of Middle Island Creek has been examined by the author only about 

15 miles back from the Ohio River. In this section the valley is about half a mile 

wide, and the slopes of the hills are rather steep, though not precipitous, except at 

intervals. Throughout this section of the valley there are numerous remnants of the 

old gradation plain occupied by the stream before the period of erosion which 

resulted in the cutting of the narrower trough of the present stream. The remnants 

of this plain at the mouth of the valley are shown in the illustration, PI. V, B. From 

the topographic features in the vicinity of St. Marys, it is evident that the old gradation plain of Middle Island Creek extends along the course of the Ohio as far down 

as Newport, and that old Middle Island Creek emptied into the old valley of this 

section of the Ohio at Newport instead of above St. Marys, as at present. Kemnants 

of the old gradation plain still exist on the island-like hills between the old and the 

present channel of the Ohio, as well as on the south side of the Ohio Kiver near St. 

Marys. This gradation plain here stands about 155 feet above the river, or 770 feet 

above tide.

LITTLE MTJSKINGUM AND DUCK CEEEK VALLEYS.

These valleys have not been studied so carefully as the others, and only their 

general features will be referred to. The valley of the Little Muskingum is 

rather narrow throughout its entire length. It shows a marked tendency to broaden 

out at the points where it receives its larger tributaries. It is cut into the floor of a 

broad basin-like valley of the old land surface. One of its remarkable features is its 

close parallelism to the Ohio through its entire length. The old valley of the Little 

Muskingum was very much larger, and had reached a more advanced stage of planation than the strearnway which was later occupied by the Ohio. A view looking 

northward from this divide across the Little Muskingum country is in very striking 

contrast to one looking southward across the Ohio.
40 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

The valley of Duck Creek resembles that of the Little Muskingum. In its lower 

part the valley is much broader and the hills are more rounded than in its middle and 

upper sections. This lower course has the appearance of recent occupancy by a 

stream larger than that which originally cut the valley. This fact, together with 

sonic of the features observable farther up the valley, indicates that there have been 

several modifications of the stream courses, but they have not been fully worked out, 

and are noted by question marks on the map, which may serve as suggestions for 

later investigators.

WOLF CHEEK VALLEY.

Wolf Creek is a tributary to the Muskingum at Beverly. It heads in northern 

Morgan County on the divide that was crossed by the Muskingum when it broke 

over into this basin. It flows southward many miles closely parallel to the Muskingum, 

much as the Little Muskingum parallels the Ohio. Its upper valley is very narrow 

and deep. Southward it broadens gradually to the point where it turns eastward, 

when it narrows rapidly to the point marked " Col ".on the map (PI. XI), a few miles 

above its mouth. Near the mouth of the valley just above the junction of its south 

fork there is an old deserted oxbow of considerable interest. This oxbow seems to 

have been cut off at the time the flood waters cut out the "Col" above. The valley is 

narrow at the cut-off of this oxbow. The hill which occupies the center of the oxbow 

rises almost as high as the surrounding general surface. Below the mouth of the 

south fork the valley is very broad and the hills are more rolling. This valley does 

not seem to have ever been cut down to the level of the deep channel of the Muskingum. It seems as though the limestone stratum which forms the floor of the 

valley at its mouth had prevented the valley from becoming well graded to the level 

of the deeper channels of the larger streams.

The valley of the South Fork of Wolf Creek is markedly different from that of 

the main creek. Throughout most of its length it is comparatively broad and open 

and bounded by gently rolling hills, though at some exceptional places the walls are 

rather steep. In the "upper portion the contrast with the headwater features of the 

main stream are most striking. The country around the headwaters is rather flat or 

gently rolling, with very deep soils. Many of the smaller tributaries rise in extensive swamp areas. These swamp areas often lie on the divide which separates the 

waters of Wolf Creek from those of the Little Hocking. The slope of this divide on 

the north side, which is drained by the tributaries of Wolf Creek, is much less 

dissected than the south slope, which is drained by the tributaries of the Little 

Hocking.

LITTLE KANAWHA VALLEY.

The valley of the Little Kanawha has been examined by the author for but a short 

distance above Parkersburg. Its features are, however, similar to those of all the
PRESENT RIVEE VALLEYS. 41

valleys of the plateau region. Immediately at Parkersburg the present stream has 

cut off a rocky projection from the west side of the valley, while the older channelvfaj lies farther east under the eastern part of the city. On the floor of this old 

valley are extensive deposits of silt, but the elevation of the rock floor was not obtained.

LITTLE HOCKING VALLKY.

The Little Hocking Valley is divided into two main branches, which are very 

similar in character and present no exceptional or unusual features. They arc rather 

narrow with moderately steep valley sides. Everywhere are present the marks of 

the recent rejuvenation. The valley of the Eayt Fork occupies much the broader 

depression in the old land surface. Several of its tributaries on the north side, like 

the headwaters of the South Fork of Wolf Creek, rise in the flat tracts on this divide. 

The tributaries on the south side of the East Fork are all short, as the East Fork, 

like the .Little Muskinguni, parallels the Ohio throughout its entire length and is 

separated from it by a high ridge but a few miles wide.

The gradation plain of the old stream is well preserved near the mouth of the 

valley and is continuous with the old valley floor, which passes eastward from the 

Ohio Valle}^ at this point. This plain stands about 150 feet above the Ohio, or 770 

feet above tide. . '

FEDERAL CREEK VALLEY.

The valley of Federal Creek is rather deep and narrow in its lower portion, but in 

the section around Amesville it is much broader. All the tributaries on the north side 

occupy rather broad valleys. The effects of the rejuvenation of the drainage of the 

region, which are so marked throughout most of the basin, are less apparent in the 

Federal Creek Valley than almost anywhere else, and at the same time the slender 

benches mentioned in connection with the discussion of general topographic features of 

the lowland area are better preserved in this valley and in neighboring portions of the 

Hocking than in almost any other part of the basin. It is the opinion of theauthor that 

the present stream has cut through an old divide a short distance below Amesville, 

but the topographic features indicating a eol at this point are not well marked, and 

the location of the eol here is based more upon the distribution of the old valley floors 

to the south of the basin and the general features of the tributary streams than upon 

the features of the topography immediately adjacent to the col.

SUNDAY AND MONDAY CREEK VALLEYS.

The valleys of Sunday and Monday creeks, the two large tribuaries of the Hocking above Athens, present rather normal features. In both valleys numerous remnants of the old gradation plain are preserved. In the Sunday Creek Valley, at 

Chauncey, the old valley floor now stands at an elevation of about 725 feet above tide.
42 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

SHADE RIVER VALLEY.

Only the lower portion of the Shade River Basin has been examined by the 

author, and two marked constrictions in this portion of the valley have been observed, 

one on the East Fork of Shade River, a few miles above its mouth, the other on the 

main stream a short distance below the mouth of the East Fork. In both of these 

places the valleys are very narrow, less than a quarter of a mile wide, and their walls 

are very steep and precipitous, while the other portions of the valleys of Shade 

Kiver and its tributaries present normal features.

There are evidences of some minor modifications on the Middle and West forks, 

but these have not been carefully worked out as yet.

South of Chester the old valley of the Shade passes along the line of Rays Run, 

reversed, and here the old gradation plain lies at an elevation of about 680 feet above 

tide.

LEADING GREEK VALLEY.

But a limited examination has been made of the upper section of the Leading 

Creek Valley, and sufficient data are not at hand to describe in detail the features of 

this portion of the basin. In the middle section of the valley two notable constrictions are observed, one in the vicinity of Carpenter and the other near Langsville. 

The location of old cols at these points is suggested, but the data are somewhat 

incomplete, and the cols are only tentatively placed as indicated on the map. In the 

lower portion of Leading- Creek Valley there are many interesting features, to 

properly present' which would require a carefully detailed survey. The old gradation plain is represented by many remnants, which stand at about 160 feet above the 

Ohio, or 680 feet above tide, and the present stream has cut a very deep, steep-sided 

valley into the floor of the old valley. Thomas Fork, a small tributary entering 

Leading Creek but a short distance above its mouth, also presents many interesting 

features. There is a marked constriction in its valley at Coal ton, and it is very 

evident that this stream has here crossed an old section of the divide in its present 

course. This stream occupies a very deep gorge, which is only about a half a mile 

back from the Ohio north of Pomeroy, while its headwaters rise on the old valley 

floor at Flatwoods, between Pomeroy and Chester. It is very evident that the 

gorge of Thomas Fork was cut out by torrential waters and not by the small stream 

which now occupies it. It is suggested that the flood waters of the Ohio at a stage 

prior to the deposition of the glacial gravels may have occupied the gorge of Thomas 

Fork simultaneously with its present channel at Pomeroy, and that the Pomeroy 

channel finally obtained control of the full volume of water.
PRESENT RIVER VALLEYS. 43 

KANAWHA VALLEY. '

The features of the Kanawha Valley above Charleston have been admirably 

described and illustrated by Messrs. Campbell and Mendenhall in a paper on the 

"Geologic section along the New and Kanawha rivers in West Virginia,"* already 

referred to, and are also most admirably shown on the Charleston topographic sheet 

of the United States Geological Survey, a portion of which is reproduced in general 

features on PI. IX, so that further description will not be given.

From Charleston to the Ohio at Point Pleasant the characters of the valley are 

not strikingly different froin those in the plateau section above, but there is a-notable 

constriction of the valley in the vicinity of Winfield that has been interpreted by 

others, as well as the author, to indicate the location at this point of an old col, which 

will be called the AVinfield col. The gradation plains in the vicinity of St. Albans 

will be further discussed in connection with the description of Teays Valley.

There is another notable constriction of the vallej' at Point Pleasant, where the 

floor of the old valley extends eastward around the hills immediately bordering the 

river. At this col the valles' is about three-fourths of a mile wide, and the bordering 

hills are very precipitous and rise to elevations of 250 feet on both sides of the river. 

This might be called the Point Pleasant col.

RACCOON CREEK VAI>LEY.

The valley of Raccoon Creek is very tortuous, and presents a great variety of 

features, as do also many of its smaller tributaries. The most important constrictions 

of the valley occur at Moonville and near Minerton. At both of these places the 

stream, occupies a very rough and rugged section of country. All of the minor 

streams in the immediate vicinity of these constrictions have cut very deep narrow 

gorges, and the regions are as rough as any found within the borders of the State 

of Ohio.

At Moonville the valle}' is less than an eighth of a mile wide, and the walls rise 

in vertical cliffs to an elevation of 225 feet above the stream. The valley is here 

traversed by the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad, and much difficult}' was 

experienced in the location of the roadbed, as it was necessary to make numerous 

rock cuts, a few short tunnels, and several bridges in order to get through the 

narrows of this gorge. The features of the gorge may be readily observed from, the 

windows of the passing train. This gorge marks the position of what will be called 

the Moonville col. On the south side of the valley, near Zalaski, the wall of the 

valley is low, and there is a continuation of the old valley directly southward.

a Seventeenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Ft. II, pp. 473-511.
44 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

At Minerton the valley is not as narrow as at Moonvillo, but the surrounding 

table-land is fully as high, and the evidence of the former existence of a col at this 

point is very complete. This will be called the Minerton col.

From the Moonville col southward down the creek the valley broadens somewhat 

rapidly and the bordering hills become more rounded until the mouth of Long Run 

is reached, where the width of the valley increases abruptty and the older features 

are much more manifest, and these conditions continue down the stream to the mouth 

of Elk Fork, where the valley seems to turn up this fork and continue with similar 

characters nearly to Vinton station. Below the mouth of Elk Fork the older 

features of the valley continue downstream to the great loop near Radcliff, where 

the valley is constricted very suddenly, and it grows narrower and more precipitous 

from this point down to the Minerton col. The broad features of the valley of the 

Elk Fork do not continue up that stream from Vinton to McArthur, but turn to the 

west along one of its smaller tributaries to McArthur Junction, while between Vinton 

and McArthur Junction the stream is in a very narrow gorge, which undoubtedly 

represents the position of another old col, called the McArthur col.

Down the Raccoon from the Minerton col the valley becomes wider and less 

precipitous, although the walls are still very steep and the region is very rough and 

rugged for many miles.

In the vicinity of Rio Grande the valley of the Raccoon is much broader than in 

any other portion of the stream's course, and the neighboring region is less rugged, 

the hills being very much lower and having gentler slopes. Many remnants of the 

old gradation plains are well preserved in this section.

Between Rio Grande and the mouth of the stream there are three well-marked 

valleys which lead off from the valley of the Raccoon, one toward Rodney, another, 

some miles farther down, toward the south, in the direction of the waters of Symmes 

Creek, and another at Northuptown, which passes eastward toward the Ohio in the 

vicinity of Gallipolis.

From Rio Grande to the mouth of the creek-the valley becomes, perceptibly " 

narrower, indicating very strongly that this section of the Raccoon is reversed, a 

fact that is also indicated by the levels of the gradation plains, which show a gradual 

fall from the Ohio River to Rio Grande.

The valley of the Little Raccoon was not examined in detail, but it is evident 

that it is made up of sections of several independent old valleys. Only one col was 

definitely located on this stream, a short distance below the mouth of Dickson Fork. 

There are probably two or three others farther up the stream between this Dickson 

Fork col and Hamden.
PRESENT RIVER VALLEYS. 45 

STMMES CKKKK VALLEY.

Passing up Syrnmes Creek from the Ohio opposite Huntington, the valley of the 

creek, which is less than half a mile wide at the river, becomes a very narrow gorge, 

deeply cut below the high table-land in the, vicinity of Marion. North of this 

gorge, which undoubtedly represents the position of an old col on this stream, and 

which is .called the Marion eol, the valley of. the stream broadens rapidly to the 

junction of Sand Fork. The valley of Sand Fork is rather broad, and the stream in* 

its lower course meanders over an extensive swampy plain half a mile or more in 

width. While the valley of Symmes Creek from the Marion col, as well as the 

northward continuation of the \7 alley represented by Long Creek, is rather rough and 

precipitous in character, it is quite comparable in size to that of Sand Fork, and 

it is very suggestive that the principal erosion of the two valleys was produced by 

streams of about,equal volume, but that Long Creek Valley has been recently 

enlarged and reversed by the present waters of Symmes Creek.

From the junction of Sand Fork with Symmes Creek a broad, open, flat country 

extends across the divide to the Raccoon, while farther upstream, near Evans Mill, 

the creek runs in a very narrow, deep, precipitous gorge. This gorge undoubtedly 

represents the position of another eroded col. From the Evans Mill eol northward up 

Grassy Fork the valley broadens gradually and its walls become less precipitous, 

but up Black Fork another deep gorge is encountered but a short distance from the 

junction of these two' streams. The valley of Grassy Fork, as the name indicates, is 

a broad, open, fertile valley for a number of miles, and on the left .branch of Grassy 

Fork opens out into the Cacklcy Swamps east of Camba, while the right branch 

passes through a narrow gap a short distance above Madison Furnace, and its headwaters extend into the flat meadow lands south of Kooky Hill. Besides the gorge on 

the Black Fork, near its junction with Grassy Fork, there is still another gorge 4 or 

5 miles farther up the stream. These undoubtedly represent the former positions of 

old cols which have been cut through by the present streams.

BIG SANDY VALLEY.

The valley of the Big Sandy has been examined by the author only for a distance 

of 12 or 15 miles from the Ohio. Throughout the section examined there are many 

well-preserved remnants of the old valley floor, those near the mouth of the river 

standing at about 180 feet above stream, or about 670 feet above tide. The present 

stream has cut a narrow gorge in the old floor, while the bordering hills are rather 

steep and rise to elevations of from 700 to 900 feet above tide. Within the more 

recent valley there are considerable deposits of silt and saud, which have been recut 

to a very large extent by the present stream. , The silt terraces arc about 130 feet
46 . DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

above the river, and correspond in elevation to the gravel terraces that fill the deep 

gorge of the Ohio near Catlettsburg, and are probably of the same age, having been 

deposited at about the same stage of water level. The old gradation plain remnants 

rise gradually up the Big- Sandy Valley.

PINE CREEK VALLEY.

The valley of Pine Creek has not been carefully studied by the author, but has 

been observed at several widely separated points. The lower portion of the valley, 

which is roughly parallel to the Ohio, has all the characteristics of valleys of the older 

cycle, as well as the accompanying rejuvenation presented by the deeper trenching of 

the present creek. The valley, however, narrows rapidty northward upstream, which 

suggests that within a short distance it might, pass into a gorge having the character 

of a col. This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that at a point 15 or 20 miles 

farther upstream the creek flows in a rather wide and open valley, bordered by low 

hills, but the exact location of the connection between this upper larger valley and 

the old drainage line to the west was not determined, yet the possible locations of 

such a connection are suggested by question marks on the map (PI. XVII). These 

features, taken in connection with the abnormal relation of the present stream to both 

the old and present drainage, make it quite evident that the present stream is composed of several sections of an older drainage channel, and suggest an interesting 

field study.

LITTLK SCIOTO VALLEY.

The lower portion of the Little Scioto Eiver is cut into the floor of an old valley, 

and its trough is about 150 feet below the plane of the old floor, while the hills bordering the old valley rise about 250 feet above the old floor. The upper waters of 

the Little Scioto have not been critically examined, but that there are numerous 

minor modifications is very apparent from the abnormal arrangement of the drainage. 

The close relation to the upper waters of Pine Creek is manifest.

STJMMAKY.

From the foregoing discussion of the valleys of the smaller streams that lie 

wholly within the basin it is evident that they possess very many features in common. 

They are marked by characters somewhat similar to those mentioned in connection 

with the larger streams, in that throughout their courses there are stretches where 

the valleys are wide and present features of maturity, and other shorter intervals 

where they are narrow and precipitous and bear all the marks of very recent erosion. 

Many of the smaller streams that have not been examined undoubtedly will show 

similar features, which will be brought out by future field work, but it is thought that
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 47

enough of the characters have been determined to furnish a good foundation for an 

interpretation of the major topographic; features. On many of the other smaller 

streams represented on the maps accompanying this paper some observations have 

been made, and wherever the characters of the valleys have been indicated they are 

very certainly known, but a description of each individual valley would be merely 

repetition, for they all bear the impress of an older mature cycle of erosion, the 

present streams being deeply intrenched in old valleys; and although in most cases 

no remnants of the older valley floors remain, the rejuvenation is clearly marked in 

the sharp angle and change of grade of the valley walls.

In the above discussion the location of the old cols on the various streams has 

been made largely on the basis of the characters of the valleys, yet at the same time 

the characters of the divides which separate the different basins, and of the spurs 

which run out from the main divides, together with the general surface slopes of the 

old peneplain, have also been important factors in their location; but as these features 

are not apparent in the immediate study of the valleys they have not been mentioned 

in the discussion. In this connection it may be said that in the vicinity of the cols 

the divides on opposite sides of the valley usually retain their full elevation up to 

the very edges of the valleys, while in the broader portions of the valleys the lateral 

divides approach the streams in series of ridges, which gradually decrease in elevation to the immediate valley walls. While it 'seems evident that the cols crossed by 

the streams were the lowest in the divides which impended the waters, at the same 

time it also seems evident that they were, as a rule, very narrow gaps; and consequently the streams, in cutting down these gaps to greater depths and in broadening 

their valleys, cut back laterally against the divides, thus producing the features noted 

in the descriptions of the valleys at these points.

OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The old deserted high-level valleys possess many features in common. The 

fact that they are not now traversed by the streams that produced them or by other 

streams indicates that they must occupy portions of the present divides, for whenever a river valley is deserted it at once develops in some part of its course a water 

parting, although this may be represented for some time only by a lagoon or a 

swampy area. As the adjacent drainage lines are cut deeper, the old valley floor 

will be left higher and the divide will become more marked. This is true even as to 

a minor modification, such as an oxbow cut-off, but in this case tne divide is usually 

very near the upper end of the deserted portion of the valley, the lower portion 

having the longer drainage line, yet these old high-level valleys all occupy positions
48 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

in the present divides. It is a well-observed fact, however, that the divides of 

which they form a part decrease in elevation, as they approach these old valley segments, by a rather gradual series of descending ridges, until the edge of the old 

valley wall is reached. It is also true that the major divides of the neighboring 

region run parallel to the direction of these old valley floors, and it is only the 

spurs from these major divides that approach the sides of the old valleys and in 

which the floors of the valley form a part of the present divides.

Among the most common and striking characteristics of these old deserted valleys are the well-graded valley walls which border them and the very mature drainage shown by the valleys. The .depth to which the old valleys are cut below the 

surface of the old Tertiary peneplain varies considerably, depending in each case 

on the location of the valley in the basin, but in general it may be said that they 

are usually from about 150 to 250 feet deep. The elevation of their floors above 

present drainage lines is also variable, but in the portions of the valleys bordering 

the through-flowing streams it is pften as much as 150 feet above the streams. 

That the streams occupying these old valleys were well graded is indicated by the 

fact that in most places, especially on the larger streams, the valley floors are flatbottomed, forming a graded plain often half a mile or more in width.

Another important feature associated with these old valleys is the great depth of 

the residual soils on the adjacent slopes and in the valleys of the smaller streams which 

have not been subjected to strong erosive action. Upon the floors of most of these 

valleys may be found deposits made by the streams. These often consist of gravel 

beds, sometimes of rather coarse material, but more frequently of finer sands and 

silts. In numerous sections of these deposits the shingling of the gravels is well 

marked, indicating beyond peradventure the direction of flow of the streams which 

deposited them. In most cases the deposits laid down by the old streams are overlain by fine silts and clays, which are undoubtedly of later age, for there are in many 

places evidences of buried soils below these silts and clays, and this soil zone is 

usually well marked between the upper deposits and the lower.

Another marked feature which is characteristic of the deposits on the floors of 

all of these valleys is the great depth-.to which they have been leached. In several 

cases this leaching has been observed to extend to a depth of 30 or even 40 feet. 

The flat lands over which these clays and silts are distributed are often known as the 

"crayfish" flats, and also as the "white-clay" districts. As a general rule they are 

very poor farming lands, and it is evident that their sterility is due to the lack of 

lime salts, for in some places where land plaster has been applied these poor lands 

have been converted into very good farms. It has been suggested that the lack of 

lime in these soils is due to some conditions existing during the period of the deposition of the clay; but, after an examination of a large number of sections, it is the
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 49

opinion of the author that the poor quality of the soil arising from the lack of 

lime is due to the very extensive leaching which these deposits have suffered. In 

some sections, where exposures are obtained at a depth of between 20 to 30 feet 

below the surface, the lower beds of sand and gravel are often very thoroughly 

cemented with lime and iron salts, and it seems certain that these minerals have been 

derived from the upper layers by descending percolating waters. An attempt has 

been made to use the amount of this leaching as a time measure to determine by it 

the length of time that these deposits have been exposed, but only the most general 

results have been obtained, and these indicate a very long period. The.conditions for 

thorough leaching are extremely favorable, on account of the underlying porous 

sands and gravels, which would afford the very best of drainage to the upper silt 

deposits. In most cases these old valley floors are now very, much dissected by the 

minor drainage lines which cross them, and one traveling lengthwise of the valley finds 

its floor often rough and hilly, so that its features may be well observed only by 

ascending to the top of the table-land, from which point the sharp erosion on the 

valley floors is lost in perspective and the broad features of the valley stand out in 

general outline.

Besides these positive characters, there are some negative ones which are 

also worthy of mention on account of the possible relation which the old drainage 

sustained to the drainage of the Glacial epoch. The possible occurrence of glacial 

deposits on the floors of the high-level valleys was constantly kept in mind and diligent search was made for them, but none were found at the higher levels, though 

some were seen in old oxbow cut-offs that lie at much lower elevations along the* 

lines of some of the larger through-flowing streams as, for example, in the old 

valleys at Newport and opposite Cheshire, on the Ohio, and in the old valley at 

Londonderry, on the Scioto.

Another bit of negative evidence is the lack of any indication of rejuvenation 

on the floors of any of these old valleys before the deposition of the sands and silts, 

this indicating beyond question that the first change in the history of the older cycle 

of erosion was the deposition of the sands and silts.

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

These old high-level valleys are distributed very irregularly over the entire 

area. Some, as the California Valley, the Flatwoods Valley, and Teays Valley, lie 

adjacent to the large through-flowing streams; other smaller remnants are distributed very generally among the headwater streams, extending even far up onto the 

plateau region. It is'noticeable, however, that they are very much more numerous 

in the northeastern half of the basin, or,' to speak more accurately, northeast of the 

major divide which separates the waters of the Kanawha and Elk River from those 

9653 No. 13 03 i
50 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

of the Little Kanawha, and which, continued westward, crosses the Kanawha at 

Winficld. the Ohio at Crown City, and Syrnmes Creek at Marion, as shown on the 

map (PL XIII). For convenience of reference this divide will be called the WinfieldCrown City-Marion divide.

The most important modifications south of this divide are the Flatwoods and 

Teays valleys, although there are undoubtedly others that have not yet been 

discovered.

SPECIAL DESCRIPTIONS.

In discussing the characters of the separate remnants of these old valleys it is 

proposed to give to each section a name which will serve as a ready means of reference, and in the selection of these names it has seemed best to give to the valley the 

name borne by the town which is located upon the old valley floor or the local name 

by which the region is known. It seems best, also, to discuss these different valley 

remnants in the order in which they are locally grouped, and to follow out in a 

general way the connections that exist between them. They are grouped into two 

sections, according to their general distribution, a northern and a southern, and this 

order will be followed in the descriptions.

TEAYS AND FLATWOODS VALLEYS.

In the southern section the most important of these deserted valleys is the 

well-known Teays Valley. Its relation to the Kanawha Kiver was early recognized, 

and it has been described by many authors, notably by Prof. I. C. White, of Morgantown, W. Va., and Prof. Gr. Frederick Wright, of Oberlin, Ohio. Since the 

completion of the topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey including this region it is possible to give a much more detailed description of the characters of this valley and to present its features more clearly. This the author has 

attempted to do on the map (PL IX), on which contour lines of 500, 700, 900, 

and 1,100 feet elevation are shown, and on which a system of coloring is employed 

to bring out the features of the bordering table-land and the general characters of 

the valley.

The other important old drainage way in the southern section is the Flatwoods 

Valley, back of Ashland, Ky., and opposite Ironton, Ohio; and as Teays and Flatwoods valleys unquestionably form parts of the same system of drainage, the two 

will be discussed together, as the features of the Flatwoods Valley are also shown 

on the topographic map (PL IX), taken from the Ironton and Kenova sheets 

of the United States Geological Survey. It is to be observed from this map that 

the surface of the old peneplain in the vicinity of St. Albans and Charleston now 

stands at about 1,000 feet above tide, and that it slopes gradually northwestward, 

its elevation being about 900 feet in the vicinity of Huntington and about 800 feet
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. X

SILT CLIFFS AT BARBOURSVILLE, ON THE GUYANDOTTE RIVER.
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. , 51

at Ironton, or that it has, in general, a slope of about 200 feet in about 50 miles, 

or of about 4 feet to the mile. The Kanawha River at St. Albans is 560 feet above 

tide, and at Irontou the Ohio is 483 foet above tide, so that there is but 77 feet 

fall in the present drainage between St. Albans and Ironton. The distance by Avater 

being 120 miles, the fall is about 7.6 inches to the mile, or, if the distance in a direct 

line were taken to be 50 miles, the fall would be approximately 15 inches to the mile. 

The old gradation plains near St. Albans are now approximately 675 feet above tide; 

the rock floor of the valley, as near as can be estimated, is about 662 feet above tide 

near Cades, in Teajrs Valley; at Hurricane, about 665 feet above tide; at BarboursAolle, at the junction of .Mud and Guyandot rivers, about 653 feet above tide. 

Immediately back of Ashland the old river gravels are resting on the original valley 

floor at 645 feet above tide, Avhile at Advance, opposite Ironton, in the old valley, the 

rock floor stands at an elevation of about 650 feet above tide. Where the old valley 

meets the Ohio below Ironton the old gravels show the old valley floor to be about 

645 feet above tide. It thus appears that the grade of the old valley floor as it 

now stands is about 7.2 inches to the mile between St. Albans and Ironton. If the 

grades represented by the difference in elevation of the present .drainage at St. 

Albans and Ironton (77 feet) and that of the old valley (30 feet) were compared 

with the grade of the peneplain it would appear (as the present grade when measured in a direct line is nearly double the old grade) that there has been an elevation 

of the upper section of the region sufficient to produce the increased grade; but 

the fact that the present drainage, when measured in its circuitous route of 120 

miles, .has almost exactly the grade which is now presented by the old valley floor, 

would indicate that the position of the region has remained almost constant, for it 

seems reasonable to suppose that the volume of water in the Kanawha has been 

almost constant, and that the grade which it Avould establish in the same system of 

rocks would be about the same. As the old valley has the same grade as the present stream, it appears that something other than differential movement must account 

for the difference in the grades as indicated, when measured in a direct line.

Since the abandonment of the old valley the present drainage has lowered its 

channel about 100 feet at St. Albaus and about 160 feet at Ironton the deeper 

cutting of the intermediate stage being neglected for the moment making a difference of about 60 feet. The direct line being about 50 miles and the line of present 

drainage about 120 miles, the establishment of the grade of 7.6 inches per mile over 

the longer route Avould more than account for the observed difference in cutting at 

the two points. To enable the river to establish the same grade over the longer 

.route would .necessitate the elevation of the entire region at least that amount, or the 

discovery of a shorter outlet to the sea by the lower Avaters of the stream, with a 

resulting increase of the grade in that section to an amount which Avould permit the
52 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

cutting observed in the upper section. If the difference was produced by elevation, 

it seems evident that it was of an epeirogenic type and included the entire basin, as 

the relations of these grades do not seem to indicate any differential movement, certainly none of sufficient magnitude to have produced the deflection of the drainage 

from the old line.

In comparing the width of the valley in different sections it is to be noticed'that 

there are one or two places where the old valley seems to be somewhat constricted, 

notably at Barboursville, in Teays Valley, and in the section between Ashland and 

Ironton, in the Flatwoods Valley. In the latter case the valley wall extends out 

from, the south toward the present Ohio River, and the old valley between these 

southern hills and the hills next to the river is rather narrow. However, even at 

these constricted places the valley floor is still nearly three-quarters of a mile wide, 

while the average width of the valley floor throughout the entire length of the valley 

would equal about a mile. The contrast presented hy this part of the valley of the 

Ohio with that about a mile above Ashland is very striking, for at the point last 

named the Ohio Valley is scarcely more than half a mile wide and very steep bluffs 

stand on both sides of the river, while in the constrictions mentioned in the old valley 

the bordering hills are low and well graded to angles of from about 20° to 23°. The 

difference in the age of the two valleys is thus strikingly shown, and indicates clearly 

that the Ohio could not have occupied its present position in its valley above Ashland 

for a period nearly so long as that during which the stream that cut the old Flatwoods 

Valley held its course. This difference becomes still more marked when we take into 

consideration the fact that the stream that occupied the Flatwoods Valley was probably 

of very nearly the size of the present Kanawha River, which, of course, is much 

smaller than the Ohio.

The old river gravels on the floor of Teays Valley and of the Flatwoods Valley 

have been often described, and their origin has undoubtedly been correctly attributed 

to the headwaters of the Kanawha in the crystalline area of the Blue Ridge 

Mountains. Sections of these quartz gravels were examined in many places, and one 

interesting deposit near the lower end of the Flatwoods Valley, on a small tributary 

of Fond Run, showed a great number of quartz bowlders measuring 8 to 10 inches in 

diameter. These were resting on an old blue muck clay bed, which in turn was 

underlain by a residual soil passing rather abruptly into the decayed underlying rock. 

In most of the sections, however, the quartz gravels are much finer, and as a rule are 

composed of pebbles from the size of beans to the size of one's thumb. The fact was 

noted that the gravels wore very uniform in size in each exposure, showing that the 

sorting action was very perfect. One exposure in a small ravine back of Ashland, 

resting directly upon the decomposed shales, was composed almost entirety of stones 

about the size of one's fist. Throughout both the Flatwoods and Teays valleys these
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 53

gVavels are a certain source of water supply, and wherever the present drainage is 

below the lever of the gravels their outcrop is marked by a line of springs, while 

the wells drilled in these valleys always obtain water on striking the gravels.

Almost everywhere the gravels are overlain by a deposit of fine silt. Where 

best preserved, this deposit of silt is seen to extend clear across the valley, but in 

most sections of the valley it is deeply cut out by the present streams, and undoubtedly extensive areas of the old silts have been thus removed, so that it is often difficult 

to determine just how thick the original deposits wore in any particular part of the 

old valley floor. At Advance, in the Flatwoods Valley, opposite Ashland, the wells 

penetrate about 18 to 25 feet of silt before they strike the gravel, and in several 

sections, shown by the ravines which cut the floor, about the same thickness of silt was 

observed. "The silts are much thicker in the upper portion of the valley, near Hurricane and Scotts station, than the}7 are in any other part. Here it was estimated 

that the silts attain a thickness of about 80 feet. They extend very generally into 

the smaller tributary valleys which come in along the sides of the main valley, and 

often produce slack-water conditions in the smaller streams which occupy these 

valleys, and, in some cases, oven swamp}7 conditions. From the nature of these silt 

deposits it seems evident that the}7 were laid down in a body of water which stretched 

entirely across the valley. In no case do they exhibit marks of strong current 

action; on the contrary, the delicate lamination which the deposits show in some 

sections indicate that they were laid down in relatively quiet but at the same time not 

stagnant waters. Old valley soils occur below these silts quite commonly in sections 

that are favorably located. In several places the silts were observed at levels 'considerably below the quartz gravels, which are presumed to rest upon the old vallej7 floor, 

and appeared yer}7 much as though they might be in place, but a more critical examination showed that these silts have very, generally crept down the slopes of the deeper 

drainage channels which dissect the floor of the old valley, and that, in places, this 

creeping has been in large masses, so that the characteristics of the original silt 

deposits have been' preserved and yet the silts have thus been carried below the level 

of their original plain of deposition.

As already indicated the old floor of the valley is very generally deeply cut by the 

present drainage channels, and has at some time been cut even deeper than at present. 

This is very clearly shown in the vicinity of Barboursville, where Mud River .joins 

the Guyandot. Just north of the village, at the point marked "A" on the map 

(fig. 1), there is a narrow ridge, whose major axis extends north and south, and 

which thus occupies a position right across the valley. From its peculiar position 

and its association with the deep erosion of the Guyandot and Mud rivers, lying, 

respectively, to the west and the east, it offers a sort of natural fortification command-
54 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

ing the approach from either side, and it has many historic associations in connection 

with the civil war. The marks of the old earthworks are still visible.

The ridge is cut through by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and an excellent 

section is thus afforded. About 20 feet above the railroad is a stratum of characteristic gravel overlain by about 8 feet of silt and soil. One standing on the top of 

the ridge may readily observe that it is a remnant of the old valley floor, the level of 

which can be easily recognized by numerous other remnants, both up and down the 

valley (marked "VF." on the map, fig. 1). At the very base of this ridge, on 

the west side, flows Guyandot River. It is separated from the north wall of the valley 

by a very narrow rock gorge, through which flows Mud River. On the cast side

FIG. 1. Drainage modifications at Barboursville, W. Va.

there is a low-lying area, which has undoubtedly been eroded by an old oxbow bend 

of Mud River. At the south end the ridge drops down rather abruptly about 75 feet 

to the level of the village and is separated by this flat from the south wall of the 

valley. Numerous wells in the village show that this flat, which separates the ridge 

from the south wall of the valley, is an old silt-filled channel extending from Mud 

River to the Guyandot, along the line indicated on the map by dotted lines. As the 

Guyandot emerges from the hills on the south side of the valley it first turns eastward 

and then swings around to the west in a great curve. Where it passes the end of 

this old silt-filled channel it has exposed a vertical section of the old silts about 60
j r^> i Jr x ^

: r4^ x " N -n .!V¥«n§ R^ch *.

t \.fl tt) flU»VCU.4T» r- H>^ ; - jflf--^ «** ^ferf^?'

'* r^>v 1

E R ^-

NT S fi

DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS [N WASHINGTON

BY VV. C

Sc

LEG

Present drainage Pre-Glacial drainage Pre-Glacial ox)ls and divides

C() UNTY AND ADJACENT C O UNTIE S. OH IO

TIGHT

JULIUB BIEN BLCO-LITH.N Y.

le

20 miles

:ND

Pre- Glacial valley floors Observation stations

(direction, ofviewJ

Elevation above tide
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 55

feet in thickness. Here the bottom of the river is on the silt and the water is 

15 to 20 feet deep. This gives an observed thickness of 75 to 80 feet. As stated, 

these silts here stand in vertical cliffs resembling those which are shown by the 

loess. The character of the exposure is shown iu PI. X.

Just above the rock gorge which separates the ridge from the north wall of the 

valley, Mud River is flowing iu a channel cut in the silt deposits which fill its old, 

deeper valley. In the gorge the river is flowing over the rock. At the point marked 

"B" on the map (fig. 1) the river has a fall of about 5 feet. This fall is maintained 

by the presence of a thiu band of very compact slaty shale. From the falls to the 

Guyandot is about 250 yards, and in this distance Mud River descends about 5 feet 

over a series' of much softer shales. It is evident that at the time of formation of the 

falls at the mouth of Mud River they were about 10 feet high. Since that time Mud 

River has cut back only about 250 yards. The cutting of the river through the ridge 

above the falls exposes about 40 feet of rock. The'work involved in cutting out this 

40 feet of somewhat decayed rock seems to be comparable to the work of the river 

in eroding the soft silts above by the lateral cutting in the low area just east of the 

ridge. The i'ock barrier probably caused the meander just above. Similarly the 

Guyandot found the work of excavating the silts from the old channel so much easier 

than working against the rock walls that it made its eastward detour on that account. 

From the above facts it appears that, following the desertion of Teays Valley by 

the Kanawha and the consequent development of Mud River on the old valley floor, 

there was an extended cycle of erosion, during which Mud River cut the deep channel 

under Barboursville and at the same time it had its point of confluence with the Guyandot near where the latter enters the valley, next to the south wall.

It would seem that the force of the Guyandot waters not arrested by the confluence with the Kanawha was directed in a straight line across the old valley. Together 

the two streams eroded the valley in this vicinity considerably below the present 

level. Following this was a period of extensive silting, and the deeply eroded channel 

was filled up to the level of the flat on which the village stands. This silting so 

obstructed the lower course of Mud River that its waters were turned over the 

low col in the ridge at the gorge. Then followed a period of erosion. The Guyandot, 

working only on the. old silts, has been able to lower its channel faster than Mud 

River, which had to excavate the rocks in the gorge. Since the two streams encountered the hard layer of shale at their present point of confluence, the Guyandot has 

lowered its channel about 10 feet, while the falls of Mud River in. the same time 

have receded about 250 yards. The rate of cutting of the Guyandot is probably 

limited by that of the Ohio below.

The relations of the present drainage to the features of the old valley are shown 

also in connection with the Hurricane Creek drainage. This stream rises in the
56 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

areas south of the valley, comes into the valley opposite Hurricane, passes out of 

the valley to the north about a mile from the town, and crosses the hilly region to the 

north, entering the Kanawha at about 4 miles below Winficld. Where this stream 

cuts across the valley it is in a trench about 35 feet below the surface of the valley 

and about 40 feet below the gravel layer which marks the old valley floor. In 

several places the gravels and silts above have crept down into the trough of the 

Plurricane. An examination of the smaller tributary valleys, down the Hurricane a 

mile or two, at once reveals the fact that the talus slopes bordering the almost perpendicular walls, which are very characteristic of all of the drainage in this section 

of the .Hurricane Valley, are supplying material to the streams at present at a 

much greater rate than they are able to remove it. This is true even of Hurricane 

Creek itself.

In this section also there are numerous hills entirely surrounded with vertical 

cliff's and separated from the neighboring ridges by deep gorges of considerable 

width, which arc not now occupied by any water courses whatever. These features 

are also quite common on the section of Poplar Fork of Hurricane between its 

junction with the main stream and the valley above, for this stream also rises on the 

south side of the valley, and, like Hurricane, traverses the valley from south to 

north. It is very evident that the gorges associated with the Hurricane and Poplar 

Fork have been occupied by much larger streams than those now occupying them, 

and also that the present streams are running at elevations considerably above 

the rock floors of the valleys, while the streams on the south side of the valley 

do not show the same characteristics. These features of the topography in this 

section of the Hurricane and Poplar Fork valleys suggest at once that they may 

have been produced at the time of the transfer of the waters of the Kanawha from 

Teays Valley to the present course of the river across the Winfield col, and that at 

the time of the transfer a portion of the waters passed around and through these 

gorges on Hurricane and Poplar Fork, and then down the Hurricane to the valley 

below, until the Winfield col was cut to such a depth that it drew off the upper 

waters from these smaller valleys, leaving many of the deserted channel ways which 

are found there at present, while the deeper cutting of the gorge of the Kanawha 

and the Ohio carried the- floor of these drainage lines far below the present level, 

and that, with the filling of the Ohio Valley, these floors were again silted up, and 

this very largely from the material supplied from the steep slopes of the gorges 

previously cut. 

The physiographic history of Teays Valley seems to be, briefly, as follows, 

beginning with the old Tertiary peneplain as a base: First there was a very long 

cycle of erosion which produced the old topographic features of the valley and its
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. . 57

well-graded floor, which must have stood near base-level for a; considerable length of 

time. During the latter stages of this cycle deposits of sand and gravel were laid 

down along the course of the stream, while the floor of the valley was marked with 

numerous lagoons and the deep-valley soils which are npw. seen in sections in the old 

muck beds and buried vegetation associated with the gravel deposits. Following 

this there was a period of slack water, during which the valley was occupied by a 

very sluggish stream, in which the deep silt deposits were laid down to a depth of 

from about 20 to 80 feet. As the much greater thickness of these silts in the upper 

section of the valley in the vicinity of Hurricane and Scotts station can hardly be 

attributed to the difference produced by subsequent erosion, it would seem that the 

deposition must have been much greater at this point, and that here the upper 

waters of the Kanawha may have first encountered the slack-water conditions which 

prevailed in the lower section of its valley, and so would here have dropped the major 

part of its load of sediments. Following this stage of slack-water conditions and 

the deposition of the silt was the abandonment of the valley by the river and its 

meander northward across the Winfield col around the silt obstruction. Next came 

a long period of erosion in which the local drainage was intrenched to a depth 

of at least 150 feet below the old floor in the vicinity of Barboursville and corresponding depths over the completely graded courses of all of the streams, even to 

the smaller headwaters. Following this was the period of slack-water conditions in 

which were deposited the great beds of silt which filled the old valley of Mud River 

at Barboursville and produced a corresponding aggradation of all of the drainage 

lines. Then followed another period of erosion, in which the streams cut out these 

aggradation plains to a considerable depth, amounting to about 60 feet at the mouth 

' of Mud River. Associated with this rejuvenation are a number of minor modifications in the positions, of the streams and their deflection over minor rock spurs 

which were buried under the silts, of which the most noted example observed by 

the writer was the deflection of Mud River at Barboursville.

The general relations which the Teays and the Flatwoods valleys bear to the 

other drainage features are indicated on maps, Pis. XIII and XVII.

Farther down the Ohio, below Ironton, there are several well-preserved remnants 

of the floor of the old valley which show from their elevations a gradual descent 

toward the northwest. These are undoubtedly to be correlated with the Teays and 

Flatwoods valley floors, as they fall into close accord with the grade of the upper 

section and carry deposits of similar character. These are found as far north as 

Wheelersburg.

CALIFORNIA VALLEY.

North of Wheelersburg and near Stoekdale, in Scioto County, and extending into 

Pike and Jackson counties, is the old California Valley, which has been described by
58 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the author and Mr. Frank Leverett,"1 and correlated, with considerable confidence, 

with the Flatwoods and Teaj^s valleys, on the basis of the grade of the old valley floor 

and the deposits found upon it, which consist of gravel beds of quartz pebbles overlain 

by silt deposits. The southern portion of this valley is very deeply cut by the Little 

Scioto Eiver and its tributaries, but the northern portion, in the vicinity of California 

Flats, and the area extending thence northward to the Scioto at Waverly, are very 

perfectly preserved. Its features may easily be observed from the train on the Ohio 

Southern Railroad at Beaver. Between the Ohio at Wheelersburg and the Scioto 

at Waverly this floor has at present at least five water partings across it, which is 

suggestive of the great length of time which has elapsed since its abandonment and 

the establishment of the present drainage. The elevation of the valley floor where it 

is cut by the Scioto Valley is, as near as can be estimated, about 600 foot above tide. 

This would make a grade of about 9 inches to the mile between St. Albans, W. Va., 

and this point, a distance of about 100 miles. As indicated in the articles above 

referred to, the topographic features of the California Valley arc quite identical 

with those of the Teays and Flatwoods vallej-s, and the history of the cycles 

through which this region has passed is also exactly similar to that of the other 

valley.

LAYMAN, BARLOW, AND FLEMING VALLEYS.

North of the Winfield-Crown City-Marion divide the remnants of the old valley 

floors are much more numerous than in the section to the south, as previously 

mentioned, and their discussion will be taken up in connection with their relation to 

the present drainage lines, and their correlations suggested in order. .In the divide 

separating the waters of W'olf Creek from those of the Little Hocking, in western 

Washington Count}', Ohio, shown on the map (PI. XI), there are three well-marked 

abandoned valley floors. These are near Layman, Barlow, and Fleming. The valley 

floor at Barlow (PI. XII, 0} was described by Dr. S. P. Hildreth,* as early as 1838, 

in his report, as follows:

"On Mr. Lawton's farm, in Barlow Township, Washington County, in the midst 

of the marl region, is a locality of fossil fresh-water shells of the-genus Unio. They 

are imbedded in coarse sand or gravel cemented by ferruginous matter. The spot in 

which they are found has once evidently been the bed of an ancient lake or pond. 

It is now a beautiful valley of a mile or more in width by 4 miles in length, surrounded by low hills. On the south side a small branch stream drains the superfluous water into the Little Hockhocking. In digging wells for domestic use in this 

tract, beds of'sand, gravel, and plastic clay are passed to the depth of 30 feet, containing imbedded branches of trees, leaves, and fragments of wood, of recent and 

living species. Similar vallej^s and levels are found in the uplands of the western

a Bull. Soi. Lab. Denison Univ., Vol. IX, pt. 2. '< First Ann. Kept. Geol. Survey Ohio, 18S8, p. fiO.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL 8URVEV PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. XII

A. OLD VALLEY NEAR McAR7HUR JUNCTION. K. OLD VALLEY AT LAYMAN. C. OLD VALLEY AT BARLOW. D. OLD 

VALLEY AT FLATWOODS, EAST OF POMtROY, OHIO. E. ENTRANCE OF THE OLD VALLEY INTO THE OHIO VALLEY 

NEAR RAC.NE. F. OLD DUTCH FLATS VALLEY, WEST VIRGINIA.
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 59

part of the county, lying between the headwaters of the creeks, and arc a kind of 

table-land. From the frequency of these flat lands between the headwaters of the 

Little Hockhocking and the south branch of Wolf Creek it is possible that at some 

remote period the waters of Wolf Greek were discharged into the Ohio River instead 

of the Muskingum. This opinion is strengthened from the fact that the head 

branches of the South Fork now rise within 2 miles of the Ohio, and run northerly 

parallel-with and opposite to the course of the Muskingum for 12 miles, and join 

that river 20 miles from its mouth. The remains of its ancient beds would form 

pools and ponds of standing water furnishing fit residences for the fresh-water 

shells whose fossil remains are now found there. Great changes, evidently, have 

been made in the direction of all of OUT water courses before they, found their present 

levels."

The valley floor at Layman (PI. XII, _Z?) is not so large as that at Barlow, 

but it did not _ carry so large a stream. In several fields on the farms located 

in this valley the old floor still shows under cultivation a black valley soil, and the 

author was informed by Mr. J. A. Gage, of Layman, that at one place there is a 

deep muck, from which much decayed wood has been taken, and the waters issuing 

therefrom have a very disagreeable odor.

The old floor at Fleming and its associated valley, still smaller than the others, 

probably carried a smaller stream. The full depths of the silt deposits that cover 

these remnants of the valley floors were not determined, as all the wells examined 

were very shallow, reaching a sufficient water supply very near the surface. The 

bordering hills associated with these old vallej's are very low and well graded, and 

cany very deep soils at the present time, where not expo'sed to the strong erosion of 

the present drainage.

 WATERTOWN VALLEY.

Not directly in this divide, but associated with the Wolf Creek Basin, is another 

abandoned valley floor near Watertown. This floor is about 9 miles northeast of the 

town and about a mile east of the South Fork of Wolf Creek. Rainbow Creek 

heads on this floor. Whether all or only a part of the stream which occupied this 

Rainbow Creek Valley drained over this floor is as yet undetermined. Whether or 

not there were other cols on the Muskingum below Lowell, and whether the reversed 

Rainbow Creek carried a section of the present Muskiugum, will require very careful 

detailed work to determine, as the erosion of the valley of the Muskingum has been 

so great in this portion that almost every trace of such cols has-been'lost. There are 

some indications in the characters of the divides which would seem to locate one such 

below the mouth of Bear Run. If this should be subsequently determined it would 

follow that both Cat Run and Bear Run drained through Rainbow Creek reversed 

and over the old Watertown Valle}r floor. The location of this col is not indicated 

on the map, because it was not considered sufficiently well established.
60 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTEBN OHIO.

BOXBUBY VALLEY.

In the divide separating the waters of Wolf Creek from the Muskingurn, 

immediately south of Koxbury, there is now a very low col, and while it presents 

few features characteristic of most of the old valley remnants, still'it seems quite 

certain that it represents the location of a very short section of an abandoned 

valley. The divide at this point .is so nai-row and the amount of erosion of the 

large streams on each side is so great (about 150 feet) that -nearly all the old 

' valley characters have been lost, but judging from the location of the Meigs 

Creek col on the Muskingum, a few miles below, it seems evident that the old 

stream which headed at the Bluerock col must have originally flowed through 

this low gap.

Along the valley of Wolf Creek and its South Fork are well-preserved 

remnants of the old gradation plain, which show a marked gradient to the south 

and pass directly into the floors of the Layman and Barlow valleys, as 

indicated on the map (PI. XI), while the valley at Fleming carried but a small 

portion of the headwater drainage of the South Fork. The old gradation plain 

can be traced down the valley of the Little Hocking and its east branch to the 

plains at-the.mouth of the stream already referred to in. the discussion of the 

characters of the Ohio Valley.

TOECH VALLEY.

This gradation plain continued westward into an abandoned valley at Torch, 

which now forms the divide between two small streams, one flowing westward into 

the Hocking and the other eastward into the Ohio (PI. V, A). This valley seems to 

be somewhat narrower than usual for an old valley remnant, but this appearance is 

probably due to the fact that the silt accumulations are not as thick here as in many 

other places, and so the valley walls come down closer to the bottom of the broad V. 

The floor of the valley has been sectioned in numerous places by the Baltimore and 

Ohio Southwestern Railroad in the construction of its roadbed between the valleys 

of the Hocking and the Ohio at Little Hocking. The best section exposed is but a 

few rods west of Torch, where the cut is about 25 feet deep and is located very near 

the center of the old valley, and in the present crest line. The section above the 

track shows about 15 feet of very fine clay, scattered through which are small decayed 

pebbles. Except for the absence of foreign material this clay resembles veiy much 

a blue glacial till. No lamination was observed and it was thought to be a very deep 

residual soil, or "possibly a river muck. Above this clay is a layer of from 2 to 3 

feet of river gravel, composed mostly of small material varying from a quarter of an 

inch to 4 inches in diameter, and mostly flattish or lenticular in form. Its local
LEGEND

DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN MEIGS AND GALL1A COUNTIES,OHIO, AND JACKSON, MASON,PUTNAM,

AND CABELL COUNTIES.WEST VIRGINIA,AND VICINITY
OLD HIGH-LEYEL VALLEYS. 61

origin from the Carboniferous sandstones and shales is very evident. The sandstone 

pebbles are more eqniaxial than the pebbles of the shales. All of this gravel is so 

thoroughly decayed that good-sized pebbles can be easily crushed between the fingers. 

The section did not show any well-marked eA'idence of shingling, but was Very certainly stream made and stream laid. Above the gravel is about a foot of rather red 

clay soil and above that some 6 or '7 feet of loess-like silt.

The bed rock is not revealed in the bottom of the cut, so that the exact depth of 

the filling was not determined; however, the bed rock is thought to be not veiy far 

below the railroad track judging from other sections to the cast and west which do 

not show so much clay but which do cut into the rock beneath. In some of these 

other cuts the gravel lies directby upon the decayed rock surface without the thick 

clay beneath. One of these sections, about a mile east of Torch, shows about S feet 

of a sandy clay, graduating into the much-dcoayed underlying rock and overlain 

by about 2 feet of gravel, and this is overlain by about 4 feet of reddish clay, and 

above this is some 6 feet of loess-like silt. Immediate'!}' below the silt there were 

observed some evidences of an old soil line. The reddish clay seems to have been 

deposited over the top of the gravels at a much earlier date than thp deposition of 

the silt above, as would be indicated by this soil line.. This suggests that the channel 

was shifted after the gravels were laid down in the immediate bed of the stream, 

that the gravels were subsequently buried under flood-plain deposits, and that the 

reddish clays were part of the bottom land bordering the immediate channel of the 

stream:

Both cast and west of Torch the old vallc}' floor is deeply cut by recent erosion 

into many very picturesque ravines and gorges. This is especially true on the 

w,estern sides. The railroad follows one of these ravines from the valley of tlie 

Hocking to the old valley floor, making a grade of about 125 feet in 2 miles, while 

the grade is not so steep from this crest line to Little Hocking. This places the old 

floor at this point at about 150 feet above the Ohio; or 690 feet above tide.

COOLVILLM AND TDPPMR PLAINS VALLEYS.

The old valley extends westward to the Hocking Valle}' at Coolville, which it 

crosses at an elevation of about 150 feet aboAre the Hocking River. A section of the 

deposits on the floor of the valle3r at Coolville is shown in the main street of the 

village, where the gravels are revealed to a depth of about 4 feet with about 6 feet 

of silt above them. In this exposure the gravels are beautifully shingled to the 

southwest, showing beyond all question the direction of flow of the old stream.

The old valley extending southward from Coolville is a very conspicuous feature 

of the topography. For a considerable distance between Coolville and Tuppers Plains 

the floor of the valley is very deeply eroded by a small tributary of the Ohio, but
62 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IIST SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

is well preserved at the water parting- at Tuppers Plains. The exact elevation of the 

floor at this point was not determined, as no well sections were found which penetrated the gravels. In the lower portion of the village a number of wells reached the 

gravel beds at depths of from 20 to 25 feet, passing through fine silts, and, in some 

cases, through beds of quicksand.

On account of the deep erosion in the basin of Shade River the course of the 

old valley is more obscured, and yet it can be traced by means of the few benches 

which are left along the present stream valleys. It crosses from the East Fork of 

the Shade to the Middle Fork, 2 miles above Chester.

VALLEYS AT HEADWATERS OF FEDERAL CEEEK AND TIOCKING EIVEE.

Two other remnants of old valley floors have been observed in eastern Athens 

County, one extending between the headwaters of Federal Creek and the Hocking, 

and the other between the headwaters of the East Fork of Shade River and the 

Hocking. The valley floor at the head'of Federal Creek stands at an elevation of 

about 730 feet above tide, or 140 feet above the present Hocking, and remnants of 

its southward extension are found on numerous benches along the Hocking River as 

far down as Guysville, where they turn to'the south and connect with the other 

valley floor. The other valley is narrow and the table-land rises about 175 feet above 

the deposits which lie on its floor. One well in this valley is walled for a depth of 

40 feet, but no data were obtained with reference to the character of the deposits 

passed through. A bed of fine gravels containing numerous quartz pebbles was 

found at an elevation of about 697 feet above tide, which was thought to represent 

very nearly the elevation of the old valley floor. It is interesting to note the presence of these quartz pebbles in the gravels of this valley floor, for they become an 

important feature in the gravels of the floors farther southwest. They seem beyond 

all question to be locally derived from coarse conglomerates which are exposed in 

this region.

CHESTER AND OHIO FLATWOODS VALLEYS.

From Chester, on Shade River, the old valley can easily be followed southward 

to the waters of Rays Run (PI. XIII). About a mile south of the village are 

many fine sections of the gravels which here rest on the floor of the valley; 

these are now at an elevation of about 680 feet above tide. Beside the pebbles of 

the sandstones and shales of the neighboring hills, there are in these gravels numerous 

quartz pebbles, most of them of about uniform size and about one-half inch in 

diameter, on an average. Like all the gravels resting on these old floors, these 

gravels here are v"ery much decayed and the quartz pebbles are coated with a 

coloring of iron which gives them a. very aged and rusty appearance. The valley 

here swings westward, following the headwaters of Rays Run to the flat plains
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 63

known locally as the Flatwoods (PI. VI, D, and PI. XII, D). At this point the 

valley is about one-half mile wide and hills rise by gradual slopes up to elevations 

of 175 feet above the valley floor. The headwaters of Thomas Fork of Leading 

Creek are on this flat section, and they follow the valley westward nearly to the 

Meigs County fair grounds, north of Pomeroy, where they leave the valley and cut 

through the "old valley walls in a very deep gorge, while the valley makes a very 

sharp bend, passing southeastward somewhat parallel to the adjacent valley of the 

Ohio and only about a mile north of it. This section of the valley is locally known 

as the Neese settlement. It again bends to the south and merges with the Ohio 

valley near Kacine (PI. XII, E). In the vicinity of the Meigs County fair grounds 

it is estimated that the old valley floor stands about 160 feet above the Ohio, or 670 

feet above tide. It has here suffered very extensive erosion, and undoubtedly the 

original deposits on the floor of the valley have been very largely removed; however, at a few protected points, sections of the old gravels were observed.

The gravels here also contain a new element in the shape of small nodules of 

kidney iron ore. These are about the size of beans, and form only a very small percentage of the gravels. The source of this ore is .to be found in the thick beds of 

red clay which occur in the bordering hills at elevations of about 100 feet above the 

valleys. In some of the ravines east of this locality this hematite ore was concentrated 

in the .bed of the streams during the long period of erosion of the deep valleys, and 

in the early days was collected for furnace purposes, but the supply was soon exhausted, 

as there is no large vein from which the material is derived, for it consists only of 

kidney nodules distributed through the red clay. The abundance of this iron ore 

has contributed an important and interesting factor to the deposits on the old valley 

floors farther southwestward, and assists very materially in the correlations of the 

directions of the streams.

1>TJTCII FLATS VALLEY, WEST VIRGINIA.

To give an adequate description of the interesting features of this region would 

require the carefully prepared maps of a topographic survej', and only the briefest 

outline of general features can be indicated at present. That the old valley crossed 

the present position of the Ohio at this point is manifest from its southward continuation into West Virginia. On account of the extensive erosion in connection with 

the valley of the Ohio, and of the location of the oxbow channels, of which there 

seems to have been several, it is difficult to determine the exact position of the old 

stream at this point. A marked example of these great oxbows is found near Hartford, where there is an old valley which passes around the river hills and returns to 

the river again 3 miles below. It is evident that this oxbow has been occupied by 

the Ohio during its maximum flood-water stages, as there are very extensive deposits
64 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

of sand in the valley, and these lead across the divide between this valiey'and the 

valley of the Ohio below Pomeroy at several low gaps, the most marked of which is 

about a mile south of Mason City and at an elevation of 160 feet above the river, or 

677 foot above tide.

From this Hartford oxbow the old valley extends southward several miles and its 

floor is deeply cut out by recent drainage lines which now flow westward through 

narrow gorges across the divide. This old valley is, on an average, about threefourths of a mile in width, and the bordering hills rise some 175 feet above it to 

the table-land. The somewhat meandering course of the valley is indicated on the 

map (PI. XIII). Its floor is covered with gravels, which furnish an inexhaustible 

supply of water, as do the gravels of most of the other valley remnants. These 

gravels are often cemented with iron and lime salts, and are quite like a conglomerate 

in character.

Besides the sandstone and shale elements, the rusty quartz pebbles which have 

been mentioned in connection with the old valleys on the north side of the Ohio are 

here a very marked feature, as is also the numerous nodules of hematite ore. In 

three instances a very imperfect shingling was observed. Above these gravels there 

is a deposit of sands and silts, often as much as 40 or 50 feet in depth; the surface 

portions of the silts are white in color and give the name of white clays to the lands 

in the vicinity of the upper or Dutch Flats (PL VI, E, and PI. XII, F). Here 

the surface of the deposits now stands at an elevation of about 685 feet above tide 

and the old floor is about 15 to 20 feet lower. At Dutch Flats the valley turns westward, and, after making several bends, passes out into the great oxbow in the valley of 

the Ohio, opposite Cheshire. From the relation of the vallej^ walls, it appears that 

the old stream passed along the southern side of this oxbow and reached the present 

position of the Ohio, a short distance above Point Pleasant, opposite the mouth of 

Campaign Creek. The name Dutch Flats is suggested for this old high-level valley, 

which resembles in many ways the old Teays Vallej'.

Throughout the valley the upper slopes are very conspicuously marked by the 

slender wave terraces, which have already been mentioned in the description of the 

general topographic features of the lowland section. These present at least three 

series, extending to an elevation of 850 feet above tide. On a projecting point of 

the valley wall it was possible to observe these, benches thi'ough an are of 260°, and 

by level observations it was determined that they are practically horizontal at the 

present time, while the dip of the strata is about 20 feet to the mile, so that it is very 

evident from these observations, as well as very numerous ones in other districts, 

that these are not structural terraces due to differential degradation.

About a mile south of Hartford there is a tributary to this old valley which 

comes in from the eastern side and is now occupied by the waters of a small run.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. XIV

A. OLD VALLEY AT KEYSTONE. B. OLD VALLEY AT PORTER. C. OLD VALLEY AT RODNEY. I). OLD VALLEY AT 

CENTERVILLE E. A RIDGE ROAD. F. THE OHIO VALLEY BELOW PORTSMOUTH. II. VALLEY OF THE LITTLE 

MUSKINGUM, SHOWING TERTIARY PENEPLAIN AND THREE-WAVE TERRACES ON THE VALLEY WALL.
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 65

This vallev extends eastward and comes out to the Ohio again opposite Racine. Its 

floor and the deposits upon it, and its walls, resemble very perfectly those of the 

larger valley just described, and its direct continuation on the Ohio side of the river 

is very manifest when observed from the high hills which border the valley. The 

old gravels were found on this floor at about 680 feet above tide, under about 20 feet 

of silts.

POINT PLEASANT VALLEY.

At the confluence of the Dutch Flats with the present valley of the Ohio, at 

the mouth of Campaign Creek, it received another tributary on the southern side, 

which is now represented by the high-level valley floor east of Point'Pleasant, and 

which represents the old valley of the lower section of the Kanawha River before it 

crossed the col at Point Pleasant. The old gravels were found under about 20 feet of 

silt on the old valley floor east of Point Pleasant, at an elevation of about 689 feet 

above tide, or 177 feet above the Ohio River.

Extending back from the Ohio River opposite Point Pleasant, on the Ohio side, 

there is another old valley, which has its floor at an elevation of about 670 feet 

above tide, and which passes northward to the valley of Campaign Creek a little 

above its mouth. This floor was probably occupied by the lower waters of Campaign 

Creek when it was flowing at that elevation.

RODNEY VALLEY.

From Point Pleasant the old vallejr extendeda long the line of the present Ohio 

to the mouth of Chickamauga Creek, just above Gallipolis, where the old gradation 

plains are well marked at an elevation of about 674 feet:above tide. From the 

general mature features of the Chickamauga Valley it is very evident that it represents the continuation of the line of the old drainage. The remnants of the old 

gradation plains extend up the valley to the vicinity of Kerr, where they merge into 

a remnant of an old valley floor which extends to the valley of the Raccoon, past the 

village of Rodney (PI. XIV, C). Here the old floor is covered with silts and sands, 

as shown by well data, to depths of at least 20 to 30 feet. This would make the old 

floor at this point about 670 feet above tide.

RIO GKANDE AND CENTERVILLE VALLEYS.

From Rodney the valley extends to the west as a well-marked topographic 

feature, and its old floor is represented by numerous remnants which are preserved 

along the line of the present Raccoon Creek to the vicinity of Rio Grande, where the 

old floor stands at 670 feet, or a little less, above tide.

. From Rio Grande the old topographic features can be traced westward up a 

branch of Raccoon Creek to a well-preserved vallejr floor in the vicinity of Centerville

9653 No. 13 03 5
66 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

(PI. XIV, D), where the old valley crosses the present divide between the waters 

of Raccoon and Grassy Fork of Symmes Creek. Near Rio Grande a section of the 

old river gravels was observed at the elevation of 670 feet above tide. These were 

distinctly shingled toward the west, were resting on a decayed rock surface, and 

overlain with about 10 feet of a sandy yellow silt.

BEDWELL VALLEY.

In the vicinity of Bedwell and Porter, on the headwater tributaries of Campaign 

Creek, there are extensive remnants of an old gradation plain with a well-preserved 

old valley floor. A little northeast of Porter, o'n Campaign Creek, this plain is at 

an elevation of about 715 feet above tide, and slopes westward under the silts on the 

old floor to the vicinity of Bedwell, where the surface of the silts is about 698 feet 

above tide, and where the silts are at least 20 to 25 feet thick. From Bedwell the 

old valley extends along Barren Creek and joins the present Raccoon Creek near 

Harrisburg. Along Raccoon Creek from Harrisburg to Rio Grande the old 

gradation plain is well marked by numerous remnants, although it has been very 

extensively eroded by the present drainage lines.

CACKLEY SWAMPS VALLEY.

From Centerville the old valley continued northwestward up the valley of Grassy 

Fork to the open flat lands in the vicinity of the Cackley Swamps, south of Madison 

Furnace. The valley walls in this region are more completely graded than in the 

upp'er sections, and at very much lower angles, and the hills immediately bordering 

the valley rise about 150 to 200 feet above its floor. The amount of silting in . this 

region has been very great, and there are numerous minor modifications in the 

streams on both the Grassy Fork and some of its smaller tributaries, but these could 

be shown only on a very detailed map.

CAMBA, KEYSTONE, AND JACKSON VALLEYS.

From the region of the Cackley Swamps the old valley extends along the line of 

the Portsmouth division of the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad, past 

Camba station, and on to the headwaters of the Salt Creek Valley at Keystone. 

The deposits in the valley at Camba are very deep, and it is back of- these that 

the Cackley Swainps are found, which now are the headwaters of Grass)7 Fork of 

S3rmmes Creek. A well, sunk close to the railroad in the cut, penetrated 95 feet of 

blue clays and sands, and struck rock at that depth. This would indicate the valley 

floor to be about 650 feet above tide. The surface of the deposits at Camba is 

about 125 feet above the present surface of the valley at Keystone, the railroad 

having a grade in this section of about 100 feet to the mile. The valley here Is
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 67

about three-quarters of a mile wide, and its floor is very flat all the way from 

Keystone to Jackson (PI. XIV, A). Indeed, it is so flat that it was, in the early 

days, almost entirely swamp area, many thousands of acres in extent, but most of 

the swamp land has been reclaimed by cutting the timber and laying drain tiles. 

At Keystone are located the wells of the. waterworks system for the city of Jackson. 

These wells penetrate from 12 to 20 feet of fine silts and then enter an extensive 

gravel stratum, which, as far as learned, was not entirely penetrated, so that the 

exact elevation of the rock floor was not determined. At this point also the old 

valley receives, on its eastern side, a large tributary of about its own size, entering 

from the direction of Rocky Hill.

Be3rond Keystone the valley is drained by the South Fork of Salt Creek, which 

enters it about 2 miles past Jackson. At this point the creek turns abruptly to the 

north and cuts through a very narrow valley extending across the high table-land 

bordering the old valley, while the old valley continues to the west along one of the 

smaller tributaries of Salt Creek reversed, and enters the old California Valley in 

the vicinity of Glade. The features below Keystone and also of the tributary which 

enters this old valley at Keystone arc shown on the map (XVI). 

SALINA PLAINS VALLEY.

A few miles above Athens there is a deserted valley Known as the Plains, or the 

Salina Plains, which occupies a position a mile or so back from the present Hocking 

River. The relations of this old valley are shown more in detail on PI. XV, in 

which the dotted lines mark the approximate width of the valleys measured at the 

contact line between the present valley floors and the valley walls, the continuous 

black lines indicate the crest lines of the principal ridges, and the dotted areas the 

position of gravel terraces. Sunday Creek enters the Hocking at Chauncey, and its 

valley is about three-quarters of a mile in width at this point. Numerous remnants 

of the old valley floor are preserved in this vicinity, which are now at an elevation of 

about 725 feet above tide. From the configuration of the valley walls and the surface 

of the old upland, it is very evident that the old valley of Sunday Creek continued directly across the present valley of the Hocking into the valley of the Plains. Just east 

of Beaumont a remnant of this old valle}' floor is still preserved, while east of Chauncey the valley of the Hocking is very narrow and its walls are very precipitous. 

The interpretations in this region we're first suggested by Professor Chapin and were 

published in the Annual Report of the Ohio State Academy of Science, in which he 

showed that the Hocking River had cut across this Salina col after the desertion of 

the Plains valley. The Plains is a narrow belt of country lying south of Beaumont and 

bending eastward to the Hocking. The middle section of the Plains is very level, 

and no apparent slope could be determined on the upper surface without careful
68 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

spirit leveling. It is drained by two small streams, one flowing northward and the 

other eastward. These streams have eut very deep into the Plains near their lower 

portions, and show the whole Plains to be an old vallcj^, filled about 100 feet above 

the present drainage with glacial gravel. Near Beaumont the east wall of the valley 

presents a vertical cliff 40 or 50 feet in height, which suggests that the old valley 

floor may have been trenched before the gravels were placed in it; but this may not 

be true, as it is the only point where such features are shown at all. At most parts 

of the Plains, bordering hills rise gradually from the surface of-the plain and assume 

the characters of the old slopes of the upland topography.

Directly south of the point where the Plains turn to the east there is a broad 

depression leading across into the valley of Little Factory Creek. The floor of this 

depression is about 40 feet above the level of the Plains and about 10 or 15 feet below 

the rock bench cast of Beaumont which marks the level of the old gradation plain at 

that point.

The valley of the east limb of the Plains is somewhat narrower than the Section 

directly south of Beaumont, which continues across the old valley floor on to the Little 

Factory. As indicated, the gravels which fill the Plains valley are similar to those 

which extend down the valley of the Hocking from the morainic tracts near its headwaters. This gravel is extensively used for road purposes, and in these banks some 

fine sections are exposed. While in general the gravels resemble those of the other 

terrace deposits characteristic of the through-flowing streams, and no difference in 

composition was certainly determined, a study of the amount of weathering which 

these gravels have suffered near the surface indicates that they are weathered to a 

depth of from 4 to 10 feet, while the gravel terraces in the other vallej's which head 

in the morainic belts of the last invasion are scarcely weathered below a depth of from 

2 to 3 feet. In the upper section of this weathered zone the gravels sire almost 

completely decayed, even including the more resistant igneous elements, and the 

decomposition decreases rather uniformly through the zone, with a well-marked line 

between the upper weathered portion and the lower undecayed portion. The cementing of the lower portion by the lime and iron salts dissolved from the zone above has 

not taken place to any large extent, so that the gravels are easily worked by the pick 

and shovel. In the mouth of Sunday Creek Valley, and extending up that valley tor 

more than a mile, there are remnants of a gravel terrace which show all .of the characteristics of the grayels of the Plains region. These are also found in the section 

of the Hocking Valley below the Salina col and can be traced by smaller remnants 

down the valley of the Hocking to the great terrace in the great bend of the Hocking 

Valley opposite Athens, upon which the State asylum is located.

As already indicated, the old valley floor south of the Plains is somewhat above 

the level of the Plains gravels. The gravels do not extend over it, but upon this floor
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. XV

DRAINAGE MAP OF ATHENS AND PART OF DOVER TOWNSHIPS, ATHENS COUNTY, OHIO.
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 69

there is a deposit of fine silt, which was seen in section to a thickness of about 12 

feet, and under this silt is a bed of gravel about 2 feet thick resting on the decayed 

rock surface. These gravels resemble almost perfectly those which are characteristic 

of the old valley floors already described. From the mouth of the Little Factory 

the old valley is seen to continue directty southward along the line of the reversed 

Margaret Creek. This is clearly indicated from the general contour of the old 

upland and the configuration of the bordering valley walls. The present Hocking 

is now flowing on deposits which fill its former channel to a depth of about 60 feet 

at Athens, according to Professor Chapin, as shown in numerous well borings on 

the present flood plain of the stream. The old divide cut through by the present 

Hocking below Athens, at the Athens col, has already been referred to in connection 

with the characters of the Hocking Valle}'.

The history of the region seems to have been as follows: Starting with the old 

upland plain as a base, the first stage was the development of the matured drainage 

lines represented by the Sunday Creek Valley above the level of the old valley floor. 

During this stage Sunday Creek flowed direetty southward over the Salina Plains 

and the valley floor, on into the Little Factory Vallejr, and thence through Margaret 

Creek Vallej'. This was the main axial drainage way of the region. It received a considerable tributary at Beaumont, which headed at the Lick Run col above Nelsonville, 

and followed the present valley of the Hocking. Sugar Creek probably crossed 

the present position of the Hocking and entered the old valley in the lower section 

of the Plains region, while the basin at Athens drained from the Athens col into the 

old valley at the mouth of Margaret Creek. This condition seems to have been 

terminated by the deposition of the silts on the valley floor south of the Plains, and 

also on the old valley floor to be described later in the valley south of this point at 

Albany, which caused the deflection of the drainage across the Salina, Sugar Creek, 

and Athens cols. After the modifications thus indicated, the streams were rejuvenated, 

and new lines were cut to a depth much greater than that of the present streams. 

Next followed a stage in which the valley of the Hocking was supplied with a load of 

glacial material, which accumulated along the valley until, in the vicinity of Beaumont, 

the stream found two waj-s open to it. one over the old valley floor in the Plains 

region and the other around the present line of the valley. That the gorging of the 

material took place here seems to be very clearly shown by the fact that the gravel 

deposits were built up such a long distance into the mouth of the Sunday Creek 

Valley, which must have taken place in comparatively quiet water and against whatever current there may have been in the Sunday Creek Valley from the drainage of 

its basin. Next followed a stage in which the stream was relieved of its burden 

of gravel and began to clear out its channel. At the initiation of this stage the river 

chose the route past the Salina col rather than around the Plains Valley, and, dui'ing
70 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

this cycle, cut its channel to its present level, removing almost completely the old 

filling within its valley, except at favorable points on the inner sides of the curves 

of its channel, although the Asylum terrace seems to be an exception to this rule. 

The erosion of the great basin-like portion of the valley at Athens was probably due 

to the attempt of the river to follow its old line down the Margaret Creek Valley, 

and in making the sharp bend at this point it cut back the hills on the southern side, 

leaving the extensive plain on the northern side.

As previously stated, there appear to be no gravel trains in the valley of the 

Hocking which correspond in characters to the recent terraces in the valleys of 

the other through-flowing streams, and this is to be noted in this region about Athens.

ALBANY VALLEY.

This old valley, when followed southward up the Margaret Creek Valley (PI. 

XVI), is seen to connect with the well-preserved vallej^ in the vicinitj^ of Albany. 

The upper surface of the deposits in this valley now stands about 775 feet above tide, 

while numerous wells penetrate the deposits to depths of 30 or 40 feet and often 

encounter buried wood and vegetable accumulations. Measured across the upper 

surface of the clays, this old valley is here nearly a mile wide. It bends to the west 

and passes along a small tributary of Raccoon Creek, where it joins the valley of that 

stream. The old valley at Albanj^ is now the headwater district for the drainage of 

Margaret Creek flowing to the Hocking, of Long Run flowing to the Raccoon, and 

of Leading Creek flowing to the Ohio. The headwaters of Leading Creek pass 

through a very narrow gorge as they leave the valley along its southern side.

VINTON VALLEY.

Following the topographic features which mark the line of this old Albany Valley, 

it is seen to pass down the present valley of the Raccoon to its junction with Elk 

Fork and then turn northwestward up that stream to the vicinity of Vinton station. 

Along the portion of the valley which is now occupied by the Raccoon there are one 

or two well-marked gradation plains which lead .off from the valley on the eastern 

side and pass in the direction of the headwater tributaries of Leading Creek, but 

these were not traced out completely; it is evident, however, that there are numerous 

modifications to be worked out on this stream.

W1LKESVILLE VALLEY.

At the junction of the Raccoon with Fjlk Fork, this old valley received a tributary 

from the south which followed along a portion of the present Raccoon, reversed, to 

the great bend in the present stream below Radcliff. The old gradation plains here
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. XVI

LEGEND

Pre-Olacial cols and divides

Pre Glacial valley floors

(llacial boundary

Elevation above licle

DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN HOCKING'VINTON, AND ADJACENT COUNTIES, OHIO

BY VV. G. TIGHT
OLD HIGH-LEVEL VALLEYS. 71

leave the valley of the Raccoon and pass out toward the southeast and over the remnant of an old valley floor to Wilkesville. Just east of the village the old vallc}^ is 

very heavily silted, and the district is now represented by an extensive swamp tract. 

At this point the valley seems to have divided, one section running off to the northeast and taking the drainage of a section of Leading Creek, the other passing off to the 

southeast over a well-preserved valley floor at Salem, thence swinging around a curve 

to the northeast and connecting with another small section of the Leading Creek 

Valley at that point, along the line of Parkers Fork.

Near Vinton the old valley received a considerable tributary from the north, 

which carried the waters of the Upper Raccoon Basin above Zalaski and to the 

Moonville col. This old valley is occupied hy the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern 

Railroad. In passing over the divide a cut about 15 feet in depth was made in the 

old sijt deposits, the roadbed being here 738 feet above tide. The valley is here 

about a half mile in width. The extensive silting in this region has effected 

numerous minor changes of drainage on the smaller streams, notably the modification of Wheelabout Creek, which originally passed over an old valley floor near 

Prattsvillc.

M'ARTHUR JUNCTION VALLEY.

From Vinton the valley extends westward to McArthur Junction, and it is here 

occupied by both the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern and the Hocking Valley railroads. The latter railroad crosses another deserted valley floor between McArthur 

and McArthur Junction, with a summit height of 761 feet above tide. Between 

McArthur Junction and Hamden (PL XII, A) the old valley shows its mature 

characteristics most clearly, and these can easily be observed from the passing train. 

The valley is here nearly three-fourths of a mile in width, and its floor is heavily 

silted; the exact elevation of the old rock floor was not determined satisfactorily, as 

the data obtained were rather conflicting.

WELLSTON VALLEY.

From Hamden the old valley passes around a high portion of the table-land 

which separates it from the present valley of the Little Raccoon; it then bends southward, and is occupied by the city of Wcllstou. The floor of the valley is here much 

cut up by the drainage lines tributary to the Little Raccoon, but it is evident that 

the sections of these streams between the valley and the Little Raccoon are all reversed 

at the present time. The headwaters of Middle Fork of Salt Creek have also eaten 

into the old divide and caused the watershed to migrate toward the old valley to such 

an extent that the position of the old divide is represented by a very narrow gorge, 

through which the drainage passes down Salt Creek.
72 DKAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

BERLIN VALLEY.

From Wellston the valley runs almost due south to the vicinity of Berlin, 

where the floor of the valley is a water parting for another tributary of the Little 

Raccoon, Dickson Fork. At Berlin the valley is fully three-fourths of a mile 

wide, measured on the surface of the silt fillings, which are here rather thick, although 

their exact depth was not determined. Much of this area is now represented by 

swamp lands which have been reclaimed by draining.

From the Berlin Flats the valley continues southward and is drained by Dickson 

Fork of the Little Raccoon. The old gradation plains along this section of the 

valley are well preserved, and where Dickson Fork leaves the valley they stand at 

an elevation of about 50 feet above the stream. There are also well-marked remnants of the old gradation plain on Dickson Fork, and these rise rapidly passing 

down the creek, showing that the old drainage was exactly the reverse of the present.. 

From this point the valley passes somewhat to the southwest, beginning a great 

curve which it makes to join the valley already described at Keystone. At Rocky 

Hill, which is the summit of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, the old 

valle37 floor now stands at an elevation of about 700 feet above tide.

KECOJNSTRTJCTKMSr OF THE OLD DRAINAGE SYSTEM.

Having discussed briefly the character and distribution of the old high-level valley floors, with the remnants of the gradation plains along many of the present stream 

valleys, and the location of the old cols crossed by the present streams in their development, it is possible to reconstruct with considerable accuracy the drainage system of 

the cycle of erosion which is represented by the old valleys.

As at present, the Kanawha River was the principal axis of drainage of this basin. 

Its old course from St. Albans across Teays Valley to the Ohio and thence through 

the Flatwoods Valley and northward along the present Ohio to Wheelersburg, and 

from this point through the old California Valley to the Scioto at Waverly, seems to 

be established beyond all question. This restoration was suggested by Mr. Frank 

Leverett and the author/' while Teays Valley was long ago recognized by numerous 

other observers as an abandoned portion of the Kanawha. Mr. Leverett, in the 

paper cited, suggests that from the Scioto at Waverly the old course of this stream 

may possibly have been down the Scioto to the Ohio and thence directly down the 

Ohio; yet on his map,* he has located an old col on the Ohio above Vanceburg, 

which, of course, is inconsistent with the view expressed. It seems certain to the 

writer that this col is located farther down the Ohio (a mile or so above Manchester), 

as indicated on the map (PI. XVII). It is therefore evident that at Waverly this old

a Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison Dniv., Vol. IX, pt. 2. ' »Ibid., PI. II.
RECONSTRUCTION OF OLD DRAINAGE SYSTEM. 73

Kanawha drainage received a large tributary from the south, which included the 

waters of Salt Creek and Kinniconick Creek, of Lewis County, Ky., with the minor 

tributaries, and that the old direction of this drainage was along the reversed Ohio 

to Portsmouth, and from Portsmouth along the reversed Scioto to Waverly, as 

originally described b}r the writer in his earlier publication.

AVith this restoration of the old drainage along the lower course of the Scioto, 

it is to be noted that all the tributaiy drainage falls into normal relations, 

which fact, while not conclusive proof, yet adds weight to the correctness of the 

interpretation.

As the present drainage of the Kanawha and the section of the Ohio so nearly 

corresponds with the old drainage line through the southern division of the basin, it is 

to be expected that most of the streams tributary to this line would still exhibit their 

normal relations; that they do is shown by the tributaries on the south side of the 

axis, viz, Tygarts Creek, Little Sandy Eiver, Big Sandy Eiver, Twelvepole Creek, 

Guyandot Eiver, Mud River, Coal Eiver, etc. The Guyandot and Mud rivers were 

tributary to the old drainage line at Barboursville and Milton, respectively. On the 

north side of this axis, in the plateau region, the Pocatalico Eiver, the Elk Eiver, 

and the Gauley Eiver are the principal northern tributaries. Below the mouth of 

the Pocatalico, which entered the old drainage below St. Albans, all of the lateral 

drainage lines, while quite normal to the axial line in their arrangement, are very 

short. They include the small stream which headed at the Crown City col and' 

flowed along the present position of the Ohio to Guyandot, Indian Guyan Creek, the 

lower section of Symmes Creek, Ice Creek, and Pine Creek, with possibly one or 

two other smaller tributaries in eastern Scioto County not yet determined, these 

being tributary to the California Valley section.

The restoration in the northern section of the basin, in its relation to the present 

drainage, is much more complicated. The headwaters of the axis of this portion 

of the basin include the Middle Island Creek and Little Muskingum drainage and a 

small creek which headed at the New Martinsville col and flowed along the present 

position of the Ohio to .Newport, where it joined Middle Island Creek. These 

streams followed along the present Ohio to Marietta, where they received the lower 

waters of Duck Creek and the lower waters of the present Muskingum below the 

Lowell col. From Marietta the old valley followed very closely the present Ohio to 

Little Hocking, receiving at Parkersburg the drainage corresponding to the present 

Little Kanawha Basin. At Little Hocking it received a large tributary on the 

northern side, which consisted of two large branch streams. The eastern one, heading in Morgan and Noble counties, included the Meigs Creek, Olive Creek, and Big 

Eun basins, and all of that section of the Muskingum between the Meigs Creek and 

Lowell cols. These waters flowed along the South Fork of Wolf Creek reversed,
74 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

and passed through the old Barlow valley to the present east branch of the Little 

Hocking. The other tributary drained the western portion of Morgan County, and 

consisted also of two large branches, one being the stream which headed at the Bluerock col and flowed along the present course of the Muskinguni to Roxbury, where 

it crossed the old Roxbuiy Valle}^ floor to the waters of Wolf Creeks and thence 

flowed up the valley of that stream to its southernmost bend, where it was joined by 

the drainage represented by the present upper waters of Wolf Creek. Together 

these streams crossed the old vallej1" floor at Laj^man to the headwaters of the Little 

Hocking, and passed down that stream to its junction with the eastern branch. From 

Little Hocking the axial drainage passed through the old Torch vallejr, crossed 

the present Hocking at Coolville, thence flowed southward past Tappers Plains to 

the East Fork of Shade River. Here it received a large tributary on the northern 

side, which included the Federal Creek Basin and all of that section of the Hocking 

between the Athens and the Federal Creek cols. From the East Fork of Shade River 

the axial stream passed across to the Middle Fork and thence down that stream to 

Chester; thence it followed along the line of the present Bays -Run reversed to the 

Flatwoods valley, east of Pomeroy, where it made a great sigmoid bend past the 

Meigs Countjr fair grounds, through the Neese settlement, to the Ohio River near 

Syracuse. Here for a very short distance it conformed to the valley of the Ohio, 

but left that valley at Hartford and passed southward into West Virginia along the 

old Dutch Flats Valle}^. Just below Hartford it received a considerable tributary, 

composed of the drainage of the Big Sandj^ Creek and Mill Creek basins, with a 

possible addition of the drainage of the present Ohio up to the Hockingport col; but 

the evidence in hand seems to indicate, although it is not conclusive, that this section 

of the present Ohio was divided into several smaller basins which drained directly 

eastward into the old valley. These are indicated on the maps.

From the Dutch Flats Valley the old drainage continued westward to the 

present Ohio at the mouth of Campaign Creek. The exact relation of its northern 

tributaries at this point is somewhat doubtful, as the drainage of the section of the 

Ohio below Pomeroy and the lower portion of Leading Creek may have entered the 

old axial line in the present position of the lower Sand Flats, or, possibly, may have 

followed along the present Ohio to the mouth of the present Campaign Creek. 

These doubtful relations are also indicated on the map (PI. XIII). At this point the 

old stream received a large tributary on its southern side, which drained the basin 

represented by the lower portion of the Kanawha River below the Winfield col 

and the Hurricane and Little Hurricane Creek cols. This stream will be called the 

Point Pleasant River. From this point the old stream passed down the Ohio to the 

mouth of Chiekamauga Creek and up that valley and over the old valley floor at 

Rodney; thence directly westward to the Raccoon, at Rio Grande. At this point it
O, S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 13 PL. XVII

LEGEND

Pre-Glacial cols and divides

DBAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN ADAMS. PIKE. SC1OTO, JACKSON, AND LAWHEXCE COUNTIES, OHIO. 

AND LEWIS AND GREENUP COVNTlES, KENTUCtvY.AND ViriNITV

JULIUS BIEN&CO.LITH N.Y.

BY W. rt. TIGHT
RECONSTRUCTION OF OLD DRAINAGE SYSTEM. 75

received a tributary on. its northern side, including a portion of the present 

Raccoon Creek below the Minerton col, with its smaller tributaries, and the old 

Porter Creek, which included the upper waters of the present Campaign Creek. 

On the southern side it received a much larger tributary a stream which headed 

in Little Guyandot Creek and which included the drainage of the Ohio above the 

Crown City col to the mouth of the Raccoon and from there this tributary 

followed up the present Raccoon, receiving a small tributary at Lathrop and 

another near Patriot, which included the drainage of Symmes Creek between the 

Marion col and the Evans Mill col.

From Rio Grande. the old axial valley passed westward over the Centerville 

Valley floor into the Grassy Fork Basin, and thence over the old Camba Valley to 

the great Jackson Valley at Keystone. Between Centerville and Keystone it 

received several small tributaries made up of sections of the upper waters of the 

Symmcs Creek Basin.

At Keystone the old axial stream received its largest tributary on the northern 

side. This old river had its headwaters in Monday and Sunday creeks, including 

that section of the basin of the Hocking between the Lick Run col and the Athens 

col. It passed from the mouth of Sunday Creek across the Plains Valley, up the 

Margaret Creek Valley to Albany; thence westward to the valley of the Raccoon, 

where it received a tributary including the present Raccoon drainage below the 

Moonville col. It then passed down the present Raccoon to the mouth of the Elk 

Fork, where it received a large tributary on the southern side, composed of a large 

portion of the present basin of Leading Creek and of the Raccoon north of the 

Minerton col. From the mouth of Elk Fork it passed up this stream to the vicinity 

of Vinton station, where it received, on its northern side, the drainage now represented by the upper waters of the Raccoon above the Moonville col. From this 

point it passed westward through McArthur Junction, where it received a small 

tributary including the upper waters of the Elk Fork Basin. From MeArthur 

Junction this river passed southwcstward past Hamden, Wellston, Berlin, and Rocky 

Hill to its confluence with the axial stream. Between McArthur Junction and this 

point it had many minor tributaries.

From Keystone the old river passed through the Jackson Valley to the old 

California Valley at Glade (PL XVII).

Thus the drainage of the entire basin was collected into a great river at near 

Waverly in the present Scioto Valley and followed this valley northward to beyond 

Chillicothe. North of this point the location of the old channel has not been accurately determined on account of the great depth of the drift covering this section of 

the State. It is probable, however, that it continued northward and joined the old 

Newark River somewhere within the middle section of the Scioto Basin, as did
76 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

Adelphi Creek and the Lancaster Creek, which represent the smaller basins in the 

angle between the two larger streams.

For convenience of reference it seems best to give names to the larger portions 

of this drainage, and so the name Chillicothe River is suggested for the major 

stream, as the city of Chillicothe lies near the mouth of this riven as known at the 

present time. For the main axial stream, including the Kanawha River system, the 

name Teays River is suggested, as the Teays Valley is the largest remnant of its old 

course; and for the northern tributary the name Albany Rive^ is suggested for the 

northern branch and Marietta River for the southern branch, as the cities of Albany 

and Marietta lie near the headwaters of these streams.

. The general relations of the old drainage of the entire basin and its relations 

to the restorations in the neighboring regions are shown on the map (PI. I.)

The old drainage of this basin .presents some interesting peculiarities, and 

the interpretation of these will enable us to determine some of the deformations 

of the basin during the development of this old drainage cycle. It is to be noted, 

however, that the old drainage presents many normal features which are characteristic of streams consequent upon the slope of the plateau on which they are 

developed, and that the normal characters of this system within the basin are 

very much more marked than the distribution of the present drainage. While 

this evidence is not conclusive it certainly is very suggestive of the general 

truthfulness of the restoration.

The great development of the tributaries of the Marietta River, between 

Parkersburg and Keystone on the southern side of the stvcam, as compared to 

those on the northern side, and a similar development of the streams tributary 

to the Kanawha between Charleston and Ironton on its southern side, as compared 

to those on the northern side, suggest the advantage which these tributaries must 

have had over their complementary streams on opposite sides of the valley. Jt 

would seem natural to conclude that the Kanawha was deflected from the old 

Teays Valley by the piracy of the old stream which it now follows below 

St. Albans. This suggestion has been proposed by several authors, but the fact 

seems to be lost sight of that while this divide, the Crown City-HurricaneWinfield divide, has undoubtedly migrated southward toward the Kanawha, the 

Ohio in its development has crossed this divide from the north toward the south, 

while the Kanawha has crossed the divide from the south toward the north. 

This latter consideration seems to be entirely opposed to the idea that the Kanawha 

was deflected from Teays Valley by stream piracy, while at the same time we can 

see, in the relations of the streams to this divide, that its cols were probably very 

low and hence the deflections of the streams during the stages of modification 

over these cols in either direction were readity accomplished.
RECONSTRUCTION OF OLD TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES. 77

The very crooked courses of the Albany and Marietta rivers suggest that the 

positions of their valleys were determined by the extensive meanderings of their 

ancestral streams over the old base-leveled plain, and that this portion of the 

basin, which now constitutes the lowland section, was more completely baseleveled than the plateau section which was drained by the old Teays River.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE OLD TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

It seems possible, with the data in hand, to reconstruct the topographic characters of this region before the drainage modifications took place. This may be 

accomplished by considering the effects of the restoration of the deposits eroded 

since the period of rejuvenation, of the removal of the deposits of silts along the 

lines of the old drainage, and of returning the drainage to its old lines. The conditions which would be presented have already been briefly mentioned in connection 

with the discussion of general topographic features, but it seems well to consider 

them somewhat more in detail, as an appreciation of these conditions is essential to 

a proper understanding of the causes and method of modification, from the older to 

the newer system.

We see in the broad table-lands the form of the general country surface. . This 

consisted of a gently rolling but somewhat hilly topography, and the drainage lines 

were cut only from 100 to 200 feet below the general surface of the country. The 

valley floors and slopes were well graded, and the headwater streams had eaten back 

into the old divides until there were very numerous low cols separating the various 

minor basins of the region.

It is apparent that under such conditions the obstruction of any of the streams 

would result in the deflection of the portions of the streams above the obstruction, 

over the headwater cols, even though the obstruction' were not of very great elevation. While it is evident that the region was near the base-level of erosion toward 

the close of this old cycle, it does not of necessity follow that it was much lower in 

absolute altitude than at present, although this is strongly suggested, for it may be 

found, upon the more complete restoration of the lower waters of these old systems, 

that they had a much longer course to the sea than does the present drainage, in 

which case the base-level of erosion would stand much higher. It seems to the 

writer that this should be borne in mind when the base-level condition of the old 

drainage, which now stands at a higher level than present drainage, is assumed as 

evidence of subsequent elevation.
78 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTEBN OHIO.

RELATION OF PRESENT AND RESTORED DRAINAGE SYSTEMS TO

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.

The discussion of this subject is confined to the plateau and lowland areas of the 

basin, as the relations of the drainage to the geological structures in the Appalachian 

valley and mountain se.ction of the basin have no direct bearing upon the problem in 

hand.

As the distribution of the old drainage lines was not heretofore determined, it is 

evident that all references to the relation of the drainage to the rock structures were 

based on the assumption that the present drainage lines are of very great age; in 

fact, in all of the writings up to within a very few years it is assumed without 

question that the Ohio and its principal tributaries date back to the beginning of the 

Appalachian elevation, and hence had their origin somewhere in the Permian, as 

rocks of this age are not represented in this region. From an apparent relation 

which seems to exist between the position of some of the present river valleys in 

Ohio to the strike of . the strata, it was early suggested by Professor Newberry, and 

later by Dr. Orton, that these lines of drainage were determined by the relation of 

the underlying hard and soft beds. Perhaps the most noted example of this 

coincidence is the Scioto River, and the suggestion has been offered that the great 

basin of the upper portion of the Scioto has been eroded out of the soft beds of the 

Ohio shales. It is to be noted, however, that in passing southward the Scioto leaves 

the region of the Ohio shales a short distance below Chillicothe and passes directly 

into the face of the escarpment of the Waverly sandstones and conglomerates, and, 

after making a considerable detour to the cast, again returns to the region of the 

shales near Waverly; but here again it does not follow along the western edge of 

the outcrop of the Waverl}7 scries, but again enters the area of the Waverly and 

follows that to its mouth at Portsmouth. While it is true that north of Chillicothe 

the surface of the Ohio shales lies very low and that a very broad basin has been 

excavated from them, it is equally true chat where these shales approach the Ohio 

River they form there the tops of some of the very highest hills of this section.

Again it is to be noted, in the case of the Muskingum, that the western tributaries of the Tuscarawas, viz, Chippewa Creek, Shade River, the Killbuek, the 

Mohican, and the Walhonding, all have their headwaters within the area of the 

Waverly, and cross the western outcrop of the Carboniferous sandstones and conglomerates to the basin of the Tuscarawas. The same is also true of Licking River, 

which is tributary to the Muskingum at Zanesvillc.

Again, in the case of the Hocking, it is to be noted that its headwaters lie in the 

area of the Waverly and that it crosses the outcropping edges of the Carboniferous 

sandstones and conglomerates on its way to the Ohio, while in the case of the Little
RELATION OF DRAINAGE TO STRUCTURE. 79

Miami and the Great Miami rivers their courses lie almost parallel to the axis of the 

eastern limb of the Cincinnati arch, and their direction of flow is against the dip of 

the axis of this fold.

With reference to the drainage iu the northern and western sections of Ohio, 

it was early recognized that the distribution of the drainage in those sections was 

determined almost entirely by the surface characters of the drift.

It seems certain, therefore, that the attempt to correlate even the present distribution of the drainage with the underlying structure fails to reveal any direct 

relationship.

In various passages scattered through the Ohio surveys, from the early investigations of Whittlesey, Andrews, and Lbcke, and. later, those of Newberry and Orton, 

reference is made to the difference in the topographic features of portions of the 

same river valley, and the suggestion is offered that where the streams pass through 

the areas of the soft shales and less resistant beds of sandstone the Valleys are broad 

and the topographic features those of a mature system, and that where the streams 

cut through the harder and more resistant beds they are in general in narrow gorges, 

and numerous instances are referred to in support of this conclusion; but it seems 

as though the statements were made more to explain the difference in the topographic 

features of the valley than from an interpretation of the observed facts, for it is 

evident that in every case of this kind which has been investigated by the author it 

has been found that the broad and open portions of the valleys are in exactly the 

same systems of rocks as are the narrow and gorge-like portions.

Perhaps the most common incident referred to in this connection is the cutting 

of the streams through the resistant rocks of the Logan conglomerate of the upper 

Waverly series. An example of this is presented in .the gorge of the Licking at 

Black Hand, but within a mile of the Licking gorge and almost directly north of it 

the old deserted Hanover Valley crosses the outcrop of the Logan conglomerate. 

The valley is here nearly a mile wide, and the topographic features of the old mature 

form are well shown. It seems that the idea of the great difference in the age of 

the wide and rolling portions of the valleys and of the narrow, gorge-like sections 

had not occurred to these earlier investigators. This appeal's perfectly natural when 

we consider that they believed in the general continuity of the course of the streams 

from a very remote period.

As the general constrictions of the valleys and the precipitous gorge-like characters of these narrow portions have been employed as an important factor in the 

location of the old cols in the old divides which were cut through by the present 

streams in their development, and as it is a well-recognized principle, which the 

older geologists used in their interpretations, that the variation in the hardness of 

the rocks plays an important part in determining the characters of the valleys which
80 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

cross alternately the hara and soft beds, it is of importance to note just what relation 

these gorge-like sections of the present river valleys bear to the outcrop of the hard 

beds over which they pass.

It is to be noted, in the first place, that with the exception of a very small area 

on the extreme western side of this basin the plateau region and the lowland region 

both lie entirely within the area of the Carboniferous beds. It is evident, therefore, 

that the degree of constriction of these valleys, as explained on the basis of their 

relation to the hard beds, will be limited by the differences in hardness between the 

various elements of the Carboniferous series. An examination of these elements 

does not reveal the fact that there are any large portions of them which stand in 

striking contrast to any other large portions in their hardness or resistance to weathering and degradation. While it is true that there are beds of harder sandstones and 

conglomerates interspersed with soft shales and coal, all of these beds are so nearly 

horizontal in position, and the layers of different hardness are so thin in comparison 

with the entire thickness of the series, that it would seem difficult to see how the outcropping portion of the thin soft bed would give an opportunity for the extensive 

erosion of long sections of a valley and the contemporaneous limited gorging of a 

short section. It would seem as though such a condition would be produced by the 

erosion of inpnoclinal beds in which the soft beds were extremely thick and the hard 

resistant beds were comparatively thin zones.

In the lowland section, where the variations in the characters of the various 

sections of the same stream course are most abundant, the rocks dip in a general way 

southeastward. If, therefore, the valley constrictions are due to the crossing of the 

outcrop of the Lard layers of the series by the streams, it should be possible to 

determine beforehand the characters of the stream valleys along the lines of these 

outcrops that is, along the strike; but in no case has this been found possible, and 

a glance at the maps will indicate, from the great irregularity of the distribution 

of the eroded cols, which, of course, mark the points of constriction of the present 

valleys, that there is no relation whatever between these locations and the outcrop 

of the hard beds. Examination of the rooks at the constricted parts of the valleys 

shows that they are soft shales about as often as they are hard sandstones. The same 

thing is true with reference to the distribution of the old valley floors, which show 

the topographic features characteristic of the broader portions of the present river 

valleys. It seems certain, therefore, that the variations in the hardness of the 

different la}rcrs of the Carboniferous rocks, and also of the other formations of the 

region, have had but a very minor influence in determining variations in the topographic features.

It is true that portions of the same valley of the older system often present very 

great differences in the widths of the valley and in the amount of gradation that has
RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT EIVER SYSTEMS. 81

taken place along the vallej7 walls, but in every case investigated it has seemed that 

the factor which has been most operative in producing these variations has been that 

of the distribution and spacing of the tributary drainage.

An examination of the relations between the restored drainage of the old cycle 

and the underlying structure fails to reveal any influence which the latter may have 

had upon the course of the streams. It may be said that, in general, the basin was 

drained in the direction opposite to the dip of the strata, and that in this region the 

drainage from the area of the Carboniferous is across its outcropping edge onto the 

area of the Waverty, and thence across the outcropping edge of this formation into 

the region of the Ohio shales.

It seems certain that the courses of the old streams were determined entirely by 

the slope of the original plain of elevation and the deformations which it has suffered 

since the inauguration of the original drainage. It may be true that in some minor 

cases the underlying structure has affected the course of particular streams, but thus 

far no important examples of such have been reported. It follows, therefore, that 

if the old streams, in their directions and distribution, show no direct relations to the 

underljdng structure, and that no relation can be determined in connection with the 

present streams, the latter can in no case be considered as derived from the former 

through the ordinary processes of stream action and modification depending upon 

the discovery of underlying structures in the downcutting. which would convert the 

old consequent streams into subsequent ones. The varying resistance of beds to 

erosion, as a factor in producing the modifications, is of no value in the present case.

RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT RIVER SYSTEMS.

These relations are expressed iu two ways, in a horizontal and in a vertical 

direction. The horizontal relations are marked by very great irregularities. There 

seems to be no systematic .order which can be traced in the relations between the 

two cycles. The deflections appear to be as much in one direction as another, so that 

any suggestion that the deflections have been produced by deformations of the basin 

seem to be entirely without support in the observed facts. This great irregularity 

in the directions of modifications is very manifest from even a casual examination of 

the maps, which show the two systems superposed. This is equally true from field 

observations. For example, standing on Horizon Hill, a few miles northwest of 

Marietta, one gets a very complete view of the topographic features, for inanj^ miles 

around, and the distribution of the drainage which these features indicate contrasts 

very strongly with that indicated by a map which shows the actual drainage 

conditions. The same is true in many other parts of the basin. The general 

normal characteristics of the old drainage, in contrast with the apparent abnormalities 

of the present, furnish about the only guide in the field investigations, and it has 

9653 No. 13 03 6
82 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

been necessary to follow very carefully the old topographic features in order to 

determine the position and direction of the modifications. It is a noteworthy fact 

that in most cases the new or present lines are more tortuous than the old lines, 

e. g., the northern deflection of the Raccoon at Zalaski across the Moouville col, 

while its old line lay directly to the south, and the deflections of the Muskingum 

across both the Meigs Creek and Lowell cols; also the deflection of the Kauawha 

from its direct route through Teays Valley to its more distant route to the Ohio at 

Mount Pleasant. In this connection it is to be noted also that in a few cases the new 

drainage shows a tendency to cut off some of the longer detours and the angles 

between the old lines, e. g., the short course of the Ohio from Wheelersburg to the 

mouth of the Scioto at Portsmouth, for it would appear that the lowest route would 

have been through the California Valley to Waverly and down the Scioto; and again, 

the tendency of the new drainage to cut off the short angles of the old is shown in 

the deflection of Rush Creek at Sugargrove, where it enters the present Hocking, 

of the Kauawha at Point Pleasant, and of the Little Kanawha at Parkersburg.

Another marked contrast is shown in the relation between the size of the valleysand the size of the streams which now occupy them. In the case of many of the old 

deserted valleys, the present streams are small and insignificant brooklets, and the 

effect has been to greatly erode the floor of the old valle}7 . This is shown especially 

in the old Dutch Flats Valley between Hartford, W. Va., and the Ohio at Cheshire, 

while the opposite relation is expressed where the old valleys, which were occupied 

by small streams, are now occupied by very large streams of the present system. In 

this case the effect has been to almost entirely obliterate the characters of the smaller 

valleys by the great erosion which has been produced by the present larger streams, 

and often the larger streams seem to have crossed a number of minor cols within a 

very short distance, indicating that the position of the larger stream was determined 

by its wanderings in and out among the smaller headwater streams of the old valleys. 

This tendency is noticed in the grouping of the cols in the vicinity of Pomeroy and 

Grailipolis.

The vertical relations are as varied as are the horizontal ones. The present 

streams are very generally graded, although not perfectly so. The Ohio has a fall 

of from 592 feet above tide at New Martinsville to 451 feet above tide at Manchester; 

the Muskingum has a fall of from 700 feet above tide at Zanesville to 570 feet above 

tide at Marietta; the Hocking has a fall of from 625 feet above tide at Athens to 560 

feet above tide at its mouth; Raccoon Creek has a fall from 700 feet above tide at 

Zalaski to 510 feet above tide at the Ohio; the Scioto has a fall of from 600 feet 

above tide at Chillieothe to 468 feet above tide at Portsmouth; while the Kanawha 

has a fall of from 570 feet above tide at Charleston to 512 feet above tide at Point 

Pleasant. The average grade of all of these larger streams is about 1.7 feet per mile.
RELATIONS OF OLD AWD PRESENT RIVER SYSTEMS. 83

The old axial stream of the Teays River basin had a fall of from about 675 feet 

above tide at St. Albans to about 600 feet above tide at Waverly. The old Kinniconick Creek, along the tributary which the Ohio followed up in crossing the Manchester col. had a fall of from about 800 feet above tide at Manchester to 600 feet 

aboye tide at Waverly. The old Marietta River had a fall of from about 770 feet 

above tide at St. Marys to 600 feet above tide at Waverly, and the old Albany River 

had a fall of from about 725 feet above tide at Chauncey to 600 feet above tide at 

Waverly. The grades of these old valleys are given on the assumption that the 

movement to which the region has been subjected has been of such a character that 

the grades have remained practically parallel to themselves. These figures would, 

therefore, have to be modified to the amount of any deformations which it may be 

shown that the basin has suffered since the old grades were established, but as they 

now stand these grades indicate an average fall of about 1.6 feet to the mile, which 

represents the grade of the lower portions of the old streams, while the grades in the 

headwater sections were undoubtedly much higher, as the valley floors of the smaller 

headwater streams arc now found at elevations of 250 to 300 feet above the present 

drainage. It thus appears that the vertical limits extend through a range of about 

300 fe'et, and these are most marked where the valley floors of the smaller streams of 

the old system come into a close position with the present larger streams. The two 

systems are about equally graded as they now stand, and, from the great diversity in 

the horizontal distribution, this fact would point toward the comparative stability of 

the basin dnring the erosion of both cycles, and certainly is opposed to any marked 

differential movements within the basin.

In contrast with the extensive cutting of the present large streams below the 

small old ones are the conditions where the old valley floors are buried under deposits 

of silts, and the present smaller streams are often as much as 50 to 60 feet above the 

floors of the old streams. Examples of this relation occur at the old floors at Barlow 

and Albany,- and at other places. Between these two extremes there is a perfect 

series of combinations, which result in a great variety of topographic features.

In this connection it may be noted that in the regions directly north of this basin 

another combination is even more common than those mentioned that is, where the 

old valley floors lie very much below the position of the present drainage, and the 

old valleys are filled with the drift deposits and silts, often to a depth of many 

hundreds of feet but examples of this type arc not known to the author within the 

basin under consideration, as the valley floor of the old Chillicothe River does not 

approach the present drainage until it passes beyond the limits of the region under 

discussion.
84 DRAINAGE MODIFICATION'S IN SOUTHEASTEBN OHIO.

RELATION OF PRESENT STREAMS TO THEIR VALLEY FLOORS AND TO 

DEPOSITS WITHIN THE VALLEYS.

As has been indicated in a previous section, the present streams are now running 

in most of their courses above the rock floors of their present valleys. These floors 

are buried under extensive deposits of gravels, sands, and silts, which are quite 

variable hi character in the different portions of the basin and also in different 

portions of the same valley. It is natural to expect that there would be, as there is, 

a striking difference in the deposits of the through-flowing streams and of the indigenous streams. '

In the valleys of the through-flowing streams the lower portions of the deposits 

consist of alternating beds of gravel, fine sand, and often quicksand, with beds of 

silts, while the upper portions are composed very largely of well-sorted gravels, 

with occasional layers of fine silts. A marked example of this is reported by 

Prof. E. B. Andrews 0 in the structure of the terrace at the mouth of the Muskingurn 

at Marietta, The materials which compose these gravel deposits are of foreign or 

of glacial origin, and their source can be traced by following up the gravel trains 

into the morainic belts of the glaciated area. The upper portions of these deposits 

rise to an elevation of 60 to 80 feet, and in a few cases to even more than 100 

feet above the present levels of the streams. The channel ways cut into these 

deposits are very generally marked by numerous terraces, which represent stages 

in the process of cutting. This is shown from the observed sections, which 

exposed the contact zones between the highest terrace plains and those below it, 

where the structure appears continuous, while if the lower terraces were subsequent deposits in a channel way cut from the upper terraces there should appear 

an unconformity between the two deposits.

Over the present flood plains of the streams are extensive deposits of silts; 

between these silts and the terraces there are very generally present marked unconformities. The present streams are running in channel ways cut through the silt 

deposits. In their meanderings they often swing over against the terraces and 

even to the rock walls of the valleys. Thus various combinations may occur at 

particular points between the rock walls, the highest terraces of gravel, the intermediate terraces, and the silt deposits. In the cutting out of the lower terraces 

from below the Jevel of the highest terraces, the stream has often occupied two 

channel ways, and in the process of cutting one has gained all the volume of the 

stream, thus leaving a deserted channel way surrounding an island-like mass of the 

higher terrace isolated and standing out in the middle of the valley, as in the case 

already referred to at Cheshire, where there is the old channel west of the village

a Ohio Geol. Survey, Vol. II, p. 443.
RELATIONS OF STREAMS TO VALLEY FLOORS AND DEPOSITS. 85

along the bluffs which stand back more than a mile from the river, which courses 

along the east side of the valley.

In the cutting out of the present channels it has often happened, also, that the 

meanderirigs of the stream have thrown the channel so near the old valley wall that 

the lower rock slopes which were buried by the gravel deposits have been discovered 

and the present streams are running on a rock floor which ma}' extend only part 

way or even entirely across the present channel, the old deeply filled valley lying 

to one side of the present rock floor. Cases of this kind are very numerous.

During the stage of maximum filling it frequently happened that the deposits 

reached elevations sufficient to surround greater or less masses of the hills which 

border the valley, and the stream, when it began the removal of the deposits, 

occupied the route surrounding these hills. Soon it discovered the rock in the 

low col, and in the subsequent down cutting there was developed a narrow rock 

gorge, and the old valley lies filled with deposits to one side of the mass of hills.

Again, the stream continued to occupy the old channel, and thus the upper 

terrace deposits are seen to pass around and behind the rock hills, forming the 

immediate valley walls. Numerous instances of all of these cases have been 

observed and described by many authors, and it is needless to repeat them here.

The interpretations of the drainage modifications have not previously gone 

beyond this point. From these observations it seems that the history of the 

through-flowing streams within the present valleys has been quite varied. The 

first stage was the extensive erosion of the deep valley floors to a depth of from 

50 to 100 feet below the present drainage level. The length of time involved in 

this stage would depend somewhat upon the volume and velocity of the stream. 

In the narrow portions of the valleys, where the terraces are entirely absent or 

but poorly preserved, the present streams often wash the talus slopes of both 

sides of the valley, and these slopes lie at the bases of the vertical cliffs and are 

often as steep as the material which composes them will stand. From their form 

and relation to the present streams they suggest that the stream which eroded 

the deep valley was much more powerful than the present one. The present 

river is able to do little or no work in the way of removing the talus, while the 

old stream, in order to have cut the gorge 50 to 100 feet deeper, must have been 

superior in its action to the supply of the talus. It is recognized that the reduction 

of the grade of a stream of the same volume as the present would produce the 

same results, but there are other minor features, such as the character of the 

curves of the valley walls at these narrows, which suggest very strongly, although 

they do not demonstrate, that the valleys were cut by torrential waters during 

some stage of their history. That the rate of cutting was very rapid as compared 

to the rate of degradation on the sides of the valleys is very certainly shown in
86 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the bold cliffs which face the streams, and these are often composed largely of 

soft shales, in comparison with the gentle and well-graded slooes of the same 

hills on their faces which look away from the vallej^s. This truncation of the older 

features by the newer streams has already been mentioned.

The second stage began with the deposition of the gravels, sands, and silts on the 

floors of the deep valleys, and continued until they had accumulated to the level of 

the highest terraces. That there were many minor changes of the conditions during 

this stage is manifest from the nature of the deposits. These indicate stages of very 

vigorous drainage when the streams were overloaded with materials and great thicknesses of very coarse gravels were laid down. In the less direct lines of current 

action were deposited the sands, and by the shifting of the currents these deposits 

were made to overlie each other in a very irregular way. At times there seems to 

have been a slack-water condition, when the silt deposits reached many feet in thickness, and these were again followed by the more vigorous drainage and the continued 

deposition of the coarse gravels. It may be, however, that the deep deposits of silt 

only represent the dead-water conditions produced by the conflicting currents which 

carried the coarser gravels, and that they are iiot indicative of a slack drainage 

throughout the entire lengths of the vallej's. The data in hand are not sufficient to 

read with certaiutj1' the various changes of this stage. It continued to the time of 

the deposition of the highest terraces. That the gravels of these terraces were 

deposited in rapidly flowing streams of large volume is very evident. The upper 

surface of the highest terrace in the Ohio Valley does not show a uniform grade, but 

rises much higher above the present drainage along some portions of the vallej^, 

especially below the mouths of the Muskingum, Hocking, and Scioto, indicating that 

the supply of material at these points was so great that the current down the Ohio 

was not able to reduce these local accumulations to a uniform grade. ,

The third stage was inaugurated by the reduction of the materials supplied to 

the streams, with a possible increase of their gradients; but it seems sufficient to 

assume that if the supply of material should cease the streams would at once become 

eroding instead of depositing streams. From the old deserted channel -ways and 

many minor features connected with the forms and distribution of the intermediate 

terraces it seems certain that the streams which cut them out of the high-level 

deposits were very much larger than the present streams. This third stage of 

erosion is considered to have extended to the time when the volume of water was 

reduced to near that of the present through-flowing streams. The length of this 

stage is then represented by the erosion of the deposits from the highest level 

terrace to near that of the present streams.

The fourth stage includes the activity of the present rivers since the close of 

the third stage. In this fourth stage the present streams have been depositing silts
RELATIONS OF STREAMS TO VALLEY FLOORS AND DEPOSITS. 87

and building extensive flood plains in some sections of their valleys, while in others 

they have evidently been spending their energies in removing barriers, usually in 

the form of rock ledges, which obstruct their channels.

A comparison of the work accomplished in each of these four stages, with a 

view to ascertaining the time relations of each, while attended with many uncertainties, seems to indicate in a very general way that if the fourth stage is considered 

as \ the third stage would be represented by about 20, the second stage by about 40, 

and the first stage by 200 or 300.

As one stands on the ground and looks upon the effects of each of these four 

stages, spread before the eye in a single view, the comparison of the time relations 

as represented by the work done almost staggers the imagination, and the impression 

is very forcibly produced that, if anything, the figures are in error in minimizing 

the time of the first, second, and third stages and in magnifying the time of the 

fourth, for the observed activities of the present streams during the present stage 

are very meager indeed compared to the vast rock erosion of the first stage.

The physical changes in the valleys of the tributary indigenous streams resemble 

in many ways those of the through-flowing streams. The most marked difference is 

in the nature of the materials. In most cases these consist of thick beds of fine silts, 

with occasional deposits of sand, and are of a local origin in all cases except so far as 

they may be represented by the filling of the mouths of the tributaries along the 

main rivers with the finer sediments which were being carried through these channels.

During the first stage of erosion of the valleys of the through-flowing streams, 

all the indigenous streams experienced a rejuvenation, and eroded their valleys to 

depths varying according to the distance from the through-flowing streams. At the 

close of this stage nearly all of the drainage had reached a condition in which the 

floors of the valleys were well graded, and the headwaters had begun active work 

against the old divides. It was the extensive erosion of this stage, in connection 

with the dendritic type of the old drainage, which has given a rough and rugged 

character to so much of the region. An estimate of this erosion, based on some 

approximate measurements in the field, indicates that between the mean level of the 

upland plain and the mean level of the present drainage, which is estimated to be 

about 200 feet, about one-half was removed during this cycle of erosion. This would 

make a layer of rock about 100 feet in thickness over the entire basin, and gives 

some idea of the time interval which must be involved. If the rate of 1 foot in 5,000 

years would apply to this erosion it would involve a period of 500,000 years.

The change in the conditions of the through-flowing streams which inaugurated 

the deposition of the gravel trains produced a slack-water stage in all the tributaries. 

In these slack waters were begun the depositions of the silts, and these continued 

pari passu with the filling of the valleys of the through-flowing streams, until, at
88 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the close of that stage, the tributaries were filled to the level of the highest terraces 

-at their mouths, and aggraded almost, if not quite, to their headwaters.

With the recutting of the channels of the through-flowing streams in their valley 

deposits began the removal of the silts from all the tributary valleys. During this 

second cycle of erosion all of the phenomena described in connection with the 

through-flowing streams, such as deserted channels and minor deflections over rock 

barriers, occur here also, i. e., the deflection of Mud River over the rock ledge at 

Barboursville and of the Ohio at St. Marys. It is to be noted, however, that the 

intermediate terraces along the indigenous streams, though not entirely absent, are 

far less conspicuous, and it is a comparison of these features which indicates the fact 

that the erosion of the deposits in the through-flowing stream valleys was accomplished by much larger1 streams than the present, which probably experienced periodic 

diminution in volume. The features which characterize the fourth stage in the 

valleys of the through-flowing streams are also present here, for these indigenous 

streams are now eroding in places and depositing in others, showing that conditions 

of equilibrium are not yet fully established, and thus indicating the shortness of the 

present regime.

THE SLE:NT>EB TEKKACES.

One of the most marked features of the topography in many sections of this 

region is the system of horizontal wave terraces -which occur very generally distributed throughout the lowland area. They may occur equally as well marked in the 

plateau region, but they have not been studied there by the writer.

Similar structures have been described by Prof. J. J. Stevenson, Mr. W J McGee, 

Dr. T. C. Chamberlin, and others, in the basin of the Upper Ohio. Speaking of these 

as observed in the Upper Ohio region, Dr. Chamberlin says: "

"These terraces are far from being constant, and commonly occur only at 

localities obviously favorable for their formation and preservation. There are 

usually two, but rarely three or more members, all witain a vertical interval seldom 

exceeding 50 feet. They differ entirely from the preceding classes [the lower river, 

or moraine-headed terraces], being merely slender bands of slope wash lodged along 

the sides of the hills, reaching a thickness of perhaps 10 feet measured normal to the 

hill slope, and having sloping surfaces. So far as observed, they maintain a horizontal 

position. They seem to .be just such accumulations as might gather on the margin 

of a ponded stream in a comparatively limited interval of time. The mean altitude, 

on both the Ohio and the Monongahela is about 150 feet."

This description will apply almost equally well to the slender horizontal terraces 

in this middle section of the Ohio Basin. That they were produced by wave action, 

operating for a short period of time on a previously graded slope, is clearly shown

aBull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 58, p. 37.
SLENDER TERRACES. 89

from a careful study. In general they appear to be similar to a cut made along the 

hillside for a roadbed. The material removed from the cut is thrown out to make 

the bank on the lower side. Many measurements show that the volume of the lower 

embankment is equal to that of the cut, and if replaced would restore the original 

graded slope of the hill. Above the terrace there is usually a steep face, often of 

rook, and in many places this rock consists of a soft shale. Only in a few instances 

were observed some deposits of sand on the surface of the terraces, but in general 

there are no rounded or sorted materials which would indicate prolonged wave action. 

The embankment is composed of clay and stone, showing no stratification so far as 

observed. In several cases there were found well-marked soil lines, extending under 

the debris of the embankment, which were in accord with the slope of the hillside 

on which the terraces occurred. Their relation to the stratigraphy, which is often 

inclined while the terraces are nearly .if not quite horizontal, and the character of 

the cross section, as indicated above, show conclusively that they are not structural 

or degradational terraces. The lack of a rock platform as a base and the physical 

character of the material, whose immediate source in the upper cut is evident, shows 

that they are not remnants of old fluvial gradation plains left in the process of 

erosion. PL XIV, Gr, shows near the left of the center of the picture a series 

of three of these terraces in the valley of the Little Muskingum. PI. VIII, C 

and D, are nearer views of two of these terraces in the valley of the Raccoon, a few 

miles west of Gallipolis.

These terraces are rarely found singly, but occur in vertical series of from 3 to 

8. They appear to have been produced or preserved in some sections much more 

than in others, although marks of them are rarely wanting anywhere.

In some basins, like that of Federal Creek, the section of the Hocking between 

the Athens col and the Federal Creek col, the valley of the Raccoon, and the old 

Dutch Flats Valley in West Virginia, they are so marked that a map of them would 

represent a very perfect contour map of the region. They are distributed through 

a vertical range of about 300 feet, which is considerably move than that reported for 

the similar terraces in the Upper Ohio Basin. It has been observed in several cases 

that a line of terraces borders the hills of the valleys on each side of some of the 

lower cols, which latter show decided marks of having been weir ways at some high 

water stage, and the terraces occur at the level of the floor of these short channel 

ways. Again, in a few cases they seem to be associated with a hard resistant bed 

which has been cut through in the wearing out of some of the old cols by the present 

streams, and their absence is especially noticeable in the vicinity of these cols. If 

this observation should be more fully sustained, it would indicate that the terraces 

were produced by wave action in the impounded waters during a short period of 

retardation in the cutting out of the old cols.
90 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTEEN OHIO.

They are found on the walls of the old valley and on the valley walls of the 

present streams, so that their date of origin, at least of the lower ones, must be subsequent to the erosion of the present deep valleys. It seems probable that they all 

belong to the same period, and that that period was very recent.,

THE GLACIAL DEPOSITS.

As the basin lies entirety beyond the glaciated area, there are within it no 

deposits directly attributable to the action of land ice. The glacial deposits consist 

of two classes; first, the gravel trains, which extend throughout the valleys of the 

through-flowing streams. These are discussed under the head of the deposits on the 

floors of the present valleys. The second class includes the scattered stones and 

bowlders of foreign rocks, w.hich have often been reported in the past from various 

parts of the basin. They are of scientific interest principally from their horizontal 

and vertical distribution. There is scarcely any large area within the lowland section 

fiom which the}7 have not been reported, and at elevations varying' from the present 

drainage to 300 feet above the Ohio River near Syracuse, where the author has 

collected many scattered stones at that elevation. They range in size from small 

pebbles to bowlders of from 1 to 2 feet diameter. It seems evident from the data 

in hand that the suggestion of many of the earlier writers that these must be attributed to floating ice during a stage of submergence, when the waters covered almost 

the entire region to an elevation of about 700 to 900 feet above tide, must be correct 

As far as the observations of the writer extend, these scattered erratics do not occur 

above the level of the highest slender terraces.

HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF THE OLD HIGH-LEVEL DRAINAGE SYSTEM

TO THE PRESENT.

In tracing the sequence of events, as indicated by the foregoing observations and 

deductions, from the time when the drainage of this region occupied the horizontal 

and vertical positions indicated by the restoration to the present drainage conditions, 

it is very evident that it is necessary to consider the operation of all the forces 

involved and the relations to the sequence of events in the circumjacent regions. 

The phenomena of changes in drainage have been very thoroughly studied within the 

past few years, and most of the processes by which changes are brought about are 

well understood. For convenience of reference these processes may be divided, 

according to the principal factor operative in producing' the change, into two classes. 

The first may be called the normal and the second catastrophic, and the latter may 

easily be divided into the internal and superficial. Under the first class belong those 

processes which arc normally present in the action of the'strcams, such as the erosion 

of channels, aggradation, migration of divides, piracy, etc. Under the second class
HISTORICAL KELATIONS OF OLD AND PBBSBNT DBAINAGE. 91

are included such processes as are produced by volcanic and earthquake phenomena 

and by the formation of ice masses, avalanches, landslides, etc. The first minor 

division of this class would include the volcanic activities, lava flows, and earthquake 

phenomena, with the associated change of level, fi.ssu.ring, and faulting, and the 

second division would include the damming action produced by the avalanche and 

the landslide, and by ice gorging and all glacial phenomena.

In almost every modification in drainage it is probable that many of those 

processes work in very intimate combination. It is certain that the normal activities 

of the running water play an important part in every readjustment, although the 

major factor may belong to the catastrophic group:

A complete discussion of this subject will not here be undertaken, but, by way 

of introduction to an interpretation of the history of the region under investigation, 

attention will be called to a few of the principles which will be considered in this 

connection. Among the first class, besides the action of the stream under the 

influence of deformations of its bed and the discovery of rock structures producing 

subsequent modification, there are a group of activities associated with aggradation 

which have not been very fully discussed, although the piinciples involved are well 

known.

When the grade of a stream is reduced, either by the placing of an obstruction 

across its course or by a deformation which may affect a part or all of its length, the 

stream at once loses in its carrying power. If the stream is well graded and a 

deformation reduces the grade throughout its entire length, it will at once become a 

depositing stream from its mouth to its headwaters. If a barrier is raised across its 

lower course the slack-water condition will extend itself headward at a rate dependent 

upon the supply of the material. It will begin its deposits in the lower slack-water 

section, and the aggradation will from this point be extended toward the headwaters. 

In this extension the field of maximum deposition will be at the point where the 

change in the rate of flow is first met, as here the velocity of the current will be 

checked and its load will be dropped. This process will continue until a new grade 

is established throughout the course of the stream. If it should happen that the 

obstruction were placed suddenly across the stream's course, and were of sufficient 

size, the slack-water conditions might extend for a considerable distance up the 

valley, in which case the sediments would accumulate at some point very remote 

from the obstruction, while between this point and the newly established point of 

overflo'w there would be but a small amount of sedimentation. Should it happen 

that the height of the barrier were increased periodically, the slack-water conditions 

would be carried at intervals farther up the valley, and thus thicker deposits would 

accumulate at several points throughout the valley than in the intermediate spaces. 

It is evident that during such conditions of deposition and aggradation the main line
92 DBAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTEBN OHIO.

of the current action would become clogged, and that the stream would raise its floor 

above that of its surrounding flood plain; its channel would thus bo deflected over 

other parts of the plain. These processes are abundantly illustrated in every 

aggrading stream. If the streams are in somewhat narrow valleys and the topographic features of the region through which they pass are of a mature form, and 

the cols at the headwaters of the minor tributaries of contiguous basins are very 

low, the accumulation of the silt deposits along the main valley may be of sufficient 

magnitude to deflect the streams over the low cols into adjacent basins, or perhaps 

over low cols separating the tributary waters of the same basin. In either case it is 

evident that as soon as the waters rise high enough to overflow the col they will find 

on the opposite side a sharp grade, which represents the difference in level between 

the waters above the obstruction and the waters below the obstruction which would 

be backed up in the valley on the opposite side of the col. As the superficial portions 

of this part of the divide are, from the nature of the case, usually very incoherent, 

and disintegration is usually quite extensive, it is evident that the stream will at 

once rapidly cut out the upper soil portion of the col, and in so doing will desert the 

portion of the valley which is occupied by the obstruction which it has itself built np. 

If it finds in its new course a free circulation and an increased gradient, it will never 

return to its old channel, but if the new course is only a temporary relief it may also 

become clogged with deposits atid the stream may rise to the level of its former 

obstructions and return to its former course, or it may discover still another new 

route.

From the fact that the line of maximum deposition in an aggrading stream will 

be in the direct line of current action, the stream over tending to build up an obstruction in its own path, it follows that the new course which it must discover will be 

more circuitous than the one which it will abandon.

Again, in the case of eroding streams, if two courses are open to the stream, the 

tendency will be for the stream to eventually gain the shorter course if the resistance to its cutting is about the same along each line, as the shorter course will have 

the higher gradient and hence the greater velocity. This difference in velocity may 

be great enough in some cases to determine the location of the stream along the 

short line, even when the resistance to be overcome is greater. The extreme is 

found when the stream may be so balanced that it will deposit along the longer route 

while it is removing a barrier in its shorter course, and eventually the longer route 

will be deserted.

Under the second class of processes the catastrophic the modifications are 

usually produced suddenly and arc largely independent of the normal activities of 

the streams. The internal and superficial agents operate in very similar ways; by 

the actions of lava flows, earthquakes, faulting.?, landslides, and glacial ice the
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 93

streams are suddenly dammed up and caused to seek new lines, or the opening of 

fissures determine the location of the new stream courses. The competency of land 

ice to permanently darn a river course and cause the deflection of the stream has been 

questioned by some writers, but there are abundant observations which show that 

such conditions actually occur at the present time in connection with existing ice 

masses. The number of cases which have been described, in which the data show 

almost to a demonstration that the great continental glacier produced similar results, 

places this question beyond a doubt. The glacier .has been shown to have operated 

in producing modifications by the obstruction of the valleys with its deposits, and 

also directly by its own mass. Where the mass of the ice forms the dam it is evident that the ice must remain during the entire time of the cutting out of the 

restraining col to a point below the base of the floor upon which the ice itself rests. 

A subsequent removal of the ice by melting will then leave the stream in the new 

course, as it has cut so deep that it can not regain its old channel after the removal 

of the obstruction. Where morainic material forms the obstruction it is evident 

that the deposits must exceed the elevation of the lowest col in the rim of the basin 

above the darn. Examples of both of these types are very numerous and are fully 

described by manjr writers.

It is the application of these principles, with others, to the sequence of events, 

which is indicated by the field studies, which must furnish the interpretation of the 

drainage modifications in this region. . This sequence of events may be briefly stated 

as follows:

1. The reduction of the region to the base-level plain of the present upper 

Tertiary peneplain by a very remote and extensive cycle of erosion.

2. The elevation of this peneplain, with a rejuvenation of its matured drainage 

and the entrenchment of all its streams into deep valleys which retain the extensive 

meanderings of the ancestral streams.

3. The complete gradation of the drainage with the development of mature topographic features and the reduction of the old peneplain to such an extent that it is 

only represented by the even line of numerous peaks and long continuous ridges, 

and the cutting of these .ridges at many points by the headwater streams, with the 

formation of very numerous low cols, and the development of a very perfect type 

of dendritic drainage.

4. The production of slack-water conditions throughout the lowland area and 

extending well up into the plateau region, with a widespread deposition of silts, to 

depths of as much as 50 to 60 feet at certain points, and numerous deflections of 

drainage from the old lines.

5. A rejuvenation, accompanied by a very deep erosion of the new lines of 

drainage extending below the level of the old system, with the introduction of tor-
94 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

rential waters at four points in the rim of the basin (New Martinsville 011 the Ohio, 

Blueroek on the Muskingum, Lick Run on the Hooking, and Chillicothe on the 

Scioto) with egress at one point (Manchester on the Ohio), and the complete accommodation of the minor drainage lines to this newly established low level.

6. The filling of the valleys of the through-flowing streams with glacial gravpl 

trains and the silting of all of the tributaries to corresponding levels.

7. The erosion of the valley fillings and the cutting of the intermediate terraces 

to the depths of the present streams.

8. A high-water flood stage in which the whole region is submerged to great 

depths with the production of the slender terraces and the scattering of the glacial 

pebbles and bowlders by floating ice, the periodic falling off of these waters producing 

the series of slender terraces.

9. The reduction of the volume of the streams and the continued .stream action 

to the present time under present conditions.

It is evident that the first step in the order of things which led to the change in 

the drainage appears in the fourth stage in the production of slack-water conditions 

which resulted in the widespread deposition of the silts on the old valley floors, and 

this in greatest abundance along the main lines. The fluviatile rather than lacustrine 

origin of these silts is shown both by their structure and their general distribution. 

They are spread over the floors of the old valleys as a rather even sheet, occupying 

the full widths of the valleys, except where evidently removed by subsequent erosion, 

but they are not observed to lie upon the side slopes of the valleys above the valley 

filling, showing that the water in which they were laid down was not more extensive 

than the present limits of the deposits, for had the waters been deep and had the 

deposits been left at various elevations on the slopes of the valleys it is scarcely 

possible, with the very abundant opportunities for preservation on protected platforms, that all of the upper deposits should have been completely removed to the 

level of the old floors. As the upper surface of these deposits now descend from 

the rim of the basin toward its axial line, it must be assumed that if they were laid 

down in a lake the lake must have been of considerable depth in the center of the 

basin, or else that the basin had suffered a very marked and peculiar deformation, of 

which there is no evidence. Therefore, as the deposits seem to have been made in 

rather shallow water of no greater extent than the upper surface of the deposits, it 

follows that the waters must have been slow-moving currents rather than lacustrine.

Again, it is common to find scattered through these silts coarser- bands of sandy 

material, such as would not be carried in suspension, but such as would indicate a 

certain amount of current action.

Perhaps the most conclusive evidence of the fluviatile origin of these silts is found 

in their distribution. They occur along the courses of the old valleys and appear in
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 95

great thickness along the larger streams. This would be the normal distribution if 

they were laid down by aggrading- streams, but, on the other hand, if they were 

deposited by streams discharging into a lake they would be distributed in delta-like 

forms in the headwater sections of the submerged valleys. The main lines would be 

the last to become obstructed. The two forms of deposition would produce very 

different effects upon the distribution of the subsequent drainage. The predominating 

tendency in the case of an aggrading stream is toward a.shifting of the position of 

the.stream line, while in the case of the filling and draining of a lake basin the 

predominating tendency of the resulting drainage would be to follow the deeper line 

of the basin, and in such a lake as might be assumed to have occupied this region 

which must have been scarcely more than a drowned-river system very much like 

that of the Chesapeake Bay the new drainage would conform almost exactly to the 

old lines

Apparently closely associated with this silting arc the many and irregular 

drainage modifications, suggesting at once their relations to the conditions of aggradation in the old systems. The fluviatile origin of these deposits and the fact that 

they indicate a slack-water condition of the drainage at this time seems fairly well 

established.

This leads to the question as to the cause of the slack-water conditions. One of 

the most potent factors in producing slack-water conditions is a deformation of the 

surface. If this factor is applied to the case in hand it finds no direct support. The 

modifications are so numerous and their distribution is so extremely irregular as to 

make this inherently improbable. Besides, the old floor constitutes now a perfectly 

graded system (when the old drainage is restored), so that, to produce these drainage 

modifications by differential warpings of the floor of the basin and then restore the 

present condition, it would be necessary to assume that after the modifications were 

well established an exactly opposite warping took place. Such an exact duplication 

of a complicated movement in exactly the reverse order seems extremely improbable 

and finds no support in the observed facts. On account of the great diversity in the 

direction of modifications it is impossible to assume that they were produced by a 

uniform tilting of the basin in any particular direction. The only possible condition 

which might be attributed to this cause is that in which there was a general differential subsidence of the highest parts of the several basins with such a motion that all 

plains remained nearly parallel to their former positions. While this explanation 

might account for the observed silting by producing the slack-water conditions 

within the basin, there are no observed data in support of this hypothesis except the 

presence of the silts themselves.

As the modifications within this basin are closely associated with the introduction 

of the torrential waters from the adjacent basins to the northeast, it is evident that
96 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the causal relations will also be intimately connected. It seems necessary, therefore, 

to consider the history of events in these regions in this connection, as there appear 

here only the facts of aggradation, without a sufficient suggestion of the cause.

It has been clearly shown by the authors already referred to that in the Upper 

Ohio Basin the modifications of drainage were intimately associated with the glacial 

phenomena of the Pleistocene, and that the introduction of the drainage of that basin 

into the one under consideration, across the New Martiusville col, is to be directly 

attributed to the accumulation of glacial ice and drift in the mouths of the old valle}^, 

which originally discharged northward, against the direction of the ice movement.

The writer has shown that the deflection of the waters of the upper Muskingurn 

and Tuscarawas basins from the Newark Valley over the Bluerock col was caused 

by the occupation of the old Newark Valley by the ice and by the great deposit of 

glacial material left in the old valley at Hanover, while the deflection of the hendwaters of the Hocking over the Lick linn col was undoubtedly produced by the 

direct action of the ice mass. A similar deflection on Paint Creek, produced by 

the ice itself, is described by Mr. Fowke, and one at the Beech Flats is described 

by the writer/' The action of the ice and of its morainic deposits in reversing the 

headwaters of the North Fork of Salt Creek at Adelphi has been referred to in detail 

in this paper.

From these considerations the question naturally arises, Did the ice have anything 

to do with the deflections in this basin; and if so, to what extent?

As the ice front did not invade the basin, and as there are no morainic deposits 

present, it is evident that if the ice were a factor in producing- the modifications it 

must have operated indirectly.

It is to be observed that the main axis of drainage of this basin is almost normal 

to the line marking the limits of the ice at its maximum stage of advance, and that 

the direction of discharge is directly opposed to the direction of flow of the ice (see 

map, PI. 1); it is evident, then, that the ice stood as a most effective barrier to the 

northwestward discharge of the waters of this basin. The encroachment of the 

advancing ice front on the old outlet of the basin furnishes the needed factor to 

account for the inauguration of the slack-water conditions.

It has been shown by Dr. Chamberlin and others that the mass of the ice itself, 

by its own attraction, would have a marked effect upon the water levels for many 

miles. A complete discussion of these attractive influences is given by Dr. Chamberlin, in collaboration with Prof. R. D. Salisbury, in a description of the loess in 

the Mississippi Valley.* From this discussion it appears that this attraction would 

amount to about 4 inches to the mile along a line normal to the ice front within a

a Bull. Sci. Lab. Denison University, Vol. IX, Part I.

b Preliminary paper on the driftless area of the Upper Mississippi Valley, Sixth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 291.
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 97

distance of one degree. If the old river were perfectly graded, it is evident that this 

effect alone would extend far into the region of the silt deposits. On the principles 

previously stated, any effect on the lower waters of the graded streams would be 

extended headward until a new grade was established.

As the advance of the ice was very slow, it is evident that conditions favorable 

for the aggradation of the opposed stream were presented. This is equivalent to 

saying that the barrier increased in altitude slowly, although not necessarily at a 

regular rate. From our knowledge of the action of water currents along the margins 

of ice masses, it is evident that the stream did not yield its ground without a struggle. 

As the waters became impended they sought out new lines of discharge, circumvening the advancing ice front or cutting tunnel ways under its border. With the 

closing of each new outlet the waters were more impounded and rose to higher levels, 

and the slack-water effects were extended farther toward the headwaters of the 

basin. The last step in this process. seems to have been taken when the ice, after 

many struggles with the contending waters, reached a position in its advance which 

carried the waters of this basin high enough to flow over the low col in the divide 

near Manchester.

We find, then, in the relations of the drainage to the known position of the ice 

front an all-sufficient cause to account for the production of the slack-water conditions, and their prolonged duration and gradual extension throughout the basin.

With the.data already in hand it seems possible to trace the larger features of 

the sequence of events throughout this fourth stage with considerable certainty. It 

is this sequence which shows the relations between the old and new systems, and how 

the latter has been derived from the former. If the suggestions offered proved later 

not to be the exact order, it is believed that they will at least indicate the broad line 

along which the future interpretation must be worked out by careful detailed examinations of the whole area involved.

With the first obstruction of the drainage began the deposition of the silts in the 

lower section of the old valley. These deposits were extended up the axial stream 

along the line of the old Teays River and increased in thickness until an accumulation 

of from 20 to 30 feet was laid down on the floor of the old Flatwoods Valley, arid of 

over 50 feet in the upper portion of Teays Valley. From the excessive accumulation 

at these points it may be assumed that they represented points where the slack-water 

conditions were first encountered by the stream for a considerable interval, which 

probably represented rather uniform conditions at the barrier below. By the accumulations on the floor of the Flatwoods Valley (PI. IX) the old stream was deflected 

to the north side of the deposits and meandered around the hills now found between 

the old valley and the present Ohio. Accompanying these excessive accumulations 

in the axial valley there was extensive aggradation also along the northern branch, 

9653 No. 13 03 7
98 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

and the accumulations at Camba amounted to over 90 feet (PI. XIII). This also was 

probably a nodal point on the stream from which the aggradation was more perfect 

eastward, extending up the v^Hey of the old Marietta River. This accumulation 

deflected the waters across the divide between the old Point Pleasant River and the 

old northward-flowing Little Guyandot Crock. In circulating among the hills in this 

divide they crossed several low cols, giving the grouped distribution of the cols indicated in the vicinity of Gallipolis. Being unable to follow down the old Little Guyandot Creek on account of the same obstructions in the lower course at Camba, the 

waters found an easier route by following the course of the old Little Guyandot to 

the mouth of the present stream and turning westward up a small tributary across 

the old Crown City col and running down the tributary on the opposite side to the 

main axial stream at Huntington. This route is about as long from the point of 

divergence at Point Pleasant to the axial stream at Huntington as its older one from 

Point Pleasant to Beaver, but it met the axial stream at a somewhat higher level 

at its new point of confluence.

Probably almost simultaneously with the changes just described the deposits in 

Teays Valley had accumulated to such a depth as to deflect the upper waters of the 

axial stream over the low cols in the divide at Winfield and on the Hurricane, the 

included area probably existing as an island (PI. XIII). These waters followed down 

the old Point Pleasant River, but near the mouth of this stream they began to feel 

the effects of the aggradation produced by the obstruction at Camba, which resulted 

in the depositions in the old valley at the mouth of the stream, and hence the waters 

cut across the col at Point Pleasant and joined those of the old Marietta River at that 

point, thus returning again to the axial valley at Huntington, having found this route 

around the obstruction built up in the upper section of Teays Valley. It is possible 

that at this same time a minor current may have set along the Raccoon and Symmes 

Creek valleys over the Marion col.

Another possible alternative interpretation for these larger deflections might 

indicate that the old drainage was first obstructed by the accumulation in Teays Valley 

and that the axial stream was thus deflected over the Winfield col to the waters of the 

old Marietta River, that for a time the upper waters followed that stream to the outlet, and that the deposition of the accumulation at Camba may have occurred a little 

later, so that the deflection of the waters across the Crown City col came subsequently. 

Between these two suggestions there seems to be but little choice as far as the data 

in hand indicate. The facility with which these streams crossed the old Marion - 

Crown City-Hurricane-Winfield divide is manifest from a study of the restored drainage as represented on the map (PI. I), as it is evident that this divide must have 

migrated very extensively during the development of the old drainage from the old
HISTOBICAL BELATIONS OF OLD AND ' PRESENT DRAIN AG-E. 99

Marietta River toward the old Teays River, and the tributary streams of the former 

had extended their headwaters very close to the old axial valley in the region along 

the present Tcays Valley, so that at numerous points this divide presented very low 

cols; and the fact that the Kanawha has crossed the divide in one direction and the 

Ohio in the opposite direction suggests the close balance which existed between the 

two major lines of drainage in the old basin.

The deposits on the floor of the lower portion of the old Albany River (PL XVI) 

resulted in the deflection of the drainage of this part of its basin over the Minerton 

col along the line of the present Raccoon, while the deposits in the old valley south 

of Zalaski caused the waters of the valley above to be deflected over the old Moonville col and into another tributary of Albany River. The excessive accumulations 

on the valley floor at Albany deflected the upper waters of that old river eastward 

across the Athens col and thence along the line of that section of the present Hocking. The accumulations on the old Dutch Flats Valley in West Virginia (see PI. 

XIII) caused the old Marietta River to wander around among the low hills in the 

vicinity of Pomeroy, where it passed by another group of cols very similar to those 

in the vicinity of Gallipolis. The accumulations on the valley floors at Wilkesvillc 

and Salem Center deflected the waters of Leading Creek eastward across the Langsville col to the newly forming main line. The accumulations along the floor of the 

old valley between the Ohio at Hartford and Hockingport caused the Marietta River 

in its upper stretches to meander around among the hills lying east of the old channel, but it found this channel again at Hartford, this deflection being similar to 

that at Ashland and Ironton from the Flatwoods Valley, but' on a larger scale, while 

the accumulations in the valley south of Guysville turned the waters of this section 

of the Hocking across the Federal Creek col and along the small streams occupying 

the present lower course of the valley. At Layman and Barlow (PI. XI) the silting 

was sufficient to deflect the waters of Wolf Creek and of the stream occupying the 

present portion of the Muskingum Valley below Bluerock across the Meigs Creek 

and Lowell cols to the old river line at Marietta.

Further details connected with many of the minor modifications described might 

be presented, but it is thought that sufficient has been said to indicate the action of 

the aggrading streams in deflecting their courses around the deposits which were laid 

down in the more direct line. It will be observed that, iu all cases referred to, the new 

line is much more circuitous than the old line, and, as was suggested in considering 

the action of aggrading streams, this would be the normal type of modification. That 

many of the changes here indicated as occurring in succession were in reality almost 

simultaneous seems quite probable from the. fact that the accumulation of the old silts 

in the valleys would take place very generally over the basin at the same time by
100 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

the aggrading action of all of the streams. With such close balances between the 

various elements it would be extremely difficult to determine absolutely the succession 

of changes.

The next step in the history of the region appears to be the fixing, as it were, 

of all of these modifications and the development of the present system. The manner in which this was accomplished is the next question to be solved. We may 

readily postulate such an elevation of the basin as would produce a rejuvenation of 

the streams and increased erosion, but it seems that there is a more natural explanation one which is supported by the facts of observation and the relations to the 

existing conditions. It is evident that as long as the waters of the old system 

escaped along the edge of the ice the torrents supplied from its melting would join 

the bordering stream, but as soon as this outlet was stopped and the impounded 

waters crossed the Manchester col all the waters from the melting ice above the 

point where the barrier was produced would be added-to the current flowing 

over this outlet. This current extended down the present Scioto Valley and along 

the line of the present Ohio to Manchester. The altitude of the Manchester col. 

or possibly of some other col still farther down the Ohio, would represent the 

maximum elevation to which the waters would rise within the basin. This would 

determine the upper limit of the silting. With the beginning of the erosion of this 

col the fourth stage was terminated and the fifth inaugurated;,for, as the elevation 

of the drainage levels was produced by the ice, it seems reasonable to suppose 

that when the waters succeeded in permanently escaping from the action of the ice 

barrier they would begin at once to erode their valleys toward the former level, 

and the permanent location of the streams would depend on their particular location 

at the time of the change in the conditions from aggradation to erosion. As the 

Manchester col was probably worn away with considerable rapidity, on account of 

the great volume of water which crossed it and its silty character, the deepening of 

the channels in the old silt deposits would progress rapidly toward the headwaters 

of the basin. With the reversal of the drainage along the line of the Scioto it 

appears that the main current from the drainage of the basin took the shorter route 

across the Portsmouth col rather than the longer route by the way of Waverly and 

down the Scioto.

During the early stages of this erosion the minor drainage channels which were 

associated as tributaries to the old abandoned valleys wandered in various directions 

through and across the old valleys in their endeavors to find the easiest route to the 

rapidly developing new drainage. The minor irregularities in the depths of the silt 

fillings on the old valleys were important factors in determining these lesser modifications and deflections. The complex arrangement of the smaller streams which now 

cross the old valleys in apparent obedience to no law or order, such as those in the
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DBAINAGE. 101

vicinity of Wellston, Hamden Junction, the Dutch Flats Valley, and the Hurricane in 

Teays Valley, finds a very rational explanation well borne out by observed phenomena. 

The amount of erosion which would be accomplished during this stage would depend 

on several factors. If the newly found outlet had a longer route to the sea than the 

old drainage, it is evident that the erosion would reach a base-level condition at an 

altitude somewhat above its old level, but if the new route over the Manchester col 

was a shorter course to the sea and many facts in hand point strongly in this direction the new base-level of erosion would lie below the old one. This factor would 

also be influenced by any movement which the basin may have suffered during the 

preceding or present stages. If the movement were in the form of a depression, the 

effect would' be the same as in the ease in which the new outlet was the longer route 

to the sea, while if the movement were that of an elevation the effect would be the 

same as in the case of the shorter route to the sea. Reasons have already been 

presented for considering the hypothesis of an extended movement very doubtful.

Another factor which would influence the extent of this erosion is the volume 

of the water. This must have been greatly increased by the addition of the water 

resulting from the melting of the superficial .surface of the front of the ice. The 

result of the combination of these forces is evident in the deep erosion of the newly 

formed drainage. From the great extent of this erosion, amounting to about 150 

feet below the level of the old drainage, it seems evident that either the new route 

was very much shorter to the sea or that the basin experienced during this stage 

some elevation. To the extent that one of these factors is increased, the other is 

correspondingly decreased, and at present there seerns no means of determining the 

quantitative value of each. With the rejuvenation of the drainage the streams which 

followed the old lines had to work entirely in the silt deposits of the preceding stage, 

but where in their meanderings they had crossed the old watersheds or had been 

deflected toward the sides of the old valleys against the bordering hills they soon 

discovered the underlying rock and began its excavation. The rate of cutting of the 

new system would therefore be determined by the rate of erosion at the points where 

the streams discovered these rocks barriers.

As has been already suggested, the topographic features at these points indicate 

that this rate of erosion was extremely rapid. To what extent this had progressed 

before the inauguration of the sixth stage, which was marked by the introduction of 

the torrential waters at the Lick Run, Bluerock, and New Martinsville cols, seems 

very difficult to determine. This much, however, seems certain: That the erosion 

had deepened the new channels so far below the level of the old valley floors that the 

increased volume of water produced by the torrential floods which came down the 

valleys of these through-flowing rivers did not rise high enough to overflow the floors 

of the old valleys adjacent to their courses; and it is also a fact that they followed
102 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTEBN OHIO.

most closely the lines established by the meandei'ings of the streams during the 

fourth stage; for instance, when the flood waters were poured over the Bluerock 

col (see PI. XI), had they been of sufficient volume to rise over the valley floor at 

Layman it would seem that they would have more easily eroded a channel through 

the soft silt deposits on that floor than to have, taken the longer route and eroded the 

rock barrier at the Meigs Creek col. The same is true with reference to the flood 

waters poured down the Hocking Valley into the old Albany Kiver, the line of that 

river past Albany to the valley of the Raccoon being much more direct than the line 

across the Athens col and so down to the Ohio. It is hardly possible that the flood 

waters should ever have occupied these old valley floors without having left some 

evidence of that occupancy. The evidence in support of this conclusion is even more 

convincing when the course of the Ohio in relation to the remnants of the old valley 

floors is considered, especially in the region of the old Dutch Flats Valley and the 

Flatwoods Valley, neither of which shows the slightest evidence of ever having been 

occupied by the flood waters of the Ohio. It seems possible to suppose, however, 

that the waters of these through-flowing streams were introduced into the basin at 

some time before the final close of this period of erosion, for their channels are 

deepened, at the points \yherc they cross the old cols, to an extent corresponding to 

the gradation plains represented by the rock floors of the present drainage. These 

waters, therefore, may possibly have assisted in the deep erosion of the channels of 

the through-flowing streams below the level of the old valley .floors. It is certain 

that they occupied these valleys at the grades represented by the present rock floors 

before the introduction of the glacial materials which subsequently filled these valleys 

with the gravel trains.

The exact order in which these streams were introduced into the basin seems 

difficult to determine, but this question may be decided by more detailed field work. 

It is quite evident, however, that the reversal of the Scioto preceded the introduction 

of the waters of the Hocking, the Muskingum, and the Ohio, by the time interval 

represented by the amount of erosion of the present streams to a little below the level 

of the old valley floors. It thus appears that the reversal of the Seioto took place at 

the very beginning of the period of erosion, and the introduction of other throughflowing streams somewhere near the middle or a little past the middle of that period. 

Some support for this view is found also in the somewhat older characters of the Scioto 

Valley.

This cycle of erosion was terminated by the beginning of the deposition of the 

gravels, sands, and silts in the valleys of the through-flowing streams, which marks 

the inauguration of the sixth stage. Writers on this subject have usually attributed 

this change of conditions to a general depression which produced a slack-water drainage and converted the streams into aggrading rather than eroding streams. This
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 103

assumes that the eroding streams were carrying the load of debris, anti that the 

reduction in the grade caused them to drop this load along the valley's. The evidence 

in the deposits themselves indicates that the drainage was very vigorous, and would 

seem to oppose any hypothesis which would indicate slack-water conditions. The 

vigorous drainage thus indicated would seern to point to a high rather than low 

altitude of the land; at the same time it would seem more reasonable to suppose 

that the beginning of the deposition of the gravels was due rather to the overloading of the streams which were previously doing the work of erosion, and that this 

stage of aggradation was the result of this overloading rather than of a general 

depression. This conforms more closely to the conditions indicated by the deposits. 

The suggestion is therefore offered that the deposition of the gravel trains wa.s the 

result of the overloading of the streams at the time of the maximum advance of the 

ice when its border had so encroached upon the region that its waters were confined 

to these few lines of discharge, and the material which otherwise would be distributed in a great morainic fan was concentrated along these lines. The termination of 

this stage was therefore brought about by the beginning of the recession of the ice 

which supplied the gravels, for with the beginning of the recession of the ice the 

materials supplied by it would be distributed over the deserted floor of the glacier 

in its recession and less completely supplied to the streams which discharged from 

its receding front. It is evident that under such conditions the volume of the water 

would not decrease at the same rate as the decrease in the supply of material, and it 

would follow in consequence that the streams which were aggrading under the 

heavy load of material would, when relieved of that load, begin at once to degrade 

and remove the obstructions produced by previous depositions'.

With this change in the relations of load to current action was inaugurated the 

seventh stage in the history of events. The apparent periodic falling off in the 

volume of the water during the seventh stage, which is represented by the production 

of the intermediate terraces, finds a sufficient explanation in the conditions accompanying the recession of the ice. With that recession and the opening of new lines of 

discharge for the glacial waters the volumes of the through-flowing streams would 

be periodically reduced, until at last the final withdrawing of the ice waters beyond 

the last weirway which opened into this basin would reduce the volume of all of the 

streams to the conditions expressed by the meteoric waters alone, and with this last 

step in the reduction of the waters the final withdrawal of the glacial current the 

seventh stage was terminated.*

The ninth stage in the cycle extends from the close of the seventh stage to the 

present, so far as fluvial work is concerned, and is represented by the observed 

activities of the present streams.

ogee also the causes of transformation set forth by Dr. Chamberlin in Slon. U. S. Geol. Survey Vol. XXV, p. 251.
104 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

The exact relation of the eighth stage, which is lacustrine, as indicated in the 

outline, is not so evident. Its place may possibly be at the very close of the sixth 

instead of the seventh stage, but certainty it must be subsequent to the deep cutting 

of the present valleys. The lake conditions, which are represented by the slender 

terraces or wave beaches formed during the stage, seem to be associated with an 

obstruction to the drainage beyond the limits of this basin. This subject needs much 

further investigation. From the work of Prof. Joseph F. James and Mr. Gerard 

Fowke it seems evident that the sequence of events associated with the drainage 

modifications in the Cincinnati region must have had an influence upon the history 

of the regions farther up the river. Mr. Fowke has shown that the old drainage 

system in this region, which is undoubtedly to be correlated with the old drainage 

of the basin under discussion, originally discharged northward, while Professor 

James has shown that the course of the Ohio, corresponding to the deepest cycle of 

erosion represented by the valley floors at the close of the fifth stage as above outlined, was up the present Mill Creek Valley to Hamilton and thence down the Great 

Miami to Lawrenceport, Ind., and that the channel of the Ohio immediately below the 

city is of more recent date. This relation seems to suggest that the blocking of this 

channel-way by the extensive glacial deposits around Hamilton, subsequent to the 

cutting of the deep gorge, raised the waters of the upper basin to the elevation of 

.the col immediately below the city.

The structure of the bounding hills alternate beds of soft and hard limestone seems to suggest that the cutting of this col would be marked by intervals 

of rapid erosion alternating with intervals of rather slow cutting, while the time 

involved in the entire removal of the obstruction would be comparatively brief. The 

stages of slow cutting may be found to correspond with the brief stationary conditions of the water level in the upper lake portion permitting the formation of the 

wave-marked slender terraces." It must be distinctly borne in mind that this explanation has no relation to the Cincinnati ice-dam theory as proposed by Prof. G. F. 

Wright, for these terraces are not discussed in connection with that theory, except 

so far as suggested by Dr. Chamberlin in his reference to similar structures in the 

Upper Ohio Basin.*

While it may be shown that the ice at some stage extended beyond the present 

Ohio near Cincinnati, it does not follow that the present valley was previously developed; in fact, it seems very improbable from the data in hand. The ice-dam theory 

presupposes the existence of the present valley, and it is largely based on the phenomena associated with the old high-level valley floors and gradation plains, which 

are in this article, it is thought, rather conclusively shown to have no relation what-

<«See also the "sloping ' process, by Chamberlin, Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey Vol. XXV, p. 251. 

i>Introduction to Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 58, p. 38, sec. 4 of his summary.
HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 105

ever to the supposed obstruction at Cincinnati, but to form an integral part of a 

normal sequence of events, and to be in no sense catastrophic in character.

It is also to be noted that while the writer does not deny, but rather admits, the 

competency of ice to obstruct drainage lines under certain conditions, the retention 

of the waters during this stage of submergence, in which the slender terraces were 

produced and glacial stones were scattered over the highlands of the region, is not 

attributed to an ice barrier, but to the resistance offered to the cutting of an old divide. 

The ice and its deposits had completely obstructed the former line of discharge at a 

more remote point. It seems highly probable that in this case the beginning of this 

rock cutting may have been by the action of a stream working under the attenuated 

edge of the ice when it was at its stage of maximum advance on the Kentucky hills, 

and hence the gorge produced by the cutting lies within the area marked by the 

presence of the ice. Even such a rock barrier as is here proposed could not, in the 

mind of the writer, have furnished the necessary conditions to produce the extensive 

phenomena attributed to the much less effective ice barrier proposed by the ice-dam 

theory.

The final question to be considered is the time relations of the various stages in 

this cycle and their correlation to the recognized phenomena in the circumjacent 

regions. The time involved in the erosion represented by the first stage in the 

production of the old peneplain is very great, and probably expresses the sum of 

all of the erosion cycles from the beginning of the Permian to some point in the 

Tertiary."

The inauguration of the second stage by the elevation of the old peneplain may 

be considered as occurring somewhere in the Eocene, and the continuation of that 

cycle through the third stage, resulting in the production of the mature topography 

and the almost perfect gradation of all of the drainage, is represented by the time 

interval from the elevation of the peneplain to the beginning of the fourth stage; 

that is, to the production of the slack-water conditions. If our interpretation is 

correct, that these slack-water conditions were produced by the invasion of the ice 

into the lower section of the drainage lines coming from this basin, it fixes the date 

of the beginning of this cycle at some point in the Pleistocene.- If the gravel 

trains which fill the deeply cut valleys of the through-flowing streams are correctly correlated with the rnorainic terraces of the most recent glacial epoch, it 

at once becomes evident that the inauguration of the slack-water conditions at the 

beginning pf the fourth stage is separated from the valley filling of the sixth stage 

by the time represented by the amount of silting' in the fourth stage and the 

amount of erosion represented by the entire interval of the fifth stage. The question 

involves, then, the consideration of these two intervals; that is, the interval of silt

a The time correlation is open to much question and is not improbably later than here assigned. T. C. C.
106 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

deposition and the interval of subsequent valley erosion. There seems to be at hand 

no convenient means of measuring the rate of accumulation of the old silts in the 

old valleys during the fourth stage, for the conditions under which these silts were 

deposited seem to have been somewhat exceptional. The character of the silts 

themselves, however, indicates a rather slow rate of deposition, and when it is considered that along the principal lines this accumulation amounts to from 60 to possibly 100 feet in thickness, it suggests that the interval was one of great duration. 

It may be assumed that the time involved in this interval is also represented by 

the time at which the ice first encroached upon the basin and the time of its maximum advance and the deflection of the drainage over the Manchester eol. While 

it has not been clearly shown as yet where the ice first encroached upon this old 

drainage line, because the latter has not as yet been located with certainty, the evidence in hand seems to indicate that the obstruction may have first been placed across 

the drainage many miles from the point of maximum advance of the ice. In view of 

this it would appear that the time interval represented by the deposition of 'the silts 

might also be expressed in terms of the rate of advance of the ice, but as this is 

largely a matter of speculation it does not furnish any satisfactory data for an exact 

determination of the length of this interval.

The interval represented by the erosion of the fifth stage offers somewhat more 

favorable conditions for a basis of calculations, although even here only general and 

approximate results can be obtained at the present time. The variability of the 

factors involved in this erosion causes very great uncertainty in any calculation 

which attempts to approach accuracy, but the general facts may be indicative of 

certain comparative relations of the time intervals.

The total amount of erosion accomplished extends through a vertical range of 

about 350 feet, of which the upper 150 feet is not represented by the erosion of the 

valleys through a continuous rock channel, but by the cutting- of the old cols crossed 

in the development of the present drainage and the removal of the silts deposited 

along the lines of the old valleys which the new drainage occupies. This cutting was 

done by streams having volumes comparable to the indigenous streams of the region. 

The cutting of the lower 200 feet of this section was almost entirely through continuous rock channels, but in the case of the through-flowing streams the torrential 

waters may have been an important factor in determining the rate of this cutting. 

While it is true that all of the indigenous drainage accomplished sufficient erosion to 

form well-graded slopes throughout most of the courses of the streams, it is to be 

noted that if the through-flowing streams cut the deep gorges of the Ohio, the 

Muskingum, the Hocking, and the Scioto, all of the minor tributary drainage would 

thereby discover the most favorable conditions for extremely rapid erosion, and this 

is manifest in the sharp slopes which are every where present, representing the grade
HISTORICAL RELATIONS'OF OLD AND PRESENT DRAINAGE. 107

slopes of this cycle. But, with the most conservative estimates, the immense amount 

of work accomplished during this interval points with no uncertain finger to a very 

great lapse of time.

An attempt has been made to estimate this time also from the amount of leaching and weathering of the silt deposits on the floors of the old deserted valleys, and 

the conclusions arrived at are very greatly different from those deduced by some 

other observers. The occurrence of buried wood and organic matter in these silts 

and on the floors of the old valleys beneath the silts has been affirmed to indicate the 

very recent origin of these deposits, but the author can see no reason why organic 

matter under such favorable conditions for preservation as are presented by burial 

under these silts and in the presence of constant moisture conditions might not 

remain for untold ages with very little, if any,'change. At the same time the proof 

of the very great age of these deposits, which seems to have been entirely overlooked 

by the earlier observers, appears in the amount of leaching and weathering which 

these deposits have suffered. This has already been indicated as reaching to depths 

of from 30 to 40 feet below the surface, where the old buried gravels arc found to be 

completely decayed, and within extreme depths from the surface every particle of 

soluble matter has been leached out, and the upper superficial layers so completely 

acted upon by the percolating water and the disintegrating effects of the atmosphere 

that the lands are everywhere recognized by their white and light-yellow color and 

lack of fertility.

In comparison with the amount of weathering represented by the clays and silts 

of the last ice invasion to the north of this district, the time interval represented by 

the leaching of these old valley silts -would seem to be many fold that of the time 

since the deposition of the most recent glacial deposits.

These facts seem to indicate that the beginning of the slack-water conditions 

represented by the fourth stage must be located at the time of the earliest advent of 

the ice represented by any of the glacial deposits in the bordering region, and even 

suggest that the changes may have been still more remote. If the gravel trains in 

the valleys of the through-flowing streams are, therefore, correlated with the morainic 

terraces of the Wisconsin age, the history of the drainage of this region would 

certainly indicate that the drainage modifications produced by the inauguration of 

the fourth stage of silting must be associated with the earliest known ice invasion, 

and separated from the Wisconsin by an interval of time represented by the deposition of the silts and the deep erosion of the valley floors, which would represent the 

whole.interval between the earliest ice invasion and the most recent. Any attempt 

to determine the length of this interval by comparison with the erosion of the eighth 

stage, or with the combined erosion of the eighth and ninth stages, either by,direct 

observation of the effects of the two stages in the field or by as careful estimates as
108 DKAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO.

are possible to be made in the laboratory, leads to the conviction that this interval is 

many times greater than any of the other intervals involved in the sequence except 

those of the older erosion cycles. It thus appears from these studies that they indicate very clearly the general correctness of the interpretation of the glacial geology 

in the region to the north, and add strength to the view that there was a very great 

lapse of time between the first iee invasion of this region, which produced the drainage modifications, and the last epoch, which furnished the gravel trains in the deeply 

cut valleys of through-flowing streams.

If our observations have been correctly made and interpreted, we must conclude 

that the high-level valleys of southeastern Ohio and the adjacent region represent a 

connected system of an old drainage cycle whieh antedates the first advance of the ice 

of the Glacial period, and that they are therefore of pre-Glacial age; that the 

deposition of the silts on the old valley floors and the deflection of the streams 

producing the present drainage system were accomplished as a result of the action of 

the advancing ice sheet of the first Glacial epoch, possibly the pre-Kansan; that the 

extensive erosion of the present river valleys to depths below the present drainage 

lines was accomplished during an interglacial interval of great duration, and that 

they should, therefore, be called interglacial valleys; that these interglacial valleys 

were partially filled with debris by the flood waters of the last Glacial epoch and 

accompanying silting from the adjacent region, with a partial recutting of these 

deposits during the later stages of this epoch, and that the post-Glacial erosion is 

represented by the channels cut in the floor of these deposits since the waters have 

acquired their present volume.

From these studies it appears that the Ohio River Valley, from New Martinsville 

to Manchester, is of interglacial origin, and that the former considerations, which 

have been based upon the pre-Glacial age of this valley, are as much in error as those 

which attempt to attribute its extensive erosion to post-Glacial time.
INDEX.

Page. 

Adelphi, topography and deposits near ............. 19-20

Adelphi Creek (pre-Glacial), course of - .____..._ 19

Aggrading streams, course of ....................... 91-93

Albany, old valley near .............................. 70

Albany River, deposits on..................-..___.-. 99

Amesville, drainage changes near................... 41

Andrews, E. B., cited on terrace at mouth of MuskingumHiver.......-....... -... --.... 84

Athens, Hocking Valley near, description of....... 36

old valley near....... ............... -.-- 67

Area discussed, location of......... .....__..._... 11-13

topographic features of..........--- ......... 33-29

Ashland, Ohio, valley near, description of..._...... 33

Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad, altitudes on___...._....._... .-- -....... 10

Barboursville. drainage modifications at............ 53-56

silt cliffs at, view of ..-.__..._.-.-..-....__...._ 54

Barlow, old valley near, description of.............. 58

view of. ..--...--. -.----- ..-.-. . 60

Beaumont, old valley near ......_....._..........__.. 67-70

Bedwell, old valley near.............................. 86

Belpre, Ohio Galley near, description of ............ 30-31

Berlin, old valley near ...... ...................... 72

Big Sandy Eiver, course of ........-....-.._..._..... 15

valley of, description of--...-.----------......... 45

Bojvnocker, J. A., cited on pre-Glacial drainage...- 23 

Cackley Swamps, old valley near.................... 66

California Valley, description of...---....-.......... 57-58

Carnba.old valley near _...._...._ ..._........-.... 66

Campaign Creek, course of .......................... 14

old valley near.................................... 65,68

Campbell, M.B., cited on Little Kanawha River.... 14

Campbell, M. R., and Hayes, C. W., cited on southern Appalachians...--...----.--...--..... 24

Campbell, M. R., and Mendenhall, W. C., quoted on

Kanawha Eiver gorge.................... 24-25

reference to.-.--.-.--------,-----.-----.-..---.... 43

Catastrophic action, modifications caused by....... 92-93

Centerville, old valley near, description of.......... 68

view of..------.-. ---..-.._-.._.---......-.... 64

Chamberlin, T. C., acknowledgments to -....-....-_ 7

quoted oil terraces................_...-. ._..... 88

reference to.------.-.-. ..___...--....-.._..._ 96,104

Chamberlin, T. C., and Lcverett, Frank, cited on

pre-Glacial drainage---------------.------ 17

work of------ --....-.......-..-.-..-....-_.-..- 8

Chauncey,old valley near............................ 67

Cheshire, Ohio Valley near, description of-_-......_ 32

Chester, old valley near.,...-..__-_.--..._.-_.._...._ 62

Chickamauga Creek, old valley near ................ 65

Chillicothe, Ohio Valley near, description of .... 37

.Chillicothe River, course of..........--..... ...... 74-76

Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, elevations on.................................... 10

Page. 

Cliffs at Barboursville, view of...................... 54

atPonieroy, view of......--...-----._.. -..._. 30

on Ohio River, view of........................... 24

Coolville, old valley neai1 ............................. Bl

Crown City, Ohio Valley at, description of -----__ 33

view of .....--.-..------....--_. ...-.-----..... 34

Davis, J. H., cited.on pre-Glacial drainage.......... 18

Deposits, relation of streams to valley floors and-.. 84-88 

Detroit Southern Railway, elevations on............ 11

DicksonFork,old valley near----------------------- 72

Drainage, relation of present to adjacent .-_...__---- 13-17

relationof structure to-...-.---.-...-..-....-.-.- 78-81

Drainage, pre-Glacial, of adjacent region ........... 17-23

Drainage system, reconstruction of old ............. 72-77

Dra inage systems, relations of old and present. 81-84,90-108 

Duck Creek, course of..-.-,..-..-.----............-.. 13

valley of, description of ..--....-.--.-...--_...... 40

Dutch Flats, W. Va., old valley at, view of... ....... 30

Dutch Flats Valley, description of.-----.....-....... 63-65

view of -------..------.-....---..-.-.-.-....--...-. 60

Eagle Mills,deposits near .....---..--.......____...._ 21

Eroding streams, course of.... .................... 92

Erosion, amount of....----.-..--------.-.--..._...... 106

Federal Creek, basin of, location of.'--.-.._...._...._ 16

old valley at head of. ............................. 62

valley of, description of._.-----..-_.--.--....-_-. 41

Flatwoods, old valley at, views of ................... 30,60

Flatwoods Valley, description of Teays Valley and. 50-57 

topographic map of Teays Valley and .......... 50

Fleming, old valley at................................ 59

Fowke, G., cited on deflection on Paint Creek ...... 96

cited on pre-Glacial drainage ..................... 22

quoted on Scioto Valley.....-..--....-..-.-..... 37-38

reference to......--....-._...---.--_........-....- 104

Gallipolis, Ohio Valley below, view of -.._.-.... __ 32

old valley near...-. ................^.............. 65

talusslope near, view of-.---.----. .-.-.----.... 32

terrace near, view of.............-'............... 34

Glacial deposits, discussion of.-..---.-----.-..-.-..-. 90

Grade, changes in, result of _.--...................... 91-92

Guyandot River, changes in.----...---.--....-.-.--.. 55

course of --. . - -. ... - -----...__ . 15

Hamden, old valley near..--...-..... .i_............. 71

Hamilton, drainage changes near ........._....-. _ 33

Harmar Hill, view up Mu'skingum Valley from .... 24

Hartford, old valley near ...-.- .... ._ ..._._. 64

- Hayes, C. W., cited on physiography of Chattanooga

district......--.....--.-...-............ 25

Hayes, C. W., and Campbell, M. R., cited on southern Appalachians..-- --. ..__ ..- _.. 24 

Hay ues, topographic features near.................. 20-21

High-level drainage system, historical relation to

present system........................... 90-108

High-level valleys, descriptions of. ............... 47-72

109
110 INDEX.

Hildreth, S P., quoted on old valley at Barlow..... 58

Hocking, cliffs near, view of..._........__...... 34

Hocking Eiver, course of .......... .............. 13

old valleys at head of ........___-__...... 62

valley of, description of..............._....._ 35-36

Hocking Valley Railway, elevation8 on..... . 11

Hockingport col, description of------__............ 31

Huntington, elevation of peneplain at.... ...._.. 28

Hurricane Creek, drainage changes near.. ...... 55-56

Indigenous streams, courses of........ __.......... 13-17

valleys of, descriptions of. .-.._ ......... 89-47

Jackson, old valley near..,-.--..,__.._--...._..._-.-- 67

James, J. F., cited on pre-Glacial drainage_.... 23

reference to..---.-----..-.....-....-....-......... 104

Jonathan Creek, West Fork of, pre-Glacial course of. 18 

Kanawha Eiver, course of ....................... . 14

course of, changes in .-------.-.-.......-..-.----. 50-53

former course of.-....-...-._..................... 72-73

physiography near ............ ..... ..... 24>-25

valley of, description of..............._........ 43

Kentucky, drainage modifications in parts of Ohio

and, map of............. ...... 74

Keystone, old valley near,description of.-.......... 67

view of....................................^ 64

Kinniconick Eiver, course of ... ..... 16

Lathrop, terrace near, view of ._.................. 34

Laurel Creek, features of valley of......... . 19

Layman, old valley at, description of ..........._. 59

view of- - _ -.- ..- ---....... .. .._ 60

Leading Creek, course of........ ........... 14

valley of, description of.......................... 42

Le'tart, Ohio Valley at, description of..-..---...._.. 31-32

Leverett, Frank, cited on former course of Kanawha

Biver...................................... 72

reference to............. .-...-..-.-..-.... 58

Leverett, Frank, and Charnberlin, T. C., cited on

pre-Glacial drainage--.....-....--..---.-. 17

work of-...-..---.----.--.-------------r ---------- 8

Little Hocking, Ohio Valley near, description of. _ i. 31 

Little Hocking Eiver, course of...................... 14

valley of, description of .-.......--.---_--.... 41

Little Kanawha Eiver, course of.... .--.,......... 14

valley of, description of.------..------..- 40

Little Muskingum Eiver, course of.................. 13

valley of, description of-......-..-.-...._........ 39

view of---.-----------..--..-.-.. ----.----.-... 64

Little Scioto Valley, description of ..--......-.... _ 46

Long Beach, Ohio Valley at, description of--..---.- 29

ravine near, view of..........--...-.--........... 24

McArthnr Junction, old valley near, description of. 71 

view of.....------.--..-------.----------.. 60

Manchester col, Ohio Valley at, view of. ...___... 34 

Margaret Creek, course of,.. -.-.-...-.... ....... 16

old valley near..__......-.-..---.-.--.-...... 69,70

Marietta, Ohio Valley near, description of.......... 30

Marietta Eiver, tributaries of....................... 76

Mendenhall, W. C., and Campbell, M. E., quoted on

Kanawha Eiver gorge -.... ...... 24-25

reference to.-..- .--..-.----------.---.-----... 43

Middle Island Creek, course of ........-.-.-.--..-.-. 13

old gradation plain at mouth of, view of remnant of .................................... 30

old high-level valley on .......................... 30

valley of, description of -..-...--.. --..-.-.-... 39 

Monday Creek, course of........ ........... . 16

Moonville, Eaccoon Creek Valley near, description

of............-...........-.....-.-- . 43

Page. 

Mud Elver, changes in course of ..--..___ ...... 53-55

Muskingum Biver, course of.- . - .._ .... ..... 13

valley of, description of........................... 35

view of, from Harmor Hill ..._.......__ 24

New Martinsville, Ohio Valley near, description of. 29 

Newark Eiver, course of........_....._.......... 18

Old drainage system, reconstruction of--.. . 72-77' 

Old high-level valleys, descriptions of _........... 47-72

Old topographic features, reconstruction of _. __ 77 

Old valleys, views of..-..-........................ 30,60,64

.Ohio, Athens and part of Dover townships, map of. 68 

drainage medications in Hocking, Vinton, and

ad jacent counties, map of................ 70

in parts of Kentucky and,map of _.... .... 74

in parts of West Virginia and, map of-- .. 62 

in Washington County, map of..........._ 58

Ohio Brush Creek, pre-Glacia 1 course of ... ...'... 22 

Ohio River, cliffs at Pomeroy, view of ........... _ 80

cliffs near Hocking, view of...................... 24

course of.......-.....-- .-.._ ... ............. 13

Ohio Valley, features of.............................. 29-35

pre-Glacial basins of upper, map showing ...... 7

view of, at Crown City ......................._ 34

at Long Reach................................ 24

at Manchester col ..................__..._ 34

at Parkersburg--.-._.................._.. 28

at Sisteraville, W. Va ........................ 30

below Galllpolis .............................. 33

below Portsmouth....................._.... 64

Parkersburg, Ohio Valley near, description of __ 30-31 

views of....................................... 28

Pine Creek, course of.-.-- -..._................... 15 .

valley of, description of.... . . _- . 46

Point Pleasant, old valley near .____... ____ 65 

Pomeroy, cliffs at, view of ........ . . _.. 30

.Ohio Valley near, description-of__........__. 33

old valley near, view of ...................... . 60

Porter, old valley near, description of- --. ------ 66

view of __.- ---. ---- - -.- ....._ 64

Portsmouth, Ohio Valley near, description of ----- 33

view of -----. -. .-- ..-- ---.. .- 64

Pre-Glacial drainage of adjacent region ............ 17-23

Present drainage, relation of adjacent drainage to. 13-17 

Racine, old valley near, view of -- .- . ........ 60

Radcliff, old valley near .........'.................... 70-71

Rainbow Creek, drainage changes near. __........ 59

Eaccoon Creek, courseof ...................... 15

Ohio Valley near, description of-.----.--.--..--. 32

terraces on, views of . _ _ -.. - . - 34 

valley of, description of ........................ 43-44

Bays Eun, old valley along .......................... 62

Ridge road, view of ............................... 64

Eio Grande, old valley near. ...-...-. .-.-.._..-.- 65

Baccoon Creek Viilley near, description of-... 44

Eiver systems, relation of old and present ,-..-. 81-84

Biver valleys, present, characteristics of........... 39-47

Bodney, old valley near, description of------ .... 65

view of....--.--- ..---.------ --.... 64

Boxbury, old valley near ...._............... 60

Bush Creek, Bast Fork of, pre-Glacial course of 18 

St. Marys, Ohio Valley near, character of ---------- 30

Salina Plains Valley, description of .... t ........ 67-70

Salisbury, B. D., reference to......................... 96

Salt Creek, glacial deposits and topography of valley of...................................... 19-22 '

Sardis, ravine near, view of.---.--..--... ,. ..-... 24 

view from ridge near......---... _- . .- 28
INDEX. Ill

Page. 

Scioto Brush Breek, course of .__.................. 17

Scioto River, course of _-_--...-_.__.._--.._..----..-_ 13

valley of, description of ._.................. . 36-38

Sciotoville, Ohio Valley near, description of ........ 33

Shade River, basin of, location ot.................... 14

valley of, description of......-....--..--.'........ 42

Shelving rock near Syracuse, view of __..__.._--.... 30

Silt cliffs at Barboursville, view of .................. 54

Sistersville, Ohio Valley at, view of .... ........._ 30

Slack-water conditions, cause of.................. 95-97

Streams, relation to valley floors and deposits....._ 84-88

Streams, aggrading, course of ....................... 91-92

Streams, eroding, course of .......................... 92

Streams, indigenous, courses of ..................... 13-17

valleys of, description of__._........._....... 39-47

Streams, through-flowing, courses of ............... 13

presen t valleys of, characteristics of ............ 29-39

Stockdale, old valley, near................... .__ 57-58

Structure, relation of drainage to......_......__._.. 78-81

Sunday Creek, old valley of. ........_...... ...... 67

Symmes Creek, course of ........ ....... ...... 15

valley of, description of........___. _..__ 45

Syracuse, shelving rock near, view of.......... .. 30

Talus slope near Gallipolis, view of . ..... 32

Teays Valley, deposits in...._.._._.........__.... 98

description of Flatwoods Valley and ......... 50-57

topographic map of Flatwoods Valley and...... 50

Terraces, discussion of ............................... 88-90

Page.

Tertiary base-level, old topography of, view of. 2fi 

Tertiary peneplain, view of...........-.....--...- 26

Through-flowing streams, course of. __...__..,... 13

present valleys of, characteristics of ....._.--... 39-39

Tight, W. G., cited onpre-Glacial drainage......... 18,23

Toledo and Ohio Central Railway, elevations on.... 10

Topographic features, reconstruction of old . _.... 77

Torch, old valley near, description of .-.-.....--..-. 60-61

view of-..--.---...-_._ __....__-..-_...__-.-. 30

Tuppers Plains, old valley near.__...____.._-_._____. 61

Tuscarawas River, pre-Glacial course of............ 18

Valley floors, relation of streams to deposits

and........................................ 84-88

Valleys, old high-level, descriptions ot.............. 47-72

Valleys, rivur, characteristics of-- -................ 29-47

Vinton, old valley near. .. ..--.. .......-....... 70

"Watertown, old valley near, description of...-....- 59

"Wellston, old valley near ................._........ 71

West Virginia, drainage modifications in parts of

Ohio and, map of ........................ 62

"Wheelersburg, Ohio Valley near, description of.... 33

old valley near........-..-....----..-.......-.-... 57-58

White, I. C., reference to.................._.......... 50

Wilkesville, old valley near..___......._...... 70-71

Willis, Bailey, cited on Northern Appalachians.... 24

Wolf Creek, course of................................ .16

valley of, description of....--...._-.-..-...--.... 40 

Wright, G. F., reference to ...................... 19,50,104

o
PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

[Professional Paper No. 13.]

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual Reports, 

(2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers. (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral Resources, (6) Water-Supply 

and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of the United States folios and separate sheets 

thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of the United States folios thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 

are sold at cost, of publication; the others are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists 

may be had on application.

The Bulletins, Professional Papers, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety of subjects, 

and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified into the following series: 

A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, Systematic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; B, Chemistry and physics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; 

I, Irrigation; J, Water storage; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M. General hydrographic 

investigations: N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P. Hydrographic progress reports. This 

paper is the twenty-sixth in Series B, the complete, list of which follows. (B=Bulletin, PP=Professional Paper, WS=Water-Supply Paper.)

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY.

B23. Observations on tlie junction between tlie Eastern sandstone and the Keweenaw series on Keweenaw Point,

Lake Superior, by E. D. Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1885. 124 pp., 17 pis. 

B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by J. S. Diller. 1886. 23 pp. (Out of stock.)

B 39. The upper beaches and deltas of Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1887. 84 pp., 1 pi. (Out of stock.) 

B40. Changes in river courses in Washington Territory diie to glaciation, by Bailey Willis. 1887. 10 pp.,4 pis. (Out

of stock.)

B 45. The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by E. T. Hill. 1887. 84 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 53. The geology of Nantucket, by N. S. Shalcr. 1889. 55 pp., 10 pis.

B 57. A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 49 pp., 2 pis. 

B58. The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Onn, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by G. F. Wright, with

introduction by T. 0. Chamberlin. 1800. 112 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.)

B 67. The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the New Jersey region, by N. H. Darton. 1890. 82 pp. 

B104. Glaciation of the Ycllowstone Valley north of the Park, by W. H. Weed. 1893. 41 pp., 4 pis. 

B 108. A geological reconnaissance in central Washington, by I. C. Eussell. 1893. 108 pp., 12 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1894. 72 pp., 4 pis. 

B137. The geology of the Fort Riley Military Eeservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1896. 35 pp., 8 pis. 

B144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits,.by J. E. Todd. 1896. 71 pp., 21 pis. 

B 158. The moraines of southeastern South Dakota and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd, 1899. 171 pp., 27 pis. 

B 15§. The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B. K. Emerson. 1899. 139 pp., 9 pis. 

B165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212 pp., 14 pis. 

WS 70. Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern Wyoming and western

Nebraska, by G. I. Adams. 1902. oO pp., 11 pis.

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake Eiver Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Eussell. 1902. 192 pp., 25 pis. 

PP 1. Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introdiictory sketch of the geology of

southeastern Alaska, by A. H. Brooks. 1902. 120 pp., 2 pis.

PP 2. Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A. J. Collier. 1902. 70 pp., n pis. 

PP 3. The geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J. S. Diller and H. B. Patton. 1902. 167 pp.,

19 pis. 

PP 10. Eeconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, bv way of DalT, Kanuti, Alien, and Kowak

rivers, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1802. 68pp., 10 pis. 

PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. 1903. 298 pp., 8 pis. 

PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Eansome. 1903. 168 pp., 37 pis.

PP 13. Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, by W. G. 

Tight. 1903. Ill pp., 17 pis.

APRIL, 1903. i 

9653 No. 13 03 8
LIBRARY COPY

OF:

u. s.

AREA VIINEL RES»«yRCE OFFICE