DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WATER-SUPPLY

AND

IRRIGATION PAPERS

OP THE

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

No. SO

WATER RESOURCES OF THE LOWER PENINSULA 

OF MICHIGAN. LANE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1899
IRRIGATION REPORTS.

The f ollowhig list contains the titles and brief descriptions of the principal reports 

relating to water supply and irrigation, prepared by the United States Geological

Survey since 1890:

1890.

First Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890; octavo, 123 pp.

Printed as Part II, Irrigation, of the Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1888-89i Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a preliminary report on the organization and prosecution of the survey of the arid lands for 

purposes of irrigation, and report of work done during 1890.

1891.

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 395 pp.

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Report of the United States 

Geological Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the arid region 

and of the engineering operations carried on by the Irrigation Survey during 1890; also 

the statement of the Director of the Survey to the House Committee on Irrigation, and 

other papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. Illustrated by 29 plates 

and 4 figures.

Third Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 576 pp.

Printed as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1890-91. Contains " Report upon the location and survey of reservoir sitet during the 

fiscal year ended June 30, 1891," by A. H. Thompson; " Hydrography of the arid regions," 

by P. H. Newell; and " Irrigation in India," by Herbert M. Wilson. Illustrated by 93 plates 

and 190 figures.

Bulletins of the Eleventh Census of the United States upon irrigation, prepared 

by F. H. Newell; quarto.

No. 35, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, 

Irrigation in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; No. 153, Irrigation in 

Montana; No. 157, Irrigation in Idaho; No. 163, Irrigation in Nevada; No. 178, 

Irrigation in Oregon; No. 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; No. 198, Irrigation in Washington.

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin No. 

23, September 9, 1892; quarto, 22 pp.

Contains tabulations showing the total number, average size, etc., of irrigated holdings, 

the total area and average size of irrigated farms in the subhumid regions, the percentage 

of number of farms irrigated, character of crops, value of irrigated lands, the average cost 

of irrigation, the investment and profits, together with a resume of the water supply and 

a des_cription of irrigation by artesian wells. Illustrated by colored maps showing the 

location and relative extent of the irrigated areas.

1893.

Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-92, Part 

III, Irrigation, 1893; octavo, 486 pp.

Consists of three papers: "Water supply for irrigation," by P. H. Newell; "American 

irrigation engineering" and "Engineering results of the Irrigation Survey," by Herbert 

M. Wilson; and "Construction of topographic maps and selection and survey of reservoir 

sites," by A. H. Thompson. Illustrated by 77 plates and 119 figures.

A geological reconnoissance in central Washington, by Israel Cook Russell, 1893; 

octavo, 108 pp., 15 plates. Bulletin No. 108 of the United States Geological 

Survey; price, 15 cents.

Contains a description of the examination of the geologic structure in and adjacent to 

the drainage basin of Yakima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the east of 

this area, with special reference to the occurrence of artesian waters.

1894.

Report on agriculture by irrigation in the western part of the United States at the 

Eleventh Census, 1890, by F. H. Newell, 1894; quarto, 283 pp.

Consists of a general description of the condition of irrigation in the United States, the 

area irrigated, cost of works, their value and profits; also describes the water supply, the 

value of water, of artesian wells, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State 

and Territory in order, giving a general description of the condition of agriculture by irri 

gation, and discusses the physical conditions and local peculiarities in each county.

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1893-93, Part 

II, Accompanying papers, 1894; octavo, 597 pp.

Contains papers on "Potable waters of the eastern United States," by W. J. McGee; 

"Natural mineral waters of the United States," by A. C. Peale; and "Results of stream 

measurements," by F. H. Newell. Illustrated by maps and diagrams.

(Continued on third page of cover.) 

IKR 30
DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOK

WATER-SUPPLY

IRRIGATION PAPEES

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

]STo. 3O

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICIJ 

1899
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL StJEYEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIBECTOK.

WATER RESOURCES

OF THE

LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

BY

ALFEED 0. LANE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1899
CONTENTS.

Paga

Letter of transmittal...__.._--_-_.__...__..._.._._____._.................. 9

Various uses of water.......__ ... _..........._....._.................... 11

Uses where quantity is important-.........----.------....-.---....--- 12

Transportation on the Great Lakes.---..---.--.--....-..-.--_...-. 12

Navigation on the smaller lakes and rivers ........... ........... 13

Log driving .--._..__.___.._._.__--.-,.-_._....__._...._....____-_ 13

City uses-...__.__.._____..__._..__._.__..__.__.___.....___...._-. 14

Uses where head is important-.....-------------.-..-.-.--.-..-..--._. 17

Water powers in Michigan.................... .............. ..... 18

Report on the run-off and water power of Kalaniazoo River, by

Robert E. Horton........................................... 22

Geology and topography................_..................... 22

Rainfall and meteorology..-.--..-..--.---..-.--..------..._.. 26

Relation of lake level to rainfall...... ...--....-.--.... . ----- 29

Run-off, rainfall, and water power............................ 30

High water at Kalamazoo.-----------....-.-..-.-..--.......-. 35

Water power................. i._--..-.........- .............. 37

Water power of Huron River..-.-.-------.. -........-.-.-. ... 38

Developed power..................-.-._...-.-...-.---..--.--. 39

Undeveloped power..... ....-..-.,.--..,-----...-.......---.-- 41

Waterpower of Raisin River....------------- .-.........--....- 41

Uses where quality is important....... .----.-...-..----.--..--.-..-. 41

Drinking..................................._._................. .. 41

Inorganic impurities.-..-.------..---...---.--------...--- ... 41

Organicimpurities... --------..--.-.-.---.-.----...----.-..-.. 42

Dairy use .......................-.....-.....--.........._,.--..--- 43

Cooking, laundry, boilers..-.-.. -..._.----.--.---..--.-.....-.--.-. 44

Sugar-beet industry _...,.....................--.--............-. 46

Photography and other uses..... . -..---. -..--.---.-.---.---...---- 46

Quality and quantity compared-.... ...... ---...---.---.-----.-..-.- 47

Climate--.---.-.-............_............-..__......_..................- 48

Long-period variations in rainfall-.--.------------.------..--.-__.---- 54

Short-period fluctuations in water level..... ----------._.--.-.-------- 55

Well temperatures..--..........-.._..----.- --.....--..----..---...-.- 56

Superficial geology and topography....._.--.---..--_-.----...---..-...-.. 57

General description -.--............------.-.-.-----.-----.----.-_---. 57

Lakes of Lower Michigan..........._-.-......---...--...-.._--.----.. 64

Wells in the Pleistocene ..-.._.._....._._------------..--.-.-.-.....-- 67

Methods of sinking wells .--.--------........--..-----.---.--.---- 69

Eastern shore district-----.--------------.--.------- -.--_-...---.---.- 70

Saginaw Valley district... _.-........-.---..---..--_.--.----.-------- 71

Northeastern shore district - ..----....------.-------^.---------------- 73

Western shore district.--...-.-..-- ..-..---...-.__- -...-...--.--.--. 75

North central district.-.------ -.-..-.-..-.-.......,...-.-----.-----.-. 76

5
6 CONTENTS.

Page. 

Superficial geology and topography Continued.

Saginaw moraine district .......................... ................... 76

South central district........... ..-........------.....-.-._--.--.---. 77

Deeper wells and Paleozoic stratigraphy. _......__.._._.___.-.-..----.-.-,. 77

Carboniferous formation...............---.--..-.......,---.-_......... 78

Jackson coal measures to Marshall sandstone._-.--.--.-.---.-...- 78

Carboniferous and Devonian shales ----..-----.-.-------.----.-----_-- 84

Lower Marshall sandstone ..--..-.--......_..-.---..--_.------.--. 84

Coldwater shales ......._.-...---- --.-.-..--.-.-.-.-_..-...---. 84

Berea shale and grit.......-.-.-..------...-.--..---.-.----------- 84

St. Clair black shales................................. ........... 85

Lower Devonian and Upper Silurian limestones.......-..-_----..--.._ 86

Traverse series (Hamilton) ----.-.--.-...---.-----..-..,.-._-.--.- 86

Dundee limestone (Upper Helderberg) __-_.._..----.---...-. -._.. 87

Monroe and Salina beds (Lower Helderberg)... -...------...-.-.. 88

Niagara and Clinton formations --------,---.---...----..--.--.--- 89

Hudson Eiver and Utica shales ...-....-_.-.----...-.......------_ 89

Trenton limestone ............ ................... .................. 90

Eockstructure and topography ..-_-.-.._-----.........-----.-.-..--. 90

Prospects of rock wells .............--..----.---..-..-....-.--.......- 91

Northern limestone district.. .....-..--..--------.-.---..----- _-. 91

Northern shale district...-......--..-.-.--.-------.-._-.---...... 92

Coal basin....---.-......._-..----- .......--.--.--..--.--.--.-..- 92

Sou them shale district............ ....-....-....--..--.--.-.---.. 92

Southeastern limestone district..-...----,--..---...-------....---. 94

Acknowledgments.,.....,.........._. ...........^-....,- ................ 94

Index .... ....__.__...... ----.----------..-..-..-.-. _. 95
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

PLATE I. Topographic mapof Lower Michigan........._...........-...-- 16

II. Map of the Pleistocene deposits. ................................ 46

III. A, Clinton boring apparatus; J5, Field of onions in drained-lake

bottom--------_.-_.----.__.------_--._----.--.-.---,...----- 54

IV. Dutch Point sand spit, Grand Traverse Bay.-..._..,...----.... 66

V. Barrier Beach connecting Empire Bluffs and Sleeping Bear

Point, Lake Michigan ..---...-..-...-..--- .................... 76

VI. Geologic map of Lower Michigan, indicating also the topography of the rock surface............. .................... . - 78

VIL Index map of towns, indicating those where there are flowing

wellsand waterworks--.___-------------..------..---- ----- 90

FIG. 1. Fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan and the [annual precipitation at Kalamazoo, Michigan. -...-...---..--.. ..--------...--. 28

2. Distribution of average minimum temperature in Michigan ....... 50

3. Distribution of average maximum temperature in Michigan..._.-. 51

4. Distribution of average mean temperature in Michigan........... 52

5. Distribution of average annual precipitation in Michigan._....... 53

6. Sketch map of the drainage of Lower Michigan....-.-....._.----. 61

7. Diagram illustrating methods of stream capture.^................ 63

8. Profile near Rose City, Michigan....-.........--.,.-...--...-.... 68

9. Diagram illustrating evils of insufficient casing...-----..-..---.-- 72

10. Cross section of the Lower Michigan Basin ..... .....^............ 79

11. Section of well at Midland, Michigan.--......--.-.---..---.------ 82

12. Geological column of Huron County, Michigan........-..-.-.---- 85

13. Section of well at Charlevoix, Michigan ......................... 87

14. Map showing areas of shallow saline waters in Michigan......-..- 93

7
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

DIVISION OF HYDROGRAPHY,

Washington, April 14, 1899.

SiR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript on the 

Water Resources of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, by Dr. Alfred 

C. Lane, and to recommend that it be printed as one of the series of 

Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers. This material is a portion of the 

outcome of Dr. Lane's studies in connection with the geological survey of the State of Michigan, supplemented by statements received in 

reply to circulars sent throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan 

to well drillers and others likely to be well informed and interested 

in the subject. The facts thus gathered have been collated with the 

result of two months' field work during the autumn of 1897. The 

complete report has assumed such bulk that it has been found necessary to divide it into several parts. The first of these, containing 

the general conclusions, is herewith presented. The remaining data 

fall naturally into two classes, the first consisting of analyses of 

waters and the second of detailed descriptions of the supply at various localities visited. It is hoped that these data may be printed as 

succeeding papers of this series.

Very respectfully, F. H. NEWELL,

Hydrographer in Charge. 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United States Geological Survey.

9
WATER RESOURCES OF THE LOWER PENINSULA OF

MICHIGAN.

By ALFRED C. LANE.

VARIOUS USES OF WATER.

The region under consideration is generously endowed with water 

supplies, but it is apparent from experience elsewhere that these may 

be wasted or seriously depreciated in value by carelessness or lack of 

knowledge of their extent and limitations. It is a common error to 

suppose that if the limit to the supply of anything is not clearly in 

sight that the supply is inexhaustible; for example, the "practically 

inexhaustible " supplies of pine of the Saginaw Valley of thirty years 

ago are now nearly gone, and instances are cited of the sale of privileges of catting the stumps on land already cut over for sums greater 

than the tracts originally cost. "Inexhaustible supplies" of natural 

gas have failed; and, in short, it may be said that there is hardly a 

natural resource whose quantity or quality has not seriously deteriorated through lavish use.

In many parts of the United States formerly as well watered as 

Michigan there has been apparently a shrinkage of water supply. 

The streams which at one time carried considerable volumes of water 

throughout the year are now reported to be, during summer at least, 

nearly dry. Flowing wells have failed in many regions, either from 

faulty construction or from the multiplication of deep borings. In 

order, therefore, that it may be possible not only to utilize the water 

resources of the area under discussion to the fullest possible extent, 

but also to guard against causes of failure, it is desirable to bring 

together all of the information available, combining the facts and 

drawing broad conclusions.

Although the uses of water are almost infinitely varied, yet all kinds 

of water are not equally available for all purposes. The wide range 

in the quantity of water and in its quality leads to an equal diversity 

in application; for example, Michigan, as a whole, being humid, water 

has little value for agriculture, irrigation being practically confined 

to the use of water from city supplies applied to lawns, flower beds, 

and rarely to fruit trees and market gardens. On the other hand,

11
12 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [No. 30.

although water is so abundant consideration must be paid to its quality; that is, to the amount and kind of organic or inorganic matter 

held in solution or suspension. Another matter of primary importance 

is the elevation of the water with reference to possible fall, or, in other 

words, the head available. Upon this latter feature depends whether 

it can be used as a source of power or whether power must be consumed in raising it.

For certain uses practically the only thing desired is abundance 

of supply; for example, such city uses as fire protection, flushing 

sewers, and cleaning streets. The head required is generally obtained 

artificially. Only in exceptionally favored localities, such, for example, as those close to the edge of the moraine country on the lakeward 

side, is there head sufficient to obviate the use of pumps. This is the 

case in Hart, T. 15 K, R. 17 W.; Rochester, T. 3 N., R. 11 E.; and 

Rose, T. 24 N., R. 3 E.

There are other uses, however, in which quality is the first consideration ; as, for instance, cooking and drinking. Finally, as a source 

of power water must, of course, have head.

Thus the different sources of supply and the different uses have been 

classified, so that one may see at a glance the more important factors 

in a given use and the sources which best meet the requirements. 

. The most difficult problems to solve, however, are those where many 

needs are to be met by one system; where, as in a supply for a city, 

it is frequently necessary that ample quantity for fire protection and 

hose use should be combined with at least a good degree of organic 

purity for drinking purposes and, if possible, with sufficient purity 

from lime and inorganic salts to be available for laundry use and for 

boilers. Such cases require special consideration and often present 

very complex problems.

USES WHERE QUANTITY IS IMPORTANT. 

TRANSPORTATION ON THE GREAT LAKES.

The great extent of shore line and the use of the waters of the 

State for transportation require some notice, especially in their bearing 

on other water uses. Michigan is more cut up by the Great Lakes than 

any other State, having some 1,600 miles of shore line, and the commerce on the Lakes is growing at a remarkable rate. The commerce 

past Detroit is greater than that past any other port in the world 

The harbor master of Sand Beach estimates that a boat passes within 

sight every five minutes, day and night.

If commerce increases in the future as in the past, it may be doubtful whether the Great Lakes, and rivers like the St. Clair and Detroit, 

independent of the question of sewage emptied into them, will be sufficiently free from organic impurities to be available for city water 

supplies. At present the Great Lakes are the source of the water supply of most of the cities and towns on their shores.
LANE.] USES OF WATER WHERE QUANTITY IS IMPORTANT. 13 

NAVIGATION ON THE SMALLER LAKES AND RIVERS.

On many of the larger inland lakes, in which Michigan is so rich, 

and on some rivers tugs have been employed, mainly for pleasure or 

for towing logs. The lower parts of the rivers are used for harbors. 

Along the west shore, as at Manistee, Ludington, and Frankfort, the 

lower reaches of all the rivers are practically lakes. These lakes are 

separated from Lake Michigan by sand bars, which often have to 

be cut, after which the lakes make good small harbors. In this way 

Charlevoix Harbor has been connected with Pine Lake by a short cut, 

and Cheboygan is located on a river the mouth of which serves as a 

harbor. In the part of the State lying between Traverse City and 

Cheboygan it has been possible, with some artificial aid, to establish 

an extensive system of inland navigation. It may be noted, too, that 

for a long distance from its mouth the Saginaw River and its various 

branches are practically at lake level. In fact the watershed between 

the Grand River and the Saginaw, near Ashley, is only about 87 feet 

above the lake level, so that if, as has been suggested, a canal were 

to be built to cut off the long northern voyage by the Straits of Mackmac from Chicago and Milwaukee, it would be far easier to construct 

it along this line than any other. On the Michigan side Grand River 

is navigable nearly to Grand Rapids. Besides Saginaw River up to 

St. Charles, the mouths of Black River at Port Huron, of Thunder Bay 

River at Alpena, and of Huron River are used for short distances. 

Transportation by boat has, however, been checked along Saginaw 

River and other streams by their extensive use for the transportation 

of logs, to say nothing of the fact that they are very crooked.

LOG DRIVING.

A glance at the map will show that the branches of the Saginaw 

diverge in every direction, from north-northeast to east-northeast, and 

they have served to transport the pines to Saginaw and Bay City. For 

miles along their course the rivers have been packed solid with logs. 

Lumbermen's dams have been constructed along the headwaters, 

their object being to accentuate and regulate the floods. The Saginaw Valley has now, however, been converted into farming country, 

and Saginaw has its city water supply which, fortunately, is not much 

used for drinking from these rivers. In considering the use of the 

Saginaw and its branches for such purposes the fact must not be forgotten that for a large part of the year they are stagnant water, with 

the current setting up and down with the changes in the wind and in 

the level of the bay, and that they are lined with rotting logs. It is 

no wonder that the analyses of such streams show much organic matter. There are all along the shores of the peninsula, at the mouths 

of the more important streams, towns of considerable size which 

obtained their start as sawmill towns and which are, or were, supported
14 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

by the occupation of turning the logs floated down to them into 

merchantable lumber. The size of such towns is roughly proportional to the drainage area of the streams which furnish them their 

raw material and supply them with harbors.

CITY USES.

One of the most important uses of water is as a protection against 

fire, and this use has, indeed, called into existence most of the city 

water supplies. Many towns e. g., "Weston (T. 8 S., R. 3 E.) and 

Grayling (T. 26 N., R. 3 W.) now have their water supply in this 

first stage of development.

Michigan towns are invariably built of wood, at least at first, and 

even the largest cities are composed chiefly of wooden buildings. 

Fire protection is consequently essential to the existence of the cities. 

Saginaw, Cheboygan, Ontonagon, and Bad Axe are but a few of the 

towns that have been devastated by fire. For fire protection the prerequisite is an ample supply of water. The necessary head is nearly 

always obtained artificially, partly by the use of steam pumps and 

partly by fire engines. A few of the smaller towns have sufficient 

natural head.

To insure an ample supply of water the fluctuations of level of the 

water surface must be taken into consideration, and not merely the 

seasonal fluctuations, but, if the Great Lakes are drawn on, the sudden fluctuations to which they are peculiarly subject. The Saginaw 

River and its branches, as has been said, are at lake level and subject to these fluctuations, the current running sometimes upstream 

and sometimes downstream. As the present waterworks are 

arranged, the water for both East and West Saginaw is taken from 

settling basins, and on at least one occasion, in the fall of 1895, 1 the 

level was lowered dangerously near that of the intake pipe. If water 

should fail in the midst of a fire like that which, on May 20, 1893, 

in a few hours destroyed property to the value of $650,000, the city 

would be practically destroyed. There is more than a mere chance 

of this coincidence, for, as will be shown later, low water may be 

caused by strong southwest winds. Such warm, dry, strong winds 

are likely to occur. In fact, such a wind is said to have been blowing 

50 miles an hour at the time of the fire just mentioned. If a dam 

were built across the river so as to check the reversal of its current, 

it would not only guard against this danger but would prevent the 

carriage of the sewage of the city into the water supply. The water 

of the regular supply at Saginaw is not fit to drink unless it is boiled 

or filtered, and the city has drilled 29 wells to the underlying sandstones in order to obtain water suitable for drinking.

The possibility of retreat below the level of intake is probably the 

only danger to be guarded against in the use of lakes and rivers for

1 See Annual Report of Water Board of East Saginaw, 1896, p. 10.
CITY USES OP WATER. 15

water supply for fire protection. The fluctuations of mean lake level 

have been about 7 feet during the century. To allow for exceptional 

low water due to strong winds, it would be well to have intake pipes 

at least 10 feet below high-water level.

Almost all kinds of wells are likely to fail to satisfy the demands 

of the large towns, and one hears continually, in towns that are supplied from wells, of steps taken to procure more water. Often where 

the water supply is from wells, as at Mount Pleasant, the plant is 

so arranged that in fire emergency use may be made of some additional 

body of water for supplementary supply. But in such a case the 

water should be taken through a filter gallery, as otherwise there will 

be constant suspicion and complaint that the engineer is substituting 

the inferior supply, which of course he should not do without warning.

However, the demand on a public water supply is very heavy, and 

in this demand the use of water with the garden hose, the only 

form of irrigation prevalent in Michigan, is no inconsiderable factor. 

Almost universally where a city water supply exists it is used with 

hose upon lawns and gardens. This use is generally lavish, though 

not infrequently checked somewhat by regulations limiting the use 

to certain hours, prohibiting the use of sprinklers all night, etc. 

Thus, in Saginaw, where the city water supply is little used for 

drinking, an average of 6,678,651 gallons a day were pumped in the 

year ending February 29, 1896, which, for a population of 45,000 

(18,000 users), is more than 148 (371) gallons per capita, a quantity 

much larger than has been considered necessary in England, viz, 30 

gallons a day per capita; and, as we have just said, well water is 

very largely" used for domestic purposes. In East Saginaw, in the 

same year, 313,705,672 gallons were pumped in June and July, against 

263,225,916 in April and May (hours of fire pressure 26| to 18), while 

in West Saginaw the corresponding figures are 158,018,960 and 

132,089,771 (hours of fire pressure 14 to 13), showing an increase of 

nearly 20 per cent in summer use, largely through the use of garden 

hose. Besides these there are other considerable city uses flushing 

sewers and urinals, washing sidewalks, windows, and streets, running 

water motors, etc. For all these the quality of the water is comparatively unimportant. Indeed, the very sewage matter which renders it 

unfit for drinking, and the sulphates and carbonates of lime which render it less available for laundry and boiler use, are an advantage, 

rather than otherwise, when sprinkled on gardens. The difficulty in 

city water supply arises in the antagonism of these two classes of uses 

those which demand an indefinitely large supply regardless of quality, 

and those which require a high degree of purity. Michigan cities 

usually consume 100 to 200 gallons a day for each inhabitant. The 

introduction of meters would result in some saving. The use of garden hose is often lavish and in violation of rules. The use of a meter 

should be compulsory where garden hose is employed. Unfortunately,
16 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OP MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

the need of quantity has too often been considered alone, and even 

the most rudimentary precautions for purity have been neglected.

West Saginaw takes its water direct from the river, under a dock 

close to the heart of the city and near a large sewer, the settling tank 

being 75 by 22 feet and the river current variable. The water is of a 

muddy-green color, with a good deal of bark floating around in the 

tank. Alma takes water from a mill race 300 feet above a sewer. 

There is no protection to the banks of the stream above. Both of 

these places, however, use almost exclusively for drinking purposes 

water from deep wells which comes under clay and is therefore safe. 

In Saginaw it is said that the salt water from the deeper wells has 

found its way into some of the shallower rock wells and contaminated 

them, and the waste bitterns go into the river. But individual wells, 

however numerous, are not an ideal supply for a large town, with the 

running here and there to neighbors, the possibility of some wells 

being too shallow to be safe, and the liability to contamination from 

dug wells. The Saginaw is so sluggish a stream that it is practically 

a pond. A plant situated as far up as the East Saginaw plant, therefore, if the banks were bought for a "riverside park" and protected 

for a few miles, and if the reflux of water from the lower river were 

prevented, especially if there were a gravel bed instead of decaying 

planks between the settling tank and the river, might furnish a fairly 

satisfactory water supply; but one would probably not have to go 

far not beyond Vassar to secure an ample and pure supply in sandstone. Analyses of these waters will be given in a later paper. Most 

of the other large cities are supplied from the Great Lakes, and seem 

to find no objection to that source, though Chicago's experience shows 

that there is a possibility of danger to be guarded against.

Many towns, however, like Rochester, Birmingham, Hunt, Petoskey, 

Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, Bay View, and Cheboygan have found a 

sufficient supply in deep wells, and most towns of the State could be 

thus supplied if they were willing to give up the use ^or garden hose, 

motors, etc. The construction of a large reservoir to meet the extra 

heavy demand of summer might be feasible. One practicable way 

would be to limit the use of garden hose to a short time each day, 

during which time the reservoir or some inferior filtered source of 

supply could be drawn upon. It is an advantage of this plan that 

the efficacy of a gravel filter bed is immensely increased if it is not 

continuously in use.

The use of water in our Michigan towns is extravagant, and the 

difficulty of securing a proper quality is correspondingly increased. 

For example, Bay City, with a population of about 33,000, besides 

the supply from wells, in 1896 used 197 gallons a day, about 5 per 

cent of which was through manufacturing meters, 5 per cent through 

domestic meters, and the rest at fixed rates. The special water supply committee of the city council of Traverse City, 1897, George W,
U. S.GEOLOGICAL SU RVEY WATER SUPPLY PAPER No.30 PL.I.

/

^' srtMirs of 

.-> H

TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE

LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

PREPARED BY

ALFRED C.LANE ASSISTANT STATE GEOLOGIST

FROM RAILROAD PROFILE SAND BAROMETRIC DATA

Scale of miles

O 1O 20 3O 40 6O

1898.

S

3 I EMMET t

2 CHEBOYGAN

3 PRESQUEISLE

4 ALPENA

5 MONTMORENCV

6 OTSEGO

7 CHARLEVOIX

8 ANTRIM

9 LEELANAW 

IOBENZIE

11 CRANDTRAVERSE

12 KALKASKA

13 ORAWFORD 

I4OSCODA

15 ALCONA

16 IOSCO

17 OGEMAW

IS ROSCOMMON

19 MISSAUKEE

20 WEXFORD

21 MANISTEE

22 MASON

23 LAKE 

24-OSCEOLA

25 CLARE

26 GLADWIN

27 ARE NAG

28 BAY

29 MIDLAND

30 ISABELLA

31 MECOSTA

32 NEWAYGO

33 OCEAN A 

34MUSKEGON

1.35 MONTCALM

36 GRATIOT

37 SAGINAW

38 TUSCOLA 

38 HURON

40 SAN I LAC

41 ST. GLAIR

42 LAPEER

43 GENESEE

44 SHIAWASSEE

45 CLINTON

46 IONIA

47 KENT

48 OTTAWA

49 ALLEGAN 

60 BARRY

51 EATON

52 INGHAM

53 LIVINGSTON

54 OAKLAND

55 M AGO MB

56 WAYNE

57 WASHTENAW

58 JACKSON

59 CALHOUN

60 KALAMAZOO

61 VANBUREN

62 BERRIEN

63 CASS

64 ST.JOSEPH

65 BRANCH

66 HILLS DALE

67 LENAWEE

68 MONROE

vA
LANE.] USES OF WATEE WHERE HEAD IS IMPOETANT. 17

Rafter, consulting engineer, figured upon supplying 100 gallons a day 

to a population three times the present. This is one of the most 

carefully studied of recent propositions and the report compares a 

number of typical city sources of supply.

USES WHERE HEAD IS IMPORTANT.

The use of water for motive power depends not only on the quantity, but also on the head. The total energy is expressed by the 

product of these two. There are two widely different conditions 

under which water is thus used. The one is where the head is first 

artificially obtaine'd and the water is raised by pumping. In such 

cases the water acts merely as a distributor of power. In this way 

water is used in many of the cities and towns, running motors for 

light machinery, especially for elevators. The chief advantages are 

that it is ready at hand, quiet, noiseless, odorless, not dangerous, and 

convenient in every way. There is, however, considerable loss of 

head in narrow and crooked pipes, and it is not the most economical 

method of transmitting power, while the extra quantity of water 

needed makes the attainment of desirable quality far more difficult. 

Electricity may be expected to relieve our water systems of much of 

this burden of power transmission. The other use is where natural 

water power is utilized. In respect to natural water power, Michigan 

is much better situated than many adjacent States, though there are 

no very large streams except the international Detroit and St. Clair 

rivers, which are not dammed.

A large area, both in the northern and southern part of the State, 

is more than 1,000 feet above tide, or say 400 feet above lake level. 

It will be noticed, too, from the contour map (PL I) and from fig. 10 

that the descent from the 1,000 to the 700-foot contour line is frequently quite rapid, and here is a great belt of water powers.

In a few cases, as at Traverse City and around West Branch, flowing wells furnish such a volume of water as to be of considerable 

power. Around West Branch and Rose City such wells distribute 

water into the second stories of the houses, and at Traverse City, as at 

Harbor Springs, it has been proposed to use part of the water in a 

hydraulic ram to elevate the remainder.

But the head of flowing wells is of most importance in saving the 

power, windmill or steam, which would otherwise be required to elevate the water.

There are also many lakes and these chiefly in the highest parts 

of the State which help to steady the flow of the streams by acting 

as reservoirs, though many of them are quite variable in their water 

stage. For instance, Clam Lake, near Cadillac, is said to have 

varied more than 16 feet. Thus conditions are quite favorable to the 

development of water power in streams, and small water powers, 

suited for village waterworks, electric-light plants, country sawmills 

30 2
18 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

and gristmills, etc., are widely distributed along the edge of and in 

the morainal areas. Almost uniformly wherever, as explained later 

(p. 63), the earlier high-level Glacial drainage has been captured and 

diverted by streams which have worked back across the moraines, 

good sites for water powers may be found, though thus far the abundance of fuel and the relatively heavy first cost of waterworks improvements have retarded their development somewhat.

WATER POWERS IN MICHIGAN.

The following table of places where water powers have been observed 

or reported is doubtless very incomplete. More complete accounts 

are given of the two important regions which have been studied in 

greater detail. The southeastern part has been studied in connection with the Tenth Census, and Kalamazoo River has been studied 

by Mr. Robert E. Horton. It must not by any means be inferred 

that the Huron and the Kalamazoo are, from the importance given 

to them, the most important water-power streams of the State. They 

are merely those of which the most is known, and the study of the 

Grand River system, and others equally important in the northern 

part of the State, would require more time and money than have been 

allotted to this paper.

Water powers in Michigan. 

LAKE ERIE DRAINAGE.

Stream.

Raisin Eiver ...........

Huron River ...........

Do.................

Do.................

Do.................

Do.................

Tiffin River..... .......

Location of power.

Few above Adrian ....

Dexter to Ypsilanti,

mainly. 

Ypsilanti (5-foot fall) . .

Pettibone mills, Milford

Below Hudson.----...

Remarks.

See Report on Water Powers,

Tenth Census. See also Winchell, Geology of Washtenaw 

County, 1881, p. 19. 

Water power for waterworks

pumping station. 

Grist mill. About 10-foot fall.

Underwear factory.

Paper mill.

Small.

DETROIT RIVER DRAINAGE.

River Rouge (Ecorce

River).

Northville ...._....... Above Plymouth; small flow,

considerable fall.

LAKE ST. GLAIR DRAINAGE.

Clinton River .......... Rochester .--.__--_--. Ahovp TTtncft are rnimprotis

small powers.
LANE.] WATER POWERS IN MICHIGAN. 19

Water powers in Michigan Continued. 

ST. GLAIR RIVER DRAINAGE.

Stream.

Belle River. ,.__._._-.__

Mill Creek .............

Black Elver.. ...___. ...j

Location of power.

Below Yale _.___..__._

Remarks.

Poor power; a stream of diminishing drainage area; swamps 

being cleared and summer 

drought becoming accentuated.

THUMB OF MICHIGAN.

Alien Creek.

Willow River.. 

Pinnebog River

Pigeon River.

Rock Falls.

Huron .......

Near Popple.

Above Wolfton

10-foot head; not much water; 

abandoned.

Abandoned.

Not used; drainage area growing, but the swamps are being 

cleared.

Not used.

SAGINAW RIVER DRAINAGE.

Do.................

Do....... ..........

Flint River _-_.____---.

Shiawassee River. _.....

Do.................

Pine River.. ..._._..--.

Do......--.-.-.--.

Salt River.. ______--_...

Tobacco River __._.....

Caro ..... ..-_--.--..

Vassar ................

Flint to Columbiaville

OWOSSO .------.--..-..

St. Louis and Alma, up

to Millbrook.

*

Mount Pleasant ......

Barryton . ...........

Farwell and Clare. ....

age and sandy course. 

Undeveloped.

4-foot fall.

Good power near Flint.

10-foot fall.

At St. Louis dam; at Alma a

dam with 10-foot head helps 

run elevator and waterworks. 

15-foot fall runs waterworks,

electric-light plant, and elevator. 

Dam; 8-foot fall.

Very sandy and sluggish, except

at head waters.
20 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

Water powers in Michigan Continued. 

LAKE HURON DRAINAGE NORTH OP SAGINAW RIVER.

Stream. Location of power. Remarks.

Rifle River......

Houghton Creek. 

Au Gres River ..

Rose City.

Au Sable River.

Do... .........

Thunder Bay River.

Cheboygan River...

Especially through 

the stretch from 

MiotoT. 24 N., R. 

6E.

Grayling __._....___..

Alpena. Numerous...

Long Rapids to Hillman.

Oqueoc River . _ 

Sturgeon RiverRainy River....

Sec. 3, T. 34N..R. 1 E.

Good mill stream.

10-foot dam.

Small stream, with considerable 

valleys and fall where crossing the 200-foot contour line.

Splendid water powers; unused, 

largely fed by springs, with 

a comparatively small flood 

plain.

Dam.

Brodwell's mills and Trowbridge's mills.

Little fall.

Mill.

Probably some powers; rock 

banks.

Pigeon River.. 

Mulletts River Wolverine to Trowbridge.

LAKE MICHIGAN DRAINAGE.

Bear River .. 

Boyne River

Elk River ...

Duck Lake.......

Boardman River

Carp River......

Betsie River

Do. ....

Petoskey ... 

Boyne Falls.

Elk Rapids .

Outlet.

Weldon Township 

Benzouia ...._-...

Ingalls mills.

Other similar small streams to 

southwest.

Wing dam and undershot 

wheel; put in as early as 1850; 

note the very large lake drainage; steady power.

9-foot fall; 60-70 horsepower 

used.

Variable; near Traverse City 

20-foot head; flow in drought 

about 100 cubic feet a second. 

See p. 31.

Outlet of Carp Lake; 5 to 6 foot 

fall.
LANE.] WATER POWERS IN MICHIGAN. 21

Water powers in Michigan Continued. 

LAKE MICHIGAN DRAINAGE-Continued.

Stream.

Crystal Creek ..........

Manistee River. .-...-..

South Branch ..........

Little Manistee River . .

Big Sable River ........

Notepseakan River. ....

White River ... --..-.

Muskegon River .......

Do.................

Crockery Creek ........

Rabbit River. ..........

Kalamazoo River. ..-.-.

Coldwater River .......

Hog Creek .............

Fawn River. ...........

Grand River ..........

Flat River .............

Rouge River ......---..

Bear Creek. . .... ..." ....

Apple Creek ............

Do.................

Thornapple River ......

Do.................

Cedar Creek. ....... _ _ _ .

Do.................

Buck Creek ............

Grand River. ..........

Do.................

Do.................

Location of power.

"WPTTTJI v jyn

Near Burrows ........

Cannon,T.8N.,R.10W

Caledonia, T. 5 N., R.

10W. 

Alpine, T. 8 N.,R.12W

Cascade,T.6N.,R.10W

Ada...................

Grand Ledge ....... .

North Lansing. .......

Eaton Rapids.. .......

Remarks.

minishing; numerous small 

mill sites; quite variable. 

Rapid fall below Tustin.

30-foot fall; large stream; steadied inflow by lakes and 

springs; furniture factories, 

etc.

See report by Robert E. Horton,

pp. 22-38.

35-foot fall between here and

at Lowell.

200-foot fall in 12 miles.

mill sites in eastern part. 

Fine water power.

Good mill stream.

Factories. There are numerous

small powers among the headwaters of the Grand. 

9-foot fall. Also a dam at South

Lansing.
22 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

Water powers in Michigan Continued. 

LAKE MICHIGAN DRAINAGE-Continued.

Stream. Location of power. Remarks.

Grand River.... 

Paw Paw River.

Jackson -._..__.....

Almena, T. 2 S., R 13 W

Dams; about 10-foot head.

Spring Brook, one of the headwaters, has 18-foot head running a saw and feed mill, about 

821 cubic feet a day; lowers 

5 or 6 inches a day, but fills up 

over night. The brook starts 

in a big spring 1 mile away 

and passes through two lakes. 

Adjacent brooks furnish similar powers of local value.

REPORT ON THE RUN-OFF AND WATER POWER OF KALAMAZOO RIVER.

By ROBERT E. HORTON.

GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The Kalamazoo River rises in the south central part of the Lower 

Peninsula of Michigan and flows in a northwesterly direction, debouching into Lake Michigan 3£ miles below the village of Saugatuck. Its 

current is slow, averaging about 3 miles an hour, and its slope uniform, there being no waterfalls and no considerable rapids except at 

two points, at each of which there occurs a descent of 3 or 4 feet within 

a distance of a few rods. The river flows through a rich agricultural 

region, in a valley from one-fourth of a mile to 2 or 3 miles in width, 

backed by low hills or sloping gently to the upland. The flat lands 

in the valley are often flooded and serve largely as permanent meadows through which the river winds, often in a very tortuous manner. 

Two branches unite at Albion to form the main stream. The total 

length from the point of juncture to the outlet is 101 miles.

In respect to the climate, topography, and run-off of its watershed 

Kalamazoo River may be considered as typical of the larger streams 

of southern Michigan, including the Grand, the St. Joseph, and the 

Raisin, all of which find their sources within a few miles of each 

other and of the Kalamazoo. The drainage area covers 1,750 square 

miles overlaid with Pleistocene deposits. The surface formations are 

distributed about as follows: Morainal ridge and glacial drift covers 

between 25 and 45 per cent of the watershed; clay-loam till plains, 25
LANE.] EUN-OPF AND WATER POWER OF KALAMAZOO RIVER. 23

to 35 per cent; overwash valley train deposits of the ice drainage, 35 

to 45 per cent. The latter lies chiefly in the middle and upper portions of the watershed, underlying short tributaries with swamp drainage. The clay-loam till plains form basins for lake storage, but give 

small flow from ground storage. The surface soil is diversified. 

Gravel, clay, and loam, mixed with sand, alternate in relatively small 

areas. 1

Between Albion and Augusta, a distance of 34 miles, the main river 

channel lies between parallel morainal ridges deposited by the east 

wing of a reentrant cusp of the ice front which had at one time 

worked back step by step from the Indiana line. Between Kalamazoo 

and Plain well the river channel cuts through the more northerly of 

these parallel ridges. The Valparaiso moraine and Covert ridge, running parallel to the above and to the lake front, are similarly crossed 

below Otsego.

The main river below Kalamazoo largely follows lines of pre-Glacial 

drainage. In the upper portion of the watershed the tributaries, 

which are numerous and ramify extensively, generally disregard the 

morainal contours in their courses, while the main stream follows them 

closely. There is a fall of from 12 to 20 feet, within a distance of 

about a mile, at the point of discharge of a number of tributaries, 

furnishing excellent water powers at points where the extent of the 

flats prevents dams being built on the main river.

The depths in feet, as determined from deep borings of the drift 

sand and shale deposits underlying the river channel at various 

points along its course, are as follows: 2

Sections below channel of Kalamazoo River.

Place.

Albion.....-....-... ..- -

Marengo ___ __ ___ _ -.

Marshall-.-.---.--. ___ .-..--

Battle Creek -._ _.__ ._...-

Kalamazoo ... _ .........._...

Allegan.. ---.........-- .... ..

 Distance 

from 

mouth of

stream.

Miles. 

101

93

88.8

75.5

52.1

32.5

Depth of 

glacial 

drift.

Feet. 

10

60

70

70

130

260

Depth of 

sand rock.

Feet. 

271

200

43

43

(&)

75

Depth of 

blue shales 

below sand 

rock, a

Feet.

100

200

327

320

(&)

770

a As far as measured. b Together, 1,070 feet.

The line of the supposed outcrop of the bottom of the Marshall sandstone crosses the watershed in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction, intersecting the river channel below Battle Creek.

1 See effect of drift upon topography and drainage, by Frank Leverett: Seventeenth Ann. 

Bept. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II, pp. 706-711.

2 The geology of Lower Michigan with reference to deep borings: Geol. Survey Michigan, 

VoL V, Part II.
24 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

There are, within the catchment basin, a large number of small lakes 

and spring hollows, in which water stands part or all of the time. 

Many of these have no surface outlets and feed the stream only 

through seepage or ground flow, a large portion of their waters being 

consumed directly by evaporation. Each of these lakes drains an 

area varying generally from six to twelve times its own area, and 

their combined catchment reduces materially the area directly tributary to the river. The following table shows the relative number and 

area of tributary and nontributary lakes within the watershed in the 

four counties having the largest tributary drainage: 1

Tributary and nontributary lakes in the watershed of Kalamazoo River.

County.

Calhoun .........

Jackson . . . . .....

Kalamazoo ......

Allegan...... ._..

Drainage 

of river.

Sq. miles. 

486. 63

148.5

273.5

637.

Number 

of tributary lakes 

over 3^ 

mile in 

diameter.

58

21

39

65

Area of 

tributary 

lakes.

Sq. miles. 

3.69

1.29

5.29

6.59

Number 

of nontributary lakes 

within 

drainage 

area.

47

38

31

25

Area of 

nontributary lakes.

Sq. miles. 

2.95

0.32

2.25

.64

It will be seen that most of the lakes are tributary. About 1£ per 

cent of the drainage area is lake surface. Probably 5 or 6 per cent 

drains into nontributary lakes.

The surface of the watershed is rolling. Prairie, swamp, and hilly 

stretches alternate at short intervals. Many lakes and a considerable area of swamp lands have been made to yield their waters 

directly to the stream through drainage. 2 To what extent the diminution of lake and swamp storage and of forested areas for the purposes of agriculture has been detrimental to the flow of the stream 

and to its value for water power can only be inferred. The oldest 

mill owners and water-power users strongly maintain that the river 

yields less power than formerly, holding that the flow is less uniform 

and the volume appreciably smaller than in pioneer days.

1 These data have been obtained chiefly from atlases of the various counties.

2 The problem of swamp drainage has been carefully studied. Peppermint and celery are 

largely grown on drained areas. See Michigan Engineer's Annual; Drainage engineering, by 

B. 0. Carpenter: Proc. Michigan Engineering Society, 1882, pp. 40-48; Drainage of large marshes, 

by C. E. Hamilton: Proc. Mich. Eng. Soc., 1884, pp. 15-19; Reclamation of swamp lands, by 

O. H. Todd: Proc. Mich. Eng. Soc., 1894, pp. 57-66.
LANE.] RUN-OFF AND WATER POWER OF KALAMAZOO RIVER. 25

The distribution of cultivated, forest, meadow, and swamp areas 

in the watershed is as follows: 1

Character of watershed of Kalamazoo River.

Per cent. 

Improved tilled land, including meadow and grass in rotation------_______- 60

Permanent meadows, pastures, orchards, etc_ ......,.........-...-..--..,.. 7

Woodland and forest. .......................^............................ 11

Undetermined, including waste swamp, lakes, building plats, villages, etc.. 22

Total......-.-._._._--...--.-........................................ 100

The character of the vegetation is an important factor in determining the proportion of rainfall on a watershed which reaches the stream 

as run-off during the summer months. The distribution of the principal crops grown and the number of inches of water they will 

require on the entire watershed during the growing season, are shown 

in the following table:

Distribution of crops in the watershed of Kalamazoo River.

Crop.

Wheat ..----.--.... ...----.--.-..

Corn _.,__-_------_____--.--_--_---

Oats __.___._._.______..___.._._____

Bye........ ........................

Potatoes .......... ..._-...--- ....

Beans .....^..... ....... .. .......

, Hay... ............... ........ '......

Gardens, barley, millet, mint, etc. . .

Entire 

watershed 

covered in 

1896.0

Percent. 

11.2

8.0

4.0

3.3

0.7

1.7

6.9

10.0

Water required during growing 

season. &

Inches. 

10.8

13.3

16.6

9.1

4.6

4.6

20.5

c!5.0

Water required on 

the entire 

watershed.

Inches. 

1 2

1.1

0.7

0.3

0.03

0.08

1.4

1.5

a From Farm Statistics of Michigan, 1896, issued by the secretary of state, Lansing, Michigan, 

1896, may be taken as an ordinary year.

6 After Bisler's data. See Report of State Engineer and Surveyor of New York for 1894, 

pp. 373-377.

c Average.

The length of the growing season has been taken as one hundred 

days, including the months of June, July, and August, and part of 

September. The average date of the first heavy or killing frost varies 

in different localites of the watershed. The limiting dates will usually 

be between September 25 and October 10. The inches of water 

required on the entire watershed has been obtained by multiplying 

the depth required by each crop by the percentage of the wliole area 

covered. Comparing these with the former data the following amounts 

are obtained as the water requirements of vegetation during the growing season of an ordinary year.

1 Deduced from acreage data given in census of Michigan, 1894, Vol. II, Table I.
26 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

Inches. 

Leading crops on tilled area -_____._ ____..__---_._.---___-_-.--------.-_ 6.6

Permanent meadows, etc -._._._.._-_______.._-----.------_-...-.-----_---- 1.1

Woodland and forest, 11 per cent at 4 inches..--.-...-.----.---.--.._ ..... 0.4

Add for areas not otherwise included_..__ _.______._...._....._..---_-_._ 8.0

Total depth required by vegetation.... _.....................---_-.-..---. 11.1

RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY.

In order to obtain the true mean rainfall of the watershed it would 

be necessary to have long contemporaneous records at stations uniformly distributed throughout the region. Rainfall records have 

been maintained within the Kalamazoo watershed at the stations, and 

for periods shown in the following table. Column 5 gives the average 

yearly rainfall at the station multiplied by the percentage of the 

entire watershed, which it may be fairly said to represent. In this 

way the mean annual rainfall of the entire"watershed is found to be 

33.87 inches. Toward the mouth of the stream the depth of the 

annual rainfall increases several inches.

Rainfall on watershed of Kalamazoo River, (a)

1

Station (proceeding downstream).

Hanover ...._....._....

PulasM ...............

Concord ..............

Olivet .. ..............

Marshall -._...--.......

North Marshall .......

Battle Creek ..........

TCflrlnnuiTiOo

Allegan .-.-._-........

2 

Years.

1886-1896..--

1888-1891. .

1888-1892...--.

1888-1892, 1896.

1881-1892......

1889-1896......

1876-1880, 1885,

1895,1896. 

1876-1896 .......

1890-1896... ...

3

Mean 

annual 

rain and 

melted 

snow.

Inches. 

32.89

28.54

29.39

33.16

35.70

30.28

29.18

36.45

35.75

4 Proportion of 

watershed represented 

by each 

station.

Per cent. 

3.33

4.16

5.56

12.22

6.39

3.75

11.22

20.40

32.97

5

Rainfall 

on entire 

watershed for 

each 

station.

Inches. 

1.10

1.19

1.63

4.00

2.28

1.14

3.35

7.42

11.76

6

Probable 

annual 

fluctuation. 6

Inches. 

JLA. 2

3.8

2.8

4.5

2.0

4.3

4.4

4.0

4.2

a The meteorological data used in this report have been supplied by Mr. C. P. Schneider, director Michigan weather service, 

b Deduced from the records in accordance with the theory of probabilities by Peters's formula.

Inasmuch as the rainfall at a station for any year can not be less 

than the mean by an amount exceeding 100 per cent, but may be 

more than 200 per cent of the mean, one would expect to find slightly 

more dry years than wet years in a long rainfall record. Out of eighty 

yearly records used in the table, thirty-nine were above the station 

means and forty-one were below. The twenty-one year record at 

Kalamazoo showed twelve years below and nine years above the
RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY KALAMAZOO REGION. 27

mean The fluctuation from the mean for dry years, or, in other 

words, the severity of the drought, will be less than the average 

fluctuation from the mean for wet years, in proportion as the number 

of dry years is greater than the number of wet years. The variability 

or probable fluctuations of rainfall, in inches, for any single year 

above or below the mean is shown in column 6.

The best record of rainfall within the watershed is that at Kalamazoo, covering twenty-one years, from 1876 to 1896, inclusive. The distribution of the monthly rainfall and the temperature throughout the 

year at Kalamazoo are shown by the following table. The heaviest 

rainfall occurs in the months of May and June, but that in August 

is most variable. This is probably due to the prevalence of thunderstorms during that month, which is also a month of high mean 

temperature. January has the lowest mean temperature, the least 

precipitation, and the least variability.

Monthly rainfall and temperature at Kalamazoo.

Month.

January. .. _ _ ... .....

February

March .......--..........._.._.

April ----------_-------.-.-.---

May ... _ ............... __ ..

June _____.....-...-_ --..--.-..

July ...........................

Augnst _ --.---------.--..-.---..

September -_-__-.-..___--.-_---

October .........._.............

November..-------. .......... .

December ..._..._............_.

i

Mean 

monthly 

rainfalland 

melted 

snow.

Inches. 

2.24

2.40

2 42

2.63

4.47

4.58

3.15

2.79

3.36

2.76

2.97

2.70

36.47

2

Proportion of the 

mean 

yearly 

rainfall.

Per cent. 

6.2

6.6

6.7

7.2

12.3

12.6

8.6

7.6

9.2

7.5

8.2

7.3

3 

Probable 

fluctuation 

above or 

below the 

mean for a 

single year.

Inches. 

0.63

0.92

1.01

1.21

1.02

1.35

1.15

1.46

1.31

0.90

0.88

1.12

4.03

4

Mean 

monthly 

temperature at Kala,- 

mazoo. a

0 F. 

23.08

25.45

32.15

46.95

58.58

68.35

72 17

69.64

61.73

50.34

37.03

28.19

47.9

a 1876 to 1895.

The data in the above table accord well with the observed character 

of the stream, which is usually about as follows: A spring freshet in 

March or April is followed by medium water until June. High water 

often occurs for a few days after heavy rains in June, and sometimes 

also in August. Low water in later July, August, and September is 

accompanied by a depletion of stored ground water. Gradual increase 

in the flow occurs until the ground becomes frozen. Winter flow is
28 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [>o.30.

uniform and moderate, unless the stream is swelled by sudden melting of snowfalls. This frequently occurs in January or February, 

and is followed by moderate high water until the spring thaws.

In so far as the meteorological records at the different stations 

within the watershed are contemporaneous, they show a tendency for 

like variations from the mean rainfall and temperature at all stations 

during the same year. The region may therefore be considered fairly 

isoclimatic, since changes affecting any large portion of the watershed 

will in general similarly affect the whole region.

2.0 

3.0 

4.0 

5.0 

6.0 

7.0 

8.0 

9.0 

10.0

1.66

 

1.33 jj

1.00 5

fe 

0.66 7

1.33 >

FIG. 1. Fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan and the annual precipitation at Kalaruazoo, 

Michigan. (Prepared by R. E. Horton.)

The yearly rainfall record at Kalamazoo is shown by the solid line 

in the accompanying diagram (fig. 1). It will be seen that the yearly 

fluctuations from the mean annual rainfall are periodic in their occurrence. The ordinary cycle consists of a primary minimum followed 

by a period of increase for one to three years, and terminates in a 

primary maximum followed by a period of decrease for four or five 

years. This latter has a secondary superimposed cycle with its minimum and maximum usually one year apart. The times of recurrence 

of the different phases of the cycles thus far observed are shown in 

the following table:

Periodic rainfall at Kalamazoo.

Phase.

Primary minimum ._ ___.____.

Prinmry rna-H rnnm

1

1877

1879

1888

6 or 7

2

1882

1885

1886

1887

6

3

1888

1890

1892

1893

7

4

1895

1896

A fifth minimum may be expected about 1901.

Rainfall records at other stations within the watershed do not cover 

a sufficient number of years to determine whether there is a similar
RELATION OF LAKE LEVEL TO RAINFALL. 29

periodicity in the rainfall throughout the watershed, nor are there 

gaging data at hand to show whether a corresponding periodic decadence takes place in the stream flow. If such should prove to be the 

case, the fact should be of commercial value to farmers and waterpower users. The existence of a short rainfall cycle following such a 

regular periodic law is worthy of remark. Periodic fluctuations in 

rainfall having cycles of greater length than the above have been 

observed at various places in this country and abroad. At Sacramento, California, a forty-year rainfall record exists showing a six or 

seven year cycle as at Kalamazoo. 1 Many long records show no regularly recurring cycles, but in all cases which the writer has observed 

two or more successive dry or wet years occur with much greater frequency than would be the case if the sequence of wet or dry years 

were purely a matter of mathematical calculation. As a safe conclusion it may be said that certain meteorological conditions underlying 

rainfall tend to recur in more or less obscure cycles. It seems not 

improbable that the causes of such cycles are general in their application; and their apparent effects in many instances are masked by 

local or secondary conditions. The final solution of the problem will 

have an important bearing on questions relating to the water resources 

of any region.

RELATION OP LAKE LEVEL TO RAINFALL.

Observations of the height of the water surface of Lake Michigan 

have been made since 1800. In the absence of longer rainfall records 

within the watershed any relation that may be found to exist between 

the rainfall and the lake levels will be helpful in studying the runoff. The different kinds of fluctuations to which the water level of 

the lake surface is subject may be classified in relation to the causes 

producing them, as follows:

(1) Small tides, which at Chicago the United States Lake Survey 

found to have an amplitude of 1£ inches for neap tide to 3 inches for 

spring tide.

(2) "Seiches," so called, similar to those observed on Swiss lakes, 

and not thus far satisfactorily explained. They consist of small waves 

or pulsations having an interval of about ten minutes from impulse 

to impulse and apparently recurring without cessation. 

(3) Temporary fluctuations, due to the wind. Colonel Whittlesey 

states that on August 18, 1848, a gale from the northeast reduced 

the water level at Buffalo 15£ feet lower than on October 18, 1894, 

the time of a terrible gale from the southwest.

(4) Annual variations, caused chiefly by differences of temperature 

and evaporation and by the melting of snow and ice. On Lake 

Michigan low water usually occurs in November and March. The 

highest water occurs in June and July.

i See climate, soil, characteristics and irrigation methods in California, by Charles W. Irish.: 

Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agric., 1895,
30 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

(5) Secular variations, covering periods of'several years, dependent 

on rainfall and meteorological conditions. The length of the periods 

is irregular and the times of recurrence of maximum and minimum 

phases can not be predicted closely. Knowing the mean annual levels 

for a series of years we may expect a similar series in the future, but 

with the times of the different phases very different. The number of 

maxima and minima within a given interval of years will, however, 

be nearly uniform for long series. 1

On the accompanying diagram (fig. 1) the height, in feet, of the 

water surface of Lake Michigan, above or below the mean level (viz, 

581 feet above tide) is shown, by a broken line, for a period of twentyone years, 1876 to 1896, inclusive. It will be noticed that the lake 

levels are subject to a much greater relative fluctuation than is the 

rainfall. The two curves follow each other somewhat closely, although 

the periods are longer and more continuous for the lake levels. The 

year 1896 is exceptional in that it shows the lowest lake level recorded, 

while it was the year having the highest recorded rainfall at all stations 

within the watershed except Kalamazoo, where it was third in rank for 

twenty-one years. There is reason to believe that the level of Lake 

Michigan and the rainfall and the run-off of the watershed are covariants. Exceptional years can be ascribed to high summer temperature, 

producing luxuriant vegetation and excessive evaporation, so that little rainfall appears as run-off, or else the distribution of the rainfall 

through the year may be unfavorable to its reaching the streams and 

lake as run-off. The former was apparently the case in 1896. Careful inquiry from power users showed that within the Kalamazoo 

watershed there was a much greater shortage of water in the river in 

1896 than in 1897, a year of considerably lower rainfall and mean 

temperature during the summer months. The mean rainfall at six 

stations in the watershed in 1896 was 41.9 inches, or 8 inches above 

the average.

RUN-OFF, RAINFALL, AND WATER POWER.

In studying stream flow it should be borne in mind that the amount 

of rainfall appearing as run-off in a given year is the resultant of a 

large number of more or less independent influences. Conditions 

may so combine that those factors which would ordinarily be in the 

background will in some instances become the controlling elements. 

Few, if any, rules without exceptions can be laid down, and each 

stream must be studied separately in all its relations.

1 The following references have been consulted In relation to lake levels: 

(a) Chart of Fluctuations in the Level of the Great Lakes, by Charles Crosman, Milwaukee, 

Wisconsin.

(6) Climate of the Lake region, by Bela Hubbard: Pop. Sci. Monthly, January, 1888.

(c) Water-supply of western division of Erie Canal, by George W. Rafter: Report State 

Engineer and Surveyor of New York, 1896.

(d) Report United States Deep Waterways Commission: Washington, 1896.

(e) Reports of Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army.
LANE.] RUN-OFF, RAINFALL, AND WATER POWER. 31

The following table shows the discharge of the Kalamazoo watershed corresponding to different percentages of the mean annual rainfall appearing as run-off in the stream:

Relation between run-off and discharge of Kalamazoo River,.

Proportion of mean 

annual rainfall appearing as run-off.

Per cent.

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

Depth of run-off on 

entire watershed.

Inches.

37.26

33.87

30.48

27.09

23.7

20.31

16.92

12.53

Mean discharge of 

the stream.

Second-feet.

4,803.2

4,366.5

3,929.8

3,493.1

3,056.5

2,619.9

2,183.3

1,646.7

The discharge of the Kalamazoo River was measured at a number 

of points along the stream during the spring high water of March, 1898.

Discharge of the Kalamazoo River at the Marengo dam, March %3,1898.

Flow over dam and wasteweir.............. .. ............second-feet.. 456.8

Diverted for power purposes.--.-.----------.--....--.-...... ......do.... 113.

Total discharge..................__......-.--- ..__......do.... 569.8

Drainage area above dam _._.____.__.___.__._..___..____..square miles.. 261.

Discharge per square mile........._.............--....-..second-feet.. 2.18

The depth of water flowing over the crest of the dam on March 23 

was 15 inches. The height for maximum flow, which occurred on 

March 22 and lasted only a few hours, was 24 inches. This would 

have corresponded to a total discharge of about 930 cubic feet per 

second, or 3.5 cubic feet per second per square mile of drainage. We 

may compare this flow with that of Boardman River at Traverse 

City, a stream having a drainage area of 295 square miles. The river 

was measured on April 10, 1897, by Mr. George W. Rafter, and was 

at that time carrying about 300 cubic feet per second, or slightly over 

1 cubic foot per second per square mile. Mr. Rafter shows that the 

flow of Boardman River undoubtedly may be as low as 100 cubic feet 

per second for two successive months, and that it may not yield more 

than 75 cubic feet per second, or about one-fourth of a cubic foot per 

second per square mile, for a period of a few days. 1

1 Water Supply of Traverse City, Michigan, by George W. Rafter and F. H. Northrup, city 

engineer, 1897.
32 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

Discharge of Rice Creek at Marshall, Michigan, March 23, 1S9S, 1 mile above point

of confluence with Kalamazoo River. 

Discharge over dam,............................... ..........second-fee^.. 25.

Diverted for water power....................... .... ..............do.... 125.

Tributary drainage...... ._.__.________.__..__._._._..... ....square miles __ 99.

Discharge per square mile........_........._......_......--.. second-feet.. 1.5

Discharge of Battle Creek at Battle Creek, Michigan, March 24,1898.

Discharge over dam.........._.............-......-.....-....second-feet.. 253.3

Diverted for water power..-...._.......-.---.--..-._.-...-..--....- .do.... 75.4

Total discharge ................................ ..............do.... 328.7

Tributary drainage..... ......................... --------....square miles.. 180.

Discharge per square mile _.....-_..........._-.....-.....--.second-feet.. 1.8

The discharge a day or two previous was somewhat greater, although 

at that time there was an extensive flood on the flats between the point 

of measurement and the confluence of Battle Creek with Kalamazoo 

River.

Discharge of Kalamazoo River at Battle Creek dam March 24,1898.

Discharge over dam....... .................,..._.-.---.--.second-feet-. 648.6

Diverted for water power.........____._._._..........--.----.--. do.... 459.3

Total discharge....-------.-.............................. .do.... 1,107.9

Tributary drainage area .------...--,...--..-.-..-.-. ....square miles.. 510.1

Discharge per square mile. --..-..---....-----.--------.--- second-feet.. 2.17

Combining the two preceding measurements we get 1,436.6 cubic 

feet per second for the discharge of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo River 

at Battle Creek. This, with a total tributary drainage area of 690.1 

square miles, gives 2.08 cubic feet per second as the discharge per 

square mile of drainage area.

Discharge of Kalamazoo River at Otsego, March 26,1898. 

Discharge over dam........................................second-feet.. 234.8

Diverted for water power _-..-....-......_...-...----_.-._.......do.... 1,669.1

Total discharge ....._...... ..........-..-.-...--..-..-.----do...- 1,903.9

Tributary drainage area___._.--.__-.----.-_-..---._-. ..square miles.- 1,600.0

Discharge per square mile .................. ^............. .second-feet.. 1.2

For purposes of comparison a measurement of Grand River was 

made at the North Lansing dam.

Discharge of Grand River at North Lansing dam April 9, 1898. 1 

Discharge over dam..... ..........-......_---------.-----.second-feet.. 642.

Diverted for water-power purposes ....... ..... ...-.---...-----.do.--- 560.

Total discharge ............................... ............do.... 1,202.

Approximate tributary drainage area -.._-..--_-.. _ .... square miles. . 1, 168.

Discharge per square mile ..--..-..-.....-...-.-....-.... . .second-feet. . 1. 02

This was at a time of medium water when the depth of water on the 

crest of the dam was but 14£ inches. At the time of maximum high

1 Probably too small, owing to impossibility of getting precise data regarding capacity of all 

water wheels in use.
LANE.] DISCHARGE OF KALAMAZOO WATERSHED. 33

water in later March the depth of water on the crest of the dam was 

shown by the water marks to have been 29 inches. This would correspond to a total discharge of about 2,365 cubic feet per second, or 

2.0 cubic feet per second per square mile of drainage area.

The preceding measurements, made at different points along the 

stream at nearly the same time, show about the flow that may be 

expected in Kalamazoo River at ordinary high water. The flow per 

square mile apparently gradually decreases as the tributary area 

increases. The low flow of Battle Creek may be due to a large proportionate area of lake storage, gathering the flood waters to be yielded 

as run-off at a later period.

The high-water flow exhibited by the gagings was preceded by heavy 

rainfalls and high temperature, as shown at several stations, within 

the watershed, in the accompanying table:

Meteorological conditions at stations on Kalamazoo River, March, 1898.

Station.

Olivet ............

Hanover ... _ ....

North Marshall . . . 

Battle Creek ......

Kalamazoo .......

Precipitation.

March 

10 to 13.

Inches. 

3.38 

1.07 

.91 

1.35

1.01 

1.27

March 

18 to 21.

Inches. 

1.61 

.55 

1.94 

1.50

.47 

1.12

March

24 to 38.

Inches.

0.48 

1.10

.78

.51 

.52

Total 

for 

month.

Inches. 

6.16 

3.57 

3.83 

4.21 

2.32 

3.21

Greatest rainfall in 

24 

hours.

Inches. 

2.02 

1. 

1.44 

1.50 

.51 

.80

Day of heaviest rainfall.

10 

28 

20 

18 

26 

19

Temperature.

Maximum 

daily.

°F. 

67 

70 

69 

69 

69 

69

Minimum 

daily.

10 

1 

1 

10 

8 

1

Mean 

daily.

o Tjl

38.8 

38.2 

36.5 

38.9 

39. 

37.2

No snow fell during the month. On March 1 the ground was covered with about 9 inches of packed snow. This melted rapidly, and, 

as the ground was frozen, appeared almost entirely as run-off during 

the month.

IRR 30 3
34 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN, [so. 30 

Depth of snow on ground at stations on Kalamazoo River, March, 1898. (a)

Station.

Somerset ,__.-._...__......___

Olivet-..--...-... ............

Battle Creek ....... ........

Kalamazoo. ....._............

Hastings .....................

Average depth. .........

Average daily melting _

Station.

Olivet........................

Battle Creek .................

Kalamazoo-----......-. ......

Hastings .....................

Mar.l.

Indies. 

9.0

11.0

5.0

12.0

8.0

9.0

Mar. 6.

Inches. 

4.0

5.0

0.5

8.0

4.0

4.3

1.3

Mar.2.

Inches. 

8.0

10.0

5.0

12.0

8.0

8.6

0.4

Mar. 7.

Inches. 

3.0

4.0

0.0

0.5

2.5

2.0

2.3

Mar. 3.

Inches.

7.0

8.0

4.0

12.0

7.0

7.6

1.0

Mar. 8.

Inches. 

1.0

3.0

None

1.0

0.8

1.2

Mar. 4.

Inches. 

6.0

7.0

3.0

10.0

6.0

6.4

1.2

Mar. 9.

Inches.

1.0

Trace

Mar. 5.

Inches. 

5.0

6.0

3.0

10.0

5.0

5.6

0.8

Mar. 10.

Inches.

0.0

a At sunset of each day.

There are no precise data at hand relative to the low-water flow of 

the river. By careful inquiry from power users it was found that in 

nearly all cases a shortage of water occurs for from two to six weeks 

in the months of July, August, and September. At such times the 

flow is insufficient to supply the water wheels now in use to their full 

capacity, and is less than the amount of water shown as being diverted 

for power purposes at the time the measurements were made. This 

would be expected from the rainfall records. The following table 

shows the lowest recorded yearly rainfall at stations in the watershed. 

As the minimum observed rainfall at a station decreases as the length 

of the record is extended, years may be expected to occur in which 

the rainfall will not exceed that at Kalamazoo in 1894, or 71.5 per 

cent of the mean, as shown in the table. This would be 25.43 inches 

for the entire watershed, using our previously derived mean of 33.87 

inches. 'For the years 1888 and 1889 the total rainfall at Kalamazoo 

was but 56.53 inches. The rainfall for August frequently falls below 

0.1 inch, and in 1889 the combined rainfall for July, August, and 

September was but 3.89 inches. If the flow from full ground water 

were 2 inches a month it would undoubtedly have been depleted 

in such a drought so as not to exceed three-fourths of an inch in 

a month. As little or no rainfall reached the stream directly, the
LANE.] EXTENT AND DURATION OF HIGH WATER. 35

run-off in the summer of 1889 must have fallen as low at least as 0.7 

cubic foot per second per square mile.

Years of least recorded rainfall at stations on Kalamazoo River.

Station.

Pulaski... .--._.._._...._____

Battle Creek ...............

North Marshall ......_.....

Hanover .-.--_.._.-....,...

Marshall ...^... ............

Kalamazoo. .................

Number of years' 

record.

4

5

7

8

8

9

11

21

Year of 

least 

rainfall.

1889

1888

1895

1879

1894

1888

1889

1894

Rainfall 

in lowest 

years.

Inches. 

24.20

24.17

26.95

20.20

22.73

25.30

28.1

26.07

Per cent 

of mean 

annual 

rainfall 

at station.

85.0

81.8

75.3

74.8

75.0

76.9

78.7

71.5

HIGH WATER AT KALAMAZOO.

The extent and duration of high water at Kalamazoo is shown by 

the following data relative to the height of the river surface during 

floods at that place. At the township line, 2 miles below the city of 

Kalamazoo, the elevation of the bottom of the river bed is the same 

as at the Gull street bridge within the city, there being practically no 

fall in the river in that distance. As a result, the current is extremely 

sluggish, and a portion of the city is subject to frequent floods. The 

muck-covered river flats within the city are extensively devoted to 

the cultivation of celery. The annual spring flood is productive of 

little damage, but when floods occur during the summer months they 

result in a heavy loss to the celery growers and also tend to produce 

a bad sanitary condition, lasting for some time.

The following table gives the elevation of the river surface in feet 

above the city datum plane. The elevation of the water surface at 

its mean stage is 67 feet. The measurements at East avenue bridge 

are at the point of confluence of Portage Creek with Kalamazoo River. 

Those at Gull street bridge are below that point.
36 WATEE RESOUECES OF LOWEE PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30. 

Observations of high water at Kalamazoo. (a)

Year.

1883....

1887....

1888....

1896....

1897 ....

1898....

Date.

June 28, 5 p. m ...-_-.__--.

June 29, 7.30 a. m .........

June 29, 1 p. m_.__ ......

June 29, 6 p. m. ...........

June 80, 7 a. m. ...........

June 30, 1 p. m ..:.........

June 30, 6.30 p. m .........

July 1, 9 a. m ...... ......

July 1, 6 p. m ...... .......

July 2, 7 a. m . ...........

July 2, 1 p. m .............

July 2, 6 p. m ........... _

July 3, 7 a. m ............

July 18.... ......... .......

August 17-----.--. .... .

February ..... ......

Jtdy ......................

July 16.... .............. ..

July 19.. ..................

July 81.... ................

August I...... ............

Augusts.... -..--.....-..

August 19. ................

March 12, 1.20 p. m. .......

March 12, 6 p. ni ..........

March 13, 7 a. m ..........

March 13, 1.20 p. m.... ....

March 13, 6 p. m ..........

March 14, 4 p. m .........

March 15, 7 a. ni ... ......

March 14. ..................

March 15. .............. 1 ..

Elevation.

Feet.

71.66

72.25

72.42

72.50

72.74

72.90

73.03

73.36

73.59

73.71

73.71

73.63

73.40

67.88

68.55

&74.77

67. 55

69.10

68.74

70.69

70.99

70.49

69.20

68.99

69.50

71.34

71.48

71.84

72.01

72.34

72.04

71.54

71.35

71.80

Place of measurement.

Do.

At Gull street bridge.

)At East avenu.e bridge

1 during spring flood.

a These data were obtained from records furnished by Myron O. Taft, city engineer of Kalamazoo. Data for 1883 are not strictly comparable with those since that year, as an old dam has 

been removed and a shorter channel cut, allowing flood waters to pass off more quickly.

6 Highest water recorded.
1ANE.] WATER POWER OF KALAMAZOO RIVER 37

WATER POWER.

The fall and slope of the river is shown by the accompanying table. 

In comparison with this the next table (on page 38) shows the number 

of feet of fall used for water power at dams on the main river. Out 

of a total fall of 338 feet from Albion to Saugatuck, 76 feet is now 

used for the production of power. The aggregate rated power of the 

water wheels in use on the main river is between 4,000 and 5,000 horsepower. This includes 18 flouring and 5 paper mills, besides planing 

mills, machine shops, municipal waterworks, etc. There are also 20 

dams on tributaries with a developed water power, so far as it could 

be ascertained, of 1,500 horsepower.

Fall and slope of Kalamazoo River, '

Portion of river.

Albion to Marshall ..........

Marshall to Battle Creek. .....

Battle Creek to Kalamazoo . . .

Allegan to Saugatuck .....

Albion to Saugatuck ..........

Distance along 

river.

Miles.

12.25

13. 25

23.37 

19.73

32.50

101.10

Total fall.

Feet. 

52

70

43

57

116

338

Mean slope per 

mile.

Feet. 

4.22

5.26

1.84 

3.00

3.55

3.34

As has been shown, the capacity of water wheels now in use is fully 

as great as the flow Of the stream will warrant without the construction of new dams. Viewed from an economic standpoint the water 

power of the stream can not be greatly increased over the present 

development unless some method of flow regulation and conservation 

of the flood waters be put in operation.

1 The fall has been deduced from railroad profiles. See topography and climate of Lower 

Michigan, Report Michigan State Board of Health, 1878.
38 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

Water power developed on Kalamazoo River.

Location of dam.

North Branch at Concord .........

North Branch at Bath Mills 

South Branch at Mosherville . _ -

South Branch at North Homer .. . 

Main River at Albion ..........

Main River at Marengo ...... .

Main River at Ceresco. . - .....

Main River at Battle Creek

Main River at Otsego .._--...

Main River at Allegan .........

Head 

or 

fall.

Feet. 

10

9

8 

14 

8

7 

13

7

6

8

12 

19

12

8

Net horsepower developed.

55

118

33

80 

214

69

298

118

289

469

786

1,725

WATER POWER OF HURON RIVER. 1

Hnron River rises in the town of Clarkston, Oakland County, Michigan, and runs southwest into Livingston County, draining many lakes 

in Oakland County. The chief of these are White, Union, Upper 

Straits, Lower Straits, Pine, and Spring lakes, averaging one-half to 

1 square mile in area. In the southeast part of Livingston County 

it takes the waters of four lakes, viz, First Base Lake, Second Base 

Lake, Strawberry Lake, and Portage Lake, varying from 1 to 2 square 

miles in area. Portage Lake is the largest and also the lowest down 

the valley. It is 3 or 4 miles long and averages about half a mile 

in width. It is fed by Portage River, which itself drains ten lakes of 

small size. From there the Huron flows northeast, then southeast 

again, and enters Lake Erie just below the mouth of Detroit River. 

The total drainage area is 950 square miles.

The country is flat or rolling, with a glacial drift of clay, sand, and 

gravel, well adapted to the raising of wheat, which is the staple and 

which gives work to many flouring mills. The river was declared 

navigable by Congress. Once a flatboat for freighting ran from 

Ypsilanti 30 miles to the mouth, but its use was discontinued on the 

advent of railroads. There was too little water for navigation, and 

the dams interfered. Boats run up to Rockwood, 4 or 5 miles up, on 

the line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.

No lumbering is done, and the stream is devoted to manufacturing,

i From the report by James L. Greenleaf, special agent of the Tenth Census of the United 

States, Vol. XVI, p. 493 et seq.
LANE.] WATER POWER OF HURON RIVER. 39

for which it is peculiarly suited. It has a fall averaging 5 feet a mile, 

and this near its mouth. It is on the line of several railroads, and, 

owing to adjacent lakes, the storage capacity is large and its flow more 

regular than that of various other rivers in the country. The banks 

of the river are usually from 9 to 12 feet high, and hence ponds do not 

spread. The bed and banks are usually hard clay, or a sort of conglomerate of clay, gravel, and stone (till). There is no rock bed 

except at Flat Rock, the first fall above the mouth.

The course is extremely winding. The Michigan Central Railroad 

runs along the river 17 miles from Ypsilanti to Dexter, and in that 

distance crosses it sixteen times. The bulk of the manufacturing is 

between Dexter and Ypsilanti, on the line of the Michigan Central 

Railroad.

At Ypsilanti the average breadth is 100 feet, the average depth 1^- 

feet, and the maximum depth about 5 feet. The ordinary low-water 

flow, calculated from the estimated horsepower, is 220 cubic feet per 

second, or 0.23 cubic foot per second per square mile of drainage area. 

The available power under 10 feet head at ordinary low water is from 

225 to 250 horsepower. There is no difficulty from floating ice. A 

mill using the full average power of the stream can run at full capacity ten months of the year, and during August and September at half 

capacity. The river has no large tributaries below the lakes, and 

hence the power for a given fall is nearly the same in the upper and 

in the lower part.

DEVELOPED POWEE.

Most of the mills are between Dexter and Ypsilanti, a distance of 17 

miles. Above Dexter and below Portage Lake are the Hudson and the 

Dover mills. Below Ypsilanti are mills at Rawsonville, Belleville, etc.

Three forms of dam are in use: (1) The pile dam, a common form. 

A typical specimen is one belonging to the Ypsilanti Paper Company. 

Piles were driven 6 feet between centers, both across and down the 

stream, covering a strip 50 feet wide across the channel. The ends 

were then cut, so that taken together their surface formed two planes, 

meeting at the center line of the dam, like a roof. The space between 

the piles was filled in with stone and the top planked over. A plank 

apron was built on the lower side. (2) The crib-work dam ordinary 

timber cribs, filled with stone and planked over. (3) The frame dam, 

used at the Dover mills. A triangular frame was built and planked 

over and stone thrown under; a plank apron was built on the lower 

side, and gravel thrown in on the upper side. So far as ascertained, 

there have been no instances of the breaking away of dams.

At Flat Rock, 7 or 8 miles above the mouth of the river, is the first 

power. There is about 100 horsepower available.

At New Boston and at Belleville powers are being developed. 

There are two flouring mills at Belleville. The banks are high and 

well adapted to ponding.
40 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

At Rawsonville is a flouring mill with 7 feet head. There is 150 to 

175 horsepower available.

Ypsilanti is the chief manufacturing center on the river. There 

are three paper mills, two flouring mills, a woolen mill, and a small 

custom sawmill, also a low dam in connection with the city waterworks. The banks are from 9 to 12 feet high, and ponds do not 

spread. There are three dams, about one-half to three-fourths of a 

mile apart, and no fall is wasted. The bed is hard clay. The Michigan Central Railroad runs up the valley from this point, and freight 

facilities are good.

The lower pond has 7 feet available fall and 175 available horsepower. There is a pile dam 190 feet long. The average breadth of 

the pond is about 150 feet and the length half a mile. The power is 

utilized by the Ypsilanti Paper Company's mill. The middle pond has 

5 feet available head and 125 available horsepower. The only mill at 

the power is the Huron flouring mill, which uses on the average 75 

horsepower. There is a pile dam 5 to 6 feet high and 100 feet long. 

The pond is from 150 to 200 feet broad and half a mile long. The 

upper pond is owned by the City flouring mill and the woolen mill, 

and feeds them and also a small sawmill fed from the race of the 

flouring mill. The fall at the dam is 8 feet and the available power 

is 225 horsepower. The dam is from 120 to 130 feet long, the area of 

the pond 35 acres, and the depth 5 or 6 feet; the dam does not spread 

much. The woolen mill uses 42 horsepower. The flouring mill, 

situated on a race, has 1 foot additional fall, making the total fall 9 

feet; it uses 100 horsepower. The sawmill, when running, uses about 

10 horsepower.

The mills of the Peninsula Paper Company are situated at a pond 

a short distance above Ypsilanti, and have 300 available horsepower.

The largest power on the river is at Lowell, and it is used by the 

Ypsilanti Paper Company. The available head is 16 feet, and 400 

horsepower is available. The pile dam has been described; its length 

is 166 feet. The area of the pond is 30 or 35 acres.

At Ann Arbor, 7 or 8 miles above Ypsilanti, there is a level with a 

head of 10 feet and 250 available horsepower. The dam is a pile dam 

200 feet long, which is utilized by the Ypsilanti Paper Company's 

mill. Above it is another level with the same head and power. A 

woolen mill, a flouring mill, and a sawmill are fed from this pond, 

using altogether 100 horsepower. The dam is 140 feet long.

At Foster's station, 3 miles from Ann Arbor, there is a fall of 9 feet, 

all of which is utilized by a paper mill taking 100 horsepower and a 

woolen mill taking 58 horsepower. The power is estimated at 300 

horsepower for six months of the year.

At Delhi there are two flouring mills, a woolen mill, and a sawmill, 

all using water from the same level. There is 7 feet head and 140 

available horsepower. Usually all the mills can run at once. The
LAME.] WATER POWEE OF RAISIN RIVER. 41

dam is of crib work, 150 feet long. The Scio flouring mills are above 

Delhi, and have 8 feet fall, with 140 available horsepower. The dam 

is of crib work, 100 feet long.

Dexter has a flouring mill, a woolen mill,, and a sawmill, all run 

from the same level. The available head is 5 feet. The dam is of 

crib work, 75 feet long.

Above Dexter are the Hudson mills, with 5 feet head and 75 horsepower a crib-work dam 100 feet long, and the Dover mills, with 7 

feet head and 100 horsepower a frame dam 100 feet long. The 

ponds above Ann Arbor average from 120 to 180 feet wide and onehalf mile to 2 miles long. There are no important powers above.

UNDEVELOPED POWER.

There are a few undeveloped powers. Three miles below Ypsilanti 

is^ one of 300 horsepower, which has not been used, because the pond 

would spread over valuable farming lands and because the location is 

not near the railroad. One mile below Ann Arbor is a power with 4 

or 5 feet fall, unimproved, giving from 100 to 125 horsepower. It is 

on the line of the railroad. The small power, compared with the cost 

of improvement and lack of demand for it, is the apparent reason it 

has not been improved. One and one-half miles above Ann Arbor is 

a fall of 10 feet, unimproved. Nearly 300 horsepower is wasted. It 

was used formerly by a sawmill, now burned down. It is on the line 

of railroad and awaits improvement.

WATER POWER OF RAISIN RIVER.

The North Branch rises in Jackson County, and the South Branch 

in the northwestern corner of Ohio. They unite east of the center of 

Lenawee County and flow into Lake Erie. The drainage area is 1,162 

square miles. Near the mouth it is 200 or 300 feet wide, but in ordinary water it is only from 6 to 12 inches deep, with a sluggish current. At Adrian it is a small stream, 25 or 30 feet wide, with a 

moderate current, about 1 foot deep. There are several small mills 

on the river, but no power of importance.

USES WHERE QUALITY IS IMPORTANT. 

USE FOR DRINKING. 

INORGANIC IMPURITIES.

The uses of water where the quantity required is not excessive and 

is usually readily obtained, but where the proper quality is important 

and is not so easily maintained, will now be considered. Impurities 

are of two kinds, organic and inorganic. Under the first head are 

classed sewage, swamp contaminations, ammonia, and bacteria. Salt, 

though inorganic, has often been considered an indication of the presence of organic contamination. But in the district under consideration 

it is not true, and a knowledge of the normal chlorine percentage of the
42 WATER EESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

same class of water in the same neighborhood is a prerequisite to the 

application of the chlorine test as indicative of sewage. Investigation of this normal percentage has been undertaken for the State 

board of health by Prof. D. Fall. Salt is one of the commonest inorganic constituents, only less common than the acid carbonates of lime 

and magnesia, which are always present except in some sandstone 

wells and in cistern waters. Iron in some shape, and sulphates of 

lime, etc., are also not uncommon in wells.

The quantity of mineral matter in the lakes or rivers is not sufficient to affect the water appreciably as a supply for healthy people, 

while for cases of uric acid diathesis, where lime should be avoided, 

many sandstone wells and shallow surface wells in sand seem specially suited, since their water contains less .than the usual amount of 

lime. Occasionally the water from deeper wells is softer. Filtered 

rain water is used and is not at all unpalatable when one is accustomed 

to it. Distilled water is also manufactured and sold.

More detailed conclusions as to the connection between the chemical character and the suitability of a water for drinking will be found 

in a subsequent paper.

Dr. W. H. Deadman, veterinary surgeon at Alpena, asserts that 80 

per cent of all the horse disease in northern Michigan is due to hard 

water. The hardness of water varies in the lakes and rivers, and 

probably varies with the season of the year and with the depth at 

which the samples are taken.

Some of the shallower rock wells, almost all those over 500 feet, 

and a few of the wells in drift are so highly charged with mineral 

matter (over ^ oz. per cubic foot) as to be cathartic or otherwise unpleasant and unfit for domestic use. It is important to note, ho.wever, 

that in many cases the mineral matter comes from beds of salt or gypsum, or from even less continuously porous beds, and that therefore 

fresh water may at times be obtained by proper casing, even under 

beds of salt. There are a number of cases on record in which fresh 

water has been obtained under salt. A notable case is that of Mr. 

Leipprandt, near Caseville (sec. 13, T. 17 N\, R. 10 E.), who has a 

well 100 feet deep that is very salt, and another well 280 feet deep 

(cased to 228 feet) which yields good fresh water.

ORGANIC IMPURITIES.

Organic impurities are most prevalent when inorganic are least so, 

in the shallow wells, rivers, and ponds, and even in cisterns and 

standpipes. Yet even deep artesian wells are not by any means free 

from organic matter for example, the Bad Axe supply. Such matter 

is, however, probably harmless. Organic impurities may be divided 

into two kinds mere vegetable growths of algae, etc., and the more 

dangerous bacteria of typhoid. The former are not wholesome, though 

not so dangerous as the latter, and may form in cisterns and standpipes in very pure water, as, for example, at Bad Axe and at Leaton,
LANE.] USES OF WATER WHERE QUALITY IS IMPORTANT. 43

and are especially abundant in artesian water. The exclusion of 

light tends to check their growth in cisterns. A few cases are 

reported where malaria was cured by a change to drinking artesian 

water, seeming to show that bad water, and not bad air, was the 

cause of the disease. But it is of course possible that it was not the 

previous presence of vegetable matter in the water that caused 

the disease, but rather the curative properties of some mineral ingredient in the artesian water that effected the cure. "Wooden or plank 

casing, which is much too common, soon gives a foul taste to water, 

and any dug well with a basin is liable to have foreign matter get 

into it that does not improve its quality angleworms, frogs, mice, 

moles, rats, and snakes, which well drillers find on cleaning the wells.

"Wells dug or driven in sand only, without a clay capping, are liable 

to surface and sewage contamination, though of course when they are 

put down 100 or 200 feet the danger is greatly reduced by the sand 

filtration. Even then it would be well to have the point and strainer 

considerably below the top of the water line. It would save trouble 

in an exceptionally dry year, and would give additional protection.

The practice of having any dug or shallow surface water well in a 

barnyard or near a privy is uncivilized and is only the temporary 

expedient of uneducated immigrants who have recently-arrived, and 

one is glad to see that among the intelligent and more prosperous 

farmers deep driven or drilled wells are becoming the rule and not 

the exception. Too commonly, however, the well water of the deep 

driven well is allowed to flow into the old dug basin, a practice which 

has many objections (considered on page 73). The casing should 

extend from the pump to the water-bearing stratum. The well should 

be removed from the barnyard, to which the water may be conducted 

by a long launder. If a surface or dug well is the best that is available, it should be out in the*orchard, and removed from sources of 

contamination.

Digging is sometimes the best way of sinking through a bowldery 

formation. A good practice, prevalent in Emmet County, is to cement 

the wall as the well is sunk, using a 3-foot boiler tube as a shield. 

Mr. E. R. Phillips, of Bay City, uses such a cemented well in the 

city, but he has a depth of sand and charcoal at the bottom which 

acts as a huge filter an excellent palliative expedient.

Rivers and lakes are the great sources of supply for village and city 

waterworks, being but rarely used by individual farmers, except as 

some dry season forces them to haul water. Unfortunately, as we 

have already remarked, too often an ample supply has been considered the prime requisite for city plants.

DAIRY USE.

One great advantage of flowing wells is in keeping milk cool. 

The temperature of such wells approaches the mean annual temperature of the place at which they are, plus a certain small amount,
44 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

dependent on the depth below the surface from which they draw their 

water, about 1 degree for 60 feet. The annual fluctuations of temperature hardly affect them, though in fact if from 30 to 60 feet deep they 

are colder in summer than in winter. This is not only to be expected 

theoretically, but has been verified in practice. Professor Davis found, 

in studying some of the Alma flowing wells, that the water of one about 

55 feet deep stood at 52° F. in winter and at 48° F. in summer.

Since the mean annual temperature of Michigan, as is shown in fig. 4, 

varies between 39° F. and 49° F., the temperature of flowing wells or 

springs should have about the same range, and the recorded observations of the shallow flowing wells are but 4° or 5° higher. This is 

precisely the range of temperature best adapted to keep milk. Such 

flowing wells maybe obtained all over the Saginaw Valley, and, as the 

map (PI. VII) shows, such wells, drawing water either from the rock 

or from gravel beds under clay, occur throughout the State. These 

wells yield a water very favorable to the growth of algse, and the 

vegetable matter must be frequently cleaned from the tanks. Darkness checks its growth.

For use in refrigeration or for general dairy use the same purity is 

not requisite as in drinking water. While of course water brought 

in contact with butter should be free from dangerous organic impurities, inorganic mineral constituents, like salt and sulphates, are 

reported to be some advantage and help in hardening the butter. 

Much of the water of the Saginaw Valley, which is rather too salt for 

domestic use, is excellent for dairy purposes.

COOKING, LAUNDRY, BOILERS.

Next to the use for drinking naturally comes cooking, laundry, and 

boiler use. As organic impurities are rendered harmless whenlboiled, 

this factor is eliminated, except when, as is occasionally the case, 

"foaming" is produced in the boiler. The deposit of mineral matter 

in the teakettle is usually either carbonate or sulphate of lime, magnesia, or iron. If the former, a little acid quickly removes it. Iron is 

betrayed by its color. Only occasionally is water found with so much 

mineral matter as to be unfit for cooking. In such cases iron is usually the offending element, turning tea black and discoloring potatoes. 

Water, if allowed to stand, will precipitate most of the iron. It forms 

a scum which is at times mistaken for oil.

Impurities of another class, i. e., hydrogen sulphide and other gases, 

as well as traces of oil, occur more or less in various parts of the 

State. Hydrogen sulphide occurs in various places, and is characteristically common just beneath the Devonian black shales. A moderate amount does not seem to be injurious, and users soon get used 

to its peculiar odor; but in the deeper salt wells in the southeastern 

part of the State it is disagreeable, in some cases seriously affecting 

the eyes.

Another important consideration in regard to water is its effect on
LANE.] USES OF WATER WHERE QUALITY IS IMPORTANT. 45

toilers. The impurities which deposit scale are the sulphates and 

carbonates of lime and magnesia, and many railroads have spent considerable money to obtain purer boiler water. Water with 8 to 10 

grains of carbonate of lime to the gallon is considered hard, and when 

there are over 40 grains to the gallon and there are large districts 

where this amount is present the water has been condemned by railroad authorities. Mount Pleasant water is typical as a bad water for 

use in boilers.

The sulphate of lime is worse than the carbonate. The carbonates 

of lime, magnesia, and iron are somewhat precipitated by exposure to 

the air, and further by boiling or by the addition of quicklime. In 

every district it will be found that the water of certain wells is considered good for threshing machines, both in quantity and in quality.

In the steam plant of the University of Michigan, which furnishes 

steam heat and also drives a couple of engines, the condensed water 

is returned to the boilers. In addition, the engineer informs me that 

a supply of about 400 gallons plus about 10 per cent is used daily. 

This is nearly all derived from cisterns, representing about eleven 

months' supply. I obtained, through the kindness of Professor Cooley, 

a blue print showing the exact roofage used in supplying the cisterns. 

From this I estimate that 19,493 square feet of catchment area furnishes 17,600+ cubic feet of water. This is not far from 1 cubic foot 

per square foot of catchment surface, or 38 per cent of the Ann Arbor 

rainfall (32 inches). It is impossible to estimate the amount of leakage, as there are five cisterns, scattered at considerable intervals over 

the grounds, and part of the rainfall of exceptionally wet seasons may 

overflow the cisterns. It seems as though a larger percentage of the 

rainfall might be saved, although the percentage of run-off to rainfall 

is apparently higher than in the Kalamazoo Basin. Much of the winter snow will of course slide off,, and in each rain a certain percentage 

must be allowed for wetting the roof and for evaporation. It will be 

safe, however, to estimate that 10 feet square of roof surface will yield 

100 cubic feet, or about 25 barrels, of water per annum.

At the Agricultural College the custom is to heat the water to boiling and then allow it to aerate, cool, and settle. At the Midland 

Chemical Works they propose to remove the hardness first with lime 

and then with soda ash.

In any case it is well to get the water as pure as possible before 

introducing it into the boiler; and heating the feed water with the 

exhaust steam and allowing it to settle will certainly help. The 

growth of the soda-ash industry in Michigan will doubtless permit 

the economical use of that chemical.

Cistern or rain water and condensed boiler water are of course free 

from these impurities, and it might be well to plan an agricultural 

engine for use in the Saginaw Valley with a condenser arranged to use 

its water over again and again. The soda salts, common salt, and 

sulphate of soda are not objectionable, but rather help to clean out
46 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OB' MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

scale, and in the Saginaw Valley are often present in the water. The 

chlorides of lime and magnesia and the heavily carbonated waters are 

corrosive.

Generally speaking, the softest waters are either rainfall waters 

from sands so near the surface that the lime has been leached out, or 

waters from wells in the Napoleon and certain other sandstones, 

which, even when salt, run much lower in sulphates than do the 

waters of the higher beds.

What has been said concerning cooking and boiler feed water applies 

also to that for laundry use. The prevailing hardness of the water has 

led to the extended use of cistern water for washing. If one-third the 

rainfall can be saved, a roof 10 feet square will yield about 600 gallons 

a year. It is only in part of the sandstone district that the wells are 

so soft that there is no object in saving rain water. To supplement rain 

water very shallow wells are sometimes used, when only 2 or 3 feet of 

sand is underlain by clay and has been washed free from lime, so that 

one can get practically surface rain water. In a fresh cut in a gravel 

bank (e. g., at Mecosta), the leaching out of the lime and iron from the 

first 2 feet or so is well marked by a dark line at the bottom where 

the lime and iron are concentrated, which have often cemented the 

pebbles together into one form of "hardpan," a term also applied to 

till.

The same remedies for hardness mentioned above, viz, exposure to 

air, boiling, and the addition of quicklime or sal soda, are also available in laundry use, and are known as "breaking" the water.

It is advisable to get the water as pure as possible before its injection into the boiler, rather than to rely entirely on "dosing" the 

boiler.

SUGAR-BEET INDUSTRY.

In the manufacture of beet sugar it is important to have a water 

as free as possible from salts, for every molecule of chlorine salt is 

said to invert about five molecules of sugar into glucose. Organic 

matter is said to work in like fashion. None of the surface waters, 

and but few of the deeper drift wells, are really disqualified, although 

there is considerable difference between them. Most of the deeper 

rock wells, however, over 300 feet in the rock, except those in the 

northern part of the State and, relatively speaking, the waters of the 

coal basin, would be unsuited for such use. A great deal depends on 

prompt handling and skill.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND OTHER USES.

For photography, paper making, wool scouring, and manufacturing 

industries generally it is important to have as little mineral matter 

as possible. For photography rain water can be used only if fairly 

free from organic matter. Photographers frequently use the common 

hard water. One possible exception to the general rule that sulphates
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER SUPPLY PAPER No.SO PL. II.

PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS

OK THE

LOWE R P E N IN S ULA OF MI CHI GAN

BY ALFRED C.LANE"

From published and unpublished observations

C H.Gordon,ELeverett,EB.TaylorWH.Sherzerandthe author

1898.

Moraine Dug or drilled 

glacialndge ^

Extensions Bnck clays, Flalshallow 

of surface sands,

Greatlakes boredordugwells

CH'erwasKand sand and Dissected sand 

interlobate gravel, andgravelplain HfeteM gravels dnvenwells undramedhollows

m M*si *
QUALITY AND QUANTITY COMPARED. 47

*

are deleterious in manufactures is ale, in which, it has been said, 1 

a certain amount of calcium sulphate is an improvement. Generally speaking, however, the breweries take great pains to get as 

pure water as possible. In compounding medicines also a pure water 

is of importance. The industries (salt, potash, bromine, and mineral water) dependent on minerals in the water are not here treated. 

The industries requiring pure water are well worth consideration in 

reenforcing the demand for pure water and in estimating the availability of several possible supplies. Of course pure water is important 

to those seeking the most favorable location for such industries.

QUALITY AND QUANTITY COMPARED.

It may be said in general that while for uses which look first to 

quantity the lakes and rivers are the natural source, for freedom from 

organic impurity the deeper wells have the preference. Water from 

both these sources, except from some sandstone and coal measure 

wells, is rather hard, so that for washing cistern water is preferred. 

The deeper the well the greater the inorganic impurity, with some 

noticeable exceptions, chiefly in that the waters from the Napoleon 

sandstone and the Dundee limestone, down to the Sylvania sandstone, 

may be less charged than the waters from beds above.

The Great Lakes, with properly located and guarded intake pipes, 

furnish a good city water supply. The supply from all rivers, even 

the Detroit and St. Clair, should be filtered. Many towns fortunately 

possess an ample supply from deep wells. Only in that territory which 

lies at the same time in the region of the old lake bottoms, colored blue 

on the map (PL II), and that of the Cold water shales (see PI. VI) is the 

outlook for deep-well supply entirely unpromising, so that carefully 

filtered river water or aqueducts from springs near the flank of the 

nearest moraine seem the most hopeful sources of large supply for 

towns.

Statistics show that city use is generally extravagant, rarely less 

than 100 and rising to 200 and 300 gallons per capita a day. This 

is much more than domestic use requires, and is due partly to uses 

where quality is comparatively no object, such as street sprinkling 

and fire protection, the use of lawn hose and of water for elevators 

and light machinery, etc., but largely to sheer waste. It is not for 

the public welfare to stint the use of water to the detriment of cleanliness, but it is advisable to stop waste, and the effect of meters in 

Jiis respect is wonderful. It would be well to have a minimum price 

for a certain quantity, say 30 gallons a day for each room served, to 

prevent undue economy, and after that charge in proportion to the 

amount of water used. It is a question, also, whether the more 

wealthy residents who use the lawn sprinklers freely pay more or less 

than their fair share of the water rates at the present schedules.

1 See Ency. Brit., article Burton.
48 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

Some few towns, like Rochester, possess an ample supply of unexceptionable water, though even in such cases a prudent provision for 

the interests of posterity would guard against the waste which has 

already lowered the head in some communities to a dangerous extent. 

A flowing well is valuable, and the head needful to produce one should 

not be recklessly wasted.

Most of the smaller towns, however, stand on a border line. They 

can get a supply of well water which will suffice for ordinary and 

economical use but not for emergencies. This is a field for reservoirs 

and for filters. It should be remembered that the efficacy of a filter 

depends very largely on its not being used constantly, but allowed, 

as it were, to rest from time to time. Filtration of a lower grade supply is especially adapted for extraordinary demands. The ordinary 

supply of such towns as Alma and Mount Pleasant should be from 

deep wells, but in case of fire filtered river water might be turned in. 

To use unfiltered river water without notice to consumers ought to be 

out of the question. Accustomed as people may be to the better supply 

they will not use the same precautions as if they had the poor supply 

regularly. In the Manual of American Waterworks it appears that 

there are many towns which, in case of fire, pump directly from the river.

Lower Michigan is so situated with respect to the Great Lakes that 

most of the larger towns can derive from them a satisfactory supply by 

using proper precautions. Many others can derive a domestic supply 

from the Marshall sandstone. Only along the Saginaw River is the 

question of water supply at all serious. Saginaw Bay is exceedingly 

shoal, and for East and West Saginaw and Bay City^the supply can 

not be regarded as at all satisfactory.

It seems, however, that there is destined to be a city of the first 

rank along Saginaw River. Even if from the sandstones (not merely 

the drift which has been tested unsuccessfully by the waterworks 

experimental wells) a sufficient supply of water relatively free from 

mineral can not be obtained, 1 it seems certain that to the west and 

southwest, in Tuscola County, less than 25 miles away, the water 

resources can be utilized for a metropolitan water supply.

CLIMATE.

The most detailed account of the climate of the State is by the 

former State geologist, A. Winchell. 3

1 The recent explorations for coal and city wells show that here and there in channels there 

are within the first 200 feet beneath Saginaw areas of water-bearing sandstones.

2 Tackabury's Atlas of the State of Michigan, edited by H. P. Walling. First edition, 1873; 

second edition, 1884.

Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci. (Troy meeting), August, 1870.

Harper's Magazine, Vol. XLIII, July, 1871, p. 275.

Wegweiser der Michigan, Hamburg.

Oesterreich. Ges. fur Meteorologie, Wien. Zeitsch., Bd. VIII, February 1,1873, p. 40.

From Winchell's work much of the material in this chapter is abstracted. It is, of course,not 

wholly up to date, but Prof. E. A. Strong, of Ypsilanti, director of the State weather service, 

who has studied and compiled the later data, informs me that they are substantially correct, 

and I am indebted to Mr. C. F. Schneider, director of the State weather service, for additional 

figures.
LANE.] CLIMATE. 49

The most notable features of the climate of the Lower Peninsula 

may be summed up in a few words by saying that it is what its name 

implies, pene-insular, modified by the fact that it has greater relief 

than the neighboring States to the west. The mean temperature for 

the year is higher on the east shore of Lake Michigan than on the 

west shore, as is also vividly shown by WinchelPs isothermals of the 

extreme minima, and in this respect, owing to air drainage, the highlands have an advantage over the lowlands, the central part of Michigan being better off than St. Louis, so far as the extreme cold of 

winter is concerned. In fact, the mean of January temperature is 

higher and of July heat lower than farther west.

It is obvious that these facts have a bearing on the run-off of the 

streams. The amount and distribution of the rain or snow must also 

be taken into consideration. This has been carefully studied for the 

Kalamazoo River by Mr. Horton in a previous section, page 26. The 

average precipitation for the Lower Peninsula is some 32 inches. 

The heavy dews which occur in some parts of the State need not be 

taken into consideration as run-off, however important they may 

b§ for the farmer, because they are largely evaporated or absorbed 

by plants and do not become a part of the water resources. Some 

idea of this factor might be obtained from the relative humidity of 

the air, but as to actual rainfall the Lower Peninsula is in about the 

condition of Wisconsin. The distribution of this precipitation is 

also of interest. The contrast in the winter between the upper and 

lower parts of Michigan has frequently been observed. The region 

of Lake Superior will be buried in snow 2 or 3 feet deep when 

through the lower part snow is found only in scattered patches. 

Winchell gives the following table:

Distribution of precipitation in Michigan by seasons.

Season.

Spring .--..... _.._ --.._--.-_-_.__....

Summer -_..___.---_..___....__- .......

Autumn -......-----_----..--_.-.--._..-...

Winter ._____..__,_____..._..._ .........

Total ...... .......................

Upper 

Peninsula.

Per cent.

19.

27.

28.8

22.

96.8

Lower 

Peninsula.

Per cent. 

25.8

28.7

27.3

19.1

100.9

The State.

Per cent. 

23.8

28.3

27 7

20.

99.8

Taking into consideration both the milder climate and the marked 

diminution of precipitation in winter, the table above indicates less 

accumulation of snow during the winter. Thus the spring freshets 

are much less decided than in many other States, while the temporary 

winter snows largely sink into the ground. From this results a steadier 

flow and less erosion and fewer flood plains in the streams than would 

otherwise be the case. The many lakes without outlets would fluctuate 

30 4
50 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OP MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

even more violently were this not the case, and doubtless be more 

likely to cut channels for themselves. The abundance of lakes also 

helps to keep more uniform the flow of the streams. The effect of cultivation, on the other hand, is to make the spring freshet sharper and 

earlier, for the snow disappears first from plowed fields and cleared 

lands.

For the four figures (figs. 2 to 5) illustrating Michigan climatology 

I am indebted to the director of the Michigan weather service, Mr. C. F.

FIG. 2. Distribution of average minimum temperature in Michigan.

Schneider. They are compiled from the records of the various stations 

(about 108 in all), and are the result of averaging all the data on file 

in the office, in general covering a period of about ten years, except 

for the precipitation chart (fig. 5), which covers a much longer period. 

The period of observation is not the same for all stations. The temperature observations at Lansing go back to 1873.

Fig. 2 shows the average of the average diurnal minimum temperature for each year.
CLIMATE. 51

The mollifying effect of the westerly winds blowing off Lake 

Michigan and Saginaw Bay is very apparent. The highlands northwest of Saginaw Bay have extremely low minima, as might be 

expected, while those southeast, on the contrary, have not so low 

minima as the Saginaw Valley, and it appears that the valleys draining thither have, on the whole, lower minima than those draining 

southeast.

FIG. 3. Distribution of average maximum temperature in Michigan.

Fig. 3 similarly gives the average of the average maximum temperature during each year. At the northern end of Lake Michigan 

the maximum as well as the minimum temperature is raised, and the 

general average is abnormally high (fig. 4). At the lower end, however, the maximum and the mean temperatures are but little raised, so 

that the lake serves only to mollify the frosts of this fruit belt, changing the climate, as a whole, only as it becomes more equable. The two 

highlands have opposite relations to the maxima; the one northwest 

of Saginaw Bay has specially low maxima, while the one southeast
52 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

is distinctly higher. The former is sandy and largely covered with 

barren, denuded jack-pine plains; the latter is lower, more clayey, 

more cultivated, and probably retains its moisture the great regulator of climate better.

Fig. 4, showing the mean temperature, indicates that warmth enters 

from the southwest corner of the Lower Peninsula and extends 

up Grand River Valley, while the temperature at Saginaw is rather

Fio. 4. Distribution of average mean temperature in Michigan.

colder than it is immediately east or west. The mollifying effects of 

Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair are also shown in figs. 3 and 4. It is 

generally supposed that, as stated below, the temperatures of flowing 

wells are those of the localities given in fig. 4, plus a certain amount, 

this amount depending on the depth of the well about 1 degree in 

60 feet, but observations give rather higher temperatures in wells less 

than 200 feet deep. The summer rains may penetrate farther and 

more rapidly than do the winter snows. 

Fig. 5 shows the average rainfall. In the southern part of the
LANE.] CLIMATE. 53

peninsula precipitation and temperature seem to increase together, 

while in the northern part of the peninsula a line of low precipitation seems to extend from Saginaw Bay to Grand Traverse Bay. 

It is a fortunate coincidence that the flat, low, clayey, easily flooded 

Saginaw Valley has a relatively low record in precipitation as well as 

in temperature, while the sandier western shore has more rain.

The wind has some influence on problems of water supply. Many 

wells are said to change their level with the wind. This is probably

Off

PIG. 5. Distribution of average annual precipitation in Michigan

in many cases not directly due to the wind but to fluctuations in barometric pressure. The prevailing winds have another very important 

effect. Where the prevailing wind is on shore, the shore is more apt 

to be sandy than where the wind is offshore. A large part of the peninsula has been covered by lakes and the sandy character of the shores 

and old shore lines that face the west, which is the direction of the 

prevailing wind, is pronounced. It should be remarked, in addition, 

that during the hot days of summer a marked afternoon breeze from 

the lake is a prevailing feature.
54 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30. 

LONG-PERIOD VARIATIONS IN RAINFALL.

There is one important feature of the climate, however, on which no 

light can be gained from Winchell the variations of the annual rainfall from year to year. This may be learned from the fluctuation of the 

ground-water level, or the level of the Great Lakes, which observation 

has shown (see fig. 1) rise and fall according as the general rainfall of 

the previous years has been more or less than the average. When 

the rainfall for several years has been below the average there is also 

a fall in the level of underground water and in the level of the lakes, 

especially those that have no outlets. Clam Lake, near Cadillac, has 

varied 16 feet within memory, and Houghton Lake and Higgins Lake 

are lower than they have been. One will everywhere find reports 

that the lakes, streams, and wells are lower than they were formerly, 

and muck plains (PL III, ]3) underlain by shells, marking former 

lake bottoms may be seen. This lowering of lakes and ground water 

is ascribed to various causes, all of which may perhaps be at work.

In the first place, it is argued that cultivation tends to accelerate 

the run-off so that water does not have time to soak into the earth. 

This is doubtless true. On preliminary railroad profiles, for instance, 

areas are marked "swamp" or even " all water " which are now fertile 

fields by no means damp. The original Government field notes of the 

United States Land Office also show areas marked '' swamp " which are 

far from such to-day. Much discussion and many charges of fraud 

concerning these "State swamp lands" have arisen, but not all such 

descriptions were by any means fraudulent. Many of these swamps 

are explicitly described as beaver meadows or as due to beaver dams. 

The beavers have gone, their dams have been broken, and the swamp 

has become dryer. Again, loggers' operations are active in clearing 

out the streams and in cutting out the dams, though they erect dams 

and obstructions of their own. On the whole, however, the floods, 

aided by the loggers, have cleared the streams and made them more 

efficient drainage channels. The more irregular the flow of a given 

quantity of water the greater its efficiency as an erosive agent.

The next cause to be considered is devastation by fire. Logging 

operations leave the forest a forest still, but the black scourge of fire 

which follows strips the ground of leaves, and, worst of all, frequently consumes the vegetable mold that absorbs water like a 

sponge. The amount of water actually evaporated by a fire is insignificant in proportion to the permanent damage. Most of this fire 

waste is accidental, but some of it is the result of gross carelessness. 

I have seen a meadow with the mold of generations burned clean in 

clearing, leaving only a bare subsoil of sand fertilized with ashes that 

will yield good crops for a few seasons only and then be leached out. 

Then comes the plow. Sandy soils still absorb water, some of them 

having 36 per cent water capacity, but some of the bare, plowed,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 30 PL. Ill

A, CLINTON BORING APPARATUS.

H. FIELD OF ONIONS IN DRAINED LAKE BOTTOM: 1,350 BUSHELS TO 1A ACRES. 

MUCK PRACTICALLY BOTTOMLESS.
LANE.] VARIATIONS IN RAINFALL AND WATER LEVEL. 55

sun-baked slopes of the clay hills are almost impervious to water. 

Finally, in the extreme lowlands drains of every size and variety, from 

the farmer's tile drains to the roadside, the township, and the large 

county drains, accelerate the departure of nndesired water.

The time may come when drainage, instead of being down the slopes, 

will be along them, transferring the water from the hollows to the 

lower uplands and thus promoting irrigation. But that time has not 

yet come.

In the second place, there is often supposed to be a general desiccation of the climate, a steady decrease in precipitation. Of this there 

is no definite historic evidence, though of course in the ice age and 

immediately subsequent there was certainly more water in all lakes 

and rivers, though possibly no greater precipitation. Frozen water 

once covered the country. Legends of what the Indians used to do in 

the way of canoeing can be easily interpreted, partly by the desiccation 

due to settlement (which has already been mentioned) and partly by 

the fluctuations of precipitation and water stage from decade to decade. 

But as research shows, the general water level has been fairly constant during the century. A period (1886-1896) of decreasing rainfall, 

however, which has just been passed, has lowered the lakes and caused 

the wells to fail in a way that has surprised the oldest inhabitants 

of many of the new towns. It is necessary to go back many years for 

a similar fall.

SHORT-PERIOD FLUCTUATIONS IN WATER LEVEL.

Sudden fluctuations occur in the Great Lakes and in the ground 

water which are not regular annual and seasonal fluctuations like those 

before described, but are more like waves of great breadth, the whole 

water of the lake basin washing from side to side. An instance may 

be recorded in which the surface of a channel connecting a small lake 

with Lake Superior rose and fell about a foot in an interval of twenty 

minutes. Similar fluctuations occur everywhere in the lake and completely disguise, except to most careful and systematic observation, 

the minute lunar tides. Sometimes these variations can be distinctly 

traced to the wind. A strong north wind will pile the water up in 

Saginaw Bay, and a strong southwest wind will drive it out. A variation of 400 feet in the position of the shore line has thus been caused 

in one night. Another cause of these variations, often cooperant with 

the one just mentioned, is a variation of atmospheric pressure over 

different parts of the lake basin, the water tending to rise when the 

pressure is least.

Analogous phenomena, probably due to analogous causes, are 

reported from numerous wells, but as yet have not been subjected 

to careful investigation. When the wind is in a certain quarter 

long enough or strong enough, or just before a storm (i. e., at a 

time of low atmospheric pressure), the water is reported to come
56 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

more freely, to have greater head, or to be roily. These phenomena 

are naturally most conspicuous in wells which flow with no great 

head, and are analogous apparently to those long noted on Stromboli 

and Vesuvius, which are said to discharge their lurid contents more 

freely before a storm. Sometimes these phenomena are attributed to 

direct connection with the lake. This theory, of course, ought not to 

be rejected in all cases; but similar phenomena occur so far from the 

lake that it is safe to assume that in most cases the well fluctuations 

are due to the same cause as the fluctuations in the lake rather than 

to the fluctuations themselves. An interesting "breathing" dry well 

is noted in sec. 7, T. 35 N., R. 5 E., a phenomenon which has been 

noticed in caves elsewhere in the world.

WELL TEMPERATURES.

Special attention is due to the effect of mean annual temperature 

on the temperature of wells and springs. It is true in general that 

the temperature of the water in flowing wells or springs represents 

the mean temperature of the locality, but there are some qualifications; something must be allowed for the increase of temperature 

which we find everywhere in going toward the center of the earth.

If the rate of increase shown by the Alma Sanitarium deep and 

shallow wells gives a true average, we get an increase of temperature 

of about (980 -48° = 50°)4-(2863-157=2706) or 1° in 54 feet, which is 

very nearly the normal rate of increase of the world, which may be 

assumed in preliminary reductions. Other wells at Midland, Saginaw, Frankfort, etc., would give other rates down to 1° in 100feet, but 

they are for less depths. Water flowing from a driven well 56 feet 

deep, therefore, might have its temperature raised about 1° above 

the average for the place, provided it had been flowing so long or in 

so strong a stream that the temperature of the ground traversed on 

the way up did not affect it. The effect of the summer's heat and the 

winter's cold is felt in the ground (as Lisbon and Edinburgh observations have shown) to a considerable depth, the annual variation 

growing less with increased depth and the time of greatest cold becoming later, so that if the flow is from 30 to 60 feet down the temperature 

should be actually slightly lower in summer than in winter. Observations by Prof. C. A. Davis, of Alma (T. 11 N., R. 3 W.), show this to 

be the case in some of the wells there, the water of a well 55 feet deep 

standing at 52° F. in winter and at 48° F. in summer. Other observations of the temperature of wells require modification to allow for 

the above factors. But it is certain that the temperature of water 

from a well 100 feet deep ought not to vary more than 2° F. from the 

mean annual temperature of the place, and probably in summer, when 

observations are usually taken, is very near it, the effect of the last 

winter's cold balancing that of the earth's thermal gradient.
LAMS.] GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 57

The temperature of deep-flowing wells of small bore is somewhat 

aifected by the earth's heat, e. g., the deeper Bay Port (T. 17 N., R. 

9 E.) wells; but it would certainly be incorrect to take anything near 

(338-7-56 =) 6° from their temperature (of 47° F.) to obtain the mean 

temperature of the place. Again, as the winter temperature is felt 

to a depth at which no effect of a particular cold day or week can 

be detected, so a series of extra cold or extra hot years will modify 

the temperature to a depth where no trace of annual fluctuation can 

be observed. In a similar way any permanent factor, like the presence of a boiler house or a cellar furnace, may modify the temperature of a flowing well to a considerable depth. A good illustration 

tion is afforded in a flowing well at the sawmill in Rose City (flg. 8), 

which is deeper and on ground 25 feet lower than the wells of the 

town; but this is not sufficient to account for nearly 7° greater warmth 

over the hotel well.

SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The contour map of the State (PL I) shows two high areas, to the 

southeast and northwest of Saginaw Bay, respectively, which are also 

brought out in fig. 6. Winchell has laid down the following proposition (Tackabury's Atlas of Michigan, p. 14): '' The actual topographical 

and hydrographical axes of Michigan and the whole lake region are 

the resultant of two forces a glacial, acting from the northeast, and 

a stratigraphical, acting along the lines of strike of the rock formations." This is what he calls the diagonal system in the physical 

features of the State. While this statement may be true in a broad 

way, it must be seriously modified to express the facts of the case. 

It ignores the shore lines of the old lakes, elsewhere recognized by 

Winchell as an important factor, and it is really as approximately 

true that the various positions in Michigan where the glacial front 

halted, i. e., the moraines, and more or less at right angles to the direction of its motion, are the dominant features, and that next to them 

come the lines of halt of the lakes succeeding. The old stratigraphic 

lines of rock outcrops are very obscure.

In a broad way, as described by Winchell, the consolidated rocks 

are arranged in concentric circles, surrounding the coal measures 

which occupy the center of the State. (See map, PL VI.) During 

Mesozoic and Cenozoic time these were eroded, but two sets of strata 

proved to be sufficiently resistant to become topographic features of 

the first class. The Marshall sandstones (Logan conglomerate), the 

Helderberg in the southern part of the State, and the Traverse limestones in the northern part of the State, tended to make ridges, as 

may be seen in the cross section (fig. 10). Inasmuch as the softer coal 

basin rocks were thus surrounded by harder strata this harder rim
58 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OP MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

would be cut across in some way. The evidence seems strongly to 

indicate that the channel draining the central basin went off, not as 

Spencer has suggested, through the Saginaw Valley, but past Manistee toward the great valley, now occupied by Lake Michigan, which 

was excavated in the softer shales, gypsum, and salt, and marks the 

Salina (Lower Helderberg). The circumvallation was probably somewhat broken in the region of Saginaw; at any rate, the outer circle 

made by the Helderberg (Traverse, Dundee, and Monroe limestones) 

was passed. Thus the ice flood, advancing from the Laurentian highlands, was deflected by this circular double rampart and passed in two 

great lobes the Michigan and the Huron-Erie respectively west and 

east of it. As the ice reached its maximum, however, it broke over 

the outer rampart and passed down the present valley of the Saginaw. At the greatest extent of the ice Michigan was completely and 

undoubtedly smoothly covered with it. Of inter-Glacial periods, with 

accompanying forest beds and other deposits interstratified with the 

till, the evidence is not very clear in Michigan. This is a point of 

importance, as such inter-Glacial beds might be water-bearers. The 

red clay described by Rominger may be such an inter-Glacial formation. Wood, however, is not uncommonly found in boring wells, as at 

Vassar, at Paw Paw, in Huron County, and elsewhere.

A bed of gravel or bowlders, which is porous compared with the 

overlying till, generally comes just above the bed rock, and the till 

itself is sometimes composed of alternations of gravelly clay and sand 

or quicksand. Such alternations and buried wood might be explained 

by the oscillations in the advance and retreat of the ice front and by 

the shifting of the ice streams from season to season, decade to decade, 

or century to century. It should be remembered, too, that caution 

must be used in interpreting the results of mere borings. For instance, 

a 3-foot seam of sand, reported in a 2-inch boring near Saginaw, when 

a shaft was sunk proved to be merely an irregular, nearly vertical 

seam.

It can not be said that below the present surface of the drift such 

an oxidized and eroded surface has been detected as would plainly 

imply an inter-Glacial period of considerable duration. Such a surface, especially near the center of motion, would often be swept away 

and obliterated by the readvance of the ice, and I have seen few 

exposures which indicated it, for erosion has not gone very deep since 

the last disappearance of the ice. The cliffs north of Frankfort, and 

particularly the valley of the Au Sable, would seem most hopeful 

places for the search. I should be puzzled to know how to make sure 

of its existence from a mere well record, unless, perhaps, such a zone 

being reached might be recognized by the yielding of softer water 

than that of the strata above.

The comparative lack of evidence of inter-Glacial epochs in Michigan, compared with States farther south, can not, however, be wholly
LANE.] GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 59

accidental, and the advance of the ice may be likened to the tides 

rising and falling on the shore. The highest tides of spring extend 

farther than the others, and the intervals between such extreme 

tides are at least half a year. Lesser high tides occur twice a month, 

and the common tides ebb and flow every day. So, down the beach, 

areas but rarely reached by the waters and uncovered most of the 

time, adjoin those generally covered by the waters. Thus, along 

the Ohio River the line of the greatest extension of the ice its 

presence must have been comparatively brief and its visits few, 

while in Michigan, nearer the source of the ice, the inter-Glacial 

periods may have been partly or wholly absent and certainly must 

have been shorter. When the ice finally retired, a lobed arrangement 

of the ice front two large lobes on each side of the Marshall circumvallation and a smaller one, the Saginaw lobe, passing directly 

over it were conspicuous and remained the most important features 

in determining the topography of the State. (See map of the Pleistocene deposits, PL II.)

The general theory is that the ice retired first from the higher lands; 

the Saginaw ice lobe, therefore, retired first, and bounding it on each 

side were two deeply reentrant cusps, which may be said to be the 

topographic axes of the State. Naturally, streams issued from such 

cusps, draining away the water from the wasting glacier, so that the 

typical form in which cusps appear is that of a stream valley, much 

wider than the present stream, charged with gravel and bowlders 

valley trains and heavily belted with moraines. This concentration 

of till and detritus on the highest parts of the rock floor naturally 

forms the highest parts of the State (see fig. 10).

The eastern cusp follows fairly closely the dividing line between 

the drainage into Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron (direct), 

and the drainage into Saginaw Bay and Lake Michigan. It, and also 

the other cusp, is marked by a belt of country crowded with lakes. 

Of the western cusp, Mr. Leverett thinks that he can determine the 

moraines on the Michigan side from those on the Saginaw or east side, 

by the fact that the latter contain many more pebbles of a bright red 

jasper conglomerate. 1

Thus, at the extreme southwest of the State, where the cusp first 

entered, Mr. Leverett refers to the Saginaw lobe, because it bears 

many red jasper-conglomerate pebbles, the morainic belt (see PI. II) 

which passes northeast from Niles and goes through Kendall, in the 

northeast corner of Van Buren County. Therefore the first position 

of the cusp would lie between it and the stronger ridge just west, 

which undoubtedly belongs to the Michigan lobe and is known as the 

Valparaiso. Jn confirmation, Mr. Bate, a surveyor of much 'experi1 My own observations agree so far as they go, but the fact is singular. The conglomerate 

and jasper in question appear to come from the original Huronian area on Thessalon River in 

Canada, and one would think that they would find their way rather into the Michigan than into 

the Huron-Saginaw lobe.
60 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OP MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

ence in the region, states that the red jasper-conglomerate is abundant 

in Montmorency County, but scarce or absent in Otsego County, 

except near the eastern line. It is to be noticed that on the map 

(PI. II) these moraine belts have their separate color, and the more 

important areas of sand and gravel deposited by streams draining the 

ice front are also delineated, although many smaller areas of gravel 

and sand and stream channels are, for the sake of clearness, omitted. 

A different color is devoted to those areas over which the ice front 

retreated more rapidly, making less conspicuous ridges.

Both cusps were evidently guided by the higher land of the Marshall sandstone outcrop. As the eastern cusp worked northeast the 

upper valleys of the two St. Joseph rivers, the Tiffin (whose drainage 

area has been preyed on by the Raisin), and the upper Huron River 

above Dexter, which probably drained off at one time past Adrian and 

possibly earlier found its way into the Ohio, were successive outlets 

of discharge. Farther northeast the drainage has been largely rearranged, though the upper parts of the Clinton River, and later the 

northern forks of the Flint River, the Cass River on the Saginaw 

Valley side, and the Black and its branches on the other, served for a 

time. The old summit swamp referred to by Taylor 1 may also be 

mentioned, and in Huron and Tuscola counties a number of channels 

are known which evidently drained the ice front but are too numerous 

to be indicated in a general map. High deposits near the angle are 

found at Metamora, between Deanville and Brown City, and near 

Verona Mills.

For the other cusp Dowagiac Creek served at first and, with St. 

Joseph River, poured into the Keokuk that vast expanse of gravel 

which is found in its upper reaches in Indiana. Then passing north, 

through a belt full of lakes, down the valley.of the Thornapple, it may 

be followed up the valley of Flat River, and past Mecosta into the 

Muskegon Valley. In the Muskegon Valley there is a stream which, 

first by way of Mecosta and Barryton and then by the main stream, 

received the cusp drainage for a considerable time. Thus the cusp 

may be followed into Oscoda County. From this point on the original cusp-drainage lines have again been so disturbed and reversed 

that it is hard to trace them. Probably the high points near Otsego 

Lake were at one angle. An old channel seems to pass near Valentine Lake. But the ice soon retired and allowed the water to flow 

freely all around the peninsula.

The lines of retreat of these cusps are bordered with moraine hills, 

composed of the debris left by the ice front where it tarried long or 

readvanced. Moreover, the ranges of moraine hills are crowded 

together and are higher toward the lines of cusp retreat, for, these hills 

being nearly parallel to the direction of ice advance and retreat, a 

general advance or retreat in the ice front made only a slight differiQ-eol. Soc. Am., Vol. VIII, 1896, p. 31.
LANE.] GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 61

ence in their position. Of course such moraine belts are studded with 

small tarns deep lakes of water caught between the various rows. 

Some of the moraines, especially the higher ones, which do not mark 

readvances so much as the edge of the cusp dump grounds, are exceedingly sandy, with hardly any clay, and in such cases the lakes freFio. 6. Sketch map of the drainage of Lower Michigan.

quently have no outlets. Lakes of another variety are formed in the 

following way. The moraine belts are frequently cut through by channels which served as vents for streams coming forth from the moraine. 

Only a few of these channels are indicated on PI. II. One, well marked, 

is formed by the upper valley of Willow Creek in T. 16 N., R. 13 E.,
62 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

Huron County, which also has branches. Near Harrison, in Clare 

County, are others, some of the finest that I have seen. Entering 

the valley of the South Branch of Muskegon River there are others, 

in T. 14 N., R. 8 W. But many that I have noticed I have not yet 

been able to connect into significant channels. Now, while sometimes 

the old channels abandoned by the streams from, the melting ice sheet 

stand perfectly empty, more often they are occupied by marshes at 

least, and not infrequently by lakes, the hollows occupied by the 

lakes having been made by the melting of a lump of ice (kettle-holes), 

by irregular settling of the sand, by an original sand bar in the stream, 

or by delta sand washed in by some tributary Glacial or post-Glacial 

stream. Many of the long, winding, and generally shallow " crooked " 

lakes, are thus located.

It is obvious that thus to uncover and drain the higher lands must 

produce, first of all, a peculiarly unnatural form of drainage. A 

marked type of river valley is thus produced. (See fig. 6.) All the 

larger streams begin to flow to the south, starting from some of the 

lines of drainage from the ice. They run along the ice front opposite 

a moraine, which, as a comparison of fig. 6 and PL II shows, is often 

a divide, and receive, of course, some tributaries from the north, 

which usually flow in valleys of ice outlets, but also receive a great 

many streams, perhaps smaller individually, which flow down the 

back of the moraine last deserted. At some point in their flow they 

reach the old lake shores, unless they are first diverted by some stream 

which has cut back through the moraine, and thence flow more directly 

down to the present lake. This accounts for two of the most striking 

facts in studying the drainage of the Michigan streams, namely: (1) 

The principal stream valleys curve so as to be concave northward; 

(2) the principal streams receive more numerous tributaries from the 

south. The Manistee is a most striking illustration of this tendency, 

while the Bear and the Betsie (Aux Bees Scies), near by, are similar. 

But so far as the curve is concerned, hardly anything can be more 

striking than the way in which the Tittabawassee on the one side and 

the Cass on the other curve around Saginaw Bay to me in Saginaw 

River.

The simplest and most natural form of drainage occurs where a 

smooth, tilted plain is lifted above water level. There all the rain 

water can run straight to the lake, or allowing for minute undulations, gather into small streams which run parallel to each other 

down the slope. This simple type of drainage is almost perfectly and 

typically illustrated along the east side of the Thumb in Huron and 

Sanilac counties, and it may be seen in small areas elsewhere. I 

have noted in one section of Elm wood Township (T. 14 N., R. 10 E.) 

four distinct parallel water courses traversing diagonally a section of 

land a mile square.

It is obvious that the type of drainage produced by first opening the
LANE.] GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 63

higher lands to drainage is just the reverse. Hence it is subject to 

rearrangement. The Lower Peninsula of Michigan might, were it 

closely and accurately contoured, become a classical land for the study 

of the phenomena of stream capture. One can see it taking place 

even now. Ditches are found of which one end drains into one river 

valley, and the other end into another river valley (e. g., south of Bad 

Axe, T. 16 N., R. 12 E.), but little by little one stream will come to drain 

the ditch more than the other.

Instances of reversed drainage are therefore not uncommon. One 

instance, previously cited by students, is that the lower part of Dowagiac Creek has been reversed so that the St. Joseph now flows up it 

and to the lake that way, instead of south to Keokuk, as formerly. 

Another clear case is in 

Huron County, where the 

Upper Willow occupies a 

Valley once a Glacial outlet 

by way of the Cass to the 

south. In fact Shebeon, 

Pinnebog, and Pigeon rivers, especially the last, are 

encroaching on the Cass 

and will probably deprive 

it of the North Fork that 

comes down from Huron 

County. The Pigeon, using 

a Glacial channel to the 

Cass that it has reversed, 

has already effected an entrance into the main valley 

of the North Fork of the 

Cass. Man is assisting in 

this readjustment, for it is 

obviously to his interest to 

reclaim the rich lands of the swamps and the drained lakes along 

the shortest possible lines.

The streams which drained the ice front have many features that 

make them an easy prey to pirate streams. In the first place, flowing 

along the higher lands, with a circuitous course, they have easy grades, 

which weaken their power of erosion. In the second place, the ice 

streams, of which they are now deprived, carved valleys much too 

large for them and brought down much debris more than the present 

streams can handle; and much of the debris was so coarse that there 

is a constant tendency for the water to percolate through the sand and 

gravel and do no erosive work whatever, except some little chemical 

erosion, which leaves the beds even more permeable than before. This 

is quite noticeable in the North Fork of the Cass, the bed of which

FIG. 7. Diagram illustrating method of stream capture. 

A, dry channel; B, deeper encroaching channel with 

springs on its sides.
64 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

shows that its erosive work is nearly at an end, for vegetation is pressing hard upon it. Now, as the vigorous headwaters of the pirate 

streams push into the plain of sand and gravel of such an old valley 

they naturally lower the water level, and the water of the valley is 

drained away by seepage through the sand and gravel. The annexed 

figure (fig. 7) is an ideal illustration of lateral seepage from an actual 

case; fig. 8 is also instructive. In fig. 7 the valleys are nearly parallel. In fig. 8 the attacking stream, is working in at right angles to the 

ancient valley course. In many parts of the State one will come across 

valleys where, judging from the vegetation, there is now rarely any 

surface-water erosion, as the water sinks in and is absorbed by the 

sands and gravels (e. g., sec. 34, T. 24 N., R. 2 E.).

In some parts of the region of overwash sand and gravel kame 

plains (e. g., around Harrison, T. 19 N., R. 4 W., and Grayling, T. 

26 N., R. 4 W.) one may have to sink 100 feet or more,in surficial 

deposits before reaching water, and may then reach a real surface 

seepage water, while even the deep valleys are dry most of the year, 

so perfect is the subsurface drainage.

LAKES OF LOWER MICHIGAN.

The lakes of Michigan are numerous. Estimates of their number 

vary from five to fifteen thousand. There are twenty-five in the 

township of Grattan (T. 8 N., R. 9 W.) alone. They are of great 

importance as direct sources of water supply, as reservoirs which tend 

to steady the stream flow, and, finally, when they disappear, as furnishing the black muck soil, with a shell-marl subsoil, that has 

proved wonderfully adapted to celery and other culture. The accompanying illustration, PL III, B, shows a field of onions on such land. 

It is the second type of lake the shallow' lake of the interlobate 

drainage which is especially likely to be thus filled. The remarks 

concerning the lakes of the Kalamazoo River Basin, page 24, apply 

very nearly to any other part of the Lower Peninsula above the line 

of the old lake extensions, colored blue on PL II.

The following description has been taken from an unprinted paper, 

by Prof. C. A. Davis, read before the botanical section, Michigan 

Academy of Sciences, giving a graphic description of these pools:

" The lakes of the State, exclusive of the Great Lakes, cover an area 

of 1,225 square miles, or more than 784,000 acres, or about -^ of the 

total area of the State, and they are so distributed that there is hardly 

a botanist in Michigan who can not readily reach one or more of them.

"The small lakes, particularly those of the Lower Peninsula, are 

commonly depressions in the drift, shallow and not of large extent, 

frequently partially filled in around the margin with the remains of 

former generations of plants, so that many of the typical features of 

lakes of hilly or mountainous regions are partly suppressed or entirely 

wanting. These lakes belong to recent geological time, and this 

undoubtedly accounts for some of their peculiarities. By far the
LANE.] LAKES OF LOWEK MICHIGAN. 65

larger number of them exhibit the following features. A small sheet 

of water, roughly elliptical in shape, bordered by a marshy area of 

varying width, or on two or more sides by low, abruptly sloping, sandy, 

or gravelly hills. The marshy tract is frequently wider on the south 

than on the north side, and its character varies from a quaking bog at 

the inner margin through a sphagnous zone into a swamp, in which 

the prevailing trees may be tamarack, cedar, or spruce. The plants 

of the sphagnum zone are characteristically those of the boreal-life 

zone, and in such lake margins we find northern plants reaching their 

southern limits. The quaking bog is usually a lakeward extension of 

the shore plants and is a closely woven turf of the roots and rootstocks of various species of Carex, Cyperus, grasses, and at its outer 

margin consists sometimes of Typha latifolium and Sparganium eurycarpum. In the larger lakes the marshy border may not extend 

entirely around the margin, but it is usually noticeable along the 

southern shore, where it may be of considerable extent, while the rest 

of the shore is entirely without it."

Most of the lakes of Michigan belong, in origin, to the two classes 

already described, i. e., they are either inclosed between moraine 

ridges or are left as pools in the kame plains of sand and gravel. 

Lakes of these two classes are usually more than 750 feet above tide. 

In general, the regions of numerous lakes are the regions of crowded 

moraine belts, and they may be approximately traced in this way. 

But there are two or three other classes of lakes that deserve mention.

First, there is a class of lakes which arise from the erosion of limestone into caves that finally tumble in and produce sink holes. 

Though there are some indications of sink holes in the Carboniferous 

limestones, lakes of the sink-hole class are, so far as known, practically confined to the lower Devonian limestones (Traverse and Dundee) and occur only in the extreme southeast (Ottawa Lake, T. 8 S., 

R. 6 E.) and northeast (e. g., sec. 32,T. 33 N., R. 6 E.) of the State.

Second, there is a class of lakes which may be in part in rock or 

moraine basins, but which owe their distinct existence to the fact that 

the Great Lakes now, or at a higher stage of water, have built sand 

bars across the mouth of long bays and have thus cut them off from 

the main body of water. Such lakes are frequently less than 25 feet 

above the water level. A good illustration is the lake to the right in 

the view of Sleeping Bear Point (PL V), or Pine Lake, near Charlevoix, which is now reconnected by an artificial channel with Lake 

Michigan (T. 34 N"., R. 8 W.), and it is easy to see, from the map or 

from PL IV, that Grand Traverse Bay might be converted into such 

a lake.

Some of the lakes are nothing more than old river valleys flooded 

by the tilting of-the earth's crust and the consequent encroachment of 

the lake on the land. This is a class not clearly separate from the 

others. Such lakes occur by the score along the west coast of Michigan from Kalamazoo River to Frankfort, and seem to be submerged 

30 5
66 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OP MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

river valleys, 1 but the bars built across their mouths, are as in the 

second class.

If, as Professor Gilbert has said, the land is rising to the northeast 

at the rate of 5 inches a century for each 100 miles, it is easy to see 

that such a stream as Saginaw River will also tend to be ponded back; 

and, in fact, so far as current is concerned, Saginaw River is now but 

a long, narrow lake.

When the ice lobes retired so that the heights of the rock surface 

lay in front of them, crowned by a heavy moraine, the water gathered 

in front of them in great lakes. The debris brought by streams in 

the ice was, in this case, laid down more smoothly and stratified with 

the clay that accompanied it. Thus the topography of these moraines 

laid down under water is far more gentle than that of the earlier 

ridges. On the east side the lake in front of the Huron-Erie lobe, as 

shown by Gilbert in the Ohio reports, drained off past Fort Wayne 

into the Maumee, and the waters of this lake level were about 220 feet 

above Lake Erie or 785 feet above tide level. Toward the north the 

beach lines are at a somewhat higher level, the change to water-laid 

topography occurring somewhere about 800 feet above tide.

In the center of the State a lake was penned up in the Saginaw 

Valley, as recognized by Wmchell and Mudge, and flowed down Grand 

River. The highest water of this lake, as seen in the sandy gravels 

around Alma and Pompeii, seems to have been about 760 feet above 

tide, so that, as the swamps south of Ashley are about 85 feet above 

Lakes Michigan and Huron (i. e., 667 above tide), the water would have 

stood about 100 feet deep in the channel, unless it has gradually 

scoured it down to present level. It is no wonder, then, that the drift 

was scoured down to the rock at Grand Rapids and Ionia. It flowed 

into the lake which had been similarly formed in the lower end of 

Lake Michigan and was draining over into the Mississippi by the 

recently reopened Chicago outlet. This lake was at first at least 90 

to 100 feet above the present lake level, or 680 feet above tide, and 

probably more.

As the ice retired the lake east found a number of drainage channels across the Thumb through Sanilac and Huron counties, as indicated in PL II. 3 Finally free communication was opened around the 

Thumb in Huron County. This produced a slight but preceptible 

drop in the water level of the eastern lake, but thereafter it remained 

relatively permanent, and is marked by a well-defined gravel line, not 

perfectly horizontal but rising a little to the north. This may be 

explained by the removal of the attraction of the ice mass to the 

north, or by a subsequent tilting. Around Ypsilanti (T. 3 S., R. 7E.) 

it is 750 feet above tide, while in losco County (sec. 30, T. 22 N., R. 6 E.) 

it is about 775 feet above tide, and in Huron County, north of Verona 

(T. 16 N., R. 13 E.), it is about 774 feet above tide.

1 See article by Winchell in Harper's Magazine, Vol. XLIII, July, 1871, pp. 284 and 285. 

* See also article by P. B. Taylor, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. VIII, 1896, p. 31.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATFR-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 30 PL. IV

DUTCH POINT SAND SPIT, GRAND TRAVERSE BAY.
WELLS IN THE PLEISTOCENE. 67

The tall from this level, whether due to the opening of a new outlet 

in New York, or, as is possible, to freer communication into Lake 

Michigan, was rather sudden for the first 50 to 75 feet, for we find that 

there are but few, and these local, traces of sand ridges in this interval, that the soil is clayey, and that the general course of the streams 

is directly down the slopes toward the lakes. The drop of the next 

25 feet was comparatively slow and marked by a broad sand belt, and 

at a slightly lower level (650 feet in Huron County) was another marked 

halt. Then still lower, about 25 feet above present lake level in Huron 

County and about 17 feet in losco County, was a long stay, during 

which many bays were filled in or bridged by sand spits, so as to form 

lakes.

The history of the western side of the peninsula is perhaps not so 

eventful as that of the eastern side, given above, and is not so familiar 

to me. The belt of lacustrine deposits belonging to the Great Lakes 

is naturally narrower, being only from 60 to 125 feet above the present 

lake level, but there were many large lakes. Kalamazoo County, for 

example, has been divided into eight "prairies," viz, Prairie Ronde, 

Ground Neck, Genesee, Grand, Tollands, Gull, Dry, and Climax. 

These prairies, with their black loam soil, are probably old lakes. 

(See p. 64.) The marked change of grade in Kalamazoo River near 

Kalamazoo, brought out by Mr. Horton's table (p. 37), is probably 

due to the river crossing such an old lake bottom, where the grade is 

barely enough to keep the water moving.

Similarly, Higgins and Houghton lakes seem to be but shrunken 

remnants of a large lake drained by the Muskegon, which covered a 

large part of Roscommon County when the ice lay on both sides of it.

There are high terraces around Traverse City and in similar situations, which show that the ice front once dammed up a lake at a much 

higher level in that region, a lake whose water level was as high and 

at first higher than that on the east side of the peninsula, and which 

probably drained off southwest. The study of this lake in all its 

stages would make a very interesting problem for the glacialist. The 

map (PL II) without doubt needs much correction in Leelanaw County. 

It is obvious that the ice projected in a long tongue into Lake Michigan and retired very slowly, much more slowly than from' the highlands. From the retreating cusp sprang large rivers, draining into 

Lake Michigan, whose channels were heavily lined with coarse sand, 

gravel, and bowlders the so-called valley trains. From Cadillac to 

Elmira the line of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway is mainly 

through sand.

WELLS IN THE PLEISTOCENE.

Before taking up in detail the application of the facts noted above 

to the study of the water supply of the various districts it may be well 

to call attention to certain general statements:

1. Clayey regions do not yield water freely. This applies first to
68 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

lake clays, and in slightly less degree to bowlder clays or till, kn6wn 

among drillers as "hardpan." Regions of this type are mainly 

included in the sections colored blue and light buff on the map (PI. II).

2. Sandy regions will at some depth yield a supply of water. But 

a distinction must be made between the sandy belts of the lakewashed region, in which the sand and gravel are a very dry, superficial 

coating to the clay beneath, liable to contamination and likely to fail 

altogether in dry seasons like 1895, and the heavier sand and gravel 

regions, which represent drainage from the ice sheet, such as the great 

gravel plains of the Muskegon, the Manistee, and the well-named Au 

Sable. In such plains water is found at considerable, often at great, 

depths, but the supply once reached is abundant. The heavy sand 

regions are mainly colored brown and erosshatched on the map (PL II).

3. The alternate advances and retreats, whether of ice or of lake, 

have tended to produce an alternation of deposits more or less clayey.

FIG. 8. Profile near Rose City, Michigan, a, impervious beds clayey till; b, pervious beds 

sand and gravel; x, springs. Horizontal scale, 1 mile=l inch; vertical scale, 400 feet=l inch.

It is easy to see that in the ease of a lake such deposits will dip slightly 

from the lake margin toward the lower, deeper parts of the lake bottom. But the same thing is true also of ice. The ice front would 

retire from, the highlands, leaving an apron of gravel in front, and then 

a little change of climate would produce a readvance, in which it 

would roll up the apron ahead of it or roll over it and deposit a gravel 

clay (ground moraine) upon it. Or, if it retired so far as to leave a 

lake between it and its past position, it might push the lake clays on 

top of the shore gravels of this lake. That is in many cases what has 

occurred. In .some cases, of course, the pervious bed is entirely 

destroyed; but often the pervious bed remains as a good source of 

water, and has head enough to produce a flow. Close to the lakeward side of prominent moraines, shown upon the map (PL II), flows 

from the drift may be expected. The cross section near Rose City 

(fig. 8) illustrates this principle. In the midst of moraine regions
LANE.] METHODS OF SINKING WELLS. 69

there is confused and broken topography, springs are common, and 

there are often small groups of flowing wells in the low grounds.

4. The ice was very likely to leave some gravel in all sheltered, i. e., 

southern sloping, parts of the rock surface or the valleys therein. If 

the rock itself was not impervious there was some circulation of water 

along it which leached out channels. Thus it is the rule, though not 

without exceptions, that just above the rock surface there is a waterbearing stratum.

METHODS OF SINKING WELLS.

While the wells in the rock have been almost invariably drilled, there 

has been considerable variety in the method of putting down wells in 

the drift, and a brief recapitulation may be suggestive.

First, of course, are the dug wells. Where experience has shown 

that many bowlders and stones are likely to be encountered, digging 

will probably prove the most economical method. Wells are dug 2 feet 

or more in diameter, and are variously cased. From all parts of the 

State come complaints that wooden casing soon rots and makes the 

water foul, and is almost always used longer than it ought to be.

Another form of casing is stoning, where stones are plenty. The disadvantage of stoning is, however, that it does not keep out the surface waters.

Where stone is scarce brick casing is often used, also large crocks, 

or sewer pipe about 2 feet in diameter. Properly sealed against surface water, these make excellent casings, though fragile and likely to 

be cracked by uneven settling of the earth.

A plan followed in some extra deep drift wells and worthy of wider 

adoption, is the use of a boiler plate shield and the cementing of 

the well as it is dug. Mr. E. R. Phillips has his well in Bay City 

cemented down to its bottom and a bed of charcoal and clean sand 

therein an excellent plan for those who must use wells in unsatisfactory localities.

The disadvantage of combining a dug basin with some other form 

of well, and the various disadvantages of a lack of thorough casing 

are described on page 72.

Another kind of well is the driven well. This is a great favorite in 

the sandy and gravelly districts of the areas covered by Glacial drainage deposits (colored brown and crosshatched on the map, PI. II). 

In the heavy clays of the lake clay areas (colored blue on the same 

map) it is quite common to use an earth auger and bore down, and 

this may be combined with driving where necessary.

The chief difficulties encountered are stones too large to be pushed 

aside, which have to be dynamited, quicksand, and fine sand, like 

that of an hourglass, which runs in faster than it can be pumped out. 

In going through strata carrying quicksand, work should be continued night and day without interruption. I do not know that artificially freezing or cementing the quicksand bed has ever been teed in
70 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

the State, though it would be effective. It would seem that especially 

in case of quicksand, a mode of sinking wells illustrated by PI. Ill, 

A, might prove very effective. This method consists of forcing down, 

in a smaller pipe within the casing, a current of water, under a very 

strong head (sometimes steam is also used), which scours out the soils 

and lets the casing drop as it is tapped. There is thus no opportunity 

for the sand beyond the reach of the very strong current to pile in. 

These quicksand beds sometimes contain water, but the well becomes 

easily clogged if its point is near quicksand.

EASTERN SHORE DISTRICT.

For the purpose of detailed description the State may be divided 

into seven sections. 1

In the eastern shore district is included nearly all the country which 

slopes off to the east from the land water-laid moraines along the eastern part of Huron County down to Monroe. The surface soil is predominantly clay. This is varied by strips of sand along the streams, 

composed of successive deltas and old shore lines more or less parallel 

to the lake, 3 along which the ridge roads often run. On the clay no 

surface wells can be obtained and deep wells prevail. On the sand 

ridges shallow surface wells can be obtained, but are likely to fail in 

dry times and are, besides, at all times liable to pollution. In boring 

down an impervious lake clay or a gravelly clay, generally known as 

hardpan, is found. Interlaminated streaks of gravel are few and not 

uniform, except that generally just above bed rock there is a porous 

water-bearing seam. In the extreme south of this district through 

Monroe County, from Ottawa Lake to Sibleys (an area colored red 

on the map, PL VI), limestone outcrops are found, and the drift is 

accordingly shallow, but in passing to the northwest there is very soon 

encountered about 80 feet or so of the blue arid gravelly clay. Where 

this clay overlies the limestone sulphureted hydrogen, which may also 

spring from the decomposition of the sulphide of iron in the drift, is 

generally accumulated, and the deeper wells the so-called sulphur 

springs are heavily charged with it. Where black shale underlies 

and there is black shale both above and below the Berea grit burning gas is very likely to accumulate, and often excites surprising 

hopes. Most of the deeper wells in Wayne are charged with one or 

the other of these two gases, but no large permanent supply can 

be expected from them, though in many cases they might for a time 

furnish a house or two with a convenient fuel.. Flows of water from 

gravel beds are not uncommon throughout this regidn, and the number 

and strength of flows increase from the shore back toward the moraine.

1 After making these sections I noted that there was a striking parallelism between the regions 

into which I had divided the State and those into which Professor Wheeler had divided it for 

study of floral distribution.

a In Huron County the markedly sandy strips are 30 to 25,68,98 to 118, and 163 to 193 feet above 

the lake.
LANE.] SAGINAW VALLEY DISTRICT. 71

There, too, the section of the drift becomes less monotonous, and there 

are more interlaminated gravels. At about 750 feet above tide, on 

the border of the moraine, on a line along through Britton, York, 

Milan, Ypsilanti, Northville, Birmingham, and Rochester to North 

Street, back of Port Huron, one may be reasonably sure of striking 

water which will rise nearly if not quite to the surface of the ground 

and frequently overflow. The water of these wells e. g., that of the 

Ypsilanti waterworks is of excellent quality. Farther down the 

slope the drift beds are less porous and the water, if obtained, is 

likely to be too highly charged with gas and mineral for comfort.

Through this district, therefore, the sources of water supply may 

be summarized as follows:

(1) Lakes. Only the Great Lakes are of practical importance and 

are the only satisfactory supply for large towns.

(2) Surface wells. The wells are generally very shallow and exhaustible. Wells from gravel or sand "pockets" in the clay are very 

uncertain, but are likely to flow for a time. The Pagoda spring of 

Mount Clemens appears to belong to this class, but yields more 

freely than is usually the case. Toward the upper margin of the 

district the supply is more abundant.

(3) Wells from base of drift. These are almost always present; the 

supply is ample and the flow probable. They are free from contamination, and are somewhat highly mineralized, but probably not to a 

degree to render them useless.

s

SAGINAW VALLEY DISTRICT.

In this district is included the drainage of Saginaw River and part 

of the surface drainage about to the 750-foot line and including the 

part once covered by Lake Saginaw. The rock surface is exceedingly variable. The old coal measure plateau was cut up by gorges 

100 to over 200 feet deep, which are more extensive than can be 

shown on the map (PL VI). But the present surface is flat and is 

varied only by the valleys which the larger streams have cut from 10 

to 30 feet below the plain. First with moraine till, and then with 

the lake clays, the rough rock surface has been plastered nearly 

smooth. Thus the depth of surface deposits is not uniform, varying 

from even 0 to 500 feet, but being generally about 80 to 100 feet. 

Finally, sand ridges frequently occur about 25 feet above the lake, 

then again, as near Hemlock City, about 70 feet above the lake (655 

above tide), and again about 160 feet above the lake (742 to 766 feet 

above tide), as at Alma, ithaca, Gagetown, and Cass City.

These sand ridges yield surface water, easily exhausted and liable 

to contamination. On the clay lands between them the farmers have 

to go deeper for water, and rarely fail to find it. In most places there 

are beds of quicksand, which yield water under the clay and very 

often gravel. Waters from these horizons always rise well, and in
72 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

many places flow, especially near the 700-foot contour. The quicksand wells, however, easily clog up and are short lived. The quality 

of the water is not so unexceptionable as the quantity. It is generally 

hard and not infrequently somewhat mineralized. But throughout 

all this region as good water, with as good or better head, can usually 

be obtained from underlying sandstones.

To the southeast in this district the drift coating is very thin, from 

0 to 40 feet, and outcrops in the streams occur; but toward the west 

the coating becomes thicker. Thus, at St. Johns it is 141 feet 

deep; at Midland, 198 to 300 feet; at Mount Pleasant, 250 to 350; at 

Coleman, 300; and the greatest known depth of drift in this district lies at Alma, 495 feet. To the northwest in this region it will 

be exceptional cases and exploration for other things than water 

which will lead wells to rock. Especially is this true since ample

supplies of flowing water can 

generally be obtained from the 

quicksands, which are very difficult to drill through. It will be 

noted, moreover, that this part 

of the region lies in a southwest 

direction from the gypsum quarries of Alabaster. This is the direction of Glacial motion. Hence 

it is not surprising to find gypsum 

disseminated through the drift. 

Prof. C. A. Davis has called attention to a bowlder of gypsum 

as large as two fists, which he discovered near Alma. This is certainly exceptional, and is of interest as showing the recent date of ice 

movement. A certain amount of gypsum is disseminated through the 

drift in this region and gets into the water. This is most marked at 

Mount Pleasant and in the region immediately around, as at Leaton. 

Here the wells in the drift, whether deep or shallow, are, without 

exception, permanently hard and highly impregnated with sulphate of 

lime. These mineral waters, though free from bacterial contamination and not likely to produce typhoid and diphtheria, are said to be 

injurious to the bowels and bladder of certain constitutions, while 

they might be what others need. Persons in this region who tend to 

a uric acid diathesis might find filtered rain water better than patent 

medicines. A trace of common salt, or lithium carbonate or sodic 

sulphate, might be added to remove the flat taste of the water.

This district is much like the first except that gas is not common in 

the wells. The wells in surface sands are usually shallow and easily 

exhausted in dry times. Deeper wells in quicksand or gravel in or 

under the clay can generally be obtained, but the water is often very

FIG. 9. Diagram illustrating evils of insufficient 

casing.
LANK.] NORTHEASTERN SHORE DISTRICT. 73

hard. The thickness of drift i. e., depth to bed rock is quite 

irregular, but is much greater to the northwest.

One practice common in this district but not confined to it, which 

can not be too strongly deprecated, is drilling from a basin or dug 

well and letting the water resulting flow directly into the basin, the 

upper basin remaining as pervious as ever. The way in which this 

practice arises is simple and natural. A farmer begins by a dug well, 

perhaps 16 feet down in the surface sands, as in fig. 9. In a dry season like that of 1895 his well goes dry. He borrows an augur and 

bores down through sand and then through the clay, say 20 feet 

more, and strikes another porous bed full of water under a good head, 

which rises and fills his well up far enough, and he stops satisfied. 

But in the first place the impervious clays through which he has bored 

will probably creep in and fill the hole, and in a few years the work 

will have to be repeated. In the second place, suppose that the well 

is cased from the bottom, or that the flow from the lower pervious beds 

is so strong as to keep the hole open; in dry times the water from the 

lower bed will still work out sidewise through the stone curbing into 

the upper beds that have gone dry. Thus the head of the lower beds 

will be wasted, and some neighbor who has had a flowing well from 

that bed may suddenly find his flow stopped, while he himself will 

have to exert himself more than should be necessary in operating the 

pump. Again, if there is a strong flow upward from the lower beds, 

sand may be carried up in sufficient quantities to fill the upper well 

and leave a cavity around the bottom of the hole through the impervious beds, into which they will finally fall and seal the well, even 

though the beds themselves are cased. Finally, there is nothing to 

prevent a rainy season from reversing the process raising the water 

level in the upper beds, changing the current, and contaminating the 

supply with rain water and surface drainage, so that the certainty of 

purity, which might easily be obtained, is lost.

If, however, as shown by the dotted lines, the hole is cased and the 

casing continued to the surface, the head of the lower bed will be 

preserved, risk of contamination removed, and the life of the well 

lengthened.

NORTHEASTERN SHORE DISTRICT. *

This district is occupied mainly by the drainage valley of Thunder 

Bay River, with the lower reaches of the streams which drain into 

Huron Bay between it and the Tittabawassee, and the streams, mostly 

small and insignificant, which lie to the north of Thunder Bay River.

To the southwest of this district lies the high interior moraine 

which surrounds the Muskegon, marks most sharply the outline of 

the Michigan-Saginaw cusp, and probably includes the highest points 

of the peninsula (e. g., 1,465 feet, at Jim Cook's knob, on the north 

line of sec. 34, T. 24 K, R. 2E., and, it is said, 1,682 feet nearOtsego). 

Near West Branch the district approaches nearest the waters of the
74 WATEE EESOUECES OF LOWEE PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

lake, and there and at Wolverine the descent, from over 1,200 feet to 

less than 700 feet, is very abrupt, especially in the stream valleys. 

This region is but newly settled and is still in large part wilderness.

The general character of the district is somewhat as follows: Around 

the nucleus (the central district) of sand plains, about ] ,180 feet above 

tide, except as cut by river valleys, runs a moraine, which is mainly or 

at times entirely covered with sand and frequently rises over 1,400 feet 

above tide. (See fig. 8.) There is also another sand plain, about as 

high as the inner sand plain but narrower, and then a moraine, only 

about 1,200 feet above tide, which is clayey and clothed with hard 

wood, especially on its northerly or easterly side. Then the moraine 

is deeply gullied, and there is a rapid drop to about 960 feet above 

tide, where there are again extensive sand plains. Inclosing these is 

another broken clayey morainal belt frequently 1,000 feet above tide, 

and then another drop brings us to about 800 feet above tide. Below 

this the moraines are less marked, and gravel ridges, produced as 

shore beaches, replace the extensive overwash sand plains of the 

higher regions, studded with jack pine. The soil becomes clay with 

streaks of sand, rather than sand interrupted by lines of clay hills. 

In other words, there is a series of encircling moraines as shown on 

PL II, and between each moraine and the one next within the valley 

the space has been filled with sand, shown in brown and crosshatched, 

nearly to the level of the outer moraine, and often covering it heavily. 

In the sandy regions water maybe obtained from surface sand, though 

it may be quite deep. Whenever streams like the Au Sable or Au 

Gres have cut down through the sands to underlying clays springs 

occur, and they are abundant in this region.

The drift through all this region is probably deep, and the clay 

moraines probably mark epochs of readvance of the ice, when it was 

likely to override the sand deposits formed in front of it in its retreat. 

In the few deep wells already sunk deposits of sand and gravel are 

found under the clay and till. Wells sunk into them, especially near 

the moraine belts on the north and east sides, may be expected to 

find plenty of water with considerable head. Fig. 8, from conditions 

at Rose City, will show how favorable are the conditions for artesian 

wells. There are high, sandy gathering grounds on the side south or 

west of the moraine, and higher semi-impervious ground with higher 

water level between the gathering ground and the discharge. 1 Flowing wells may be expected, therefore, all along from West Branch past 

Rose City to Indian River.

On the moraine belts the same sheets of water-bearing gravel may 

be struck, but the height to which the water will rise in the well 

depends on the altitude.

On the sand plains to the southwest of a moraine belt it will be 

necessary, except in low spots, to go deep for even surface water. There

1 Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells, by T, C. Chamberlin: Fifth Ann. Rapt. 

U. S. Geol. Survey, 1885, pp. 131 to 172.
LANE.] NORTHERN SHORE DISTRICT. 75

are a great many fine, undeveloped water powers in this region, and 

lakes are quite numerous. The quality of the water is generally 

excellent. It is, of course, hard, and it has been stated that 80 per 

cent of horse diseases are due to hard water. The water is not suited 

to boiler use. But the hard water of this region probably differs 

from that of Saginaw Valley and around Mount Pleasant, in that its 

hardness is largely temporary, as letting the water stand removes 

some, and boiling or breaking with quicklime all, of the hardness, 

which consists of lime and iron.

On the other side of Thunder Bay River a smooth moraine, which 

covers an underlying limestone ridge, gently rises. The coating of 

drift is shallow, the underlying limestones are pervious, and it is often 

necessary to go down into rock to obtain a permanent water supply.

Throughout this district there are many ponds. In some the water 

is said to be quite soft. The ponds are either clay moraine tarns, 

crooked lakes left in abandoned channels of the old ice drainage, or 

sometimes sink holes and valleys in the limestone. At present their 

main worth is to the hunter, the fisherman, and the lumberman, but the 

time may come when they will be useful as reservoirs for mill streams 

or as town water supplies. In most of this district good water supplies 

can also be obtained from the rock, though at considerable depths.

WESTERN SHORE DISTRICT.

There is much greater difficulty in defining, by natural characteristics, this district than some of the previous ones. There is a series of 

moraines which come diagonally down toward Lake Michigan (see 

PL V), becoming gradually lower, more extended, and more undulating in contour. The moraines are heavily swathed in gravels, sands, 

and clays of the valley trains which lie between them. At the extreme 

north of this district, from Bay View and Petoskey southwest, there is 

a rock ridge, and there is probably also a rock ridge from Grand 

Rapids northwest into Oceana County, where the drift covering is 

comparatively thin. Between these ridges the drift is very thick, so 

that only the deep salt or mineral wells strike rock, which is encountered 500 or 600 feet down. Probably the relief of the rock surface is 

considerable. This thick layer of drift is generally varied in section, 

as the wells at Big Rapids, Traverse City, etc., show, and various 

sands and gravels yield water; and on lower grounds, as at Traverse 

City, at the Nochemo springs (really wells), near Reed City, around 

Empire and White Cloud, and at Mecosta, flows are likely to occur. The 

level of the flows at these places is below that in the adjacent country, 

but on the higher grounds, as about Walton, especially on the great 

sand and gravel plains which are so pronounced a feature, it is often 

necessary to go 100 feet or more to reach water. Usually, however, 

water can be reached by a drive well, and of course water at such depths 

is steadier in supply and freer from some forms of contamination.
76 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

The deeper a surface-water well is the farther it should be away from 

any privy.

At the extreme north, north of Harbor Springs, there is a singular 

district, which seems to have an exceedingly heavy coating of drift 

and overwash gravel and which is so porous that wells must be sunk 

300 or 400 feet to water.

Toward the south in this district there is a region of shallower wells 

and drift, but the varied character of the drift continues. Occasionally a section will be found which shows no pervious bed; this may 

be expected mainly along the moraines, indicated in PL II. Usually, 

however, even in the belts marked as moraine ridges, sufficient minor 

alternations in the drift exist.

The relatively greater thickness of drift, and the ample supply of 

water which may be obtained from the Glacial drainage gravel deposits, 

account for the relative scarcity of strongly mineralized waters in the 

area of the coal measures and Michigan series compared with those 

in Saginaw Valley.

NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT.

This district includes the upper valleys of Manistee, Muskegon, 

and Au Sable rivers, and is bounded by the northeast district and the 

west district, previously described, or, in a general way, by the second 

of the series of ascending moraines, which passes through Lewiston. 

On the south it may conveniently be brought down to the second correction line of the Land Office, or about to the Ann Arbor Railroad. 

As thus defined, the district is characteristically sandy. The depth 

of drift is probably often very great, how great is not known, as no 

wells have reached rock.

Wells are generally driven, not drilled, and water may be from 17 

to 60, 80, or even 180 feet through the sand, depending on the altitude. The first encircling moraine appears to be as sandy as the intervening plains, though the sand may mask clay. On the lower parts 

of the plains, as at Roscoinmon, there is but 12 to 14 feet of sand above 

clay, and below this clay are sheets of water which flow, or at least 

have good heads. The water is said to be comparatively soft, but it 

is by no means equal to rain water. ,

SAGINAW MORAINE.DISTRICT.

This central part of the State lies higher than the old lake bottoms 

of Saginaw Valley and the eastern shore, and is more varied in its 

topography. It is generally undulating, with 20 to 30 foot rolls, and 

occasionally rises to hills 100 to 200 feet high. While, as a whole, it 

lies on a rock ridge largely the Marshall sandstones the rock surface 

does not at all conform to the minor undulations of the present surface. Consequently the depth of the drift varies, occasionally exceeding 200 feet but being more usually 30 to 50 feet. Over these areas 

there is a great variety in the drift deposits.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. SO PL. V

BARRIER BEACH CONNECTING EMPIRE BLUFFS AND SLEEPING BEAR POINT, LAKE MICHIGAN.
LANE.] DEEPER WELLS AND PALEOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY. 77

While in the eastern shore district the drift is almost uniformly 

clay or bowlder clay, here there are alternations of sand and gravel 

with till (hardpan), sometimes many of them, indicating retreats and 

readvances of the ice. The axis of the Thumb lies in this district, 

and it is traversed by many Glacial drainage channels with heavy 

valley trains, which yield abundant surface water.

Consequently, much less can be said about this district as a whole 

than about some others. Usually water is found above the rock, but as 

the rock waters are good and ample there are also numerous deep rock 

wells. Frequently the streams have cut down through the overlying 

sand or gravel to clay beneath, and in these cases springs are certain 

to appear. Occasionally erosion has reached bed rock. Not infrequently on the lower lands flowing wells, as well as springs, may be 

obtained, and they are found scattered all over the area; but on the 

higher lands and moraine ridges it is necessary to bore deep for water. 

Along the margin of this district, however, there is a sudden drop of 

the country, and along this belt wells are very likely to occur with 

flow ample enough in many cases, as at Rochester, for town supply. 

The quality of the water is almost invariably good hard but not 

otherwise strongly mineralized.

SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT.

The conditions here are practically as in the Saginaw moraine district. The coating of drift over the sandstones in the valleys is usually thin, while beneath the hills it is 100 feet or more thick. Between 

the hills are usually swamps and Glacial drainage deposits or valley 

trains. In some places in Hillsdale County the drift is found to fill 

and obliterate prp-Glacial channels. One of these lies about 5 miles 

northwest of Jonesville; and another, which traverses the county 

from east to west, passing near Osseo, has been described by Mr. 

H. P. Parmelee in a paper read before the American Association for 

the Advancement of Science, but not published.

DEEPER WELLS AND PALEOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY.

Below the mantle of sands, gravels, clays, and till which we have 

considered in the last section, the drill encounters the consolidated 

rocks of the Paleozoic series. Among the rocks the drillers readily 

distinguish the black, white, blue, red, and sandy shales, the white 

or brown sandstones, and the harder limestones. Soap rock or soapstone is usually very clayey, and is often a calcareous shale. Between 

limestone and dolomite no distinction is made, although the latter is 

sometimes mistaken for sandstone. The last two, especially when 

full of chert nodules, "flint" layers, etc., are usually much more difficult to drill than sandstones and shales. Sometimes a ball of pyrite 

or a nodule of sideritic iron ore will resist the drill as effectually as 

fiint, and may pass for such. The variation in hardness naturally
78 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

makes a great difference in the cost of drilling. While for 2-inch 

holes in the softer strata (the coal measures or Coldwater shales) 50 

cents a foot has been a standard rate and will yield good wages if there 

is no special difficulty encountered, some specially hard layer of a foot 

may take more time than all the rest of the well; and in general through 

the State wells have cost about $1 a foot. Usually half the time 

at least in drilling a well is consumed in overcoming exceptional difficulties and in making repairs.

In mere churn drillings coal is difficult to distinguish from black 

shale, at least to determine its exact thickness; though an expert, by 

turning the drill 90 degrees each time and thus getting larger pieces, 

and by noting especially the peculiar crunch under the drill, which may 

be felt if the hand is on the rope, may ascertain approximately the 

nature and thickness of a deposit. Gypsum or plaster is another substance which is often not recognized, and which it is highly important 

to avoid if good drinking water is desired.

Usually, just before striking through shale into a strong stream of 

water with a good head, a certain springiness of the churn drill is 

noticed by the driller, which warns him that some new development 

may soon be expected, and it is common to find a red layer or a hard 

cap (specially charged with pyrite) or crust just before piercing a 

stratum containing salt water. Is not the sulphur of the ferrous sulphide of the hard cap, or the ferric oxide of the red shales derived 

from the sulphates of the brine ?

A description of the rock series, not primarily from the view of the 

paleontologist or general geologist but from that of the seeker after 

water fresh, medicinal, or salt follows.

*

CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 

JACKSON COAL MEASURES TO MARSHALL SANDSTONE.

The central part of the State, as shown by the map, PI, VI, and by 

the cross section, fig. 10, is occupied by a series of rocks belonging to 

the Carboniferous formation, in some respects not unlike the coal 

measures of Ohio and Indiana, with some beds that can be closely 

paralleled with those coal measures and yet with such marked points 

of difference as to render it probable that for most of the time, at 

any rate, there was little or no continuous connection with any other 

State, but that the rocks were laid down in an inland sea, between 

Canadian highlands on the north and flat reaches of the emerging 

continent on the south. At the base of the series is a heavy white 

sandstone the Napoleon or Upper Marshall which is very massive 

and thick to the east and southeast, as shown in fig. 12, but becomes 

somewhat thinner toward the north, although it is rarely less than 50 

feet of well-defined water-bearing sandstone. It lies directly under 

the drift, as the map shows, through most of the broad belt of higher 

land that extends from the Thumb down to Hillsdale County. It is a
IAAt°H%.
LANE.] CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 79

prolific water bearer, yielding numerous flowing wells at a moderate 

depth (250 feet) throughout the west part of Huron County to Sebewaing. Under Tuscola county it continues, as at Fairgrove, though at 

Reese it is getting a little too salt, and so along past Flint, Vassar, and 

Birch Run, to Corunna, Lansing, and Mason. Along this line and south 

there is usually good water in this formation. There is frequently above 

this formation intensely salt or bitter waters, pierced on the waygoing 

down, which must be cased out. It seems that to the northwest an arm 

of the sea was cut off from the ocean, where evaporation exceeded precipitation, depositing the gypsum beds which extend from Alabaster 

and Soule, in Huron County, to Grand Rapids, and saturating the rocks 

with a very salt brine. This formation has no parallel in adjacent 

States, and hence is known as the Michigan series. It consists of lightFIG. 10. Cross section of the Lower Michigan Basin. Horizontal scale, 1 mile = .135 inch; 

vertical scale, 1,200 feet=.331 inch.

colored blue or gray shales, hydraulic limestones, and gypsum beds 

Its extent to the southeast seems to be somewhat irregular, as it lies in 

bays and synclinals in the Marshall sandstone. It can be followed, 

even where it does not outcrop, by its effect on the mineral waters.

In fact, in many parts of Lower Michigan, where outcrops of bed 

rock are scarce, important geologic data can thus be gathered. In 

much of our work in Huron County, Professor Davis and I discarded 

the familiar tools of the geologist, the hammer and the compass, 

and instead carried a urinometer and a small leather case containing 

barium chloride (BaCl2 ), for sulphate test, silver nitrate (AgNO3), for 

chlorine test, ammonium oxalate (NH4) 2C2O4 for lime, and sometimes tannic acid, for iron, and went from farm to farm inquiring 

the depth to rock, etc., and testing the waters. The line between the 

Upper Marshall or Napoleon and the Michigan series was traceable, 

sharply within a mile, by the reaction for sulphates which the latter 

series gave, and by a rapid increase in total mineral contents. This
80 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

purely objective line agreed with reports as to the nature of the rocks 

and the rare outcrops. (Compare PL VI and fig. 12.) For further 

details reference may be made to the forthcoming report of the State 

geological survey on Huron County.

It is not uncommon, however, to find good fresh water in the Marshall sandstones directly beneath the Michigan series; there seem to 

be two reasons why the salt water has not worked down and charged 

the Marshall sandstone.

In the first place, as the Marshall sandstone outcrops all around 

under the high land, there is a strong pressure, nearly if not quite 

enough to make the water in the center of the basins rise to the surface. Thus the tendency is for the water to work up rather than 

down in the lower central parts of the Michigan Basin, which are 

overlain by the Michigan series and by the outcrops. This tendency 

has been shown in hundreds of wells for fresh water and in dozens 

of wells for brine, which have been put down in the Saginaw Valley. 

The Marshall, toward the center, becomes deeper and more salt. It 

is the source of the brines of Saginaw and Bay City, of the brominiferous brine of Midland, St. Louis, and Alma, and probably of that of 

Big Rapids; it is almost saturated with salt. The salt, however, is 

not derived from above, since it is comparatively free from gypsum. 

At one time the wells in the Saginaw Valley made a really noticeable 

reduction in the percentage of salt contained in the brine. They 

may have drawn in fresh water from the sides to replace the brine 

extracted at the middle of the basin. The Marshall sandstone is 

generally easy drilling.

The overlying Michigan series from Bay Port to Saginaw, Midland, 

Alma, and Grand Rapids is a trifle over 200 feet thick. The position 

and thickness of the gypsum and hydraulic limestone beds, which 

are intercalated in the prevalent series of gray or blue shales, are not 

constant. To a certain extent this appearance may be due merely to 

imperfect records. Some of the gypsum beds are quite extensive. 

To the southeast, even around Sebewaing, the gypsum feathers out. 

Of its character to the north little or nothing is known. Water from 

the Michigan series is generally scanty or strongly mineralized. Occasionally pyritiferous beds and cherty limestones make hard drilling.

A change of climate, or more likely a slight depression making an 

open sea, probably caused the deposition on top of the Michigan 

series of a series of cherty limestones and sandstones of an entirely 

different character from those of the Michigan series almost exactly 

paralleled by the Maxville limestone of Ohio and rich in similar fossils. In this series I am now inclined to include not only the Grand 

Rapids limestone but WincheU's Parma sandstone. The sections 

and borings at Bay Port, at Charity Island, and elsewhere have convinced me that limestones and sandstones are intimately intercalated 

at this horizon. Many of the sandstones are highly cross bedded, and 

according to the observations of the writer are apparently mere sand
LANE.] CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 81

bars. This is noted in the drill cores of the Bay Port quarry explorations by Rominger, who called it an unconformity, also on Charity 

Island, and by Winchell in his original description of the Parma 

around Jackson. The Bay Port limestone has the strongest possible 

resemblance to the Grand Rapids limestone in character and in 

fossils, and both are intimately associated with and underlain by 

sandstones.

The brines of this horizon, as pointed out by Garrigues, run higher 

in sulphates of lime, etc., and lower in earthy chlorides than do those 

of the Marshall; this is in harmony with the general theory of the 

upward pressure of the waters of the basin. The Parma sandstone 

is not always recognizable as distinct from the Marshall, although to 

the north from Bay Port it can be fairly well traced to Sebewaing, 

Bay City, Midland, Alma, and as far as Ithaca to the southeast 

toward Corunna and Flint. As the Michigan series feathers out this 

Parma sandstone either feathers out also or merges in the great shore 

development of the Marshall sandstone. (See fig. 10.) I now think 

that the record of the Jackson well is misinterpreted.* The Parma 

and Marshall are both probably merged in the great sandstone from 

83 to 373 feet below the surface, the dividing line being perhaps near 

200 feet, while the blue sandstones at 415 and 660 feet are probably 

merely minor beds of the Lower Marshall or Cold water, respectively 

Cuyahoga formations, especially as they are not free water bearers.

Returning once more to the Parma horizon that of the Grand 

Rapids and Bay Port limestones the water is usually hard, but at 

Bay Port it is quite pure, and no doubt is the water horizon of many 

wells besides those at Ithaca, especially in the region about Mason, 

Lansing, Owosso, and Birch Run, where thus far it can hardly be 

separated from the Marshall. It has been but little used for brine.

Above the Parma comes a varied series of black shales, fire clays, 

black band iron ores, and coals and sandstones. The sandstones 

usually yield water, but the water is generally quite mineralized 

(being occasionally prescribed for the sick) and is sometimes a 

brackish water which cattle drink greedily- Wells in the coal measures generally have a good head, and frequently flow. The sandstones are generally white, except well up in the series, while to the 

northwest, around Ionia, Ashley, St. Johns, St. Louis, and in Garfield Township (T. 16 N., R. 3 E.) there are records of a red sandstone, which Winchell called the Woodville sandstone. This red 

sandstone also yields water which is rather strongly mineralized, but 

it is yet little known, and it can not be said how far the red color is 

due to surface oxidation. In some cases it appears too thick for that 

and reminds one of the upper barren coal measures of Ohio and 

West Virginia, and, as at Saginaw, it appears to be quite unconformable on the coal measures proper.

1 Geol. Survey Michigan, Vol. V, Part II, 1895, PI. XXIII.

30 6
82 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

COIiRELATION.

Michigan series ..

Upper Marshall..

DESCRIPTION. 

0-285, surface formations.

Sand, clay, and till; 30 feet sand, bowlders, 

and earth on top, then 100 feet hard red and 

white clay.

Analyzed: Sp. gr., 1.001; T., 53° F.

Depth to rock, from 200 to 300 f& 

various wells; showing a little co;

285-318, micaceous sandstone. 

318-K45, black soft fire clay.

345-420, sandstone j water overflows. 

Analyzed(«): Sp.gr., 1.005tol.012;T., 550F.

420-455, shale.

455-525, sandstone.

525-575, shale. 

Hard sandstou

682-700, black shale.

700-745, shale, with FeCOg, etc. 

746-810, black shale.

810-920, white sandstone; water overflows. 

Sp. gr., 1.125 to 1.147.

920-970, calcareous shale.

970-1,050,gypsnm (anhydrite).

1,050-1,130, argillaceous limestone

1,130-1,250, limestone.

1,205-1,305, clean white sandstone. 

Analyzed: Sp.gr., 1.235,1.239; T., 62V F.

FIG. 11. Section of well at Midland, Michigan. Altitude 

about 613 feet.

Above the Parma at Midland (see fig. 11), or combining the well records at St. 

Louis and Alma, there is a 

series of coal measures 400 

to 600 feet thick, and sandstones are very abundant in 

the upper half, but are also 

very irregular mere channels which will here cut 

entirely through a coal seam 

which a few feet away will 

be as strong as ever. One 

bore hole has found no coal, 

and 30 feet away one put 

down later for water passed 

through 3 feet of coal. 

These sandstone channels 

have been excellently exhibited in some of the Jackson coal mine plans by J. 

Holcroft.

This coal basin was deeply 

cut into by stream valleys 

before the ice swept over it 

and filled them. Hence the 

depth to rock is very uncertain and is more uncertain toward the northwest. 

The shore ridge of Marshall 

sandstone seems to have 

acted as a divide from 

which the streams flowed, 

gathering strength as they 

went. The abundance of 

deep wells in Huron County 

has rendered it possible to 

trace quite accurately in 

the rock contours of PI. 

VI one valley which, coming down from Soule, is 

deflected by the Bay Port 

limestone and passes south 

through T. 16 N., R. 10 E., 

being about 140 feet deep, 

while on the general plateau
CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 83

around the valley the depth of drift is less than 50 feet. Thence it 

passes 3 miles southeast of Sebewaing, then close to Unionville, and on 

west. There are irregularities in the depth of wells around West Saginaw and Bay City that indicate spurs of this valley, and the next wellmarked location is at Midland, where some wells, like those near 

Hubbard to the north, find only about 200 feet of drift, while others, at 

the east end of the town, find 300 feet of drift. Wells are said to have 

struck rock at 76 feet in Mount Pleasant, but on the other hand wells 

north of there have gone 160 feet, wells west 355 feet, and wells south 

205 feet without striking rock. At Alma it is 495 feet to rock, and at 

St. Louis, 3 miles away, it is only 355 feet or less, and at Ithaca 330 feet. 

At Big Rapids it is 600 feet to rock, while at Ludington, Manistee, 

and Frankfort, although close to the lake, there is a great depth of drift. 

These facts indicate clearly enough an incised valley system of 100-foot 

ravines, and also seem to indicate, contrary to Spencer's very natural 

hypothesis, followed by Mudge,1 that the drainage of the coal basin 

was toward the west and not by Saginaw Bay, both because the depth 

of the ravine steadily increases, and also because the limestone ridge 

seems to run continuously across the mouth of Saginaw Bay, from the 

islands off Bay Port, in continuous rock bottom to Charity Island, 

and outcrops again on the north shore. The limestone may be followed near Omer antl Prescott at a higher level than the bottom of the 

valley just described. The rock contours of PI. VI illustrate these 

facts.

The troughs which Mr. Mudge assumes represent troughs or valleys in the rock surface are sufficiently explained by the Glacial drainage, which, indeed, Mr. Mudge has pointed out for the Ionia channel; 

and the very fact that in the Ionia channel the Grand River has in 

two distinct places struck bed rock far above the lower rock surface of the Saginaw Valley makes the supposition that it follows a 

rock channel rather forced. There are two other arguments of a 

general nature for my interpretation of the rock surface. In the first 

place, the rock ridge seems much more broken, the depth of drift far 

more irregular, and the topographic relief greater in the Grand Traverse region than in the Thumb of Michigan, which indicates that the 

former region is farther downstream, or nearer the master valley, than 

the latter. In the second place, the generally accepted theory of a 

greater northern elevation of the land preceding glaciation disproves 

the supposition that the gradient from Alma northeast was reversed, 

and makes the course of the valley from Bad Axe to Ithaca even more 

natural. From that point on its course is much less certain. It 

seems to have been deflected when it met the northwest-striking 

sandstones and limestones beneath the softer coal measures, at the 

southwest side of the coal basin.

Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., Vol. IV, 1897, p. 384.
84 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO,30.

CARBONIFEROUS AND DEVONIAN SHALES. 

LOWER MARSHALL SANDSTONE.

Beneath the heavy Upper Marshall sandstone which, as has already 

been mentioned, lines the shore of Huron County from Rush Lake to 

Hat Point, there are in Huron County (see fig. 12) about 260 feet of 

strata which are largely sandy flags and include three well-marked 

sandstones, one outcropping at Port Austin, another at Pointe Aux 

Barques, and another the famous Huron blue stones, used for whetstones and grindstones throughout the United States. The series is 

very ferruginous, and beds often become red and friable as the iron 

oxidizes, although they are green or blue when fresh. These sandstones may be traced under cover by wells or by scattered outcrops 

through Huron County and into Sanilac County. Generally the supply of water is ample, the quality excellent (although occasionally 

salty streaks occur in the Lower Marshall), and occasionally, as near 

Bad Axe and Port Austin, in exceptionally low ground there are 

flows. As the sandstones are traced to the west under cover, they 

are soon lost, except when they merge into a belt of red rock, paint 

rock, red shale, sandy shale, etc., in which form they may be traced 

quite continuously as far at least as Saginaw River. They are evidently shore deposits of no wide range and have not yet been successfully foDowed individually to the southwest. They are transition 

beds from the Upper Marshall or Napoleon sandstone to the great 

shale formation below. They are easy to drill, and extend the width 

of the Marshall belt, from which good water can be obtained a rather 

indefinite distance to the southeast.

COLDWATER SHALES.

Farther down, in the Coldwater shales proper, the sandstone seams 

grow thinner and finer grained, and the water contained is more apt 

to be salty. Little sheets of sandstone cemented by carbonate of iron, 

as at Pointe Aux Barques light-house, at Sand Beach, and at Richmondville, are found at various levels in the Coldwater shales, but 

in general this formation is composed of fine-grained, micaceous, 

bluish shales, easily drilled and very dry. In Caseville, about 400 

feet below the Upper Marshall, is a brine which seems to be fairly 

persistent and which is possibly even more marked to the northwest. 

In outcrop balls of carbonate of iron are frequent, and one wonders 

how often the bands of limestone recorded as encountered in drilling 

are nothing but such balls.

BEREA SHALE AND GRIT.

About 1,000 feet below the Upper Marshall the shales become 

blacker. The horizon of the Berea shale recognized in Ohio is reached, 

and then all along the southeastern part of the State the Berea grit is
LANE.] CAEBONIFEEOUS AND DEVONIAN SHALES. 85

CORRELATION. 

Pleistocene..........

Michigan.

Upper Marshall.......

Lower Marshall.

Coldwater shale

Berea shale...........

130...................

Berea grit ............

61....................

Ohio shale .

Helderberg limestone.. 

Monroe...............

DESCRIPTION. 

Lake clays and bowlder clays.

Sandstone, shale, coal, and fire clay.

Sandstone and limestone.

White and blue and green shale, with beds

of gypsum. 

Saltwater. 

Hydraulic limestone.

White sandstone. 

Water.

Analyses: Bad Axe, Bay Port.

Sandstone and grits, arenaceous shales with

much FeCog. 

Port Austin sandstone.

Point Aux Barques sandstone.

Huron grindstone.

Blue shale and sand shale, with nodules and 

bands of (CaFe) Coj.

Point Aux Barques lighthouse. 

Salt water.

Port Hope well.

Sand Beach well. 

Rock Falls. 

White Rock well. 

Forestville well.

Black or chocolate shale.

White to brown sandstone: Analyzed, pu

brine.

Bedford blue shale!, 50 feet. 

Cleveland black shale !, 3 feet.

Erie blue or black shale, 133 feet.

Blue argillaceous limestone, very hard.

Dolomite: Bitter 

water; analyze

ceded by salt

FIG. 12. Geological column in Huron County, Michigan, 

adapted to the wells at Caseville and Sand Beach but illustrative also of those at Sebewaing, Bay Port, Port Crescent, Port Austin, Grindstone City, New River, Port 

Hope, White Rock, Forestville, etc.

well developed. It is a 

horizon well known for 

brine, and is followed to 

a depth of 1,650 to 1,750 

feet at Caseville and at 

Blackmar, but is quite 

salt even when not very 

deep, as at Forestville, 

Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti. At the latter place 

it seems to be more salt 

than underlying strata. 

It may be the source of 

some of the salt in wells 

about Ray (T. 4 N., R. 13 

E.), Utica, Wales, and 

Rochester. With black 

shales above and below it 

is not surprising that the 

Berea grit frequently 

contains gas, and that 

many of the wells which 

strike gas immediately 

beneath the clays seem 

to be located over its 

beveled edge. It does 

not seem to be a marked 

topographic feature, nor 

does it break the general 

valley of the shales above 

and below. The Berea 

brines are of very good 

quality. Where recently 

struck in Bay City, at a 

depth of 2,200 feet, it 

actually flows, which, in 

a concentrated brine, indicates a considerable 

head.

ST. CLAIR BLACK SHALES.

Though the Bedford 

shales immediately below the Berea grit are

often blue Or red (oxi-

-,. JIT \ -11 -, dized blue), DlaCk SOOn

-i ^ . , ,

becomes predominant, at
86 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

first in streaks (Cleveland shale), but later in a solid mass of 100 to 

300 feet or more of bituminous shale nearly equivalent to the Ohio 

shale, a horizon widely marked and in a general way recognizable all 

over the State. This shale is somewhat sticky, but on the whole is 

easily drilled and is of importance as lying just above the horizons 

which contain most of the more famous bath waters of the State. 

From the Marshall down to the base of these black shales, with the 

possible exception of the Berea grit, there is no horizon of much 

importance either for brine or as a source of water, and in regions 

where these formations underlie the drift the prospects for rock wells 

for drinking water are not generally encouraging. Of course, near 

the outside margin good water may be obtained by drilling through to 

lower beds.

In general this great series of shales probably makes valleys lying 

between the Marshall sandstone ridge on one side and the ridge of 

the Dundee limestones on the other, and this is exhibited in the rock 

contours of PL VI and in the rock profile of fig. 10.

Very remarkable is the occurrence of a 6-foot bed of rock salt in 

this formation at Bay City, with black shale immediately above and 

below. This occurrence seems to show that the black shale is not a 

deep sea sargasso-like deposit.

LOWER DEVONIAN AND UPPER SILURIAN LIMESTONES. 

TRAVERSE SERIES (HAMILTON).

A transition series between the black shales above and the limestone series below is of slight importance in the south part of the 

State, where it is about 80 feet thick, but rapidly increases in thickness and in interest toward the north. Along the St. Clair River at 

Port Huron, and elsewhere it has thickened to over 300 feet and is 

subdivided as follows:

Typical section of series between St. Clair black shales and Dundee limestones.

Feet. 

Hard argillaceous limestone .........-...._...........-. .........._...--,--. 3

Shale, argillaceous soapstone. - --..-.... .---...-.-...------.----..--...--,-. 13

Limestones, "top limestones," argillaceous, often containing gas --____.._-._ 80

Shale, "top soapstone," argillaceous ........................................ 150

Limestone, "middle limestone," argillaceous..........-.-.--....-....-_-.-.. 4

Shale, "lower soapstone "_._____._ .................--..-.-.-....-._..-..-.- 65

Beneath the last member are light-colored Dundee limestones, 

yielding gas and mineral water. The "middle limestone" is not 

always recognized, and the shales are calcareous, so that they may be 

considered alternations of calcareous shales and of argillaceous marls 

or limestones. The division into a top of limestone and a bottom of 

shale can be traced throughout the State. On the north side of the 

basin, from Alpena to Charlevoix and Frankfort, the formation is 500
LANE.] DEVONIAN AND SILURIAN LIMESTONES. 87

CORRELATION. DESCRIPTION.

Pleistocene......

I I I I I

.'iK'. 1 .'.'.T?. 1 !1

.'.'U'.'.V'.'A1 . 1 .

i II i i i i i 11

1-1-1

1.1. '. ', 'I . I ,'

I. t . ' . ' i ' '

' . '

' . ' i-'. ' . ' ' '

LI \ i _L

-V.'.'.'.''/.TV. .iJ.i.i,i rvi i i ii_i

I .'.'. 1 . T7TT'.UT'

0-6, sand, 

6-15, gravel, 

15-170, fine sand, 

170-176, gravel, 

176-230, sand; 

at 214, quicksand;

or 600 feet thick, retaining its marked shale base, and also the tendency to bluish, richly 

fossiliferous layers; 

but the formation is 

quite varied and dolomitic, as is seen from 

the Charlevoix and 

Petoskey records. 

(See fig. 13.)

There are several 

streaks of limestone in 

this formation which 

yield more or less 

water, even in the 

southern part of 

the State, and to the 

north, as shown at 

Charlevoix, it is quite 

freely water bearing. 

There is some reason 

for thinking that the 

in Alma well also is still 

in this formation, but 

the principal mineralwater horizon is just 

beneath.

230-300, bine and brov, 

limestone;

300-304, "silt" runs in must be incased; 

304-314, bine limestone, 

314-327, shale " like putty,"

327-387, bine limestone with Acer 

davidsoni, alternating xvith brow 

stone;

at 387 feet, first mater;

387-443, yellow or brown dolomite li 

stone;

at 443, second wale,

443-482, argillaceoi 

Alryfa reticularis\

, pure shale, which is probably th< 

of the shale at the bottom o( th<

at 482, 

top o 

Traverse, i. e., at 430 feet in Petoskey

FiG. 13. Section of well at Oharlevoix, Michigan.

DUNDEE LIMESTONE 

(UPPER HELDERBERG).

This formation has 

also been called the 

Corniferous or Mackinac limestone. Lithologically the upper 

limit of this formation is one of the bestmarked lines that extends throughout the 

State. It separates a 

with great series of bluishgray or black clayey 

rocks from a great series of buff-yellow or 

almost white largely 

calcareous ones. It is
88 WATER RESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30.

generally very light yellow in color, is full of flint, and is very hard, 

so that the drilling is slow at times. It effervesces very freely with 

acid, and some of the layers rank as the purest limestone of the State, 

containing 98 per cent of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

It is almost always more or less permeated with water which is 

charged with hydrogen sulphide (H2S) even at Petoskey. When under 

greater cover the water becomes more salty, but is also strongly charged 

with other ingredients than salt real bittern, or mother liquor and 

is the most valued mineral water in Michigan.

The deposit of celestite with native sulphur has been associated by 

Professor Sherzer with the occurrence of traces of strontia (SrO) in 

these sulphureted waters. Frequently, also, oil or gas is encountered. 

In spite of the strength of this brine at times (at Charlotte the specific weight is 1.198) it is too impure for salt manufacture, and is 

mainly important medicinally.

The line between this formation and the one below, being one 

chiefly between limestone and dolomite, can be surely ascertained 

only by the use of acid. Hence over most of the State the line is still 

very uncertain.

THE MONROE AND SALINA BEDS (LOWER HELDERBERG).

These are the oldest beds exposed at the surface in the Lower Peninsula. Not more than 100 or 200 feet of these beds are exposed at the 

surface, but borings reveal over 1,200 feet, if with Orton we include 

in the group the salt beds (Salina). The beds are mainly buff dolomites and calcareous and argillaceous marls, associated with anhydrite and rock salt. Near the top a bed of the purest white quartz 

sand (often recrystallized), the Sylvania sandstone, extends persistently across Monroe County and can be traced under cover at least 

as far as Mount Clemens and St. Clair River. This sandstone is, of 

course, a good water bearer. Near Detroit, while at about 200 feet 

the strongly sulphureted waters of the Dundee are reached, at about 

400 feet comparatively fresh potable water is met, and it seems as if 

it might be worth while to develop further this horizon, which is probably also encountered in Ypsilanti and Alpena. Below this sandstone 

the salt beds and brines of the Salina are reached. Rock salt is here 

in single layers often over 100 and even 200 feet thick; its aggregate 

thickness can not be estimated. These rock-salt beds extend apparently beneath (or at any rate skirt) the whole of the peninsula, from 

Alpena and St. Ignace down to a line drawn from Trenton to Muskegon. South of this line there is gypsum (or anhydrite), but not salt. 

A group of six wells at Trenton shows, within a few hundred yards, the 

exact margin of the salt basin.

This great thickness of salt suggests that there should have been a 

concentration, as at Stassfurt, in Germany, of the rare potash and 

bromine salts in the upper layers. The earlier Sand Beach analyses
DEVONIAN AND SILURIAN LIMESTONES. 89

indicated such concentration, but the water does not now give similar 

results. The .Mount Clemens, Somerville Springs, and similar waters 

are clearly of the nature of mother liquors.

These salt beds, like all the beds, dip away from the St. Clair and 

Detroit rivers to the northwest, but after descending to depths of 

probably 3,000 to 4,000 feet, they rise again, and just north of the 

Straits of Mackinac gypsum beds outcrop. At St. Ignace a thin bed 

of salt is reported only 400 feet below the surface, while at Alpena 

rock salt is encountered within 1,000 or 1,200 feet. Though the Salina 

can not be sharply divided from the formation above or below, the following arrangement may be suggestive: at the top, dolomites and 

gypseous marl mark a time of desiccation; then comes an arenaceous 

dolomitic limestone passing into a glass sand the Sylvania sandstone ; then some more beds with gypsum and sometimes with rock salt; 

then 200 feet or more of somewhat gypsiferous dolomites; and beneath 

them a rapid succession of thick rock-salt beds, marking probably the 

first and greatest period of desiccation.

NIAGARA AND CLINTON FORMATIONS.

These formations have been struck only southeast in Monroe 

County, southwest from Kalamazoo, and north at Frankfort. The 

most characteristic part probably belongs to the Guelph formation 

the churn-drill powder being almost white a very fine-grained dolomitic limestone. It answers to Orton's description, and in accord 

with his remarks of the change from southern to northern Ohio, I 

recognize the Rochester 1 shale only at Wyandotte. Generally toward 

the bottom the limestone becomes more ferruginous and, as at Wyandotte and Dundee, a "red rock," and then the red shales of the Medina 

are reached. Concerning the water resources of this part of the column little is known. Water was noted at Dundee from these beds, 

but there is no report of its chemical character.

HUDSON RIVER AND UTICA SHALES.

There is next a great series of shales, struck only by a few wells in 

exploring to the Trenton, like those at Dundee, Monroe, and at South 

Bend, Indiana, viz: (1) The Medina red and green shales at Dundee, at 

a depth of 1,625 to 1,725 feet; (2) the Hudson River blue shales, about 

300 or 400 feet thick; (3) the Utica brown or black bituminous shales, 

about 100 feet thick. This series is similar to the Lower Marshall, 

the Coldwater (Cuyahoga), and the St. Clair shale series.

1 The Director of the United States Geological Survey has decided that hereafter in the publications of the Survey the term Lockport limestone will be used in place of the term " Niagara 

limestone," and the term Rochester shale in place of the term " Niagara shale," the word Niagara 

being reserved for the designation of some higher classiflc unit. EDITOR.
90 WATER RESOURCES OP LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30.

TRENTON LIMESTONE.

f X

This formation has been penetrated a few feet at Monroe and at 

Wyandotte, somewhat further at Dundee, and again in the southwest 

part of the State, at Dowagiac. It is really a buff, granular, porous 

dolomite, with traces of gas and oil usually drowned out by a strong 

impure brine.

ROCK STRUCTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The general structure of the rock basin, which has been described, 

is well shown by Pis. LXVII to LXX of Vol. V (1895), Pt. II, Michigan geological survey, which can, however, be improved by use of 

records since received; fig. 10 is a new section from Monroe to Charlevoix. The limestones and sandstones of the Traverse, Dundee, and 

Monroe make a rock ridge, which comes to the surface in Monroe 

County, can be distinctly traced as an escarpment, as Spencer has 

remarked, in the bottom of Lake Huron, and reaches land once more 

at Thunder Bay. From that point the ridge, though apparently 

broken beyond Cheboygan by cross valleys, continues nearly around 

to Frankfort, where the rock surface is slightly higher than at Manistee. The deep valley between this ridge and the Marshall sandstones 

is clearly defined in the well records in the southeastern part of the 

State, and seems to discharge near Algoma, where there is considerable thickness and where the depth to drift is irregular. This shale 

valley was overlooked on the northwest by an abrupt escarpment of 

Marshall sandstone, which is almost everywhere concealed, and yet 

within a mile the depth to rock may vary from less than 10 to 30, 40, 

or even 100 feet. This Marshall sandstone escarpment is more or 

less escalloped and ravined, as was indicated in Hillsdale County, 

and there are probably outlying areas or spurs of sandstone. On 

the main ridge of Marshall sandstone the rock floor is reported to be 

fairly level, and the irregularities in the drift are due to the irregularities of the moraine ridges, etc.; but in toward the coal basin, i. e., 

toward Mason County and around Pigeon, in Huron County, there 

is a system of valleys in the rock surface up to 100 feet deep. In the 

lower part of the Michigan series soft beds, easily cut, predominate, 

while the upper part, the Parma sandstone, the Bay Port limestone, 

etc., is more resistant, and shows an escarpment facing outward at 

least 10 or more feet vertically, and the valleys, as they traverse it, 

rapidly deepen to more than 100 feet. It is probable that some of 

the limestone masses which have so puzzled Winchell 1 and others 

have been outliers of this escarpment pushed or dragged off from the 

soft shales beneath and left stranded in the drift. They are particularly conspicuous, as Winchell remarks, in Oceana County, in the 

northwestward extension of the rock divide which follows the Mar1 Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1875, p. 36.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SU RVEY WATER SUPPLY PAPER No.30 PL.VII.

INDEX MAP

OP THE

LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

NAMES OFALL PLACES f ROM WHICH REPORTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED ARE ENTERED

THOSE WITH WATERWORKS ARE MARKED THUS 

THOSJE-WITHFLO WING WELLS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THUS * 

THOSE WITH WATERWORKS AND FLOWING "WELLS THUS:

Scale of miles

No.35 MONTCALM 

" 36 GRATIOT

37 SAGINAW

38 TUSCOLA

39 HURON 

 W) SAN I LAC

41 ST.CLAIR

42 LAPEER

43 GENESEE

44 S HI AW ASS EE 

46 CLINTON

46 IONIA

47 KENT

48 OTTAWA

49 ALLEGAN

50 BARRY

51 EATON

52 ING HAM

53 LIVINGSTON

54 OAKLAND

55 MACOMB

56 WAYNE

57 WASHTENAW

58 JACKS ON

59 CALHOUN

60 KALAMAZOO

61 VANBUREN

62 BERRIEN

63 CASS

64 ST.JOSEPH

65 BRANCH

66 HILLS DALE

67 LENAWEE

68 MONROE

. 4 ALPENA

5 MONTMORENCY

6 OTSEGO

7 CHAR1.EVOIX 

6 ANTRIM, 

9 LEELANAW 

IOBENZIE

11 CRANDTRAVERSE

12 KALKASKA

13 GRAWFORD

14 OSCODA

15 ALCONA

16 IOSCO

17 OGEMAW

18 ROSCOMMON

19 MISSAUKEE

20 WEXFORD

21 MANISTEE

22 MASON

23 LAKE 

240SCEOLA

25 CLARE

26 GLADW1N

27 ARENAC

28 BAY

29 MIDLAND

30 ISABELLA

31 MECOSTA

32 NEWAVGO

33 OCEAN A

34 MUSKEGON faesofc r^ct; >in '' /7 T^^j^^^T^^**^ w/ ^

C&-2&\* '^4^\f^e/?^' M^aiKT/^^/ ^!.<.c^e^ »res Vp 

??&' \ V*f ^^ r** > r."»*Ai \: ft^l<*UsJ!*%f:<M'i, . 'f-Stoiufisli 'r .< th^l

._._l

^y^j^dtc^m^-
LANE.] ROCK STRUCTUEE AND TOPOGRAPHY. 91

shall sandstone around to Holland near which there are outcrops. To 

the southeast around Allegan, South Haven, and Bangor, the rock surface is considerably lower. How far the softer Michigan series make 

a trough separating the Marshall ridge from the limestone ridge is 

not yet clear from the well records. Rapid variations in the altitude 

of the rock surface around Grand Rapids make it evident that the 

limestone there is much eroded. Up Grand River, at Ionia, there are 

other outcrops of a sandstone which is probably high up in the coal 

series. The rock ridge can be followed, being occasionally struck 

by wells, to the southeast corner of ISTewaygo County. From this 

point north the rock surface evidently falls off, for it is so deep that 

no ordinary wells for water encounter it, and it is only from deep 

explorations for salt, oil, or gas that it has been found to fall below 

sea level at Manistee (30 to 40 feet below tide). It is near these low 

points in the rock surface that the large limestone masses are found 

in the drift in Oceana County, and it is not unnatural to suppose that 

this is in a region of strong relief, whose scenery was something like 

that of the driftless area of Wisconsin, full of pinnacles capped with 

limestone. It is here, therefore, that we have carried the stream valley described on page 83, which seems to drain the most of the coal 

basin surrounded by the Marshall rampart.

The great depth of drift at Traverse City, with the rock bottom not 

yet reached, compared with Provemont, where the limestone has been 

struck, shows that on the northwest side again the Coldwater and St. 

Clair shales make a valley, though outcrops are not far away, and 

other facts go to support the suggestion that the limestone escarpment on this side was in bold relief and probably severely cut up. 

In all probability Grand Traverse Bay marks some prominent cross 

valley. Beyond Cheboygan Lake the limestone ridge becomes more 

continuous. Throughout the north half of the State the well records 

of depth to rock are so few that the reconstruction of the rock topography is largely guesswork, and it is necessary to fall back on the 

analogies of the relations of moraines to rock ridge in the lower part 

of the State.

PROSPECTS OF ROCK WELLS. 

NORTHERN LIMESTONE DISTRICT.

From what has been said in the previous part of this paper in 

connection with the well reports, it appears that there is a district, 

from Alpena and Long Rapids to Charlevoix and north of these 

places, through which it will frequently be necessary, in order to get 

a permanent supply of water, to drill down into the limestone (Traverse or Dundee), which is often close to the surface. At moderate 

depths, down to'about 500 feet, the water, though hard and slightly 

charged with hydrogen sulphide (H2S) will be suitable for drinking. 

At greater depths, however, within 1,500 feet, rock salt and brines 

will be encountered.
92 WATER EESOURCES OF LOWER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO.30. 

NORTHERN SHALE DISTRICT.

Toward the south there is a broad district heavily covered with 

drift, with the rock surface probably a valley in which it will very 

rarely be necessary to go to rock for drinking waters, and in fact the 

prospect for them, is not very good. The underlying rocks belong to 

the Carboniferous and Devonian shale series. Only here and there 

will a deep well, drilled for gas, brine, mineral water, etc., penetrate 

to the rock and find mineral water beneath the shales.

Toward the south side of this district are the sandstones of the 

Lower Marshall; "but little is yet known of their extent.

COAL BASIN.

The coal basin occupies the center of the State, including in it the 

Michigan and Upper Marshall series. The basin extends from Tawas 

Bay probably well up toward Otsego Lake, thence to Ludington and 

Hart, thence down to Hillsdale County (as shown on the map, PI. VI). 

Throughout this district the structure of the rocks is favorable for 

artesian wells, and inside the belt of moraine that surrounds it there 

is a very fair chance of getting a flow of water, as at Birch Run, Midland, Bay Port, Sebewaing, and elsewhere. Near the margin of this 

basin the Upper Marshall sandstone furnishes an abundant supply of 

the purest water. Toward the center of the basin the overlying 

Michigan series, with their highly mineralized waters, must be cased 

off if drinking water is desired. Still nearer the center of the basin 

almost all the water is slightly saline, but is still quite potable. The 

limits of the saline waters are roughly shown in fig. 14 (e. g., deeper 

wells of Saginaw, Ithaca, etc.). The deepest waters now become 

strong brines, the Upper Marshall becoming remarkably charged 

with bromine, as at Alma, Midland, and Big Rapids.

SOUTHERN SHALE DISTRICT.

This district, being the southern counterpart of the northern shale 

district, is the only part of the State where there is any serious difficulty 

in getting a satisfactory supply of water. It is divided into two parts 

by the projection of the Marshall sandstone nearly to the MichiganOhio-Indiana State boundary. To the southwest there are usually, 

but not always, ponds and lakes enough for city supplies, and the 

heavy deposits of overwash valley drift give numerous chances for 

wells in surface deposits. To the southeast, however, there are practically no lakes below the 800-foot contour. The surface deposits are 

largely lake clays and clay till, and the underlying rocks shales with 

subordinate sandstone streaks. These sandstones are likely to be 

salty or unpleasantly charged with gases. In this region, if a permanent supply can be obtained from cisterns or from the surface gravel 

ridges, that is probably often the best obtainable, provided due precautions are taken against surface contamination. The Berea sanft-
LANE.] PROSPECTS OF ROCK WELLS. 93

stone seems to be usually salty. It might be worth while to see how 

far the sulphureted waters of the Dundee could be cased out and a

0 IWASHTEN 

Jackson '

FIG. 14. Map showing areas of shallow saline waters in Michigan.

good supply obtained from the Sylvania sandstone. There is no difficulty in this region in getting mineral waters, especially sulphureted.
94 WATEE EESOUECES OF LOWEE PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. [NO. 30. 

SOUTHEASTERN LIMESTONE DISTRICT.

There only remains to be considered the limestone district of MonroQ 

and southeastern Wayne counties. Here wells just down to or a little way in the rock encounter plenty of water, generally flowing 

chalybeate, hard, and highly charged with hydrogen sulphide (H2S). 

There are plentiful flows of fresh water all the way down, until at 800 

feet or less the gypsum and salt layers begin. Naturally the wells 

draining from the Sylvania sandstone seem to have the best supply, 

and it might be worth while to go down to it a little farther under 

cover.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

General acknowledgment is due to a large number of persons who 

have rendered assistance, mainly by replies to schedules. Thanks 

are particularly due to L. L. Hubbard, State geologist of Michigan, 

for free use of data accumulated by the survey and for assistance in 

many other ways; also to my colleagues on the survey; to Prof. C. A. 

Davis for information, especially as to Tuscola County, and for hints 

too numerous to mention; to Prof. W. H. Sherzer and Mr. Cramer for 

information, especially concerning the southeastern part of the State; 

and to Dr. C. H. Gordon for information relating to Sanilac County 

and for hints as to Pleistocene deposits. In this last matter Mr. F. B. 

Taylor and Mr. Frank Leverett have assisted not only by their publications but by their kindly criticism. Especially in PI. II data for 

the southwest part of the State are derived almost wholly from unpublished notes which Mr. Leverett kindly furnished, for the form of 

which, however, I am entirely responsible. The map in PI. VII gives 

the location of those places from which reports have been received, 

and also indicates the location of public waterworks so far as can be 

ascertained from these reports, from the Manual of American Waterworks (1H97), and from the Michigan Gazetteer. It also indicates, by 

a special sign, those localities near which flowing wells are reported. 

It may thus serve to indicate how thoroughly the ground has been 

covered and in what parts of the State information is still scanty. 

.Above Saginaw Bay the population is sparse.

The paper is least satisfactory in regard to the water powers of the 

region considered. Those who know the facts consider them too 

valuable to publish. In this connection the paper by Mr. Robert 

E. Horton is a welcome addition. The water powers northwest of 

Saginaw Bay seem especially worth exploiting.

Finally, to the State weather service, C. F. Schneider, director, I 

am indebted for meteorological data.
INDEX.

Ada, water power at ----- ----- 

Allegan, rainfall at. -..... 

Alien Creek, water power on.. .. 

Alma, depth of driftat........ ....

depth to rock at ..................

temperature of wells at. ....... .

water supply of ........ - ......

Almena, water power at ......

Alpena, water power at. ... .........

Alpine, water power at...................

Ann Arbor, water power at..............

Apple Creek, water power on............

Au Gres River, water power on.. .. 

Au Sable River, water power on. .....

Barryton, water power at.. ..........

Battle Creek, rainfall at..................

Battle Creek, discharge of .... ,. -

Bay City, use of water at ....... ......

Bay Port, temperature of wells at.......

Bay View, water supply of...............

Bear Creek, water power on.__........

Bear River, water power on...... ....

Belleville, water power at ......... 

Benzonia, water power at. . ......

Berea shale, character of water from ....

Betsie River, water power on.__....

Big Rapids, depth to rock at... .. ....

water power at.................. ..

Big Sable River, water power on. .....

Birmingham,water supply of .........

Black River, water power on ..__._. 

Board man River, water power on_....

Boyne Falls, water power at.._._....

Boyne River, water power on.............

Buck Creek, water power on...... _....

Caledonia, water power at......._......

Cannon,water power at..................

Carex, bog land formed of .__..........

Caro, water power at......................

Carpenter, R. C., cited on swamp drainCarp River, water power on 

Cascade, water power at...... ...

Cass River, water powers on..._.

Cedar Creek, water power on _...

Charlevoix, section of well at _..

water supply of.................

Cheboygan, water supply of........

Cheboygan River, water power on. 

Chippewa River, water power on .. 

Clam Lake, variation in. _........

Clinton formation, occurrence of.. - 

Clinton River, water power on -....

Coal basin, extent of ..._.._....

21

26

19

72

83

56

16,48

23

20

21 

40 

21 

20 

20 

19 

26 

32 

16 

57 

16 

21 

20 

39 

20

84-85 

20 

83 

21 

21 

16

19

20

20

20

21

21

21

65

19

24

20

21

19

21

87

16

16

20

19

17

89

18

92

Cold water River, water power on........ 21

Coldwater shales, character of water

from .............-..--..-.-.--.-... 84

Coleman, depth of driftat.... ... 72

Concord, rainfall at ... ....... 26

Cooley, L. E., aid by ...................... 45

Corunna, water power at........ 19

Crockery Creek, water power on .... 21

Crosman, Charles, cited on fluctuations of

lake level. ...................... 30

Crystal Creek, water power on .......... 21

Cyperus, bog land formed of..... 65

Davis, C. A., acknowledgments to. .... 94

observations by.... ... ...... 56

quoted on lakes of Michigan ... 64 

reference to ... .. ... .... 44,72

work with-..................... .... 79

Deadman, W. H., mentioned.... ... 42

Delhi, water power at. ..... 40-

Detroit River drainage, water power in. 18 

Dexter, water power at .... ...... 41

Drainage, glacial... . ...... . 60

peculiarities of ......... 62

reversed.. . .. .. 63 

Drift, depth of............................ 72,74

thickness of..... ............ ... 75

Duck Lake, water power on .. 20 

Dundee limestone, character and waterbearing qualities of . .......... 87-88

typical section between St. Clair

shales and . .......... 86

Eaton Rapids, water power at. .... 21

Elk Rapids, water power at .....'......... 20

Elk River, water power on ..... - 20

Fall, D., mentioned .... . ..... 42

Fallossburg, water power at.......... 21

Fawn River, water power on ... 21 

Flat River,water power on ......... 21

Flat Rock, water power at.. ... 39 

Flint River, water power on...... .... 19

Fosters Station, water power at. 40 

Glacial drainage of Michigan....... 60

Glaciation in Michigan.................... 58-60

Gordon, C. H., acknowledgments to .. 94 

Grand Ledge, water power at....... 21

Grand Rapids, water power at... 21 

Grand River, discharge of....... 32

water power on ......._...... 21,22

watershed between the Saginaw. 13 

Grayling, water power at................. 20

Great Lakes, transportation on ...... 12

Greenleaf, James L., cited on water

power of Huron River.... 38

Hamilton, C. E., cited on swamp drainage 24

95
96 INDEX.

Hanover,rainfall at..............____ 26

Harbor Springs, water supply of 16 

wells near.._.._.....__.__. 76

Hog Creek, water power on........._... 21

Horton,Robert E.,mentioned ............ 18,49

report on run-off and water power

of Kalamazoo River, by.-._.__-..- 22-38 

Houghton Creek, water power on........ 20

Hubbard, B., cited on climate of Lake

region.---........._.............. 30

Hubbard,L.L.,acknowledgments to..... 94

Hudson River shales, extent of... _ _. 89 

Hunt, water supply of ......... _.. 16

Huron, water power at................ 19

Huron County, geological column in..... 85

Huron River,course and character of ... 38-39 

water powers on ................... 18,38-41

Irish, Charles W., cited on rainfall in California ................. ......._ 29

Jackson, water power at.__.._ _... 22 

Kalamazoo,high water at.._.............. 35-36

rainfall at-............................. 26

Kalamazoo County,prairies in ........... 67

Kalamazoo River,course of _.-.-_...... 22-23

discharge of........................... 31-32

distribution of crops in watershed of. 25 

fall and slope of ....................... 37

lakes in watershed of - ........... _ 24

meteorological conditions at stations

on .................................. 33-34

rainfall on watershed of.............. 26-29

topography along .........._ .._... 24-25

water power on .........__...._ 21,22-38

Lake Erie drainage, water power in -.... 18

Lake Huron drainage, water power in... 20 

Lake level, fluctuations in ................ 29-30

Lake Michigan drainage, water power in. 20-22 

Lake St. Clair drainage, water power in . 18 

Lakes of lower Michigan.-._-..... _.... 64-67

Leveret t, Frank, acknowledgments to... 94 

cited on effect of drift upon topography and drainage ..._.._.... 23

reference to ........._.............. 59

Little Manistee River, water power on.. 21 

Lowell, water power at.........._...... 40

Lower Marshall sandstone, extent and

water-bearing qualities of..... _ 84

Manistee River, water power on._....... 21

Marshall, rainfall at ...................... 26

Marshall sandstone, extent and waterbearing qualities of .-._____. 78-80 

Medina shales, occurrence of... _......_ 89

Michigan Basin, cross section of lower... 79 

Michigan, elevation of .................... 17

uses of water in ............_..._. 11-12

water powers in..._............... __. 18-22

Michigan series, extent of......... _ .... 79

thickness of and character of water

from ............................... 80

Midland, depth of drift at................ 72

section of well at........_...__ 82

Milford, water power at.................. 18

Mill Creek, water power on.. _. _..... 19

Monroe beds, extent and character of._ 88 

Monroe County, drift in ............_..... 70

Mount Pleasant, depth of drift at _.... 72

Mount Pleasant, depth of rock at.. ... 83 

water power at_..................... 19

water supply of _--..--........ 15,48

Mudge, E. H., cited on drainage of coal

basin .................... ........ 83

Mulletts River, water power on ......... 20

Muskegon River, water power on... 21 

Newaygo, water power at............. 21

New Boston, waterpowerat.------------- 39

Newell,P. H., letter of transmittal by_ 9 

Niagara f or mati on, occurrence of........ 89

North Lansing, water power at......-.-- 21

Northup, P. H., and Rafter, George W., 

cited on water supply of Traverse 

Caty. . .............-...-.-- 31

Northville, water power at-------r_. . 18

Notepseakan River, water power on . 21 

Olivet, rainfall at............... . . 26

Oqueoc River, water power on. ... 20 

Owosso, water power at ._. . .. 19 

Parma sandstone, water-bearing qualities of ................. . -.... 80,81

Pawpaw River, water power on..... 22

Petoskey, water supply of..-.--.......-.. 16

water power at. ...... ...... 20

Phillips,E.R.,mentioned ................. 43

Pigeon River, water power on. 19,20 

Pine River,water power on ._-......._--_ 19

Pinnebog River, water power on..-.-.-._ 19 

Precipitation, average annual-------- 52-53

distribution of................ ...... 49

long-period variations in.... - 54--5S 

See Rainfall. 

Pulaski, rainfall at......................... 26

Rabbit River, water power on............ 21

Rafter, George W., cited on water supply

of ErieCanal ...................... 30

mentioned.---.-..-_...--.--.-...-....- 17

and Northup, P. H., cited on water

supply of Traverse City .......... 31

Rainfall, average annual.. .-....-..-.. 52-53

effect on lake level.................... 29-30

long-period variations in ............. 54-55

on watershed of Kalamazoo River. 26-29,35 

See Precipitation.

Rainy River, water power on ..... 20 

Raisin River, water power on. ...... 18,41

Rawsonville, water power at....... . 40

Rice Creek, discharge of-....---. .. 32

Rifle River, water power on.............. 20

River Rouge, water power on............ 18

Rochester, water power at.....-..-..--.- 18

. water supply of.................... 16,48

Rock Palls, water power at. ....... 19

Rose City, profile near . ... ._--._. 68 

temperature of well at... ...... . 57

water power at..... ............. 20^

wells at.................... ........ 17

Rouge River, water power on .... . 21

Saginaw, water supply of......... 14

use of water at.......... ...... 15

Saginaw Bay, variation of water level in. 55 

Saginaw River, water power in drainage of.............................. 19

watershed between Grand River and. 13 

flowing wells in valley of.. ...... 44
INDEX. 97

Paga 

Saginaw Kiver, former lake in valley of. 66

water supply in valley of....... ... 71-72

St. Clair River drainage, water power in. 19 

St. Clair shales, character of..... . . 85-86

shales, typical section between Dundee limestones and ........ ..... 86

St.Johns, depth of drift at............... 72

Salina beds, extent and character of..... 88-89

Saline waters, map showing area of...... 93

Salt Eiver, water power on.--.--.~- .. 19 

Schneider, C. P., acknowledgments to. 50,94

information furnished by..._.._. 26 

Sherzer, W. EL, acknowledgments to. . 94

mentioned............................. 88

Shiawassee Eiver, water power on... . 19 

South Branch, water power on........... 21

Spargarium eurycarpum, bog land

formed of.-...........-_-.-.....-.. 65

Sturgeon Eiver, water power on .... __ 20

Taft, Myron C., information furnished

by.................................. 36

Taylor, F. B., acknowledgments to........ 94

cited on former lake in Saginaw Valley.--...--....---.----.....-.-...-.. 66

Temperature of wells ............___ 56

Temperature, variations in..........._ 50-52

Thornapple Eiver, water power on.._. 21 

Thunder Bay Eiver, water power on.-.. 20 

Tiffin River, water power on.__.._. 18 

IRE 30 7

' .Page 

Tittabawassee River, water power on ... 19 

Tobacco River, water power on.-.. .-.- 19 

Todd,O.H.,cited on swamp drainage.... 24

Topography, character of........... 74,75,90-91

Traverse City, terraces near.... ... 67

use of water at ...... . - 16-17 

wells at.-.-.-.-..- .- .-.- 17 

Trenton limestone, occurrence of-... 90 

Typha latifolium, bog land formed of?... 65 

University of Michigan, water supply of- 45 

Utica shales, extent of.... ........ 89

Vassar, water power at... ............ 19

Water level, long period fluctuations in. 54-55

short period fluctuations in . .-.. 55-56

Water powers in Michigan-----...--..... 18-22

Weldon township, water power in....... SO

Wells, in the Pleistocene.-......-.---...-. 67-70

methods of sinking... .....-.-....-- 69

temperature of ............... ... 56-57

West Branch, wells at -......-..--.-.-.--- 17

West Saginaw, use of water in ---........ 15

water supply at.... .-. ... .... 16

White River, water power on...-_ _. 21 

Whitney ville, wa ter power at............ 21

Willow River, water power on... . _ 19 

Winchell, A., reference to..-.....--..--... 48,49

Woodville sandstone, extent and waterbearing qualities of..-......-.-... 81

Ypsilanti, water power at............. 18,39,40
1895.

Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95, Part II, 

Papers of an economic character, 1895; octavo, 598 pp.

Contains a paper on the public lands and their water supply, by F. H. Newell, illustrated 

by a large map showing the relative extent and location of the vacant public lands; also a 

report on the water resources of a portion of the Great Plains, by Robert Hay.

A geological reconnoissance of northwestern Wyoming, by George H. Eldridge, 

1894; octavo, 72 pp. Bulletin No. 119 of the United States Geological Survey; 

price, 10 cents.

Contains a description of the geologic structure of portions of the Bighorn Range and 

Bighorn Basin, especially with reference to the coal fields, and remarks upon the water 

supply and agricultural possibilities.

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar years 1893 and 

1894, by F. H. Newell, 1895; octavo, 176 pp. Bulletin No. 131 of the United 

States Geological Survey; price, 15 cents.

Contains results of stream measurements at various points, mainly within the arid region, 

and records of wells in a number of counties in western Nebraska, western Kansas, and 

eastern Colorado.

1896.

Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1895-96, Part 

II, Economic geology and hydrography, 1896; octavo, 864 pp.

Contains papers on "The underground water of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado," by G. K. Gilbert; "The water resources of Illinois," by Frank LeVerett; and "Preliminary report on the artesian areas of a portion of the Dakotas," by N. H. Darton.

Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton, 

1896; octavo, 230 pp., 19 plates. Bulletin No. 138 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 20 cents.

Gives a description of the geologic conditions of the coastal region from Long Island, 

N. Y., to Georgia, and contains data relating to many of the deep wells.

Report of progress of the division of hydrography for the calendar year 1895, by 

F. H. Newell, hydrographer in charge, 1896; octavo, 356 pp. Bulletin No. 140 

of the United States Geological Survey; price, 25 cents.

Contains a description of the_ instruments and methods employed in measuring streams 

and the results of hydrographic investigations in various parts of the United States.

1897.

Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1896-97, Part 

IV, Hydrography, 1897; octavo, 756 pp.

Contains a "Report of progress of stream measurements for the year 1896," by Arthur 

P. Davis; "The water resources of Indiana and Ohio," by Frank Leverett; "New developments in well boring and irrigation in South Dakota," by N. H. Darton; and " Reservoirs 

for irrigation," by J. D. Schuyler.

1898.

Nineteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1897-98, Part 

IV, Hydrography, 1899; octavo, 814 pp.

Contains a " Report of progress of stream measurements for the calendar year 1897," by 

F. H. Newell and others; " The rock waters of Ohio," by Edward Orton; and " Preliminary 

report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred and third 

meridian," by N. H. Darton.

WATER-SUPPLY AND IRRIGATION PAPERS, 1896-1899.

This series of papers is designed to present in pamphlet form the results of stream measurements and of special investigations. A list of these, with other information, is given on 

the outside (or fourth) page of this cover.

Survey bulletins can be obtained only by prepayment of cost, as noted above. 

Postage stamps, checks, and drafts can not be accepted. Money should be transmitted by postal money order or express order, made payable to the Director of 

the United States Geological Survey. Correspondence relating to the publications 

of the Survey should be addressed to The Director, United States Geological 

Survey, Washington, D. C.

IRR30
WATER-SUPPLY AND IRRIGATION PAPERS.

1. Pumping water for irrigation, by Herbert M. Wilson, 1896.

2. Irrigation near Pbo3nix,v Arizona, Jby Arthur-P. Davis, 1897.

3. Sewage irrigation, by George W. Rafter, 1897.

4. A reconnoissance in southeastern Washington, by Israel C. Russell, 1897.

5. Irrigation practice on the Great Plains, by E. B. Cowgill, 1897?

6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth, 1897.

7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier, 1897.

8. Windmills for irrigation, by E. C. Murphy, 1897.

9. Irrigation near Greeley, Colorado, by David Boyd, 1897.

10. Irrigation in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, by F. C. Barker, 1898.

11. River heights for 1896, by Arthur P. Davis, 1897.

12. Water resources of southeastern Nebraska, by Nelson Horatio Darton, 1898.

13. Irrigation systems in Texas, by William Ferguson Hutson, 1898.

14. New tests of certain pumps and water lifts used in irrigation, by O. P. Hood, 

1898.

15. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part I, 1898.

16. Operations at river stations, 1897, Part II, 1898.

17. Irrigation near Bakersfield, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1898.

18. Irrigation near Fresno, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1898.

19. Irrigation near Merced, California, by C. E. Grunsky, 1899.

20. Experiments with windmills, by Thomas O. Perry, 1899.

21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett, 1899.

22. Sewage irrigation, Part II, by George W. Rafter, 1899.

23. Water-right problems in the Bighorn Mountains, by Elwood Mead, 1899.

24. Water resources of the State of New York, Part I, by George W. Rafter, 1899.

25. Water resources of the State of New York, Part II, by George W. Rafter, 1899.

26. Wells of Southern Indiana, by Frank Leverett, 1899.

27. Operations at river stations, 1898, Part I, 1899.

28. Operations at river stations, 1898, Part II, 1899.

29. Wells and windmills in Nebraska, by Erwin Hinckley Barbour, 1899.

30. Water resources of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, by Alfred C. Lane,

In addition to the above there are, in various stages of preparation, other papers, 

relating to the measurement of streams, the storage of water, the amount available 

from underground sources, the efficiency of windmills, the cost of pumping, and 

other details relating to the methods of utilizing the water resources of the country. Provision has been made for printing these by the following clause in the 

sundry civil act making appropriations for the year 1896-97:

Provided, That hereafter the reports of the Geological Survey in relation to the 

gauging of streams and to the methods of utilizing the water resources may be 

printed in octavo form, not to exceed 100 pages in length and 5,000 copies in number; 1,000 copies of which shall be for the official use of the Geological Survey, 

1,500 copies shall be delivered to the Senate, and 2,500 copies shall be delivered to 

the House of Representatives, for distribution. (Approved, June 11,1896; Stat. L., 

vol. 29, p. 453.)

The maximum number of copies available for the use of the Geological Survey 

is 1,000. This number falls far short of the demand, so that it is impossible to 

meet all requests. Attempts are made to send these pamphlets to persons who 

have rendered assistance in their preparation through replies tovschedules or donation of data. Requests specifying a certain paper and stating a reason for asking 

for it are attended to whenever practicable, but it is impossible to comply with 

general requests, such as to have all of the series sent indiscriminately.

Application for these papers should be made either to members of Congress or to 

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, D. C. 

IKR 30