The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1908-07-16

to line running through Long Island
across New Jersey and Pennsylvania
to Salamanca, N. Y, where it turned
southwestward and, with many minor
variations, reached the Ohio river so
or 90 miles above Cincinnati, crossed
Kentucky and southern Indiana, reach
ing its farthest extent at Carbonate,
H.; thence northwest, it crossed the
Mississippi river at St. Louis, and fol.
lowed the Missouri and Kansas rivers
to Topeka, where it swung northward
across the eastern parts of Kansas
and Nebraska, and through central
Dakota to near the Canada line;
thence proceeding with long loop
where it crossed the Rocky mountains
and the Sierras) to Puget sound and
the Pacific ocean. If one had ap-
preached this line during the glacial
period anywhere from the south, he
would have Immediately struck the
conditions of Greenland, and found
them continuous for thousands of
miles. Alaska still retains the stumps
of this great glacier, several hundred
square miles being covered by the
Muir glacier alone, and a still larger
area by the Malaspina glacier. which
comes down from Mount st. Elias.
In Europe the ice fields radiated from
the Scandinavian peninsula, extending
across the North sea to southern Eng
land. and across the Baltic to central
Germany and southeastern Russia.
In thinking of the glacial period it
should be kept clearly in mind that
glacial ice is simply compressed snow
Glaciers are formed wherever there is
a snowfall which exceeds the melting
power of the warm season. Everyone
is familiar with the fact that a snow.
ball may be made as hard as ice by
sufficient pressure in the hands.
That ice in great masses could flow
like cold tar or molasses or any other
semi-tiuid seemed. until short time
ago, impossible. and did not enter into
the thought of mankind. But about
20 years ago 1t was demonstrated in
Switzerland that the ice was actually
moving down the valleys, proceeding.
not like an avalanche, but creeping
with true flow, and carrying on its
back and frozen into its mass frag-
ments of rock of varying sizes, some
of them being as large as a small
house. Under the lee of one of these
rock masses on top of the Aar glacier
Agassiz built him a hut, and conducted
many OF his important observations
The great extent of this glacial
movement in former times was shown
by the distance which some of these
powders had been carried.
In North America the transportatio,
of powders by glacial ice has been
even more remarkable. The hack.
bone of Cape Cod and Long Island a
line of hills from one hundred To two
feet high, and two or three
miles broad, is simply pile of howl.
ders and small fragments TRANSPORTED
from New England TO Canada ply.
mouth Rock is a glacial bowlder
which lourneyed from its nortber,
nome thousands of years before Tho /
set out from Holland RovI
derS from the Adirondack Mountains
are found upon the SUBMITS of H.
N''eShenies in northeastern PepusvI. I.
''aIa In southern Ohio there are /
long belts OF Canadian powders /
which can be traced to ledges of rock
north OF Lake Huron. Even in Roone /
county Kentucky, a few miles south +
u cincinnati a number of red iasper
-"hsiomerate powders. some of them
-"o or three feet in diameter. have
cen found, which came from we'll
Known lodges in Canada north Of Lake
I, i1'on. Powders Of large size from
."eSe same leises have also been
onAG as far southwest as Keokuk Ia
'oWlders from Wisconsin and Mime.
o'a and Dakota abound in northern
missouri down to the Missouri river
cine having recently been uncovered
armed with these facts Concerning