The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-06-17
Ancient Glaciers Of
Michigan and Indiana
The Early History Of the Great Lakes
Is Traced by Report Issued by
the United States Geological Sur
vey

Even to one trained in geology
there is siderable novelty in the
idea set forth by scientific men that
during the Great Ice Age the north.
ern half of the North American con
tinent was covered with vast shoots
of ice hundreds OF thousands of feet
in thickness. One can scarcely blame
the countryman to whom a geologist
was explaining that the range of hills
adjacent to his farm was the termin'
al moraine of one of those ancient
glaciers when he said, Eyes, they tell
me those hills were made by ice but
haven't seen any ice up there"
The study and mapping Of the mo-
ra'nes and other deposits Of the an.
cient glaciers has for a long time
been one OF the lines Of scientific &C.
tivity carried on by the United States
Geological Survey. Besides being
matters Of geologic and geographic
interest, the various glacial and other
associated deposits are Of great i'm,
portanse, particularly to the agricul.
turists in the northern part of the
United States. The pulverized and
mixed rock materials spread as gla.
cial drift over the uneven surfaces OF
the older rock formations in this part
OF the country AFFORD the deep, rich,
and enduring soils whose yield in farm
products constitutes so great a part
of the nations wealth. The. vast
quantities Of clay available for the
of brick and drain tile
and the widely distributed deposits
of sand and gravel available for road
metal and concrete and other work
all the results of the great glaciers
are resources Of no small value. In
the swamps Of the glaciated area lie
stored great quantities of peat wait
ing the time when conditions may
require their use as fuel or fertilizer +.
The marginal parts Of many of the
great lee sheets took the form of
huge lobes of more or less distinct
glaciers. 1t is not possible to differ.
entiate all the lobes of the earlier
stages Of the glacial epoch, but the
closing stages are fairly we'll defined
by great morainal loops festooned
across the Northern States. The de.
lineation of these moraines upon
maps makes clear many interesting
and important relations of surface
and drainage systems
An important contribution to the sci.
ence Of glacial geology, one Of Sc,
ries Of similar reports is. Monograph
90 Of the United States Geological
Survey, "The Plestocene of Indiana
and Michigan and the History of the
Great Lakes" by Frank Leverett and
Frank b. Taylor. In this report the
authors have continued the, dessrip.
ton OF the glacial deposits and his.
tory Of the Great Lakes region. Their
maps show the relations Of the re.
markable systems of moraines form
ed by the glacial lobes which occu
pied the basins OF Lake Michigan
Lake Huron and Lake Erie.
The history OF the Great Lakes has
long attracted the interest Of geolo,
gists and geographers, and many pa
pers treating Of this subject have
been written. The calculation of this
history has been possible
only as the result of many years work
In carefully mapping and correlating
the ancient shore lines and the as
ISOLATED glacial deposits. In Mono
graph SO all the available data bear
Ing on the lake history are brought
together. Some OF the shore lines
are no longer horizontal and their re
lat'ons show that at various times the
several basins have been tilted by
elevation or depression of the land
surface. The effects of the weight
of the great ice sheet and Of Other
factors on reformation OF the earth's
crust are also considered.