Year: 1872

At meeting of the New York Lyceum
of Natural History, held in New York


May 10th, Prof. j. S. Newberry read a
paper on the Ancient Lakes of y estern
North America, their deposits and drainage.
The changes that have taken place in the
topography of the Western Continent have
affected greatly the animal and vegetable
life of country at that time as beautiful
and fertile as any other. The tertiary de-
posits of the eastern portion of the conti-
nent were marine, and at the Far West also
there is series of tertiary deposits-in
California, in the region of the Sierra
Nevada marine in character But in the
interior of the continent is far more in.
teresting series of tertian fresh water de-
posits-fresh water containing a great
number of fossils plants and the most re-
markable series of animal deposits to be
found on this continent cast of the Rocky
Mountains. There are two species of
rhinoceros, the elephant, hippine quadru


peds, the saber- tooth cat, whose tooth was in
one specimen eight inches beyond the jaw,
the most formidable tooth of any animal of
which We have any knowledge. These
deposits of the West were formed in fresh
water basins, and yet now there are almost
no fresh water basins in the region


Some slight idea Of the nature of these
deposits may be formed from the fact that
almost everybody going to California talks
about chalk deposits. Following in the
old emigrant train you will see various slabs
of this chalklike earth set up for grave
stones. These infusorial beds are portion
of these fresh water deposits On the
western side of the Rocky Mountains the de-
posits are similar, and are rich in diatomes.
The fauna are interesting. On the east
side Of the Rocky Mountains the tertiary
deposits have been but little studied al
though | have paid some attention to them


There are many alterations The rivers
run through a country comparatively level,
and have cut down through the bottom of
broad valleys, forming canons, whose walls
are 1.200 to 1000 feet high, and nearly
vertical The material entering into the
deposits show volcanic proximity. From
them you can get and idea of the material
thrown down in these ancient lakes. The
conclusion of this is, that on all these sides
of the Rocky Mountains there were found
extensive sheets of tertiary deposits full of
the most interesting fauna on this CONT
nent These lakes covered an area many
times greater than our present fresh
water lakes. They characterize a time in
the history of this continent, which was
exceedingly well watercd, and contain a
fauna richer than any other portion of the
world at the present time, and almost all of
them extinct The climate indicated by
the plants and animals was sub tropical, and
fern plants grew in great abundance from
the Upper Missouri even beyond the
British line, and fora covered all the north
ern part of the continent, SO that men lived
and Vegetation luxuriated even in CIR en-
land. Salt Lake represents only series
of such lakes-anciently fresh, but becom-
ing salt because of want of drainage. A
great many salt lakes and alkaline plains
were here. The drainage now by the
Klamath and other rivers is very great, and
shows that it has been greatly improved.
This drainage is now among the most stu
peDdous movements of the circulation of the
water on the earth that we have anywhere
These lakes have now entirely disappeared


Prof Newberry continued his remarks for
a considerable time longer, and was listen


ed to with marked attention After dis
cussing the paper, this meeting adjourned