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I propose to briuK br fore this society a few notes on tbe pliysiCdl fuatuivs of tile Glett L«kp rt-gioQ, uhiuii nave a beuring on iiic 'ii oriain ot ihp lak-^n tlituidelvvS, wuu u fesv de- ^\ duotions therefrom. ■ Al hou.^h the btbliography of the suhjeet ig Beauty, 1 will nut detdiu ihe ftbsojiatioa wiih a n.ituio of wlmt hM be. n writtt-u. Whilst working ous lb-; origin of the Dun- das v.tllcy. al tljo ex re me we.'-ii'ra eou of Luke Ouaiio, the disc .very tiiut ihe vuo-ent great r, ck bjnud valley is only oue of m4q- nihcance compared wiih the tjuried chanuels of preglaoial date led to ihr) bvdader study of the oriiKiD ff ibe lako biMus ihnnsMlvts, as the buried ctiaunel io the Duudas vall^^y up- pear.fd to form a portion of tbe proN'lHCial ou (ft of tlia bwin of Litk« Sria iaso t ^at ot Lake Ontario. Oa this pubje3t my first papfir was read last iVIaruh butoie the Amencau Phihirt..pi|.c*l sooiety, and was pubhshed m the last volume issued by it. The eame pnper h's been aabspquently repriuied in volume 24 of (ht^ U. por:« vi the Ge lo^'iiial SurVcv ujude. Dur- i'JK ilie prtS'jLt Uiuiiier fur inr cieiaiiH have been isoik'ii dut, and ol.si rViiiions h ive also ben extended to I hf m re imwottaut small lakes of Central N. w Voik. But only s tuc of file results of these ob- eervutions i-au ia^-ra be none d. THKOHIES OF THE OIIIGIN oF THE LAKB8. Of thes-) there are ih ee : 1. Ttje baein of tile lakes are Keil gcil Valley.-. 2 The bisius weieexi!av,-iied wlu.iiy or paitiy li\ nUcitr uo- tiou. 3. i'he iidrtii- Aern exc IV lie I vvliollv by a'vUio-pher'.o and fl ivi^iil,- eioKion, wi h their ou lit- cl'.aed i)> tlie lirift of the ic- a^e. T' e relative Vitlu ' ot there explauaiions will b;) reen iu tlio .-U :0-'t .iiuH p^ge^. FEATURES AL'iNO'lHE PUFOUC AL i UTLRT f F TUB ■lUIu; BvSl.N IN 10 lUB BASIS OF LaKB ONTARIO. The Niu(.'.ira esnarpment enolosea the w( st- ern er d of fjaku itiiio by its lulls, which face the lake jusi ne>oiid us sou hern and Wi-B'ern siiores. Torounh this escarpmeut, at the eutrunoH end ot tiie lake, the lundas valley is exuavat d. In the expin'iel valley the western poriion of Builiuuon hay and the city of Hatuilton are situaed. Westward, however, of Hie latter plaue, the excHvanon through liie escarpment oloses to a width Oi 3 Plf^' AN ANCIENT RIVER. rather more than two miles. Of these hills the lower 250 loei are compog&d jf Me Una Bkiale-', aU'l ovi r tl;ene there are tho ttiin interciuti'tt bi'iis of Clinton do'oruitee ftnd sUaleB, Kuriuomitfil by n dtili gieater duvelop- meut of c juipaet N.^iyw-.n uiuoaiiteb. The Renerii'i Hitiiuao oi tne tock" biuadiirita of the VitUn> is ru;linr uioie th>u; 5UU icet above Lake Outwio (5 '6 iuot iiortu of Duodas, and 510 ftut Bi'usli ol Aric ibU;r.) Afur tiiC e,scarpa!('u' clo es to form a vd- ley of Mbouc two luiles iu width, juat uevond the limits of tho city of liamutun, it' ex- tends westwurd for eix miles, but at Cope- town it becomes covertd with drift, while on the southern sidj, at AncaS'er, 1op.jr cad of the Dun'iias valley proper the cuariour of tiie ou-'try did'ers from this iu th'j valley. There is a inrge baain. waieh may bii dttinod apiiroximately by Jr-nviug n liuu irom Aiu'.aater villat^o to the Giauci rivi-r on tl.'o went, thence along the hihs south va:d of tho Gnnd riier to near Braatlnr.i, theneu nortuwar.l to tho mainline of the Gr.;as \Vt ito.'ii railway, and thenoo eastw-j.rd from njir rl «j-ri8i>urg ;.) Oopi^town and the sorUi s'.do of the b^mdas valley. Much uf tliis bi'iiu is from oO to 100 feet lo-ner than rh ' country oulskIo of it, which is uad-nhiid bv li'i ulmost h-Tizontal limestone fljor, oUO fiitt or more ab.ivuL'i.ko Ontario, and eovtrud with oniy m m.r lerato thicknosa of dii;t. Bud itt ib'rf b tsin fv.e drift is developed to an eriiormoua exteut, s;>en not only m the uoH la the easti-rn poriiou which pass to Duudas valley, but also in the very deep wells. Even the drift divide between the ra- vines (almost dry) openiDR to the Dundas valley and the liraud river, is much lower than the level couutry outside of this drift filled Ijai-in. The depth of the drift in the bisia is said to be very great. The elevation between the two hy8i<:ms of drainage is aluiost 440 feet above Luke O-itario, or 113 above Lake Erie, whilst tbe ravines and deep wells whiwh sel- dom reach tho nek, iu iioate an absence of hard rock in many dIucss, at least, to a level below tue Hurtaoe of the latter lake. In the Dundas villey proper, the depth of drift is very great, iiud cannot be much less than 1000 feet, half of whicli is below the level of Lake Oataiio ; for nea,r the margin of the narrower portions of tlie valley produce.t to Hsm Iton, the drift w*d found iu a well to re.ich a depth of 227 feet below the lake on a bed of .Ue.lina sualoH. and in the center of the valley, (t.vo milt's wid(), to a calculated (in rocKs of the Hudson rivur period) depth of not has iban 400 feet, which would be deep enough to drain Lake Huron, and which Would accord witb the soundings iu the west- ern end of the partially filled hike. This being tho case the dtpth of dr.ft in channels in the bat)m wf.st of Ancaster, not more than seven miJea distant, in ail probability reaoh a similar depth. Into the western portion of this basin I have found at leas; two preglaoial rivers emptittd, namely : tue Upper Grand river, then entering the basin near Harrisburg, and Nith'a river, emptying northeast of lirantford. From the south eastern corner of the basin the broad depression ot the Grand river valley exthuds to Lake Erie. The Grand River valley is characterized by B broad depression two miles or more in v/idt'i, which haa a lateral elevation oi about 440 feet above Lake Ontario or 113 f^^et above Lake Erie, and ntill further by boundaries more ihmn IGO feel above the latter lake. The diiit-fiUed bed of the river at Braulford is only 66 feet above Lake Erie, at Seneca 37 feet, Hiid at Cayuga (mora than 15 miles from the mouth), it is do*.n to the lake It^vel itself. The lower portion of the river ia through a broad mar.Uiy country. At Dunnville, a few miles from the lake, piles had to be driven to a great depth to get a fouudation for an em-, bankment across the river. The margins of the valley are underlaid by limestone (Niagara on one eide and corniferous on the other), thi'.iijj;h the ravine valley ia (xdavated out of the softer rocks of the Onondhga group. In its meanderiugs tho river along portions of its course in several places orosses small spurs of Onondaga ehaly hmestonea, but this character in no place precludes the AN ANCIENT KIVKk. 8 ^ possibility of an adjacent buried channel. At most, all »ho waters that could come down the Grand River, even wiili any iuereascd pitch of the country, and a larger y recipiia- tion of moiaturo, wtiuld scarcely ba able to more than excavate the present bed. The country on either one side of the river or the other, is remarkably broken within the limits of the valley, but beyond it is equiUiy re- markable for its level burf.icn. The detailed features I cannot here eater into ; but sullice it to say that njy former coiieluaioDH, that tho pi-eglaoial ontln of the butin of Lake Erie into that of Like Ontario was along the buried portions of the Grand river and Dundas valleys, are fustaiued. This view :s greatly streni^tbened when we btu(fy the hydrography of Lak'is Oiitario and Eiie, and the ancient Jmritd valleys connected with tho latter lake. THAT THE DnHDAS VALLEY IS NOT OF GLACIER OBiaiN is almost too apparent for consideration. Not only have wo found a river capable of excavat- ing it. but the very nature of tlie valley, witn more or less perpendicular waila, is not of such a character as to admit of its exctivatiou by the erasion of glaciers. Tiie uirtcion of the axis of the valley is about N 7il°. E. Tue summit edfcjs of tho walls on both sides are sharply angular and not rounded ; nor is this angularity tiue to frost action to any extent, as shown by the character of the lakes. The surfaces of the rocky floor of the ad- jacent country are often covered v/ith ice markings, but thu striae are not parallel to the axis of the valley. There are also several preglacinl tributary canyons or valieya, bus all lUeso hav-a diff^jr- ent directions to the gj.iciated surfaces. Again, no glaciern in this legion could have moved north-eastward, and tqaaily im- poHsible would it bu for any endiutj; streams from melting gaoifirs torn jve south we-iiward up an incliuaiioa of several hundred feet. Tnese remarks have uu important bearing on the origin of Lako Oaiario itself, for any force that could have excavated this valley in hard lim'^ntoae along tho true axis of tho lake to a djpth of nearly a thousand feet would be no important aj/eut in the excavi vation of tho la be itself, lying mostly in Medina and older shaly rocks. BASIN 01? LAKE ONTABIO. Lake Ontario itps-.l! lies only in tht; lowest portion of i muoh larger bi^in, reaching on its Bouthf rn and weaieru murgins to the base of the Helderber.i^ and Ni ij.'ara escirptaentu; on the northern to ihe gently rising lower SiUrun and crystalino rooka ; aud on the eastern to the foot of tho Adironddoks. The greater portion of t':e lakti ha'^in is ex.jivated out of Mill Hh!il6Ho£ the lUeiiua, .'JjilHon river and Uiica locks, and in ihe n> rth eastern hhalli w portioti, omv of tini uio'.o caics-jreous rocli-j of tiic Tfi'nton jTro-jp. In mv ioriniar t.K' jueii.iian of the Niiujr.ia riy.^r. Webf.vara .,f tl,\,a limit ILe i;,ike i.-i raorj uriifonn in th p h, being f.iliei up. I'he lioip^a; Forim'i.jitr, r.pnrly i:oah 0! PaUaieyviUfl, isl>3 fa ;iur mi'r.-i la douljle that 01; tue nort iern •^iili, r.ud then conn s a piuivo over the fticv ot i.a escarp- ment, v.liicU 111 l-^.f tia'i t:.'o ru. !e.3 iw 330 feet, comparcbl.i with the Niaf/ara fi:c-irf.mr,nt, v/estward for t-vnii.' diatuaco of tho Niai,'ara river. In one mil- ^.eros.s tho Cfcarpment tho desc-nt ih 21(J f-.-tt. Tho rocky of tiii« hubiiiuged e.^ca'pnit-nt are of lluds.ri rive/' aue. -ppoi l)v -. thin Rtraiuni oi gc;o<]y bh-ia^ i\i(dit!a .'■halts. The e.~carijui:nt cm brj traced f.ir iie-irJy 100 mile.s, bat ,u tir.'fC(.'iiinj.; w<-atw.ii\l liin lower portion oicouica buiied ui tiie si.'di'aienta depoi;it< a m i!Ki lake. \Vtstv.,-ir,l of Kiui^ura river theetora-'.-metit i^oi.sciuca bytcfiiiienis, yet itf. tx yinncj is re \de krio.va a;, ihu exit of ihe JJuL-daa v.-ilhy aud eiwowhere. _ Tl!s Cijemuni/iibovoEli.rii-i,i(imiii.hpm!ilier thautbe noroon be'ovv, which j.jinsi; utacon- siderablo ai.«!i', ijut this pori.iu o. ii le river just abovrtEirnita i:* more uio ieiu than the prefiax-ial ionise of tho CUemung, which, from iJorni'ig, pas.s.-.i directly to Keneca Valley at H..rse Hea, i 4. One ihinii is cer- tain, tho Ontario basir, aa it ivas (lucigiug from ih'j l.-i.-'t !iub-ii.'. jir;. of th Gi:ifii;.l Pi'riod flowed by the rouiw ludieated aud )ini;tred snfhcieTJtly lopf ut tlio luvil 1 f the uppf-r P'lrt of tho Sejieca Vaihv to prodno.j bei.uUes, at th-.i same level aloi.g vim-iouh portion.-i of mar/!in of tae banin Uirii thtre was a great cliuni^o of c 'ntiuentil le>-i'i, the route just iU acnbtjii o.'ulu iioi, hnvn been tiiC pre- placialou'iftof (no b^.->iu of L-ikn Oota;i> usa oon;iderab;e portion of lae Sirau-hanua for severai mil.'H below io>v;(!jda (?;-)S fee nbuvo t'io HH.i) bus .1 rocky bctom (fjijil-y ) Oayu, a V-ilhy w.uul u.'t ntl..r.t anv beiser outlbt, as its summit is 200 feet hit^her than 4 AN ANCIENT RIVER. that of (ho Viillpy of S^dpob LiVg, »nd con- nects witn the Suiiq'uhH'it^a bv diiai'iij-bed valie 8. A jiot iml ai iiia iiiouib of thoffi- peike lity id ii' at^H uu auiiient deutli of the Bii queti'iuiia Ri er tu at Idti-t 1.170 feet bi-li>w tl)» H' a Itvol. Miiny of ihe stisaiuri ia N -rihern P.-uu-vlvania uov i' il)Ut'trK8'if tlio Susqiirthatina id cate au uritiiiial ini,- li.wird fl p\v to S'lieoa Likt! P.>r rlie (irtglaoiil OU'.- let of tlie O itfiri ■ bi-iii t I h ive ben by ihe tbe ShuG'!* tiiid Su-qi-hdiina Vtlleys a very great level oorill, iij,i a'oiiI I liave bren uectS" Bary, bat of tins vi hivd uji ibo ei/iiienca. B/.SIN Oli" LAKE ERIE. The psectdinjiv hIihIIow ba«in of Lsi^e Eiie ban it-> l)i)tt. iiQ as near a Ujvtl plain as >< (Jt froixi twi he to ftiurtten fath ■ra". A dt'eper port cii of ibe luke, h-iw- ever, id f Hind souciiward Kiideai-t-vard uf Li; g Poiat, wuere, lor ab ut foity milesi, tlie dt-ptu exo<>eda t.ven y fitliomn — iu Bome places reaubiog thirty five fath)m3. Ttiis deeper p irti m turns around Loap; Point, Aid takes a oursi tovaida Haldituatid Ouuiity, ia Oannda, in the rtiiecioa of tbe preaen: luoutii of the Gi'nud Tiver. The ouilet of the like tiwardd the N aga-'a river, has a rjcky bjttom, (ooruifer- oaa limestoue ) BASINS OF THE OTBEB OBKAT L&EES. As I h*ve pointi'd out elaewhere, Lakes Hann and Mi ;h giu pariakr) uf lue chtno- ter of subu'iii,! \ a leva travers d by liver systenn. Dc. N 'wDeny o >a-ider3 thit th !He two iak'f-i have b-'ii sepirattd at a coaipara- tiVBlv n n period Witu till-, vie* I am ino'inel to oonjar, and I! iti-equHiit.ly hivt! class-id^d Hu;oii wiih tlie hnv .. -i (I i. ■- 1,1 '• p '. . I li,i Auo^ a ha. .I.,; i;u...Uwi .x.^.^. THE PREOLACIAti OUTLET OP LAKE HURON. As the d'pjeusion frum Geort^ian bay to Lake 0:it'irri> in uudeiLiid by a rocky floor' more ih ko '^OJ fei't above the former witer, there r<-iu till o iiy tvvo p jssiole routes, one thi Pre«lauiti (ii8char(.,e. One of these roiit-H b- tlio Strait of Muckinao, where the dee^'e3^ inouudii g is only 252 feet with the north eusttro pursionof L^Ke Aliobigan very Fhalluw. The other and probanle route is by a buri-d ch'innel to Lnke Erie. The eoutiivvi stern o lunties of Ontario Where bjriiiK-i have been inaletja d pth, through tbe drift of 2tiU aud 152 feet re-tpeo- tiv-iy, be leath the euiface of Lake Erie. 'J-htse b..rinj^ti uppear to ioilicato marginal (ieptht? of a I'leai ciianni'l excaviited out of an area of i^of DiV(.nifiu i-halt s. Dr, Hunt has cotleoved mauy of the record-i of the borings in this i-ection of the province and from them ■we dud tlidt ouirdJe of the buried channel Lard rocks ii~n to a considerable belMbt abovf:! Lake Erie itself. 1 have shown else- where that this channel is in all prcVabdity a p irtiou of the preglaciaJ outlet of Lake Eiie j i'leJ by buried channels along tbe r.iiite. Au outlet by this route \vould per- fectly account for tlie outline of the shore of Lake Erie, aud the greater dcpibs of tbe lake fioiu the r. gion of Port S anley, around L •na, Point, to.vards tbe Grand Biver. Whrthfr this r^ute is s-.fBi ently deep to drain the dtepest place iu Luke Huron (760 feet,) or not, his not been ascertained by actual observation, but certainly tbrou^ih the hijjbest portion of the bariier in the Dundas V.dley the hurii J ciui-uiel is deep enough for all purpo. v'.s. Aluiy valL-^ys now partly bur- ied were once tributury to this great river syst. m. In fact, the basin of Lhke Erie abourj'iJa with them as if it were nothing more than u crand plain or rrsirie traversed by many gtreains cut into tbe uoft rocks out of which most of the lake is excavated. AmongBt the most important tributaries from the south were tun Cavahoga (wnose vality according to Dr. Nn.vbarry, is 228 feet be- neath the like surtactj) r.he Grand River, of Olio; and the upper Alleghany, which Mr. F. 0. Croll at the close of last year, demonstrated as flowing into Lake Erie crar Dunkirk, as also some other rivers of Pennsylvania now sending their waters into the Ohio. The Grand Biver of Ouio is interesting as being tbe por- tion of a magnificent anri remarkably straight river, now reprtsfnted by portions of the valleys of the Moni»ni;abeIa, Upper Ohio, B-^aver (reversed) Mahoning (reversed, this Ml (^-nl -h w lo luve hci ti the Cms ) and ' ir o I () M I- r. (■• ir -v p 'ine i oiu ii ( !♦( : fit AN ANCIENT RIVER. i i Upper Alleghany emptying near Dunkirk, would be directly oppo-iie tiio outlet of the Erie basin, as before desoiibed. EXCAV4TI0N8 OF TUK LAKE BASINS. Having demonstrateil that a gmat system of rivers extende'l throu;^b the various Jakes it becomes apparent at once as tlio gienter portion of all the great JaKes.exsHpt Suptrior, are excavated mostly out of ihe more or It-MS shaly rocks of the various regions, thfit the erosion of atmosphoiic agenoifs would teud to iVBvr the coaury iujo g.-ntly uniula- ting basins, for such only lakus were exca- vated by glacit rs will now be briefly ex- amined. One cannot do butter than «ive a summary of wjat Prof. VVhitaey (in clim,ilio changes) says with regard to the erosive power of ice. " Ice per se has no erosive power. Glaciers are noj frozen to their beds. Ice permeated with water acts as a flexible body and c«n flo v ac- cordingly. In neither the extinct glacier regions of California, nor in the nhrunkon glaciers of the Alps will it be found that ice scoops out channels with vertical sides as water does. No change of form can be observed at the foymer line of ice. It can now bo sosn that a groat river ex- tended from Lake Erie trirom.'h the Dandas Valley, and through Lake Ontario, at the foot of a now submerged esc^rpmBut, receiving along the way the waters from great buried river chaunels, of which the Genesee river was one of the largest, as the Niagara was not yet in existence.- Bffore conKii-riog farther the causes of the excavation of the lake, lee us examine where there could have been an outlet for the waters of this great rivor system. MSBIBILITIES OF AN OUTLET BV THE ST. LAW- BENCB. The northpqRtPfn pornon of L^ke Ootiirio is ver> Hli.llnw alUi u>i'\ iIih n untrv Mir rouudiug ii la ijw, jet ii is uudtriuia by hard rooks, which are so frequently exposed throueh the moderate thickness of drift as to preclude the idea of a great burit-d channel existing aoj'icent to tlie at. Lawrence, which, a short di!-t'iucH b.'low the outlet of the lake, fl.iws over Luureniian rock.^. Ho.vuver. in northern New Y..rk,but south wjini of the 8t Lawrence, there are s )iun unimportnut buried channels connected with the 'Ont«rio bahin. The St. La^vrence rivtr its If is inoderu from Lake Ontario to the junction of the Ottawa river, though t'5o lowest portion of the river is con- spicuously of aijcit-nt •-■ate. with pot holes in- dicating a dipth of nearly 1,200 feet, without a cousuieiable chnuge of levt i, f-uch as either thiit wliich woiid be produced by a level subnidfuce of northf astern Ontario and the Uuper St. Lawriiuco, or a very great northeicn subsidence during a periid of southern eleva- tion. Any post-ibihty of the preglacial out ■ let of the Ontario basin by the St. Lawrence seems impossible. POBHIBILITIES Of AN OUTLET AT THE SOUTH- EASTERN END OF TUB LAKE. Betwcea the eastern shores of Luke Ontario and the foot of the Adirondacks, thH broad plaua appears to mark thef.irmfrlake bottom belore the lake cotiti acted to within the pres Btnt limits. This remark holds good for the great level bf tween the southern margin of the lake and the escirpmeut to the south.although 160 feer above it. The levol country southeast of the lake is umierlaid by almost horizontal Palai-ozoic rocks. wi)ic!i are espjsed along mariy of the streams, iind are oovered gentraliv with no great tijicUntss of tiie drift." ' ' e^ie rock expouurt^s are t^c-eu as far souih „ short dirttanoe north of Oneida lake. 1 ':ey &re also seen Klong the Oswtgo rivtr, and the lower poriiou of the Seneca. Howe'-'-r, there is a deeply buried basin in the region of Onondaga lake. Oueida laUe is only 60 feet deep aud 127 feet above Lake Ontario, and 18 situated in a basin of drift. Onondaga lake is 119 feet above Lake Ontario, and is about 65 feet in iha deeptst sounding. It is a modern lake, situ-tted in a great drift filled basin. Tiie shallower portion of this basin is towards the northern end of this lake. It increases in depth on approaching Syracuse, but again becomeiJ somowhat shallower on passing southward of this city. The drift lilled basin reaches to a depth of about 290 itet beiow the surfaoo of Lake Ontario. Southward of Syracuse the country rises to the escarpment forming the southern bound- ary of the Ontario Valley. F)r unny yearn, ugg«8fion<( have been m dn that ih- I'r.uiKji,,, ,;u i^t of L.k-. On- tario A us hy iho buneUbjoiujuat utBOnbed, AN' ANCIKNI' RIVER. emptvinK its waters by tlie Mobawk and JUudBOD rivers into tLo Atlantic. tlowovir, tiiui outlet is not poPBibla as Bliown by Mr. Crdl, for the JMobav/k river psBBes over uictumorj.hi'c roeks as LiUlo FallH, Uerkimrr ooiu.ty, at an elevation above Likf. Out'trio ol libonk lUh feet, witli- out the pO'iHibility of an ailj)«?i»t liuricd ohannel tiiiou>;b the r<io, or norttieruend of Like liurju, pjlu-hed 'and Btriated. All tho facta appear to pniut to ouo seriBsof oaur val- leys, everywhere in the lake region were either re-exaavated in tho drift or oriijinally opened, and that the second closing or filling of the.-e valioys whs not accomplished torougli a-y glacier action, but principally througa the atjeacy of pan ice and currents. 0aCILL.\TIOMS OP THR cr.NTINEyT IN THE LIKE REGION. Until lately oiy investigations b3arin» on the origin of the great lakes have been mainly based on she hypothecs that the closing of the baHins wa.H not ocerisionnd by the elevations ol tho lako murgms by means of the local elev^tiou of th) exrth's ciust. This hypolh- o.-'is then necejfitaus tho existence of the buried volleys being outlets of tho lake basins, which if tuoiroontiuued drifts were excavated would rest on tiij ;. ri«l,%ci>il rlrainige. My r.?ceut observations in New York and elso- whero hava lailod to obtain any proofs of the above suppisition. Outf* in the 0(>»refifnmH of ih- above h%potbi'Hin. Wliilnt the fliivi), bftH fMroft niP priivifioTinlly to ao- cppt tbf Ii\p(.ttichi8 til. t ihf« bH^iIl WMH purily oliupd by oi-cilliiii.>iisof »1ip re)..i(,n n« strcpiiily 8Pt foitli in m nhle leiter from Mr. G. K. Gilbert As iin cvifciP e of kio il ofollbiti.'a Mr. Gilh-rt lift-* point, il niu tbo Ircndqnot Bay near R(,chp>tt'r wjg excuvHted to tha deptb of tijcre thim 7(t feet, imd t«o itji!«8 wide, b> HtrpMHiH of poctfjliirml or inttr/^'lHcial dHte and pubc qnpntly subrnpii^. d to tlia above rieptli. Fiom tlii-< liit< conclusion m th«t at tbft time of .xnav.ition of this dord- vhIIov, tbp reiitive ftllituii'of the loonlity a-id thn rock Hill over which L ikK Onttirio dig- oharKPH c'ifT'red from thia present sriituH by moro than 70 (n^i, Corn>-p miiinK perfectly with Trondf qnot Bay }» Butlini,"on Bay at Hamilton with a depth of 7tt feei, with a cloHed befell ttcro«B its m.iuth. Prom this and other l^ dip of th . r leka at the wed tern end of Lake Oafario is about 23 feat iu a milo, w^st.vard or 8)Ufh. At the e'literii end of tho lftk«, I bsliuve, ic is Botnewhai jrHiter, Th'* dumper p )riijus of the laku a-o in jre thtn 40 milrts (l\)'u its present outlet. Any loci di'prr-dsi.)n gr^idu- ally extenlias uorihst.-tivaid froa tu^) damp- est suTOtniliiif^s of ihe like to ov-u the extent of 25 fent in thu mile, would lower the outlet bv the S ;. rj^wronce to aa exu-nt f-tr grpiiUr t'la > -voiili b) sulfij ecs to drain the lakes, provided this o^nit^e took pi 'cat a time of hiRh ojatineatal elevi'ion, tum prj. duoioRabroil depreised va'ley VVn kao.v that the valley of she lovnr S:. La vreaoa ia submerged to tha depih of at leisC nearly 1 200 feet. Th'j rockv biunlarifis of tha rcsjioi) cou'd Bo^roely mow than iniieito thu chijni^e of level, a3 the dip ut she rocks wouid paa from the condition of 25 feet in the mile or leei to BlmoMt Hb-olute h irizontality. and we hare' no measure (,f c )tiipiriHoa. If, however, tha elev,ttiou9toi)k phc! to the northward lo a Rreater extent than to the southward, such as nii«hi lie ooaaMioned by a change of the OKnier of uravitv af the earth, then the rPKion t ) tiie Hou'hvvurd of tho lakon might be re- lative. y HulHoiontly lowere.i as to permit the drainage to pa.sn out by either the Mo~ hawk or Seneivi Lake v-tlleys which, evident- l.v. during som.- portions of the sea age, dis- charged watoiB from the expanded basin of the lake The local oncillations would also greatly aid in the exp anation of tho closing of the ourl..f,H of the Uppor Lakes wliica would be thein.st naiif.4i!iory if we could establish th4 greater norsheru elevition of the lakes overtlio8outh.ru. With these remarks I will plont paper is exceedingly unsatis- faotory, owin-; to the fragmentary oharaoter of the fa(?ts that have oeen obnerved, and even only a pjrtiun of thorn have been worked out. A word of tribute must be paid to those Whose works hiv.ipived the wiy to the present ntn.iy. General Warren, in his dis- co-.', ry of the form r great ohau/es of the d,-ai'ia;,'e of the Winnipe!< btain whioii ooa- certiB so lai;^o a porti oa of thj continent, should f.urly be plaoed as the father of Fm- viiitiie Geoioyy. Th.) reo lids c^Ilocted by and ua it-r the suiervisiou of thd Direotor.s of tho Geol gioal Surveys of O-iio and Pennsy, .anii -P/ofes- Bor.-^ Newberry and Lesl.jv. and thos-i of Dr. Swrry -luat hav, b-en of the grjatest value m working out this aubj-jyt. To Mr. Crod balong.s particular praise for workiu^' «)ut tha d^lii-ult prooKm of the Uppr Allei