Southeastern Ohio and Adjacent Parts of West Virginia and Kentucky
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Professional Paper No. 13 Series B, Descriptive Geology,.36 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR ' DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND ADJACENT PARTS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY BY "W. a. TIGHT WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1903 CONTENTS, Page. Introduction........................................................................... 7 Location of the area. .......................................................... 11 Present drainage and its relation to adjacent drainage.............................. 13 Through-flowing streams ........................................................ 13 Indigenous streams.................................................................... 13 Pre-Glacial drainage of adjacent regions .................................................... 17 General topographic features............................................................... 23 Characteristics of the present river valleys.................................................. 29 Through-flosving streams.............................................................. 29 Ohio Valley ...................................................................... 29 Muskingum Valley................................................................ 36 Hocking Valley................................................................... 35 Srioto Valley ...................................................................... 36 Summary ...................................................................... 38 Indigenous streams ................................................................... 39 Middle Island Creek Valley........................................................ 39 Little Muskingum.and Duck Greek valleys.......................................... 39 Wolf Creek Valley................................................................ 40 Little Kanaxvha Valley............................................................. 40 Little Hocking Valley............................................................. 41 Federal Creek Valley ............................................................. 41 Sunday and Monday Creek valleys................................................. 41 Shade River Valley ...........J.............i.................................... 42 Leading Greek Valley ............................................................. 42 Kanaxvha Valley.................................................................. 43 Raccoon Creek Valley.........................I................................... 43 Synimes Greek Valley............................................................. 45 Big Sandy Valley ................i...............................................i 45 Pine Creek Valley ................................................................. 46 Little Scioto Valley ............................................................... 46 Summary ..................................................................... 46 Old high-level valleys..................................................................... 4T General description .................................................................. 47 General distribution................................................................... 49 R 4 CONTENTS. Old high-level valleys Continued. Page. Special descriptions .-...-....---.....:.-.----.....-...--.........._..._........-....... 50 Teays and Flatwoods valleys....................................................... 50 California Valley.................................................................. 57 Layman, Barlow, and Fleming valleys........ ...................................... 58 Watertown Valley -.-.-....----.-......------.-.-..--:.._..............._....._... 59 Boxbury Valley ................................................................... 60 Torch Valley .... 1.........................................___...,.._...___....... 60 Coolville and Tappers Plains valleys ........... .................................... 61 Valleys at headwaters of Federal Creek and Hocking River........................... 62 Chester and Ohio Flatwoods valleys................................................. 62 Dutch Flat Valley, West Virginia .....................'............................. 63 Point Pleasant Valley ...............................'.............................. 65 Rodney Valley -..--..--..-----...-...-----........-..-...........--...-.......--. 65 Rio Grande and Centerville valleys --.-....-...---.--...........-.-.........._..... 65 Bedwell Valley............'.........................'.........................,.... 66 Cackley Swamp Valley............................................................ 66 Camba, Keystone, and Jackson valleys.............................................. 66 Salina Plains Valley.................................................'.............. 67 Albany Valley.................................................................... 70 Vinton Valley .................................................................... 70 Wilkesvillc Valley .......... ..................................................... 70 McArthur Junction Valley .........^.............................................. 71 Wellston Valley ................................................................... 71 Berlin Valley.....'...........-.....-...-......-...-...........---..-.......-...... 72 Reconstruction of the old drainage system .................................................. 72 Reconstruction of the old topographic features ..............._-.............................. 77 Relation of present and restored drainage systems to geological structure....--.....-...---.--. 78 Relations of old and present river systems. ................................................... 81 Relation of present streams to their valley floors and to deposits within the valleys............ 84 The slender terraces .........-...--...-...-----..--...-.---...--..--..--..----..---...-.-- 88 The glacial deposits ..........---.-..--....----------.-.--.--.-.----.--...--.---...--.-..-- 90 Historical relations of the old high-level drainage system to the present-...................... 90 ILLUSTRATIONS. " Page. PLATE I. Pre-Glacial hydrographic basins of the Upper Ohio Valley 1...................--..--- 7 II. A, View down a small ravine near Sardis; B, Section view of small ravine entering . the Ohio near Long Reach; C, View up the Ohio Valley at Long Reach; D, View up the Muskingum Valley froni Haruiar Hill; E, Cliffs bordering Ohio River at the col below Hocking, from opposite cliffs......................................... 24 III. A, View of the old topography of the Tertiary base-level; B, View of the Tertiary peneplain of the lowland section ............................................... 26 IV. A and B, View from a high ridge north of Sardis; C, Ohio Valley looking down the river from Parkersburg; D, Ohio Valley looking up the river from Parkersburg .... 28 V. A, Old valley at Torch; B, Remnant of old gradation plain at mouth of Middle Island Creek...:..............................-..................................... 30 VI. A, Ohio Valley at Sistersville, W. Va.; B, Shelving rock in Ohio near Syracuse; C, Ohio River and cliffs at Pomeroy; D, Old valley at Flatwoods, Ohio; E, Old valley near Dutch Flats, W. Va........................................................... 30 VII. A, Ohio Valley at the col below Gallipolis; B, Talus slope near the col near Gallipolis.. 32 VIII. A, Ohio Valley at the col at Crown City; B, Ohio Valley at the Manchester col; C, Slender terrace on the Raccoon near Lathrop; D, Slender wave terrace on a branch of the Raccoon near Gallipolis ................................................. 34 IX. Topographic map of the Flatwoods and Teays valleys .............^................ 50 X. Silt cliffs at Barboursville........................................ ................ 54 XI. Map of drainage modifications in Washington and adjacent counties, Ohio .......... 58 XII. A, Old valley near MoArthur Junction; B, Old valley at Layman; C, Old valley at Bar low; D, Old valley at Flatwoods, east of Pomeroy, Ohio; E, Entrance of the" old valley into the Ohio Valley near Racine; F, Old Dutch Flats Valley, West Virginia...... 60 XIII. Map oi drainage modifications in parts of Ohio and West Virginia .................. 62 XIV. A, Old valley at Keystone; B, Old valley at Porter; C, Old valley at Rodney; D, Old yalley at Centerville; E, A ridge, road; F, The Ohio Valley below Portsmouth; 0, Valley of the Little Muskingum............................................. 64 XV. Drainage map of Athens and part of Dover townships, Athens County, Ohio ...... 1. 68 XVI. Map of drainage modifications in Hocking, Vinton, and adjacent counties, Ohio ..... 70. XVII. Map oi drainage modifications in parts ofOhio and Kentucky ...................... 74 FIG. 1. Drainage modifications at Barboursville .......................'..........,_.__....... 54 5 DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN OHIO AND ADJACENT PARTS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY. By W. G. TIGHT. INTRODUCTION. The field work upon which this paper is based was carried on intermittently for several years. During the season of 1899 the work in Washington County, Ohio, was conducted under the direction of the Ohio State Academy of Science, the expenses being covered by a grant from the Emerson McMillin special research fund. The field work of the season of 1900 was done under the direction of Dr. T. C. Chambcrlin, chief of the Division of .Pleistocene Geology