DEPABTMENT OF THE INTEBIOB BULLETIN OK THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY No. 58 WASHINGTON PRINTING OFFICE, 1S9Q UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY J. W. POWELL, DIllECTOli THE GLACIAL BOUNDARY WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, KENTUCKY, INDIANA, AND ILLINOIS GEORGE FREDERICK WEIGHT WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THOMAS CHKOWDEK CHAMBEBLIN WASHINGTON Q-OVEKNMENT POINTING OFFICE 1390 CONTENTS. Page. Letter of transmittal.......................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION BY T. C. CHAMBERLIN............... ....................... 13 Terraces of the upper Ohio River district. ...................................... 22 The high horizontal terraces............................................... 22 The higher river terraces .................. ................................ 24 The lower river or moraine-headed terraces................................. 32 General remarks on the two systems ................................... 33 The slender horizontal terracqs ............................................ 37 The structural terraces .................. ............................... 38 Summation........................... .... .................................... 38 THE GLACIAL BOUNDARY IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, Onto, KENTUCKY, IN­ DIANA, AND ILLINOIS, BY G. F. WRIGHT .................................... 39 Introduction .................................................................. 39 Striated surfaces of rocks in place ............................................. 39 Summary of facts concerning the unstratified deposit called "till" ............. 42 Preliminary remarks ....................................................... 42 General distribution of till and its relations to huried channels............. 43 Character of the material composing the till............................... 45 Source of bowlders in the till........................ _................... 50 Regularity of distribution of till near the margin.............................. 52 Distribution of the till east of the Alleghanies...................... .... 52 New England ......................................................... 52 New Jersey ............................................................ 55 Pennsylvania ......................................................... 55 Northampton County.............................................. 55 MonroeCounty.................................................... 55 Luzerne County................................................... 56 Columbia County................................................. 56 Lycoming County................................................. 56 New York.........................._................................ 56 Cattaraugus County .............................................. 56 Distribution of the till west of the Alleghaniea......_.................... 57 General remarks ...............;...................................... 57 Pennsylvania......................................................... 58 Warren County ................................................... 58 Venango County....................._.......................... 59 Crawford County ................................._ ............. 59 Mercer County.................................................... 59 Butler County .................................................... 59 Lawrence County .......................................... 4i ..... 59 Beaver County.................................................... 59 5 CONTENTS Regularity of distribution of till near the margin Continued. Distribution of the till west of the Alleghauies Continued. Ohio.................................................................. 59 Columbiana County.... ........................................... 59 Stark County ..................................................... 60 Holmes County ................................................... 60 Knox County ..................................................... 60 Licking County ...... ........................ ..................... 61 Perry County .................................. ................... 61 Fairfield County .................................................. 61 Rosa County .................. .................................... 61 Highland County.... ............................................. 61 Brown and Clerinont Counties. ----- .... -... ...... .... ...... ...... 61 Hamilton County .................... ............................... 62 Butler County .................................................... 63 Kentucky ............................................................ 63 » Campbell County...... ............................................ 63 Ken ton County ...... _ ......................... __ ............ 63 Boone County.... ........................... ...................... 64 Trimble County ................................................... 65 Indiana .............................................................. 65 Dearborn County ................................................. 65 Ohio County...... _ ................. ............................ 66 Switzerland County...... ............ ............................. 66 Jefferson County..:... ...... .... .... .... ...... .... .... .... .... .... 66 Ripley County.... ........ ........................................ 66 Jennings County.... .............................................. 67 Clarke County.... ...... ......................................... 67 Scott County .......................... ........................... 67 Jackson County...... .... ... ..!.. ................................. 67 Bartholomew County. ............................................. 67 Decatur County...... .............. ............................... 68 Johnson County .................................................. 68 Brown County.. ............-.... ...-.- --. .- - -- -- 68 Monroe County ................................................... 68 Morgan County ................................................... 68 Putnam County....... ............................................ 69 Owen County...... ......... _ .................................... 69 Greene County...... ...... ....... .......................... ..... 69 Sullivan County ...... ......__.................................... 69 Knox County ..............._.. ................................... 69 Daviess County ................................................... 69 Gibson County...... .-..-..._................-.........---...---.. 69 Vanderburgh County...... ...... ...... ...... .... ....... .... .... .... 70 Posey County.... ........... _ ...,........... ..................... 70 Illinois ..................... ........... ............................... 70 White County ............ ....... ................................... 70 Gallatin County ........:......................................... 70 Saline County .................................................... 71 Williamson County ..........__..*.... .... ........................ 71 Jackson County .................................................. 71 Randolph County............ .^.... ............................... 72 Missouri ............ ..............^. ............ .;...-. .............. 72 Jefferson County.... ...... ....^.......^^.. ........................ 72 St. Louis County .............. _ .. ...... ..^. ................ ..... 72 General remarks ...................... ..,,--. ....* . ....^. ......... ......... 73 CONTENTS. 7 Page. Hypothesis of a glacial dam at Cincinnati...................................... 76 Introduction...................................I.......................... 7(5 The lower terraces of the Ohio audits tribntaries .......................... 7G The upper terraces of the Ohio and its tributaries .......................... 80 Theoretical explanations.................................................. 82 The upper terraces the remnants of a distinct glacial epoch earlier than that producing the lower............................................ 82 Facts adverse to this theory........................................... 83 Terraces on the Monougahela...... ................................ 83 River deposits in Teazes Valley, West Virginia .................... 86 Terraces on the Big Sandy......................................... 88 Terraces on the Elk River .......................................... 88 Terraces in Bath County, Ky.......... ........................... 90 Beech Flats, Pike County, Ohio ................................... 92 Freshness of the vegetable remains near the glacial margin ........ 96 Summary ................................................................. 100 The loess and its relation to the glacial drift................................... 101 Gold near the glacial margin .................................................. 104 Interglacial man in Ohio...................................................... 105 General conclusions........................................................... 108 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. PLATE I. Section of till at Lane's Mill, near Darrtown, Butler County, Ohio.. 48 II. Exposure Of till some miles oast of section shown in Plato I ........ 50 III. Cliff of post-glaciiil conglomerate south of Woolper Creek, near Split Kock, Ky.................................................. G4 IV. A near view of cliff shown in Plato III............................ 66 V. Map of southern Illinois showing glacial boundary................ 70 VI. Section of deposit near Hurricane, in Teazes Valley, West Virginia. 88 VII. Section of peat and drift, Germantown, Ohio....................