133 ACCOUNT OP THE 



made along Main Street in this town, and through the cen- 

 tre of Covington on the opposite side of the river, a short 

 distance below the mouth of the Licking. It is necessary to 

 consider yourself as placed weet of this line, which is near- 

 ly on the meridian, with your face directed to the east, or 

 up the river. From this position, it may be seen, that tlie 

 plain, to the right hand, on the Kentucky side, has an ele- 

 vation between that, which, in this town, we term the bot- 

 tom, and that which is denominated the hill. 



A very small part of the southern or Kentucky plain is 

 liable to inundation, but the lower part of the northern was 

 entirely ovei-flown in the year 1793, and has been partially 

 covered two or three times since.* These three tables dif- 

 fer somewhat in composition, as well as in elevation. That 

 on which the opposite villages of Newport and Covington 

 are built, is little else than a bed of sandy loam, to the great- 

 est depths that it has yet been perforated. The bottom or 

 lower plain on this side, is composed, in its superior parts, 

 chiefly of loam and various coloured clays proper for bricks 

 and coarse earthenware : in its inferior, of beds of strong 

 debris consisting chiefly of primitive and transition gravel, 

 which may be seen on the Covington side of the river, at 

 the same depth. The upper table, or hill, consists chiefly 

 of sand, gravel, and rolled pebbles, in some parts blended 

 together, in others composing separate beds, the strata of 

 which are either horizontal, or inclined and curved in va- 

 rious directions and degrees. Most of them dip, however, 

 to the north and north west. It oujjlit perhaps to be noted, 

 that the sand, when in distinct beds, is generally underneath 

 the pebbles. The greatest collection of the latter is in the 

 upper parts of the table near its southern margin, or that 

 which looks towards the river. Many openings have been 

 made into this part of the plain, and it requires but the 

 slightest inspection to perceive that it contains the wreck of 

 various and very distinct strata. It is indeed an epitome of 



* It is proper to observe, that the corporation has lately thrown up a levee 

 that will prevent the future encroachments of the waters. 



