

1897.] The Siuamjjs of Oswego County, N. Y. 691 



marked east of the river and extends through Fulton and 

 Palermo center. South of the divide the country is very level, 

 onl}' occasionally relieved by gentle undulations. The streams 

 here are very sluggish and often very crooked, some of them 

 flowing through extensive swamps, as, for instance, the Peter 

 Scott swamp in the town of Schroeppel, which in extent rivals 

 the celebrated Cicero swamps in Onondaga County. 



North of the divide the surface of the country is very differ- 

 ent. Parallel ridges separated by narrow^ valleys constitute 

 the distinctive features of the topography of the region. The 

 ridges, and more especially the valleys, have their longitudi- 

 nal axes at right angles to the shore of the lake and nearl}^ 

 parallel with the river. To the ridges local names are applied 

 as " Paddy Ridge " where an Irish settlement occurs, " Ridge 

 Road " and " The Hog Back," the last name being applied to 

 at least two ridges in different parts of the count}'. The 

 streams of this northern slope follow the valleys between the 

 ridges and consequently flow into the lake rather than into 

 the river. Black Creek, the only stream of any size that 

 empties into the river from the east is deflected at one part of 

 its course several miles before it finds a break between the 

 ridges through which to flow. The ridges, technically known 

 to geologists as drumlins, are not continuous for any consider- 

 able distance, the longest being sometimes several miles, the 

 shorter often being less than a mile ; the}^ are, as a usual thing, 

 terminated much more abruptly at their northern than at 

 their southern end. Good examples of the abrupt termination 

 is afforded at Seneca Hill w^here the river passes so near the 

 hill as to cut away a portion and form a bluff. Another strik- 

 ing example occurs at the northern terminus of Jackson Hill, 

 about three miles north of the village of Fulton. Their south- 

 ern end usually flattens out gradually, and may be entirely 

 lost in the confluence of several hills. 



THE SWAMPS AND LAKES. 



The furrowed character of the northern slope just described 

 afforded exceptional opportunities for the formation of lakes 

 and swamps. The underlying drift of the whole region is a 



