Topographical Features of the New Haven region. 53 



New Haven plane, between the trap hills, Pine Rock and Mill Rock.* 

 It crosses the borders of the towns of New Haven and Haraden, and 

 has a length from north to south of \\ miles, and an average breadth 

 in its southern half of a fourth of a mile. The basin receives almost 

 no outside water, and yet gives exit to a stream which in its descent 

 of 22 feet to West river affords water power to two or three manufac- 

 turing establishments. In its wide and flat meadows, and its high slo- 

 ping bank of 20 to 30 feet, looking like the terrace slope of the river val- 

 leys, it appears as if it were once the course of a large stream ; yet it 

 not only receives no water at its head, but not even an old dried up 

 channel ; moreover the outcrops of sandstone less than a mile to the 

 north afford no evidence of the former existence of such a channel 

 leading toward the Meadows. This absence of proof that any river 

 ever discharged itself through the depression is part of the evidence 

 that its excavation was the work of the glacier, as explained beyond. 



If the Beaver Pond depression was excavated by the glacier, we 

 should naturally look for a continuation of the channel southward to the 

 New Haven bay. This channel was probably that of the okl AVest 

 Creek — a valley with similar broad meadows and distinct terrace 

 slopes, terminating in the northwest angle of New Haven bay.f Al- 

 though now nearly dry throughout and covered by streets and houses, 

 two and a half centuries since it was large and deep enough to give 

 entrance to Whiting street for vessels of considerable size, and as far 

 as College street for boats. The connection between the Beaver Pond 

 meadows is cut off by the alluvium — a deposit of the era following 

 the Glacial ; but a series of large and once deep depressions lies be- 

 tween them and hoth are in nearly the same north-and-south line. 



There are also two other broad valley like depressions leading off 



* Owing to a defect in the engraving, the position of only the southern part of the 

 Beaver Pond basin (5m) is given on the map. The dotted outline should have been 

 extended northward, by the east end of Pine Rock (P.). 



•j- East and West Creeks, as they are now obliterated channels, are not on the map. 

 They may be put on, with a lead pencil : for East Creek, by drawing a line from a point 

 just east of the southern end of the Beaver Pond depression (bm) eishvard to the Ca- 

 nal road, then along the course of this road southward, and thence to the head of the 

 New Haven bay west of its cent- r ; and for West Creek, by starting the line a little 

 west of south of the extremity of the Beaver Pond basin and continuing it to the north- 

 west angle of the bay. Each was about 1^ m. long ; yet for half a mile the channel in 

 both cases was a broad tidal inlet. The city of New Haven was originally laid out at 

 the head of the bay, between these two creeks, the west side of its half mile square 

 (George street) against the West Creek valley, and the south and east sides (State and 

 Grove streets) near East Creek. 



