The Abandoned Shorelines of the Oberlin Quadrangle, Ohio 103 



the valley of the West Branch; this section is called "W^est Ridge." 

 Throughout most of this distance it is a beach, but a cliff, cut in 

 glacial drift, is found not far south of the Lake Shore railway 

 (Southern Division). Just beyond this cliff-phase, a short ridge, 

 on the inland border of the beach, indicates the earliest position of 

 the Maumee level, when the bay extended still farther west. Stream 

 erosion has removed part of the southern end of West Ridge. 



Murray Ridge, parallel to this, appears to have originated as 

 an off-shore barrier of the higher Maumee shoreline, which later 

 grew above water and finally became the shoreline proper. It has 

 a strong development, increasing in height and complexity south- 

 ward. About one mile of the nori:hern part was steepened by wave- 

 work. In texture, the deposits grow finer towards the south. The 

 muck soil between West and Murray ridges indicates a lagoon his- 

 tory; an arm of the lake was shut off completely at the northern 

 end, as shown by the bar joining the ridges; there is evidence that 

 the southern end was once more nearly enclosed than now ; some 

 short spits are appended to the inland slope of the beach, one of 

 which may formerly have been connected with the isolated ridge 

 of sand and gravel, outlined by the 750-foot contour, about one 

 mile long, and parallel to West Ridge. Murray Ridge was a shore- 

 line in the closing period of the upper Maumee stage as well as 

 during the lower stage. 



Between the east and west branches of the E'lack river, the 

 upper Alaumee level is represented by a well de\-eloped shoreline 

 extending southwest from Laporte. This part of the beach con- 

 sists prevailingly of fine sand. The ridge has a verv much sharper 

 front than back slope (fig. i A), because of steepening by wave ero- 

 sion. Between this 1)each and the southern end of West Ridge, 

 stream work has removed whatexer shore development existed in 

 this, the shallowest part of the bay. 



East of the river the shoreline is known as "Butternut Ridge," 

 and has a very strong development. For most of this distance the 

 beach is composed of fine gravel and very fine sand ; its front slope, 

 as shown by a typical cross-seccion. is sharp; and there is generally 

 present a lower inner ridge (fig. i B). Toward the eastern bor- 

 der of the sheet, the lake side of the ridge is a cliff cut in the drift 

 and shale; a regular beach caps the cliff, showing that the wave- 

 erosion took place just before the close of this Maumee s:age. 



Loiver Maumee sfa^e. — "Chestnut Ridge," which parallels 



