PART III. 



A Preglacial Tributary to Paint Creek and its Relation to 

 THE Beech Flats of Pike County, Ohio. 



By W. G. Tight. 



Reference is made in the preceding article, in this volume, on 

 '•The Pre-glacial and Recent Drainage Channels of Ross county, 

 Ohio," on page 17, to the extension of the preglacial valley of the upper 

 part of Paint creek to the southwest, at a point a little above Bainbridge. 

 It was with a view to ascertain the course of this tributary to Paint 

 creek that these studies were undertaken. 



The results of glacial action along the margin of the ice sheet are 

 so varied and at times so unexpected that almost every acre presents 

 some new and interesting features. This region, lying as it does just 

 on the boundary line of greatest glacial extention, is no exception. 

 While it presents some characters common to some other localities 

 studied, yet there are many new features which add especial interest 

 to this field. A very casual observation revealed the fact that this 

 preglacial channel extends to the Beech Flats of Pike county and is 

 in some way connected with their origin. A view from one of the 

 high Waverly hills at the junction of this valley with Paint creek 

 would easily lead one to the conclusions stated by the author of 

 the preceding article on page 18. 



vSo striking are the topographical features of this region that we 

 find them mentioned in the earliest writings on geology of this 

 portion of the state. Dr. Edward Orton in his " Report on the 

 Geology of Pike County " in the " Geological Survey of Ohio," Vol. 

 II, 1874, makes the following statement with reference to this locality: 

 " In the extreme northwestern . . . corner of the county, near Cyn- 

 thiana . . ., there is a conspicuous example of surface erosion that 

 does not belong to either of the systems thus far named, but which is 



