207 



for 20 miles is in the Knobstoue. its middle course for an equal distance is 

 througli the Mansfield sandstone, and its lower course for 17 miles is in the 

 shales and sandstones of the c(ial measures. Its ui(i>er course has not been 

 studied. The middle course from Kaccdon village to near Mansfield is 

 interesting but not abnormal. (Fig. 1.) The valley is about a quarter of 

 a mile wide, exi)anding at the mouths of triliutaries and Ixiunded by steep 

 bluffs 50-80 feet high. The corn-covered bottom lands, enclosed by forested 

 bluffs, and the frequent clianges in the curve of the stream and in tlie 

 width of the valley combine to give this part a jiicturesque cliarm unsur- 



Figure y. Midtllt! Racoon \ al 



passed in Indiana. It is unfortunate that no artist has yet found it. 

 (Fig. U.) 



A mile above Mansfield the stream enters an east and west valley 

 three-quarters of a mile wide and is joined by Rocky Fork, a large tribu- 

 tary from the south. (Fig. oA.) The locality presents several peculiar 

 features. The wide valley extends a mile east from the mouth of Rocky 

 Pork and ends in a square cul-de-sac, bounded on three sides by high, 

 .smooth bluffs. It is traversed by two insignificant wet weather streams 

 whose tributaries have built a fan across the end. There is no sign, and 

 apparently no possibility, that it ever contained meander curves of the 

 Raccoon. Directly in the course of the Raccoon at its entrance to this 



