IN THE NORTH AMERICAN LAKES. 



FOR LAKE ERIE, 

 of water on the Mitre Si 



of the cnlarfred Erie Canal at BulTalo. 



1 78.S to 

 1T!)0 

 IT'.K) 

 1797 

 171)8 

 1800 

 1801 

 1802 

 180G 

 1809 

 k810 

 1811 



1812 



1813 



1814 

 1815 

 1816 

 1819 



1820 

 1821 

 1822 

 1823 

 1824 

 1825 

 1826 

 1827 

 1828 

 1829 

 1830 

 1831 

 1832 

 1833 

 1834 

 1835 

 1836 

 1837 

 1838 



18.39 

 1840 



1842 

 1843 

 1844 



1845 

 1846 



1847 

 1848 

 1849 



1850 



1851 



1852 

 1853 

 1856 

 1857 



0IiSEUV.\T10M 



K. t-ndof Ijaki 



Erie 

 W'rii Rcsei-v( 

 BuftUlo 

 Clevclmul 

 Detroit 



Clevclami 

 Detroit 

 Bumilo&Erie 

 Buflalo 



Erie. Pa. 

 Detroit 

 Cleveland 

 Detroit 

 Black Rock 



Mean 



Clevelaad 



Canada 



Cleveland 



Canada 

 Detroit 



Cleveland 



Detroit 

 Buffalo 

 Cleveland 

 Detroit 



Black Rock 

 Detroit 

 Black Rock 



Detroit 

 Black Rock 



Cleveland 



Cleveland 

 Buffalo 

 Detroit 

 Buffalo 



Cleveland 



EXPLANATIONS, REMAEKS, ETC. 



Alonzo Carter 



j\r. Sanford 



tV Lake Captain 



Capt. Dol.bin 

 Ool. Whiting 

 A. Carter 

 Col. Whitinjr 



(Jon. Dearborn 



A. Carter 



Mr. McTaKffart 



A. Walworth 

 A. Merchant 

 Mc'I'afjuart 

 A. K. Hathan 

 Dr. ]Ioui;hton 

 S. W. ItisKins 

 Col. Whiting 

 A. AVahvorth 



A. E. Hathan 

 J. Lothrop 

 Geo. C. Davies 

 S. W. Higgins 



Com. Advertiser 

 A. E. Hathan 



Com. Advei'tiser 



A. E. Hathan 



Com. Advertiser 



T. B.W.Stockton 



fohn Lothrop 



C. Whittlesey 



B. Stanard 



C. Whittlesey 



By tradition derived from the early settlers, very high; according to some as 

 high as iH.-is, hut this is doubtful. 



By the first emigrants and surveyors, reported as very low — five feet below 1838. 



Rising rapidly ; statement of a lake captain to De'Witt Clinton. 



Water continues to rise, but three feet l)elow June, 1838. 



Very high; old roads flooded; report of old people to Dr. Hoiichton 



.Still high. "^ 



Very low ; reported by old settlers as lower than 1797. 



Very low; reported by old settlers as lower than 1801-2, and declining regu- 

 larly to 1809-10, when it reached a level by many regarded as low as that 

 of 1819. Bird Island left bare and dry. 



Rise of six inches in the spring over 1810, by measurement, and a fall of two 

 inches. 



Rise of fourteen inches in spring over 1810, by measurement, and a fall of 

 three inches. 



Rise of two feet two inches in spring over 1810, by measurement. 



Rise of two feet six inches in spring above general level of 1813. 



Rise of three feet above average level of 1814 ; also M. Sanford and A. Carter. 



Water still high but falling, and continued to fall till 1819. 



Lowest welvascertained level of the water in Lake Erie, though it was 

 reported to have been 1.60 feet lower at Detroit in February, 1819, 



Old residents at Buffalo state, in August as low as 1819. 



Rising, as reported by Major Lachlan and Mr. McTaggart, of Canada. 



Rising ; in the spring four feet below June, 1838. 



Rising ; in the spring three feet three inches below June, 1838. 



Rising gradually. 



Rising; lowest level three feet below June, 1838. 



Rising; lowest level two feet ten inches below June, 1838. 



About the general level of 1815. 



Water still rising. See geological report of Michigan for 1839. 



General level same as 1828. Mr. H. was topographer of Michigan. 



Lower than last year; yearly change at least three feet. 



General average two feet ten inches below June, 1838. 



General average three feet two inches below June, 1838. i 



Mr. Wolworth was the first agent of the works at the harbor. J 



Mr. Hathan was at the time city engineer. 

 Mr. Lothrop was an engineer upon the Erie Canal. 

 From July to October inclusive, measurements several times a day. 

 Highest known level of Lake Erie, occurring at Cleveland in June, and 

 Detroit and Buffalo in August of this year. 



Occasional measurements. 

 Measurements daily during 

 Engineer. 



the summer mouths liy direction of the State 



According to the Detroit register, the water in the Detroit River was com- 

 paratively lower, during the whole of the years 1840 and 1841 , than at Black 

 Rock. In September and October, 1841, the two records agree. 



From 1838 to 1852, the Black Rock, Buffalo, and Cleveland figures are the 

 mean of daily measurements. 



Col. .Stockton was the government agent for the works at the harbor, and 

 caused the water level, the barometer, and thermometer, to be noted three 

 times a day. 



The Buffalo Commorcial AiJvcrtiser has occasionally published the results of 

 the observations made at Black Rock, particularly for the month of May, 

 and sometimes all the summer months, but I have not been able to procure 

 the original record. 



Mr. Lothrop was the engineer of the enlarged Erie Canal, western division. 

 His zero is the mitre sill of the guard lock, Buffalo, which is one foot lower 

 than the sill of the old guard lock of Black Rock. 



The agreement between the contemporaneous readings at Buffalo and at 

 Cleveland, in the year 1851, is very close. 



At Detroit, the lowest observed month since 1838, was March, 1841, 6.65; at 

 Black Rock, October, 1841, 6.87; and at Cleveland. March, 1846. 6.91. 

 Greatest known difference at Detroit, six feet eight inches. 

 Greatest known difference at Cleveland (about), six feet. 

 Greatest known difference at Buflalo, fifteen feet six inches. 

 Greatest permanent diflerence of general level, five feet one inch. 



