108 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Nov. 27, 
and depth we find the lake-bed proper composed of layers of fine 
clay and sand while at the shore line the tributary streams have 
built their deltas. 
One of the best examples of lake-beds that I noticed was at 
Elizabethtown, Essex county, N. Y. The town is situated in 
the broad, flat valley of the Bouquet River, or Russian Valley, 
as it is called, seven miles from Westport and five hundred feet 
above the level of Lake Champlain. About three and one-half 
miles south of Elizabethtown is New Russia, and one mile 
south of it the valley broadens and continues so until just north 
of Elizabethtown, where it narrows suddenly, the river flowing 
northward between Raven’s Peak and Wood’s Hill. It is at 
this point that the dam of drift probably was which caused the 
lake, but, on account of the steep sides of the valley, little or 
none remains. The outlet of the lake must also have been 
through this valley. 
The present bottom of the valley between Elizabethtown and 
New Russia is from half a mile to a mile across, se that the 
lake must have been at least this wide, while its depth in places 
was one hundred feet or even more, as the level of the valley is 
540 feet, while the shore line is 660 feet. The clay forming 
much of the lake-bed is exposed in the gullies by the roadside 
near Elizabethtown, and also at the base of the delta sections. 
Emmons had noticed the character of the deposits in this val- 
ley, for he says:* ‘* Upon the bouquet is a wide and level plain 
which has received the name of the valley ; it might be called the 
Beautiful Valley of the Bouquet. It is truly one of great beauty 
when taken in connection with the high and alpine range, which 
bounds it on the west, and which forms the main chain of moun- 
tains of the northern counties. This valley is bottomed upon 
thick beds of clay, gravel and sand. The clay appears to be the 
same as that upon the lake, and I have been told that shells or 
fossils have been found in it. I am not able to verify this state- 
ment, but still have some confidence in it.” No shells were 
found by the writer in the clay. It is also hardly possible to 
consider it as belonging to the estuary deposits of the Cham- 
plain Valley, for this would indicate a post-glacial submergence 
of 540 feet, a far greater one than we have any record of in this 
region. 
The deltas formed by the tributary streams are quite extensive. 
There are two a mile south of Elizabethtown, one on either side 
of the valley. The largest delta terrace, however, is that on 
which Elizabethtown stands. It was formed by the Branch 
* Geol. of N. Y., Part LV., p. 212. 
