8 BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 
outcrop occurs in the form of two ridges, one is desig- 
nated ‘‘North Ridge,” the other ‘‘West Ridge.’’ Each 
is about five miles long, but the West Ridge is the 
longer of the two, and considerably broader than North 
Ridge. North Ridge originates about one-half mile 
north of Carey and extends northward for nearly five 
miles, where it almost imperceptibly merges into the 
general level of the country to the north of it. The 
greater portion of the steepest slope is toward the Big 
Spring Prairie on the west. This ridge is traversed by 
several gently sloping drainage valleys, which may 
have been preglacial gulleys, now filled with drift. 
For the depth to the underlying rock is considerably 
greater here than on the median plains which also oc- 
cur on portions of both ridges. 
The West Ridge originates a short distance west 
of the corporation line of Carey, Ohio, and extends 
over five miles in a northwesterly direction. The 
Carey and Findlay pike is situated either on the crest- 
line of the ridge, or near it. From an inspection of 
Map 1, it will be seen that the crest extends first 
northwestward, then turns sharply to the north. The 
steepest slope is toward the south and west, the out- 
crop being quite conspicuous at certain localities. To 
the northeast of the crest, the land slopes quite gradu- 
ally and forms a rather level plain until within a short 
distance from the prairie, where it forms a short but de- 
cided slope to it. This ridge is also traversed, by those 
broad gently sloping drainage valleys, which are es- 
pecially noted for their fertility. 
The characteristic Niagara fossils have been found 
chiefly in the North Ridge. As there are no extensive 
perpendicular sections of the bedding, the dip of the 
strata can be judged only from the perpendicular expo- 
sures in the quarries on the slopes of the ridges. It is 
found that the dip is quite uniformly toward the low 
ground nearest to the quarry. The dip in the various 
