Drainage of Raccoon Creek 63 



A CHANGE OF DRAINAGE OF RACCOON CREEK, PARKE 

 COUNTY, INDIANA.^ 



Glenn G. Bartle, Manteno, Illinois. 



The area to be discussed includes most of Parke County, Indiana, 

 and the northern tier of townships of Vigo County, Indiana. The vil- 

 lages of Rockville, Rosedale, Montezuma and Mecca are within the 

 drainage area and the city of Terre Haute is only 10 miles south of 

 the southern boundary. 



Geologically, this area is in the region of Pennsylvanian Age, within 

 the borders of the Illinois Glacial Invasion, and crossed by the Wiscon- 

 sin Drift Sheet. 



From the viewpoint of physiography, the region has been placed 

 by Fenneman' in the Central Lowland Province of the United States 

 and in the Till Plains Section. According to the more detailed physi- 

 ographic divisions outlined by Malott" this territory includes parts of 

 three separate divisions. The northern half of the district — that cov- 

 ered by the Wisconsin Drift Sheet — is a part of the Tipton Till Plain. 

 The extreme southwestern part of the district forms the northern tip 

 of the Crawford Upland, the region of the Mansfield Sandstone out- 

 crop. Finally, the southern and western part is in the Wabash Lowland. 



Topography. — In topographical forms the Tipton Till Plain, charac- 

 teristic of central Indiana, is beginning to lose its usual appearance 

 here, because of the nearness to the Wabash and its major tributaries. 

 However, the Plain stands out flat and plateau-like between the stream 

 valleys, and the northern part of this region usually gives the appear- 

 ance of a rolling-plain prairie, lying from 600 to 650 feet above sea level. 



The Wabash River and Raccoon Creek have a number of terraces. 

 These terraces are not usually wide but some very productive farms are 

 located upon them. Their elevation varies from 540 to 560 feet. 



The Wabash River is about 450 feet in elevation at low water 

 level. Its valley is higher, of course, and very wide in many places. 

 Raccoon Creek cuts through to about 480 feet at Mecca. 



Thus we have three rather distinct levels in the region: the prairie 

 level, the terrace level and the flood plain. 



Geologic Problems. — There are several geologic problems of interest 

 in this region. I will merely mention a few of them in passing, leav- 

 ing full discussion for one problem only. 



An interesting structural irregularity is found near Coxville, known 

 as the Coxville Channel or Coxville Carboniferous River. This 80-foot 



1 Taken from the author's treatise "A Geologic and Physiographic Study of the 

 Region in the Vicinity of Raccoon Creek and the Wabash River, lying principally in 

 Parke County, Indiana", being a thesis presented to the Department of Geology, Indiana 

 University, as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. 



2 Fenneman, N. M., "The Physiographic Divisions of the United States", Annals 

 Assoc. Amer. Geog., Vol. 6, 1917, pp. 19-98. 



' Malott, C. A., "The Physiography of Indiana", Handbook of Indiana Geology, 

 pp. 66-94. 



"Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., vol. 33, 1923 (192-1)." 



