58 THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CALVERT COUNTY 



second scarp some 20 to 30 feet in height, which blends at its upper 

 edge with the rolling surface of the highest and oldest terrace. The 

 latter is the main divide of the county, and in the northern portion of 

 the region at Mount Harmony it attains its greatest elevation. Here 

 the surface stands at a height of about 180 feet. 



This ideal arrangement of the three terrace systems surrounding each 

 other in concentric plains in order of their age is typical but not every- 

 where present. The three systems can be seen in their normal develop- 

 ment almost anywhere in the Patuxent basin of Calvert County, but on 

 the eastern slope of the region the waves of Chesapeake Bay have 

 advanced so extensively on the land that one or both of the two lower 

 terraces have frequently been eliminated by erosion. From Cove Point 

 to Chesapeake Beach there is a high wave-cut scarp known as the Calvert 

 Cliffs which is capped by the oldest terrace. Only at intervals do rem- 

 nants of the two younger terraces occur to show that they formerly ex- 

 isted here in much greater development. 



The great difference in the erosive power of the waves of the Chesa- 

 peake Bay and of the Avaves of the Patuxent Eiver has produced one of 

 the most striking topographic features in the county. Along the Pa- 

 tuxent Eiver, low shores gently rising toward the interior are the rule. 

 The only exceptions to this being found at Holiin Cliff and at Lyons 

 Creek Wharf. At Hollm Cliff the tidal currojit of the Patuxent Eiver 

 has scoured the eastern bank removing the lower terrace and producing 

 a cliff 60 to 70 feet in height. At Lyons Creek Wharf the relief does 

 not exceed 60 feet. On the bay shore the incessant pounding of the 

 waves has produced the almost unbroken line of cliffs just mentioned, 

 which extend a distance of 30 miles from Chesapeake Beach to Drum 

 Point and rise in many places to over 100 feet in height. In three 

 localities only is this feature masked by remnants of the lower terraces 

 which still cling to the base of the cliffs. One of these is found in the 

 vicinity of Dares Wharf where the shore line for a distance of four miles 

 is fringed with a remnant of the lowest terrace. Another locality is 

 between Point of Eocks and Cove Point, where not only are' the lower 

 terraces present, but also a change in the direction of the shore current 



