GLACIAL DRIFT. 22/ 



spicuous tower, is a rough ledge, protecting moraine material. A simi- 

 lar ledge further cast has the west side rounded by ice. Near the state 

 line is an outcrop of white gneiss, scored S. 58° E., and an enormous 

 quantity of boulders, torn off the light colored ledges, follow for a short 

 distance. These several examples of blocks torn from the ledges, but 

 not carried far, illustrate the beginnings of glacial transportation. 



For about half a mile into Maine, in the town of Gilead, glacial marks 

 are wanting. In the middle of the valley is a long rocky hill athwart its 

 course, behind which moraine material is gathered. At the north foot of 

 Mt. Ephraim are striae S. 65° E., where the road and railroad draw close 

 together. 



Grooving is well shown here. Above Mt. Ephraim the rounding looks 

 as if it had been produced by a mass of ice coming down Ingalls river 

 from the north. On the east side of Wild river the rocks have been well 

 planed and embossed by the force down the Androscoggin. No explo- 

 rations have been made up this tributary to ascertain whether ice-marks 

 from the south-west may not exist there. At Gilead station, just north 

 of the railroad and ten miles from Bethel, are furrows upon polished 

 quartz running S. 40° E. A mile further east, where the road bends 

 around a mountain spur, are striae S. 80° E. On the west side of Peaked 

 hill, where the high land crowds closely upon the river, about 300 feet 

 above the water, is a large, steeply inclined, magnificently polished sur- 

 face, very plainly seen from the road below, a mile and a half distant, 

 with faint hues and well defined furrows, S. 55°-6o° E. The emboss- 

 ment and planishment show even better from the north side of the river. 

 On this north side, by the bridge at Gilead station and at the mouth of 

 Peabody brook, are grooves following the course of the valley, and also 

 large rough blocks removed only a short distance. At a church, the 

 markings occur almost at the water's edge, with the direction S. 75° E. 

 On the precipitous south side of Tumble-down Dick are many examples 

 of striae on vertical surfaces ; but the greatest force of the ice struck the 

 ledges on the south side. At the base of the precipice, where floor sur- 

 faces are exposed, are grooved areas 150 feet long, thoroughly planed down 

 the whole distance. It would be difficult to find more beautiful examples 

 of ice-sculpture in New Hampshire. The striae run S. 85° E. Near 

 White brook are other striae and bosses, with rough south-east lee sides. 



