86 



GLACIEK 



we found the west side of the hills to be the stoss side, as it would be if a glacier once 

 descended from the crest of the Green Mountains down the valleys of Quechee. And 

 though our explorations have been far more limited than we could wish in that region, 

 we strongly incline to the belief that a system of glaciers once occupied the head valleys 

 of the Quechee as well as those of White River, as exhibited on Fig. 32. 



Black River takes its rise in the northwest part of Plymouth, near the head of a branch 

 of the Quechee. Black River runs south through the whole of Plymouth, and to the 

 middle of Ludlow, where it turns easterly through Cavendish, W'eathersfield, and Spring- 

 field, to the Connecticut. Between Ludlow and Proctorsville, say a mile and a half east 

 of Ludlow, on the north side of the road, a rock is exposed, a little more than a rod in 

 length and only four or five feet high, on whose top are developed two sets of drift striae ; 

 one the most distinct running N. 2 E. by the needle, and the other N. 50 E. But on 

 the perpendicular face of the rock is another set of striae, running in the direction of the 

 valley, viz., N. 50 W. and S. 50 E., as shown on the sketch below (Fig. 33.) It seems 

 impossible to account for these striae, especially the last named, without supposing a 

 glacier once to have descended the valley, which however has a very gentle slope. In fol- 

 lowing the valley northerly, we meet with no other sign of a glacier till we reach the long 

 pond in Plymouth, say eight miles north of Ludlow. This pond is long and narrow, and 

 towards its north end is entirely divided by a mass of detritus of sand, gravel and bowl- 

 ders, having exactly the appearance of the terminal moraine of a glacier. The shores of 

 the pond elsewhere are remarkably free from detritus, and this causeway, over which a 

 road passes, is only a few rods wide. The valley is narrow and the sides quite steep. If 

 this was not the moraine of a glacier, we can hardly hope to convince the public that 

 there are any in Vermont. It is situated only a little north of some of the best gold 

 diggings in Plymouth, and at the foot of the remarkable quartzose conglomerate with 

 flattened pebbles, that has been described. Indeed, the objects of geological interest that 

 are grouped together near this spot are unusually numerous. 



Fio. 33. 



"W, 



We have noticed some examples of strise and moraines of a similar character on the 

 branches of the Deerfield River, before it enters Massachusetts, after which they are quite 

 striking. In some other places along the eastern slope of the Green Mountains, insulated 

 cases of like character have been seen ; and indeed we little doubt that in all the valleys 

 which descend easterly from the crest of the Green Mountains, the marks of ancient 

 glaciers may be found. 



