10 RURAL NEW YORK 



northeast shore of Lake Ontario, While the slopes 

 of tliese hills, known as " drumlins or hogsbacks," 

 are usually steep, tillage is generally possible and they 

 form a prosperous agricultural region. Between the 

 hills is an intricate system of hollows often occupied 

 by mucky swamps. To the south of the drumlin re- 

 gion, the land surface has a more general roll. 



The southern margin of the plains region is 

 notched at a half dozen places by rather narrow val- 

 leys occupied by lakes. These are the Finger lakes, 

 the largest being Cayuga and Seneca. The country 

 around the northern end of these lakes blends with 

 the general plains region. 



In its western part, the lake plains region breaks 

 into two distinct levels separated by a steep slope 

 or mountain. This escarpment is best developed in 

 central Niagara County and crosses the Niagara Eiver 

 in the grand cascade of that river in its northward 

 course between lakes Erie and Ontario. The maxi- 

 mum difference in elevation between the two plains 

 is two hundred feet, at the Niagara Eiver. The 

 height of the main slope between these plains grad- 

 ually decreases toward the east and disappears alto- 

 gether a little west of Rochester. The lower or On- 

 tario plain is distinctly flat, or slightly hollowed out 

 near its southern margin. Its surface is relieved by a 

 few low knolls and ridges. The upper or Erie plain 

 is more complex. Near the shore of Lake Erie it is 

 generally quite flat. This type of country swings 

 south past Buffalo as a broad plain and then south- 

 west along the lake. As it passes westward, the plain 



