WELLS OF GALLATIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS 783 



GALLATIN COUNTY. 

 GENERAL STATEMENT. 



Gallatin County is situated on the southeast border of the State, a 

 portion of its east boundary being the AVabash and a portion the Ohio 

 River. It has an area of 349 square miles, with Shawneetown as the county 

 seat. The eastern third of the county is so low as to be extensively 

 covered with the sands brought down by the Wabash and Ohio rivers. 

 The northwestern portion which is drained by the north fork of Saline 

 River is largely a low district only 10 to 20 feet higher than the Wabash 

 and Ohio bottoms. There are, however, a few hills with rocky nuclei 

 which rise to a height of 50 feet or more above the bordering lowlands. 

 The southwest corner of the county is occupied by a high and hilly 

 unglaciated tract, the continuation of that noted in southern Saline County. 

 There is a group of hills near Shawneetown which stand 100 to 150 feet 

 above the Ohio River that are entirely surrounded by the low bottoms of 

 the Wabash and Ohio rivers. 



With the exception of the hilly district in the southwest part of the 

 county and the group of hills near Shawneetown, just noted, the county is 

 covered with glacial or alluvial deposits. It is probable that the glacial 

 boundary lies a few miles west of the Ohio and Wabash rivers, except at 

 the extreme north border of the county, where it apparently crosses the 

 Wabash. The drift on the lowlands bordering- the Wabash and Ohio bot- 

 toms is mainly sand, and it is difficult to determine whether it is of direct 

 glacial depositicn. There are in places low knolls and ridges which are 

 composed of sand; they may be largely the product of the wind. 



INDIVIDUAL WELLS. 



In the vicinity of Omaha, in the northwest part of the county, the drift 

 consists of a typical till. Wells on the low hills and ridges usually enter 

 rock at 15 or 20 feet, but those on the lowlands have penetrated 35 or 40 

 feet of drift without entering rock. Not infrequently a black muck is 

 found below till on these lowlands at a depth of 20 to 35 feet. Wells near 

 the station in Omaha strike it at about 35 feet, but farther east it is entered 

 at less depth. 



Between Omaha and Ridgway a well was driven to a depth of 98 feet 

 without reaching rock, mainly through sand. Wells east and northeast of 



