142 PLEISTOCENE OF INDIANA AND MICHIGAN. 



MIDDLEBURY MORAINE. 

 DISTRIBUTION AND CORRELATION. 



A very prominent moraine in northeastern Elkhart County, Ind., is named from the village 

 of Middlebury, by which it passes. It follows the south side of the Little Elkhart valley from 

 western Lagrange County northwestward to the edge of the St. Joseph Kiver valley, thence swings 

 down the south side of the valley and dies out at the edge of the Canal Marsh channel, about 6 

 miles east of Elkhart. Its width along the St. Joseph is about 2\ miles, but along the Little 

 Elkhart is scarcely 1 mile. It continues in faint form southward into the western edge of the 

 southwestern township of Lagrange County, but dies out before reaching the Wabash Railroad. 



With this moraine should probably be included a narrow morainic strip that follows the 

 north side of Little Elkhart River from a point opposite Middlebury southeastward for about 6 

 miles, crosses to the south side of the river, and continues southeastward for 4 miles farther to 

 the edge of a gravel plain known as the "Haw patch." Its course is nearly parallel with and 

 only 1 to 1^ miles distant from the inner border of the Middlebury moraine. 



At the southeast side of the "Haw patch" gravel plain is a moraine that in all probability 

 was occupied by the Huron-Erie lobe during the development of the Middlebury moraine by the 

 Saginaw lobe and the Lagrange moraine, discussed below. 



The correlations to the north of St. Joseph River are somewhat uncertain. There is a strong 

 moraine on the north side of the valley in the southern part of Cass County, Mich., but it is 

 doubtful if it can be correlated with the Middlebury moraine so well as with a later moraine, the 

 Lagrange, with which it is more nearly in line. It is possible the Lake Michigan lobe covered the 

 St. Joseph Valley and the north end of the Middlebury moraine for a few miles east of Elkhart. 

 Between the western end of the Middlebury moraine and the moraine north of the river in Cass 

 County, Mich., is a gravel plain in which basins are conspicuous. Such plains are character- 

 istic of an ice border, and this one apparently supports the view that the ice receded across the 

 valley from the Middlebury moraine to the moraine in Cass County, Mich. 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



The Middlebury moraine stands above 900 feet except on the lower slopes toward St. Joseph 

 River, where it drops down to little more than 800 feet. A prominent point about 2 miles north- 

 west of Middlebury in the southern edge of York Township rises slightly above 1,000 feet, and 

 the geodetic station 2 miles south of Bristol reaches 970 feet. The outer edge of the moraine 

 comes down to about 900 feet throughout its course in Elkhart County and along the western 

 edge of Lagrange County. The relief above the outer border district ranges from 10 or 15 up to 

 120 feet. 



The small parallel eastern ridge is lower than the main moraine, its altitude being generally 

 a little below 900 feet. It rises 20 to 50 feet above the valley of Little Elkhart River and about as 

 much above a swamp that separates its southeastern end from the main moraine. 



The portion bordering the St. Joseph Valley has a sharp knob and basin topography with 

 numerous knolls 30 to 50 feet high and a few 75 to 100 feet. Basins and small lakes are inclosed 

 among the knolls. The moraine is much less prominent from Middlebury southeastward, knolls 

 being generally but 10 to 20 feet high and basins comparatively scarce. Basins in this part of 

 the moraine are shallow and found chiefly along the outer border. The small inner ridge is char- 

 acterized by knolls 10 to 25 feet high, some with steep but the majority with gentle slopes. 

 Basins are not so conspicuous as in the main moraine. 



STRUCTURE OF THE DRIFT. 



The main moraine throughout its length, both in strong and weak portions, is composed 

 largely of gravel or of very stony till. In places hundreds of large bowlders and thousands of 

 cobblestones to the acre strew its surface. Scarcely any clayey till is present in Elkhart County, 

 but it is not rare in Lagrange County, and it becomes still more common southeastward in Eden 

 Township (T. 36 N., R. 8 E.). 



