262 PLEISTOCENE OF INDIANA AND MICHIGAN. 



some of the steep hillsides and in ravines. One outcrop appears on a hillside slope about three- 

 quarters of a mile west of East Dayton, and another a mile farther north along the bed of Sucker 

 Creek. The hardpan is a dark-colored stony till, much harder than the ordinary lighter-colored 

 till of the surface, but in general appearance the same as outcrops of IUinoian till in regions 

 farther south. Borings indicate that the older drift is not limited to these blocklike, somewhat 

 isolated masses but underlies massively a large part of this region. There is reason to believe 

 that it also forms the core or main undermass of a broad ridge which runs from the vicinity of 

 Flushing northeastward to East Dayton and Kingston. The coating of Wisconsin drift on 

 these large older masses appears to be relatively thin. The shapes they take and the depres- 

 sions associated with them are probably in part due to pre-Wisconsin erosion. 



DISTRIBUTION OF MORAINES. 

 PORTLAND ( ?) MORAINE. 



The outer ridge of the morainic system in Lapeer County is the one already noted that runs 

 near Hadley, in the southwestern part of the county, and is tentatively made the equivalent of 

 the Portland moraine. It runs north-northeast from Hadley to the west branch of Flint River, 

 passing about 4 miles west of Lapeer, and then curves to the east and southeast, passing about 7 

 miles east of the same city. West of Lapeer the morainic expression is rather gentle, there 

 being a smooth, even ridge 1 to 1^ miles wide and 30 to 50 feet high. North of Lapeer the ridge 

 is more irregular and reaches a width of 3 to 4 miles and embraces some conspicuous outwash 

 aprons. This strength and width continue southeast to a point 2 or 3 miles west of Imlay. 

 Farther south it is banked against the eastern base of the next earlier morainic system. 



LYONS (?) MORAINE. 



A second ridge runs near Elba in western Lapeer County and is thought to be the same as 

 the Lyons moraine farther west. It is traceable with more or less distinctness and continuity 

 around the curve in northern and eastern Lapeer County to Imlay. It is nowhere more than 2 

 or 3 miles distant from the moraine outside of it, and in the north and east parts of the county is 

 generally less than 1 mile distant. In western Lapeer County it is hardly a mile wide, but in 

 northern and eastern Lapeer County, as far south as Mill Creek, it is 2 to 3£ miles wide. From 

 Mill Creek southward past Imlay it is again weak and finds its continuation in the Birmingham 

 moraine of the Huron-Erie lobe. (See pp. 281-282.) 



FOWLER MORAINE AND ASSOCIATED KNOLLS AND RIDGES. 



The third ridge of the system in the reentrant angle is continuously traceable westward as the 

 Fowler moraine. It comes from the southwest into western Lapeer County and extends north- 

 northeast up to the south bluff of Flint River 2 miles west of Oregon station. Up to this point 

 it is a strong, prominent ridge, 1 to 1^ miles wide, with a rather even crest. Beyond this point 

 it has not been identified with certainty. 



A distinct till ridge half a mile wide that begins just west of Columbiaville and runs south- 

 west and west along the north side of Flint River may possibly be a part of the Fowler moraine, 

 but the correlation seems doubtful, for the ridge appears to be clearly overridden a mile west of 

 the comity line by the Otter Lake (St. Johns ?) moraine. North of Columbiaville there is another 

 east-west ridge less than hah a mile wide and 3 miles long, and beyond that a larger east-west 

 moramic tract over 4 miles long and 1% miles wide. This last tract includes many kames and 

 short esker ridges, and both this and the narrow ridge south of it are overridden by the same 

 later moraine that overrides the fragment southwest of Columbiaville. If these fragments 

 belong to the Fowler moraine then this moraine extends to the north side of Flint River north 

 of Columbiaville, and its normal course would carry it in a wide curve around the north side of 

 the interlobate area to the east side. But there is a wide gap without moramic deposits where 

 this moraine might be looked for, and it does not seem possible at present to make definite cor- 



