UNION MORAINE. 491 



the writer was conducted to the esker and spent a day examinmg it with 

 him in the autumn of 1888. It is perhaps necessary to state that after 

 this examination he found some shght errors in his later report, which he 

 attributes to his having written it in part from memory. For example, the 

 elevation of the esker is stated to be less than that of a clay ridge on the 

 east. It was found that it stands considerably higher than the so-called 

 clay ridge, and that the clay ridge is simply a bluff forming the border of 

 the esker trough, its altitude being little, if any, above the plains to 

 the east. 



The Muncie esker sets in at the south border of the Mississinawa 

 moraine, in sees. 33 and 34, T. 22, R. 11 E. It has, for one-half mile or 

 more, a trend slightly south of west along the south border of the 

 moraine just mentioned. It curves rapidly at the middle of the south 

 line of section 33, to assume a southwest course. For 7 miles from this 

 line its course varies but little, although within this distance the Mississinawa 

 River passes through it in a narrow gap. Its southern terminus is in sec. 1, 

 T. 20., R. 10 E. The esker has no well-defined trough or valley north of 

 the Mississinawa, but is bordered on the east by a till plain and on the west 

 by a morainic tract. South of the river it lies in a trough standing a few 

 feet below the general level of the bordering country. The trough is 

 several times wider than the esker and on each side is bordered by a narrow 

 belt of drift knolls, the whole system, including the trough as well as 

 knolls, being scarcely a mile in width. The esker is much more prominent 

 than the knolls at its side. The esker trough finds a continuation with no 

 deflection in course down the boggy valley of Muncie Creek to White 

 River at the city of Muncie, but from sec. 18, T. 21, R. 11, to its terminus 

 (in sec. 1, T. 20, R. 10 E.) the esker lies on the east border of the trough 

 instead of in its deeper central portion. It has a range from 20 to 60 feet 

 in height, and throughout much of its course the height is fully 40 feet. 

 In the portion north of the Mississinawa the crest rises 20 feet or more 

 above the morainic tract that borders it on the west and 40 to 60 feet above 

 the plain on the east. South of the river the drift knolls that border the 

 esker on either side are seldom more than 20 feet in height, and the esker 

 here becomes a very prominent feature, which is visible for a long distance. 

 The width of the esker is greater north of the river than south, but nowhere 

 exceeds 200 yards, its usual width being 75 to 100 yards. A gap occurs 

 where the Mississinawa River passes through, and there are two other gaps 



