ST. MARYS OR FORT WAYNE MORAINE. 



569 



and its width at base from 4 to 8 miles. Along- the St. Joseph it is not distinguished 

 from the adjacent countr_7 by its superficial characters. In common with that, it has 

 a gently rolling surface with a gravellj^ clay soil supporting a heavy growth of 

 varied timber. Farther south, where it forms the north bank of the St. Marys 

 River, in Van Wert and Mercer counties, it is marked b}' such peculiarities as to 

 divide it very sharply from the adjoining plains, which are nearlj^ level, with a soil 

 of fine claj'' and covered by a heavy growth of elm, beech, ash, maple, etc. The 

 ridge, on the contrary, presents a confused series of conical hills, chiefly of clay, but 

 showing some pebbles and small bowlders and clothed by forest growth, almost 

 exclusively of oak. Probably the only essential point in this contrast is that of hill 

 and plain, and out of this the others have grown 



In the Ohio portion of the moraine, except near the State line, the 

 relief is somevirhat abrupt, the moraine being narrow, and amounts to 20 

 to 30 feet. In the Indiana portion, owing to the greater breadth of the 

 moraine, the relief is not so striking, though its amount is greater than in 

 Ohio, the altitude of the crest being 30 to 50 feet, or even more, above the 

 bluffs of the St. Marys and St. Josepli rivers on the outer border plain. 



RANGE IN ALTITUDE. 



The range in altitude along the crest, aside from the channel at Fort 

 Wayne, is about 400 feet. Including this channel it amounts to about 450 

 feet. There is a descent toward the old lake outlet, both from the north 

 and the east, but it is so gradual as to be scarcely perceptible. East of 

 the head of Sandusky River the moraine crosses a series of ridges and 

 lowlands which cause abrupt variations of 200 to 300 feet. The follow- 

 ing altitudes, compiled from various sources, serve to illlustrate the above 

 statement : 



TcMe of altitudes along the Fort Wayne moraine. 



