768 GLACIAL FORMATIONS OF ERIE AND OHIO BASINS. 



It is an interesting fact that the altitude of the Corniferous escarpment and the 

 surface of the Warren waters were nearly coincident. From Indian Falls around to 

 northeast of Batavia, a distance on the shore line of perhaps 20 miles, the heach is 

 usually on the crest of the rock ledge as a ridge of nearly clear chert. At a few 

 points the rock was higher than the water, and Avave-cut cliffs are conspicuous. The 

 best cliffs are south of Smithville, east of Daws Corners, and northeast of Batavia. 



From the point last mentioned in the detailed description the beach follows the 

 irregular crest of the rock escarpment for 2i miles, crossing several highways, as 

 shown in the map, and terminates behind a rock hill near a stone schoolhouse at 

 three corners. A strong wave-cut cliff is seen upon the west end and north side of 

 the hill which is an outlier of the Helderberg-Corniferous strata. About a mile 

 west of the north-and-south. Smith ville-Pembroke, road the shore line again becomes 

 a ridge upon the drift-covered escarpment. The beach then runs south 1 mile and 

 after some interruption in a kame area crosses at four corners to the south side of 

 the east-and-west town-line road and breaks into several bars. Another very heavy 

 ridge is found one-fourth of a mile north on land of Mr. Weber Stevens, in an old 

 orchard on the east side of an old road. This ridge of gravel runs east and south- 

 east 1 mile. At the next north-and-south road, leading south from Oakfield station 

 on the West Shore Railroad, the shoreline is a cliff' in till, but soon resumes its nor- 

 mal character as a strong ridge of chert gravel along the south side of the east-and- 

 west town-line road. For 3 miles the beach, as embankment or cliff, runs parallel 

 with the road, close upon the south side, against the north side of the moraine or 

 drift-covered terrane. It is generally 25 or 30 feet above the highway, which lies 

 upon the lake floor, the latter stretching north as a smooth plain. 



About a mile west of Daws Corners the strong bar curves southeast, then after 

 a gap by stream erosion it swings by curves eastward to the Elba-Batavia road, 

 which it crosses about one-half mile south of Daws Corners, close to the house of Mr. 

 Sylvester Strong. The bar, which here is destitute of chert, ends about one-half 

 mile east of the road in a heavy spit on the edge of a broad stretch of low ground. 

 A wave-swept plain of sand borders the depression on the north with low spits ]'un- 

 ning into the depression. 



One-third of a mile south the shore line is conspicuous as a bold cliff in the 

 east-and-west escarpment. Running eastward one-half mile, it becomes a bar and 

 then makes a curve to northward lying on the summit of the high, steep escarpment 

 of the Helderberg, about one-third of a mile south of the town-line road. At the 

 extreme northern point the shore line is just beneath the very top of the escarpment, 

 which 'is Corniferous. From this point the beach runs southeast 1 mile to the 

 northeast-southwest road, at which point the ridge has been excavated for gravel. 

 Here it is on the top of the escarpment as a good ridge, and so continues eastward 

 for one-half mile, when it falls below the crest of the ledge and curves around to 

 southward as a rock cliff' for nearl}^ 2 miles. The shore line crosses to the east side 

 of the north-and-south town-line road, then after running along the road for about 

 one-fourth of a mile it lies in the roadway for about the same distance, then recrosses 

 to the west side, and in half a mile becomes a well-developed gravel ridge. In the 

 ground of Mr. Charles Thornwell it bears a gravel pit, Aasible from the highway. 

 Near the gravel pit the bar has been cut l)y drainage, and south of the gully a fine 



