172 J. F. NEWSOM 
made up of two districts: a southern district from which the 
streams flow directly into the Ohio River, and a northern district, 
drained by East White River and its tributaries into the Wabash. 
The southern district— After cutting through the Niagara and 
Devonian limestones the Ohio River flows west and southwest 
across the southern district until it reaches the strata of the 
Knobstone group west of New Albany. Here it is deflected to 
the south and runs close under the bluffs formed by the Knob- 
stone standstone and overlying limestones for about eighteen 
miles to Taylor township, Harrison county, where it turns to the 
west and cuts through the Knobstone sandstones and overlying 
limestones. The southern deflection of the Ohio west of New 
Albany is very similar to its southern deflection by the Niagara 
and Devonian limestones just west of Madison. The valley of 
the Ohio is wider where it crosses the central area, in the neigh- 
borhood of New Albany and Louisville, than it is either immedi- 
ately above or below that locality. This widening of the valley 
is due to the character and relations of the strata crossed, and 
in no way indicates that the former size or course of the stream 
differed greatly from its present size and course. Neither does 
it indicate that the present river valley at this locality crosses 
the wide north-south valley of a former large stream. 
The streams that enter the Ohio from the west below New 
Albany are short and have steep gradients. Most of these 
streams have noticeable down-stream deflections where they 
enter the Ohio bottom lands, their mouths having been shifted 
down stream by the deposition of sediments on their up-stream 
sides. 
Above New Albany, Silver, and Fourteen Mile creeks are 
the principal streams. Silver Creek rises in the Knobstone hills 
at the south side of Scott county and flows almost due south 
until it reaches the Ohio above New Albany (3), Muddy Fork, 
one of the tributaries of Silver Creek, rises well over in the 
Knobstone area near the west edge of Clark county and flows 
eastward for fifteen miles, across the dip of the strata, before 
entering the main stream and turning south to the Ohio. 
