104. Hayes and Campbell—Appalachian Geomorphology. 
Drainage of the Sequatchie Anticline—The Walden plateau syn- 
cline must originally have been occupied by a consequent south- 
ward flowing stream, since the axis pitches in that direction and 
the fold reached the margin of the Cretaceous sea. The lower por- 
tion of this stream still holds its original position and is now the 
Black Warrior river. . 
West of Walden plateau the Sequatchie anticlinal fold brought 
soft limestones above the Cretaceous baselevel and so afforded 
ample opportunity for stream adjustment to act. That the 
Walden synclinal stream did not migrate westward to the anti- 
clinal axis was probably due to the southward pitch of the 
latter in northern Alabama by which the hard Carboniferous 
conglomerate was brought down to baselevel around the point 
of the anticline; but a stream flowing northwestward in nearly 
the position of the present Tennessee appears to have been 
able to capture the drainage of the Sequatchie anticline at 
some time during the Cretaceous cycle. It is quite possible 
that the southern portion of the anticline now forming Browns 
valley was for a time in the Black Warrior drainage; but 
that the westward diversion. occurred rather early in the cycle 
is apparent from the imperfect development of the Cretaceous 
peneplain about its southwestern end, tvhere a subsequent stream 
flowing into the Black Warrior must have escaped from the 
anticline, while, on the other hand, the country was very per- 
fectly reduced to baselevel in the vicinity of the present westward 
outlet. It was shown in Part I that the axis A B, plate 5, has 
been the locus of oscillations from very remote geologic time 
down nearly to the present, and it appears probable that the 
location of the diverting stream was determined by this axis. 
The altitude of the Cretaceous peneplain relative to the geologic 
structure shows that this was a zone of relative elevation during 
a portion at least of the cycle, and consequently was a line of 
weakness which erosion would most readily follow, since the soft 
limestone was there brought nearest the surface. 
At the close of the first cycle, then, the whole province, except 
the few residual areas shown on plate 5, was reduced to an 
almost featureless plain, over which the streams, as sketched 
above, flowed with sluggish currents in meandering courses. 
Their transporting power was greatly diminished,.so that the 
land was being degraded almost wholly by solution and the 
surface was covered by a heavy mantle of residual material, 
