608 



SCIENCE 



[N. 8. Vol. XL. No. 1034 



channel, upon the west side of the Scioto 

 northeastward from Waverly and the presence 

 of an old valley extending on for several miles 

 beyond Eichmondale, carrying like material, 

 and finally turning westward to the Scioto 

 again below Chillicothe (see Waverly and 

 Chillicothe topographic sheets) proves conclu- 

 sively that the old Kanawha flowed northward 

 as far as Chillicothe. It seems very probable 

 that it also extended northward through the 

 present Scioto Valley to the vicinity of Marion 

 and then possibly on northward into Lake 

 Erie. 



It will be recalled by those familiar with the 

 topography of Ohio that the highest point in 

 the state is near Bellefontaine in Logan 

 County. Although the rocks in this section 

 dip to the southeast the hills east of Belle- 

 fontaine are capped with the same formations 

 that are found around Delaware, although the 

 latter is approximately 40 miles east and 600 

 feet lower in elevation. The large amount of 

 erosion which has been necessary to the forma- 

 tion of the Scioto Valley would seem to indi- 

 cate very strongly the continuance of the old 

 Kanawha northward. 



It has been shown by Tight^ that an old 

 valley leaves the Scioto about halfway between 

 Columbus and Circleville and extends north- 

 eastward by Buckeye Lake and Newark to the 

 Muskingum at Dresden. From this point the 

 valley extends on northeastward up the Musk- 

 ingum and Tuscarawas to Canal Dover and 

 thence on northward by Beach City and Justus 

 to Massillon. Beyond this point its course is 

 rather difficult to determine because of the 

 deep drift and possibly for other reasons which 

 will be evident later. 



This valley has been considered as a pos- 

 sible channel of the old Kanawha Eiver al- 

 though Leverett- states that he has " found 

 decisive evidence against the suggested north- 

 eastward line, in the presence of an old divide 

 now crossed by the Tuscarawas between Zoar 

 and Canal Dover." He apparently rejects the 

 northward extension of the old valley sug- 



1 Bull. Bennison University, Vol. VIII., Pt. II., 

 1894, pp. 35-61. 



2 Mon. 41, U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 103. 



gested above because of a restriction in width 

 near Strasburg. However, the narrowest 

 place is almost one half mile in width (about 

 3,300 feet), or wider than many places along 

 the Ohio River to-day, and the restriction is 

 believed to be due to the character of the rock. 

 Almost as narrow a restriction occurs just 

 north of Conesville (see Navarre, Canal Dover 

 and Conesville topographic sheets). A rather 

 careful study during last summer convinced 

 the writer that the Tuscarawas from Navarre 

 to Canal Dover was deflected by the Wisconsin 

 glaciation and that the present course by Zoar 

 and across the divide to Canal Dover was 

 opened up during this time. 



While the writer does not believe that this 

 old valley was ever occupied by the Kanawha, 

 this opinion is based upon other evidence than 

 the presence of the divide near Canal Dover. 

 It is believed that this old valley, as well as 

 many others in Ohio, is of interglacial origin 

 while the Kanawha is preglacial. Some of 

 the reasons for this conclusion will be briefly 

 presented. 



From Chillicothe southward the Scioto 

 Eiver has a very much wider valley than the 

 Hocking, Muskingum, or even the Ohio in 

 much of its course. In fact these streams 

 have practically no bottom lands. The Scioto 

 Valley was evidently formed after the change 

 in the Kanawha drainage because it is 100 

 feet or more lower than the old Kanawha 

 Valley and therefore could not have been 

 carved out by a northward flowing stream. It, 

 therefore, becomes necessary to explain the 

 greater width of this valley as compared with 

 the valleys of the other streams. The most 

 satisfactory explanation seems to be that dur- 

 ing interglacial time this Valley formed the 

 line of discharge for all of the drainage north- 

 eastward, at least as far as the Tuscarawas 

 drainage now extends, and it may be possible 

 that the first change in the Ohio drainage was 

 also across the divide between Canton and 

 Alliance and down this valley. The elevation 

 here, with the drift added, is hardly equal to 

 that of the hills near New Martinsville and, 

 if the advance of the ice, which first obstructed 

 the northward Ohio drainage, did not come as 



