MURPHREE'S VALLEY ; STRUCTURE. 35 



traced only a short distance. Some are mere swells or de- 

 pressions, others constitute faults varying from a few feet to 

 several hundred in depth. Every high point is found to be 

 on one of these upward flexures; and generally every stream 

 that cuts through the ridges, and every wind gap is on one 

 of the downward flexures. They have doubtless greatly 

 affected the drainage and erosion of the country, by offering 

 ready-made outlets and passages for the waters. 



In the mining operations on Red Mountain, these flexures 

 and faults are found to be very numerous. In stripping 

 down to bed rock, every few rods, or less, exposed one of 

 these upward curves, even where the surface gave no indi- 

 cation of its existence. They are found to occur with con- 

 siderable regularity, and generally show displacement of but 

 a few feet. Yet they are so numerous that in the aggregate 

 they plicate and shorten the country's diameter in a north- 

 east and south-west direction, approximating that produced 

 by lateral pressure from the south-east. The compression 

 of the latter force was mainly accumulated in the valleys, 

 while that of the former is diffused all over the country. 

 The faces of all the ridges and mountain brows present the 

 undulations and flexures of the strata. They present the 

 appearance of successive earth waves, having undulated the 

 earth's crust and left their form impressed upon its structure. 



But in addition to those long undulatory waves, and the 

 short and numerous choppy waves which have lei't their 

 form and impress on the earth, there are others found far 

 apart that have heaved up extensive tracts of country and 

 depressed others, thus affecting drainage and topography. 

 These might be termed earth tidal waves. They do not 

 generally give steep or high elevations they do not make 

 conspicuous land-marks, yet they control the drainage of 

 large areas of country, and have determined the flow and 

 volume of the streams. Only brief mention will be made of 

 these, as few of them are wholly within the area embraced 

 in this report. The area of the coves north-east of Jones* 

 Valley is one of these swells, from whence flows one of the 

 head streams ot the Cahaba to the south, some streams to 



