8 BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 



outcrop occurs in the form of two ridges, one is desig- 

 nated "North Ridge," the other "West Ridge.'' Bach 

 is about five miles long, but the West Ridge is the 

 longer of the two, and considerably broader than North 

 Ridge. North Ridge originates about one-half mile 

 north of Carey and extends northward for nearly five 

 miles, where it almost imperceptibly merges into the 

 o^eneral level of the country to the north of it. The 

 greater portion of the steepest slope is toward the Big 

 Spring Prairie on the west. This ridge is traversed by 

 several gently sloping drainage valleys, which may 

 have been preglacial gulleys, now filled with drift. 

 For the depth to the underlying rock is considerably 

 greater here than on the median plains which also oc- 

 cur on portions of both ridges. 



The West Ridge originates a short distance west 

 of the corporation line of Carey, Ohio, and extends 

 over five miles in a northwesterly direction. The 

 Carey and Findlay pike is situated either on the crest- 

 line of the ridge, or near it. From an inspection of 

 Map 1, it will be seen that the crest extends first 

 northwestward, then turns sharply to the north. The 

 steepest slope is toward the south and west, the out- 

 crop being quite conspicuous at certain localities. To 

 the northeast of the crest, the land slopes quite gradu- 

 ally and forms a rather level plain until within a short 

 distance from the prairie, where it forms a short but de- 

 cided slope to it. This ridge is also traversed, by those 

 broad gently sloping drainage valleys, which are es- 

 pecially noted for their fertility. 



The characteristic Niagara fossils have been found 

 chiefly in the North Ridge. As there are no extensive 

 perpendicular sections of the bedding, the dip of the 

 strata can be judged only from the perpendicular expo- 

 sures in the quarries on the slopes of the ridges. It is 

 found that the dip is quite uniformly toward the low 

 ground nearest to the quarry. The dip in the various 



