PALEOZOIC ROCKS OF THE CANTON QUADRANGLE 5I 



child has recently presented strong evidence that the " Lake Ver- 

 mont " shore (or Vermont-New York, as he calls it in our region) 

 is really only a higher (earlier) stage of the marine levels, but with 

 possibly still fresh or brackish waters because of the narrowness 

 of its connection with open ocean and the large influx from the 

 melting glacier. Such questions of interpretation do not, however, 

 affect the fact that these several beach lines are distinct features 

 marking fairly prolonged stands of wide and deep bodies of water, 

 with heavy wave action. 



The Beach Plains represent an esker-fan (proglacial delta) in 

 Lake Iroquois, whose feeding esker is seen along the road to 

 Boyden's Corners. Good beaches of Lake Emmons may be seen 

 just on the south margin of the quadrangle above North Russell. 

 The Vermont beach skirts Waterman hill, with deltas at Boyden's 

 Corners, the North Russell mill and Pyrites village, especially west 

 of the last. Some of the best beaches on this shore line are a mile 

 southeast of Langdon's Corners, and again 2 miles south of west 

 from Little River settlement. 



The Gilbert Gulf beaches are in general best displayed on the 

 high drumlins in the northern third of the quadrangle. Splendid 

 examples exist on the hills about Norwood (especially at the stand- 

 pipe), north of West Potsdam, and east of Morley; also on 

 Morey ridge. 



Characteristic diversions of the streams have been wrought by 

 their own deltas at Pyrites, North Russell and elsewhere, thus 

 making available water power at these places. 



Later Features 



Abandoned channels. Several rather interesting abandoned 

 channels exist along the course of the Grass river, especially at 

 Canton and Madrid. They range from occupancy at present by 

 flood waters, up to 20 feet or more above present river level. The 

 most remarkable one begins just northwest of the " 345 " road 

 corners, opposite the sharp bend in the river below Canton ; that is 

 at the corners where the road to the county house turns off from 

 Water street, 2 miles out from Canton. It continues (plate 12, figure 

 A) for a mile along the northeast side of the Morley road, from 

 which it may occasionally be seen, and loses itself finally in the broad 

 marshes east of that road. A huge rib of the red granite-gneiss 

 crosses it at the north end of the first hill that it skirts, forming 

 a dry cataract. This channel agrees in level with the sand plain 



