Education Department Bulletin 



Published fortnightly by the University of the State of New York 



Entered as secand-class matter June 24, 1908, at the Post Office, at Albany, N. Y. 

 under the act of July 16, 1894 



No. 519 ALBANY, N. Y. May 15, 1912 



New York State Museum 



John M. Clarke, Director 



Museum Bulletin i6o 



THE GLACIAL WATERS 



BLACK AND MOHAWK VALLEYS 



BY 



HERMAN L. FAIRCHILD 



INTRODUCTION : OUTLINE OF THE GLACIAL HISTORY 



This paper is essentially a continuation of the one forming 

 State Museum Bulletin 127, " Glacial Waters in Central New 

 York." In that paper was given the history of the glacial lakes and 

 the ice-border drainage as far east as Oneida. While the features 

 there described are quite clear as to their origin, the relationship of 

 the phenomena in time and causality are somewhat uncertain, in the 

 present state of our knowledge of the behavior of the ice margin 

 during its recession across the State. It was there stated that the 

 oscillations of the glacier were probably greater and the history 

 more complicated than now recognized. In the present writing there 

 is similar complication, with the additional problem of correlating 

 the sequence of events in the Ontario basin with those in the 

 Mohawk and Hudson valleys. For the Black river basin the history 

 is comparatively clear, but not so for the Mohawk-Hudson. The 

 writer aims to give an outline of the dramatic history and lay the 

 foundation for future detailed work. 



The study of the Black valley was mainly during the summers of 



1907 and 1908, though some features had been noted in earlier 

 years. It was the intention to submit the matter for publication in 



1908 but the need of revision of the Watertown sheet caused delay 

 and it is included here. 



