612 H. L. FAIRCHILD POST-GLACIAL UPLIFT OF NEW ENGLAND 



This argues for diastrophic movement, not merely independent of gia- 

 ciation, bnt in direct opposition to the probable effect of loading and 

 unloading. 



If the clay plains of the coastal areas represent submergence previous 

 to the latest glaciation, then certainly that closing ice-invasion did not 

 override the lowlands of New England. It appears probable that the 

 Pleistocene phenomena of the coastal region have been misinterpreted, 

 with the effect of thus making the history too complex. If the Boston 

 surface clays and sancls are older than the last ice, then there is a local 

 history which has not been translated and which is much out of agree- 

 ment with that of the surrounding territory. 



S. TERMINAL MORAINE OUTWASH I'LAIXS 



We turn again (see page 602) to the remarkable sandplains fronting 

 the terminal moraines on the islands. Of course, tbey are outwash 

 plains, and in the opinion of the writer they bear every character that 

 should be expected of plains accumulated under shallow water. The far 

 stretches of perfect level and smoothness of surface, taken in connection 

 with the composition, structure, and disposition of the deposits, seem 

 impossible of formation by any sort of subaerial work. The uniformity 

 of the lower portions of the plains is attributed to the wave-work while 

 the surface was rising out of the sea. The absence of beaches is not a 

 valid argument against submergence, because bars and cliffs are rarely 

 produced on sand areas without a standstill of land and water (77. 

 page 299). 



Lines of horizon tality are seen on the plains and are noted on the face 

 of the wave-washed moraine of Nantucket up to about 60 feet elevation. 



9. SUBMERGENCE EFFECTS ON ROCKY HILLS 



In a district of rock hills and high relief, as about Boston, the evi- 

 dences of standing water are inconspicuous and elusive. The relativelv 

 steady rise of the land out of the sea prevented the production of shore- 

 line features; but the fact of standing waters is shown by the rinsed-oif 

 surface of the slopes; the silted hollows; the prevailing absence of ordi- 

 nary talus and detrital cones, instead of which are seen horizontal lines 

 where the wave-borne detritus was banked against steep and irregular 

 slopes ; and the absence of perched and insecure erratics on slopes exposed 

 to effective waves. 



The characters of the rock hills of the submerged area of Massachu- 



