356 H. L. FAIRCHILD — GLACIAL LAKES OF WESTERN NEW YORK. 



That these deposits of gravel and sand are stream deltas formed in 

 extinct lakes admits of no reasonable doubt. Their relations to present 

 streams, to the valley slopes, and especially to the cols and the abandoned 

 stream channels over the cols afford convincing evidence, which will duly 

 appear in the following pages. The plateaus at the summits of the deltas 

 are above the outlets of their respective lakes. The lower terraces, repre- 

 senting pauses in the subsidence of the waters, are irregular and jmzzling, 

 and will be briefly discussed in the description of the Ithaca lake.* 



TERMINOLOGY. 



It has been necessary to adopt some guiding rule in naming the suc- 

 cessive and sometimes tributary lakes. The one chosen is simply to give 

 for each water-body, or different level having a distinct outlet, a separate 

 lake name. No case has yet been found where one body of water had 

 more than a single outlet at one time. To prevent confusion with exist- 

 ing lakes and at the same time to give names which will indicate locality, 

 these ancient local lakes are, with some unavoidable exceptions,t named 

 after the principal towns now located on their sites. For the glacial 

 lakes covering vast areas the practice established by Dr J. W. Spencer 

 and Mr Warren Upham of giving non-geographic names seems most 

 appropriate, but for the smaller local lakes geographic names are desirable. 



Enumeration of the Lakes. 



predication of lakes not studied. 



In the following table 18 extinct lakes are enumerated in geographic 

 order from west to east, but judging from the location and direction of 

 streams, other lakes doubtless existed in several north-and-south valleys 

 lying west of Tonawanda creek, and in several lying east of the Onondaga. 

 The shore phenomena of only a few of these ancient lakes have been 

 examined, as the facts embodied in this preliminary paper are the results 

 of but a few weeks study of the special subject in the hours free from 

 college duties. As to the former existence of several of the lakes named 

 in the table, the statements are based upon personal knowledge of the 

 topography. The predication of lakes numbered 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16 and 

 17 is upon theoretic grounds derived from maps or second-hand informa- 

 tion. These will be the subject of future study. 



* See page 373. 



t These exceptions are numbers 3, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17 and 18 of the table on page 357. The privilege is 

 claimed of changing the names if found desirable. 



