10 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



matter of deposition or erosion. An overloaded condition and the develop- 

 ment of a flood plain was brought about in many of the New England 

 streams at the end of the glacial period when a greater amount of detritus 

 was provided than the stream could handle. The remnants of these 

 flood plains are now to be seen in the terraces of the Connecticut, the 

 Westfield, Merrimac and other New England streams. The cutting away 

 of alluvial plains to form terraces has been studied here in detail and 

 hardly any topic in physiography is more fascinating than this one. The 

 Hudson River and Delaware River show similar features. 



In this connection there is the question of deltas built by streams. 

 The teacher of physiography in this region can hardly cite any good 

 deltas formed by streams entering the Atlantic Ocean at the present 

 time, probably because the tides and currents are strong enough to pre- 



New England Upla.t)c l_ 



7~he Mac/*son f?/i/er 



at /-/arerstnz w . CP/e/cf sketch) 



Fig. 6. — View looking down the Hudson River at Haverstraw, New York 



The east side of the river is bordered by a portion of the New England upland ; the 

 west side by the Palisades, which here swing around in a big arc. At their base may 

 be seen a portion of the delta built into the estuary of the Hudson in glacial time. 



vent the accumulation of material, but he can cite several splendid 

 examples built into the estuary of the Hudson River during glacial time, 

 when its waters stood at a higher level than now. Croton Point is the 

 remnant of a delta built by the Croton River; the clays that encourage 

 the brick industry at Haverstraw come from a similar delta (Fig. 6), and 

 finally there is the large delta built by the Mohawk River at the head 

 of this estuary, whose flat surface is so well seen by one riding over it 

 between Schenectady and Albany. Trenton, N. J., is built upon a similar 

 delta and the very level coastal region at Norfolk, Virginia, is a part 

 of the earlier delta of the Potomac River. 



Among other topics usually mentioned when the work of streams is 

 under discussion is the subject of stream capture, and citation is always 

 made of the excellent case in the Catskill Mountains where the head- 

 waters of Schoharie Creek have been diverted by the Kaaterskill, so that 

 there may now be pointed out the sharp elbow of capture, the falls and 

 the misfit upper course of the Schoharie, which are so significant. 



