BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 

 VOL. 16, PP. 13-74, PLS. 12-23 FEBRUARY 13. 1905 



ICE EROSION THEORY A FALLACY 



BY H. L. FAIRCHILD 



(Read before the Society January 1 and December SO, 190 Ji) * 

 CONTENTS 



Page 



Part I. General theoretical discussion 14 



Introduction 14 



Divergence of opinion 14 



Purpose of the paper. 15 



Use of the term " erosion " 15 



Character of the argument for erosion 16 



Literature and summary of opinion 17 



Theoretical discussion 17 



Burden of proof 17 



Argument for erosion 18 



Specific discussion 19 



General negative argument 25 



Concrete illustrations 31 



Alps 31 



Norway 33 



Scotland 33 



Greenland 34 



Sierras 35 



Cascades 39 



Alaska 41 



Philosophical conclusion 47 



Part II. Ice-sheet erosion in New York 48 



General principles 48 



Effects in Adirondack region ; northern New York 50 



Work of the Ontarian lobe ; western New York 51 



On the Niagara escarpment 51 



On the Medina plain 54 



Effects in the Finger Lakes region ; central New York 55 



General description 55 



Adverse argument from observed phenomena 57 



Origin and basis of ice theory 57 



Stagnation of lower ice in the deep valleys 57 



Lobations of the ice front in the valleys 58 



* The second part of this paper was presented in the abstract at the Saint Louis meeting. The 

 theoretical discussion, part 1, was read in brief at the Philadelphia meeting. 



Ill— Rum.. Geoi,. Soc. Am., Vol. 16, 1901 (13) 



