SAISTD DUNES 479 



Sand dunes at local points. — An incidental feature associated with 

 the formation of sand beaches and barriers at the eastern end of the lake 

 is the occurrence of several series of sand dunes at the backs of several of 

 the beaches. These dunes are built by sand blown shoreward from the 

 gently sloping beaches by the stronger winds and gathered in drift-like 

 waves or ridges some few yards behind the wave-swept zone. Low dunes 

 only 5 or 6 feet in height occur on the mainland shore just west of the 

 Presque Isle tombolo. A belt of dune sand about a quarter of a mile 

 wide, some of the dunes being nearly 50 feet in height, has been noted 

 as occurring on the neck of the Presque Isle tombolo. Small dunes, the 

 highest about 25 feet above lake level, occur near the south end of the 

 sand spit which incloses T\>ller bay. Similar dunes, but larger, are found 

 on the bar — beaches which inclose West and East lakes south of Welling- 

 ton. The highest of these dunes, at the southwest end of East lake, has 

 an elevation above lake level of about 100 feet. About 45 years ago the 

 protecting growth of scrub oak, red cedar, white cedar, white pine, and 

 various bushes was partially or wholly removed. Since that time the 

 dunes have moved landward about one-quarter of a mile. They are now 

 slowly encroaching upon good farm land at the southeast end of the lake. 

 Some futile attempts seem to have been made to stop the encroachment 

 by planting willows and white cedar. The latter are all dead and the 

 former are not thriving greatly. The tops of cedars and some few pine?, 

 wliich grew upon the land behind the dune belt in the early days, are now 

 just visil)le above the sand. 



A row of low dunes, more or less covered wit]i a growth of white and 

 red cedars, basswood, and oak, occurs along the bars built across the sev- 

 eral bays at the east end of the lake. 



LAKE ERIE 



General character of the Lake Erie shore. — The Lake Erie shore dif- 

 fers from that of lake Ontario mainly in the character of its beaches, 

 which are usually very broad and of a low angular slope. Xearly the 

 entire shoreline of the lake on the north side is bordered by bluffs of 

 loose glacial waste, and the amount of «hore waste is much greater than 

 on the other lake. The initial topographical forms were almost wholly 

 glacial, and even in its early stages the shoreline must have been rela- 

 tively simpler than that of Ontario. Bay-bars which can be attributed to 

 the direct action of the waves are not present. There are a few large 

 bays cut off from the main lake by barrier beaches, such as East and West 

 harbors, between Catawaba island and Sandusky. A number of smaller 

 barrier beaches occur along both the north and the south shores of the 

 lake. In every instance the waste composing them seems to have been 



