COSHOCTON COUNTY. 563 



depth of more than one hundred, and sometimes to nearly two hundred 

 feet. The gravel beds of the rivers, made up of pebbles of sienitic, por- 

 phyritic, basaltic, and other more ancient rocks than are found in OhiOj 

 and the same class of bowlders in the sand-hills and terraces bordering 

 the streams, point to the currents of the Drift period as the agents of 

 this denudation ; while the great width of the valleys, which is some- 

 times four to five miles, bear witness to the long time these currents 

 must have been in action to have produced such astounding results. 

 Sometimes, indeed, it appears that a broad valley, once formed, has been 

 blocked up and deserted, while another, as extensive, has been excavated 

 in a new direction, and is followed by the river of the present day. 



In Coshocton county, such an ancient valley is seen to the south of 

 West Lafayette, extending from the Tuscarawas Valley south south-east to 

 the valley of Wills Creek. When far enough from the Tuscarawas Val- 

 ley not to be confounded with this, it is seen, in places, to be full three 

 miles wide, varying from this to one mile. It is a valley of Diluvium, 

 somewhat sandy, with hills of sand from thirty to forty feet high, the 

 beds of which are sometimes seen exposed to this extent in the cuttings 

 of present streams. Hills of the stratified rocks of the Coal Measures 

 project into it from its sides, as irregular-shaped peninsulas, or stand in 

 its midst as islands. A remarkable single hill, of this character, is seen 

 directly north from AVest Lafayette, on the edge of the Tuscarawas River, 

 opposite the mouth of White Eyes Creek. This ancient valley is known 

 as White Eyes Plains. It is nearly all under cultivation ; and from the 

 elevated points that overlook it, especially where it blends with the 

 broad valley of the Tuscarawas, it affords views singularly beautiful and 

 picturesque. Toward the south, the White Eyes Plains are lost in the 

 valley of Wills Creek. By these two valleys, and that of the Tuscarawas, 

 the larger part of the townships of Tuscarawas, Lafayette, Franklin, 

 and Linton are encircled and isolated. 



Opposite this valley, and north of the Tuscarawas, a similar valley, but 

 , of much smaller dimensions, extends north- w est wardly through the 

 south-west part of Keene township, and toward the Killbuck, in the cen- 

 ter of Bethlehem township. Possibly it may be found, on further exam- 

 ination, that this was an ancient valley of the Killbuck. 



GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE. 



Beside the Diluvium in the valleys of the streams, no other geological 

 formation is found in Coshocton County, except the Carboniferous; and 

 of this the range is limited to the lower half of the Coal Measure (com- 

 prising a thickness of some 350 feet), and the upper portion of the Wa- 



