CHAPTER XXXIII. 



REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OP LORAIN COUNTY. 



BY J. S. NEWBERRY. 



SURFACE FEATURES. 



The topography of Lorain county is, as a general rule, simple, and for 

 the most part even monotonous. The surface slopes gently from the 

 southern townships — where, in Huntington and Rochester, it has an 

 elevation of from 300 to 400 feet above the Lake — to the lake shore. To 

 this rule there are, however, some exceptions, such as that of the gorge 

 of Black river at and below Elyria, where some wild and beautiful 

 scenery is to be found. The underlying rocks are rarely exposed to 

 view, as they are generally covered with a thick sheet of superficial ma- 

 terials, which forms a smooth and unbroken surface. The lake front in 

 Avon and Sheffield is a precipitous cliff, which, at Avon Point, has a 

 height of 75 feet, here forming a bold and picturesque headland. This 

 feature is dependent upon an arch of the strata which brings up some of 

 the lower and harder rocks, and these have offered greater resistance to 

 the waves than the softer overlying beds which come down to the lake 

 level both east and west. 



At the mouth of Black river, and thence west to the county line, the 

 shore of the Lake is low. At Amherst are bold ledges of Berea grit, 

 which project above the surface and overlook all the low country be- 

 tween them and the Lake. These ledges evidently once formed the lake 

 shore, when the water stood 140 feet higher than it does now, and at that 

 time they were shore cliffs similar to those now seen at Avon Point, 

 although composed of very different material. 



The soil of Lorain county, particularly the southern part, is generally 

 clay derived from the underlying bowlder clay, one of the Drift deposits. 

 This has given a peculiar character to the vegetation, and to the system 

 of agriculture which followed the removal of the primeval forest. The 

 forest growth on this surface was mainly elm, linden, ash, and hickory, 

 and when brought under cultivation the soil was found better adapted 

 to grass than grain. Hence the farmers generally became dairymen, 



