CHAPTER XXXV. 



REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY. 



BY N. H. W1NCHELL. 



SITUATION AND AREA. 



Crawford county lies north from the center of the State, and about 

 midway between that point and Lake Erie. It is bounded north by 

 Seneca and Huron, east by Richland, south by Morrow and Marion, and 

 west by Wyandot, and has an area of about eleven congressional towns, 

 situated so as to give it nearly the form of a square. Its total area is 

 252,156 acres, of which 138,368 are arable, 37,074 meadow and pasture 

 lands, and 76,714 uncultivated or woodland. The average value, exclu- 

 sive of buildings, is $29.78 per acre. 



NATURAL DRAINAGE. 



It lies on the summit of the great watershed, embracing the headwaters 

 of some of the principal rivers of the State, that leave it in opposite 

 directions. In the north-eastern corner of the county are a few small 

 tributaries that join the Huron River in a northerly direction. Those 

 of the Scioto and Olentangy have a general south-westerly direction 

 until they are well off the watershed and on the southern slope. The 

 upper waters of the Sandusky River, including its tributaries, the Syca- 

 more Creek, Cass Run, and Broken Sword Creek, have a noticeable flow 

 south- west wardly and westerly along Jthe direction of the general water- 

 shed until they are outside of the limits of the county, when they reach 

 the greater valley of the Sandusky; then they turn nearly at right 

 angles north-westerly and unite with that river. The streams are gen- 

 erally small, yet large enough to afford, in favorable situations, ample 

 water-power for flouring and manufactures. The flatness of the county 

 generally, except in the eastern tier of towns, is unfavorable for the 

 production of water-powers. The rivers rarely strike the bed-rock, and 

 hence rarely have waterfalls or rapids that can be so utilized. 



