430 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 



in the immediate valley of the Maumee, and that not east of the town 

 line of Noble. 



Oblique and various strata of sand and gravel constitute a large por- 

 tion of the Drift, especially near the surface, in the most elevated por- 

 tions of the county, i. e., in the north-western corner, embracing Milford 

 township and a portion of Hickville and Farmer. This is no exception 

 to the usual character of the Drift at those heights above Lake Erie. In 

 north-western Ohio generally, however, this elevation is not reached so 

 near the lake shore, but there is a broad sweep toward the south, passing 

 into Indiana, of those features that characterize the Black Swamp. The 

 Van Wert Ridge, which is the inner of the two ridges passing through 

 Hickville and Farmer townships, is composed almost entirely of Drift 

 of this kind. The same is true of the Belmore Ridge, which passes 

 through Adams, Richland, and Highland townships. The latter, how- 

 ever, is more subject to an overspreading of fine, lacustrine sand ; this is 

 particularly the case at Ayersville. Where the latter ridge crosses the 

 Maumee River, about a mile- above Independence, in Richland township, 

 the extreme height of the left bank of the river, measured by Locke's 

 level, on the land of Charles Wilson, is seventy-nine feet two inches 

 from the level of the water in the river, which is dammed back from 

 Independence. The bank of the river appears to have been originally 

 very gravelly throughout the most of this height, but it is now turfed 

 over, and supports a large orchard of apple trees. The ridge here rises 

 several feet above the level of the surrounding country. 



Unstratified lacustrine sand is spread over the surface of some portions 

 of the county. It lies usually in a sheet of a few inches or a few feet 

 in thickness, but it also forms some very conspicuous ridges and knolls. 

 This sand must not be confounded with that which lies in oblique 

 strata. It is distinguishable from that in being of a very uniform, fine 

 grain. It is made up almost entirely of silica, while the sand referred 

 to has grains of other minerals. The color is also usually different. This 

 is generally yellowish, unless mixed with carbonaceous materials, when 

 it is black, or has some shade of brown. The yellow tint comes from a 

 deposit of iron-rust, that exists as minute scales, or thin incrustations, 

 on the separate grains. When this lacustrine sand is so situated that it 

 is not rapidly and exhaustively drained, it forms a very rich and easily 

 tilled black loam. 



A sandy loam of this nature occurs at Brunersburg, and affords fine 

 wells at six to ten feet. It extends about half a mile toward the west, 

 but toward the north a similar surface characterizes the valley of the 

 Tiffin as far as Evansport. This is the ancient alluvium of the Tiffin, 



