CHAPTER LVIII. 



REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OP ROSS COUNTY. 



The general geology of Ross county agrees very closely with that of 

 Pike county, already given. The two counties have a common geological 

 scale, and their principal topographical features, which are very similar, 

 they owe to a common geological history. They differ, however, in one 

 important particular, viz., the characteristic deposits of the glacial Drift 

 cover the northern townships of Ross county, hut are wanting at least 

 in the uplands of the regions to the southward. 



A detailed description of the geological series of the county would, 

 therefore, involve a needless repetition of the statements of the preceding 

 ahapter. In the present report, therefore, only those facts which are pe- 

 culiar to the area now under consideration will find place. 



The various topics to be treated will be taken up in the same order as 

 in the preceding section. 



I. SITUATION AND TOPOGKAPHY. 



Ross county is bounded on the north by Pickaway, on the east by 

 Hocking, Vinton, and Jackson, on the south by Pike, and on the west by 

 Highland and Fayette. 



As in Pike county, the chief feature in the topography is the broad 

 and deep trough of the Scioto valley, which traverses the county from 

 north to south, dividing it into two unequal areas, the western side ex- 

 ceeding the eastern in the ratio of 2 : 1. The river cuts the north line 

 of the county at very nearly the middle point, and flows thence almost 

 directly south to Chillicothe. It is here strongly deflected to the east- 

 ward ; and in the extreme south-eastern corner of the county the main 

 valley is not more than four miles distant from the Jackson county line. 



The western side of the county is deeply divided and subdivided by 

 the valley of Paint Creek and that of its principal tributary, the North 

 Fork. Paint valley is, next to the Scioto, the most important of the 

 surface features of the county. 



East of the Scioto, and in the south-eastern corner of the county, Salt 



