776 Agricultural Manual 



TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 



The surface of Wayne County is level or slightly rolling, and is 

 generally admirably adapted to agriculture. It has a general 

 slope northward toward Lake Ontario. A series of bluffs 25 to 

 75 feet high extends along the lake shore. From the summits of 

 these bluffs the surface rises in gradual slopes to the lake ridge 

 four or five miles distant. This ridge is 50 to 200 feet wide on 

 the top, and is about 200 feet above the lake. It declines toward 

 the east, and on the east border of the county it can scarcely be 

 traced. From the foot of this ridge on the south the surface grad- 

 ually slopes upward to the summit of the limestone ridge which 

 extends east and west through the county a little north of the cen- 

 ter, and forms the watershed between Lake Ontario and Clyde 

 River. The summit of the latter ridge is 140 feet above the lake 

 ridge and 340 feet above the lake ; it is about three miles wide and 

 is highest on the west border of the county. On the south this 

 ridge gradually descends to Clyde River, when it slopes upward 

 once more to the southern line of the county. South of the lime- 

 stone ridge are numerous drift ridges extending north and south. 

 The declivities are usually very steep, the summits rising 40 to 

 100 feet above the surrounding surface. They usually end 

 abruptly toward the north, but decline gradually toward the south. 



The principal streams are Clyde and Seneca rivers and Ganar- 

 ^ua or Mud Creek and their tributaries, also a number of streams 

 flowing into Lake Ontario. Within the county limits occurs the 

 largest indentation along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, 

 known as Sodus Bay, and forming an excellent harbor. The lake 

 shore is generally bold, and varies from 10 feet in height at S^l- 

 mon Creek to 100' feet at Sodus Point. 



The soil of the county is generally derived from drift deposits 

 and is composed of a sandy or gravelly loam with an intermixture 

 of clay. Along the lake shore it is derived principally from the 

 disintegration of the Medina sandstone, making a reddish sandy 

 loam. In the valley of the Clyde River is a rich soil of gravelly 

 loam and alluvium. There is considerable marshy land along the 

 ( Hyde and Seneca rivers and north of the " ridge," which, when 

 drained, is very productive. 



Within recent years iron mines of considerable importance have 

 been developed in the town of Ontario. 



