APPENDIX 



PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE BASIN 



The local distribution of plants is greatly influenced by the physical features of the 

 region, and a brief account of the physical characteristics of the Cayuga Lake Basin 

 may not be out of place. 



Cayuga Lake lies almost wholly within, but at the northern border of, the plateau 

 region of New York. Its northern end extends slightly beyond the extreme northern 

 edge of this plateau where the plateau joins the low, wide plain bordering Lake 

 Ontario. The lake projects southward back into the plateau, and the hills on either 

 side rise in altitude and steepness gradually from north to south. The business 

 section of the city of Ithaca is located on an alluvial plain with delta base and flood- 

 plain cover, in the deep valley which extends beyond the southern end of the lake. 

 This extension of the lake valley, known as the Inlet Valley, continues southward 

 from Ithaca for a distance of from 19 to 23 kilometers (12 to 14 miles) into 

 the hills. While the northern part of the basin, comprising part of the On- 

 tario plain to the north of the lake, is nearly level and has an altitude of only 

 about 115 to 183 meters (380 to 600 feet), the southern part is very hilly and 

 broken, and in places has an almost mountainous topography, the hills having 

 been produced through dissection of the plateau by stream and glacial erosion. 

 These hills attain a height of 639 meters (2095 feet), or 650 meters (2132 

 feet) on the eastern boundary. The surface of much of the northern part of the basin 

 is scarcely above the ground-water level of that region, and is covered with very 

 extensive and peculiar cattail marshes widely known as the Montezuma Marshes 

 of New York. The altitude of these marshes is about 116 meters (380 feet) above 

 tide. At the southern end of the lake there was originally a lesser development of the 

 same type of marsh, but recently this has been partly eliminated by fillings from the 

 dredging of the barge canal. In places along the lake, especially on the eastern shore, 

 the banks are rocky and precipitous as a result of wave erosion and undercutting, 

 the cliffs rising to the height of 30 meters (98 feet) in the vicinity of King Ferry. 

 Where the larger streams flow into the lake, extensive gravelly " points " have formed 

 on which many rare plants have become established. At the northern end of the 

 basin, on the Ontario plain, is a series of low parallel interrupted ridges, or drumlins, 

 composed largely of loam, sand, and gravel, or in some cases of clay, extending 

 northward and southward. In fact, this part of the State is noted for its extensive 

 drumlin topography. 



There are many streams in the basin, and some of those toward the southern end 

 of the lake are of considerable size. Of the larger ones the following may be 

 mentioned: Salmon Creek, 32 kilometers (20 miles) in length; Fall Creek, 48 kilo- 

 meters (30 miles) long; Cascadilla Creek, 16 kilometers (10 miles) long; Six Mile 

 Creek, 32 kilometers (20 miles) long; Cayuga Inlet, 24 kilometers (15 miles) long; 

 and Taughannock Creek, 24 kilometers (15 miles) long; also Buttermilk Creek, New- 

 field Creek, Butternut Creek, and Coy Glen Creek. In the upper part of their course 

 these streams flow quietly through broad valleys, physically mature in form, but 

 on approaching the lake they fall precipitously over series of cascades to lake level. 

 This part of their course is through deep rocky ravines, and these ravines, because of 

 their number and size, form one of the most characteristic and widely known features 

 of the local topography. Toward the northern end of the lake the streams are small, 

 Paine Creek and Big Gully Creek being the only ones worthy of mention. The 

 outlet of the lake is at the north and enters Seneca River, which serves as the general 

 outlet of most of the Finger Lakes. This river flows sluggishly through the Ontario 



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