436 Karl M. Wiegaxd and Arthur J. Eames 



plain in a meandering fashion, and after receiving the Clyde River from the north- 

 west finally joins the Oneida River to form the Oswego River, which empties into 

 Lake Ontario at Oswego. 



Cayuga Lake is 116 meters (381 feet) above tide. It is shallow at the north- 

 ern end, but becomes gradually deeper until at a point three-fourths of the distance 

 toward the southern end, in a region opposite Kidders, it is 132.6 meters (435 

 feet) deep, or 16.1 meters (53 feet) below sea level. Along most of the dis- 

 tance from Willets to Taughannock Point it is more than 122 meters (400 feet) 

 deep, and a considerable depth is maintained even to within a short distance of 

 the southern end. This great depth renders the lake very cold in summer, and 

 suitable for bathing only in the shallow water at intervals along the shore. In 

 winter the water is slow in cooling, and over most of the region south of the 

 middle it usually remains open. There is a tradition that the lake freezes entirely 

 over only once in about twenty years. 



From Cayuga southward to a northeast-and-southwest line through Fleming, Aurora, 

 and Ovid, the land is practically a continuation of the Ontario plain, rising very 

 slightly toward the south but nearly free from drumlins. This region was apparently 

 a glacial basin. At the line mentioned, the surface rises more quickly to form the 

 lower, or central, plateau of the basin. This plateau has an average altitude of about 

 305 meters (1000 feet), sloping gently upward to the higher plateau and downward 

 from the east or the west toward the lake. The higher plateau has a northern 

 U-shaped escarpment extending from near Moravia southward to Dryden, westward 

 to Ithaca, and northwestward into Enfield, Hector, and Lodi. It has an average alti- 

 tude of about 518 to 579 meters (1700 to 1900 feet). West of the lake the transition 

 from one plateau to the other is very gradual, and this is true also in the Moravia 

 region. East of Ithaca, however, the transition is abrupt, and it is here represented by 

 the line of hills extending from Turkey Hill eastward to Dryden. The lower plateau 

 is level or gently rolling, with few dissecting valleys. Fertile fields, woodlands, and 

 swampy areas alternate, but there are few contrasting topographical features. The 

 higher plateau, on the contrary, is strongly dissected by stream valleys, the sides of 

 which, especially those trending northward and southward, have been greatly steepened 

 by ice erosion, thus giving rise to high hills with bold, steep, and sometimes rocky, 

 declivities. Principal among the hills are Connecticut and Key Hills in the town of 

 Newfield, the former being the highest hill in the basin ; Thatcher Pinnacles and 

 Ball Hill along the Inlet Valley in Danby; North and South Pinnacles and Bald 

 Hill in Caroline; and Turkey Hill near the hamlet of Varna. On Thatcher and 

 Caroline Pinnacles the steep valley faces terminate near the summit in cliffs on the 

 crests of which several rare plants are found. The soil on these slopes is thin and 

 the plant covering is undoubtedly modified by this condition. Where not eroded, the 

 summits are usually flat, are covered with a thin glacial or rarely residual soil, and 

 are often poorly drained. Local swampy places are thus formed, some of which, 

 as South Hill Marsh, are of much interest botanically. Where better drained, the 

 summits are under cultivation. 



Perhaps the most interesting and characteristic topographical feature of the basin 

 is the extent and degree of development of ravines. All of the hundred and more 

 streams flowing down the sides of the lake valley have cut ravines of varying depth 

 and breadth. The streams are bounded by perpendicular rocky walls alternating here 

 and there with steep wooded slopes. In the larger ravines, such as Fall Creek, 

 Cascadilla, Enfield, and Taughannock, the cliffs rise to a height of from 70 to 137 

 meters (230 to 450 feet). There are numerous cascades of various heights; one 

 cascade in Taughannock Gorge, having a clear drop of 65.5 meters (215 feet), is 

 perhaps the highest falls with uninterrupted drop in the United States east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. Many rare plants are found in and around these gorges. The very 

 numerous ravines and the much dissected plateau render the region about the head 

 of Cayuga Lake extremely diversified and picturesque, the wild areas alternating with 

 those devoted to cultivation. 



