* THE CAYUGA FLORA. 



Ithaca 392 feet 



No. 399, Enfield sta., (N. Y. S. S.) 1464 " 



" 420, Turner sta., " South Hill, Ithaca. 1125 " 



" 425, Hungerford sta., " Eagle Hill, " . . 1273 " 



Cornell Univ. S. S. e (the central sta. of our map) 7S8 " 



The station number is always plainly marked on the small granite- 

 monument erected at each of the stations of the N. Y. Survey. 



From this rapid review of the territory comprised in our Flora it 

 will be seen that it has a peculiar form, and varies much in height, 

 ranging from 383 feet at the lake-level, to 2095 feet on the southwest- 

 ern and 2133 feet on the eastern boundaries. Nevertheless these 

 heights can scarcety be called mountains,' but giant hills instead, 

 scored out of an ancient table-land. They rarely present cliffs or ex- 

 posed rocks, excepting where some recent ravine or a preglacial val- 

 ley has been cut through the undisturbed strata, but are rounded and 

 cultivated or at least tillable to their summits. 



There remains but one other feature to mention in this general re- 

 view. Nothing in the physical aspect of this region strikes the stran- 

 ger as more characteristic than the so-called gorges or ravines, found in 

 the first great bench above the lake and valleys, wherever a creek or 

 even brook descends to the lower level. The true gorges are proba" 

 bly without exception, of recent or post-glacial origin, the walls are 

 frequently of perpendicular or overhanging rock from fifty to two 

 hundred feet, or even much higher, as in Taughanuock and Enfield 

 ravines. Within these great chasms are usually falls or cascades, 

 some of them exceedingly beautiful and of considerable height. 



The ravines themselves are often flanked on either side by a succes- 

 sion of well-marked terraces of sand or gravel, the most conspicuous 

 cases being near Coy Glen, Enfield, and Buttermilk ravines, clearly 

 visible many miles away. 



For comparison with other regions the following elevations are giv- 

 en, derived from railroad, canal and official U. S. Surveys : 



feet 



Canandaigua 



E 



668 feet 



Skaneateles L. 



932 



Keuka L. 





718 " 



The Tully Lakes 



1200 



Seneca L. 





445 " 



Lake Erie 



573 



Cayuga L. 





383 " 



Lake Ontario 



247 



Owasco E. 





713 " 







The summit level of the canal south from Seneca L. is S84 feet. 



The topographical features of this region have so modified or con- 

 trolled the distribution and occurrence of plant forms that the brief 

 outline of them given above seemed absolutely necessary. In other 

 words, soil and exposure have been chiefly influential in this distribu- 

 tion, but in certain species, the connection of the plant-habitat with 

 the great and more remote centers of distribution, together with the 

 elevation, high or low as the case may be, furnish important, perhaps 

 essential, conditions. It will be seen that the southern part of our 



1 On the map accompanying Kalm's Travel, published 1772, the 

 heights southeast of Cayuga L. (probably the Caroline hills) are 

 styled the "Onugarechuy Mts. " 



