r44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



time, during which large streams flowed past the ice front oyer 

 into the Mohawk valley. The ancient stream channels are well 

 developed and form a nearly continuous scourway for about 10 

 miles. ' The most westerly cutting is 3 miles northeast of 

 Oneida. The series leads northeast, curving around the higher 

 ground, convex to the north, and ends at Stanwix village, 2 

 miles southeast of Rome. Here the glacial waters found free 

 escape to the sea by the Mohawk valley. The channels are util- 

 ized by the New York Central Railroad for over 6 miles, from 

 west of Verona to within 4 miles of Rome, (see pi. 10) 



These channels were formed earlier in time than those west 

 of Oneida, and are quite different in character. Unlike the 

 western channels they lie on a land surface of moderate relief 

 and of moderate slope, and not against steep hills. The ice 

 edge was probably thinner here and less aggressive. In conse- 

 quence of these different physical conditions the channels are 

 more continuous, relatively broader, and the north walls are 

 more commonly developed. In a word, the channels have more 

 the ordinary form of abandoned river channels, while the iso- 

 lated bluff phenomena, so pronounced west of Oneida, are 

 scarcely found. At a few points the channels are comparable 

 in size to the great ones at Syracuse. They are probably the 

 work of rivers of smaller volume than those which cut the west- 

 ern channels. 



On the sheet, plate 10, it will be noticed that, in the stretch of 

 country from Oneida to Rome, not only the railroad but nearly 

 all the highways conform to the land slope, being either parallel 

 to the stream channels, northeast and southwest, or at right 

 angles to this. For convenience in description, the sides of the 

 channels will be here referred to as north and south, and direc- 

 tions along the railroad and channels as east and west. On 

 this sheet may also be noted seven living streams, in the seven 

 miles of channel from Verona to beyond Greenway, having a 

 northerly course and striking the channels obliquely. These 

 modern creeks have partially cut and obscured the south walls 

 of the ancient channels at their points of junction. The suc- 

 cession, direction and parallelism of the creeks form an inter- 



