﻿Upper 
  Ohio 
  and 
  Beaver 
  Rivers. 
  119 
  

  

  The 
  writer 
  has 
  records, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  complete, 
  at 
  four 
  points, 
  

   one 
  on 
  the 
  Ohio 
  and 
  three 
  on 
  the 
  Beaver. 
  The 
  first 
  of 
  these 
  

   is 
  at 
  Dam 
  No. 
  6 
  (Merrill) 
  on 
  the 
  Ohio, 
  near 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Rac- 
  

   coon 
  Creek. 
  This 
  set 
  consists 
  of 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  drill 
  holes 
  in 
  a 
  line 
  

   across 
  the 
  river, 
  at 
  regular 
  intervals 
  of 
  one 
  hundred 
  feet. 
  

   Only 
  two 
  holes 
  reach 
  bed 
  rock, 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  two 
  hundred 
  

   feet 
  respectively 
  from 
  the 
  northern 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  river. 
  All 
  

   the 
  other 
  holes 
  are 
  deeper, 
  but 
  in 
  no 
  case 
  reach 
  rock. 
  In 
  all 
  

   cases 
  after 
  passing 
  through 
  the 
  immediate 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  stream, 
  

   the 
  alluvium 
  is 
  much 
  finer 
  than 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  escarpment 
  of 
  

   the 
  terraces. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  record 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Wallace's 
  run. 
  N"o 
  accu- 
  

   rate 
  records 
  of 
  strata 
  are 
  at 
  hand, 
  if 
  indeed 
  any 
  were 
  kept, 
  but 
  

   it 
  is 
  well 
  established 
  that 
  in 
  passing 
  through 
  the 
  60' 
  of 
  allu- 
  

   vium 
  the 
  material 
  grew 
  successively 
  finer, 
  and 
  about 
  twenty 
  

   feet 
  of 
  it, 
  immediately 
  overlying 
  the 
  rock 
  bottom, 
  consisted 
  of 
  

   a 
  very 
  fine 
  silt. 
  

  

  The 
  third 
  set 
  of 
  soundings 
  reach 
  rock 
  in 
  all 
  but 
  one 
  hole, 
  

   and 
  consist 
  of 
  test 
  wells 
  sunk 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  foundation 
  for 
  

   piers, 
  about 
  one-half 
  mile 
  below 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Connoque- 
  

   nessing. 
  The 
  records 
  of 
  all 
  these 
  wells 
  agree 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  

   to 
  form 
  from 
  them 
  an 
  accurate 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  stratification 
  

   of 
  the 
  filling 
  of 
  the 
  buried 
  channel 
  at 
  that 
  point. 
  Three 
  dis- 
  

   tinct 
  strata 
  are 
  recognized, 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  each 
  horizontal, 
  and 
  con- 
  

   formable 
  to 
  each 
  other, 
  but 
  non-conformable 
  to 
  the 
  rock 
  

   bottom 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  lie. 
  Immediately 
  overlying 
  the 
  rock 
  

   bottom 
  is 
  a 
  layer 
  of 
  fine 
  silt, 
  reaching 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  

   channel 
  a 
  thickness 
  of 
  twenty-five 
  feet, 
  but 
  thinning 
  out 
  to 
  

   nothing 
  on 
  the 
  sides. 
  The 
  top 
  is 
  horizontal 
  and 
  the 
  thinning 
  

   at 
  the 
  sides 
  is 
  due 
  entirely 
  to 
  the 
  rising 
  of 
  the 
  rock 
  bottom. 
  

   Overlying 
  the 
  silt 
  is 
  a 
  fine 
  sand, 
  eight 
  to 
  ten 
  feet 
  in 
  thickness 
  

   This 
  also 
  abuts 
  against 
  the 
  rock 
  at 
  each 
  side. 
  Overlying 
  this 
  

   in 
  turn 
  is 
  a 
  fine 
  gravel. 
  The 
  top 
  of 
  this 
  stratum 
  has 
  been 
  

   slightly 
  eroded 
  by 
  the 
  present 
  stream, 
  but 
  it 
  lies 
  conformably 
  

   on 
  the 
  sand 
  stratum. 
  Over 
  the 
  gravel 
  is 
  a 
  thin 
  deposit 
  of 
  

   river 
  detritus. 
  

  

  The 
  last 
  of 
  the 
  records 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  railroad 
  bridge 
  between 
  

   Wampum 
  and 
  Moravia. 
  This 
  set 
  is 
  incomplete, 
  as 
  the 
  wells 
  

   do 
  not 
  reach 
  rock, 
  but 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  go 
  they 
  entirely 
  agree 
  

   with 
  the 
  others 
  in 
  the 
  successively 
  increasing 
  fineness 
  of 
  the 
  

   filling 
  material, 
  from 
  the' 
  surface 
  downward. 
  

  

  It 
  should 
  also 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  in 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  excavations 
  about 
  

   Beaver 
  Falls 
  and 
  New 
  Brighton 
  "quicksand" 
  has 
  been 
  fre- 
  

   quently 
  reported, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  recognized 
  by 
  all 
  persons 
  conversant 
  

   with 
  deep 
  excavations 
  in 
  the 
  buried 
  channel, 
  that 
  the 
  material 
  

   grows 
  finer 
  as 
  excavation 
  proceeds. 
  

  

  