Finger-Lake region of JVew York. 



293 



The northern zone comprises the Medina, Clinton, Niagara, 

 and Salina formations, dipping south at a low angle. The 

 Clinton and Niagara limestones form escarpments facing north, 

 which are inconspicuous in large part. It is traversed by the 



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A. Vertical section nearly B.-W. along N. T. Central R. R, nearly on Cor- 

 niferous outcrop. 



B. Vertical section near the middle of each lake ; dotted lines show deficiency 

 of exact data, partially supplied by a few adjacent known points. 



N. Y. Central R. R. and the Erie Canal at very easy grades. 

 A portion along the southern edge of this belt is level and 

 free from drift-hills : north of which the surface is diversified 

 by an extraordinary series of drumlins, already described by 

 Hall (New York State Geological Report for 4th Disk, 1842) 

 and Johnson (" Parallel Drift Hills of "Western New York ;" 

 Annals of N. Y. Acad, of Sci., Nov. 9, 1882). These are 

 stated by Hall to be bounded northerly by the beach of the 

 ancient Lake Iroquois — the " Ridge Road " — which runs a few 

 miles from the shore of Lake Ontario. 



As compared with the drumlins of New England, these are 

 of much greater length, are relatively much narrower, much 

 sharper at their ridges and steeper in their side-slope. Their 

 northern ends are very bluff, their southern ends gently 

 inclined. Their axes lie nearly north and south, on the whole, 

 with marked local differences. 



The width of these hills at top is often sufficient to receive 

 a country road without much leveling, but some would not (in 

 their original state) admit the passage of a single cart along 

 the ridge ; while in exceptional cases there are flat tops some 

 hundreds of feet in width. 



The inclination to the south is often so gentle as to. have no 

 definite ending; thus many hills which begin northwardly 



