R. S. Tarr — Central Massachusetts Moraine. 145 



in the interior the moraine does not swerve to the southwest 

 showing that the highlands of the northern central part of the 

 State and of New Hampshire exercised little influence upon 

 the ice front. It may be said, however, that the glacial striae in 

 this part of the State point nearly north and south, the south- 

 easterly trend near the sea coast being very likely due to the 

 influence of the easterly sloping coast border. 



Since this moraine has not been traced west of the Connecti- 

 cut nothing can be definitely said with regard to its westerly 

 continuation. It seems probable, as suggested to me by Prof. 

 Dana, that the influence of the very marked highland region 

 of the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts must have 

 caused a southward extension of. the ice margin west of the 

 Connecticut. In the region about Pittsfield and North Adams, 

 particularly in the larger valleys, there are patches of bowldery, 

 hummocky, partially stratified drift which seem to be morainal 

 in character. No attempt can be made to correlate these with 

 the central moraine at this time. 



It is hardly probable that between the Long Island moraines 

 and that of central Massachusetts the recession of the ice was 

 so uniform and rapid that no sign of its retreat was left and 

 the facts in the field seem to show that this was not the case. 

 My studies have been in the main in isolated districts in Mas- 

 sachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, so that aside from the 

 moraine just described it is not possible for me to state defi- 

 nitely that other bands of moraine exist. Still, both south and 

 north of this moraine, I have found isolated patches of true 

 shoved moraine, though nowhere has it been found to have 

 the well marked development noticed in that of central Massa- 

 chusetts. Such deposits have been noticed in the vicinity of 

 Worcester, Mass., in southeastern Massachusetts, Waterbury, 

 Connecticut and southern Vermont, and other observers have 

 described moraine in New Hampshire. 



None of these deposits have been studied in detail and with a 

 view to their relation to one another, but without doubt, when 

 they are so studied it will be found that the history of the dis- 

 appearance of the ice sheet from New England was, like the 

 ice of the upper Mississippi valley, one of numerous halts and 

 slight readvances, though the records left will be found to be 

 much less distinct in New England than in the west. 



