﻿of 
  the 
  Northern 
  Appalachians. 
  241 
  

  

  made 
  thus 
  far 
  are 
  incomplete 
  and 
  further 
  study 
  is 
  needed 
  

   to 
  confirm 
  this 
  hypothesis 
  or 
  to 
  supplant 
  it 
  by 
  another 
  

   which 
  shall 
  better 
  fulfill 
  the 
  requirements 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  facts. 
  

   The 
  writer 
  believes, 
  however, 
  that 
  the 
  conclusion 
  regard- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  burial 
  of 
  the 
  Blue 
  Ridge 
  is 
  well 
  founded.' 
  ' 
  

  

  Methods 
  for 
  map 
  study. 
  

  

  Introduction. 
  — 
  The 
  re-examination 
  of 
  the 
  problem 
  was 
  

   undertaken 
  in 
  1912 
  and 
  was 
  based 
  on 
  several 
  methods 
  of 
  

   attack 
  which 
  were 
  planned 
  to 
  be 
  free 
  from 
  subjective 
  

   bias. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  nearly 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  seaward 
  

   slope 
  of 
  the 
  Appalachian 
  Province 
  and 
  Coastal 
  Plain 
  

   from 
  southern 
  Vermont 
  to 
  northern 
  Virginia 
  is 
  covered 
  

   by 
  the 
  topographic 
  maps 
  of 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  

   on 
  a 
  scale 
  of 
  1 
  : 
  62,500 
  was 
  particularly 
  favorable 
  to 
  the 
  

   investigation. 
  Map 
  study 
  rightly 
  pursued 
  not 
  only 
  sup- 
  

   plements 
  field 
  study 
  but 
  also 
  suggests 
  new 
  details 
  and 
  

   even 
  problems 
  for 
  field 
  study, 
  although 
  as 
  Davis 
  has 
  per- 
  

   tinently 
  remarked 
  "it 
  seems 
  to 
  lead 
  different 
  investi- 
  

   gators 
  to 
  different 
  results." 
  7 
  

  

  Emphasizing 
  of 
  contours. 
  — 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  follow 
  the 
  rem- 
  

   nants 
  of 
  an 
  ancient 
  topography 
  from 
  one 
  topograpic 
  

   sheet 
  to 
  another 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  desirable 
  to 
  emphasize 
  sig- 
  

   nificant 
  contours 
  with 
  colored 
  crayon 
  or 
  ink. 
  But 
  if 
  con- 
  

   tours 
  are 
  selected 
  at 
  random, 
  because 
  they 
  bring 
  out 
  a 
  

   few 
  features 
  in 
  one 
  quadrangle, 
  local 
  physiographic 
  

   forms 
  may 
  come 
  to 
  assume 
  an 
  undue 
  importance 
  and 
  may 
  

   obscure 
  other 
  features 
  of 
  regional 
  significance. 
  Such 
  a 
  

   haphazard 
  treatment 
  of 
  a 
  map 
  is 
  subjective 
  rather 
  than 
  

   objective 
  and 
  tends 
  to 
  fix 
  in 
  the 
  mind 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  map 
  

   merely 
  tentative 
  hypotheses. 
  To 
  avoid 
  this 
  tendency 
  

   certain 
  definite 
  contour 
  intervals 
  only 
  were 
  emphasized 
  

   and 
  as 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  convenience 
  those 
  marking 
  the 
  even 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  feet 
  were 
  chosen. 
  Thus 
  for 
  a 
  north-south 
  

   belt 
  of 
  a 
  quadrangle 
  extending 
  through 
  western 
  Con- 
  

   necticut 
  the 
  appropriate 
  contours 
  to 
  be 
  emphasized 
  are 
  

   as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  / 
  Winsted 
  1,200, 
  1,400, 
  1,600 
  

  

  Waterbury 
  800, 
  1,000, 
  1,200 
  

  

  Derby 
  400, 
  600, 
  800 
  

  

  Bridgeport 
  200, 
  400, 
  

  

  7 
  W. 
  M. 
  Davis: 
  The 
  Peneplain, 
  Geographical 
  Essays, 
  1909, 
  p. 
  353. 
  

  

  