1897.] The Swamps of Oswego County, N. Y. 691 
marked east of the river and extends through Fulton and 
Palermo center. South of the divide the country is very level, 
only occasionally relieved by gentle undulations. The streams 
here are very sluggish and often very crooked, some of them 
flowing through extensive swamps, as, for instance, the Peter 
Scott swamp in the town of Schroeppel, which in extent rivals 
the celebrated Cicero swamps in Onondaga County. 
North of the divide the surface of the country is very differ- 
ent. Parallel ridges separated by narrow valleys constitute 
the distinctive features of the topography of the region. The 
ridges, and more especially the valleys, have their longitudi- 
nal axes at right angles to the shore of the lake and nearly 
parallel with the river. To the ridges local names are applied 
as “ Paddy Ridge” where an Irish settlement occurs, “ Ridge 
Road” and “ The Hog Back,” the last name being applied to 
at least two ridges in different parts of the county. The 
streams of this northern slope follow the valleys between the 
ridges and consequently flow into the lake rather than into 
the river. Black Creek, the only stream of any size that 
empties into the river from the east is deflected at one part of 
its course several miles before it finds a break between the 
ridges through which to flow. The ridges, technically known 
_ to geologists as drumlins, are not continuous for any consider- 
able distance, the longest being sometimes several miles, the 
shorter often being less than a mile; they are, as a usual thing, 
terminated much more abruptly at their northern than at 
their southern end. Good examples of the abrupt termination 
is afforded at Seneca Hill where the river passes so near the 
hill as to cut away a portion and form a bluff. Another strik- 
ing example occurs at the northern terminus of Jackson Hill, 
about three miles north of the village of Fulton. Their south- 
ern end usually flattens out gradually, and may be entirely 
lost in the confluence of several hills. 
THE SWAMPS AND LAKES. 
The furrowed character of the northern slope just described 
afforded exceptional opportunities for the formation of lakes 
and swamps. The underlying drift of the whole region is a 
