Bishop — Geology of Erie County. 327 



a rock of such durability to the depth shown oy the excavations. Since the 

 matter is of considerable local interest, I have looked over the ground very 

 carefully for evidences of such a stream, and have collected from contractors 

 engaged in sinking piles, drilling and dredging, considerable data regarding 

 the surface of the bed-rock. 



The existence of a great river at any time near the present site of 

 Buffalo creek or between there and Bay View is negatived by the appearance 

 of rock at or near the surface in the places where this supposed river must 

 have flowed. Stone has been quarried near Seneca and Chicago streets and 

 at Bailey avenue and the New York Central railroad crossing; it crops out 

 in the brick-yards on Clinton street near Bailey avenue, and at the end of 

 Clinton street. It is found near Winchester, in Cazenovia park, and in 

 several places between there and South park. It also is found in Smoke 

 creek below West Seneca. Farther away from Buffalo, the outcrops of rock 

 are so continuous as to preclude the possibility of a stream which, in its 

 upper course, did not flow over approximately the same bed as one of these 

 existing. At the Snow Steam Pump Works, near Buffalo creek, the limestone 

 was found at fifty-two feet. The wells at the Atlas Oil Refinery and the 

 Chemical Works touched it at about the same depth. At the upper end of 

 the Hamburg canal, the distance to rock is twenty-three feet, and at the lower 

 end twelve to fifteen feet. At the Glucose AVorks it was forty-two feet. 

 Along the Ohio basin, on the south side, the drift is from twenty-six to 

 thirty-seven feet deep, dipping towards the Lehigh docks. Mr. J. H. Leh 

 informs me that the piles were driven here six feet apart from north to south, 

 and that each pile had to be made a foot longer than the preceding one 

 to reach bottom. The southern limit of the Corniferous limestone appears to 

 be near these docks. At the railroad bridge across the Blackwell canal, on 

 the side next the lake, the piles were driven to the depth of 120 feet without 

 touching bottom. From the Hamburg turnpike bridge to the foot of 

 Michigan street along the creek and canal in the vicinity of Gansou street, 

 there is no rock nearer the surface than eighty or ninety feet. It is 

 probable that this depression is continuous with the 120-foot depth at the 

 railroad bridge and lies nearly at right angles with the general course of 

 Buffalo creek at this point. 



Within a few years the United States engineers have made a series of 

 borings to ascertain the nature of the bottom between the southern end of the 

 breakwater and Stony Point, The borings were 400 feet apart and approx- 

 imately 1,000 feet from the shore, passing through the lacustrine deposits to 



