Bishop — Geology of Ekle County. 



329 



The Ancient Lake Shore Line in Buffalo. 



Several deep excavations near Main street have given me, during the past 

 summer, an opportunity of studying the stratification of the drift in the lower 

 part of the city. The data collected, while mainly of local interest, throw 

 some light upon the location of ancient lake levels. 



In the cellar of the building on the White property, above Chippewa 

 street, there were eight feet of sand at the surface with six feet of coarse 

 gravel at the bottom. Botli sand and gravel were laminated, the sand 

 showing cross-bedding and the gravel beds sloping towards the lake. At the 

 Guaranty building, corner of Pearl and Church streets, borings were made to 

 ascertain the depth of bed-rock. According to the contractors, Messrs. 

 Brown <fe Stebell, the drill passed from the level of the curb through 



Loam 5 or 6 feet. 



Sand and gravel to 52 " 



The cellar of the Ellicott square building was excavated t<> the depth of 

 nineteen feet, and three borings were made twenty feet deeper without finding- 

 rock. Sand to the depth of five feet was found in the corner between Main 

 and South Division streets, extending about two-thirds of the way t<> Sw an 

 along Main, and about half-way to Washington along South Division street. 

 Below the sand and covering the rest of the cellar bottom was clay, the lower 

 part containing bowlders. 



In the grade-crossing work at Main street and the Terrace, piles were 

 driven on the east side of Main street to the depth of thirty feet, stopping in 

 bowlder clay. On the opposite side of the street the piles were sunk to 

 twenty -four feet. At the bottom the soil was very hard, the pile yielding 

 only a quarter of an inch at each blow of the hammer. Near the liberty 

 pole, the excavation showed clean sand on the upper side, and filling of rub- 

 bish, brick, etc., on the lower. Here was probably the original terrace from 

 which the street took its name. From here to Pearl street was almost clean, 

 fine sand, cross-bedded and laminated, showing the action of wind. From 

 Pearl to West Seneca street, the bottom of the cut was through coarse 

 gravel showing beach action of water. 



Mr. C. D. Zimmerman informs me that within the recollection of his 

 father the land below the Terrace was a swamp, and before the erection of 

 the breakwater was flooded during heavy gales, up to where the Mansion 

 House now stands, at the corner of Main and Exchange streets. The maps 

 of the United States survey give the elevation at Exchange and Main 

 streets as 600 feet above tide, or approximately twenty-seven feet above 



