288 



CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



TYLER COUNTY. 



Location and Area. 



Tyler county, formed in December, 1814, from Ohio county, 

 is the second Ohio river county south of the northern Panhandle. 

 Its area is 260.12 square miles or 166,477 acres. 



Topography. 



The topography of the region is thus described: 



"The Marshall- Wetzel-Tyler area is a highly dissected 

 plain or plateau of about 1350 to 1400 feet above sea level. The 

 effect of water erosion has reduced this original plateau prac- 

 tically all to slope, the streams flowing in deeply cut "Y" 

 shaped valleys. Numerous hills and ridges ranging in eleva- 

 tion from 1400 feet to 1600 feet and capped with more resistant 

 layers of sandstone and rock strata, remain as evidence of the 

 original plateau. 



' ' On the northwestern side of thfj area under discussion the 

 Ohio river has cut a deep, narrow gorge in this old plateau 

 from y2 to 1 mile wide and 400 to 600 feet deep through the 

 nearly parallel strata of sandstone, shales and limestone. The 

 valley walls are usually steep, often almost perpendicular, but 

 on reaching the summits the general surface is rolling except 

 where trenched by creeks and runs. Hard layers of sandstone 

 and limestone often cause inequalities in the surface, the softer 

 portions being eroded away and steep bluffs formed. 



''South of Middle Island creek and west of Middlebourne 

 erosion seems to have progressed farther and the topography 

 is much more gentle and smooth than in other portions of the 

 Marshall-Wetzel-Tyler area."* 



The report from which the above quotations are taken says 

 further, referring particularly to the topography of Tyler 

 county : 



"The county has a range of elevation from 580 feet above 

 tide, low water level of the Ohio river near Bens Run, to 1500 



* W. Va. Geo. Surv. Rep. "Marshall- Wetzell-Tyler Counties" — 

 P. 48. 



