Malott: The "American Bottoms'' Region 45 



unfavorable because the outwash surface had a southward 

 slope. Cliffy Creek follows a double meander thru a rock- 

 walled gorge in the southwest corner of section 35. The 

 lower part of this gorge is in the Beech Creek limestone, and 

 the upper part in Cypress sandstone (see Fig. 2). The gorge 

 here has walls about 50 feet high and a much higher steep 

 ascent on the south. The bed of the stream is in highly 

 jointed limestone, and the stream continues to run over or 

 very close to bed-rock thru the remainder of its course to 

 Plummers Creek valley, as shown on the geologic map. The 

 topographic map shows excellently the post-glacial gorge 

 which Cliffy Creek has made. Its restricted width here in 

 comparison to its pre-glacial valley is one of the striking 

 features of the region. 



One of the remarkable conditions to which this adjust- 

 ment of drainage has given rise is the present tendency of 

 the stream to seek a subterranean channel. This is an ad- 

 justment that belongs to the present (see Fig. 3). Only the 

 flood waters of Cliffy Creek go around the broad double loop 

 to the north. The regular flow all passes beneath the ridge 

 along the enlarged joints of the Beech Creek limestone, com- 

 ing out on the other side in a small cave-like opening. This 

 underground passageway is one-fourth of a mile in length, 

 and the ridge reaches a height of nearly 150 feet above it. 

 When the flood waters give sufficient pressure, water comes 

 out on the lower side thru numerous openings, and thru 

 some of the smaller ones, spurts out fountain-like from the 

 limestone wall. 



Development of the "American Bottoms" Drainage. The 



filled valley leading from the ''American Bottoms" has a con- 

 sequent drainage developed since the fill was made. One of 

 the ravines heads at the col near Park. It descends very 

 steeply into the outwash sand, and to the southeast joins a 

 laji'ger stream which comes from the north. The east side 

 of this larger stream is formed by the exposed wall of Cypress 

 sandstone which was also the east side of the pre-glacial 

 valley leading out of the ''American Bottoms". The west 

 side of this valley is composed of sand and gravel from which 

 water continually seeps, locally making boggy places at the 

 foot of the steep slope. This stream crosses the pre-glacial 

 Cliffy Creek valley at right angles and joins the present 



