No. 200.] 
311 
it. The soil on either side of the ridge is generally a clayey loam, while 
the surface of the ridge is of sand or fine gravel. The whole of the 
ridge is superficial, being composed of sand, gravel and pebbles; the lat- 
ter of sandstone, or other siliceous rock. All the materials are similar 
to those forming the beaches along the present lake shore. There is no 
connexion between the ridge and the rock below, except that the rock 
supports the ridge without altering its form or course.* The elevation 
of Lake Ontario to the level of this ridge furnishes the only plausible 
means by which we can explain its present appearances; and however 
reluctant we may be to admit such a condition, we are forced to do so 
from the abundant evidence furnished. 
The uneven country on the south side of the ridge is, in many places, 
strongly contrasted with the uniform elevation and gentle slope on the 
north. The absence of inequalities in the surface on the north of the ridge, 
and at the same time the presence of boulders and pebbles, showing the 
action of currents, can only be explained by supposing some gentle 
force like the lake waters to have reduced the ridges and hills, and have 
distributed the materials equally over the surface. 
After the subsidence of the ancient lake, the accumulation of water 
south of the ridge forced the barrier, and has worn itself a channel to the 
lake shore. In pursuing these water courses, we find a uniformly narrow 
channel till we approach the ridge from the south, when there is a sudden 
expansion, which after passing the ridge assumes a narrow channel till 
near the present lake shore, when it again expands. We sometimes find 
extensive swamps, limited on the north by this ridge; in some of them 
there has not been a sufficient accumulation of water to force a passage 
through the ridge, and artificial outlets have been made for drainage. By 
this process large tracts of valuable land are being reclaimed. 
Wherever wells have been dug, or excavations made in this ridge, 
fragments of decayed wood, bark, and often branches and trunks of 
trees, are found deeply embedded in the soil. Shells of the Unio, &c. are 
also said to have been found, but I have not been so fortunate as to ob- 
tain a specimen. In one excavation I obtained fragments of bark, wood, 
and part of a branch, the latter of which was partially mineralized, pre- 
senting the appearance of charcoal, but harder, very brittle, and with a 
shining lustre. These specimens were obtained from about six feet be- 
low the surface, where there appeared a thin stratum of fragments of 
* Prof. Eaton has supposed this ridge to be formed by the outcropping of a stratum of the 
red sandstone; but in many places the ridge is not underlaid by sanditone; and often where 
It is, that rock does not approach to within thirty or forty feet of the surface. 
