330 
[Assembly 
it iiS separated from the lake, except a narrow outlet, by a sand-bar or 
beach from fifty to two hundred feet wide, and rising from three to 
twenty feet high. The outlet was originally on the eastern side of the 
bay, and with six or seven feet water, admitting the passage of sloops, 
which were freighted at the head of the bay. It is now through the 
beach one quarter of a mile west of its original location, and has but 
three feet depth of water. The greater part of this beach has accumu- 
lated within the last fifty years. At that period it* was very low, and 
scarcely covered with grass, and is now overgrown with large trees. — 
The sand and silt brought down by the stream into this bay are gradu- 
ally filling it up, and eventually it will become a marsh, with the stream 
winding through it to the lake. The low beaches west of the Genesee 
river present a miniature analogy to the lake ridge; having accumulated 
before low or marshy grounds, they slope inland as well as towards the 
lake. Till within two years, the beaches along the lake shore in this 
part of the country have been increasing in number and magnitude. The 
landing of trees, roots, &c. along the shore, forms the nucleus around 
which pebbles, gravel and sand gather, and produce a ridge, or continu- 
ous beach. In this manner the outlets of streams are barred, until the 
accumulation of water becomes sufiScient to force a passage into the 
lake. During the time that the outlets remain closed, the sand and silt 
brought into these ponds or marshes are quietly deposited in the still 
water. A process is thus going on which will eventually reclaim these 
extensive tracts, and make them .some of the most fertile soils in the 
county. By this process, we see how these marshes, now below the 
surface of the lake, will be elevated above it. The bars at the outlets 
raise the water to a greater height than the level of the lake, and the de- 
posits made at this time may and finally will accumulate to a higher le- 
vel than the lake. The outlets of Long-pond, Buck-pond and Round- 
pond, have been barred up, and the water has accumulated so that the 
three communicate with each other, and the water of the whole is suffi- 
cient to keep open an outlet. 
The similarity of the lake shore to the lake ridge is in many places 
very obvious. In one place four parallel ridges at no great distance from 
each other, extend for half a mile. The tops of these ridges are from 
eight to ten feet above the lake; they are composed of sand and peb- 
bles, covered with a sandy loam or sand. Large trees of oak, elm, 
beech and button-wood, grow upon these ridges, showing that they were 
formed at least one hundred years since, while the same cause is now 
active, producing similar ridges before our eyes. It is unnecessary to 
