Shorelines of Oherlin Quadrangle 
361 
The steepened slope just north of Sheffield Junction may represent 
wave- work of Lake Arkona. North of the quarry, marked on the 
map one mile east of North Amherst, the lower Arkona is probably 
indicated by an accumulation of sand piled against the flank of this 
outlier. In the vicinity of North Amherst the fields are sandy at this 
horizon but no beach exists. West of the Beaver Creek a sand beach, 
approximately one-third of a mile long, marks this shoreline. 
The 710-foot stage of Lake Arkona is registered on either flank 
of Rocky Ridge which is traversed by the highway extending north 
from North Ridgeville. For about one-third of a mile, paralleling 
the southern end of this ridge, a fine gravel beach is indicated. Else- 
where on the east flank, a bare slope of rock registers the Arkona 
wave-work. On the coast of Lake Arkona this ridge formed a cape, 
the lake end of which is marked by a broad accumulation of sandy 
gravel which lies athwart the highway. On the west side of the cape's 
crest is a beach ridge extending nearly its entire length; this ridge 
may be the result of storm waves, as the cape was exposed to the 
west winds. The western border of this cape, save for a few rods 
near its north end, is indicated by an uninterrupted stretch of beach 
which terminates near a tributary of the Black River ; at location L 
(Fig. 2) the front slope rises seven feet in a horizontal distance of 200 
feet, and the back slope drops three feet. Between this tributary and 
Elyria no definite evidence of the Arkona was found. 
West of the Black River, north of Elyria, a belt of sand at about 
the proper horizon probably represents the shoreline of this Arkona 
stage; thence for one mile the only evidence is the thinness of the 
drift; a clear cut beach deposit extends for about 100 rods south from 
the Berea outlier mentioned in an earlier paragraph. Just south of 
the angle in the highway, a mile directly east of Sheffield Junction, is 
a one-quarter mile stretch of beach. A short distance north of 
Sheffield Junction, a strongly developed ridge crosses the highway 
and terminates in a hook about 80 rods to the west. South of the 
ridge a swamp existed till drained a few years ago. Mr. Delano who 
owns the farm says it was necessary to dig a ditch 12 feet deep thru 
the ridge which was very coarse in texture, but at the bottom was 
sand, “as fine sand as you can find on the lake shore today." Be- 
tween this point and North Amherst only a few segments of the 
shoreline were noticed. West of Beaver Creek the higher Arkona 
level is marked by a sandy condition of the fields, but no beach or 
cliff. 
