32 
Earl R. Scheffel 
steam R. R., and the Cincinnati Northern Electric run conveni- 
ently near and have made extensive cuts in securing ballast. The 
position of the ridges overlying the valley reduces the expense of 
cutting to a minimum. Tracks are run alongside and big steam 
scoops gather up the gravel and throw it into cars. In addition 
to that used by the railroads many loads are taken away in wagons. 
Formerly considerable sand and gravel was taken from the Bluffs 
by boats plying on the canal; this method of transportation is no 
longer operative, partly because of the decreased depth of this 
waterway. The group occupies something less than a square mile 
of surface. But little of this acreage is devoted to farming, most 
of it serving for pasture. There are several very desirable loca- 
tions for summer homes and also opportunities for parking. 
Area to the East. 
The easternmost esker and the ridged relief starting on the oppo- 
site side of the roadway at its southern end block off a portion of 
the valley apparently belonging at one time to the Great Miami, 
though the level of this valley is considerably higher than the 
present flood plain of the Miami Valley. 
Conclusion and Summary. 
Eskers of Ohio have not been studied so exhaustively as those 
of other parts of the country, particularly of New England. Lev- 
erett, however, mentions eleven in this state, according to the 
tabulation by Morse,^^ in his article on the ‘‘Columbus Esker.’’ 
In describing this area and in drawing inferences the writer 
has endeavored to be exact and not dogmatic. Some slight errors 
may have been made in data; theories in any case are uncertain. 
It may not be possible to work out with assurance the history of 
the group. So many factors may have operated together or against 
each other that the result would appear to be without “rhyme or 
reason” and too complicated for unraveling. From the present 
day evidence, however, the following conclusions are reached with 
some confidence: 
Loc. cit., p, 66. 
