LAKE RIDGES. 
351 
The elevation of this ridge above Lake Ontario has been variously estimated from one 
hundred to two hundred feet. In 1838, through the kindness of Mr. Barrett, I obtained the 
elevation of the ridge north of Lockport, which is about one hundred and sixty feet above 
Lake Ontario; and very recently, Mr. Fay, the resident engineer at Lockport, has obligingly 
furnished me with the following levels : 
The Ridge road, opposite Lockport, is below bottom of canal —„— _ 106 feet. 
Opposite Middleport, Niagara county-—- 79 “ 
Opposite Albion, Orleans county-—--- 76 “ 
Opposite Brockport, Monroe county----- 76 K 
The bottom of the canal at Lockport is 264 feet above Lake Ontario, giving the elevation 
of the Ridge road above the lake_____ 158 feet. 
At Middleport---... 185 “ 
At Albion and Brockport ____ 188 “* 
The bottom of the canal at Brockport is about two feet lower than at Lockport. The dif¬ 
ference in the elevation of the Ridge road at these places is readily accounted for. The point 
opposite Lockport is where the ridge declines toward the Eighteen-mile creek, and is plainly 
much lower than the same a mile farther east. Middleport is ten miles east of Lockport, and 
the difference between the elevation at this place and the others still farther east is little more 
than the difference in the elevation of the bottom of the canal. 
There is a similar ridge along the country on the east of Lake Erie, commencing south of 
Silver creek, and continuing beyond the limits of the State. The description of the ridge 
along Lake Ontario applies equally to this, except that the country east of it is higher, and 
therefore the ridge is less distinct, forming a terrace, from which one descends over pebbles 
and shingle to the lower ground towards the lake. I have not been able to learn that remains 
of shells or wood have been found beneath this ridge, as on Lake Ontario. 
It is said that this ridge can be traced through Ohio; and the Geologists of Michigan in¬ 
form me that a similar ridge likewise exists in that State, bordering both Lake Erie and 
Michigan. The elevation is about one hundred and fifty feet above the lake level, and fresh¬ 
water shells, with fragments of decayed wood, have been dug from beneath it, 
* The three last observations embrace a distance of thirty miles, in which there is only three feet of difference in the elevation 
of the ridge. In Wayne county, Dr. Boyd (Annual Report of 1838) has estimated the elevation of the ridge at two hundred 
feet. I have had no opportunity of ascertaining by direct measurement whether this be correct; and even allowing it to be at that 
height, it varies but twelve feet from two observations in Monroe and Orleans counties, 
