442 
GEOLOGY OF THE FOURTH DISTRICT. 
one to three feet thick, and underlaid by clay, though in some parts a deposit of calcareous 
marl is interposed. 
The vegetable soil of these swamps will eventually become peat; indeed its composition is 
now the same, but it is not yet sufficiently decomposed to allow the particles to cohere. The 
swamps south of the Ridge road can readily be drained, and will become fertile meadows. 
The south part of Niagara county is not thickly inhabited : the ground is low and marshy ; the 
growth of timber, tamarack, elm, ash, etc. The land only requires draining to become as 
good, or better, than any in the county. The junction of the limestone and gypseous rocks is 
near the southern line of the county, and at this point we always find some of the best land. 
The dam across the Tonawanda, near its mouth, is a serious impediment to draining this region; 
and unless the streams flowing into this, arc cleared from obstructions, and the accumulated 
water carried off, the south part of this county and the north of Erie must long remain unim¬ 
proved. 
In following the lake ridge from the east to Eighteen-mile creek, it suddenly disappears, 
and is again seen four miles farther west. When the lake was at this elevation, probably a 
broad bay at the outlet of this creek prevented the continuation of the ridge. About seven 
miles west of Eighteen-mile creek, the ridge divides ; and a portion, precisely similar to the 
continuous ridge, after extending two miles in a northwest direction, suddenly terminates. 
This fork was evidently a bar projecting into the ancient lake. 
Lake Shore. 
The lake shore, forming the northern boundary of this county, rises abruptly to the height 
of from ten to thirty feet. The bank is generally composed of gravel, sand, and clay, with 
a beach of pebbles at its base. The lake at its present elevation washes the foot of the bank, 
and in many places is undermining and wearing it away rapidly. On some farms ten feet in 
width have been worn away in the course of a year, though the average loss of land may 
not be more than four or five feet annually. Being upon the lake shore in this county 
during a violent storm of two days (25th and 26th of October, 1837), I found that, during 
that time, the soil to the width of three or four feet had been worn away. This effect was 
not confined to a single spot, but extended for miles. The waves, during storms, are dashed 
against the shore with such force that they are thrown entirely over the bank. It has thus 
become a matter of much importance to the farmer, to protect his land against the ravages of 
the lake. 
The Medina sandstone appears in the bank in many places, and at such points the land is 
in a measure protected from the action of the waves. All the projecting points along the lake 
shore are of sandstone, or marl of the same formation ; and where it does not appear in the 
bank, it is found at a little depth below the level of the lake. The most northerly point of 
this rock on the lake shore is at least four hundred feet below the upper stratum of the forma¬ 
tion. 
