WAEREN COUNTY. 
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immediately into hills on that side only which is favorable for their formation. Instances of 
these ridges of which I am speaking, may be seen in Warrensburgh, on the land of Mr. 
Richards: On one side, in this case, there is a large peat swamp, evidently at no distant 
period a lake ; on the other, there is a smaller marsh, which was cut off from the larger by 
this ridge of gravel. Another example exists at Caldwell, in the long and rather flat ridge 
which forms a part of the pathway leading from the village to the fort. The effect is observ¬ 
able here, as in the one at Warrensburgh; a portion of the lake is cut off by this barrier of 
sand thrown up by the waves. 
The third variety of sand hills is found in the debris which slowly washes from the moun¬ 
tain side to the base. They are less conical, and are more in the form of terraces, but may 
be distinguished from either of the preceding by the materials of which they are formed. The 
latter I do not recognize so clearly in this county as in Essex; the two former, however, are 
not to be mistaken or overlooked. They all, however, have been confounded together under 
the name of drift, whereas it is only the first variety that can properly be classed under this 
name ; for though the agency of water is required in each instance, yet in drift it is always 
supposed that it must have been in motion sufficiently powerful to transport heavy materials. 
As to the period of the drift, there is but little doubt that it was subsequent to the forma¬ 
tion of the present valleys and hills, but anterior to the line of ridges spoken of under the 
second variety of gravel and sand hills; for it is highly probable that the cause which 
produced the former, would have obliterated, or so much defaced the latter, that they could 
not have been recognizable at the present time. Amidst the drift, in it and upon it, are the 
hypersthene boulders ; and this leads me to remark, that the direction of it was from north to 
south, as it is nearly due north that the rock from which these boulders were derived exists 
in place. 
A feature which has resulted from the transportation of drift, consists in the frequent 
depressions of surface below the level of the surrounding country. These depressions are 
basin-shaped, and usually filled with water, forming ponds or smaller bodies of water without 
an outlet. An example of one is furnished in Warrensburgh. 
The subject of drift has many inexplicable phenomena ; and it is frequently impossible to 
furnish answers to many of the questions which constantly rise when passing over a country 
like the one under consideration. Thus, in Athol there are several underground passages 
worn in the primitive limestone, probably by currents of water running through fissures in 
the rock. The mouths of these passages, or caves as they are usually called, are covered 
over by drift. In one instance, a large rounded stone, partially filling the mouth, was found, 
over which the sand and gravel had accumulated. These caves are over one hundred feet 
above the Hudson river at Athol. 
A question arises, whether the river, at a former period, formed these passages ; or were 
they formed by the current transporting the drift ? Now it is more probable that the river was 
the agent in this case, the country having since undergone a change in its level; subsequently 
these passages were obstructed by gravel, as we now find them. It is no uncommon thing 
for underground passages to be formed by running water. We now find one extending by 
