12 
SOIL SURVEY OF JACKSON COUNTY 
The headward streams from one drainage system have inter¬ 
locked with adjacent systems so that the divides are crooked, 
rocky ridges. This gives the west half of the county a rolling, 
rugged appearance, the greatest irregularity of surface being 
along the western extremity of the county and becoming less 
pronounced going eastward to the Black River. 
The eastern portion of the county consists of a very extensive 
sandy plainlike region where the surface is nearly level and 
from the floor of which there arise numerous cliffs of sandstone 
more resistant than the bulk of the underlying rock. These 
mounds form a conspicuous feature of the landscape. 
FIG. 1. SKETCH MAP SHOWING AREAS SURVEYED IN THE STATE. 
Much of the eastern portion of the county within this sandy 
plain is low and poorly drained, and includes extensive marsh 
areas made up largely of peat. These marshy areas are most 
extensive in the extreme eastern tier of townships where over 
from 75 to 80 percent of the land area is marsh. 
Tin oughout the marshy tracts and within the regions where 
shale lay eis occur with the sandstone as well as along the first 
bottoms of streams, the natural drainage is deficient. Else¬ 
where the natural drainage is good. 
Water courses .—The Black River which enters the county 
near the center of the north side and leaves at the southwest 
