430 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. : 
in the immediate valley of the Maumee, and that not east of the town 
line of Noble. 3 
Oblique and various strata of sand and gravel constitute a large por- 
tion of the Drift, especially near the surface, in the most elevated por- 
tions of the county, ¢. ¢., in the north-western corner, embracing Milford 
township and a portion of Hickville and Farmer. This is no exception 
to the usual character of the Drift at those heights above Lake Erie. In 
north-western Ohio generally, however, this elevation is not reached so 
near the lake shore, but there is a broad sweep toward the south, passing 
into Indiana, of those features that characterize the Black Swamp. The 
Van Wert Ridge, which is the inner of the two ridges passing through 
Hickville and Farmer townships, is composed almost entirely of Drift 
of this kind. The same is true of the Belmore Ridge, which passes 
through Adams, Richland, and Highland townships. The latter, how- 
ever, 1s more subject to an overspreading of fine, lacustrine sand; this is 
particularly the case at Ayersville. Where the latter ridge crosses the 
Maumee River, about a mile above Independence, in Richland township, 
the extreme height of the left bank of the river, measured by Locke’s 
level, on the land of Charles Wilson, is seventy-nine feet two inches 
from the level of the water in the river, which is dammed back from 
Independence. The bank of the river appears to have been originally 
very gravelly throughout the most of this height, but it is now turfed 
over, and supports a large orchard of apple trees. The ridge here rises 
several feet above the level of the surrounding country. 
Unstratified lacustrine sand is spread over the surface of some portions 
of the county. It lies usually in a sheet of a few inches or a few feet 
in thickness, but it also forms some very conspicuous ridges and knolls. 
This sand must not be confounded with that which hes in oblique 
strata. It is distinguishable from that in being of a very uniform, fine 
grain. It is made up almost entirely of silica, while the sand referred 
to has grains of other minerals. The color is also usually different. This 
is generally yellowish, unless mixed with carbonaceous materials, when 
it is black, or has some shade of brown. The yellow tint comes from a 
deposit of iron-rust, that exists as minute scales, or thin incrustations, 
on the separate grains. When this lacustrine sand is so situated that it 
is not rapidly and exhaustively drained, it forms a very rich and easily 
tilled black loam. | 
A sandy loam of this nature occurs at Brunersburg, and affords fine 
wells at six to ten feet. It extends about half a mile toward the west, 
but toward the north a similar surface characterizes the valley of the 
Tiffin as far as Evansport. This is the ancient alluvium of the Tiffin, 
