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CHAPTER LVIILI. 
REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF ROSS COUNTY. 
The general geology of Ross county agrees very closely with that of 
Pike county, already given. The two counties have a common geological 
scale, and their principal topographical features, which are very similar, 
they owe to acommon geological history. They differ, however, in one 
important particular, viz., the characteristic deposits of the glacial Drift 
cover the northern townships of Ross county, but are 2 RLS at least 
in the uplands of the regions to the southward. 
A detailed description of the geological series of the county would, 
therefore, involve a needless repetition of the statements of the preceding 
chapter. In the present report, therefore, only those facts which are es 
euliar to the area now under consideration will find place. 
The various topics to be treated will be taken up in the same order as 
in the preceding section. 
I. SITUATION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 
Ross county is bounded on the north by Pickaway, on the east by 
Hocking, Vinton, and Jackson, on the south by Pike, and on the west by 
Highland and Fayette. 
As in Pike county, the chief feature in the topography is the broad 
and deep trough of the Scioto valley, which traverses the county from 
north to south, dividing it into two unequal areas, the western side ex- 
ceeding the eastern in the ratio of 2:1. The river cuts the north line 
of the county at very nearly the middle point, and flows thence almost 
directly south to Chillicothe. It is here strongly deflected to the east- 
ward; and in the extreme south-eastern corner of the county the main 
galley 3 is not more than four miles distant from the Jackson county line. 
The western side of the county is deeply divided and subdivided by 
the valley of Paint Creek and that of its principal tributary, the North 
Fork. Paint valley is, next to the Scioto, the most important of the 
surface features.of the county. 
East of the Scioto, and in the south-eastern corner of the county, Salt 
