492 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 
South of King’s Creek, Mad River receives no large branches from the 
east, in Champaign county, the greater part of the south-eastern town- 
ships draining into Buck Creek, which, rising in Madison county, flows — 
across the corner of Champaign into Clarke county. | 
From the west, the Mad River receives three large tributaries—Glady, 
Muddy, and Nettle creeks—though the latter is really two streams, 
Spring Creek joining it only a short distance above its mouth. 
Each of these creeks has innumerable branches, which cover Harrison 
Concord, and Mad River townships with a net-work of small streams. 
Storms, and Blacksnake creeks flow into Clarke county, before reach- 
ing Mad River. 
SURFACHK FEATURES. 
A glance at the map will show the different character of the surface 
. on the east of Mad River, and on the west of that stream. On the east, 
the long branchless streams mark prairie lands below, with narrow val- 
leys above, and springs flowing from under the hills, while on the west, 
the multitude of small, crooked streams shows the swampy nature of the 
country. 
It is in these swamps, lying on deep beds of clear gravel, that Mad 
“River finds those stores of bright water that keep up the force of her 
wild stream in the driest seasons. But the valuable timber, and rich 
soil of these swamps, are tempting the owners to clear and drain, and in 
a few years the whole character of the surface will be changed. 
In this liberally watered region, wells are sunk only deep enough to 
reach the clear gravel below the level of the river, where a full supply of 
water is obtained. Hence, there is among the people no knowledge of 
the underlying rock. In fact, there seems to be but one place west of 
Kingston, where stone has been found in position. In the south-west 
quarter of section fifteen, Jackson township, a quarry was MA oe some 
forty years ago, but it has not lately been used. 
The general form of the surface of the county is that of a broad, shal- 
low trough, lying north and south, Mad River running through the mid- 
dle, and draining the main body of the land, while the edges shed their 
waters eastward to the Scioto, and Westward to the Miami River. 
The highest and roughest lands are in the north-east corner, in Rush 
and Wayne townships. The south-east is largely made up of prairie, 
and the Western edge is composed of table-lands, deeply cut by the trib- 
utaries of Mad and Miami rivers. 
SOIL AND TIMBER. 
On the higher lands, the soil consists of drift, clays, and gravel, while, 
