COSHOCTON COUNTY. : 563 
depth of more than one hundred, and sometimes to nearly two hundred 
feet. The gravel beds of the rivers, made up of pebbles of sienitic, por- 
phyritic, basaltic, and other more ancient rocks than are found in Ohio, 
and the same class of bowlders in the sand-hills and terraces bordering 
the streams, point to the currents of the Drift period as the agents of 
this denudation; while the great width of the valleys, which is some- 
times four to five miles, bear witness to the long time these currents 
must have been in action to have produced such astounding results. 
Sometimes, indeed, it appears that a broad valley, once formed, has been 
blocked up and deserted, while another, as extensive, has been excavated 
in a new direction, and is followed by the river of the present day. 
In Coshocton county, such an ancient valley is seen to the south of 
West Lafayette, extending from the Tuscarawas Valley south south-east to 
the valley of Wills Creek. When far enough from the Tuscarawas Val- 
ley not to be confounded with this, it is seen, in places, to be full three 
miles wide, varying from this to one mile. It is a valley of Diluvium, 
somewhat sandy, with hills of sand from thirty to forty feet high, the 
beds of which are sometimes seen exposed to this extent in the cuttings 
of present streams. Hills of the stratified rocks of the Coal Measures 
project into it from its sides, as irregular-shaped peninsulas, or stand in 
its midst as islands. A remarkable single hill, of this character, is seen 
directly north from West Lafayette, on the edge of the Tuscarawas River, 
opposite the mouth of White Eyes Creek. This ancient valley is known 
as White Eyes Plains. It is nearly all under cultivation; and from the 
elevated points that overlook it, especially where it blends with the 
broad valley of the Tuscarawas, it affords views singularly beautiful and 
picturesque. Toward the south, the White Eyes Plains are lost in the 
valley of Wills Creek. By these two valleys, and that of the Tuscarawas, 
the larger part of the townships of Tuscarawas, Lafayette, Franklin, 
and Linton are encircled and isolated. 
Opposite this valley, and north of the Tuscarawas, a similar valley, but 
of much smaller dimensions, extends north-westwardly through the 
south-west part of Keene township, and toward the Killbuck, in the cen- 
ter of Bethlehem township. Possibly it may be found, on further exam- 
ination, that this was an ancient valley of the Killbuck. 
GEOLCGICAL STRUCTURE. 
Beside the Diluvium in the valleys of the streams, no other geological 
formation is found in Coshocton County, except the Carboniferous; and 
of this the range is limited to the lower half of the Coal Measure (com- 
prising a thickness of some 350 feet), and the upper portion of the Wa- 
