PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT - Indiana · PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Climate, geology and soils affect the availability of surface-water and ground-water resources. Climatic factors largely determine

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Climate, geology and soils affect the availability ofsurface-water and ground-water resources. Climaticfactors largely determine the amount of available pre-cipitation in the basin. Geologic and soil factors deter-mine the proportion of precipitation which runs off theland as surface water to that which infiltrates the soiland percolates through underlying materials tobecome ground water. Geology and soils also deter-mine surface drainage characteristics, the vulnerabili-ty of aquifers to contamination, and the limits ofground-water development.

CLIMATE

Water availability and use in the Maumee Riverbasin are directly linked to the regional climate or thelong-term composite of daily weather events. The cli-mate of the basin is broadly classified as temperatecontinental, which describes areas located within theinterior of a large continent and characterized bywarm summers, cool winters, and the absence of apronounced dry season.

The overall climate within the Maumee River basinis fairly consistent, but there is great variability indaily and seasonal precipitation and temperaturethroughout the basin. This variability is primarily theresult of interactions between tropical and polar airmasses, the passage of low-pressure systems, and theshifting location of the jet stream.

Sources of climatic data

Most climatic data for Indiana are collected andanalyzed by the National Weather Service (NWS) ofthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). The agency gathers data from more than 100Indiana stations belonging to one or more of three net-works (climatic, hydrologic or agricultural).

Temperature and precipitation data from theclimat-ic network are primarily intended to represent long-term conditions over large areas of uniform terrain andclimate. Rainfall intensity data collected from thehydrologic network of recording precipitation gagesare used for river forecasting, flood forecasting andrelated planning purposes. Data on precipitation, air

and soil temperature, relative humidity and other para-meters are collected at agricultural stations.

At most NWS stations, precipitation and/or temper-

ature data are collected once daily by observers whotypically are employed by water utilities, wastewaterfacilities, industries, municipalities or agribusiness.More detailed meteorological data are collected at the24-hour NWS offices at Indianapolis, South Bend,Fort Wayne, and Evansville.

Figure 13 shows the location of official NWS sta-tions in or adjacent to the Maumee River basin inIndiana. Table 7 presents selected information aboutthese stations.

Climatic data collected at NWS stations are pub-lished in a variety of formats by NOAA's NationalClimatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, NorthCarolina (Hatch, 1983). Most of the data presented inthe following pages were obtained from tabular sum-maries for Indiana stations (National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, 1992a, 1992b, 1992c,1995). The data in these documents encompass themost recent climatic base period, 1961-90. Data for a30-year period are used by NOAA to evaluate climat-ic conditions and to calculate climatic normals(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,1983). The above NCDC data have recently been published in CD-ROM format. The CD-ROM versionof Climatological Data is entitled "CooperativeSummary of the Day". Disk 15 in the series includesdata for Indiana for the years from beginning of sta-tion record through 1993. An annual supplement hasbeen published for 1994 data. A CD-ROM version ofLocal Climatological Data is published as "Solar andMeteorological Surface Observation Network (1961-1990)". Hourly weather observations for the fourIndiana NWS sites are included. Statistical summariesof Hourly LCD data have been published by NCDCon CD-ROM as "International Meteorological StationClimate Summary". More than 50 types of analysesare presented. Most data summaries cover the period1948 through 1990.

Data are available from the NCDC on a monthlyand annual basis in several serial publications, includ-ing Climatological Data, Hourly PrecipitationData, and Local Climatological Data. Additionaldata are available in other serial and periodic publications.

Climatic data are also available from theMidwestern Climatic Center, a federally-fundedregional center housed at the Illinois State Water

Physical Environment, Climate 25

26 Water Resource Availability, Maumee River Basin

intensity within the Maumee River basin and are typ-ically interspersed among several dry days.Geographic and temporal variations in daily precipita-tion are produced by the passage of frontal systemsand by daytime convection.

Most rainfall in late spring and throughout the sum-mer is produced during localized thundershowers gen-erated by the passage of cold fronts or by daytimeconvection. Local thunderstorms occasionallybecome severe, and are accompanied by strong winds,large hail, frequent lightning, funnel clouds or torna-does.

Precipitation during spring and autumn, which typ-ically is associated with the passage of frontal sys-tems, often occurs in the form of slow, steady rainsover large areas. However, in September 1950, FortWayne received its greatest 24-hour precipitationamount of 4.6 inches (National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, 1995).

Normal daily precipitation amounts calculated forFort Wayne range from 0.05 inch in January, which isthe driest month, to 0.12 inch in June, the wettestmonth. Normal daily precipitation amounts are inter-

polatedvalues which do not reflect typical daily ran-dom patterns, but they can be used to compute normalprecipitation over selected time intervals (NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992b).

Normal monthly precipitation at Auburn, Berne,Decatur, Fort Wayne, and Monroeville ranges from1.53 inches in February to 4.23 inches in June (table8). The lowest normal monthly precipitation in thebasin occurred in Auburn; whereas, the highestoccurred in Berne. In general, total monthly rainfallamounts are more variable during the warm seasonthan during the cool season.

Normal seasonal precipitation in the basin averages10 inches in spring (March thru May), 10 inches insummer (June thru August), 8 inches in fall(September thru November), and 6 inches in winter(December thru February).

Normal annual precipitation at Auburn, Berne,Decatur, Fort Wayne, and Monroeville averages 34.5inches for the period 1961-1990 (table 8). Normalannual precipitation in the basin ranges from a high ofapproximately 37 inches at Berne to a low of approx-imately 32 inches at Monroeville.


Table 7. National Weather Service stations in and near the Maumee River basin

Map number: Station locations are shown in figure 13.Station: Only active stations are tabulated. Historical data for discontinued stations in and near the basin are available for Auburn and Kendallville.

Data network: A, climatological network and/or B, hydrologic network (National Weather Service); AG, agricultural network (Purdue University).

Data type: P, precipitation; T, temperature; E, evaporation and wind; S, soil temperature; D, detailed data on a variety of parameters.

Publication, ongoing: Precipitation and/or temperature data are published monthly and annually by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationin the following reports — CD, Climatological Data (precipitation amounts are from non-recording gages); HP, Hourly Precipitation Data (precipitationamounts are from recording gages); LCD, Local Climatological Data (detailed data published).

Publication, periodic: Climatological summaries are published every 10 years, generally at the end of a 30-year period.

Period of record: Approximate total length of precipitation record, through 1990 inclusive. Years of record are taken from 1990 annual summaries ofClimatological Data and Hourly Precipitation Data. Hourly precipitation data may not be available for all years of record at hydrologic (B) network stations.

MapStation name

Data Data Publication Period of Recordno. Network Type Ongoing Years Dates

1. Berne1 A,B P,T CD 81 1910- 2. Decatur 1 N1 B P CD 60 1931- 3. Fort Wayne WSO AP1 A,B P,T,D CD,HP,LCD 107 1884- 4. Garrett2 A P HP 31 1960- 5. Garrett 1 S2 A P,T CD 2 1989- 6. Monroeville 3 ENE1 B P CD 51 1940-7. Prairie Heights1,* B,AG P,T,E,S CD 17 1968-

1 From Ken Scheeringa, Indiana State Climotologist, written communication, 19952 From Roger Kenyon, Cooperative Program Manager, National Weather Service, written communication,1995* Within 10 miles of basin boundary (located near LaGrange and Steuben County Line)

Survey in Champaign, Illinois. The center collects,analyzes and disseminates climatic data for nine mid-western states, including Indiana.

Unpublished daily and monthly precipitation dataare available from the State Climatologist at PurdueUniversity for official and unofficial stations in andnear the Maumee River basin.

The unpublished, unofficial daily precipitation dataare collected by amateur radio operators as part of astatewide volunteer network which began in 1980 toenhance the NWS river and flood forecasting pro-gram. These data are available from the NWS inIndianapolis and from Purdue University. The StateClimatologist at Purdue University maintains a com-puterized archive of the daily reports from October1989 to present.

Climatic features

Although the climate of the Maumee River basinencompasses variations in wind, clouds, humidity,solar radiation and other elements, the following sec-tions focus on variations in precipitation, temperature,and evapotranspiration. Precipitation is the source offresh water which occurs as surface water and groundwater. Temperature defines the frost-free growing sea-son for crops, and largely controls the process of evap-otranspiration.

In some regional overviews of climate, data aregrouped and analyzed on the basis of geographic areaswhich are, as nearly as possible, climatically homoge-neous. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has divid-ed Indiana into nine crop-reporting districts, which areidentical to the nine climatic divisions defined byNOAA. In the following sections of this report, how-ever, summaries of precipitation in the Maumee Riverbasin are derived primarily from station data nearBerne, Decatur, Fort Wayne, and Monroeville. Dataare also furnished from a discontinued station nearAuburn because of the long data record. The tempera-ture data are from stations at Auburn, Berne, and FortWayne.

Because there are no evaporation stations in theMaumee River basin, evaporation data included in this report are from nearby Kendallville and Prairie Heights.

Precipitation

Precipitation events can vary widely in duration and

5 4

3

Figure 13. Location of climate stations in and nearthe Maumee River Basin


85o F. July typically has 6 days which have maximumtemperatures of at least 90o F.

The range indaily temperature is generally least inwinter, and greatest in summer. The average differ-ence between normal daily maximum and minimumtemperatures in the Maumee River basin is 16o F inwinter, 20o F in the fall, 21o F in the spring, and 23o Fin the summer.

According to comparisons of monthly and seasonalnormal temperatures at climatic stations in and nearthe Maumee River basin, Auburn has the greatestaverage temperature fluctuations, whereas Fort Waynehas the least (table 9).

Typically the last freeze in the spring occurs in FortWayne in late April; in the fall, the first freeze occursin mid-October. Therefore, the average freeze-freeperiod is 173 days. (National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, 1995). The length of thegrowing season provides favorable conditions for alarge variety of crops and vegetables.

Evapotranspiration

Precipitated water is continually being returned tothe atmosphere as vapor through the processes ofevaporation and plant transpiration. The combinedprocesses of evaporation from water, soil, snow, ice,vegetation and other surfaces are commonly referredto as evapotranspiration. In the annual water-use bud-get, evapotranspiration is the largest climatologicalconsideration. Approximately 70 percent of annualprecipitation in Indiana is consumed by evapotranspi-ration (Newman, 1981).

Measurements of evaporation from the water sur-face in a shallow, circular pan can be used to estimatethe maximum water loss possible from shallow lakesor saturated soils. Pan evaporation stations are usually

operated between May and October, the frost-freegrowing season for most crops. In general, evapora-tion pans are not operated between November andApril because frequent ice cover produces erroneousmeasurements.

Pan evaporation stations used in this study are locat-ed near Kendallville and Prairie Heights. These twostations are outside the Maumee River basin, but with-in 10 miles of the boundary. In addition, there are esti-mates derived for Fort Wayne (table 10).

Table 11 presents the monthly and seasonal panevaporation averages at Kendallville and PrairieHeights. Differences in station exposure, observation-al techniques, and years of data record may largelyaccount for the considerable variations among theaverage values. Mean monthly pan evaporation forPrairie Heights during the growing season rangesfrom an average of 7.4 inches in June and July to 3inches in October. Estimated monthly means of panevaporation at Fort Wayne show that less than 25 per-cent of the annual total pan evaporation occurs duringthe 6-month winter period (Farnsworth andThompson, 1982b).

A reasonable estimate of lake or free-water evapo-ration can be obtained by multiplying total pan evap-oration by a factor of 0.7 to 0.75 (Farnsworth andThompson, 1982a); hence, the estimated mean month-ly lake evaporation at Fort Wayne from May toOctober is about 4.16 inches. Whereas, the meanmonthly lake evaporation at Kendallville and Prairie Heights averages about 3.8 and 4.1 inches,respectively.

Estimates of lake or free-water evaporation areimportant in reservoir design, rainfall-runoff model-ing, and various water-supply studies. In most appli-cations, the free-water value represents potentialevaporation, which is the maximum water loss expect-ed to occur from a shallow water body, saturated soil,


Table 9. Normal seasonal maximum and minimum temperatures for the period 1961-90

{Values, in degree F, are derived from monthly station normals published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992a}

Spring Summer Fall WinterStation max min max min max min max min

Auburn 2 SSE 59.8 37.5 82.5 58.5 63 42 34 17.7Berne 60.4 39.5 83.2 61.1 63.6 43.7 35 19.2Fort Wayne WSO AP 59.1 38.8 82.6 61.1 62.6 43.4 33.3 18.2

Annual probability data for Fort Wayne andAuburn, show a 90 percent chance that the annual pre-cipitation over a long period of time will average 27inches or greater (National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, 1992c). Conversely, there is only a 10percent chance that the annual precipitation will aver-age 42 inches or greater. At Berne, there is a 90 per-cent chance that the annual precipitation will average30 inches or greater and a 10 percent chance that itwill be 44 inches or greater.

Temperature

The normal annual temperature averages 50o F(degrees Fahrenheit) at Auburn, Berne, and FortWayne. Normal seasonaltemperature in the basinaverages 49o F in spring, 72o F in summer, 53o F in

autumn, and 26o F in winter (National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, 1992a).

Spring and autumn months generally are character-ized by moderate temperatures, although brief periodsof unusually cool or warm temperatures may occur.Summer months bring warm, humid conditions andoccasional periods of oppressive heat. Winter monthsare characterized by short periods of extreme coldalternating with several days of milder temperatures.

January, the coldest month, has an average temper-ature of 23o F and an average monthly minimum of16o F (National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, 1992a). Typically Fort Wayne experi-ences 5 days in January which have a minimum of lessthan 0o F (National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, 1995).

July, the warmest month, has an average tempera-ture of 74o F and an average maximum temperature of

Table 8. Normal monthly, seasonal and annual precipitation for the period 1961-90

{All values are in inches; monthly data are obtained from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992a}

Month Auburn 2 SSE Berne Decatur 1 N Fort Wayne- Monroeville 3 ENEWSO AP

SPRINGMarch 2.51 3.16 2.82 2.9 2.52April 3.26 3.7 3.29 3.38 2.99May 3.77 3.61 3.67 3.44 3.27Seasonal 9.54 10.47 9.78 9.72 8.78

SUMMERJune 3.91 4.23 3.34 3.59 3.26July 3.68 3.47 3.56 3.45 3.4August 3.13 3.32 3.15 3.37 2.79Seasonal 10.72 11.02 10.05 10.41 9.45

AUTUMNSeptember 3.19 3.14 2.98 2.67 2.74October 2.45 2.45 2.33 2.49 2.23November 2.91 3.03 2.84 2.79 2.75Seasonal 8.55 8.62 8.15 7.95 7.72

WINTERDecember 2.74 2.9 2.6 2.89 2.56January 1.64 1.96 1.77 1.87 1.79February 1.53 2.08 1.54 1.91 1.66Seasonal 5.91 6.94 5.91 6.67 6.01

ANNUAL 34.72 37.05 33.89 34.75 31.96

According to regional estimates, which were based on1941-70 climatic data, the potential evapotranspira-tion (PET) for Region 3 ranges from 16.2 to 38.6 inch-es per year. These values were based on a -10o F to+10o F deviation from the mean temperature duringthe months of March through November. When thereis no deviation from mean temperature, an annualmean of 26.43 inches PET is estimated for Region 3.Evaluation of more recent climatic data might produceslightly different PET estimates. Actual annual evapo-transpiration is probably less than the estimated poten-tial evapotranspiration in normal years.

Because the average annual precipitation in theMaumee River basin is about 34.5 inches, it can beconcluded that there is, on average, more than 8 inch-es of potential water surplus in years of normal pre-cipitation.

Climatic extremes

Extreme climatic events such as droughts and flood-producing storms are infrequent but can have far-reaching economic impacts. In the Maumee Riverbasin, economic losses caused by floods and droughthave been most widespread in urban and residentialareas. In recent years, Fort Wayne experienced flood-ing in 1982 and drought in 1988.

Heavy rainstorms can be described statisticallyusing rainfall frequency analysis. Rainfall frequencydata are used primarily to develop design criteria fordrainage, flood-control and water-supply projects. Toachieve an economic balance between the averagecost of damages from occasional floods and the costof protecting facilities against larger, less frequentfloods, water-control projects generally are designedfor flood events of selected magnitude and frequency.

Three reports published by NOAA summarize rain-fall frequency data for selected durations from 5 min-utes to 10 days and return periodsfrom 1 to 100 years(Hershfield, 1961; U.S. Weather Bureau, 1957, 1964;National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,1977). Other reports provide data on probable maxi-mum precipitation (Schreiner and Riedel, 1978; Hoand Riedel, 1980) and rainfall intensity-duration-fre-quency (U.S. Weather Bureau, 1955). A report by theIndiana Department of Natural Resources (1994a)summarizes the NOAA data for Indiana and providesinterpolated estimates of rainfall values.

In addition to the above publications, the

Midwestern Climate Center in Illinois has updated theheavy-rainfall frequency values for midwestern states(Huff and Angel, 1992). The analyses, which utilizedata from NWS stations, provide values on a moredetailed scale than values published by Hershfield in1961.

The term drought is generally associated with asustained period of abnormally low water or moisturesupply. Drought, unlike a flood, is not a distinct eventbecause its onset and termination are difficult to rec-ognize. Moreover, the variation in duration, severityand spatial extent leads to a wide variation in environ-mental and socioeconomic impacts.

Although the most well-known droughts encompasslarge areas, the variability of rainfall in combinationwith other factors can produce localized drought con-ditions in areas having an overall water surplus.

Because of its complex nature, drought can bedefined in several ways. Terms referring primarily tothe physical conditions of moisture deficiency includemeteorologic drought, which focuses on deficienciesof precipitation, and hydrologic drought, whichexplains drought in terms of reduced stream flow,ground-water levels, or reservoir storage.

Terms referring to impacts of below-normal precip-itation on sectors of society include agriculturaldrought and urban or water-supply drought.Agricultural drought is defined as a continued periodof moisture deficiency so serious that crops, trees andother vegetation fail to develop and mature properly.In a water-supply drought, water shortages lead toadjustments in water-supply management, such as theimplementation of conservation measures or the useof alternate water supplies.

One well-known measure of the severity and extentof meteorologic drought is the Palmer DroughtSeverity Index (PDSI), which is one of three Palmerindices (Palmer, 1965; Alley, 1984, 1985). Values ofthe Palmer Index for climatic divisions of each stateare reported monthly, and sometimes weekly, in docu-ments published jointly by the U.S. Departments ofCommerce and Agriculture. Monthly tables and mapsof PDSI for all climatic divisions in the United Statesfor the years 1895 through 1989 have been publishedby NCDC on a CD-ROM entitled "National ClimateInformation Disc-Volume 1".

Other drought indices are based on cumulative pre-cipitation deficits, reservoir storage, stream flows,ground-water levels, or other hydrologic factors rele-vant to water supply and agricultural activities.

30 Water Resource Availability, Maumee River Basin Physical Environment, Climate 31

or an adequately watered vegetative surface with anunlimited supply of water. Lake evaporation is a goodindex of maximum consumptive use of water by evap-oration and transpiration.

In theory, it can be assumed that when soil moistureis not limiting to vegetation growth, the potentialevapotranspiration is the same as the actual evapotran-spiration. Because the availability of moisture forevapotranspiration varies continually in time andspace, actual evapotranspiration often occurs at lessthan the potential rate.

Evapotranspiration during the summer monthscommonly exceeds total rainfall, producing a season-al deficit in available precipitated water. During thewinter, when precipitation far exceeds evapotranspira-tion, water supplies are replenished in the form ofincreased ground-water and surface-water levels andincreased soil moisture. In dry years, the amount ofmoisture available from precipitation may be less thanthe potential maximum moisture needs for evapotran-spiration. The moisture deficit in a dry year can beconsidered a conservative index of the amount ofwater that must be applied through irrigation to sup-plement precipitation. However, the actual amount ofwater needed would depend on many variables,including local rainfall, soil type and soil moistureconditions.

Variations in temperature and other climate factorscan produce significant variations in evapotranspira-tion from year to year. Several methods are used forestimating evapotranspiration rates based on averageenvironmental temperature. Newman (1981) used amodified Thornthwaite method to estimate potentialevapotranspiration for Indiana's nine climatologicaland crop-reporting districts. The method is based on estimated environmental energy available to evaporate water.

The northeastern part of the state, which covers ninecounties and includes the Maumee River basin, isreferred to as Region 3 in the Newman classification.

Table 10. Estimated mean monthly pan evaporation at Fort Wayne

{Monthly values, from Farnsworth and Thompson (1982b), areaverages of estimated pan evaporation derived fromhydrometeorological measurements using a form of the Penmanequation.}

Estimated evaporationMonth & season in inches

(1956-70)

Warm Season

May 6.27June 7.45July 7.51August 6.5September 4.64October 3.25

Seasonal Total 35.62

Cool Season

November 1.6December 0.9January 0.86February 1.17March 2.23April 4.03

Seasonal Total 10.79

ANNUAL TOTAL 46.41

Table 11. Warm-season mean monthly pan evaporation at Kendallville and Prairie Heights

{Monthly values, in inches, are obtained from Ken Scheeringa, Indiana State Climatologist, 1995}

Station May June July August September October Total

Kendallville 5.8 6.77 6.98 6.14 4.25 2.9 32.84(1961-71)

Prairie Heights 6.5 7.14 7.69 6.02 4.64 3.15 35.14(1972-90)

Note: Both Kendallville and Prairie Heights evaporation stations lie outside the basin. Observations are not continuous during the stated period of

record.

It is crucial that the drought severity indices select-ed provides a representative assessment of droughtconditions because these indices are commonly usedto indicate drought response activities such as waterconservation measures and financial assistance.Researchers at Purdue University have worked withthe Indiana Department of Natural Resources,Division of Water to investigate the use of varioushydrologic parameters as potential regional droughtindicators for Indiana (Delleur and others, 1990).

In the Purdue study, the state was divided into threeDrought Regions which roughly correspond to thenorthern, central, and southern thirds of the state.Drought indicator time-series analyses were per-formed on precipitation for 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-monthintervals; on high temperatures for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-month intervals; and on monthly average river flows.Reservoir and ground-water levels and regionalPalmer Hydrologic Drought Index (PHDI) were alsoexamined.

Based on the time-series analyses, it was deter-mined that river flow, 3-month precipitation, andPHDI appear to be the most consistent drought indi-cators for Indiana. River flow and 3-month precipita-tion time-series were found to be the most useful indi-cators for short-term duration droughts; whereas, thePHDI series were demonstrated to be the most usefulindicators of long-term drought.

Using the drought time series, the Purdueresearchers established three levels of drought severi-ty: drought watch, drought warning, and droughtemergency. A drought watch requires close monitor-ing and a few conservation measures; a drought warn-ing could require stringent measures; and a droughtemergency necessitates very stringent conservationmeasures.

Applying the Purdue drought time series indicatorsto historical streamflow data indicates that droughtconditions were present for Region 1, which includesthe Maumee River basin, for March and April of 1987and for May to September of 1988. A drought watchexisted for March and April of 1987, a drought warn-ing for May of 1988, and a drought emergency forJune through August of 1988.

During the 1988 drought period, it was necessaryfor the City of Fort Wayne to release water from theHurshtown upland reservoir to supplement its publicwater supply from the St. Joseph River.

Additional information about drought and droughtplanning in Indiana may be found in the following


(see Selected References chapter) were used to pre-pare this section and theGround-water hydrologychapter of this report. The basic geologic data includewater well records, oil and gas records, engineeringborings,seismicstudies, geophysical logs, and expo-sure descriptions.

Much of the information about aquifer systems,lithology, and bedrock topography in the basin wasderived from water well records. More than 10,000Maumee River basin water well records are on filewith the IDNR, Division of Water, Ground WaterSection. Since 1959, water well drilling contractorshave been required to submit to the IDNR a record ofall water wells drilled in the state, including informa-tion about the geologic materials penetrated. Althoughthese records are not always complete and the qualityof the data varies, these water well records are themost comprehensive set of subsurface geologic andhydrogeologic data existing for the basin.

A significant portion of the geologic information forAllen County was derived from a report by Fleming,1994. In addition, an unpublished paper by Flemingprovided most of the interpretation of the glacial geol-ogy for the entire basin.

Oil and gas records and maps from the IDNR,Division of Oil and Gas and the Indiana GeologicSurvey, although of limited value to the overall study,provided basic information necessary to identifymajor lithologic sequences and areas of petroleumexploration.

Regional physiography

The modern landscape of northeastern Indianareflects a predominance of glacial depositionalprocesses and is characterized by strongly construc-tional topography. Consequently, the overall physiog-raphyof the Maumee River basin is strongly lobate incharacter, reflecting the positions of ice lobes at vari-ous points in time and space. This pattern is accentu-ated by relative differences in surface elevationsacross the basin. Both the northern and southern partsof the basin constitute relatively elevated, broadlyarcuate uplands that surround a central region ofmuch lower elevation. Factors that have contributedto the formation of the landscape to the north differmarkedly from those that affected the landscape to thesouth.

Upland elevations in the southern part of the basinare generally about 780 to 870 feet above mean sealevel (m.s.l.). This part of the basin forms a broadlyrolling, intermittently ridged plain characterized bysubdued local relief. The southward rise in surfaceelevation, accentuated by local ridges and otherupland areas of glacial derivation, generally parallelsa regional rise in the elevation of the bedrock surface.Many of the far southern parts of the basin lie alongthe northern edge of a broad buried bedrock uplandthat appears to generally control regional surface ele-vation.

Upland elevations in the northern part of the basinare generally about 900 to 1000 feet m.s.l. and canexceed 1100 feet m.s.l. Unlike topographic elevationsin the southern part of the basin, elevations in thenorthern part of the basin show no relation to theunderlying bedrock. For example, some of the mostelevated areas in the northern portion of the basinoverlie an extensive bedrock lowland in northern

Physical Environment, Geology 33

Figure 14. Extent of major ice lobes in Indiana during the Wisconsinan glaciation

(adapted from Wayne, 1965)

reports. A report by Fowler (1992) describes theeffects of the 1988 drought on ground-water levels,stream flow, and reservoirs in Indiana. Reports by theformer Indiana Drought Disaster PreparednessCommittee (1977), the former Indiana DroughtAdvisory Committee (1988), the Great LakesCommission (1990), and the Indiana's Water ShortagePlan (Indiana Department of Natural Resources,1994b) discuss drought preparedness and planning forIndiana.

GEOLOGY

Geology of the Maumee River basin affects waterresource availability by influencing the distribution ofprecipitation between surface-water and ground-waterregimes. Near-surface geology greatly influencestopographyand soil development that, in turn, controlrunoff andinfiltration of precipitation. Geology alsohelps control movement and storage of surface waterand ground water.

Perhaps the largest single geologic influence uponthe availability of the water resource in the MaumeeRiver basin has been that of glaciation. During thePleistocene Epoch (Ice Age),glacial lobesrepeatedlyentered Indiana from at least three directions (figure14). The glacial episodes altered all aspects of thearea's hydrology and hydrogeology. Because eachsuccessive advance and retreat of glacial ice causederosion and redeposition of earth materials, glacialsediments and their hydrogeologic properties are verycomplex.

Little is known about the basin's oldest glacialdeposits or the glacial episodes which produced them.This report, therefore focuses on the most recentglacial episodes. Most of the landforms in the basinwere produced by these recent glacial and subsequentevents. These recent deposits contain most of the read-ily available ground-water resources.

In the northern portion of the basin most ground-water resources occur in unconsolidated aquifers ofglacial origin; whereas in the southern portion theseresources occur in carbonate bedrock. Significantareas of overlap exist in the central part of the basin.

Sources of geologic data

Basic geologic data and numerous geologic studies

DeKalb County. Instead, surface elevations in thenorthern basin are attributable to a significant thicken-ing and stacking of glacial sequences from differentsource areas, which is indicative of the fundamentalinterlobatenature of glacial processes in that area (seesidebar,Summary of Late Wisconsin glacial events.This process is partly responsible for the northernregion being typified by rugged local relief, abundantbasins of internal drainage, and a preponderance ofirregular hummocks, blind valleys, and encloseddepressions that host a myriad of lakes and wetlands.The configurations of some of these topographic fea-tures appear inconsistent to known ice flow directions,meltwaterchannels, and other oriented structural fea-tures associated with the latest sequence of Erie Lobedeposits. Instead, the configurations of topographicfeatures of the north reflect the structure of buried sur-faces of older unconsolidated sequences at depth,thereby suggesting that some elements of this land-scape may be palimpsest, or inherited. Thus, theuppermost deposits are locally only a veneer, drapedover the topography of one or more underlying land-scapes.

The central part of the basin is a lake plain that isbisected by the Maumee River. Elevations acrossmost of the plain range from 750 to 765 feet m.s.l.,whereas elevations along the Maumee River valleyrange from about 700 to 750 feet m.s.l.

The contrasts in topographic form in the MaumeeRiver basin are reflected in the definitions of the threebroad physiographic regions (Malott, 1922;Schneider, 1966) whose juncture lies within the basin(figure 15):

* the Tipton Till Plain , an extensive region of verylow relief that covers a large part of central Indianaand generally corresponds to the southern part of thebasin;

* the Maumee Lacustrine Plain, a flat, nearly fea-tureless lake bottom in east-central Allen County thatgenerally corresponds to the central core of the basin;and

* the Steuben Morainal Lake Area, characterizedby low- to high-relief,hummockyridges and uplands,numerous enclosed depressions commonly occupiedby lakes and wetlands, and a generally derangeddrainage pattern throughout. The larger, northern partof the basin falls into this region.

Each of these broader physiographic regions con-tains various internal terrain elements that are identi-fied on the basis of topographic form and compositionof the underlying sequence. The Steuben MorainalLake Area contains numerous, highly varied terrains,each having its own distinctive characteristics thatreflect a particular, and commonly localized, historyof interaction among the ice lobes. Fewer individualterrains are recognizable within the Tipton Till Plain,whereas the Maumee Lacustrine Plain appears to be asingle terrain.

Overview of glacial history

The Maumee River basin is characterized by a vari-ety of landscapes and unconsolidated deposits. Thegreat majority of glacial deposits in the basin repre-sent the most recent period of glacial activity, knownas the late Wisconsin Age, which took place betweenabout 22,000 and 13,000 years ago. Consequently, thiswas one of the last parts of Indiana to become ice-free.The configurations of individual landforms on thecomparatively fresh landscape tend to directly reflectthe general shapes and styles of sediment bodiesdeposited by these latest glaciers and their meltwaters.

The relationship between landforms and underlyingdepositional sequences can be represented by the con-cept of glacial terrains. A glacial terrain is a geo-graphically-defined feature characterized by a particu-lar type of landform or group of related landforms,and a closely associated sequence of sediments thatconstitute said landforms. Based on this definition,both the landforms and the underlying sediments in aterrain are indicative of a particular type of deposi-tional environment. A glacial terrain is thereforeexpected to possess a characteristic range of physicalproperties that strongly influence surface waterhydrology, the movement of ground water, soil devel-opment, and a host of other environmental attributes.Definition and analysis of glacial terrains thus providea basis for understanding the geologic history of thebasin as well as the distribution and character of avariety of important hydrogeologic parameters.

Over the course of the Ice Age (commonly calledthe Pleistocene Epochby geologists), the continentalice sheets in the upper Midwest became increasinglydifferentiated into glacial lobes whose axes andregional flow directions corresponded closely in timeand space to the carving of the Great Lakes and their

34 Water Resource Availability, Maumee River Basin Physical Environment, Geology 35

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may have had a maximum water depth approaching 75 feet in someplaces. Perhaps in response to ice-margin fluctuations further east inthe Erie Basin, the level of glacial Lake Maumee appears to haveovertopped a sag in the Fort Wayne Moraine near what is now down-town Fort Wayne, unleashing a massive volume of water oftenreferred to as the Maumee Torrent . This catastrophic event scouredout a 1- to 2-mile wide outlet known as the Wabash-Erie Channelthat is one of the most striking topographic features in the basin.Following the drainage of glacial Lake Maumee, regional surfacedrainage continued to flow southwest through the Wabash-ErieChannel for hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years until the Erie

ERIE LOBE

General ice margin retreat. Deposition of FortWayne Moraine during stillstand. Ice retreatsback into Ohio

Readvance of ice front to Wabash Moraine(silty-clay and silty clay-loam inner tills of theLagro Fm) (event 6 )

General retreat of ice front eastward intoLake Erie Basin. Formation of MississinewaMoraine during minor readvance (clay-loamouter tills of the Lagro Formation) (event 5 )

Ice overrides lake basin and spreads bothnorth and south from core of basin, ultimate-ly reaching terminal position south of basin atUnion City Moraine while abutting and even-tually overriding large dead-ice landformsand stagnant ice masses of the SaginawLobe to north (clay-loam to silt loam outer tillsof Lagro Formation) (event 3 )

Erie sublobe begins advancing through west-ern Ohio, incorporating abundant lake mudinto base of ice

Ice front retreats far back into eastern GreatLakes (Erie Interstadial)

Main advances of Huron-Erie Lobe into cen-tral Indiana. Formation of complex of buriedrecessional moraines in western and centralAllen County (grey loam tills of the TrafalgarFormation) (event 1b )

ANCESTRAL LAKE ERIE

Minor readvance of ice further east in LakeErie causes lake level to overtop sag in FortWayne Moraine, resulting in catastrophicdrainage via Wabash-Erie Channel

Opening of lake basin in front of receding iceand development of Glacial Lake Maumee.Deposition of lake mud in central basin andbeach deposits along shorelines

Closing of lake basin, incorporation of lakeclays into overriding ice

Proglacial lake develops in Erie Basin.Accumulation of lake clays derived fromrecently deglaciated landscape to north andsouth

Catastrophic(?) drainage of lake to southwest

Area of lake basin becomes attenuated whilemeltwater input increases from both ice lobes

Large proglacial lake impounded betweenmorainal complex to west and ice front to east.(deltaic silt, sand, and waterlain till fromretreating Huron-Erie Lobe; sand and silt infan-deltas from Saginaw Lobe meltwaterstreams)

SAGINAW LOBE

Melting of buried ice masses in northernbasin creates classic knob-and-kettle topog-raphy and numerous lakes and wetlands

Zonal stagnation and general retreat

Ice front readvances into northern Steubenand Lagrange Counties. Deposition of out-wash fans (Brighton, Sturgis, Angola fans)and ice-marginal channels (Fawn and PigeonRiver troughs) mainly just west of MaumeeBasin (event 4 )

General collapse and zonal stagnation (ice-contact fans; hummocky ablation complex;dead-ice landforms)

Southern edge of lobe advances to terminalposition in northern Allen County (proglacialoutwash, sandy loam till, fan-deltas) (event 2)

General recession or zonal stagnation

Ice advances across preexisting upland inNoble and DeKalb Counties reaching at leastto northwestern Allen County (pinkish clayloam till)(may be pre-Wisconsin age) (event1a)

Basin became ice-free and an eastward drainage route was opened.The record of this early stage of post-glacial drainage is well pre-served in the bottom of the Wabash-Erie Channel near Fort Wayne.There, as much as 30 feet of fine sand, silt, and organic sedimentswere deposited in a complex fluvial-lacustrine-palustrine environmentduring the interval following the cutting of the outlet and leading up tothe complete capture of surface drainage by the Maumee River. Thecourse of the Maumee River generally follows the route of an earliersubglacial channel, but the modern, eastbound drainage system didnot become established until headward erosion by the river capturedthe St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers.

Sequence of events

Summary of Late Wisconsin glacial events

Northeastern Indiana was repeatedly invaded by ice sheets fromboth the north and east during the past 1 to 2 million years. Most ofthe glacial sequences in the Maumee River basin, as well as virtuallyall of the modern landforms, result from the latest events of theWisconsin Age, and are generally between about 22,000 and 13,000years old.

The earliest known Wisconsin glaciers entered the basin about22,000 ybp (years before present) from the east-northeast (Huron-Erie Lobe) and possibly also from the north-northwest (SaginawLobe) and probably covered the entire basin several times.Representative deposits from these advances are restricted to thesubsurface within the Maumee River basin. Subsurface relations innorthwestern Allen County indicate pinkish clay-loam till of theSaginaw Lobe that may or may not be of Wisconsin age, underlyingat least two sheets of grey loam till of the Huron-Erie Lobe. SaginawLobe till has not been observed in the southern or far eastern parts ofthe basin, where these earliest Wisconsin events are marked only byeastern source till. These sequences appear to be draped over a pre-existing upland composed of pre-Wisconsin tills and outwash in thenorthern part of the basin, but the Huron-Erie Lobe tills and associat-ed outwash were deposited directly on the bedrock in most of thesouthern part of the basin.

The buried surface of the Huron-Erie Lobe sequence exhibits con-siderable relief in some places, particularly in west-central AllenCounty, where it appears to comprise a buried morainal landscapecomposed of a series of till ridges and associated meltwater chan-nels. These uplands effectively blocked meltwater drainage from thecentral part of the basin and led to the development of a series ofregionally extensive glacial lakes that developed episodically in thelowlands to the east. These meltwater-fed lakes represent phases ofancestral Lake Erie and they profoundly influenced later glacial eventsin the central core of the basin and beyond.

Latest Wisconsin glaciers entered the Maumee basin from thenorth and east at several times between about 17,000 and 15,000ybp. The deposits of these advances include brown, sandy, coal- andsandstone-bearing till and outwash of the Saginaw Lobe, and lightgrey, silty to clayey tills of the Erie Lobe that contain sparse fragmentsof black shale and gypsiferous limestone as well as deformed rafts oflake mud. Regional terrain relations suggest that the two lobes wereacting independently and that major periods of ice-margin advance ofone lobe were not generally synchronous with those of the other. Ingeneral, a tongue of the Saginaw Lobe appears to have preoccupiedthe northern part of the basin as far south as northern Allen County.Collapse of this ice tongue produced extensive areas of irregular abla-tion topography and large blocks of stagnant ice that subsequentlyinhibited the northward progress of the Erie Lobe, contributing to thecompressed and asymmetrical character of Erie Lobe moraines inthat area. The pattern of glacial dynamics and resulting terrain con-figuration in the interlobate northern part of the basin are thus fun-damentally different from those to the south, which resulted fromextensive advances of the Erie Lobe over relatively smooth terrain.

Sandy till of the Saginaw Lobe is typically present in the subsurfacein widely scattered localities throughout the northern basin. It is well-represented in northern Allen and southern DeKalb Counties, whereit commonly overlies a persistent zone of basal outwash and is local-ly capped by a variety of ablation and ice-contact stratified deposits.This sequence generally becomes increasingly finer-grained to thesoutheast and grades into fan-deltas and other glacio-lacustrine sed-iments associated with the margin of ancestral Lake Erie in north-cen-tral Allen County. The latter stage of the glacial activity that producedthis sequence appears to have been characterized by general zonalstagnation and irregular ice margin retreat, in which large blocks ofstagnant ice became buried in their own debris, including several ice-

contact outwash fans. Deposition was focussed at or near the south-ern margin of the glacier in Allen and southern DeKalb Countieswhere the sequence attains its greatest thickness and continuity,whereas these deposits become much less prominent and more inter-nally variable northward in DeKalb County.

Sandy till-like sediments of similar aspect also occur in northernSteuben County, but they appear to belong to a younger, outwash-dominated depositional sequence. This sequence probably forms theburied eastern edge of a line of massive outwash fans (the Angola,Sturgis, and Brighton fans) and associated fan-marginal channels(Pigeon and Fawn River troughs) that are exposed at the surfacebeyond the Erie Lobe overlap just west of the basin divide. Thesedeposits appear to be inset into a "hole" or depositional basin left bythe collapse of earlier Saginaw Lobe ice; they may represent a dis-tinctly younger ice advance or they could be the result of reactivationof the formerly stagnating central ice mass. Their relationship in timeto Erie Lobe events is problematic because the three outer Erie Lobemoraines so evident to the south are completely attenuated into onebroad upland in Steuben County. The best available evidence sug-gests that they may be approximately contemporaneous with deposi-tion of the Mississenewa Moraine.

The grey, fine-grained tills of the Erie Lobe comprise the principalsurficial sediment throughout the basin. Incorporation of lacustrinemud as the ice advanced through the bed of ancestral Lake Erieoverwhelmed the coarser parts of the sediment load and led to depo-sition of tills that are commonly about 90 percent silt and clay and onlyrarely contain appreciable sand lenses. The earliest Erie Lobeadvance(s) extended as far as 50 miles south of the central basin andleft a relatively uniform sheet of clay-loam till in their wake. In contrast,ice flowing northward out of the lake plain was impeded by the irreg-ular Saginaw Lobe ablation drift and dead ice and probably took muchlonger to reach less distant terminal positions. The landscape asso-ciated with the Erie Lobe till in this part of the basin locally exhibitsstructural patterns that more closely resemble the likely orientationsof crevasses and ice marginal features of the underlying SaginawLobe. This strongly palimpsest topography resulted from the meltingof buried Saginaw Lobe ice masses and subsequent collapse of over-lying materials. Not surprisingly, the earliest Erie Lobe deposits in thenorthern basin are more variable in their texture and structure thanelsewhere and are locally associated with small ice-contact sand andgravel bodies.

Erie Lobe tills present within the Wabash Moraine and pointsinward (eastward) are predominantly thick silty-clay to silty-clayloams, and contain remarkably few large clasts. The finer texturecould have resulted from a change in the sediment source during thesame advance that produced the earlier tills, but the abrupt contrastacross the outer edge of the Wabash argues against this possibility.A more likely possibility is that the ice front retreated eastward suffi-ciently far to allow another lake phase to develop in the lake basin andaccumulate lake clays. These clays were subsequently incorporatedinto the ice as it readvanced to the Wabash Moraine. The moraine isgenerally a massive physiographic feature, especially in the northernbasin, and the ice front probably remained at this position for a sub-stantial period. Meltwater draining the northern part of the ice sheetcut tunnel valleys such as Cedar Creek Canyon, which in turn fed theice-marginal Eel River. Outwash bodies also become increasinglyprevalent within the moraine northward from Allen County, culminat-ing in the large Fish Creek fan that forms the morainal front in easternSteuben County. The northernmost part of the moraine thus maypartly be a complex of overridden outwash fans.

The formation and subsequent catastrophic drainage of glacialLake Maumee during the late Wisconsin Age represent the finalevents in the development of the Maumee basin. Fine-grained lakesediments and gravelly beach ridges can be traced far into Ohio, indi-cating that the lakebed covered several thousand square miles and

the glacial history of the basin.Through time, accumulation of ice toward the cen-

ter of a glacier is balanced by melting at and near themargin. This equilibrium has two important conse-quences. First, the outward flow of ice within theglacier transports sediment to the ice margin where itis deposited by a variety of processes. Second, themelting ice front feeds meltwater streams that flowboth away from and parallel to the ice margin. Thehigh energy typical of most meltwater streams resultsin the removal of silt and clay from the glacial debris.This process commonly concentrates sand and gravelin the form of outwash deposits. Within a deposition-al system, the relative coarseness of the outwash sed-iments tends to decrease with increasing distance fromthe ice front. Outwash bodies range from narrow anddiscontinuous channels to broad, regionally extensiveplains and fans. The detailed geometry of outwashbodies depends on such factors as the configuration ofthe landscape over which the meltwater flows, the sizeand location of meltwater outlets from the ice front,the sediment load each meltwater stream carries, andthe behavior and duration of the ice front at a particu-lar location.

Outwash constitutes several landforms within theMaumee River basin (figure 17). It forms small val-ley trainsalong the St. Joseph River and Cedar Creek,as well as broader apronsand fans in the vicinity ofHuntertown (northwestern Allen County), westernFort Wayne, and Fish Creek (eastern Steuben County).Large buried outwash bodies also occur at manyplaces within the basin, notably in northern AllenCounty and northern Steuben County. Some of theburied outwash units in northern Allen County appearto comprise an extensive outwash plain that wasdeposited as the Saginaw Lobe advanced down a pre-existing regional slope into the basin of ancestral LakeErie (Fleming, 1994). The outwash plain was partial-ly eroded during subsequent glacial events and is nowburied by as much as 50 to 100 feet of younger sedi-ments.

The land surface over the greater part of theMaumee River basin is underlain by glacial till , a fine-to medium-grained, poorly-sorted sediment that wastransported near the base of the glacier and depositeddirectly by ice with minimal reworking by meltwaterand mass movement. Most till contains scattered rockfragments set in an overconsolidatedfine-grainedmatrix. Each ice advance tends to produce a charac-teristic till sheet that can usually be distinguished from

other till sheets on the basis of grain-size distribution,combinations of rock and mineral fragments unique toa particular source area, and other diagnostic attributes. The relative proportions of sand, silt, andclay that form the matrix of any particular till unitdepend on the source areaof the glacier as well as onthe kinds of processes that release the sediment fromthe ice. These processes, together with the prevailingconditions at the bed of the glacier during and after tilldeposition, strongly influence the geotechnical prop-erties of a particular till unit (see appendix 4 for a dis-cussion on geotechnical properties of Erie Lobe tillunits).

The surface till in most of the Maumee River basinis part of the Lagro Formation (Wayne, 1963) and istypically clay-rich, reflecting the abundance of bothlake mud and shale bedrock in the source area of theErie Lobe east of the basin. In contrast, tills of theSaginaw Lobe, which underlie Erie Lobe tills in manyplaces in the northern part of the basin, are sandy dueto the combination of coarse-grained bedrock andabundant outwash in the source area. Somewhat olderHuron-Erie Lobe tills (the Trafalgar Formation ofWayne, 1963) present in the subsurface throughout thebasin, are silty or loamy in texture and are dominatedby particles derived from a mixed bedrock source.

Debris flowdeposits are a significant component ofthe glacial sediments in the Maumee basin. Althougha variety of processes can be involved in the formationof these mass movement deposits, most debris flowsof glacial origin form when the loss of supporting iceinduces the slumping and sliding of recently thawedsupersaturated sediments. Many debris flow depositsclosely resemble glacial till and are sometimesreferred to as flow tills and mud flows. Because oftheir similarity, the distinction between debris flowsand true glacial till can be problematic in Pleistocenedeposits. This is especially true where the two occurtogether in the subsurface within the same deposition-al sequence. It is best in such instances, therefore, torefer to the entire assemblage as till-like sediment,which acknowledges the variety of processes and sed-iment types represented.

Debris flows can be formed from almost any kind ofpre-existing sediment and are widely scatteredthroughout the Maumee basin. However, flowage ofglacial sediments was most commonly triggered bythe melting of adjacent or subjacent ice blocks.Hence, debris flows are most abundant in the northernhalf of the basin, where they are associated with bod-

major bays (figure 14). During the late WisconsinAge, northeastern Indiana was repeatedly covered byice from two such lobes—the Saginaw Lobe from thenorth, and the Huron-Erie Lobe from the east.However, the shapes and regional distributions oflandforms suggest that the Huron-Erie Lobe becameincreasingly dominated by ice flow from the ErieLowland during the late Wisconsin glaciation. Hence,the provenanceof latest eastern source deposits isreferred to as "Erie Lobe", whereas the earlier easternsource deposits in the basin are commonly referred toas "Huron-Erie Lobe".

The distinct geologic and topograhic differenceswithin the basin are directly related to the glacial his-tory of the region. The glacial terrains in the southernand central parts of the basin were mainly producedduring the most recent advances of the Erie Lobe, andare characterized by a relatively narrow range of depo-sitional sequences and regionally extensive but rela-tively simple landforms. In contrast, the northern halfof the basin constitutes a much more complex, com-posite region formed by several overlapping advancesof the Huron-Erie, Saginaw, and Erie Lobes (see side-bar on Summary of Late Wisconsin glacial events).These two strongly contrasting regions, and the glacialterrains within them, provide a convenient and logicalbasis for describing the history and physical propertiesof the glacial deposits at various places within thebasin.

Overview of glacial deposits

The unconsolidated deposits in the Maumee Riverbasin are primarily the result of glacial activity duringthe Ice Age. The great variability in thickness of theunconsolidated sediments in the southern and north-ern parts of the basin, 50 to 100 feet and 150 to 400feet, respectively (figure16), is an indication of thedifferences in glacial activity in the northern andsouthern parts of the basin.

Most deposition associated with glaciers takes placeat or near the ice margin. The particular type ofdeposit and its expression as a landform depend on thedynamics of the glacier, the mechanics of sedimenttransport within the glacier and the method of sedi-ment deposition. In general, materials deposited by arobust, active ice sheet tend to be more uniform inboth thickness and sediment type than those depositedfrom stagnant or sluggish ice. Both styles of deposi-

tion appear to have operated at different times during


EXPLANATION

Line of equal drift thickness,in feet

Contour interval 50 feet

Figure 16.Thickness of unconsolidated deposits(adapted from Gray 1983)

ies of ice-contact stratified drift. The latter are com-posed mainly of sand and gravel deposited by melt-water in, on, or against disintegrating ice. Subsequentmelting of the surrounding ice caused these sedimentsto collapse, giving them their characteristically irreg-ular form. Common types of ice-contact stratifieddeposits include narrow, linear, and commonly sharp-peaked ridges of sand and gravel referred to as eskers;and irregular masses of sand, gravel, and till-like sed-iment known as kames, that range in shape from semi-conical mounds to broad-crested, hummocky ridges.

Ice-contact stratified deposits, debris flows, smallbodies of outwash in channelized form, and localizedpond sediments commonly occur together as ablationcomplexesformed during the melting of an ice sheet.Ablation complexes can be quite thick and widespreadwhen large debris-covered parts of an ice lobe becomestagnant and melt via the process of downwasting. Inthe northern part of the basin, large-scale ablationdeposits occur within which individual sediment bod-ies commonly have little homogeneity and extent.

Deposits formed in glacial lakes are also wide-spread in the Maumee basin, particularly along formerice margins where meltwater was impounded by ice ordebris. Because these ice margins shifted over time,most of the glacial lakes were ephemeral features withgenerally little accumulation of lacustrine sediments.However, in the eastern part of the basin topographicand ice margin conditions were favorable for theestablishment of large and relatively long-lived pro-glacial lakes in which thick widespread blankets oflacustrine sediments accumulated. This area, knownas the Maumee Lacustrine Plain(figure 15), repre-sents the former bottom of ancestral Lake Erie. Thelakebed covers a large part of eastern Allen Countyand extends across northwestern Ohio to Lake Erie.Sediments deposited in the ancestral lake range fromsilt and clay, laid down in quiet water in the centralportions of the lake, to coarse sand and gravel associ-ated with high-energy shorelines. Much oldersequences of lake sediments are found at depth in thissame general part of the basin, and are thought to datefrom one or more earlier phases of Lake Erie that pre-dated the latest advances of the Erie Lobe. Clay-richlake sediments can be found beneath the surface tillsat many places throughout the Lake Erie basin and aregenerally believed to have furnished the abundant clayto the ice sheets that deposited these tills.

Glacial terrains

The previous sections dealt mainly with regionalaspects of basin physiography and unconsolidateddeposits. The following discussion emphasizes therelationships between internal sequence elements,landscape characteristics, and geologic processeswithin specific glacial terrains (figure 17) to provide acontext for evaluating the availability of ground waterand its relationship to surface water and to humanactivities at the land surface.

Morainal highland

The morainal highland that characterizes the north-ern part of the Maumee River basin is one of the mosttopographically varied and geologically diverseregions in the state. A large part of this morainal high-land corresponds to what has classically beendescribed as the interlobate region of the Saginawand Erie Lobes (e.g., Chamberlin, 1883; Dryer, 1889,1893, 1894; Leverett and Taylor, 1915; Malott, 1922).This area generally represents the onlap of a succes-sion of Erie Lobe end morainesonto preexistingdeposits and perhaps ice of the Saginaw Lobe. Theregion is characterized by a preponderance of irregu-lar mounds, hummocky ridges, closed depressions,and dead-end channels, which attest to depositionwithin and atop abundant masses of stagnant ice.Large parts of the landscape are internally drained andare dotted with numerous lakes and wetlands, many ofwhich are underlain by significant accumulations ofpeat and marl.

Many of the ridges and hummocks in the regionconsist of clayey till-like sediments of the Erie Lobe,but the till-like sediments range widely in thicknessfrom more than 100 feet to a thin veneer only a fewfeet thick. The Erie Lobe deposits are plastered atopan older, hummocky surface that is at least partlydeveloped on latest till, outwash, and ice-contact strat-ified deposits of the Saginaw Lobe, but also on some-what earlier Huron-Erie Lobe sequences as well.

The late Wisconsin deposits are draped over a mucholder tableland composed of a thick sequence of pre-Wisconsintills (figure 18). Sporadic, thin sand andgravel lenses occur within this older sequence, whichlocally attains thicknesses approaching 350 feet andmay be responsible for much of the overall elevationof the northern part of the basin. This great mass of


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Figure 18. Schematic cross section of unconsolidated sequences and near-surface bedrock geology(adapted from A.H. Fleming, written communication, 1994)

within the slow-draining till. The till plains exhibit a relatively consistent stratig-

raphy that consists of one or more clayey Erie Lobetills of the Lagro Formation atop loamy Huron-ErieLobe tills of the Trafalgar Formation (Wayne, 1963).The clayey, upper till sequence is mostly between 20and 40 feet thick and is composed primarily of mod-erately overconsolidatedbasal till deposited at thebase of an actively moving ice sheet. Consequently, itshows a very pronounced fabric in many exposures,marked by steeply dipping shear planes and deformedrafts of lake sediment. The till commonly contains awell-developed system of near-vertical fractures thatextend to a depth of about 20 to 25 feet.

The till sequences overlie a somewhat irregular, butgenerally southward-rising erosional surface on car-bonate bedrock that lies at depths ranging from morethan 100 to less than 40 feet (figure 18). Small, tabu-lar sand and gravel bodies are scattered between thetills and along the bedrock surface.

Erie Lobe end moraines

Two prominent end morainesof the Erie Lobe,known respectively as the Fort Wayne Moraine andthe Wabash Moraine, are largely responsible fordefining the lobate form and overall extent of theMaumee River basin (figure 17). They constitutebroadly arcuate, ridged uplands composed of a thicksequence of very clayey till-like sediments. The endmoraines represent the positions along which the ErieLobe margin became stationary for extended periodsduring its final advance into northeastern Indiana.The Wabash Moraine is thought to be a terminalmoraine, which marks the maximum extent of this lat-est ice advance, whereas the Fort Wayne Moraine isprobably a recessional morainedeposited where theice margin stabilized for some time during its overallretreat.

Both moraines are generally composed of thick tillthat appears to have been deposited predominantly bypassive meltout of clayey sediment from repetitivelysheared stacks of debris-rich ice. Fine-grained debrisflows and very small lenses of fine sand are also com-mon. The fine-grained deposits in the cores of thesemoraines generally range from about 50 to 75 feet inthickness, but they locally exceed 100 feet in theWabash Moraine northwest of Fort Wayne. Smallbodies of lacustrine silt and a few ice-contact stratified

deposits are also present in the northern parts of bothmoraines.

Exposures, borehole information, and surface sam-ples in and behind the Wabash Moraine locally indi-cate a thick upper sequence of silty-clay to silty-clayloam tills in sharp contact with a lower clay-loam tillunit (figure 18; Fleming, 1994). Deformed lenses oflacustrine mud are locally present between the twosequences and within the upper sequence. These rela-tionships suggest that the increased clay content of theinner tills may have been derived from another phaseof ancestral Lake Erie that formed during a briefretreat of the Erie Lobe, although detailed radiocarbonage dating of the two till sequences would be desirableto corroborate this possibility.

Both the Fort Wayne and Wabash moraines havedistinct north and south limbs that lie on oppositesides of the basin (figure 17). The north and southlimbs differ appreciably in their topographic expres-sion and, to a lesser extent, internal composition. Thesouthern limbs of both moraines are considerablymore subdued than their northern counterparts andtend to form broad, rolling uplands only moderatelyhigher than the surrounding till plains. Crest eleva-tions of the south limbs range between 825 and 870feet m.s.l., or about 30 to 60 feet higher than the adja-cent till plains. Both south limbs are typically some-what asymmetric in cross section, with their outerfaces generally being more steeply sloping than theirgradual, ramp-like inner sides. The south limb of theWabash Moraine is sufficiently robust, however, tocontrol the position of the surface divide that formsthe southern boundary of the basin. The stratigraphybeneath the south limbs of both moraines is compara-ble to that of the adjacent till plains, differing mainlyin the greater thickness of the Erie Lobe tills. Thesouth limbs of both moraines are associated with mod-ern river valleys that originated as ice-marginal chan-nels that drained the meltwater issuing from the icefront during moraine deposition.

The north limbs of the Fort Wayne and Wabashmoraines are considerably broader, taller, and moretopographically varied than the south limbs. Overmuch of the northern basin, they are separated fromeach other only by the relatively narrow valley of theSt. Joseph River, and they collectively form a broad,more or less continuous belt of morainal topographythat covers a large part of the northern basin (figure17). Both north limbs contain appreciable internalrelief in the form of enclosed depressions, irregular

older drift lies in the lee of a major, south-facingbedrock escarpmentthat rises to elevations in excessof 1,100 feet m.s.l. a few miles north of the Michiganstate line. The elevation of the pre-Wisconsin depositsfalls sharply south of central DeKalb County and acorresponding thickening of late Wisconsin sequencesoccurs.

The distribution of well-developed knob-and-kettletopography is commonly thought to parallel the for-mer extent of the Saginaw Lobe, and may indicate thepresence of buried ice-contact stratified drift and otherhummocky deposits of that lobe. In areas character-ized by high densities of large depressions,kettlelakes are common.

Huntertown interlobate area

Although a detailed and systematic analysis ofSaginaw Lobe deposits has not been made for theentire region, a local terrain in northern Allen County,referred to as the Huntertown interlobate area (fig-ure 17), may indicate the potential range of deposi-tional facies and the relationship to overlying land-forms. The Saginaw Lobe deposits in the Huntertowninterlobate area range from less than 20 feet to morethan 100 feet thick and occur in distinct facies tracts.The distribution of the facies tracts partly reflects thenature of the surface over which the sequence wasdeposited, as well as changes in glacial dynamics dur-ing deposition. The lower part of the sequence, whichconsists of an extensive blanket of proglacial outwashcapped by sandy till, was produced as ice advancedinto the area. The outwash is composed chiefly ofmedium to coarse sand that was deposited in an out-wash plain over a gently undulating to channeled sur-face on older Huron-Erie Lobe till. At any given loca-tion, the outwash generally coarsens upward, reflect-ing increasing proximity to the advancing ice duringdeposition. Stacked channel-fill deposits composedof coarse sand and some gravel fill former valleys onthe underlying till surface, whereas finer-texturedsequences of fine sand and silt occur in fan-deltaswhere the meltwater entered the northern extremitiesof ancestral Lake Erie further to the southeast(Fleming, 1994).

The recession of the Saginaw Lobe in theHuntertown area was characterized by general zonalstagnation and localized deposition of ice-contactfans along ephemeral ice margins. In this process,

large masses of stagnant ice were rapidly buried byoutwash and debris flows, effectively insulating themfor long periods. The largest fans were depositedalong the most long-lived of these ice margins, andwere accompanied by arcuate fan-marginal channelsthat outline the position of the lobe during temporarypauses in the glacial retreat process.

The Saginaw Lobe deposits and the buried iceblocks were subsequently overridden by the Erie Lobeand further buried by clayey till. The buried ice ulti-mately melted, causing the overlying sediments to col-lapse, thereby creating enclosed depressions. Becausethe buried ice blocks were commonly lined up alongfan heads, marginal channels, and other structuraltrends particular to the Saginaw Lobe, the orientationsof the resulting collapse features generally bear littlerelation to the surficial Erie Lobe tills or latest icemovements, but are instead indicative of a palimpsestcondition. At many places in the Huntertown inter-lobate area where collapse features are present, surfi-cial tills are thin or absent and the top of the SaginawLobe deposits are exposed. Peatlands subsequentlydeveloped in many of the enclosed depressions andare an important element of the modern internaldrainage (Fleming, 1995).

Till plains

Till plains are the predominant terrain in the south-ern extent of the basin, where they form the very gen-tly rolling to virtually flat landscapes typical of largeparts of Adams, Wells, and southern Allen Counties.The elevation of the till plains typically ranges fromabout 780 to 840 feet m.s.l., gradually rising south-ward. A few small areas of similar aspect also occurwithin the northern basin but are regarded as localvariants of the dominant morainal terrains in that area.

All of the major till plains in the basin developed onclayey till of the Lagro Formation. A thin veneer ofablation deposits—mainly fine-grained sedimentsreworked by meltwater and mass movement duringthe final melting of the Erie Lobe—is also present insome places and imparts a minor amount of localrelief in the form of subtle ablation hummocks. Otherthan a few stream valleys that locally dissect the tillplains, there is little internal relief. Many parts of thislandscape are very poorly drained, and drainage ditch-es are commonly employed to carry away runoff andto lower the characteristically shallow water table


hummocks, and small, linear ridges that parallel theregional trends of the moraines. The north limb of theWabash Moraine is a particularly prominent feature,consisting of a series of bold ridges that locally standmore than 100 feet above adjacent areas. North ofAllen County, both moraines appear to be superposedatop the northward-rising morainal highland of thenorthern basin. Consequently, the crest elevations ofboth moraines also rise northward, with the Wabashexperiencing the greatest elevation gain from about880 feet m.s.l. in northern Allen County to about1,000 ft m.s.l. at the Ohio state line in southeasternSteuben County.

Although the north limbs of both moraines are com-posed predominantly of fine-grained till up to 100 feetthick, sand and gravel are common within the WabashMoraine. The granular material occurs primarily inthe form of outwash, but also as other kinds of bod-ies. The distribution and form of the sand and gravelunits are related to the nature of meltwater drainage atdifferent places within and in front of the ice sheetwhen it stood at the moraine. Tabular to irregularly-shaped sand and gravel bodies of uncertain continuityappear to be relatively common in the widest part ofthe Wabash Moraine in DeKalb County; they are con-sistently present within or beneath the clayey till atdepths ranging from about 20 to 40 feet. The tabularto irregularly-shaped granular units locally comprisemore than half of the Erie Lobe sequence in the coreof the moraine, and are thought to consist of a com-plex of small outwash fansthat were deposited as theice initially advanced to the position of the moraine.The capping tills were deposited when the ice subse-quently advanced onto its own outwash.

The Fish Creek fanis a large,ice-contact fanlocat-ed along the front of the Wabash Moraine in extremeeastern Steuben County and adjacent parts of Ohio.The strongly collapsed head and intensely pitted sur-face of this fan indicate that it was deposited upagainst the front of the glacier. Sand and gravel formsthe surface of most of the fan, and only the fan headiscapped by till-like sediment, indicating that the ice didnot advance far over the body of the fan. The valley ofFish Creek lies at the toe of the fan and probably orig-inated as a fan-marginal channel, draining the melt-water that emanated from the growing fan. Small,high-level outwash terracesoccur as much as 30 feetabove the modern stream level and attest to theamount of incision that has occurred since the out-wash was deposited.

Ice-marginal channels

The present surface drainage network of theMaumee River basin contains several former ice-mar-ginal channels, including the St. Marys and St. JosephRivers and Cedar Creek. These channels drainedmeltwater issuing from the ice front during the depo-sition of the Erie lobe end moraines.

The St. Marys River Valley is a small, alluvial val-ley that follows the toe of the south limb of the FortWayne Moraine. Other than widely scattered, high-level outwash terraces, there is little sand and gravelassociated with the St. Marys River, which is typical-ly underlain by as much as 15 or 20 feet of modernalluviumthat generally rests atop a stripped surface onhard loam till of the Trafalgar Formation.

The St. Joseph River Valley(figure 17) originatedas the ice-marginal channel in front of the north limbof the Fort Wayne Moraine. The St. Joseph Riverforms a deep narrow sluicewayflanked by numeroushigh-level outwash terraces that mark former levels ofthe river before downcutting to the present channellevel. As much as 60 feet of outwash sand is presentbelow some of these terraces, particularly in the low-est reaches of the valley in and near Fort Wayne.Sequences of sand and silt deposited in fan-deltasthatpredate the latest Erie Lobe tills underlie the outwashat some places and suggest that some segments of thevalley are situated over fingers or localized lake basinsassociated with the earliest phases of ancestral LakeErie (Fleming, 1994).

The upper valley of Cedar Creekand the Eel RiverValley to the west constitute the major ice-marginalchannel system for the north limb of the WabashMoraine. This system contains a significant amountof outwash and originally comprised a unified, south-west-flowing sluiceway known as the ancestral EelRiver when the Erie Lobe stood at the moraine.Scouring of the sluiceway floor by meltwater resultedin the superposition of Erie Lobe outwash directlyatop thick sections of older Saginaw Lobe outwash. Innorthern Allen County, composite sand and gravelthicknesses as great as 75 to 100 feet occur belowparts of the Eel River valley floor.

The outwash and meltwater that shaped the earlyEel River were derived from numerous outlets in theWabash Moraine, now marked by linear sags and flat-bottomed troughs. The most striking of these features


times under widely different conditions. A surficialveneer of laminated silt and clay deposited in relative-ly quiet water is widespread in the central and south-ern part of the plain, whereas a blanket of fine sand ismore characteristic to the north, where water depthswere less and depositional energy somewhat greater.These post-glacialsediments overlie a highly variedsequence of waterlain tills, debris flows, and smalldeltas derived from the retreating Erie Lobe.

Older glaciolacustrine sequences are present spo-radically beneath the Erie Lobe deposits, particularlyin the northern part of the lake plain. They weredeposited in a much earlier and larger phase of ances-tral Lake Erie and can be traced northward beneathparts of the Fort Wayne Moraine to the St. JosephRiver (figure 18). Some of these older sequences werederived in part from Saginaw Lobe meltwater thatentered the lake from the north and deposited fan-deltas. Deltas are composed in part of thick units offine sand that overlie and grade laterally (lakeward)into extensive bodies of interlayered silt and very finesand deposited by turbidity currentsat greater dis-tances from the mouths of sediment-laden meltwaterstreams. Fan elements are composed mainly of medi-um or coarse sand, but they locally contain some grav-el and debris flows in the northernmost parts of thesequence. Facies relations are quite complex withinthese sequences but they generally appear to indicateincreasing proximity of ice through time, as well aslocal progradationof deltas and infilling of localizedembayments in the ancestral lake basin. All of thesesequences overlie an irregular surface on loamy andsilty till-like materials of the Trafalgar Formation,some of which also appear to be of glaciolacustrineaspect.

The axis of the lake plain is marked by the narrow,straight valley of the Maumee River. The valleyappears to be sharply entrenched into the surface ofthe lake plain, and adjacent deposits are uncommonlyheterogeneous, containing a variety of bouldery andgravelly meltwater-deposited units. The modern, east-ward-flowing river itself is entirely post-glacial, hav-ing developed only when the eastern outlet of LakeErie became ice free. The valley itself, however, aswell as the coarse meltwater deposits along it, proba-bly originated as a sub-glacialchannel when the ErieLobe stood at the Fort Wayne Moraine. Remnants of athick outwash deposit immediately north and west ofdowntown Fort Wayne suggest that the outlet of thiswestward-flowing channel was located just east of the

is Cedar Creek Canyon (figure 17), a remarkablystraight, 50- to 100-foot deep, narrow gorge that cutsstraight across the moraine. The form of the canyonindicates that it originated as a tunnel valley, a type ofsub-ice channel cut by meltwater flowing under con-siderable hydrostatic head. A prominent outwash fanformed across the Eel River Valley where meltwaterexited the mouth of the tunnel valley. After the icefront receded from the moraine, meltwater flowbecame insufficient to mobilize the coarse fan materi-als, and drainage from the upper Eel was divertedsoutheast down Cedar Creek Canyon (Bleuer andMoore, 1974). This classic example of stream piracyadded substantially to the size of the modern MaumeeRiver drainage system and resulted in the paradox ofCedar Creek now flowing in a direction opposite tothat which existed when the canyon was cut. Thisseries of events also separated the ancestral Eel Riverfrom its headwaters, leaving part of the valley justsouthwest of Cedar Creek Canyon as an excellentexample of an abandoned, high-level valley. Today,this area lies astride the axis of the eastern continentaldrainage divide separating eastbound Great Lakesdrainage (via the Maumee River) from westboundMississippi drainage (via the Wabash and OhioRivers).

Maumee Lacustrine Plain

The virtually flat landscape that characterizes theeast-central part of the Maumee River basin is part ofthe Maumee Lacustrine Plain(figure 17). The lakeplain represents the bottom of Glacial LakeMaumee, the forerunner of modern Lake Erie thatformed between the front of the retreating Erie Lobeand the Fort Wayne Moraine. The elevation of the for-mer lake bottom ranges from about 765 feet m.s.l.near its margins, to about 740 feet m.s.l. adjacent tothe Maumee River along its axis. Internal relief isminimal, consisting of widely scattered small sandbars, spits, and wave-scoured terraces, most of whichare concentrated within a mile of former shorelines.The northern edge of the lake plain is marked by acomplex of prominent beach ridges. As much as 30feet of beach sand and gravel are found atop wave-scoured till benches that are incisedinto the lakewardside of the Fort Wayne Moraine.

The lake plain is underlain by a variety of glacio-lacustrinesequences that were deposited at different


of the southern limit of a large sedimentary basincalled the Michigan Basin. The oldest rocks at thebedrock surface occur near the crest of the arch andprogressively younger rocks are exposed at thebedrock surface in the down-dipdirection. The angleof dip increases from south to north in the MaumeeRiver basin off the crest of the arch and into the south-ern flank of the Michigan Basin. The regional dipangle increases from less than 14 feet per mile inAdams County to greater than 24 feet per mile inSteuben County (Rupp, 1991).

The Paleozoic sequence in the Maumee River basinthickens in the down-dip direction, reflecting the sub-sidence of the Michigan Basin. The coincidence of

increasing thickness of individual Paleozoic sedimen-tary rock formations and increasing angle of dip mayindicate basin subsidence and increased depositionduring the Paleozoic Era (appendix 5).

Other structural features, including twofaults, havebeen mapped recently in the Maumee River basin(Fleming, 1994). Subsurface data was utilized to mapone fault that trends north-northeast from approxi-mately 2 miles west of the city of Woodburn toapproximately 2 miles east of the northeast corner ofAllen County. The southern extension of the AntrimShale into west-central Allen County may be relatedto the fault, since the fault helps define the eastern sideof the extension (Fleming, 1994). The relationship of

History of bedrock deposition

Deposition of the preserved sedimentary rocks began in the lateCambrian Period as the sea invaded the area which is now theMaumee River basin. Beach sands derived through erosion of theigneous basement rocks were deposited to form the Mount SimonSandstone. As sea level continued to rise through the earlyOrdovician Period, the depositional environment shifted to one pro-gressively favoring shale and limestone. Toward the end of the earlyOrdovician period, the shallow sea began to retreat from the area anderosion removed the upper portion of the Knox dolomite (Gutstadt,1958).

Sea level again rose and reached its maximum extent, known astransgression, upon the North American continent. The basal St.PeterSandstone of the Ancell Group, was sporadically deposited, followedby extensive and fairly uniform limestones. An abrupt change at theend of Trenton Limestone deposition marked the end of widespreadcarbonate deposition. Physical and biological environments changedrapidly as the shallow water in which the Maquoketa Group wasdeposited alternated between clear and muddy (Gutstadt, 1958).

A period of non-deposition and erosion occurred through the lateOrdovician and early Silurian Periods. Land-locked reef-fringed basinsdeveloped in the region now occupied by the Great Lakes. As inlandseas withdrew at the end of early Paleozoic time, precipitation of evap-orites such as salt and gypsum occurred within the basins. (Levin,1988).

Deposition of Silurian and Devonian sediments was largely influ-enced by local conditions. The subsidence of the Michigan Basin andthe expansion of reefs determined the local conditions under which thelimestones and shales of the Silurian and Devonian Periods weredeposited (Pinsak and Shaver, 1964).

In the region east of the Mississippi Valley, predominant carbonatesedimentation gave way to shales in the middle and late DevonianPeriod. The change to clastic deposition was a consequence of moun-tain-building in the Appalachians. Highlands formed during this timewere rapidly eroded and clastics were transported westward to forman extensive apron of sediments (Levin, 1988).

Sediment that ultimately became black shale was deposited in atransgressing epicontinental sea that covered much of Indiana. Anoxicconditions caused by lack of water circulation between the epiconti-nental waters and the open ocean resulted in an accumulation oforganic matter as an important part of the sediment.

Partial deposition of upper Paleozoic rock units occurred in the areaof the present day Maumee River basin. Erosion throughout the post-Paleozoic Eras, coupled with bedrock structure and lithology, resultedin the total removal of all Paleozoic units deposited in this area abovethe lower Mississippian shales.

The resulting pre-Pleistocene bedrock topography reflected thedrainage associated with the extensive period of post-Paleozoic erosion.

present confluence of the Maumee, St. Marys, and St.Joseph Rivers, where the Wabash-Erie Channel nowlies.

The massive Wabash-Erie Channel (figure 17)represents the former outlet of Glacial LakeMaumee. The channel was severely scoured by theMaumee Torrent, which was unleashed when lakelevel overtopped the sag channel across the FortWayne Moraine. The perfectly flat bottom of thechannel (750-755 feet m.s.l.) is well over a mile widein some places and represents a period of alluvialinfilling that followed the catastrophic drainage. It isunderlain by as much as 30 feet of organic silt, sand,and some muck deposited in an extensive slackwaterenvironment characterized by low-gradient river chan-nels and oxbow lakes that existed prior to the openingof the Maumee River and the regional drainage rever-sal that followed. The slackwater sediments overliethe scoured surface of the Trafalgar Formation, whichin this area contains several large, southwest-trending,channel-like sand and gravel bodies in addition to hardloam till. The eroded remnants of an Erie Lobe out-wash fan also lie within the channel and form the localdrainage divide between the Maumee and Little River(Wabash) basins. As much as 40 feet of outwashunderlies the highest part of the fan (785-790 feetm.s.l.), which generally occupies the southern half ofthe channel. The fan appears to be related to the FortWayne Moraine and was probably deposited by melt-water emanating from the apex of the ice and from themouth of the subglacial channel now occupied by theMaumee River valley. Although the fan remnants arecurrently separated from the moraine by the subse-quent valley of the St. Marys River, it seems probablethat a sizable mass of outwash may have once filledthis part of the Wabash-Erie Channel. Taken together,all of these features indicate that the general course ofthe Wabash-Erie Channel was established long beforethe advent of glacial lake drainage, and presumablyduring the earliest events of the late Wisconsin glaciation.

Bedrock geology

Throughout the Maumee River basin, the bedrock iscovered by glacial and/or other unconsolidated sedi-ments and is not naturally exposed at the modern landsurface. The unconsolidated sediments were depositedprimarily as a result of continental glaciation that

occurred during the Pleistocene Epochof theCenozoic Era.

Bedrock of the Maumee River basin consists ofsedimentary rocks deposited during the Paleozoic Erathat lie over much older Precambrian crystallinerocks (See sidebar on the following page entitledHistory of Bedrock Deposition). The sedimentaryrocks in the basin were deposited during theCambrian to Mississippianperiods of the PaleozoicEra, and include carbonates, sandstone and shales.Middle Paleozoic rocks form the bedrock surface ofthe basin. Unconformitiesthat represent gaps of sev-eral hundred million years in the geologic record arepresent at both the Paleozoic-Precambrian and thePaleozoic-Pleistocene contacts.

A broad uplift known as the Cincinnati Arch (fig-ure 19) controls the regional bedrock structure in theMaumee River basin. The axis of the Cincinnati Archextends north-northwest from Cincinnati, Ohio intoRandolph County, Indiana. To the north, the archsplits into two branches, a northwest branch known asthe Kankakee Arch that passes through northwestIndiana, and a northeast branch known as the FindleyArch that extends across Ohio to Lake Erie. TheMaumee River basin lies on the north-dipping flank ofthe Cincinnati Arch.

The two branches of the Cincinnati Arch define part

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this fault to the geologic history of the area is not cur-rently understood. The fault may be related to thedevelopment of the Michigan Basin, or to other faultsthat developed along the arch such as the BowlingGreen Fault of northwestern Ohio. No evidence forthe extension of the fault into the unconsolidated sed-iments has been found to date (A. H. Fleming, oralcommun., 1995).

A second fault, trending east-west in northern AllenCounty, is indicated by an abrupt increase (approxi-mately 50 feet) in thickness of the Antrim Shale acrossthe inferred fault zone (Fleming, 1994). At this time,little is known of the nature and extent of this feature.

Bedrock physiography

Local bedrock relief in the Maumee River basin isthe result of erosion. The bedrock surface is thoughtto strongly resemble the pre-glacial topography.Erosion throughout millions of years, prior to conti-nental glaciation, established a well developed surfacedrainage pattern on the underlying bedrock. The peri-od of glaciation removed, through differential erosion,much of the less resistant near-surface materials.Materials and structures affected by the process oferosion included the residual soil profiles, portions ofthe shale and carbonate bedrock, and portions of theless resistant karstic areas associated with the carbon-ate bedrock.

The topographical characteristics of the bedrocksurface are influenced by the bedrock type (see figures20 and 21). Beneath the northern half of the basin,Devonian andMississippianshales have been erodedinto broad sloping valleys and hills. In contrast,Silurian and Devonian carbonates present in thesouthern areas have been eroded into low-reliefplateaus that exhibit evidence of karst and fracturedevelopment which predates glaciation (Fleming,1994).

Total relief on the bedrock surface in the MaumeeRiver basin is more than 300 feet (figure 18 and 20).Bedrock uplands occur in the far northeastern andsoutheastern corners of the Maumee River basin inIndiana. Bedrock elevations in excess of 800 feetabove m.s.l. are developed in the far southeastern cor-ner of the basin on Silurian carbonates and in theextreme northeastern corner on lower Mississippianshale. The increase in elevation of the bedrock surfacein the extreme northern portions of the basin is asso-

ciated with a south-facing escarpment. This escarp-ment is capped by erosion-resistant sandstone and liesjust north of the Michigan state line (A. H. Fleming,written commun., 1995).

Topography on the bedrock surface reflects portionsof three preglacial drainage systems for the area. Anorthern dendritic drainage system is incised into theshale bedrock in northern DeKalb County to an eleva-tion of less than 500 feet above m.s.l. The southerndrainage system, located in southern Adams County,consists of a deep valley cut into and through Siluriancarbonates. A transitional drainage system occupiescentral and western Allen County, encompassing anarea underlain by carbonate bedrock in the south andwest and an area underlain by shale in the north. Theresulting drainage pattern for the central region is acombination of a dendritic drainage pattern similar tothe northern system and the steep-sided valleys of thecarbonate plateaus of the southern system.

The southern drainage system is represented by thebedrock valley of a south draining tributary and asmall segment of the Teays River Valleywhich drainsfrom the east to the west (Bruns and others, 1985).The Teays was the principal drainage system in centralIndiana during the Tertiary period (Wayne, 1956).The Teays River system and its affect on preglacialdrainage have been investigated for many years; andalthough much has been learned, the history of thedrainage system and its relationship to glaciation haveyet to be fully understood (Melhorn and Kempton,1991).

Bedrock stratigraphy and lithology

Ordovician shale and limestone of the MaquoketaGroup are the oldest rocks present at the surface ofthe bedrock in the Maumee River basin. This Groupis found at the base of the Teays River Valley in south-ern Adams County where it is overlain by more than250 feet of Pleistocenesediment (figures 16 and 21).The Maquoketa is disconformably overlain bySilurian age rocks throughout the Maumee Riverbasin (Shaver and others, 1986).

Rocks of Silurian age are found at the bedrock sur-face along the southern portions of Allen County andthroughout Adams County, excluding a limited area ofOrdovician exposure (figure 21). Rocks of Silurianage attain a thickness of approximately 500 feet nearthe Devonian contact in Allen County. The oldest


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MICHIGAN OHIO OHIO

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Figure 20. Bedrock Topography(Bedrock Topography for Allen County Adapted from Fleming, 1994)

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Silurian rocks found in the Maumee River basinbelong to the Cataract Formation and theSalamonie Dolomite. These comprise the bedrocksurface in southern Adams County. The occurrence ofthe lower Silurian carbonates at the bedrock surface inthis portion of the basin are associated with the TeaysValley and tributary. Typical lithologies within theCataract aredolomitic and argillaceous limestoneswhereas, the overlying Salamonie Dolomite gradesinto a purer bioclastic vuggy dolomite (Shaver andothers, 1986). Overlying the Salamonie Dolomite andrepresenting a large portion of the bedrock contact inAdams County are rocks of the Pleasant MillsFormation (figure 21). In this area the Pleasant Millsconsists of mature reef to non-reef dolomite anddolomitic limestone (Droste and Shaver, 1982). TheWabash Formation overlies the Pleasant Mills in aconformableand gradational relationship (Shaver andothers, 1986). Rocks of the Wabash Formation com-prise the upper bedrock contact in northern AdamsCounty and approximately the southern half ofTownship 29 North in southern Allen County (figure21). Dolomitic limestones, having varying amountsof argillaceous limestones deposited between areas ofreef development, are characteristic of the Wabash(Shaver and others, 1986). The term HuntingtonLithofacies has been applied to the reef rock locatedin the upper Silurian. The reefs often developedacross formation boundaries and collectively consti-tute a vast expanse of reefs known as the Fort WayneReef Bank(Pinsak and Shaver, 1964).

Carbonate units of middle Devonian age,Muscatatuck Group, overlie the Silurian rocks in themiddle portion of the present Maumee River basin(Gray and others, 1987, and Fleming, 1994). Rocksbelonging to the Muscatatuck group make up thebedrock surface throughout a large portion of AllenCounty and attain a maximum thickness of approxi-mately 100 feet (Rupp, 1991). Lower portions of thegroup, known as the Detroit River Formation , con-tain evaporitic depositsof gypsum and anhydritealong with purer dolomites (Shaver and others, 1986).The Traverse Formation overlies the Detroit RiverFormation in a gradational relationship. The Traverseis commonly composed of dolomitic limestone andlimestone which range from very fine to coarsegrained and fossiliferous.

A distinct change in the type of rock being deposit-ed occurred in upper Devonian time. Deposition ofcarbonate ceased and was replaced by deposition of

very fine grained clastic material that formed the

Antrim Shale. The Antrim Shale is found at the


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a aaaaaaEXPLANATION

Coldwater Shale

Ellsworth Shale

Antrim Shale

Muscatatuck Group

Wabash Formation

Pleasant Mills Formation

Salamonie Dolomite

Ordovician rocks undifferentiated

(SILURIAN)

(DEVONIAN)

(MISSISSIPPIAN)

(ORDOVICIAN)

Figure 21. Bedrock geology(Adapted from Gray and others, 1987 and Fleming, 1994)

bedrock surface throughout much of northern AllenCounty and most of DeKalb County (Gray and others,1987 and Fleming, 1994). In Steuben County, theAntrim Shale reaches a thickness of 220 feet (Shaverand others, 1986). Brownish-black shale of theAntrim grade upward to the green gray shale of theEllsworth. Deposition of the Ellsworth Shalespanned the Devonian-Mississippian age timeboundary. The Ellsworth Shale occurs at the bedrocksurface as a relatively narrow belt in northern DeKalbCounty (figure 21) where the unit is more than 40 feetthick (Shaver and others, 1986). A thin black car-bonaceous shale, the Sunbury Shale, separates theEllsworth Shale from the Coldwater Shale (Shaverand others, 1986) in the northern portion of theMaumee River basin where all the units are present inthe subsurface (figure 21). The Coldwater Shale istypically gray to greenish gray, slightly silty shalewith some red shale stringers in the lower portions(Shaver and others, 1986). Parts of the unit containappreciable amounts of siltstone (Fleming, writtencommun., 1996). The Coldwater Shale is present atthe bedrock surface in extreme northern DeKalbCounty and all of Steuben County in the MaumeeRiver basin where it is also covered by more than 250feet of Pleistocene sediment (figure 16). TheColdwater Shale attains a thickness of more than 500feet in Steuben County.

For a graphic illustration of the various bedrockunits which occur in the Maumee River basin seeappendix 4, Geologic Column. This geologic columnwas constructed as a representation of the relativethickness of the various units occurring in northernSteuben County, where all bedrock units in the basinare present.

SOILS

Soils are the end product of various agents acting onunconsolidated and bedrock deposits. The propertiesof different soils are determined by chemical, physi-cal, and biological processes acting on soil parentmaterialsover long periods of time.

Soil properties influence the generation of surface-water runoff and help determine the suitability of anarea for crops, pasture, woodland, wildlife habitat,recreational facilities, buildings, roads, and other uses.The type of land use can directly or indirectly modifyhydrology, which in turn can further influence land

and water development.In general, soil parent materials and topography in

the Maumee River basin differ from south to north.Primarily, moderately fine textured soils occur onsubdued local relief and calcareous, fine texturedLagro glacial till in the southern portion of the basin.In the nearly featureless lacustrine plain of the eastcentral portion of the basin, very fine to fine texturedsoils predominate; but soil texture may range frommedium and fine textured in central portions of theancestral lake to moderately coarse and coarse tex-tured along ancient shorelines. Moderate relief, com-plex geology, and loamy Trafalger till in the north-western part of the basin produce loam and sandyloam soils. Transecting the till plains and lacustrinedeposits are glacial outwash and modern alluvial soilsin the valleys of major streams. Soils produced onglacial outwash are predominantly loamy and sandy;whereas, soils formed on modern-day alluvialdeposits vary widely in texture and composition.

Soil development in most of the Maumee Riverbasin occurred under a cover of mixed hardwood for-est. Some basin soils, however developed under coverof water-tolerant trees and sedges, whereas othersformed under prairie grasses. Isolated pockets oforganic soils have developed in areas of restricted orinternal drainage.

Soil data and basic information on the economy,land use and water resources of major basin countiesare presented in soil survey reports (Farmer, 1981 and1986; Jensen, 1982; Kirschner and Zachary, 1969;McCarter, 1977; and Neely, 1992). Soil maps andrelated data found in these reports can be used for gen-eral planning purposes. The following discussions arebased on generalized maps, which provide an evenbroader overview of basin soils.

Soil associations and hydrologic soil groups

Soils can be classified according to similarities ofparent materials, texture,horizon characteristics,topography, natural drainage, and special features. Asoil series, the most common category used in countysoil surveys, allows detailed evaluations of specifictracts of land. For generalized applications, however,a soil association is a commonly used category.

A soil association is a landscape having a distinctivepattern of soil series in relation to similar parent mate-rials, landforms, and slopes. Within a given soil asso-

54 Water Resource Availability, Maumee River Basin Physical Environment, Soils 55

ciation, each soil series occupies a characteristic posi-tion on one of three major landform types: 1) hill-slopes, swells, or depressions within broad uplands, 2)terraces, outwash plains, or lacustrine plains, and 3)floodplains or bottomlands (Galloway and Steinhardt,1984).

A soil association is composed primarily of two tofour major soils and a few minor soils, and is namedfor the major soils. The soils in one association mayoccur in another, but in a different percentage and pat-tern. A total of 108 soil associations were identified ina series of generalized county soil maps developed in1970 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's SoilConservation Service (SCS) and Purdue University'sAgricultural Experiment Station. A few of the generalsoil maps were revised slightly when they were laterprinted with supplementary data tables and a user'sguide in 1975 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1971:Galloway and others, [1975]). In 1977, the SoilConservation Service and Purdue University com-bined the 1971/1975 series of general soil maps toproduce a 1:500,000-scale map of Indiana showingmajor soil associations on a regional basis.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (for-merly SCS) has developed, in cooperation withPurdue University, a computerized soil data base(STATSGO). This geographic data base with its linkedattribute data files is used by the Natural ResourcesConservation Service (NRCS) to generate the generalsoils map for the state. Ninety-four soil associationsare recognized in the data base. Figure 22, adaptedfrom the STATSGO state soil map, shows the locationof major soil associations in the Maumee River basin.Since the STATSGO mapping effort is multi-state, soilseries not previously mapped in Indiana are includedin the Indiana STATSGO. As older soil surveys areupdated, some of the soil series used in adjacent stateswill be mapped in Indiana.

Figure 22 also shows the regions of similar parentmaterials into which the major associations aregrouped. Figure 22 can be useful in relating basinsoils to surficial geology, topography, and vegetationtypes (see explanatory text accompanying figure 22 ).A report by Galloway and Steinhardt (1984) discussesthe influences of geology, physiography and climateon the formation of soil association, and summarizesthe relations among associations occupying specificlandscape positions.

Soil survey reports (referenced previously) containdetailed descriptions of soil properties that affect land

use, and include tables which outline the potentialsand limitations of individual soils for cultivated crops,woodland, urban and recreation uses. Although themap shown in figure 22 is too generalized for suchdetailed land-use planning, it can be used to comparethe suitability of large areas for general land uses.

In addition to its utility in assessing general landuses, the map in figure 22 also can be helpful in exam-ining, on a broad basis, the role of soils in the genera-tion of surface-water runoff. The Soil ConservationService (now called the Natural ResourcesConservation Service) has classified soils into fourhydrologic groups (A,B,C,D) according to the tenden-cy of the soil to absorb rainfall and thereby reducerunoff. Classifying bare soils on the basis of their min-imum infiltration rate, after an extended period of wet-ting, reflects the properties of both the surface andunderlying soil horizons.

Soils in hydrologic group A have high infiltrationrates even when thoroughly wetted, and consist pri-marily of deep, well- to excessively-drained sands andgravels. These soils also have high transmission rates.The only classified hydrologic group A soils in thebasin are the natural, undrained Spinks soils near theMichigan/Indiana state line. Other basin soils may beclassified into hydrologic soil group A if artificialdrainage measures have improved the ability of thesoils to absorb rainfall and thereby reduce runoff;these are Houghton-Adrian-Carlisle soils which occurin southeast Noble County, along Willow Ditch nearHuntertown, and west of Fort Wayne (association 19).

Soils in hydrologic group B have moderate infiltra-tion and transmission rates. Well-drained soil seriesthat typify this group in the Maumee River basininclude: Genesee, Homer, Lawson, Martinsville,Miami, Oshtemo, Riddles, Sawmill, Tice, andWawasee. Where artificial drainage has taken place,other group B basin soils include Gilford, Lenawee,Sebewa, and Rensselaer.

Soils in hydrologic group C have slow infiltrationand transmission rates. They consist primarily of soilswith a layer that impedes downward movement ofwater, or soils having a moderately fine to fine texture.In the Maumee River basin, soils in this group are themost prevalent hydrologic soil group. Individual soilseries within the basin which are within the C hydro-logic soil group include: Blount, Darroch, Glynwood,Morley, Strole, Whitaker, Eel, and Crosier. Saranacand Pewamo soils may be classified into hydrologicsoil group C where artificial drainage has occurred.

56 Water Resource Availability, Maumee River Basin Physical Environment, Soils 57

REGION 1 - SOILS FORMED IN SANDY AND LOAMY LACUSTRINE AND EOLIAN SAND DEPOSITS

The nearly level, very poorly drained soils of the Houghton-Adrian-Carlisle association (19) formed in organic materials deposit-ed in depressions on uplands or outwash plains, and developed undera cover of trees, shrubs and sedges. These soils frequently occur assmall, scattered muck pockets; however, four mappable areas occur inthe Maumee River basin along its western boundary. The mappedareas occur in southeastern Noble County, along Willow Ditch nearHuntertown, and along the drainageway of an unnamed ditch in westFort Wayne.

Soils of the Spinks-Houghton association (22) occur in SteubenCounty near the Michigan/Indiana state line. Sandy, well drainedSpinks soils occur on dunes and outwash plains.The nearly level, verypoorly drained Houghton muck occurs in depressions and formerdrainageways or along streams and lakeshores.

On the stream terrace along the northern edge of the LakeMaumee Plain, the loamy soils of the Rensselaer-Darroch-Whitakerassociation (3) predominate.The very poorly drained Rensselaer soilsoccupy swales and broad flat areas, and the somewhat poorly drainedWhitaker and Darroch soils occur on convex swells.

Silty clay and silty clay loam soils of the Montgomery-Strole-Lenawee association (33) occur on uplands, drainageways andstream terraces near New Haven and along the Trier Ditch drainage-way.The nearly level or depressional Montgomery and Lenawee soilsare very poorly drained. The gently sloping Strole soils are somewhatpoorly drained.

REGION 2 - SOILS FORMED IN SILTY AND CLAYEY WISCONSINAN AND ILLINOIAN LACUSTRINE DEPOSITS

The silty clay, silty loam, and silty clay loam soils of the Hoytville-Nappanee-Blount association (32) occur on the uplands of the LakeMaumee Plain.The very poorly drained, nearly level or slightly depres-sional Hoytville soils are found in swales; whereas, the somewhatpoorly drained Nappanee and Blount soils occur on swells.

Soils of the Latty-Fulton-Nappanee association (116) are found inthe Lake Maumee Plain north of the Maumee River. The very poorlydrained Latty and Fulton soils occur in depressional areas; whereas,the somewhat poorly drained, silty loam Nappanee soils occur onswells.

REGION 3 - SOILS FORMED IN ALLUVIAL AND OUTWASH DEPOSITS

The nearly level alluvial soils of the Saranac-Eel-Tice association(61) occur in bottomlands in Adams County.The clayey Saranac soils,which occur in depressional areas that are subject to frequent flood-ing, are very poorly drained. Loamy Tice soils, which appear in slight-ly higher areas than Saranac soils, are somewhat poorly drained.Loamy Eel soils are moderately well drained.

Loamy and sandy loam soils of the Sebewa-Gilford-Homer asso-ciation (25) were formed in glacial outwash and are underlain by sandand gravel. Soils in this association may be found along Cedar Creek,Little Cedar Creek, and St. Joseph River in DeKalb County.The near-

ly level Sebewa and Gilford soils, which occur in depressional areas,are very poorly drained. Homer soils, occupying flats between depres-sions, are somewhat poorly drained.

Sandy loam and loamy soils of the Martinsville-Whitaker-Rensselaer association (28) are located on terraces along majorstreams, on beach ridges in the Lake Maumee Plain, and on outwashplains in uplands near Huntertown. The nearly level to moderatelysloping Martinsville soils are well drained. Whitaker soils, which occu-py somewhat lower landscape positions than Martinsville, are some-what poorly drained. Rensselaer soils, found on flats and in depres-sions, are very poorly drained.

Soils of the Sawmill-Lawson-Genesee association (29) occuralong the drainageways of the St. Joseph, Maumee, and St. MarysRivers in Allen County. Loamy clay Sawmill soils, which are very poor-ly drained, and loamy Lawson soils, which are well drained, are locat-ed on floodplains. Silty loam Genesee soils are nearly level and welldrained bottomland soils.

REGION 6 - SOILS FORMED IN LOAMY GLACIAL TILL

Loamy soils of the Miami-Wawasee-Crosier soil association (16)occur along the northwestern basin boundary on till plains with swell-and-swale topography, on rolling areas near streams dissecting the tillplain, and on end moraines.The three soils in this association are sim-ilar. The Miami and Wawasee soils, however, occur on convex slopesand are well drained; whereas the Crosier soils occur lower on thelandscape and are somewhat poorly drained. In addition to slope dif-ferences, Miami soils contain more clay in the subsoil and substratumthan Wawasee soils.

Loamy and sandy loam soils of the Riddles-Crosier-Oshtemoassociation (7) occur near the northwestern basin boundary inSteuben County. The well drained soils of the Riddles and Oshtemosoils occur on ridges, knolls, and side slopes of till plains andmoraines. Somewhat poorly drained Crosier soils are found on toeslopes and nearly level areas of swells.

REGION 7 - SOILS FORMED IN CLAYEY GLACIAL TILL

The silty, clayey, and loamy soils of the Blount-Pewamo-Glynwood association (5), characterized by a very gradual swale-and-swell topography and occasional areas that have frequent changes ofslope, occur on till plains and moraines. In depressional areas, thenearly level very poorly drained Pewamo soils occur. On relativelyhigher lying broad flats and slight rises, the nearly level somewhatpoorly drained Blount soils appear. Glynwood soils, which are gentlysloping moderately well drained soils, are located on yet higher convexside slopes.

Silty, loamy, and clayey soils of the Blount-Glynwood-Morleyassociation (4) occur on till plains and moraines. Nearly level and gen-tly sloping Blount soils occur on a slightly lower position on the land-scape than the Glynwood soils and are somewhat poorly drained.TheGlynwood soils, which are moderately well drained, are similar andadjacent to Blount and Morley soils, but have slopes ranging from 3 to6 percent.Well drained Morley soils, which generally appear higher onthe landscape than Glynwood soils, occur on the more dissectedareas of the landscape.

Both the Blount-Glynwood-Morley (4) and theBlount-Pewamo-Glynwood (5) associations fall with-in this hydrologic soil group. Both associationsformed from fine to moderately fine textured glacialtill and are found primarily on till plains andmoraines.

Soils in hydrologic group D have very slow rates ofinfiltration and transmission. In the Maumee Riverbasin this group consists primarily of soils having apermanent high water table and/or organic materials.Soil series included in hydrologic group D includeFulton, Latty, Nappanee, Hoytville, and Montgomery.Undrained tracts dominated by Houghton (association19) soils and undrained depressional areas dominatedby Pewamo soils are also classified in soil group D.Undrained Pewamo soils commonly are found inswalesand drainageways on till plains and moraine. Inaddition, the Lake Maumee Plain contains soil associ-ations classified in hydrologic group D: Hoytville-Nappanee-Blount (32) and Montgomery-Stole-Lenawee (33).

Figure 22. Location of major soil associations(adapted from U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1982 and Natural

Resource Conservation Service STATSGO data 1995)

NOTE: Soils of Regions 2, 4, 5, and 8-13 are not located in the

Maumee River Basin

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT - Indiana · PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Climate, geology and soils affect the availability of surface-water and ground-water resources. Climatic factors largely determine

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