Two floods of extreme magnitude occurred in the Wabash Valley during late Wisconsinan time. The First flood occurred when meltwater that was stored in disintegrating ice to the north was rapidly released into the valley at a point near Delphi Indiana. During the period of gradually increasing flow, a coarsening- and thickening-upward sequence was deposited, and at peak flow, crossbedded cobble gravels accumulated in sets as much as 5 m thick. Trough crossbeds were deposited along narrow reaches of the valley where flow depths and velocities were greatest. Along wider reaches, however, where velocities and depths were less, tabular and convex upward crossbeds were deposited, and in the widest parts of the valley, where the flow was too shallow to maintain equilibrium bedforms, planar-bedded gravels accumulated. The second flood occurred when a morainal dam was breached and glacial Lake Maumee drained out of the Lake Erie basin and into the valley at Fort Wayne. During initial stages the flood eroded a deep trench in older outwash in the valley, sculpted bedrock outcrops in the valley floor, and carved flutes in uplands where the flow topped valley margins. Deposition occurred during the waning stage, when disorganized cobble gravels in lee-eddy, pendant, and expansion bars were deposited, a train of megaripples was established, and sediments accumulated in the lee of large-scale obstructions on the channel floor. During both floods, flow strength declined quickly. Waning stage of the first flood is marked only in the uppermost parts of the sequence, where increased sand content, channel-Fills of sand and Fine gravel, and diminished bed-set thickness occur. In the upper parts of the bars deposited during the second flood, sediments fine upward markedly and are organized into well-defined planar beds.

Abstract An embankment on the new Ohio Turnpike, 35 feet high, started to fail on September 1, 1955, just a month prior to the date of opening of the highway. The toe of the north side of the embankment started to bulge, and cracks developed on the flanks and in the pavement. The situation was controlled by placing backfill on the toe and flank of the embankment, making the final slope 1 to 3, with an intermediate berm of 1 to 10. Grout was placed beneath the pavement to fill the voids caused by the slumping. Boreholes drilled through the embankment indicated that cause of failure was pore pressure and instability developed in lake beds underlying the embankment. Maximum pore pressures of 13 feet were observed, which in the ensuing months gradually declined.