Near the eastern boundary of the town a remarkable ravine or pass, locally known as the ÒNotchÓ bisects the elevated range of land which has been described. This ravine is about two miles in length, three hundred feet in depth at the deepest point and just wide enough at the bottom for the county road which passes through it. Before the advent of the railroad to this part of Maine, it was regarded as the national inlet to the outside markets for the inhabitants of Piscataquis County. In harmony with this view, a road was established through the ravine in 1846 by a joint action of the commissioners of Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties.

It was not built and open for travel until 1860. The course of the ravine through the hill range is south, bearing a little in the east.

A moraine, locally known as a horseback, approaches the ravine from the north, terminating at its entrance. Resuming its form and course at the south end of the ravine, it extends through several towns.

At some points this moraine presents the appearance of a well constructed road. At other points it broadens and sometimes reaches an elevation of forty of fifty feet, Sections of it are used for the public travel and are kept in good condition at trifling cost. On each side of the hilly range near the line of the moraine there are deep basins resembling the basin of a pond.

Geologists trace the existence of the ravine, the moraine and basin to the same source.

According to their theory, an immense glacial or iceberg, coming from the north in the glacial period of many thousand years ago, moving with irresistible force towards the present oceanic waters, made its way through the hilly range leaving the notch to inspire coming 18 generations with wonder. In its progress it had scooped up enormous quantities of drift, which, becoming incorporated with it, formed a constituent pat of this huge glacier.

As it moved onward, the drift, including clay, sand, gravel, pebbles and boulders, was deposited forming a ridge now known as a moraine. An examination of this moraine reveals the existence of all materials included in the geologic tern, drift.