Glacial ice is not the only erosive force to act upon Gildersleeve Mountain. Glacial melt released huge amounts of water that flooded the landscape. This water cut ravines and filled others with clay and rocky debris. The Gildersleeve Mountain we see today is the result of hundreds of millions of years of erosion. The sedimentary rocks were created by ancient erosion of the land, and the worn-down relic of a higher peak is also the result of erosion. Flora Prior to European settlement the area was a vast northern hardwood forest. On Gildersleeve mountain this probably consisted of 3 types of forest. Beech-maple forest, hemlock hardwood forest, and oak hickory forest. as remnant stands of all three types remain. Old growth oak and maple can be found in a few locations where they were not claimed by 19th-century logging. In second growth areas mixed mesophytic forest is predominant and generally these trees are about 100 to 150 years old. The hemlock hardwood forest is one of the most unusual and interesting, but not uncommon on the Allegheny Plateau in the region. The chestnut oak is an interesting species found on the summit. Herbaceous species are numerous. The most interesting are found in the crevasses and cooler areas in the ledge system. Wild flower species are typical of the area. the brilliant red cardinal flower, is found near creeks. Red and white trillium are found where deer have not browsed. Cress, foam flowers, blue cohosh, and occasionally orchids are found. A wide variety of ferns can be found. A rare species of grass may be found in the ledges. Unfortunately, deer browse has seriously reduced the abundance of herbaceous species. The outcroppings have additional interest because club mosses and lichens can be found on their surfaces. Interesting fungi are present, but these disappear quickly given the fact that Gildersleeve Mountain is within a major American metropolitan area. Fauna The seeps and creeks running along the slopes provide a unique habitat. Dragonflies and damselflies (odonata) are of special interest to naturalists of the region and Gildersleeve mountain has been a site of recent discoveries. The first tiger spiketail, documented in Ohio, was discovered on Gildersleeve Mountain, in 2004. Other rare dragonflies documented on Gildersleeve Mountain include gray petaltail, comet darner, ocellated darner, and twin spotted spiketail. Crayfish are found in the creeks. Fish species are not found in the shallow fast running