USA > New York > A gazetteer of the state of New York: comprising its topography, geology, mineral resources, civil divisions, canals, railroads and public institutions; together with general statistics; the whole alphabetically arranged. Also statistical tables of distances with a new township map of the state > Part 2
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12
GEOLOGY.
kanic system is clearly stratified, and is wholly unconnected with gneiss, serpentine, granite, sienite, steatite or hornblende. Mica slate, with garnets, however, do occur in masses among the rocks of the Taghkanic system, and this may be considered as a strong argument against the separation of the rocks, as proposed. The talcose rocks are, however, clearly different from those of the gneiss system, or those east of the Hoosick mountain, and the mica slate may come up among the Taghkanic rocks, and yet on a careful observation be found to be dis- tinct from them. We believe this will be found to be the fact. On the whole, in regard to those rocks we have denominated " Taghkanic," we believe they ought to be separated from those on the east, being, as a whole, clearly distinct from them.
NEW-YORK TRANSITION SYSTEM.
Having given very briefly the character, extent and position of the primary masses, we are prepared to enter upon the consideration of a- class of rocks quite different in their origin, presenting phenomena which contrast remarkably with those described in the preceding pages. The name for these rocks which we have preferred and still prefer, is Transition ; but for reasons unnecessary to state here, we shall propose the name New-York Transition System, including in this designation all the rocks below the old red sandstone. It is perhaps proper to remark that the division of the strata composing the surface of the earth into primary, transition, secondary and tertiary, has been very generally adopted both in this country and in Europe. The sec- ondary rocks are entirely wanting in this state. But the transition have a more perfect development than in any other section of country of which we have an account. No correct knowledge of the geology of the state, had been acquired, upon which to found a correct classifica- tion of the New-York rocks, until the geological survey was under- taken. After a tour of five years, and a thorough examination of the rocks by the State Geologists, they have been able to determine the relations and position of the masses which compose the transition sys- tem, and to ascertain with some degree of exactness, the subordinate groups into which this system may be divided. It has however been a matter attended with some difficulty to establish clearly and satisfacto- rily a mode of grouping which should be in all instances conformable to nature. The difficulty arises in part from certain changes which occur in the rocks themselves ; thus it is ascertained that a mass which is thick and important in the eastern part of the state, becomes thin and unimportant at the west, or perhaps disappears entirely. By this change, rocks which are separated by thick masses at the east, come in contact at the west. Our limits will not permit us to enter into de- tails of this nature in this place. We need only refer the reader to the Geological reports and the various essays which have appeared in the scientific journals during the last five years. With these preliminary remarks we shall present a tabular view of the rocks composing the New-York Transition System.
13
GEOLOGY.
NEW YORK TRANSITION SYSTEM.
1. Sandstone and shales of Chemung and Ithaca.
Erie Group,
2. Moscow and Ludlowville shales.
1. Onondaga Limestone.
2. Schoharie Grit.
3. Brown Shales Sandstone.
4. Encrinal Limestone.
5. Oriskany Sandstone.
6. Greenish shaly Limestone.
7. Pentamerus Limestone.
1. Onondaga Salt and Plaster rocks.
2. Rochester Shales and Limestone.
3. Argillaceous Iron ore.
4. Medina Sandstone.
1. Gray Sandstone and Conglomerate
2. Lorrain Shales.
3. Utica Slate.
4. Trenton Limestone.
Champlain Group,
5. Birdseye.
6. Chazy Limestone.
7. Calciferous.
8. Potsdam Sandstone.
It is proper to remark in relation to the above grouping, that it ap- pears to be sufficiently exact for all the purposes of the geologist. Where rocks are perfectly conformable as those of New-York, it will never be possible to draw clear lines of distinction between the under- lying or overlying masses. So also it is difficult to determine whether certain beds, even those of considerable thickness, ought to be placed in a given group, as they often partake of the characters of two or more groups, and for this reason geologists may very honestly differ. For this reason geographical names are admissible, and perhaps have the preference over those which are descriptive, inasmuch as the latter are rarely applicable to the same mass at different localities, while the former lead the inquirer to those localities where the masses are best developed and the best characterized. The general characters and boundaries of the groups and series of rocks which constitute the New- York Transition System, will now be given.
CHAMPLAIN GROUP.
Wecommence with the lowest, which is composed of sandstone in the lowest portion : the lowest layers are generally a conglomerate, pass- ing into a fine-grained sandstone, of which there are two varieties; the sharp angular, a sub-crystalline sandstone, as at Whitehall, Keese- ville and numerous other places, in the north-eastern part of the state, and the granular variety, which is more or less porous, as at Potsdam; Malone, Gouverneur, &c. ; the color varies from brown to white. The limestones of this group are the calciferous, Chazy, birdseye, and Tren- ton. Shales and thin bedded sandstones, terminating in a thick mass of the latter, next succeed the limestones. A bed of conglomerate occurs in this mass as at Utica. The limestones, all of them in different por-
Helderbergh Series,
Ontario Group,
14
GEOLOGY.
tions, furnish marble and lime of an excellent quality. The sandstone is always a durable building stone, and in many parts of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, furnishes a fine material for building, for the manufacture of glass, sand paper, and for polishing hard bodies. The gray, thick bedded sandstone, forming the highest portion of this group, furnishes a fine, even-grained and sharp-gritted stone, suitable for grindstones. This, on the eastern border, is a more refractory rock, less even-grained, and more indurated. In Quebec, however, it is the principal material for the construction of walls and buildings. This group surrounds the primary north of the Mohawk valley, being well developed on the sides, as along Lake Champlain and in the Mo- hawk valley, and extending up as far as Rutland, in Jefferson county. Along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, below French creek and the north Provincial line, we find only the lowest part of this group, as the Potsdam sandstone and calciferous sand rock. This group also extends south along both sides of the Hudson to the Highlands. Its south-western border extends to Coeymans, onwards, and through the Mohawk valley to Lake Ontario. On the eastern border of the state it rests upon the Taghkanic system already described. It pre- serves the same relation through Vermont and Lower Canada. The dip of the upper portion of this group in the eastern counties, is to the east, which appears to have been produced by uplifts extending from the southern Highlands through the eastern counties of New-York into Vermont and Lower Canada. Another uplift accompanied with a frac- ture, runs north-west one and a half miles west of Coeymans Landing, parallel to the Helderberg, into the Mohawk valley. The north-west- ern portion is but little disturbed ; the shales, limestones and sand- stone having only a slight inclination to the south or south-west. Our limits will not permit us to notice the fossils of this or the succeeding groups. I may remark however, that those of the lower portion of the Champlain group are mostly undescribed.
ONTARIO GROUP.
This group consists of three distinct portions : First, a marly sand- stone, which is red, brown, green and variegated, or spotted. A large proportion is soft, and disintegrates rapidly, by exposure to the weather. The upper mass is called the gray band, but is only four feet thick, and is hard. Second, a series of soft green shales, with a single layer of argillaceous oxide of iron, succeeding to which are numerous beds of argillaceous and silicious limestones in thin beds, and which alter- nate with each other, the whole terminating in a limestone remarkably geodiferous, at Rochester and Lockport, and hence called the geodife- rous lime rock, but from its development on the Niagara river, has been changed to Niagara limestone. Third, the gypsum and salt rocks, consisting of Ist, a red shale ; 2d, gypsum more or less shaly ; 3d, a porous rock, denominated vermicular lime rock ; 4th, limestone, with needleform cavities, or rather columns, with the impression of needleform crystals. The third mass has been called the Onondaga salt group. The Ontario group is bounded on the north by Lake On- tario. It extends east to Oswego county, where it meets the Cham- plain group. It is found a little south of Manlius and Onondaga, in which direction it continues till it reaches Niagara river, by which the lower mass is cut through and exposed. It occupies, therefore, a very
15
GEOLOGY.
distinct belt, nearly equal in length to Lake Ontario, and about twenty miles wide. This group dips to the south about one foot in eighty- seven ; its development is the most perfect in the central part of the state. The whole thickness of the group cannot exceed one thousand feet. The upper part is most important, as it contains the plaster and salt, and beds of water limestone.
HELDERBERG SERIES.
In enumerating the rocks composing this series, we commence with the pentamerus lime rock, resting, at the foot of the Helderberg, upon the Manlius water lime. The pentamerus rock is a rough, gray and rather irregular thick bedded limestone. Above this is a dingy green shaly limestone, with tough layers of a dark green color, some portion entirely shaly and decomposable. The next mass is the Oriskany sandstone, but only one foot thick ; in some places it is a perfect horn- stone, in others it contains lime. Succeeding to this is a thin mass of encrinal limestone, above which is the remarkable brown shaly sand- stone, with feathery appearances in the upper part, considered by some as fucoidal impressions. The rock has been denominated cocktail grit. The middle portion is a dark shaly sandstone, breaking into short pieces. A calcareous sandstone, about four feet thick, appears above the latter, and is remarkable for the abundance of fossils. The Helderberg limestone completes the series. It is a gray, rather thick bedded rock, and contains many cyathophilli syringapores, &c. The upper, is cherty, and is often black, or much darker and more irreg- ular than the lower mass. This series of rocks are more perfectly de- veloped in Albany and Schoharie counties, than in other parts of the state. The pentamerus, shaly limestone, and the shaly sandstone, thin out in their progress westward. The fossils of this series are At- rypa, affinis and concentrica, delthyris, pachyoptera, pentamerus, ga- leatus, and several genera belonging to the Crustacea, as Calymene, Asaphus, Crypheris, Selemenus, and Cyathophylli. Encrinites also abound in the series.
ERIE GROUP.
This group is divisible into two portions ; the lower consists of shales upon thin beds of limestone, most of them quite decomposable, and abounding in septaria ; the upper, of thin even beds of gray sand- stone, with intervening shales, though much less than in the preceding. The first have received the name of Ludlowville shales, the latter Che- mung group. The northern boundary of the shales may be considered as extending to York, on the Genesee river ; an east and west line through the northern part of Seneca and Cayuga lakes, and directly west to Lake Erie, eight or nine miles south of Buffalo, would mark the boundary in question. They occupy a belt nearly twenty miles wide, through the middle of the state. The upper part of the group, con- sisting in part of a black shale and thin beds of limestone, but mostly of gray, thin-bedded sandstones, occupy the whole of the southern tier of counties. They form beds of passage into the old red sandstone.
The regular succession of these groups constitute a remarkable fea- ture in the geology of New-York. They have a slight dip to the south and south-west; they are scarcely disturbed by uplifts, and succeed each other towards the south until they are lost beneath the old red sandstone. The fossils of this group are very numerous and beautiful;
16
GEOLOGY.
they belong to the genera, Orthis, Delthyris, Leptæna, Avicula, Pteri- nea, Pecten, &c.
OLD RED SANDSTONE, OR OLD RED SYSTEM.
As a system, it consists of gritty, micaceous shales, and thick and thin bedded micaceous sandstones, mostly of a deep red color. In addi- tion to these, are conglomerates, brown slaty grits, soft red and green shales. The area occupied by the old red sandstone is confined mostly to the Catskill mountains ; which, being traced downwards in the di- rection of Schoharie and Albany counties, terminates in the flagging stones of the Chemung rocks. All the upper portion of the Catskills are occupied by the red sandstone, which, around the base, are beds of passage from the transition to the old red system. This system is finely developed in part in ascending from Catskill creek to the Mountain House, in a series of terraces which expose the out cropping edges, as they rise one above the other. Their lithological characters have been already given, and very few fossils, if any, have been found in the rocks of the Catskill mountains. The same rock, however, contains the scales and bones of sauroid fish, one of which is the holoptychus nobilissimus. To the west the old red sandstone disappears, extending in this state no farther than the county of Allegany, unless it should be proved, and that is very probable, that the conglomerate which occu- pies some of the highest parts of Cattaraugus and Chautauque counties, is a portion of that rock.
GREENSTONE, TRAP AND PORPHYRY.
In the preceding account of the New-York rocks, we have omitted an interesting class which occur with far less regularity than those which have formed the subjects of remark. We refer to the class de- nominated trap, or greenstone trap, and porphyry. This class occurs in New-York under two forms. The first, which is the most imposing, and perhaps also the most important, is in the form of columnar masses, as the Palisades on the west side of the Hudson, a few miles above New-York city, on the boundary line between New-York and New- Jersey : second, in narrow veins with parallel sides, and frequently projecting above the rock they traverse; hence they were denominated dykes or walls in Scotland. The forms and varieties we have men- tioned differ very little in mineral character ; thus they are usually of a dark green, or grayish, or reddish perhaps upon the outside, in conse- quence of the weather, and generally extremely tough and difficult to break. In the mass they usually present a columnar structure ; in the first variety the columns are perpendicular, standing upon and parallel to each other ; in the latter, the columns are disposed horizontally, or from one side of the vein to the other. Trap rocks, whether in colum- nar form, as the Palisades, or in veins, or stony dikes, are now consid- ered by all geologists as of igneous origin; that is, as having been in a melted state, and injected while fluid into fissures, or as having been poured out upon the bottom of a sea, or upon the surface of other rocks, and there cooled under great pressure, which gives the compact structure, and in which respect they differ from lavas. Trap dykes are extremely abundant in the northern section of the state ; scarcely a mine of iron exists without being traversed by a dyke, which some- times deranges the direction of the vein. One remarkable dyke, eighty
17
GEOLOGY.
feet wide, cuts through almost entirely Mount McMartin, at Avalanche lake, a mountain more than 4000 feet high. This dyke possesses more the character of sienite than the ordinary greenstone. Trap and green- stone are placed among the unstratified rocks. A careful inspection of this stratum will generally convince the most sceptical that it has been a molten mass ; and further, that it is impossible that it should have been deposited from a fluid in a mode similar to the sandstones and limestones. One remark seems worthy of particular attention, viz : that greenstone is rarely a rock which bears the valuable metals, though that form called trap dykes are the most constant associates of the iron veins of the north and south. The earthy minerals, some of which are of great beauty, are very frequently associated with it, as prehnite, stilbite, chabasie, laumonite, &c .; some of the varieties of quartz, as amethyst, chalcedony, and silicious sinter. Porphyry is a rock which consists of a compact feldspar, in which crystals or small masses of the same substance, occur imbedded. Any massive mineral or rock, however, in which crystals are disseminated, is frequently called porphyry. This rock is of the smallest extent, probably, of any in the state ; the only distinct locality is between the village of Essex and Split Rock on Lake Champlain. It is a compact mass in the slate, of a reddish color, and columnar structure, in which small white crys- tals of feldspar are imbedded. A beautiful dendritic variety occurs here, which make fine cabinet specimens. The porphyry at this local- ity extends over thirty or forty acres ; it appears also to extend up the lake about four miles, where it occurs, forming a bold, interesting bluff.
POST TERTIARY. CLAYS, SANDS, GRAVELS AND BOULDERS.
Our Geological sketches, thus far, of the New-York system of rocks, have been confined to the indurated or solid masses ; it would, however, be left incomplete if we stopped here, for the most superficial observer cannot fail to observe something remarkable in the softer ma- terials, which are spread without order in many instances, over all other formations, without regard to age. These softer materials are composed of clay, sand, gravel, and large loose rounded stones or rocks. They may be divided into three classes,-1st, clays and sands belonging to a formation called Post Tertiary ; 2d, the gravels and stones of the Boulder formation ; 3d, clays and sands of the Alluvial. The first, or Post Tertiary, comprehend the clays and sands which skirt the shores of the River St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain and the Hudson. This formation is divided into three parts, the stiff blue clay beneath, the yellowish brown clay in the middle, and the sands of the upper part of the formation. It differs essentially from the beds of clay of the alluvial, as it is strictly an ancient marine deposit. This becomes evident from the presence of marine shells along the shores of the St. Lawrence and Champlain. The following species may be enu- merated : Mya arenaria, Mya truncata, Tellina calcarea, Balanus miser. These and several other species are the present inhabitants of the Atlantic. Compared with the Tertiary of Europe, this formation is recent, as the coloring matter of the shells remains. Second, the Boulder formation or Diluvial ; it may be described as a coating of sand, gravel and boulders, large and small, and rounded by attrition, which have been spread unevenly over the surface, and which in many
2
18
GEOLOGY.
places have been heaped up into conical or round hills ; the materials composing them mixed without order or regularity. It was originally formed by powerful currents of water, which swept over the surface in a northerly and southerly direction, carrying along the loose materials, and spreading them far and wide. No fossils are found in this stratum ; sometimes we may observe stratification, but it appears to be due to a subsequent operation. The third class of loose materials termed Allu- vial, are the gravel, sand, &c. now collecting by the various agencies of nature. The beds accumulating at the mouths of rivers, or in low grounds, and the matters washed up by the sea, all belong to this class. Of course the most extensive and important are found along the sea coast ; islands, in fact, are often formed by these agencies ; but it is important to know also that the same agents which form the alluvial, are also destroying many parts of the same coasts. To illustrate some- what in detail, the agents now at work in the formation of the alluvial, we present the following brief account of the geology of Long Island, reserved for this place, as it may be considered as composed mostly of materials collected by diluvial and alluvial agencies. This sea-girt portion of the state, although not presenting as much interest and va- riety to the geologist as some other parts, yet there is probably enough known to warrant the belief of its gradual formation by natural cau- ses, and that a greater part of the island, if not the whole, has been reclaimed from the ocean. It is abundantly demonstrated that very extensive alterations have taken place and are still in progress upon the shores, and within the bays and harbors, by the inroads which the sea is incessantly making in some places, and the large accretions to the land in other localities ; frequently new inlets are formed on the south side of the island, by the action of the waters during storms, communicating with the bays and marshes, and as often fills up other channels.
There is a range of hills running from east to west, nearly through the centre of the Island, extending from New Utrecht to Montauk Point, varying from 100 to 300 feet in height ; the highest point is Harbor Hill, in the town of North Hempstead. To the north of this range, erratic rocks and boulders are observed on the surface, and im- bedded in a series of strata forming the hills ; on the south they are rarely if ever found, the soil being mostly composed of fine pebbles, gravel and sand. "It would seem," remarks a late scientific traveller, " a natural conclusion that the great body of this island, or perhaps more properly the materials of which it is composed, were at some former period covered by the ocean ; and that by some cause which cannot now be discovered, were thrown up into their present form. That Long Island was once united with the main land, towards its west- ern end, has been believed by a great multitude of persons, from a bare inspection of the scenery. The narrowness and winding of the straits in many places, the multitude of intervening rocks and islands, the projection and course of the points between this island and the counties of New-York and Westchester, and the general aspect of both shores, have produced this opinion in minds which have been formed to very different modes of thinking." For a further and full descrip- tion of this part of the state, see " History of Long Island," by B. F. THOMPSON, Esq.'
19
MINERAL RESOURCES.
MINERAL RESOURCES.
IN speaking of the economical geology of the state, our plan will be to consider the valuable productions of each formation separately, beginning with those of the primitive rocks.
IRON ORE.
The most important, and at the same time the most abundant of the valuable minerals found in the primary rocks, is iron ore. Of this there are two varieties or species, the Magnetic and Specular Oxides.
The Magnetic Oxide occurs generally in beds or veins, in granite or gneiss. The specular oxide, which is distinguished from the magnetic oxide, by its red powder, and feeble action upon the needle, is found in the primary, and also sometimes in connection with the Pots- dam sandstone above, and gneiss below, as at the Kearney and Parrish cre beds in St. Lawrence county. The magnetic oxide is the species so abundant in the counties of Essex, Clinton, Warren and Franklin. Extensive deposits of it are also found in St. Lawrence county, but the specular oxide is the most abundant in this county, so far as observa- tion extends. It also occurs in enormous quantities in the gneiss of the Highlands, in Orange county. A full description of the different veins and beds would occupy more space than we have at our disposal; we give merely a notice of the localities of the principal deposits, and when we have sufficient data, the amount of iron made from them. The development of the magnetic oxide of iron in Essex county, and the south-western part of Clinton county, surpasses that of any other counties in the state, or perhaps of any other district in the world of the same area. There are three mining districts in these counties ; one in Moriah and Schroon, another in Adirondack, and another in the valley of the Au Sable, besides numerous minor deposites.
Mines in the Valley of the Au Sable ..
The best ore, or that which has acquired the highest reputation, both from the bloomers and in market, is that known as the Arnold ore. There are three veins furnishing this ore, separated from each other by only a few feet of rock running parallel to each north and south. One known as the black ore, is from four to eleven feet wide ; another, of a light blue color, is about 8 feet wide ; the other, called the gray ore, is about the same width, but not so rich, owing to an admixture of rock in the ore. Although some slight difference exists in appear- ance, between these veins, yet they each produce iron of the same quality, which is remarkable for toughness and softness. About three miles west from the Arnold veins is a large and important vein, known as the Palmer ore bed. It is about thirty-five feet wide, but is not so rich in the vein as the Arnold ore. It furnishes a valuable, though somewhat harder iron, than the Arnold ore, and is consequently prefer- able, for some purposes, to that ore. Another vein about three miles north-west from Clintonville, known as the Cook ore bed, is a rich ore, though not so pure as to admit of smelting without washing ; it reduces to a very valuable iron. The main vein is about thirteen feet wide, besides which there are two or three smaller ones running paral- lel to it. The Battie vein is considered as a continuation of the Cook vein, and is about the same width, more or less mixed with white quartz and Hornblende ; it produces an iron similar to the Cook vein.
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