1893.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 97 



A GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE IN THE 

 VICINITY OF GOUVERNEUR, N. Y. 



BY C, H. SMYTH, JR., HAMILTON COLLEGE. 



Introihictory. — Thoup-li noted for their minerals, tlie northern 

 counties of New York have received little attention from 

 geologists since first described by Emmons*. Indeed, the same 

 may be said of most of the Adirondack region, of which these 

 counties are, topograj^hically and geologically, an essential part. 



Questions in regard to the ages of certain formations have 

 been discussed by Huntf, Brooks^, Hall§, and Walcott||, while 

 j^the iron ores have been described by Smock^. But so much 

 of the region remains practically undescribed that it does not 

 seem out of place to present briefly some results of an examina- 

 tion of a limited area lying in the towns of Gouverneur and 

 Fowler, St. Lawrence County. 



Topography. — Throughout the region examined the relation 

 between the geological structure and the topography is evident. 

 The larger hills are composed of tough gneiss, while the valleys 

 are excavated in limestone. The smaller elements of topography 

 follow the same rule, the alternations of hard and soft strata 

 inclined at high angles producing numerous short, steep ridges, 

 trending northeast, in accordance with the general strike of the 

 region. These ridges usually consist of bare rock and rise 

 al)ruptly from flat meadows, which are often swampy. The 

 maximum relief hardly exceeds four hundred feet, while the 

 elevation above sea level reaches about eight hundred feet. 



Glacial deposits are of limited extent and exert little influence 

 upon the topography, as compared with the effects produced in 

 more southern portions of the State. 



The region is drained by the Oswegatchie River, a consider- 

 able stream, rising in Cranberr}^ Lake, in the southern portion 

 of the county. Below Gouverneur village the river's course 

 shows a marked dependence upon rock structure, the stream 

 flowing in several large loops roughly parallel to the strike. 



* Emmons, E., Geology of N. Y.. 2d District. 



t Hunt, T. S., 'ilst Ann. Kept. Regents University of New York, p. 88. 



t Brooks. T. B., American Journal of Science iii., IV., p. 22. 



§ Rail, J., American Journal of Science, iii., XII., p. 298. 



II Walcott, C. D., Bulletin 81, U. S. G. S., p. 207. 



H Smock, J. C, Bulletin 7, N. Y. State Museum. 



Transactions N. Y. Acad. Sci. Vol. XII. April 10, 1893. 



