334 Glacial Phenomena of Canada. 



The Catshill Mountains. — On the west side of the Hudson, 

 the Catskill Mountains rise, in their highest peaks, about 3600 

 feet above the sea, and nearly that height above the river, which 

 is tidal far above Albany. The strike, both of the Silurian and 

 Devonian rocks of the lower hills, is nearly north and south; and 

 after traversing a broken country for ten or twelve miles, the 

 Catskill Range itself rises in a long north and south escarpment, 

 nearly 3000 feet above the hilly ground that lies between it and 

 the river. At the town of Catskill, striations on the smoothed 

 surfaces run nearly north and south, following the trend of the 

 Hudson Valley between the Catskill and Green Mountains ; and 

 at other points between the river and the mountains they run 

 about N.N.E. I was anxious to discover if on the Catskill Moun- 

 tains themselves there were any signs of true glacier-action, this 

 range being much higher than any other elevations which I had 

 an opportunity of ascending. The low country is as much or 

 even more glaciated than Ano-lesea ; and the mountains are as 

 high as Snowdon ; and — though in latitude 42° N., whereas 

 North Wales is in latitude 52° to 53° — other conditions seemed 

 very much the same. Observations also in this region were of 

 more importance, since I am not aware that evidences of any 

 kind of glaoiation on these heights had previously been definitely 

 recorded. The accompanying sketch-map (fig. 3), constructed 

 on the spot, will give an idea of the topography of that part of 

 the range which I examined. 



I ascended from the mouth of the valley misnamed " Sleepy 

 Hollow," up the steep and winding road to Mountain House. 

 The mountain is almost everywhere covered by dense wood, so 

 that, except on the roadside, it is comparatively rare to find the 



may have been so completely covered with thick snow and ice, that, 

 always pressing downwards from the snow shed, the striations were 

 formed E. and "W., or transverse to the trend of the ranges ; but in 

 that case both in the valleys and on the sides and summits of the hills, 

 when fairly submerged, we might expect north and south striations 

 formed by the grating of bergs during the deposition of the northern 

 drift. In the case of isolated hills the stria? ought also to radiate from 

 their summits. I observed none of these appearances, but had not suffi- 

 cient time to search for them in detail. It is clear that the E. and W. 

 striations across the range were not made by a general terrestrial gla- 

 ciation during, or after, the re-elevation of the country, for then the 

 boulders, &c. transported from low to high levels would all have been 

 swept down again into the hollows. 



