418 OBSERVATIONS ON THE GEOLOGY 



from fifteen to twenty five miles, bounded on the north east 

 from Connecticut river to New-Haven, by the sea, where it 

 ends, to recommence on the soutb side of Hudson river; from 

 Elizabeth town to Trenton, it touches the alluvial. From a lit- 

 tle above Morrisville on the Delaware to Nornstown, Maytown 

 on the Susquehannah, passing three miles west of York, Han- 

 over, and one mile west of Fredericktown, it is bounded by, 

 or rather appears to cover a tongue of transition, which occu- 

 pies progressively a diminishing width as far south as Dan river. 



This secondary formation is interrupted after it passes Fre- 

 dericktown, but begins again between Monocasy and Seneca 

 creeks, the north eastern boundary crossing the Potomac, by 

 the west of Centerville, touches the primitive near the Rap- 

 pahannock, where it finishes. On the north west side it is bound- 

 ed by the primitive, from some distance to the westward of 

 Hartford, passing near Woodbury, and recommt ncing south of 

 the Fludson, passing by Mornstown, Germantown, &c. to the 

 Delaware; after which it continues along the transition, by the 

 east side of Reading, Grub's mines, Middletown, Fairfield, to 

 near the Potomac, and recommencing at Noland's ferry, runs 

 along the edge of the transition to the westward of Leesburg, 

 Haymarket &c. to near the Rappahannock. 



All this secondary appears to be the oldest red sandstone for- 

 mation, though in some places about Leesburg, Reading &c. 

 the red sandstone only serves as cement to a pudding, formed 

 of limestone of transition, and other transition rock pebbles, 

 with some quartz pebbles. Large beds of greenstone trap and 

 wacke of different kinds, cover in many places this sandstone 

 formation, and form the small hills, or long ridges which occur 

 so frequently in it. 



The stratification in most places runs from an east and west 

 to a north east and south west course, and dips generally to the 

 N. W. at an angle most frequently under 45 degrees from the 

 horizon, covering both the primitive and transition formations, 

 at every place where their junction could be examined; and 

 in some places, such as the east side of the Hudson (where the 

 action of the ater had worn away the sandstone) the smooth 

 water-worn primitive was covered with large roiled masses of 



