1893. ] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 97 
A GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE IN THE 
VICINITY OF GOUVERNEUR, N. Y. 
BY Cc. H. SMYTH, JR., HAMILTON COLLEGE, 
Introductory.—Though noted for their minerals, the 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, topographically and geologically, an essential part. 
Questions in regard to the ages of certain formations have 
been discussed by Huntt, Brooks], Hall§, and Walcott||, while 
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 
abruptly from fiat 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 Cranberry 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., 2ist Ann. Rept. Regents University of New York, p. 88. 
+ Brooks, T. B., American Journal of Science iii., LV., p. 22. 
§ Hall, J., American Journal of Science, iii., XII., p. 298. 
| Waleott, C. D., Bulletin 81, U.S. G.S., p. 207. 
T Smock, J. C., Bulletin 7, N. Y. State Museum. 
Transactions N. Y. Acad. Sei. Vol. XII. April 10, 1893. 
