122 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
Lancaster Disrricr. 
The Granite of this District is laid bare by the Catawba River from Peay’s Ferry to Landsford, 
in a series of rapids having a fall of 200 feet in 10 miles, where this rock may be examined to 
great advantage. 
Gneiss and Hornblende Slates cover the surface towards the West, a few miles from the river ; 
and the eastern side of the District is occupied by the micaceous and talcose slates of the gold for- 
mation, which cover nearly one half its entire area. 
A more distinct view of the geological character of the District will be presented by the examina- 
tion of the rocks, as they present themselves in a continuous section north and south, than by 
examining them in the order of their relative geological position. 
Commencing with the section north of Bellair, we find the micaceous rocks overlaid by a belt of 
talco-micaceous slates, six or eight miles wide, consisting of a soft, whitish rock, containing much 
silicious matter, which gives it a rough touch on the disintegrated surface; but at a short distance 
below it becomes exceedingly hard and tough. There are several interesting gold mines in these 
slates, which have not yet been worked beyond a depth of forty feet—probably because of the fact 
just stated: the exceeding hardness of the rock that encloses the auriferous veins. 
We find along the ridges the usual phenomena accompanying the elevations among these slates, 
thick veins of compact quartz, which have no connection with the gold-bearing veins: they are 
quite different—being generally composed of hornstone, that becomes, by disintegration, arenaceous 
quartz. 
On the Catawba, at Turkey Point, a fine section of the rocks of this formation may be seen at a 
bluff which was once the site of an Indian village. Crystals of iron pyrites pervade the rock at 
this locality. From this the rock crosses the river, and may be seen on the York side, on the plan- 
tation of My. Sitgreaves, thinning out towards the granite ridge in the lower part of that District. 
Farther South gneiss and hornblende crop out from under the slates just described, and at the 
other extremity are cut off by a bed of sienitic granite. The rocks of an interesting settlement on 
Waxhaw Creek are trap and hornblende slate. Half a mile south of the creek a band of talcose 
slates crosses the road. Ridges of gneiss occupy the distance between this and the slate-hill, near 
the village, where a trap dyke occurs. After passing the village we again enter that portion of the 
gold formation which is drained by the tributary streams of Lynch’s Creek, on the West, and 
which covers so large a part of the District. 
The slates of this region present every gradation between mica and talcose slate, and are quite 
variously colored, white, red, and green. Strike N. 10° to 60° E. and the dip varies between 30° 
and 70° towards the N. W. 
Although the rocks of this formation are spread over so large a space, yet the productive veins 
are confined to a narrow belt, extending from the village to the N. E. corner of the District. One 
distinctive character marks the mines of Lancaster, namely, the almost entire absence of true veins, 
and the occurrence of the gold in beds, that in many cases require some skill to distinguish them 
from the ordinary slates. 
The gold, too, is rarely found in a gangue of common quartz; but universally occurs in hornstone, 
