﻿8S7 



NEW YORK. 



KEW YORK. 



from that lake, and after their union the river ifl called the Oswego 

 River The united river flows for about 24 mUea in a north-western 

 direction to its outfall in Lake Ontario. It» navigation has been 

 improved by locks and cuts, and its banks are Uued with manu- 

 facturing establishmenU, to which iU waters supply mill-power. 



Black River rises on the western declivities of the Adirondack 

 Mountains, and descends from the table-land of the northern region 

 first by a south-western and afterwards by a north-western course. 

 About 36 mUes from its mouth it turns west, and discharges its 

 waters into Black River Bay at the foot of Lake Ontario. This nver 

 runs about 110 mUes, but in many parts of its course it conrasts of a 

 series of cataracts and rapids. From the falls at Leyden the Black 

 River Canal extends to Lake Erie. Between Leyden and Carthage it 

 IB DAviffable by boats. , 



The table-land went of the Adirondack Mountains contains many 

 lakes and some of considerable extent. The most eastern ndges of 

 thew'mountains contain Lake George, or Lake Horicon, which extends 

 from south-south-west to north-north-east 36 miles, with a width of 

 from 2 to 5 miles. It is inclosed on all sides by high rocks, and con- 

 taimi many smaU rocky islands. It is 243 feet above the Hudson 

 River- it discharges iU water by a channel into Lake Champlam at 

 Ticonderoga. Along its banks are several ruined forts. The beauty 

 of its scenery makes it a favourite resort of tourists. Lake Champlam 

 extends northward into Lower Canada. [Champlaiu.] 



The largest river of New York, and one of the most important 

 rivers of the United States, is the Nudton. It is formed by two 

 branches which rise in the mounUina west of lakes Champlam and 

 Oeorge, and unite about 40 milea from their respecUve sources near 

 43° 80' N. lat. As both branches descend from a very elevated region, 

 their current is very rapid, and frequently interrupted by rapids an<l 

 cataracts. The united river runs soutliward for some distaooe, and 

 where it begins to turn to the east, it is precipitated over a ledge of 

 rocks, and forms the Great Falls. Twenty miles lower down are Glens 

 Falls' where the river turns again to the south, which direction it 

 maintains with slight deviations to its month. Below Glens Falls the 

 river becomes navigable, though the current continues to be rapid to 

 the mouth of the Mohawk River. The tide ascends the river as far as 

 the mouth of the Mohawk, and below this point the nver has* mean 

 brewlth of nearly a mile. In some places it widens considerably and 

 appears like a lake, as above Newburg. and still more above Tappan. 

 About 80 miles from ite mouth, which is between Sandy Hook in New 

 Jeney and the western extremity of Long Island, the river divides 

 Into two arms, which inclose the isUnd of ManhatUn. Tl". .•«♦-«. 



The eastern 



any other state. They extend from the Hudson to Lake Erie (by the 

 Erie Canal, 364 miles long), with branches in nil directions ; fiom the 

 Hudson to the Delaware (83 miles long) ; from Lake Cliamplain to 

 Lake Ontario (64 miles) noticed under Champlain Lake, and towards 

 all the other commercial centres : there are in all about 930 miles of 

 canal belonging to this state. 



The railways are still more extensive and important. On the Ist of 

 January 1855, New York state possessed 32 lines of railway, of the 

 aggregate length of 2625 miles ; and 801 miles more were iu course 

 of construction. The total cost of these railways had been 111,882,500 

 dollars, or nearly twice as much as the railways of any other state of 

 the Union. These railways traverse the state in the dii-ection of every 

 leading route of traffic. Plank roads, which are here greatly valued, 

 are likewise laid down to almost every trading centre; and the 

 ordinary carriage roads are ample in number and everywhere well 

 kept. 



Otology, Mineralogy, <tc. — The rocks of New York ore almost en- 

 tirely igneous and palcoozoic. Eruptive and Metamorphic rooks occur 

 in two great groups, and occupy together nearly one-thii'd of tlie state. 

 The larger group is nearly circular in form, and comprises the 

 Adirondack Mountain district, iu the northern part of the state. The 

 second group occupies a smaller district iu the south-eastei-n part of 

 the stat.-, including Putnam and Westchester counties, the larger part 

 of New York, *c. The rocks include granite, serpentine, primary 

 limestones, greenstone, trap, porphyry, sieuite, gneiss, hornblende, 

 mica-schi«t, telcose slate, steatite, &o. Silurian rocks also prevail over 

 a wide area. Lower Silurian strata occur in the northern end of the 

 state, from the head of Luke Cliamplain to the St. Lawrence, and 

 form throughout the banks of this river. The head of Lake Ontario is 

 also surrounded by Lower Silurian strata, which thence cross the 

 state to the Hudson, with a mean breadth of about 20 miles. The 

 banks of the Hudson, down to the Highlands, likewise belong to this 

 formation. The strata consist in the ascending series of a hard brown 

 sandstone, gray limestones, light green shales, a san<lstone of very 

 beautiful appearance and great durability, known as Pots<iam Sand- 

 stone ; then a calciferous sand rook ; then hard and very fossiliferous 

 limestones, but varying considerably in character iu different localities, 

 sod thence known as Bird's-Eye, Chazy, Trenton, and other limestones, 

 and surmounting all are various shales and roofing slates, known as 

 Lorraine Shale, Utica Slate, &c. Upper Silurian strata occupy the 

 entire southern side of Lake Erie, and thence follow on the soutli 

 and we«t, in a narrow baud, the course of the Lower Silurian rocks 

 through the state. These rocks consist of gray-sandstoues and con- 



called Haerlam River, and after it has united glomerates, above which are various sandstones and limestones, known 



and mors narrow arm is 



to Long Island Sound, East River. Where the river meets Long 

 Island Sound ia the strait ahready noticed called Hell-Gate. At the 

 city of New York the East River again unitea with the West River, or 

 proper Hudson, and the spacioos bay of New York is formed. But 

 before the river enters the sea, it sends off another arm to the weat- 

 ward, which surrounds Staten Island, under the names of Newark 

 Bey, the Kills, and Amboy Bay. The Hudson is navigable for large 

 «hipa to Hudson, 118 milea from iU mouth, and for sloops and large 

 (teamen to Albany, 146 miles from its mouth; smaller steamboats 

 ■Mend to Troy, 6 miles farther. It may be ascended by boats to 

 Olens Falls, but tiis navigation ia now superseded by the Champlain 

 Canal, which extends along iU right bank. The Hudson railway runs 

 for the most part along the left bank of the river, but in many places 

 crosses it on embankments. By the Erie Canal it is connected with 

 the great western lakes ; and by the Delaware Canal with the Delaware 

 River. The whole course of the river exceeds 300 miles. After 

 iaaoing from the mountain region the Hudson is not joined by any 

 considerable tribuUry, except the MohoAck River, which rises on the 

 table-laud west of the Essex range, near 75° 80' W. long., and runs 

 southward. One of its upper branches, Utica Creek, forms 14 miles 

 north of Utica, the Trenton Falls, by which Ithe river descends 387 

 feet in a space of less than 5 miles. Below the viUage of Herkimer the 

 Mohawk forms the Little Falls, by which the river descends more 

 than 30 feet in the distance of a mile. About two miles above its 

 month ape the Cohoes Falls, 62 feet in perpendicular height. The tide 

 (Mends to the last-named falls. At Waterford the Mohawk joins the 

 Hndspn, after a course of about 120 miles. It ia little used for naviga- 

 tion, the Erie Canal passing along its right bank. 



The St. Lawrence and the Niagara rivers and lakes Ontario and 

 Brie, which belong partly to this state and partly to Canada, are 

 described generally under Canada. The St. Lawrence is navigable 

 for (loops to Odensburg, 60 miles from Lake Ontario, below which 

 Hs course ia so much interrupted by rapids as to render navigation 

 diCBcult and dangerous. Of Lake Erie only about 60 miles of coast 

 belongs to New York, but the commerce of this district is immense, 

 and steadily increasing. Its harbours are Buffalo and Dunkirk, and 

 the canals and railways which converge ujion the lake afford tho 

 greatest facilities for the extension of commerce. Of Lake Ontario 

 the whole southern coast belongs to Now York, it has several good 

 harbours, the most noted being Sockets's Harbour near the east end 

 of the lake. It is connected with Lake Erie by the Welland Canal. 

 The trade between the United States and Canada is chiefly carried on 

 by Lake Ontario : it ia of great and constantly growing extent. 



New York hM a more extensive and grander system of canals than 



as the soft green and variegated Medina sandstone, Oneida group, 

 Water-lime group, pentamerus, encrinal, green-shaly, and Oi-iskany 

 limestones, with saliferous and gypseous rocks, known as the Onondaga 

 salt group. The Devonian formation comprises the basin of Lake 

 Erie, and so much of the state as lies between the Silurian rocks and 

 Pennsylvania. It is composed of numerous and very deep strata, the 

 whole formation here attaining, it ia said, a depth of 14,000 feet. Very 

 fossiliferous sandstones, known as the Oriskauy sandstoue, Sehobarie 

 grit, Ac, form the lowest beds ; then occur various Umestouee, known 

 as the Helderberg, Ac, with a great extent of marl and black schistose 

 clay ; the whole being crowned by a very deep red-sandstone, corres- 

 ponding to the Old Red-Sandstone of Great Britain ; this is the 

 prevalent rock of the Catakill Mountains, or KaJitsberg, and hence has 

 been denominated by the state geologists Kaatsbcrg sandstoue. The 

 Carboniferous basin of Pennsylvania does not appear to extend into 

 New York ; nor are there any of what are called Secondary strata. 

 Long Island consists wholly of Tertiary and recent deposits; and 

 raised beaches and recent deposits occur along the shores of the lakes 

 and larger rivers. The most important of the raised beaches is a 

 lofty bank of sand and gi-avel, known as the Ridge Road, which extends 

 along the whole southern coast of Lake Ontario, at a distance of from 

 6 to 8 miles from it. It is from 100 to 150 feet high, and forms a 

 natural highway. At one period it evidently formed the bank of 

 the lake. 



New York is rich in minerals. Iron abounds in various parts. In 

 the primary rocks of the Adirondack Mountains it occurs in enormous 

 quantities as a magnetic oxide. As a specular oxide it occurs largely 

 in the north-western part of the state. As hematitic ore it is very 

 widely spread through the middle and southern districts. Among tho 

 recent strata it occurs iu considerable quantities in the form of argil- 

 laceous or bog ore. Graphite is found in the primary rocks both iu 

 the north and south. Lead occurs in enormous quantities in St. Law- 

 rence county, in the north-west of the state ; and is also found, though 

 not so abundantly, in other parts. Copper, zinc, arsenic, barytes, and 

 strontium are likewise obtained, though not largely. Alum is found 

 in several places. Gypsum is obtained in the Onondaga group of 

 Upper Silurian strata noticed above. Soapstone, talc, carbonate, 

 hydrate, and sulphate of magnesia, asbestos, jcc, with garnet, beryl, 

 chrysoberyl, tourmaline, and various other minerals are found through- 

 out the state. As will have been noticed in our sketch of the geology 

 of the state, the most prevalent rocks are limestones and sandatoiies ; 

 and these, with the primary rocks, furnish a retnarkably varied and 

 almost inexhaustible supply of excellent building stone. Coal, as 

 already mentioned, does not occur, except indeed some layers of 



