514 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



discovered no traces of this formation west of Prospect and Frankfort, 

 on the Penobscot river, except near Mt. Bigelow. East of the Penobscot 

 it is as abundant as in New Hampshire. Southerly the formation prob- 

 ably extends through Massachusetts into Connecticut, along the western 

 portion of Worcester county. 



It would appear, therefore, that in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, 

 at the close of the first great period, there was a long sandy ridge, corre- 

 sponding to the distribution of the porphyritic granite, while, along the 

 Green Mountains and in western Maine, the ocean concealed everything 

 from view. It is likely that there is now, beneath the intervening strata, 

 a continuous sheet of this porphyritic rock connecting the New York, 

 New Hampshire, and Maine outcrops, which, in the early era, consti- 

 tuted the bottom of the ocean. Dredging machines would have found 

 nothing all over this floor different from the porphyritic sediment. 



A study of the map will show a few matters of interest in respect to 

 the distribution of this formation: First, no land existed thus early 

 north of Whitefield. Second, there are two principal ranges. The 

 most important commences in Whitefield, runs to Franconia, Moosilauke 

 (not the summit), Groton, Mt. Cardigan, Grafton, and so on continuously 

 to Jaffrey, and probably is the same with the Chesterfield and Winches- 

 ter island. The next starts from the south base of Mt. Carrigain, east 

 of Lincoln, is strongly developed in Waterville, Sandwich, New Hamp- 

 ton, Meredith, etc., and follows the south-west border of Lake Winni- 

 piseogee into New Durham. Third, this lake range is remarkable for 

 its curvatures. Proceeding southerly, it makes a sharp turn in New 

 Hampton, runs back northerly to Squam lake, and then folds back on 

 itself like the barb of a fish-hook, and assumes a south-easterly course 

 (p. 55). Before discovering the fact of these curvatures, I had erro- 

 neously represented the Waterville range as continuous to Dublin. 

 Fourth, the principal range lies along the line of greatest elevation in 

 the state (pp. 210, 211), or the water-shed between the Connecticut and 

 Merrimack rivers. The most northern area attains the altitude of about 

 1600 feet, the lowest part being about 1000 feet. The Franconia-Rum- 

 ney area shows the rock as high as 4300 feet. The higher points are 

 Lake of the Clouds, Mt. Lafayette, over 4000 feet ; Mt. Kinsman, 4300 ; 

 Blue ridge, 2000; hills in Ellsworth and Rumney, probably 1800 feet. 



