96 GEOLOGY OF THE THIRD DISTRICT. 



to the eastward, and probably tenninate entirely a few miles east of the Hudson river ; from 

 which point their thickness gradually increases towards the west, and reaches its maximum 

 in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, where it is not less than seven hundred feet. The 

 gypsum has not been seen east of the western part of Oneida county. The red shale comes 

 to its end at the east end of Herkimer county ; and the whole group is reduced, in the Hel- 

 derberg in Albany county, to a few feet of hght grey or lavender-colored compact calcareous 

 rock with pyrites, separating the Frankfort portion of the Hudson river group from the water- 

 lime series. 



Red Shale. The great mass is of a blood-red color, fine grained, earthy in fracture, with 

 no regular lines of division, but breaking or crumbling into irregular fragments. It is first 

 met with going west at Tisdale or Crugar's saw-mill, at the north end of Henderson's patent, 

 Herkimer county. It would appear there to rest immediately upon the grey band of Eaton, 

 there being no space for the admission of any rock or mass between them. Its grain there is 

 coarse for this mass. 



The red shale is exposed to more advantage near the distillery of Elias Fisk, on the west 

 branch of Steele's creek ; there it forms a mass of eighty or more feet in thickness. The 

 manner in which it disintegrates is well seen, crumbling by weathering into angular gravelly 

 fragments, which are finally resolved into red earth. The cliffs are nearly vertical ; and there 

 is nothing to break the uniformity of the blood-red color of the rock, but two parallel beds of 

 bright green shale, each about five inches in thickness. There is a third bed which is not so 

 thick, nor is it continuous, extending only a short distance along the mass, showing that there 

 are beds in the red shale of a different color and of limited extent. 



On the road from Mohawk village to Dennison's, to the east of Fisk's distillery, the red 

 shale is seen after rising upon the sandstone of the Clinton group. It there forms a terrace, 

 showing a very uneven surface in parts, owing to the action of water which has destroyed its 

 continuous surface, and has heaped the alluvial materials which were deposited into hills and 

 ridges ; showing upon a small surface, the same action of water, and the same accumulation 

 of drift or water-worn materials, so common to the surface of the Onondaga salt group, and 

 the rocks to the north of it at the west end of the district. The same results have taken place 

 at the west end of Herkimer, and the east end of Oneida, where the Minden turnpike traverses 

 the red shale. In that part of the district, the outcrop of the red shale may be seen at the 

 edge of the terrace at the saw-mill on Myers' creek. 



It is faintly seen on Sauquoit creek, but well exposed in the road to Paris hill from the 

 creek, and in several of its northern tributaries. 



It is well exhibited on the north and west side of Paris hill, extending south, but concealed 

 by tufa, etc. until it reaches Hart's or Griffin's mill on the road to Waterville ; there an 

 interesting section exists, showing its connection with the Lockport group, as may be seen on 

 referring to wood-cut No. 13 of that group. Immediately above the bluish slaty shale which 

 contains the concretionary mass, there are from seven to eight feet of green shale, having the 

 same characters, excepting color, as the red ; upon which, is about five feet of red shale ; 



