THE 



JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY 



FEBRUARY-MARCH, ign 



THE SOUTHERLY EXTENSION OF THE ONONDAGA 

 SEA IN THE ALLEGHENY REGION 1 



E. M. KINDLE 



It is proposed in this paper to present some of the evidence 

 which calls for a distinct modification of the current conception 

 of the extent of the Onondaga sea in the eastern part of the United 

 States. Before submitting the new data the reader's attention will 

 be invited to certain features of the previously recorded faunal 

 and lithologic facts relating to the Onondaga sediments which, 

 in the writer's opinion, have led to some misconceptions regarding 

 the character and extent of the Onondaga sea in the eastern states. 



The Onondaga fauna as developed in the states of New York, 

 Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky was one of the first of our Paleozoic 

 faunas to be studied and described. The reports of the state sur- 

 veys of these states, supplemented by numerous unofficial papers 

 in which this fauna has been recorded and illustrated, have made it 

 one of the best known of the Paleozoic faunas. It is a noteworthy 

 fact, however, that all of the various contributions to our knowl- 

 edge of this fauna have dealt with a nearly pure limestone fauna. 

 If one were to seek a comprehensive idea of the character of the 

 Onondaga sea and its sediments from the published descriptions 

 of the fauna and the limestones holding it, he would get the con- 

 ception of a sea in which only limestones were deposited. To any- 



1 Published by permission of the Director of the United States Geological Survey. 

 Vol. XIX, No. 2 97 



