8 Geology, ^c. of the Connecticut. 



name of it, lie will be told it is West River Mountain. And 

 on examination he will find that West River empties into 

 the Connecticut from (he west, nearly opposite this moun- 

 tain. 



Granite range passing from Amherst throvgh Leverett, &fc. 



This granite is generally found at a low level. Almost 

 every other rock in the southern part, excepting the alluvi- 

 on, rises higher than this. Along tiie central and eastern 

 parts of Amherst it is mostly covered by geest and alluvion. 

 It appears, however, two miles south east of the Collegiate 

 Institution, and I have no doubt that Seminary stands on 

 this rock; although some bowlders of pudding stone ap- 

 pear there. Two or three miles north of the College, it 

 emerges in abundance, and becomes broader through Leve- 

 rett, which is perhaps one of the best places for examining 

 it; especially when we consider its proximity there to pud- 

 din^ stone. Mount Toby, which is 800 or 900 feet high, 

 lies on the western border of the granite and consists prin- 

 cipally of a peculiarly conglomerate rock which appears to 

 belong to the coal formation. This pudding stone rises 

 400 or 500 feet higher than the granite, and in the interve- 

 ning valley the two rocks approach very near each other ; 

 althoucrh I have never been able to find the actual junction. 

 The granite, however, near the pudding stone, occurs in 

 beds in mica slate, and is separated from the pudding stone, 

 by this mica slate, or by hornblende slate, which appears in 

 the valley above named, or by an imperfect variety of sie- 

 nite. The mica slate in this place, and indeed along the 

 whole western border of this range of granite, near the 

 northwest corner of the town, it becomes mere quartzose 

 slate, having a slight glazing of mica, or mica in small scat- 

 tered scales. This quartz is divided in two directions by 

 seams oblique to the face of the layers, so as to separate the 

 rock into very regular rhombs with different degrees of ob- 

 liquity. In hand specimens, indeed, it seems to be limpid 

 quartz in very perfect distinct concretions. 



In the valley between these rocks appears to have been 

 for ages a war of avalanches between the pudding stone 

 and granite : in which 



