Facts relating to Diluvial Action. 245 



llie violence of the current having ceased to effect its farther re- 

 moval from its original position. 



The upper strata of the whole section of the country before the 

 deluge, appear to have been composed of a common grey sandstone 

 covering the surface of the rock from twelve to twenty four inches 

 thick. This seems to have been the last marine formation ; it is full 

 of fissures and cracks, being broken into small angular pieces by the 

 first violent surges of the deluge, and no,vv scattered on the surface of 

 the ground. 



The next lower strata are puddingstone, filled with quartz and 

 feldspar and other primitive minerals ; its parts are generally water 

 worn and are from the size of a robin's to that of a hen's egg. The 

 next rock underneath is the old red sandstone, which is universally 

 found in the bottoms of the vallies ; on the tops however of the 

 highest hills the red clay slate is universally found, and for eighty or 

 ninety miles west, gives a reddish color to all the soils of the country, 

 and passes southerly through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 



The vallies in this section of country uniformly run from north 

 to south, are in many instances from ten to twelve hundred feet deejD, 

 and are the beds of the large streams. The lesser vallies are cov- 

 ered with pieces of red and grey sandstone of a convenient size for 

 making fences. The most free and feasible-land is always found on 

 the tops, and on the eastern sides of the hills, the western sides being 

 uniformly steep and broken. The whole of the earth or soil appears 

 to have been removed from the solid strata at the deluge, and most, 

 if not all the upper strata of sandstone, were then broken up. A 

 small portion of the puddingstone was also broken up in large 

 square blocks and occasionally pieces of the old red sandstone were 

 .detached from the bottom of the vallies. It is probable that pre- 

 vious to the deluge there was little or no soil on this section of the 

 country, that the hills, vallies and streams were the same previous to 

 the deluge that they are at this time, excepting that the hills were 

 dilapidated and lowered, and the deep vallies were made still deep- 

 er by the tremendous cataracts and surges, the water being carried 

 violently over the high ledges and hills and then, in crossing the ridges 

 from west to east, falling ten or twelve hundred feet into the vallies. 

 While contemplating such a scene, our imaginations must fall infinite- 

 ly short of the reality. The single wave that totally destroyed the 

 port town of Lima, or the surge that overwhelmed the Turkish 

 fleet in Candia comes nearer to the terrific scene than any simi- 

 lar events that are recorded. 



