48 Rock Strata of the Cuyahoga. 



5. Siliceous sandstone rock, of various qualities and colors, some 

 of which is nearly white near the top : the lower part of the deposit, 

 the common gray sandstone rock, is filled with casts of fossil trees, 

 and Calamites of various species, amongst which are Calamites co- 

 lumnare, and Calamites dubia. This rock forms the base of the 

 uplands, and rests on the loose conglomerate which constitutes the 

 rock at the head of the falls, making the height of the uplands about 

 one hundred and twenty six feet above the cliffs of the river. — 80 

 feet. 



6. Coarse, aggregate sandstone rock ; loosely cohering, composed 

 of coarse white gravel and small siliceous pebbles, imbedded in 

 sand. It breaks and disintegrates easily. The head waters of the 

 Cuyahoga, in Geauga County, rise in a region composed of this 

 rock. It is very favorable to the formation of springs, which abound 

 in these conglomerate deposits, and render the stream very durable 

 in the summer months. This rock seldom contains any casts of 

 fossil plants : some portions of it are nearly all sand, with some scat- 

 tered gravel widely disseminated through it. It is seldom suffi- 

 ciently compact for building stone, although I noticed some blocks 

 of this rock at the head of the falls,, prepared for this purpose. — 15 

 feet. 



7. Bituminous shale, with a trace only of coal. — 1 foot. 



8. Red sandstone — in many places of a deep red ; structure, uni- 

 form ; texture, compact and tolerably fine grained. It contains 

 very little mica. It lies in beds of from four to eight feet in thick- 

 ness, and can be split into blocks of any length desirable for archi- 

 tectural purposes, to which use it has already been extensively ap- 

 plied ; several large, beautiful buildings having recently been erected 

 of this material. It will probably afford the main building stone for 

 a future city, as it is found in exhaustless quantities, and in very 

 accessible situations, forming the upper portions of the cliffs of the 

 Cuyahoga for several miles, — the whole length of the falls. It is 

 the first and only locality north of the Ohio River, where I have 

 seen this rock in place, although it is said to be abundant in Indiana. 

 The upper portion of the deposit contains many fine casts of Cala- 

 mites, with other fossil plants, and I think some animal remains, as 1 

 have two specimens, one of which is apparently part of a tooth, and 

 the other a portion of the impression of some crustaceeus animal. 

 The lower portion of the deposit is in some places beautifully varie- 

 gated with undulating veins and plumose lines, fi:om the ferruginous 



