Geology of the Ktnaivha Valley, 103 



From the mouth of the Elk river, upwards to the falls of Ken- 

 awha, a distance of forty miles, the rock strata, above the bed of the 

 river, are composed altogether of silicious and argillaceous materials. 

 Below the mouth of Elk, limestone is occasionally seen in the beds of 

 creeks quite to the Ohio river. The rocks in the bed of the Kenawha, 

 excavated a few years since, in improving the navigation, are sand- 

 stone, containing a proportion of mica and numerous impressions of 

 fossil plants. This is especially the fact at the " Red house shoals." 

 Coal deposits are less abundant in this tract of country — there be- 

 ing only one or two of any considerable thickness — the general dip 

 of the rock strata, towards the N. W., as they approach the Ohio, 

 sinking those found in the lower parts of the hills, above Elk, be- 

 neath the bed of the river. From the mouth of Elk, up the Kenawha, 

 to the center of the salt wells, a distance of nine miles by the river, 

 the rock strata rise at the rate of nearly fifty feet to the mile. 

 Above this point to the upper extremity of the salines, the strata 

 dip to the S. E. at an angle somewhat less, or about thirty three 

 feet to the mile, for the distance of six or eight miles ; above which 

 point they gradually rise again to the Gauly mountains — the an- 

 ticlinal line of the strata at the great salt deposit being near to the 

 center of the works ; the general bearing of the strata being E. and 

 W. and the dip from the hne, N. W. and S. E. at an angle of three 

 or four degrees. This arrangement of the strata is of incalculable 

 benefit to the manufacture of salt, as it brings the mineral riches of 

 the muriatiferous deposits nearer to the surface and at the same time 

 raises one or two additional beds of coal, without which the expense 

 of manufacturing would be greatly enhanced. 



The following section will assist in understanding the order of 

 stratification at the Kenawha salines. — Order ascending. 



N. B. Beneath all the coal beds there is a stratum of Black bitu- 

 minous siate, or slaty clay, from two to four feet thick, although 

 not included in this section. 



