12 Account of the Kaatskill Mountains. 
five or six who had ever heard of this sublime display of 
nature’s workmanship. f 
The cascades which | have described, 1 visited immedi- 
ately after the heaviest fall of rain that had occurred within the 
memory of the oldest inhabitant. Some idea can be formed 
of the quantity of water that fell, when it is known that one — 
mile north of the village of Kaatskill, a ravine was formed 
by the water directly through a wood, one hundred and 
ninety-five feet in breadth, by seventy-nine in depth, for the 
distance of nearly a furlong; when it united its waters with 
the Kaatskill creek. As 1 was on the mountain at the time, 
I took the opportunity to visit these cascades early the next 
morning, and have described them as they then appeared. 
Probably they will not appear to those who visit them in 
the summer season, to be adorned with all the lustre which | 
they exhibited at this tume, but if seen in the spring, or after 
a heavy shower, they, with the scenery around them, will 
produce an effect on the mind of the beholder, which will bid 
defiance to all description. i 
With much respect, 
I am, &c. } 
HENRY E. DWIGHT. 
New-Haven, Dee. 20, 1819. 
Geological and descriptive account of the Kaatskill Moun- 
tains and of the vicinity. 
The town of Kaatskill is situated on a creek bearing the 
same name, one mile from its confluence with the Hudson 
river. This river is remarkable for the high banks which 
bound it, exhibiting for 150 miles nothing like an interval. 
These banks vary in altitude from 20 to 400 feet, pre- 
senting every variety, from steep hills to perpendicular 
precipices. Most of this extent, with the exception of the 
Highlands, is of secondary formation. Between this town 
and the river, a hill rises to the height of 150 feet, forming 
the western bank of the stream at this place. The bank is 
washed by the Hudson during the freshets in the spring, 
presenting a view of the rocks which compose it. These 
rocks which are Wacke, vary in appearance, exhibiting a 
solid and compact mass; again they are stratified,’and often 
approximate to argillaceous slate. ‘The strata vary from 
