MARYLAND AND WEST VIRGINIA. 



177 



12. On the west side of this limestone belt, a great fault brings down in North Mountain, the 

 various Silurian and Devonian formations from the 5 a. Medina to the 13 a. Vespertine or No. X, 

 which are to be seen in North Mountain and its immediate vicinity. 



13. From North Mountain to Cumberland a wide belt of highly disturbed strata occurs. Owing 

 to the close compression of the folds in which the strata are thrown, many of the formations con- 

 tained in this belt are always to be seen at any given locality, and hence when any formation is 

 given for a station it must not be inferred that this alone occurs there. 



In this belt the following formations are to be found: The 5 a. Oneida, 5 b. Clinton, 7. Lower 

 Helderberg, 8. Oriskany, 10. Hamilton, 11 a. Portage, 11 b. Chemung, 12. Catt-kill, and 13 a. Ves- 

 pertine. These have never been clearly separated from each other. The hard sandstones, such as 

 the 5 a. Oneida and 8. Oriskany, usually form the crests of the ridges, and the softer strata, more 

 commonly the Hamilton, compose the valleys and foot hills. W. M. F. 



West Virginia. 



For the List of Formations see that of Virginia, page 179. 



1. Compiled from information furnished by Professors J. J. Stevenson and Wm. M. Fontaine. 



2. In the gorge where Will's Creek cuts through Dan's Mountain there is a fine exposure of the 

 Lower 13 a. Pocono or Vespertine grey sandstone, resting on the brown sandstone of the Upper 11 

 b. Chemung, in lofty cliffs. F. 



3. The 7. Lower Helderberg limestone is here exposed, and on the Virginia side of the Ohio 

 River a great mass of limestone and shales is seen, the latter being probably composed of the 

 Waterhme beds and the Onondaga marls. Somewhat further east the conglomerate is seen in the 

 top of the mountain, with an underlying coal bed. F. 



4. Here the railroad enters the East Front Ridge of the Allegheny, in which the Oriskany 

 sandstone shows a high bluff, and where there are extensive exposures of the 10. Hamilton, 11 a. 

 Portage and other Devonian groups. F. 



5. Here the conglomerate is near the water level. The hills are composed of the Lower Coals 

 and the Lower Barren Measures. A small remnant of the Pittsburg seam is found high up in the 

 hills on the west side of the river, and is worked. From Piedmont, which is 919 feet above tide, 

 the railroad ascends, by a grade 17 miles long, to the height of 2,620 feet, at Altamont. From 

 Cumberland to Piedmont great quantities of very large, rounded stones occur, having much the 

 appearance of glacial drift, and often rising to the height of 80 feet on the hill sides. F. 



12 



