42 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 



East of the apparent place of the Black Shale, the manganif- 

 erous belt which lies above it, could be plainly traced, and 

 the trend of the Clinton strata where last seen would place 

 this formation in the foot of this ridge, to the west. This 

 arrangement was now clearly seen in the north-west quarter 

 of S. 25, T. 10, R. 4, east, at the apax or inner point of the 

 curve of Red Mountain. Here. the Clinton plainly shows on 

 the inside (Valley Side) of the Chert Ridge, (Sub Carbonif- 

 erous,) and extends over one-third of the distance up it from 

 the base. In the extreme point of the curve, and at the line 

 of the fault, a point of Clinton strata with the uppermost 

 ore bed exposed and in vertical position, marks the top of 

 the divide. There is a bend here in the fault line ; it cuts the 

 Red Mountain in a direction nearly north and south. Its 

 line shows a deep depression which has been eroded by a 

 stream that rises at this point and flows north. On the east 

 side the Sab Carboniferous Chert rises 200 feet high above 

 this point, and on the west, the Clinton Strata at about the 

 same height cap the Red Mountain, with a dip of 30 north- 

 west. The existence of this gap was not suspected before as 

 it cannot be seen from any of the roads. It was further 

 observed that the Chert Ridge here is over 200 feet above the 

 base of the eastern rim of the valley but the Sub-Carbonif- 

 erous (Oxmoor) sandstone was not exposed anywhere on 

 this side. The dip of strata of the Coal Measures of the 

 eastern rim, is 60 to the east at this point, and for two 

 miles further down, the dip gradually changing to S. E. and 

 lessening in degree further down the valley to increase 

 again to vertically still lower down. 



South-westward from the fault line Red Mountain is mainly 

 composed of Clinton strata; with Lower Siliceous Chert 

 overlying and covering its N. Western Side, and occasionally 

 a little of the Trenton showing at its S. Eastern base. But 

 few exposures of iron ore had been made by digging; one was 

 in S. 25, T. 10, R.4 E., on bed No. 3 General Section. This 

 bed has usually a rock or clay parting at or near the middle, 

 three or four inches thick. In this place it was rock, and the 



