GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OP THE SCHOHARIE VALLEY 267 



makes it 1440 feet above the level of the Schoharie river at its 

 base. The barometric section from Middleburg village up the 

 Little Schoharie and the eastern slope of the Moheganter hill to 

 the road corners made it 1500 feet; so in the elevations there is 

 probably not a very serious error in the case of either section. 



On account of the covered slope it is 



not possible to indicate closel^^ the line of division between 

 the Hamilton and Sherburne formations. There are at least 

 755 feet of rocks above the level of the Schoharie river 

 belonging in the Hamilton, and probably part of the succeed- 

 ing covered 240 feet belongs in the same formation. The 240 

 feet above the covered zone to the base of the heavy red sandstone 

 is referred to the Sherburne and Ithaca formations, the thickness 

 of which probably should be increased by a portion of the under- 

 lying zone. The rocks from the base of the red sandstone (C^) to 

 the summit of the hill are referred to the Oneonta formation. It 

 is clearly recognized that to the west of the Schoharie river, rocks 

 at this horizon are not red and are not called Oneonta but are 

 referred to the Ithaca formation. A little farther east, however, 

 along the Schoharie^Albany county line and to the eastward, the 

 red rocks near this horizon and still lower have been mapped and 

 correlated with the Oneonta formation. In that region it is im- 

 possible to follow any line of division between the Ithaca and 

 Oneonta formations, for the Oneonta has replaced the Ithaca in 

 the same manner as the Catskill replaces the Chemung in Dela- 

 ware county, and the author [Professor Prosser] considers it 

 advisable to follow the precedent of the state survey and so apply 

 the term Oneonta formation to these rocks though it is quite true 

 that they are synchronous with rocks which in the Susquehanna 

 valley are referred to the Oneonta, Ithaca and upper Sherburne 

 formations. 



14 Section of Vroman's Nose 



Prosser 



To the southwest of Mill creek is Vroman's Nose which rises 

 some 600 feet above the level of the Schoharie river. The lower 

 part of the southern face has a steep slope largely covered by 

 debris from the upper part of the hill, while the upper portion is 

 a perpendicular cliff composed mainly of coarse arenaceous shales 

 and sandstones. It is certainly a commanding hill when seen 

 from its foot or at Middleburg, and when seen froin the much 

 higher hills to the southwest it looks like a hill blocking the 

 Schoharie valley. A picture of this hill which, unfortunately, 

 like photographs since taken does not give a very distinct impres- 

 sion appears in Emmons's Agricultm^e of Neu7 York. The hill was 



