NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Part I 



SKETCH OF THE GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF 

 THE ADIRONDACKS 



Under the Adirondack region is included the area of crystalline 

 rocks of northern New York that is approximately bounded by the 

 Mohawk valley on the south, the Black and St Lawrence rivers on 

 the west, the St Lawrence plain on the north and the Hudson- 

 Champlain valley on the east. Roughly rounded in outline it has 

 an average diameter of 125 miles, and a surface of about 12,500 

 square miles. Within its limits lie nearly all of Essex, Warren, 

 Hamilton and Herkimer counties and portions of Washington, 

 Clinton, Franklin, St Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Fulton 

 and Saratoga counties. 



The region is a well defined physiographic unit. The Adirondacks 

 and their foothills cover the whole area, forming an uninterrupted 

 highland. They are composed mainly of long parallel ridges, 

 separated, by longitudinal valleys, and arranged in series or en 

 echelon, with a prevailing northeasterly trend. Toward the borders 

 the ridges gradually fall off and are succeeded by the bordering 

 uplands which are constituted of outward sloping Paleozoic strata. 

 On the east, however, they terminate more or less abruptly against 

 the Lake Champlain trough, with but a narrow and interrupted 

 fringe of sediments on that side. 



The surface is diversified throughout, but not specially rugged 

 except in the eastern central portion. Here the ridges are massed 

 into mountain groups that stand out prominently by reason of their 

 bold sculpture and elevation. Essex and southern Clinton counties 

 contain most of the high elevations. The Mt Marcy group, the 

 highest, has a few peaks rising 5000 feet or a little more, and there 

 are many others with peaks above 4000 feet. The surface has a 

 general, but not uniform, slope radially away from the central 

 group, as will be observed from the directions taken by the streams. 

 The drainage courses are influenced to some extent, however, by 

 the general northeast-southwest alinement of the ridges. 



The western part of the region, in St Lawrence county, shows a 

 more subdued topography than other sections. It is a plateau 

 broken by gentle ridges and open valleys, with occasional elevations 

 rising a few hundred feet above their surroundings. The surface 

 falls by gradual stages from the interior, which stands at about 



