THE GEOLOGY OF THE SYRACUSE QUADRANGLE 25 



ravines at Onondaga hill and at the reservoir near the county alms- 

 house, a mile west of Onondaga hill. 



With the exception of the Agoniatite limestone, which carries a 

 very prolific fauna, the Marcellus shale is nearly barren of fossil 

 remains in the Syracuse area. Fish remains have been found in 

 the carbonate nodules.^ 



No economic use has been made of the Marcellus shale in this 

 vicinity. It contains possibilities in the source of material for the 

 manufacture of brick and tile, but as yet no attempt has been made 

 to so utilize it. Considerable money and energy have been wasted 

 in digging in this shale in different places in search of coal. The 

 similarity in color and structure of this shale to that usually ac- 

 companying coal beds is doubtless the cause of this ancient but 

 vain search for coal. 



AGONIATITES LIMESTONE 



In the Marcellus shale about 15 feet above the base is a bed of 

 impure limestone about 3 feet thick, known as the Cherry Valley or 

 Agoniatites limestone. The latter name is from the numerous large 

 coiled cephalopods, Agoniatites expansus Vanuxem, 

 found in this limestone. It is very fossiliferous at every exposure 

 in this vicinity, containing large numbers and varieties of goniatites 

 and other cephalopods such as Orthoceras, Cyrtoceras and Gom- 

 phoceras. This limestone is a fairly persistent bed in this locality. 

 It is exposed in a ravine a mile west of Onondaga Hill, and on the 

 hill above Kimber spring on the west side of Onondaga Valley. It 

 may be seen at a number of places along the road east of James- 

 ville on the Tully quadrangle. This limestone extends as far east 

 as Schoharie county and west beyond Union Springs in Cayuga 

 county. 



The Agoniatites limestone has no economic value in this region. 

 It is too crumbly for use as building stone and contains too many 

 impurities for use as quicklime. 



CARDIFF SHALE 



The Cardiff shale overlies the Marcellus without any very sharp 

 line of separation. It is typically a bluish gray argillaceous shale 

 grading into the black Marcellus shale below and the Skaneateles 

 shale above. It is named from the village of Cardiff, 10 miles 



1 On some Dinichthyiti armor plates from the Marcellus shale, hy Burnett 

 Smith. The American Xaturalist, v. 43, Oct. igog. 



