STEVENS, GLACIATION OF OVERLOOK MOUNTAIN 



261 



texture and is practically free from evi- 

 dence of fine stratification. This latter 

 variety of sandstone, generally designated 

 as gray or blue flagstone, is extensively 

 quarried for paving stone. 



This alternation of soft, easily eroded, 

 shales with the more resistant sandstone 

 gives rise to the abrupt ledges, flat moun- 

 tain tops and "terraced" sides so character- 

 istic of the Catskills. Wherever a layer of 

 shale has been exposed, the surface has 

 been quickly eroded down to the next layer 

 of sandstone. Nowhere are these features 

 better shown than on Overlook Mountain. 

 Note in Fig. 1 the plateau-like tops of the 

 lower peaks and the terraces of the south- 

 ern ridges. 



Fig. 2 shows a section through the two 

 lower peaks, between the Mead's Gap and 

 the Bear Clove. This section extends from 

 where the strata first appear above the gla- 

 cial soil of the Woodstock valley, altitude 

 660 feet, to their summits, altitude 2100 

 feet. It is altogether probable that some 

 of the strata, represented here as of uni- 

 form thickness, are really somewhat lense- 

 shaped. This however could not be deter- 

 mined owing to the prevalence of glacial 

 deposits. As will be seen from the figure, 

 the cap of these peaks consists of nearly 

 600 feet of sandstone. The upper portion 

 of this cap is hard and rather coarse, but 

 the stone becomes softer and more finely 

 lamimnated below. The lower layers of 

 sandstone are characterized by a cross- 

 bedded structure and contain numerous 

 streaks of red shale too thin to indicate in 

 the section. Besides the layers of sand- 

 stone and red shale there are, as indicated 

 by the figure, two layers of bluestone; the 

 upper outcrops at an altitude of about 1500 











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Fig. 2. — Diagrammatic section 

 through the two peaks west of 

 Meads Gap 



