(reolof/if of Jliuhu/i Coiiidii, Neu' Jersey. 5T 



and the nature of the original soil have been so modified and 

 obscured by streets and buildings, that their original character 

 cannot be determined. 



The greater part, indeed, of Harsimus and Pavonia seems to 

 have been underlaid by modified drift, most of which was con- 

 cealed by hills of fine yellowish jeolian sand. 



The northern portion of Pavonia, judging from the limited 

 exposures now to be seen, is composed of true glacial drift. 



AVhenever the soil consists of modified drift, at least when 

 moderately elevated, it forms a porous and highly salubrious 

 substratum. 



Soils of ^Eolian Sand. — The fine, yellowish, loamy sand already 

 noticed, forms the third division of soils in Hudson County. 

 Along the Newark meadows and Newark Bay, the sand-dunes 

 sometimes extend a long distance inland ; on Bergen Neck, the 

 sand covers nearly half the breadth of the upland ; at Bergen 

 Point, it is well exposed along the railroad, overlying the red- 

 dish drift, and thinning out gradually as it recedes from 

 Newark Bay. 



At Constable's Hook, this yellowish sand occurs again, cover- 

 ing nearly the entire iipland ; this detached area, separated 

 from Bergen Point by a deep marsh, covers about 200 acres, 

 with an elevation of from 40 to 50 feet, and consists chiefly of 

 glacial drift containing huge boulders, above Avhich rest the 

 seolian sands. There is very likely a reef of rock underneath this 

 island-like area, yet none appears at the surface, or has been 

 reached in a well bored on the southeastern side of the Hook, to 

 a depth of 130 feet. On the sand-dunes, forming the western 

 side of Constable's Hook, are growing oak, chestnut and beech 

 trees, frequently of large size. The soil on this area is light 

 and porous, and well adapted for the requirements of the large 

 manufacturing industries located there. 



At Caven Point, the conditions are the same ; and also, as 

 above stated, on the areas farther north, now occupied by 

 Lafayette, Jersey City and Hoboken. At Lafayette, the aeolian 

 sands are well shown on the western side of the high knoll at 

 the end of Mill Creek. The sand-hills of Harsimus and Pavo- 

 nia, most of which have now been leveled, were similar. 



The geological history of the island-like areas that rise above 



