74 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
tainly favorable for extensive fracturing of the strata. The dis- 
turbance of the early Mesozoic, which caused the fracturing of the 
Newark (Triassic) rocks along the Atlantic slope, quite certainly 
did not affect the Adirondacks because those faults are of a differ- 
ent type and closely confined to the Triassic basins. 
If the major faulting occurred at the close of the Paleozoic, then 
the Mesozoic must have opened with the northeastern portion of 
the newly upraised New York State area cut by a great series of 
faults which caused the edges of the upturned earth blocks to stand 
out prominently as ridges. However this may have been, we are 
certain that by the close of the long period of Mesozoic erosion the 
old fault scarps or ridges were practically obliterated. If so, how 
do we account for the present Adirondack ridges which follow the 
fault lines? Asa result of the uplift of the Cretacic peneplain one 
or both of the following things happened, either there was renewed 
faulting, or that as a result of unequal erosion (due to differences 
in rock character) on opposite sides of the faults, the old fault 
scarps were renewed. It is quite certain that both things occurred, 
and thus the surface of the newly elevated Cretacic peneplain in 
northeastern New York was made irregular by freshly formed fault 
scarps. This, together with the later (Cenozoic) erosion along the 
old fault lines and belts of weaker rocks, accounts for the existing 
Adirondack ridges. That some of the faulting actually dates from 
this time, or possibly even later, is proved by the present existence 
of certain steep fault cliffs in perfectly homogeneous rock masses, 
and by the fault blocks which have been scarcely modified by erosion 
since their formation. 
DRAINAGE OF NEW YORK IN THE MESOZOIC 
Thus far we have said very little about the early drainage 
features of New York State. In fact we must- admit that prior to 
the Cenozoic era, we have practically no knowledge concerning the 
positions of even the major drainage lines of the State. From our 
knowledge of the land and water relations during the Paleozoic era, 
we can form only the most general ideas regarding the drainage. 
The Mesozoic physiography of the State is better known and hence 
the drainage is perhaps better known, but even here positive knowl- 
edge is almost wholly lacking. The whole subject of the Pre- 
cenozoic drainage of New York is one which demands thorough 
study before anything like satisfactory conclusions can be reached, 
and the following very brief discussion is intended to be merely sug- 
gestive of the problems involved. 
