﻿NIAGARA 
  FALLS 
  AND 
  VICINITY 
  89 
  

  

  The 
  succeeding 
  b^cls 
  of 
  the 
  Medina 
  as 
  weh 
  as 
  the 
  CHnton, 
  Roches- 
  

   ter 
  and 
  Lockport 
  beds, 
  are 
  best 
  exposed 
  along 
  the 
  railroad 
  cut 
  of 
  

   the 
  Lewiston 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  Central 
  and 
  Hudson 
  River 
  

   railroad. 
  This 
  cut 
  is 
  reached 
  -from 
  the 
  Lewiston 
  end 
  through 
  a 
  

   short 
  tunnel 
  cut 
  in 
  the 
  Medina 
  sandstone 
  (plate 
  12). 
  As 
  the 
  beds 
  

   dip 
  southward, 
  and 
  the 
  roadbed 
  rises 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  direction, 
  we 
  pass 
  

   rapidly 
  across 
  all 
  the 
  formations 
  from 
  the 
  lowest 
  to 
  the 
  highest 
  

   "exposed. 
  

  

  Upper 
  shales 
  and 
  sandstones. 
  The 
  contact 
  between 
  the 
  quartzose 
  

   sandstone 
  and 
  the 
  overlying 
  Medina 
  shales 
  is 
  not 
  generally 
  well 
  ex- 
  

   posed, 
  except 
  in 
  one 
  place. 
  This 
  is 
  in 
  Evan's 
  gully, 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  the 
  

   small 
  excavations 
  in 
  the 
  roadbed, 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  streams 
  of 
  water 
  

   which 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  time 
  cascade 
  from 
  the 
  banks. 
  The 
  quartzose 
  

   sandstone 
  forms 
  the 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  gully 
  below 
  the 
  bridge 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  

   railroad 
  crosses 
  it, 
  and 
  it 
  also 
  forms 
  the 
  capping 
  rock 
  over 
  which 
  the 
  

   stream 
  cascades 
  to 
  a 
  lower 
  level. 
  

  

  I 
  The 
  lowest 
  beds 
  of 
  this 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  Medina 
  are 
  gray 
  shales, 
  

   25 
  feet 
  in 
  thickness 
  and 
  readily 
  splitting 
  into 
  thin 
  layers 
  and 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  smooth 
  to 
  the 
  touch, 
  indicating 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  sand. 
  There 
  

   are 
  however 
  beds 
  of 
  a 
  more 
  sandy 
  character, 
  even 
  to 
  fair 
  sandstones, 
  

   interbedded 
  with 
  the 
  shales, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  particularly 
  the 
  case 
  near 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  this 
  shale 
  mass. 
  These 
  sandstone 
  beds 
  are 
  similar 
  in 
  

   character 
  to 
  the 
  quartzose 
  sandstone 
  below 
  the 
  shales, 
  but 
  they 
  occur 
  

   in 
  thin 
  layers, 
  separated 
  by 
  shaly 
  masses. 
  These 
  same 
  beds 
  are 
  ex- 
  

   posed 
  in 
  the 
  cutting 
  which 
  leads 
  to 
  the 
  tunnel 
  on 
  the 
  north, 
  where 
  

   they 
  are 
  shown 
  near 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  section. 
  They 
  vary 
  in 
  thick- 
  

   ness 
  up 
  to 
  8 
  inches, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  contain 
  a 
  few 
  fossils, 
  notably 
  

   the 
  shells 
  of 
  Ling 
  u 
  la 
  cuneata 
  (fig. 
  81). 
  The 
  shales 
  below 
  

   the 
  sandstone 
  layers 
  are 
  mostly 
  below 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  roadbed, 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  thickness 
  exposed 
  above 
  that, 
  being 
  about 
  6 
  feet. 
  

  

  The 
  upper 
  13 
  or 
  14 
  feet 
  of 
  this 
  shaly 
  series 
  are 
  well 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  

   cutting 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  tunnel, 
  where 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  above 
  the 
  sand- 
  

   stones 
  just 
  alluded 
  to. 
  These 
  rocks 
  present 
  in 
  places 
  an 
  almost 
  per- 
  

   pendicular 
  wall, 
  where 
  the 
  overlying 
  sandstones 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  re- 
  

   moved, 
  while 
  from 
  the 
  rapid 
  weathering 
  of 
  the 
  shale, 
  the 
  capping 
  

   stone 
  generally 
  projects 
  beyond 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  shale 
  cliff. 
  The 
  un- 
  

  

  