REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1900 rl3 



The clays of the upper Hudson valley were traced as eroded 

 remnants of a once thicker formation from Port Ann through 

 Comstock to Whitehall, thus connecting the upper Hudson de- 

 posits with those of Lake Champlain. 



In the Lake Champlain area definite beaches were determined 

 near Port Kent at elevations as high as 590 feet, according to the 

 contour map. The tracing of these lines was not completed when 

 Mr Woodworth was obliged to leave the field. 



A visit was made to Mount Koyal in Montreal with the result 

 of reaching an essential agreement with the opinion of Baron 

 De Geer that the sea stood in Pleistocene time as high as 620 

 feet on the sides of that mountain. 



In conclusion the results of the field work for the season just 

 past afford no decisive evidence of s-ubmergence in the lower 

 Hudson valley, but make it probable that there was water at sea 

 level in the upper Hudson connected with the Champlain area. 

 It remains to determine by future special work the marine origin 

 of the highest beaches in the Champlain area and the southward 

 limit of these traces in the upper Hudson valley. This work may 

 modify the general conclusions here set forth. In the report 

 which Mr Woodworth is now preparing will be given the descrip- 

 tion of the phenomena as they were observed. 



Prof. H. L. Fairchild of the University of Rochester has con- 

 tinued under the auspices of the state the studies of the lake 

 basins and valleys of central New York which he began some 

 years ago, and will soon prepare for publication a valuable report 

 on this important subject. 



In the work of the past season the larger part of July and 

 August were spent by him in the field, with short trips during 

 the subsequent months. The work was spread over central- 

 western New York, but was mainly done in three districts. 

 1) The district east of Syracuse, or between Syracuse and Oneida; 

 the phenomena being the remarkable series of channels cut by 

 the glacial waters escaping toward the Mohawk. 2) The district 

 southwest of Buffalo, or the Cattaraugus-Chautauqua region; the 

 work being the examination of the divide with reference to the 



