﻿rl4:2 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  There 
  have 
  been 
  many 
  answers. 
  An 
  excellent 
  list 
  of 
  brief 
  

   quotations 
  from 
  many 
  writers 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  given 
  by 
  Prof. 
  

   K. 
  S. 
  Tarr 
  in 
  an 
  article 
  on 
  this 
  subject."^ 
  

  

  The 
  earliest 
  report 
  upon 
  this 
  district 
  is 
  from 
  Yanuxera, 
  in 
  which 
  

   he 
  notes 
  that 
  the 
  accordance 
  of 
  the 
  strata 
  ou 
  the 
  opposing 
  cliffs 
  pre- 
  

   cludes 
  faulting 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  lake 
  basin, 
  and 
  that 
  to 
  consider 
  

   the 
  theory 
  of 
  the 
  subsidence 
  of 
  the 
  bottom 
  is 
  absurd. 
  He 
  notices 
  

   the 
  rounded 
  foreign 
  pebbles 
  along 
  the 
  shore, 
  and, 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  of 
  

   northern 
  rock, 
  he 
  concludes 
  that 
  the 
  excavation 
  was 
  accomplished 
  

   by 
  a 
  south 
  flowing 
  stream 
  previous 
  to 
  the 
  strata 
  being 
  tilted. 
  

  

  His 
  words 
  are 
  — 
  ^ 
  " 
  The 
  lakes 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Helderberg 
  

   range 
  are 
  an 
  important 
  and 
  interesting 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  district, 
  fur- 
  

   nishing 
  facts 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  excavation 
  of 
  those 
  at 
  the 
  west 
  end 
  of 
  

   the 
  district 
  (Cayuga, 
  etc.) 
  was 
  anterior 
  to 
  the 
  dip 
  of 
  the 
  rocks, 
  etc. 
  

   * 
  * 
  -x- 
  The 
  whole 
  of 
  these 
  differ 
  in 
  no 
  respect 
  from 
  the 
  long 
  

   parallel 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  valleys 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  section, 
  but 
  in 
  depth 
  of 
  

   water 
  and 
  apparently 
  greater 
  depth 
  of 
  excavation." 
  

  

  The 
  veteran 
  geologist 
  Dr 
  Hall, 
  while 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  

   explanation 
  at 
  that 
  time, 
  was 
  distinctly 
  on 
  the 
  right 
  track 
  when 
  he 
  

   wrote 
  — 
  ^' 
  "The 
  valleys 
  of 
  Seneca, 
  Cayuga 
  and 
  Crooked 
  lakes, 
  

   Canandaigua 
  kke 
  and 
  others, 
  are 
  of 
  nearly 
  equal 
  width 
  from 
  one 
  

   extremity 
  to 
  the 
  other, 
  with 
  nearly 
  perpendicular 
  banks 
  above 
  the 
  

   water. 
  It 
  seems 
  hardly 
  possible 
  that 
  such 
  channels 
  could 
  be 
  

   excavated 
  by 
  the 
  advancing 
  and 
  retiring 
  waves 
  upon 
  a 
  coast 
  which 
  

   was 
  gradually 
  emerging 
  from 
  beneath 
  the 
  ocean." 
  And 
  again 
  — 
  

   ' 
  They 
  (the 
  lakes) 
  are 
  all 
  situated 
  in 
  valleys 
  of 
  erosion 
  ; 
  the 
  rocky, 
  

   strata, 
  with 
  a 
  slight 
  dip 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  appearing 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  " 
  

  

  Much 
  later, 
  and 
  after 
  the 
  glacial 
  theory 
  had 
  been 
  established, 
  

   Simonds 
  mentions 
  the 
  two 
  kinds 
  of 
  valleys 
  in 
  this 
  region, 
  viz., 
  

   gorges, 
  or 
  " 
  true 
  valleys 
  of 
  erosion," 
  and 
  the 
  broad, 
  flatter 
  type. 
  

   Being 
  unable 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  latter 
  by 
  stream 
  erosion, 
  he 
  

   concluded 
  that 
  " 
  these 
  deep, 
  well-worn 
  valleys 
  are 
  undoubtedly 
  the 
  

   result 
  of 
  glacial 
  action." 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  this 
  hypothesis 
  the 
  glacier 
  had 
  to 
  divide 
  at 
  Ithaca 
  — 
  

   one 
  part 
  continuing 
  up 
  the 
  main 
  valley 
  southward 
  — 
  the 
  other 
  part 
  

  

  a 
  Cayuga 
  lake 
  a 
  rock 
  basin. 
  Bull. 
  geol. 
  soc. 
  of 
  Am.— 
  Vol 
  5. 
  pi. 
  14—1894 
  

   b 
  Geol. 
  of 
  New 
  York— 
  3rd 
  district, 
  Vol. 
  3 
  1842 
  p. 
  237 
  

   c 
  QeoJ: 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  4th 
  district 
  Vol. 
  4. 
  1843 
  p. 
  3-21 
  

  

  