﻿134: 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  PHYSIOGRAPHY 
  AND 
  STRUCTURE 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  apppeciate 
  the 
  position 
  and 
  attitude 
  of 
  the 
  geologic 
  

   formations 
  in 
  New 
  York, 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  mental 
  picture 
  

   of 
  its 
  physiography. 
  For 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  reference 
  the 
  following 
  

   term>s 
  may 
  be 
  adopted 
  to 
  describe 
  the 
  principal 
  physiographic 
  

   divisions 
  of 
  the 
  state: 
  

  

  I 
  The 
  Adirondack 
  upland, 
  comprising 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  moun- 
  

   tain 
  region 
  and 
  the 
  adjacent 
  territory. 
  

   II 
  The 
  southern 
  upland 
  ; 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson 
  riyer 
  and 
  south 
  of 
  

   the 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  valley 
  prolonged 
  to 
  Buffalo. 
  

  

  III 
  The 
  Highland-Taconic 
  range; 
  the 
  mountains 
  of 
  granite 
  cross- 
  

  

  ing 
  the 
  Hudson 
  river 
  near 
  West 
  Point, 
  and 
  those 
  of 
  mica 
  

   ischist 
  along 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  border. 
  

  

  IV 
  The 
  Central 
  valley, 
  consdsting 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  

  

  and 
  the 
  low 
  land 
  extending 
  from 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  Niagara 
  river. 
  

   V 
  The 
  Hudson-Champlain 
  valley, 
  including 
  the 
  basin 
  of 
  Lake 
  

  

  Champlain. 
  

   VI 
  The 
  Ooastal 
  plain, 
  including 
  LoDg 
  Island 
  and 
  southern 
  Staten 
  

   Island. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  geologic 
  map 
  shows, 
  the 
  principal 
  Palaeozoic 
  outcrops 
  

   in 
  New 
  York 
  have 
  three 
  principal 
  positions 
  and 
  directions: 
  

  

  1) 
  In 
  zones 
  encircling 
  the 
  Adiroindack 
  upland. 
  These 
  zones 
  are 
  

   much 
  disturbed 
  locally 
  by 
  faults, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  outcrops 
  are 
  irregu- 
  

   lar. 
  2) 
  In 
  lines 
  parallel 
  with 
  the 
  Highland-Taconic 
  range. 
  This 
  

   mountain 
  axis 
  has 
  a 
  northeast 
  direction 
  in 
  the 
  Highlands 
  of 
  the 
  

   Hudsoin, 
  changing 
  gradually 
  to 
  north 
  in 
  the 
  Champlain 
  valley, 
  

   where 
  the 
  Green 
  mountain 
  uplift 
  is 
  tangent 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Adi- 
  

   rondacks. 
  3) 
  In 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  lines 
  across 
  the 
  southern 
  upland 
  

   from 
  Albany 
  county 
  to 
  the 
  Niagara 
  river 
  and 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  locally 
  

   intersected 
  by 
  river 
  and 
  lake 
  valleys. 
  

  

  That 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  state 
  bordering 
  on 
  the 
  Pennsylvania 
  boun- 
  

   dary 
  is 
  a 
  high 
  plateau, 
  with 
  summits 
  about 
  2000 
  feet 
  above 
  tide. 
  

   Its 
  surface 
  slopes 
  gradually 
  northward 
  toward 
  Lake 
  Ontario 
  and 
  

   its 
  component 
  rock 
  strata 
  slope 
  or 
  dip 
  southward. 
  

  

  