﻿GEOLOGIC 
  FORMATIONS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  161 
  

  

  the 
  line 
  of 
  outcrop 
  of 
  the 
  Onondaga 
  and 
  Corniferous 
  limestones 
  

   as 
  before 
  described, 
  are 
  nearly 
  destitute 
  of 
  this 
  useful 
  rock; 
  being 
  

   formed 
  of 
  vast 
  deposits 
  of 
  slaty, 
  shaly, 
  and 
  sandy 
  strata, 
  several 
  

   thousand 
  feet 
  in 
  thickness, 
  the 
  exposures 
  of 
  which 
  extend 
  south- 
  

   ward 
  from 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  to 
  beyond 
  the 
  

   Pennsylvania 
  line. 
  

  

  These 
  rocks 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  peculiarities 
  in 
  the 
  topographic 
  feat- 
  

   ures 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  which 
  they 
  underlie, 
  and 
  in 
  its 
  soil 
  and 
  

   vegetable 
  productions. 
  Containing 
  little 
  lime, 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  

   wheat 
  does 
  not 
  generally 
  succeed 
  well 
  upon 
  them; 
  nor 
  does 
  the 
  

   central 
  wheat 
  growing 
  district 
  extend 
  over 
  them 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  

   a 
  few 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  limestone 
  range, 
  except 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  alluvial 
  

   valleys, 
  or 
  places 
  where 
  calcareous 
  materials 
  from 
  the 
  limestone 
  

   belts 
  have 
  been 
  strewed 
  over 
  the 
  southern 
  shales 
  by 
  glacial 
  

   action, 
  of 
  w^hich 
  we 
  shall 
  speak 
  hereafter. 
  Grazing 
  and 
  dairying 
  

   are 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  the 
  pursuits 
  of 
  the 
  farmer. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  marked 
  physical 
  features 
  of 
  this 
  great 
  extent 
  of 
  

   country 
  are 
  its 
  deep 
  valleys 
  and 
  long 
  hills, 
  usually 
  extending 
  in 
  

   a 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  direction, 
  as 
  an 
  inspection 
  of 
  any 
  map 
  will 
  

   show. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  long 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  valleys 
  dam- 
  

   med 
  by 
  drift 
  deposits 
  are 
  the 
  basins 
  of 
  that 
  remark- 
  

   able 
  series 
  of 
  lakes 
  beginning 
  with 
  Otsego, 
  and 
  com- 
  

   prising 
  Canaseraga, 
  Cazenovia, 
  Otisco, 
  Skaneateles, 
  Owasco, 
  

   Cayuga, 
  Seneca, 
  Crooked, 
  Canandaigua, 
  Honeoye, 
  Canadice, 
  

   Hemlock, 
  and 
  Conesus; 
  all 
  so 
  similar 
  in 
  general 
  form 
  and 
  

   direction, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  shape 
  and 
  geological 
  formation 
  of 
  their 
  en- 
  

   closing 
  hills. 
  Over 
  the 
  whole 
  extent 
  of 
  these 
  rocks, 
  the 
  country 
  

   is 
  ' 
  rolling,' 
  or 
  broken 
  into 
  ridges 
  generally 
  running 
  north 
  and 
  

   south, 
  and 
  rising 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  eight 
  hundred 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  main 
  

   valleys; 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  rarely 
  that 
  we 
  find 
  among 
  them 
  a 
  plain 
  half 
  

   a 
  mile 
  wide, 
  except 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  ^ 
  bottom-flats 
  ' 
  or 
  alluvial 
  lands 
  

   along 
  the 
  larger 
  rivers, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  Genesee. 
  

  

  These 
  rocks 
  are 
  generally 
  quite 
  uniform 
  in 
  their 
  character, 
  

   especially 
  in 
  the 
  eastern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  state 
  near 
  the 
  Hudson 
  valley, 
  

   and 
  might 
  be 
  grouped 
  into 
  one 
  enormous 
  formation 
  5,000 
  feet 
  or 
  

   more 
  in 
  thickness, 
  except 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  variations 
  in 
  texture, 
  and 
  

  

  