﻿Chapter 
  4 
  

  

  PALEOZOIC 
  HISTORY 
  

   CAMBRIC 
  PERIOD 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  preceding 
  chapter 
  we 
  have 
  seen 
  that 
  after 
  the 
  first 
  known 
  

   great 
  Adirondack 
  uplift 
  the 
  whole 
  region, 
  including 
  the 
  district 
  of 
  

   the 
  Highlands-of-the-Hudson, 
  was 
  profoundly 
  affected 
  by 
  erosion, 
  

   and 
  that 
  this 
  erosion 
  began 
  before 
  the 
  Paleozoic 
  age 
  and 
  extended 
  

   well 
  into 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  that 
  era. 
  Now 
  the 
  question 
  may 
  be 
  fairly 
  

   asked, 
  What 
  became 
  of 
  the 
  sediments 
  which 
  were 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  

   wearing 
  down 
  of 
  the 
  land 
  during 
  that 
  • 
  vast 
  length 
  of 
  time? 
  

   We 
  must 
  admit 
  that, 
  in 
  our 
  present 
  state 
  of 
  knowledge, 
  we 
  can 
  not 
  

   be 
  certain 
  as 
  to 
  what 
  became 
  of 
  the 
  Prepaleozoic 
  sediments. 
  They 
  

   may 
  have 
  washed 
  westward 
  or 
  southw 
  T 
  estward 
  into 
  waters 
  which 
  

   might 
  possibly 
  have 
  existed 
  there; 
  or 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  carried 
  

   northward 
  or 
  northwestward 
  into 
  Canada 
  to 
  help 
  build 
  up 
  late 
  Pre- 
  

   cambric 
  deposits 
  there; 
  or 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  moved 
  eastward. 
  toward 
  

   or 
  into 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  basin. 
  The 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  disposition 
  of 
  the 
  

   early 
  Paleozoic 
  sediments, 
  however, 
  can 
  be 
  much 
  more 
  satisfactorily 
  

   answered. 
  Early 
  and 
  Middle 
  Cambric 
  deposits 
  are 
  extensively 
  de- 
  

   veloped 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  states 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  eastern 
  border 
  of 
  

   New 
  York 
  State, 
  including 
  the 
  Hudson 
  Highlands 
  region. 
  Thus 
  

   we 
  have 
  positive 
  proof 
  for 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  and 
  Mid- 
  

   dle 
  Cambric 
  sea 
  over 
  this 
  region, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  equally 
  evident 
  that 
  much 
  

   of 
  this 
  sediment 
  which 
  deposited 
  in 
  the 
  sea 
  was 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  

   adjacent 
  land 
  masses 
  in 
  northern 
  and 
  eastern 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  not 
  until 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  Cambric 
  (Potsdam 
  

   time) 
  that 
  any 
  considerable 
  portion 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  was 
  

   occupied 
  by 
  Paleozoic 
  sea 
  water. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  Cambric 
  

   strata, 
  including 
  Lower, 
  Middle, 
  and 
  Upper, 
  are 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  

   England 
  country 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  eastern 
  border 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  while 
  

   only 
  the 
  Upper 
  Cambric 
  is 
  present 
  in 
  northern 
  New 
  York, 
  clearly 
  

   shows 
  that 
  the 
  Cambric 
  sea 
  encroached 
  upon 
  the 
  State 
  from 
  the 
  

   east 
  toward 
  the 
  west. 
  To 
  be 
  more 
  exact, 
  it 
  was 
  probably 
  from 
  the 
  

   northeast, 
  because 
  the 
  greatest 
  thickness 
  of 
  Upper 
  Cambric 
  strata 
  

   is 
  in 
  Clinton 
  county 
  along 
  the 
  northeastern 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Adirondacks. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  deposit 
  to 
  form 
  in 
  the 
  Cambric 
  sea 
  of 
  northern 
  New 
  

   York 
  was 
  the 
  Potsdam 
  sandstone 
  and 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  this 
  forma- 
  

   tion 
  in 
  the 
  St 
  Lawrence, 
  Champlain, 
  and 
  lower 
  Mohawk 
  valleys 
  

  

  [41] 
  

  

  