﻿GEOLOGY 
  OF 
  SARATOGA 
  SPRINGS 
  AND 
  VICINITY 
  1 
  47 
  

  

  and, 
  at 
  its 
  greatest 
  extent, 
  perhaps 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  Whitehall. 
  

   Fine 
  clays 
  were 
  deposited 
  in 
  its 
  waters 
  and 
  huge 
  sand 
  deltas 
  were 
  

   built 
  along 
  its 
  shores 
  by 
  the 
  streams 
  which 
  flowed 
  into 
  it. 
  The 
  

   great 
  terraces 
  of 
  clay 
  and 
  sand 
  which 
  occur 
  both 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  

   of 
  the 
  Hudson 
  on 
  the 
  Saratoga 
  and 
  Schuylerville 
  quadrangles, 
  

   were 
  laid 
  down 
  in 
  its 
  waters. 
  

  

  Lake 
  Albany 
  was 
  succeeded 
  by 
  Lake 
  Vermont. 
  The 
  latter 
  lay, 
  

   for 
  the 
  most 
  part, 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Saratoga 
  region, 
  in 
  which 
  its 
  

   deposits 
  are 
  of 
  little 
  importance. 
  In 
  the 
  Champlain 
  valley 
  its 
  

   waters 
  were 
  lower 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  Lake 
  Albany. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  ice 
  finally 
  melted 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Champlain 
  valley 
  the 
  alti- 
  

   tude 
  was 
  so 
  much 
  lower 
  than 
  now 
  that 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  valley, 
  

   and 
  of 
  the 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  valley 
  up 
  to 
  Lake 
  Ontario, 
  was 
  below 
  sea 
  

   level 
  and 
  hence 
  became 
  occupied 
  by 
  marine 
  waters. 
  The 
  whole 
  

   Champlain-Hudson 
  trough, 
  however, 
  was 
  not 
  thus 
  depressed, 
  

   Woodworth 
  pointing 
  out 
  that 
  the 
  marine 
  level 
  probably 
  did 
  not 
  

   reach 
  south 
  of 
  Whitehall. 
  Passing 
  down 
  Lake 
  Champlain 
  the 
  

   marine 
  beaches, 
  and 
  the 
  marine 
  fossils 
  contained 
  in 
  the 
  deposits, 
  

   are 
  found 
  at 
  steadily 
  higher 
  altitudes 
  going 
  north. 
  At 
  Plattsburg 
  

   the 
  marine 
  waters 
  reached 
  a 
  level 
  some 
  300 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  present 
  

   level 
  of 
  the 
  lake. 
  Woodworth 
  does 
  not 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  trough 
  

   south 
  of 
  Whitehall 
  was 
  submerged 
  at 
  this 
  time. 
  The 
  trough 
  seems 
  

   to 
  have 
  oscillated 
  on 
  a 
  pivot, 
  depresssion 
  at 
  the 
  north 
  being 
  coinci- 
  

   dent 
  with 
  elevation 
  at 
  the 
  south, 
  and 
  vice 
  versa. 
  The 
  pivotal 
  line 
  

   lies 
  in 
  the 
  district 
  between 
  Whitehall 
  and 
  Albany. 
  Since 
  the 
  ice 
  

   vanished, 
  the 
  northern 
  district 
  has 
  been 
  steadily 
  rising, 
  the 
  marine 
  

   waters 
  have 
  been 
  excluded 
  from 
  the 
  Champlain 
  and 
  the 
  upper 
  St 
  

   Lawrence 
  valleys, 
  and 
  the 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  estuary 
  now 
  ends 
  at 
  Mon- 
  

   treal. 
  This 
  upward 
  movement 
  is 
  likely 
  still 
  continuing. 
  At 
  the 
  

   same 
  time 
  the 
  lower 
  Hudson 
  valley 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  undergoing 
  

   depression 
  and 
  its 
  estuary 
  lengthening. 
  The 
  Saratoga 
  region 
  is 
  

   near 
  the 
  pivotal 
  line 
  and 
  probably 
  has 
  been 
  but 
  little 
  affected 
  by 
  

   these 
  movements. 
  

  

  We 
  can 
  not 
  leave 
  Pleistocene 
  matters 
  without 
  calling 
  attention 
  

   to 
  one 
  detail, 
  the 
  impressive 
  glacial 
  boulder 
  shown 
  in 
  plate 
  20. 
  

   It 
  stands 
  on 
  the 
  summit 
  of 
  a 
  low 
  drumlin, 
  3 
  miles 
  due 
  west 
  from 
  

   Saratoga, 
  and 
  is 
  a 
  conspicuous 
  object. 
  Viewed 
  from 
  a 
  distance 
  

   it 
  looks 
  like 
  a 
  monument, 
  a 
  simple 
  shaft. 
  It 
  consists 
  of 
  a 
  huge 
  

   slab 
  of 
  Little 
  Falls 
  dolomite 
  about 
  15 
  feet 
  long, 
  stood 
  up 
  on 
  end. 
  

   Some 
  exfoliation 
  has 
  taken 
  place, 
  due 
  to 
  frost 
  attack, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  

   whole 
  it 
  has 
  suffered 
  comparatively 
  little 
  damage 
  from 
  the 
  

  

  