﻿Report 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  Geologist. 
  541 
  

  

  which 
  the 
  supposed 
  model 
  is 
  divided. 
  The 
  mountain 
  consists 
  of 
  

   a 
  widely-extended 
  sheet 
  of 
  Shawangunk 
  grit 
  lying 
  on 
  soft 
  Hud- 
  

   son 
  river 
  shales. 
  This 
  sheet 
  lies 
  in 
  a 
  gently 
  west 
  dipping 
  mono- 
  

   cline 
  which 
  is 
  corrugated 
  by 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  gentle 
  longitudinal 
  

   folds. 
  To 
  the 
  westward 
  it 
  dips 
  beneath 
  shales 
  and 
  limestones 
  

   of 
  the 
  succeeding 
  formations 
  in 
  the 
  Komlout 
  valley 
  ; 
  to 
  the 
  east- 
  

   ward 
  it 
  is 
  terminated 
  by 
  long 
  lines 
  of 
  bigh 
  precipices 
  surmount- 
  

   ing 
  steep 
  slopes 
  of 
  Hudson 
  river 
  shales. 
  Its 
  anticlinals 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  

   high 
  ridges 
  and 
  wide 
  plateaus; 
  its 
  synclinals 
  constitute 
  in 
  greater 
  

   part 
  the 
  intervening 
  depressions. 
  In 
  several 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  

   mountain 
  the 
  grit 
  has 
  been 
  eroded 
  from 
  the 
  crests 
  of 
  the 
  anti- 
  

   clines 
  and 
  the 
  underlying 
  slates 
  are 
  bared. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  in 
  a 
  

   wide 
  area 
  southwest 
  of 
  Ellen 
  ville, 
  in 
  a 
  long 
  strip 
  extending 
  from 
  

   near 
  Lake 
  Mohonk 
  nearly 
  to 
  Rosendale, 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  area 
  east 
  of 
  

   Wawarsing 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  north 
  of 
  Lake 
  

   Minnewaska. 
  

  

  The 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  Shawangunk 
  mountain 
  is 
  nearly 
  everywhere 
  

   very 
  rugged, 
  and 
  it 
  abounds 
  in 
  cliffs 
  and 
  rocky 
  slopes. 
  These 
  

   consist 
  of 
  snow-white 
  grits 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  mantled 
  with 
  dark 
  

   lichens, 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  remarkably 
  picturesque. 
  There 
  are 
  numer- 
  

   ous 
  cataracts, 
  many 
  beautiful 
  rock-bound 
  lakes 
  and 
  widely 
  

   extended 
  views 
  of 
  the 
  Catskills 
  to 
  the 
  westward 
  and 
  the 
  Hudson 
  

   valley 
  to 
  the 
  eastward. 
  The 
  ruggedness 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  excep- 
  

   tional 
  hardness 
  of 
  the 
  rocks, 
  the 
  softness 
  of 
  the 
  underlying 
  shales 
  

   and 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  vertical 
  jointing, 
  which 
  gives 
  rise 
  to 
  cliffs 
  and 
  

   clefts. 
  There 
  are 
  low 
  lines 
  of 
  cliffs 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  

   mountain, 
  especially 
  to 
  the 
  southward, 
  but 
  along 
  the 
  eastern 
  

   face, 
  where 
  the 
  grit 
  is 
  being 
  continually 
  undermined 
  by 
  erosion 
  

   of 
  the 
  slate, 
  they 
  are 
  of 
  great 
  prominence, 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  hav- 
  

   ing 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  200 
  feet 
  and 
  extending 
  continuously 
  for 
  

   many 
  miles. 
  The 
  "points" 
  are 
  projections 
  or 
  promontories 
  

   of 
  the 
  eastern 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  grit 
  beyond 
  the 
  general 
  crest 
  line, 
  

   due 
  to 
  a 
  less 
  degree 
  of 
  recession. 
  Buntico 
  point, 
  Paltz 
  point, 
  

   Gertrude's 
  nose 
  and 
  Sam's 
  point 
  are 
  the 
  most 
  prominent 
  

   of 
  these, 
  but 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  others 
  of 
  minor 
  importance. 
  

   The 
  lakes 
  for 
  which 
  the 
  mountain 
  is 
  famous 
  lie 
  in 
  basins 
  of 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  depth 
  and 
  are 
  all 
  near 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  ridges. 
  They 
  are 
  

  

  