C. A. Goessmann on the Onondaga Mineral Springs. 373 
roper, detailed records of the exact geological features of the 
localities here under consideration are quite deficient, as I have 
records concerning the real conditions of the strata which di- 
rectly underlie our area of red shale—if bearing salt water, etc., 
have come to my knowledge. The importance of such infor- 
mation, it must be admitted, cannot be overrated when engage 
in tracing the origin of our brines. All that is at present known 
of the Onondaga brines and their sources may be summed up in 
the following statements: . 
. The depressions in the Onondaga Shales are filled, in some 
localities, to an extent of nearly three to four hundred feet in 
depth with a diluvial deposit (detritus), varying from the coarsest 
gravel to the finest drift sand.* : 
2. The layers of coarse gravel and fine sand alternate without 
any distinct order or extent. : : 
3. The gravel has frequently been formed into a conglomerate 
of great hardness, commonly called hard-pan—an impermeable 
layer which intersects, more or less efficiently, the various strata 
of the loose material. Hey 
4. A formation of more recent origin, consisting of a red loam 
* Dolomite and limestone of a dolomitic character—are slowly acted upon; Kars- 
ten, Haidinger, Hunt. ie 
“The alternation of impermeable and loose strata may have some bearing upon 
the artesian character of the salt springs of Onondaga. Ae 
Aw. Jour. Sct—Srcoxp Serres, Vou. XLII, No. 136.—Noyv., 1366. le: 
48 
