-Vespertine Strata of Virginia. 



carbon v 



But while this portion of the field set 

 a of the neighboring area 



this point, and near the river, a coal bed exists at this horizon. 

 At one time attempts were made to work it, but the coal proved 

 to be too impure, and full of sulphur. It is loeallv about lour 

 feet thick. This is the coal bed mentioned by Professor 

 Eogers, as existing on the river near Lewisburg. 



Beneath the above mentioned carbonaceous portion, come 

 120 feet of firm gray, and brownish sandstones, and then forty 

 feet of very flaggy, gray, soft sandstones and shales, with some 

 layers of fissile Mack siiale. containing indistinct vegetable im- 

 pressions, mostly leaves of Lepidodendra. The lowest rock 

 seen shows about twenty feet of dark gray, compact, fine 

 grained sandstone, full of specks of pyrites, and containing in 

 nests and pockets of yellow ochre poorly preserved impressions 

 of shells. The entire thickness, here shown, of the middle 

 member, is by estimate about 290 feet. 



Professor Bogers shows that fa he Vesper- 



tine forms a portion of the mass of the Alleghany Mountains, 

 this member shows pretty much the same features, but that the 

 amount of coal is much smaller, since it appears only in occa- 

 sional thin strings of very small lateral extent 



Vespertine Strata near Lewis Tunnel. 



Twelve miles east of the last mentioned locality we find the 

 Vespertine rocks disposed in a narrow belt along the east side 

 of the Alleghany Mountains. The Chesapeake & Ohio Eailroad 

 issues from this mountain, on the east side, in a deep cut made 

 in Chemung strata, which dip about 75° southeast Passing 

 along the railroad eastward, we enter first the strata intermediate 

 between the Chemung and Vespertine, which are probably 

 and after passing through these, see the lowest beds of 

 the Vespertine, coming next in order. The dip flattens down 

 rapidly in going east, until in the Vespertine strata it is not 

 more than 25°. 



The Chemung here is much like that of New York. Alter- 

 nations of flaggy sandstones and shales, weathering olive brown 

 in color, form the principal portion of the mass. Toward the 

 top, rather massive, dull gray, and dingy brown sandstones 

 occur, with some portions containing pebbles as large as a garden 

 pea. Thin layers, crowded with impressions of shells, occur at 

 intervals, being found even in the coarse sandstones. The 

 highest strata showing Chemung fossils, are these coarse sand- 



