422 V. F. MARSTERS— ASBESTOS DEPOSITS OF BELVIDERE MOUNTAIN 



1). So far as the data at hand bear on the question as to the limits 

 of the area, it is to be said that all field facts strongly suggest that it is 

 not connected with the belt passing through Lowell village. 



Economic Importance of Serpentine 



Apart from the scientific interest in the origin and development of the 

 serpentines, they are also of special economic importance, inasmuch as 

 a considerable amount of asbestos is known to occur within the limits of 

 the region under consideration. Small lenses of talc, too, are not un- 

 common within the central part of the Belvidere area, as well as in the 

 Lowell belt, but the asbestos is by far the more important economic 

 product of the two. It should be added, however, that it does not follow 

 that talc is alwa}'s of secondary importance in serpentinous rocks. On 

 the contrary, in the region of Moretown, Washington county, large talc 

 deposits are being opened and a mining plant is in process of construc- 

 tion. In this case, so far as can be determined from the preliminary 

 prospecting, asbestos-like minerals are quite secondary to the develop- 

 ment of talc. The talc appears to occur near the contact of serpentinous 

 rock, with talcose and micaceous schists or as small lenses within the 

 serpentine. It is not improbable that careful prospecting within the 

 limits of the Moretown area may bring to light other talc deposits of 

 sufficient economic importance to form the basis of a small but profitable 

 industry. 



Topography of Belvidere Region 



Topographically this region consists of a series of valleys and ridges 

 having a general northeast-southwest trend. Near the west corner of 

 Lowell lies Belvidere mountain, a sharp-crested ridge, with its highest 

 point at its southern extremity and within a few rods of the Lowell- 

 Eden township line. The eastern side of Belvidere is shown in the accom- 

 panying photograph. The altitude of the crest gradually decreases to 

 the north. A steep-sloped valley, locally known as Hazens notch, in the 

 southwest corner of Westfield, separates Belvidere from the ridge to the 

 north. Hadle} 7 mountain is separated from Belvidere by the west branch 

 of the Missisquoi river. From its northern flank a low spur extends to 

 and beyond Lowell village, where it is crossed by Johns branch, a tribu- 

 tary to the Missisquoi. A part of this spur is locally known as the Leland 

 hills. In the southwest corner of Lowell are the so-called Lowell moun- 

 tains, with the same general trend as Belvidere. 



The greatest altitude of Belvidere is approximately 2,100 feet above 

 Eden corners and some 1,200 feet above the office of the New England 



