SALINE COUNTY. 221 



remainder of the county. These streams, as well as the smaller tribu- 

 taries, have generally low banks, which are occasionally overflowed, at 

 which times the water'spreads over an extensive area of what is termed 

 "bottom land.'' 



Geological Formations. 



The geological formations of this county are the Chester limestone 

 and sandstones forming the upper part of the Lower Carboniferous 

 series, the Millstone-grit and lower Coal Measures, and the drift or gla- 

 cial deposits of the Quaternary or Post-Tertiary epoch. 



Chester Group. — The rocks belonging to this group are seen on the 

 north side of a ridge, in the south-eastern part of the county, where 

 they have been brought to the surface by the Gold Hill axis, and basset 

 at a high angle to the north. The following section was taken at Pros- 

 pect Hill, which is supposed to be the highest point on this ridge, and it 

 will serve to show the relative position of the Millstone-grit with refer- 

 ence to the Chester group : 



Section taken at Prospect Hill, on section 10 ! township 10, range 7 ; 

 . average dip of strata 10° south : 



Ft. 



HiUstone-grit, a pebbly sandstone 160 



Covered space, sandstone? belonging to the Chester group ISO 



Archimedes limestone 2 



Green marly shale and covered space 20 



Gray limestone, "cave rock." 25 



Covered space 120 



Qaartzose-sandstone 20 



Cherty -limestone .*. 30 



Covered, sandstone ? , 20 



Chester group 357? 



517 



It was found impossible to determine with accuracy the thickness of 

 the members under the Millstone-grit at the place where the above sec- 

 tion was obtained, or in fact at any other locality along the line of dis- 

 turbance in this county, on account of the tumbled masses of rock 

 which lie strewed over the side of the mountain in such a manner as to 

 admit of only an occasional glimpse of what exists beneath them ; how- 

 ever,! believe that this section will convey a pretty accurate idea of the 

 sequence of the strata, and gives the total thickness of the exposed 

 rocks of the Chester group, which cannot fall far short of three hundred 

 and fifty-seven feet. Neither in the lower member of the group, nor in 

 the gray limestone containing the "Cave," could any trace of fossils be 

 found, but in the band of limestone exposed above the green marly 

 shales, a fragment of Archimedes was found associated with entrochites. 



