A GLACIAL POT-HOLE IN THE HUDSON RIVER 
SHALES NEAR CAISKILL, N.: Y. 
HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN. 
SOME years ago I was invited to examine a pot-hole of 
unusual interest, which had recently been uncovered on the 
east bank of the Hudson, directly opposite the town of Catskill, 
upon the estate of Frederick E. Church, the well-known land- 
scape artist. At the time a number of drawings and photo- 
graphs were taken, together with a few notes which may be of 
interest to the readers of the Naturalist. 
This pot-hole lies at the base of a cliff of shale about seventy- 
five feet high, and was discovered in course of excavation of 
Fic. 1. — Side view of shale cliff and pot-hole. 
the shale for purposes of road-building. It was first indicated 
by a section of its diameter upon the side nearest to the base of 
the sharp cliff. It was then excavated with great care to a depth 
of twenty-five feet, when it suddenly narrowed from an average 
diameter of eight feet to a diameter of five feet, and finally it 
was found to terminate in a bowl about the size of a wash-basin. 
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