Vi G 5 . REPORT OF PROGRESS. I. C. WHITE. 



The two counties under review in this book are uncom- 

 monly barren of mineral resources ; neither coal, nor iron 

 ore, nor any other kind of ore existing either at the sur- 

 face or at a moderate depth. The Marcellus brown hema- 

 tite ore beds, and the Clinton fossil iron ore beds, if they 

 were deposited within the limits of the district, lie buried 

 now at depths varying in different parts of it between 1000 

 and 5000 feet. 



Although the Venango Oil formation is represented by a 

 group of beds underlying the whole of Wayne and the 

 greater part of Susquehanna county, there is very little to 

 support an expectation of success in boring for oil. 



The great salt bearing (Pocono No. X,) rocks of the south- 

 western counties form in this district a few ranges and 

 patches of highland ; and the salt bearing rocks of the State 

 of New York (Salina, No. V) lie nearly as deep beneath the 

 surface as the fossil ore beds. 



It is possible that at some future time salt brine may be 

 obtained in abundance from wells 3000 feet deep sunk to the 

 Salina rocks in the northern townships of Wayne county, 

 and in the northwestern and middle townships of Susque- 

 hanna county ; and certainly a deep trial-hole should be 

 bored to test the existence of thick rock-salt deposits at that 

 depth. When such an enterprise is contemplated a pretty 

 exact calculation can be made of the probable depth of the 

 Salina formation beneath any chosen locality. The salt 

 shafts of the Rhine valley 3500 feet deep afford sufficient 

 evidence that where beds of rock salt are known certainly 

 to exist great depth is not a bar to exploitation. 



Another feature of this report is its frequent description 

 of glacial phenomena : — surface deposits of northern and 

 local Drift gravels, sand and clays — moraine ridges and 

 dams of Drift in valleys, — crystalline rock fragments in the 

 Drift of one small area, — innumerable bowlders and huge 

 isolated blocks of the country -rocks scattered loosely or 

 closely over the whole district, — and scratches and grooves 

 made by the Mer de glace on the rock-surfaces, pointing 

 southward and south westward, at all elevations up to 2100 

 feet above tide level on the side of Mount Ararat ; — and re- 



