14. SAVILLE TOWNSHIP. F 3 . 319 



14. Sav/Ile township. 



Saville is one of the largest townships in Perry county. It 

 measures about seven miles from east to west by six from 

 north to south, and its area is not far from forty square 

 miles. It is interesting to the geologist for several reasons. 

 It exhibits the western end of the Lykens valley (Buffalo) 

 syncline, so far as concerns the Devonian rocks. These, en- 

 tering it from the east, curve gently around in order and, 

 sweeping eastward, again pass over the line into Juniata 

 township. Their alternate hard and soft beds form a set of 

 nearly parallel ridges, one outside of another, which, though 

 not very boldly developed, are yet the causes of most of the 

 superficial features. They determine the direction of the 

 water-courses and of the roads, which run either on the 

 ridges or in the valleys. Prominent among the former is 

 the Buffalo creek one head of which, rising near Manns- 

 ville almost on the border of Centre township, flows west- 

 ward along the valley excavated from the soft shales be- 

 tween the Hamilton sandstone and the Chemung upper beds 

 of Middle ridge. The three curve parallel with each other, 

 turn north and then west at Roseburg, after joining the 

 main stream and pass into Tuscarora township. The suc- 

 cessive curves of the Lower Catskill, (including the Kings- 

 mill sandstone,) the upper Chemung and the Hamilton sand- 

 stone, with the intervening softer beds, and the Hamilton 

 lower shale and Marcellus, make up most of the southern 

 pjart of the township. 



The northern portion consists of the Oriskany sandstone, 

 the Lower Helderberg limestone and shale, and the gray 

 variegated and red shale of the Onondaga, the Clinton group, 

 and the Medina sandstone. The erosion of these in varying 



