GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE SCHOHARIE VALLEY 279 



Chapter 6 



CHARACTERISTIC SECTIONS IN THE HELDERBERGS 



The following characteristic sections of well known localities 

 in the Helderbergs are here added, partly for comparison with 

 sections at Schoharie, and partly for the purpose of making this 

 guide useful for a wider region than the Schoharie valley. This 

 is possible because the strata involved scarcely vary in lithic 

 composition and fossil contents over the region here covered. As 

 before, extensive use has been made of published sections, specially 

 those of Professor Prosser. 



19 Section near Knox 



Prosser 



About 4 miles southwest of Altamont and 1% miles northeast 

 of Knox, at a locality known as " the Rocks " are interesting ex- 

 posures of the Helderberg limestones and specially of the Oriskany 

 sandstone. This is also an excellent place for collecting Oris- 

 kany fossils, and the formation forms the bed of the Altamont- 

 Knox highway for some distance. The following section begins 

 on the lower road at the Armstrong house, near the foot of the 

 hill, and extends to its top. The section is here given in descend- 

 ing order. 



Feet Total 



B 6 Onondaga light gray limestone capping the hill. 

 The dip on the face of this ledge is 2° s. 38° av. 



B 5 Esopus shale, largely covered on the slope to the 

 south of the road but showing fairly well in 

 small gullies. One fourth of a mile to the 

 east is a small quarry in the lower part of the 

 shale 1 , 83-245 



B 4 Very fossiliferous Oriskany sandstone underly- 

 ing 1 lie road. On top of the sandstone, along 

 I he road are large numbers <>f impressions of 

 S p i r o p h y t o n c a u d a g a 1 1 i 2-1 62 



B 3 Beorafl limestone but a little below I lie Alla- 



niont-Knox road 10-1G0 



•This thickness is probably loo small duo to the considerable horizontal 

 distance and strong southerly dip. C. S. P. 



