GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY OF CLAY DEPOSITS 



103 



Another deposit of considerable size is being worked at Ogdens- 

 burg. The clay is blue and has a depth of 60 feet. 



At Madrid, in St. Lawrence county, is a small deposit, probably 

 the remnant of a formerly extensive one. The section is : 



Yellow stratified sand 3 feet 



Blue clay with shells 1 " 



Blue clay 20 " 



Total thickness 24 " 



The shells are probably Macoma fusca. 



Turning our attention to the southern portion of the state we 

 find clays in abundance, in all the valleys, and lowlands. The 

 extensive marshes near Randolph and Conewango are said to be 

 underlain by clay throughout their entire extent.* 



At Levant, four miles east of Jamestown, Chautauqua county, 

 is an interesting bed of blue clay underlying an area of several 

 acres. It is probably of post-glacial age, and the section as 

 determined by an artesian well-boring is : 



Yellow sand 4 feet 



Quicksand 4 inches 



Yellow clay 5 feet 



Blue clay 70 " 



Hardpan " 



Total thickness 83 " 



The owner of the clay bed informed me that leaves were often 

 found between the layers of the clay at a depth of 15 or 20 feet. 



At Breesport near Elmira is a bank of blue clay rising from 

 the valley to a height of 50 feet. It was evidently formed when 

 the valley was dammed up, and has subsequently been much 

 eroded so that all that now remains is a narrow terrace along the 

 side of the valley. A similar deposit is found at Newfield south 

 of Ithaca. A moraine crosses t'ue valley a mile or two south of 

 it. Deposits of clay suitable for brick and tile occur extensively 

 in the lowlands bordering the Mohawk River from Rome to 

 Schenectady. The beds vary in thickness from six to 15 feet and 

 are mostly of a red, blue, or gray color. 



* Geol. New York, 4th district, 1. 



