n8 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Primitive, an extension of the Transition up the east side of the 

 Hudson into Washington county, and the extension of the green 

 strip, representing salt and gypsum deposits, as far north as Scho- 

 harie county. 



The sections accompanying this map are divided into the same 

 formations and show no very definite idea of the correct structure 

 of the region. 



The year 1816 brought into the arena of geologic work a man 

 whose work was to have a profound influence on the scientific 

 thought of his time and country. This man was Amos Eaton. 

 Born in Chatham in 1776, he pursued the study and practice of law 

 till the year 1816 when, although 40 years of age, he became inter- 

 ested in the teachings of Professor Silliman at Yale, relinquished 

 his law practice, and began the study of geology and mineralogy 

 under Silliman. Such was the energy and enthusiasm of Eaton 

 that in a year or so he had mastered the science, and began a series 

 of excursions, on foot, throughout New England and New York, 

 giving short lectures on natural history all along his route. He 

 also delivered a course of such lectures at Williams College, which 

 aroused great interest in natural history in that institution. The 

 inspiration of this scientific teacher attracted the attention of Gov- 

 ernor DeWitt Clinton of New York State and, on his invitation, 

 in 1818, Professor Eaton delivered a course of lectures before the 

 State Legislature. The interest in natural history, created by his 

 untiring devotion to the cause and by his numerous lectures and 

 writings, specially by his writings and maps published after he had 

 been appointed senior professor of science at the Rensselaer 

 School at Troy, were destined to bring about the organization of 

 the State Natural History Survey. He may justly be termed the 

 father of New York State geology, for to him, above all others, the 

 State owes its wonderful achievements in geologic work. His first 

 important work was an Index to the Geology of the Northern 

 States, written as a textbook and published in 1818. This con- 

 tained a geologic section which included the region east of the 

 Catskills and extended east to Boston. This was followed a few 

 years later by other published sections, including New York State, 

 but all were very crude measured by present standards and were 

 strongly tinged by Wernerism. 



During this period a new means for the publication of short 

 geological papers and small maps was brought into being by the 

 founding of Silliman's Journal in 1818 and soon papers and maps 

 of a geologic nature began to appear in its pages as can be seen 



