90 Topographical Sketch of the State of New- York. 



the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers. The lowest pass to the east, 

 over a swell of land near Casadaga outlet in Chautauque county, 

 is 1720 feet high ; and another pass in the same swell is 1972 

 feet. The lowest notch in the height of land between Elm and Lit- 

 tle Valley creeks, in Cattaraugus county, is 1725 feet ; and be- 

 tween Little Valley and Big Valley, the lowest pass is 2144 feet 

 above the level of the ocean. Franklinville has an elevation of 

 1580 feet, and Angelica 1428 feet, although both are situated in 

 vallies. This height of land extends close to the shore of Lake 

 Erie, as it may be seen by the map, that one of the head branches 

 of the Allegany, a tributary of the Ohio, rises within four or five 

 miles of the lake. The surface is not broken, but consists of large 

 swells of land, with broad shallow vallies intervening. The principal 

 indentation of the surface, is the valley of the Genesee river, which 

 may be considered as an arm of the Ontario valley, extending into 

 the state of Pennsylvania. The extreme southern branches of this 

 river rise at an elevation of more than 2500 feet. 



The space between Seneca lake and the Hudson, and south of 

 the Mohawk, is occupied by the mountain chain formed by the 

 union of the three parallel ridges before mentioned, as mingling in 

 Pennsylvania, and passing through New-York. The surface ia 

 much more uneven than that of the part just described, and pre- 

 sents the general appearance of a number of ridges in a north and 

 south direction. The highest of these is the Catskill mountains, 

 which bound the valley of the Hudson on the west, and rise in 

 some places nearly 4000 feet higher than the level of the ocean. 

 The Round Top is 3804, and the High Peak is 3718 feet, above 

 the level of the tide waters of the Hudson * The principal inden- 

 tations of the surface of this subdivision of the mountain part of 

 the state, are the vallies of the Susquehanna, the Delaware, and 

 their several branches. By a reference to the map, it will be 

 seen that the Chemung river, the main branch of the Susquehanna, 

 nnd the Delaware river, when viewed in connexion with each oth- 

 er, present an almost entire water course, extending along the 

 Pennsylvania line, from Painted Post, in Steuben county, to the 

 northwest angle of the state of New- Jersey, the only interruption 

 being the space between the Delaware and the Susquehanna. The 

 vallies in which these rivers are situated, cross the mountains in 

 an east and west direction ; but their several tributaries, viz. the 

 two branches of the Susquehanna, the Unadilla and the Chenango 



