FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 
Of the Second Geological District of the State of 
New- York, by Prof. E. Emmons. 
To his Excellency W. L. Marcy, 
Governor of JVew-York : 
Sir — Agreeably to a commission which I had the honor to re- 
ceive from you, under date of June 2, 1836 to make a Geological 
Survey of the northern part of the State, as provided by an act 
of the Legislature, I beg leave to present the following. 
REPORT. 
That I might discharge my duties on the survey, so as to meet 
the wishes of your Excellency, and the enlightened Legislature 
who have placed at your disposal the substantial means for its 
execution, I judged it necessary in the first place, to make a re- 
connoisance of the territory assigned me. This was the more 
necessary, as a large portion of it was still clothed with unbro- 
ken forests, and, being difficult of access, its geological structure 
remained unknown. As the first step in the exploration of this 
district was to be taken, the importance of obtaining a general 
plan of its rock formation will doubtless be appreciated; and, con- 
sidering the state of the country, and the circumstances under 
which the survey was commenced, we hope no disappointment 
will be felt, when it is perceived that much of this report is taken 
up with an outline of its geology. In executing this part of our 
task, some attention has been given to the valuable ores; the re- 
sult of our inquiries in relation to them, will be found in the latter 
part of this communication. 
In stating some of the facts which came under our observation 
during our tour of exploration, we have occasionally indulged 
[Assem. No. 16L] 13 
