160 
[Assembly 
To those who admire the sombre but sublime scenery of a moun- 
tain pass, we would recommend the vicinity of Little-Falls. Naked 
gray rocks, crested with forest trees, are imaged with a beautiful 
reality in the still water of the canal, which renders a stroll along 
its bank, on a lovely summer or mild autumnal evening, a source 
of heartfelt enjoyment. The Mohawk pours its glittering waters 
among tabular masses of grey rocks, which, like an antique ruin, 
remind us of by-gone centuries; the mantle of summer foliage is 
kept ever of the freshest hue by gentle showers of spray. The 
song of the bird--the horn of the boatman — the cheerful voices of 
numerous passengers on the canal — give an animation to the spot, 
strongly contrasted with the wild and sombre character of the 
scenery around. 
SECTION L 
1. Calcareous Sandstone of the Mohawk valley. 
The first rock which appears above the gneiss in our district, is 
the "calciferous sandrock" of Mr. Eaton, which may be traced, 
with few interruptions, along the high ridges and bold shores of 
the Mohawk river on the north, from Saratoga county to a short 
distance west of Little-Falis. The general inclination is 4 or 5° 
to SW, which causes the rock to be generally lost to observation 
to the south of the Mohawk, except upon the immediate bank of 
the river and that of the canal, whilst it rises with the hills on the 
opposite shore, frequently however concealed by limestone. Dis- 
locations, or faults and curves in the stratification, are common, 
and we infer that the rock is nearly contemporaneous in geologi- 
cal date with the limestones and shales which overlie it, in conse* 
quence of its conformable position to them, and the identity of or- 
ganic remains in all the strata of the series to the superior termi- 
nation of the blue limestones and shales of Trenton-Falls. This 
sandstone we have ascertained to rest unconformably on gneiss^ 
being nearly horizontal, where the primary is contorted and high- 
ly inclined, in the vicinity of Yatesville, on the Erie canal. It is 
remarkable for its numerous small cavities, lined with anthracite, 
quartz, crystals and calcareous spar, the quartz frequently colored 
of a dark hue by admixture with the former mineral. The entire 
thickness of this rock may be seen at Little-Falls, near Yatesville, 
and opposite Spraker's basin in Montgomery county. At the lat* 
ter locality, search was made for coal in this sandstone, where it 
abounds in small masses of anthracite, and the fragments which 
