136 
[Assembly 
The northwestern border of the primitive is very irregular, extending 
obliquely across the county near its middle, in a direction about east 
and west. It embraces a large portion of the town of Warwick, most 
of the town of Monroe, the south corner of Goshen, part of Blooming- 
Grove, nearly all Cornwall, and parts of New- Windsor and Newburgh. 
By far the greatest part of this primitive region is composed of gneiss. 
In many places it is regularly stratified, the line of bearing being on an 
average south 45° to 50° west, and north 45° to 50° east- and the dip 
to the south and east at an angle varying from 45° to nearly vertical. 
There are, however, many variations, both in the direction and the dip, 
but they are local. This rock, in some of its variaties, forms the great 
mass of the Highlands. For exhibitions of the stratification and dip, many 
fine examples are seen on the Orange turnpike, and on the turnpike 
from Canterbury to the New-Jersey line. The local variations may be 
observed at Sterling mine, and on the road from Canterbury to West- 
Point, and many other places. It is presumed that the variations in 
the dip, to be seen on the last mentioned route, induced Prof. Eaton to 
believe that all the primitive rocks of the Highlands in this county 
dipped to the northwest.* In general^ the primitive rocks of the county 
are less regular in stratification and dip along the banks of the Hudson 5 
and at their western margin, than in their centre. Among the varieties 
of gneiss in the county, may be mentioned that in which the mica predo- 
minates, and that in which the feldspar predominates, as being most abun- 
dant; these occur every where. Next in abundance is that which is called 
hornblendic gneiss and gneissoid hornblende, the hornblende and mica 
forming the larger proportion of the rock. It is very abundant at Long and 
Sterling mines, and in all the short ridges and elevations forming the west- 
ern border of the Highlands. Granite is abundant in the primitive region 
of the county, constituting beds and veins. It is coarse and crystalline, 
on the road from Buttermilk falls to Fort Montgomery, and on the turn- 
pike from Monroe works to Haverstraw. It is graphic on Rocky hill 
in Warwick, and other places. It is sienitic in Mount Eve, at Sterling 
iron mine, and many other places. It is compact in Butter hill, fine 
grained and compact in many places on the road from Warwick to the 
Ramapo river. All the varieties of colour are abundant. The red is 
particularly so in several of the ridges east of Long pond. While it is 
not positively asserted that granite, in this county, is a rock regularly 
stratified like the gneiss, the careful attention of geologists is invited to 
a locality on the northeast side of the turnpike from Haverstraw to 
* See Journal of Science, vol. , page 
