96 
GEOLOGY OF THE THIRD DISTRICT. 
to the eastward, and probably terminate entirely a few miles east of the Hudson river ; from 
which point their thickness gradually increases towards the west, and reaches its maximum 
in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, where it is not less than seven hundred feet. The 
gypsum has not been seen east of the western part of Oneida county. The red shale comes 
to its end at the east end of Herkimer county ; and the whole group is reduced, in the Hel- 
derberg in Albany county, to a few feet of light grey or lavender-colored compact calcareous 
rock with pyrites, separating the Frankfort portion of the Hudson river group from the water- 
lime series. 
Red Shale. The great mass is of a blood-red color, fine grained, earthy in fracture, with 
no regular lines of division, but breaking or crumbling into irregular fragments. It is first 
met with going west at Tisdale or Crugar’s saw-mill, at the north end of Henderson’s patent, 
Herkimer county. It would appear there to rest immediately upon the grey band of Eaton, 
there being no space for the admission of any rock or mass between them. Its grain there is 
coarse for this mass. 
The red shale is exposed to more advantage near the distillery of Elias Fisk, on the west 
branch of Steele’s creek; there it forms a mass of eighty or more feet in thickness. The 
manner in which it disintegrates is well seen, crumbling by weathering into angular gravelly 
fragments, which are finally resolved into red earth. The cliffs are nearly vertical; and there 
is nothing to break the uniformity of the blood-red color of the rock, but two parallel beds of 
bright green shale, each about five inches in thickness. There is a third bed which is not so 
thick, nor is it continuous, extending only a short distance along the mass, showing that there 
are beds in the red shale of a different color and of limited extent. 
On the road from Mohawk village to Dennison’s, to the east of Fisk’s distillery, the red 
shale is seen after rising upon the sandstone of the Clinton group. It there forms a terrace, 
showing a very uneven surface in parts, owing to the action of water which has destroyed its 
continuous surface, and has heaped the alluvial materials which were deposited into hills and 
ridges ; showing upon a small surface, the same action of water, and the same accumulation 
of drift or water-worn materials, so common to the surface of the Onondaga salt group, and 
the rocks to the north of it at the west end of the district. The same results have taken place 
at the west end of Herkimer, and the east end of Oneida, where the Minden turnpike traverses 
the red shale. In that part of the district, the outcrop of the red shale may be seen at the 
edge of the terrace at the saw-mill on Myers’ creek. 
It is faintly seen on Sauquoit creek, but well exposed in the road to Paris hill from the 
creek, and in several of its northern tributaries. 
It is well exhibited on the north and west side of Paris hill, extending south, but concealed 
by tufa, etc. until it reaches Hart’s or Griffin’s mill on the road to Waterville; there an 
interesting section exists, showing its connection with the Lockport group, as may be seen on 
referring to wood-cut No. 13 of that group. Immediately above the bluish slaty shale which 
contains the concretionary mass, there are from seven to eight feet of green shale, having the 
same characters, excepting color, as the red ; upon which, is about five feet of red shale ; 
I 
