FRACTURES AND DISLOCATIONS. 
135 
fracture changes its direction, and makes its way to the valley of the Mohawk. It is only 
two miles from the river at Coeymans ; but when it has passed so far as to be directly 
west of Albany, it is twelve miles distant. This point is near the route of the Cherryvalley 
turnpike, where it commences its ascent over the north end of the Heklerberg range, 
which route is mostly over the Hudson-river series. From Albany to near the foot of the 
mountain, these rocks are steeply inclined to the east and southeast; while on the route 
over it, they have the common inclination to the southwest of the upper New-York rocks, 
which does not differ much from thirty to forty feet to the mile. 
This fracture sends a branch north, which passes east of Schenectady. At Saratoga, its 
western limit, as already stated, is Saratoga-springs, where it bounds on the west the 
valley of the springs, and where the calciferous is the lowest rock which is exposed, and 
which remains nearly horizontal, while the trenton appears on a lower level, as if it had 
been affected by a down-heave. See fig. 16, p. 131. 
Fig. IS. 
In this line of fracture, it is interesting to observe the modifications or changes which 
the strata have suffered at different points. I therefore give two additional illustrations : 
the first (fig. 18) is taken from the rocks four miles east of Schenectady, upon the line of 
the canal. It exhibits contortions which the strata have undergone by the force of lateral 
pressure. It shows only segments of the curves, one of which rises and forms a high 
arch in the mural procession, while the other projects down beneath the surface. The 
other (fig. 19) is taken from the line of railroad, two and a half miles west of Catskill. It 
is a massive inverted arch in the thick-bedded sandstone of the Hudson-river series. A 
great variety of contorted strata may be observed in the course of a mile on this road, of a 
highly interesting character. These, however, are sufficient to show the character of the 
disturbances to which this belt of rocks has been subjected. 
Fig. 19. 
