Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/367

 NEW YORK (STATE) 355 comparatively immense and beautifully circum- scribed nucleus, which from a height [in Essex co.] of nearly 6,000 ft. descends with great irregularity, and disappears under the transi- tion rocks which encircle it, and which border the St. Lawrence, the Ohamplain, the Mohawk, and the Black river." Under the patronage of the state, Mr. Yerplanck Colvin has been for several years engaged in a topographical and trigonometrical survey of some portions of this region, and his reports for 1873 and 1874 present many new facts. The position and altitude of many mountains and lakes have been determined by him, and the heights of well known peaks more accurately measured, giving to Mt. Marcy and Mt. Mclntyre 5,402 and 5,201 ft. respectively. Gothic mountain and Basin mountain, nearly 5,000 ft. in height, are among those now for the first time deter- mined. Mts. Dix, Seward, and Santanoni are reduced by Mr. Oolvin's measurements to 4,916, 4,384, and 4,644 ft. respectively. He reports the existence in this region of the moose and beaver, though rare and nearly extinct. The bear, panther, and wolf are still common, and are trapped for their fur or for state bounty. The common deer are plentiful in some sections. A commission of state parks appointed by the legislature have reported in favor of setting apart as a state park from 600 to 3,000 sq. m. of the high mountain region of the Adiron- dacks, embracing Mt. Marcy and all the great peaks ; the chief objects being to preserve the forests for their beneficial climatic effects, mod- erating the spring freshets in the Hudson by sheltering the snow from the heat of the sun, shielding the sources of this river from evaporation, and affording a healthful pleasure ground. The continuation of the Appalachian range proper in New York is seen in the Sha- wangunk and Catskill mountains; the former a continuation of the Kittatinny and Blue mountains of Pennsylvania, the latter of the Alleghany, Broad Top, Laurel Hill, and others. This range, entering the state from the south- west, extends northeasterly through Sullivan, Ulster, Delaware, and Greene cos., culmina- ting in the Catskills about 8 m. from the Hud- son river. Several minor ridges pass through the W. part of Delaware, Broome, Otsego, and Chenango cos., extending into the S. part of Schoharie, and forming a part of the Catskill mountain range. Along the eastern boundary of the state is a less defined but continuous low mountain range belonging to the same system, entering the state from New Jersey W. of the Highlands, there forming Skunemunk moun- tain, and extending thence through Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Washington cos., known as the Taghkanic range. It is usually regarded as subordinate to the Green mountain range. Its highest points are Beacon hill and Mt. Washington in Dutchess co. The Helder- berg mountains are a northern extension of the formations constituting the base of the Catskill mountains. These present a steep escarpment on the north and northeast, over the Helder- berg limestones and Hudson river formation, while the higher rounded summits are of the Hamilton group. This escarpment continues more or less distinctly to the Niagara river. Spurs of the Alleghanies occupy the S. part of the western half of the state. The watershed separating the northern and southern drainage of western New York extends in an irregular line through the southerly counties. That por- tion of the state S. of this watershed, and em- bracing the greater part of the two southerly tiers of counties, is almost entirely hilly. The highest summits W. of the Susquehanna are in Allegany and Cattaraugus cos., and are 2,000 to 2,500 ft. above tide. N. of the watershed the face of the country descends in a series of rolling and smooth terraces toward Lake On- tario, the region between the hills of the south and the level lands of the north being a beau- tiful rolling country. S. of the Highlands the surface is generally level or broken by low hills. The river system consists of two gen- eral divisions, viz. : that part drained by the great lakes and the St. Lawrence, northerly; and that part drained by the Hudson and other rivers, southerly. The watershed between these two divisions extends in an irregular line from Lake Erie eastward through the southern tier of counties to near the N. E. corner of Che- mung co., thence N. E. to the Adirondack mountains in Essex co., thence S. E. to the E. extremity of Lake George, and thence nearly due E. to the E. line of the state. The north- ern of these divisions consists of five subdivi- sions or basins, viz. : the basin drained by Lake Erie, Niagara river, and Lake Ontario W. of Genesee river; that of Genesee river and its tributaries; of Oswego river and its tributa- ries, and the small streams flowing into Lake Ontario between Genesee and Oswego rivers ; of the St. Lawrence and the streams flowing into Lake Ontario E. of Oswego river; and that drained by Lakes George and Champlain. The southern division consists of four subdivisions, viz. : the Alleghany, the Susquehanna, the Del- aware, and the Hudson river basins. The geo- logical series within the state of New York is very complete, from the oldest palaeozoic rocks to the lower members of the carboniferous sys- tem inclusive. This series was described by the New York geologists as the New York sys- tem. The Adirondack region, N. of the Mo- hawk and E. of the Black river, comprises the most ancient highly crystalline rocks, known as the Laurentian system ; the lower portions are gneissoid and granitic, and the higher con- sist of labradorite and hypersthene, forming a coarse granitic mass. Extensive beds of mag- netite traverse the strata parallel to the bed- ding, yielding immense quantities of the ore. The hypersthene rock forms the great moun- tain centre of which Mts. Marcy and Mclntyre are the culminations. In St. Lawrence and Jefferson cos. the prevailing rocks are coarse granite, crystalline limestone, and serpentine,