NYSGA 1964
New York State
Geological Association
36th Annual Meeting
Guidebook
John James Prucha, Editor
Department of Geology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.

A: GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH-CENTRAL ADIRONDACK HIGHLANDS
Cedar River - Blue Mountain section (CR)
by Dirk de Waard
Snowy Mountain Section (SM)
by William D. Romey

STOP CR 1. View to SW from Cedar Bend Lodge
View towards the southwest from hill opposite Cedar Bend Lodge (ask permission). In the Cedar River valley marble and other supracrustal rocks are exposed which are folded in a syncl inal keel wedged in between the Snowy Mountain dome towards the south (left) and the Wakely Mountain nappe towards the west (right). Dip of foliation and bedding in the structure is to the northwest (right), and the fold axis plunges west. Dip slopes of the Snowy Mountain dome are visible towards the south. Gneisses of the Wakely Mountain nappe are exposed in Wakely Mountain, Round Top, and Blue Ridge to the west. Sugarloaf Mountain in the center is the gneissic core of the syncline.

STOP CR 2. Charnockitic gneisses
Ledges in bushes on right are charnockitic gneisses which form the uppermost overturned portion of the core of Wakely Mountain nappe. Stratigraphically overlying amphibolite and marble are exposed in several places along the road.

STOP CR 3. Supracrustal strata
Stop 3. Short walk up hill to the right to the first ledges of Sugarloaf Mountain. Traverse across supracrustal strata of diverse composition (marble, amphibolite, layered gneisses, diopsidic quartzite and gneiss, diopsidite) towards the core of the syncline which consists of gneiss.

STOP CR 4. Trail to Cedar River falls
Small trail to the left down to the Cedar River. Gorge and falls in marble. Walls demonstrate intense plastic deformation and flow folding in the marble, distortion and rotation of amphibolite pieces. Exposures of amphibolite, quartzite, and sillimanitic garnet-biotite gneiss.

STOP CR 5. Large garnets
On the left, about 30 meters in the bushes, is a small outcrop of amphibolitized metadolerite (sill in charnockitic gneiss of Stop 6). The amphibolite consists of andesine, hornblende, and orthopyroxene. The exposure shows some large garnet porphyroblasts (15 cm diameter) similar to those of the famous Gore Mountain occurrence. PLEASE DON'T SAMPLE THE GARNET HERE. Others may like to see this outcrop after you.

STOP CR 6. Core of Wakely Mountain nappe
Road cut on the left shows typical grey-green, hornblende-bearing, perthitic charnockite of the basement core of the Wakely Mountain nappe.

STOP CR 7. Large road cut
Large road cut on the north shore of Lake Durant. The section of diverse, layered metamorphic rocks includes pink and greenish leucocratic gneisses with thin metabasic layers, marble, and calc-silicate rocks. The section forms part of the supracrustal sequence which overlies the leptites of the Wakely nappe exposed in the hills visible towards the south across the lake, and which underlies the Blue Mountain charnockite sequence towards the north. Lineations on foliation planes indicate a 30° NE plunging fold axis. The intrusive nature of marble into boudinaged layered gneiss is shown on the west end of the north side of the road cut.

STOP CR 8. Supracrustal charnockite
Road cut on the right just downhill from diner, in charnockite of the supracrustal sequence. The grey-green charnockite, interlayered with metabasic rocks and tremolite schist (in the brook), is part of a series of charnockitic rocks which presumably forms an isoclinally folded, complex syncline (Blue Mountain). The charnockite layers, which overlie the marble exposed in the lake and the rocks of stop 7 north of Lake Durant, form part of the supracrustal envelope of the Wakely-Mountain nappe. The Blue Mountain charnockite sequence is considered to be equivalent to the Little Moose Mountain sequence of charnockites. They are stratigraphically the youngest supracrustal rocks known in this area. The composition of the charnockite at this stop is predominantly:

STOP CR 9. Large migmatite exposure
Large exposure in the brook on the right shows pattern of typical migmatite (crocydite) in quartzofeldspathic metamorphic rocks of the Adirondack highlands. The metatect is anatectically generated granite in hornblende-biotite-quartz microcline microperthite oligoclase gneiss. The gneiss grades into charnockite and belongs to the Blue Mountain charnockite sequence.

STOP SM 1. Augen gneiss of Snowy Mtn dome
Stop 1. Roadcuts O.1 miles west southwest of trail leading to the top of Snowy Mountain. K feldspar-plagioclase-quartz-andesine-pyroxene-hornblende augen gneiss (charnockitic "Keene"-type gneiss) of the type which is widespread in Snowy Mountain dome. Foliation about horizontal.

STOP SM 2. Leuco metanorite
Stop 2. From the highway walk west a few yards along a narrow dirt road to flat outcrops. Andesine-pyroxene-hornblende gneiss with relict ophitic to hypidiomorphic granular texture preserved. Note relict cores of dark gray plagioclase (An42) surrounded by recrystallized plagioclase (approximately An34). Square masses of plagioclase are outlined by partially recrystallized mafic minerals. This rock is similar to some of Buddington's gabbroic anorthosites, but we have preferred to call it a (leuco) metanorite. Foliation dips west southwest at a low angle.

STOP SM 3. Anorthosite
Stop 3. Large roadcut on the hill 0.4 miles southwest of the intersection of highway 30 with the lake shore road through Sabael. Anorthosite at the lower end of the outcrop is overlain by metanorite (unfoliated andesine-pyroxene-hornblende gneiss) which is in turn overlain by streaky andesine-pyroxene-hornblende augen gneiss. Both "Marcy-" and "Whiteface-" type anorthosites are present. The grain size of metanorites ranges from coarse to fine, and the original texture of the rock is preserved to various degrees in different parts of the exposure. Several small amphibolite (metadolerite) lenses may be observed in the streaky gneiss. Foliation is nearly horizontal. Walk up the steep hillside above the road to see massive ledges of anorthosite, metanorite, and a rock which is texturally and compositionally intermediate between these two types.

STOP SM 4. Well foliated gneiss
From the intersection of highway 30 with the lake shore road through Sabael walk east about 100 yards on a private road (get permission) leading to a house on a small peninsula. Outcrops are on the lake shore east of the house. Well-foliated K gneiss (charnockite). Domal structure of the complex on the east side of Indian Lake can be observed from the point east of the intersection.

STOP SM 5. Charnockitic augen gneiss
Roadcuts on the main road 0.1 miles northeast of Squaw Brook. Charnockitic augen gneiss similar to the rock seen at stop number 1 (K gneiss).

Banded gneisses in roadcut
No stop. From the bus observe banded gneisses in roadcut. K feldspar-quartz-plagioclase-amphibole gneiss is interlayered with plagioclase-hornblende-biotite amphibolite.

STOP SM 6. Last of the anticlinal core rocks
Stop 6. Roadcuts consisting of well-foliated, homogeneous, leucocratic charnockite (K feldspar-quartz-plagioclase-pyroxene-hornblende-garnet gneiss). A few amphibolite layers are present. This is the granitic end-member of the "syenite" series of Buddington. This is the last stop in what we have called "anticlinal core rocks".

STOP SM 7. Supracrustal rocks
Roadcuts consisting of banded microcline-quartz-plagioclase-hornblende-pyroxene gneisses. These are the first clearly supracrustal mantle rocks overlying the anticlinal core rocks. Note intense folding of the gneisses.

Extra STOP SM 1. Gneiss with large diopside clots
Roadcuts of feldspathic gneisses containing large diopside clots. About 0.2 miles west of the road are spectacular exposures of the same gneiss in a newly reopened quarry (get permission to visit).

Extra STOP SM 2. Amphibolite and marble
East of Indian Lake village on highway 28 there are flat outcrops of amphibolite and very coarse-grained white marble at the outlet to Adirondack Lake. At times of high water these cannot be easily seen.

B: GEOMORPHOLOGY OF ONEIDA BASIN AND SOUTH SLOPE OF THE TUG HILL PLATEAU
by Ernest H. Muller, James S. Street and Jesse L. Craft

B: GEOMORPHOLOGY OF ONEIDA BASIN AND SOUTH SLOPE OF THE TUG HILL PLATEAU

Rise onto drumlinoid with veneer of red till.

Iroquois lake plain at 410 ft. msl.
Continuing on N.Y. Rte. 290, cross overpass and descend to level of Iroquois lake plain at 410 ft. msl.

Fremont Hill drumlinoid
Continuing on N.Y. Rte. 290, rise onto Fremont Hill, a drumlinoid that was an island in Iroquois Lake. Strand features are mapped at the 435 and 420 ft. levels.

Cemetery at 430 ft
Cemetery on right (S) as road returns to lake plain is at the 430 ft. level. Cross alluvial flats of Limestone Creek.

Abandoned feeder of Erie Barge Canal
Cross abandoned feeder of Erie Barge Canal and rise from Iroquois lake plain onto intensely scoured scarp developed on Syracuse fm. Excellent exposures of Syracuse fm in railroad cut, off route .4 miles SW.

Route parallels Erie Canal
At "t-intersection", turn left (E) to continue on N.Y. Rte. 290. Route parallels Erie Canal, with Iroquois lake plain on left and scoured, thinly veneered slopes on right.

STOP 1. Green Lakes State Park
Examination of notched Green Lake channel and Round Lake plunge pool. Discussion of meltwater channels, plunge pool development, interrupted plunge pool migration and limnology of Green Lake. See text, p.31.

Mouth of Green Lake channel
Turn right (E) onto N.Y. Rte 290. Embayed mouth of Green Lake channel debouched into Lake Iroquois at right.

Descend across weak 435 ft. strand
Descend across weak 435 ft. strand at curve in road. Cross abandoned Erie Canal and continue north through Kirkville on littoral sand and gravel.

Iroquois lake plain
Cross N.Y. Thruway overpass affording broad view of nearly level Iroquois lake plain. Pine Plains lie ahead right.

Dune and blow-out complex
East of first cross-road note yellow-brown sandy soil and irregular low relief of dune and blow-out complex related to strandline of late phase of Lake Iroquois which lies parallel and just north of the route for the next 3 miles. Dune configuration suggests dominant effective winds from the west-northwest.

Sand dune complex
Follow road in 90° curve to the right (S), then turn left (E) immediately at "T-intersection" to continue east on Chestnut Ridge Rd. through sand dune complex that borders Pine Plains on the south and Canastota mucklands on the north.

Cicero stage of Lake Iroquois
Turn left (N) onto Chittenango-Lakeport Plank Rd., In .2 mi. descend about 20 ft. across strand that marks Cicero stage of Lake Iroquois (Coon, 1960). Surface of Canastota muckland is approximately at 385 ft. msl.

STOP 2. Sky-High Farms
STOP TWO. SKY-HIGH FARMS (Smith-Coulter Co., Inc.) Peat, marl and bottom sediments of Cicero stage of Lake Iroquois, illustrating succession in filling of post-glacial embayment. Pulmonate gastropods in marl.

Eastward extension of the Lockport cuesta
Turn right (E) onto Lake Rd. in Lakeport. For next 7 miles, Oneida Lake is on left at 369 ft. msl, while a broad swell, elongate east-west, rises to the south of the route. Although it is virtually without bedrock exposure, this rise is considered to be an eastward extension of the Lockport cuesta.

Beach ridge
Turn left (N) onto N.Y. Rte. 13 across Oneida Lake plain. Cross Oneida Creek and continue on minor beach ridge, one of several at 375 ft. msl. that indicate steadily prograding east shore of Oneida Lake.

STOP 3. Verona Beach State Park
Rest stop. Summary of Iroquois lake history and Oneida basin geomorphology as encountered en route and at previous stops.

Oneida lake plain
Turn left (N) onto N.Y. Rte 13. Proceed across Oneida lake plain. Relief is less than 15 ft. for several miles to the east and the deepest part of the lake is only 55 ft. deep. This plain and basin occupy the structurally controlled lowland on the Clinton Group.

Erie Canal
Cross Erie Canal at Fish creek between Verona Beach and Sylvan Beach. In April, 1963, wind-driven shore ice rammed across the beach and against roller-coaster in amusement park at canal outlet into Oneida Lake.

Rise from Oneida Lake plain
Begin rise from Oneida lake plain across Iroquois nearshore and strand deposits. Medina-Clinton contact concealed and not established as having any relation to the shore scarp. At the "Sand Bar" on right, a low cut exposes 3 ft. of red-brown sand and silt over 8 ft. (base concealed) of red to red-brown rhythmically-laminated, but not varved, clay and silt. A well 1.5 miles southeast was drilled through 250 ft. of unconsolidated sediment reported to be dominantly lacustrine. The hole bottomed at 125 ft. msl without reaching bedrock.

Minor drift bench.
Turn right (E) on N.Y. Rtes 13 and 49 along a minor drift bench. Borrow pits dominantly expose ablation drift. Iroquois lake plain extends many miles east-west on right along trend of non-resistant Clinton Group.

Moraine divide
Turn left (N) in Vienna, following N.Y. Rte 13. Cross moraine divide between Oneida and Fish Creek basins.

West Branch Fish Creek
Cross West Branch Fish Creek. Pass Harden furniture plant and proceed north across remnant of Williamstown outwash plain.

STOP 4. G. W. Bryant Sand Pit
Examination of structures in stagnant ice deposits; discussion of aspects of sand and gravel industry.

Shallow meltwater channel
Proceed north following shallow meltwater channel incised into stratified drift of kame and kettle complex.

LUNCH STOP.
LUNCH STOP. Camden Methodist Church, served in Walker Memorial by Women's Guild.

STOP 5. Camden Wire Company Esker
STOP FIVE. CAMDEN WIRE COMPANY ESKER Examination of composition and structure as exposed in transverse and longitudinal sections of a small esker. Significance of "pseudo-anticlinal" structure in transverse section.

Stagnation features
Turn right (E) onto Pond Hill Rd. Continue across stagnation features marking progressive decay and wastage of the late Cary Oneida ice lobe.

Boulder gravel
At top of rise note boulder gravel exposed in road cut. Poorly sorted glacial drift is thick and bedrock is unimportant as a control of local relief in this area.

Climb sharply to higher bench.

STOP 6. Mack Pond Kettle Cluster
Examination of topographic and hydrographic relationships in a compact cluster of kettles and crevasse ridges at edge of the Pond Hill terrace.

Shallow marginal drainage line
Proceed east on Pond Hill Rd. Cross shallow marginal meltwater drainage line before rising sharply.

Head of meltwater channel
In one mile note swampy area on left which is at head of one of a series of eastward draining meltwater channels.

Cemented cobble gravel
Just before road enters shallow cut, cemented cobble gravel can be seen in overgrown cut 200 yds south of road. Leaving roadcut, descend on Rte. 69 over 30 ft. scarp which appears to be wave-cut.

Meltwater channels
Turn left in Lee, onto Lee Valley Rd. Cross Sash Factory Creek in swampy swale, the downslope continuation of meltwater channel seen on left 2.5 miles earlier. The right angle bend between channel segments suggests a subglacial meltwater escape-way. On right (S), shallow meltwater channel-way parallels road, curving eastward at about 520 ft. msl.

Cemented cobble gravels exposed on left (W)

Meltwater channels
Entering Lee Center, cross swampy meltwater channel with small pond on left and cannery on right. Channel alignment continues east from Lee Center as an obvious meltwater channel segment, but at slightly higher elevation than floor of the swampy channel segment that enters Lee Center from the west. Apparently segmentation of marginal drainage-way resulted from development of a subglacial escape-way downslope, now occupied by Canada Creek and Mill Road south of Lee Center.

Pass Sulphur Springs Rd
Exposures of Whetstone Gulf shale on left indicate probable of source of sulfur as being from decomposition of pyrite.

Outwash bench
Rise sharply and proceed east across outwash bench. Pass between Rome Reservoirs and angle across bench to Stokes.

Edge of Tug Hill Plateau
Begin rise across Quaker Hill, the southeastern tip of the Tug Hill Plateau developed on rocks of the Lorraine Group.

Ice walled meltwater channel
Minor bench and northward rise are remnants of former ice walled meltwater channel that is better developed about a mile west, and trends eastward toward Mohawk Valley.

West Branch Mohawk River
Cross West Branch Mohawk River at village of West Branch.

Diffuse moraine runs N-S
Continuing north on N.Y. Rte. 26, rise onto diffuse moraine that trends north-south, with best development of constructional topography west of the route between Ava and West Leyden. This is the first moraine of the Black River lobe encountered on this trip. The larger Oneida glacial lobe dominated and outlasted the Black River ice in this interlobate area in the lee of the Tug Hill nunatak.

East Branch of Mohawk River
In West Leyden, jog right with N.Y. Rte 26 to cross East Branch Mohawk River.

Increase in field boulders
At Redmond Corner, intersection with Webster Hill Road, continue eastward and begin to descend toward Boonville. Note increase in abundance of field boulders. In about a mile pass through area of minor stagnant ice features.

Black River Canal
Rte. 12 parallels the Black River Canal, built in 1855 to link navigable reaches of the Black River north of Lyons Falls with the Erie Canal at Rome. With a total of 109 locks in 35 miles the canal crossed a divide 700 feet above the Erie Canal. The substantial remains of a dozen or so locks are seen between Boonville and Sugar River which was crossed by aqueduct.

STOP 7. Sugar River at Boonville quarry
E. G. DeLia and Sons, Inc. Examination of stratigraphic section in quarry and of solution features along Sugar River.

Descend into channel
Continuing on N.Y. Rte. 46, descend 30-ft into broad flat-bottomed, rock-floored channel across ledge that controlled outflow from proglacial Port Leyden Lake through the Lansing Kill or Boonville Gorge. Continue south in channel, crossing diagonally to east side, thence back to west side to parallel the old Black River Canal.

Booneville Gorge
Shale bluff in roadcut on right indicates erosivity of rock into which the Boonville Gorge is cut. From Boonville to this point the gorge has become progressively more constricted. At left where Lansing Kill enters from the east side of the valley, post-glacial notching accounts for abrupt deepening of the gorge.

STOP 8. Boonville Gorge State Park. Pixley Falls
Rest stop. Consideration of significance of Lansing Kill Gorge.

Five adjacent locks
Five combines -- a flight of 5 adjacent locks on Black River Canal.

Mohawk River
Mohawk River enters Boonville Gorge from west with development of multiple terraces now incised by both Lansing Kill and Mohawk River.

Apex of meltwater delta
Village of Westernville, on right, near apex of delta built by meltwater stream through Boonville Gorge as it debouched into small lake impounded on southwest by the moraine at Rome. The Mohawk River subsequently incised a channel that swung diagonally across the valley from Westernville leaving the terrace remnants at 550-560 ft. msl., slightly above the level of Delta Reservoir.

Delta Reservoir Dam
Delta Reservoir Dam on right (W) of route. Mohawk River, incising its channel into delta and outwash deposits swung diagonally across valley from site of former village of Delta, to intrench itself at this point into Utica shale that walled the inherited bedrock valley. The steep-walled, 80-ft. deep gorge, known as The Palisade, provides a suitable dam-site for the broad, deep bedrock valley directly to the northwest is blocked by the late Cary recessional moraine at Rome. Construction of the dam in 1911 and impounding of the reservoir inundated the village of Delta, which survives only in the name of the reservoir. Through this gorge also passed the Black River Canal, traces of which can be seen beside the road directly up-valley from the dam.

State Fish Hatchery on right (W) side of road.

Griffiss Air Force Base
Bear left, continuing on N.Y. Rte. 46 at juncture with Elmer Hill Rd. Proceed south into Rome. Griffiss Air Force Base is at left (E) across Mohawk River, after Rte. 46 has become Black River Boulevard.

Narrowing Iroquois Lake Plain
Cross overpass over N.Y. Central R.R. and Erie Canal in middle of narrowing Iroquois lake plain. Less than 2 miles east is the highest elevation on the Erie Canal east of the Finger Lakes and the eastern end of the Iroquois plain. The Mohawk River having strayed from its westward-leading ancestral valley at The Palisade, has built an alluvial fan into the plain at this narrowest point. Flowing across this fan the Mohawk might as easily have drained westward, instead of eastward following the abandoned Iroquois outlet channel.

Iroquois strand
Pass entrance to Rome State School and rise obliquely across low slope of Iroquois strand.

Shallow meltwater channel
Shallow meltwater channel with threshold about 20 ft. above Iroquois strand is parallel to N.Y. Rte 365 for about 1 mile on right (NW).

Cowaselon Creek
Continue west on N.Y. Rte. 5, through Five Corners. Cross Cowaselon Creek which has cut a narrow flood plain into valley-choking glacial drift. Borrow pits at left (S), west of Cowaselon Creek, are opened in kame delta complex.

Wampsville
Village of Wampsville, location of Madison County Court House.

Canastota
Continue west on N.Y. Rte 5, following juncture with N.Y. Rte 13 in outskirts of Canastota. Samuel Champlain, French explorer fought a skirmish with Oneida Indians at village site, 6 miles south, during penetration southward from St. Lawrence settlements in 1615.

Iroquois Lake Plain.
Cross Chittenango Creek at level of Iroquois Lake Plain.

Pools Brook meltwater channel
In Mycenae, enter Pools Brook meltwater channel. For 3 miles, N.Y. Rte. 5 utilizes the low grade of this deep, transverse gorge cut by impounded pro-glacial meltwaters escaping east from Limestone Valley. Constructional topography extending into the west end of this channel indicates that principal erosion by meltwater preceded final melting of stagnant ice at channel-head near Fayetteville.

Floodplain of Limestone Creek
Continue west on N.Y. Rte. 5, through Fayetteville. Descend to floodplain of Limestone Creek at level of Iroquois Lake Plain.

Continue west
At juncture with High Bridge Rd. continue west on Rte. 5.

Descend to cross floodplain of Butternut Creek.

Syracuse Formation
Turn right (N) onto Erie Blvd. In about a mile, new construction has opened exposures in Syracuse formation on left.

C: STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN STRATA IN THE SYRACUSE AREA
Newton E. Chute and James C. Brower

C: STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN STRATA IN THE SYRACUSE AREA

STOP 1. Upper part of the Syracuse formation.
The contact of the Syracuse formation with the overlying Camillus shale is near the highest part of the excavation. The members exposed are as follows:
Upper dolomite member | Most of this member is exposed in the face above the bench. A distinctive porous dolomite bed, referred to in the literature as "vermicular" dolomite, is exposed in the lower part of the member. The holes of the vermicular dolomite probably were filled originally by salt or anhydrite.
Upper clay member | This member is about 10 feet thick here according to Leutze (1955, M.S. thesis, Syr. U.). It is mostly concealed under the floor of the bench and the talus debris.
Middle dolomite member | Thin- to medium-bedded dolomite. A few exposures of the upper part of this member may be seen below the bench.

STOP 2. Syracuse formation
A bed of gypsum 2 to 4 feet thick in the Lower Clay member is exposed near the bottom of the excavation behind the Victory Market and the Towne Mart. This gypsum bed is overlain by the Middle Dolomite member composed of impure thin- to medium-bedded dolomite and gypsiferous shale to the top of the excavation.

Meadowbrook cross channel
Meadowbrook Drive follows a well-defined glacial cross-channel that carried meltwater drainage eastward

STOP 3. Camillus shale.
Some of the upper part of the Camillus shale formation is exposed in small gulleys on the hillside. The rock units visible are as follows:
1.5' | Greenish gray thin-bedded dolomitic shale
6.5' | Massive greenish gray dolomitic shale with scattered quartz sand grains. This rock weathers rapidly into small angular fragments.
2' | Dolomitic thin-bedded shale that breaks into thin slabs and resists weathering better than the greenish shale above.
5' | Gypsiferous shale and gypsum? now partly leached to clay.
8'1" | Covered
2'
Massive greenish gray dolomitic shale with scattered quartz sand grains similar to the greenish shale above. This exposure is in the ditch on the east side of the macadam roadway.
Downhill, about 50 feet lower stratigraphically, 4.5 to 5 feet of greenish shale with thin beds of brownish dolomite are exposed in the bank at the uphill side of the playground behind the Washington School. These exposures probably are near the middle of the Camillus.
The Camillus of the Syracuse area seems to be unfossiliferous.

Drumlins
For the next 2 miles the route passes through a group of drumlins and bedrock exposures are scarce

Northern end of a drumlin
Between Randall Road and Guintard Road (McGee Road) the route swings west around the end of a drumlin.

Rock Cut gorge
Entering Rock Cut gorge, the largest of the cross channels, eroded by the outflow from glacial lakes in Onondaga Valley to the west. The floor of this channel is the Fiddlers Green dolomite member of the Bertie formation. It "hangs" about 140 feet above the Onondaga Valley on the west and about 50 feet above the Butternut Creek Valley on the east.
2010: What is now called "Old Stonehouse Road" used to be the continuation of Nottingham Road. It continues, on the far side of I 481, as "Rams Gulch Road" where the bridge beneath the railroad still exists. This ends at Rock Cut Road, which used to be called "The Jamesville Toll Road." The route here will get you there...

STOP 4. Rondout, Thacher, and Olney in quarry.
The quarry section is as follows:
33.5' | Olney limestone
9'
Thacher limestone
14.5' | Rondout dolomite
The Rondout and part of the Thacher are exposed in the old lower part of the quarry near the primary crusher. The main operating face is in the Olney limestone.
The Thacher here has the lithologic characteristics of the lower part of the member farther east. The contact with the overlying Olney is placed at the top of the highest zone of algal colonies and at the bottom of the lowest "drab and blue" limestone unit characteristic of the Olney.
As elsewhere in central New York, the lower Thacher exposed in this quarry is characterized by two or three zones of algal colonies and a yellow dolomite bed from about 6 inches to 3 feet in thickness. This variation in thickness appears to be due to a diastem at the top of the dolomite bed.
Subsidence structures are well exhibited in plan and section in this quarry.

STOP 5. Type section of Fiddlers Green
Turn left on the road into the Solvay Process Division's quarry property and stop at the bridge over Butternut Creek.
The Fiddlers Green dolomite has a total thickness of about 27 feet in this area. The bottom contact with the Camillus shale is exposed on the east side of the gorge several hundred feet down stream from the bridge. The top contact is not exposed, but the mudcracked beds near the bridge probably are close to the top of the member.
Ostracodes are numerous in a few thin layers, other fossils are rare.
Eurypterids have been found in the top beds in other local ities.

STOP 6. Old gypsum quarries
Park at bend in road and walk 250 feet south to the roadway into the north quarry. This quarry exposes the upper part of the Scajaquada (Forge Hollow) gypsum member overlain by the Williamsville (Oxbow) impure dolomite member and the lower part of the Cobleskill dolomite.
Walk back to the entrance of the quarry and go southeast up the hill to the west side of the south quarry. Here there is an exceptionally good opportunity to observe the top of the Scajaquada member, all of the Williamsville member, and the lower half of the Cobleskill formation. A composite section of the north and east sides of the quarry is as follows:
17' Cobleskill (to top of east side of quarry)
2.5' | dolomite with numerous closely spaced fractures in the plane of the bedding. A few stromatoporoids.
10' | Stromatoporoid biostrome. Numerous partly silicified undolomitized stromatoporoids in dolomitic limestone. Some small horn corals, tabulate corals, ostracodes, and small fossil fragments. This is the only locality where this biostrome is known near Syracuse, elsewhere the Cobleskill is completely dolomitized and only a few silicified stromatoporoids remain.
4.5'
Mottled dolomitic limestone with abundant small fossil fragments and some small horn corals. This unit also is not known elsewhere in the Syracuse area.
17' Bertie formation
6' | Williamsville member - thin to medium-bedded argillaceous dolomite
11' | Scajaquada member -
| 8.5' | Thin-bedded argillaceous dolomite with 30% or more collapse breccia due to solution of interbedded salt or gypsum
| 2.5' | Top of dark brown bedded gypsum. The gypsum is reported to attain its maximum thickness of 60 to 65 feet in this area.
The location of the contact between the Williamsville and Scajaquada members is uncertain and is one of the problems to be considered at this stop.
A cross-section of a small subsidence structure is well exposed in the northeast corner of the quarry.

STOP 7. Onondaga and Manlius formations. (Lunch Stop)
The remarkable abandoned waterfall and plunge basin in this park were formed by a river that drained a glacial lake in Onondaga Creek Valley to the west when glacial ice blocked the drainage to the north.
The lip of the falls is on the Edgecliff member of the Onondaga limestone. The Nedrow and Moorehouse members are exposed nearby at higher elevations and are at the edge of the plunge basin on the north side.
This is the type locality for the members of the Manlius formation. These and other members of the Manlius, except the Thacher is covered, are well exposed along which the stairway on the south side of the plunge basin. The section here is as follows:
Onondaga limestone Clark Reservation and Jamesville
17 to 18' | Edgecliff member, 2' of sandy limestone and calcareous sandstone at base.
--- disconformity ---
Manlius limestone formation
5'9" | Pools Brook member, dolomitic limestone
19' | Jamesville limestone, numerous stromotoporoids in upper 8 feet.
3'13" | Clark Reservation oolitic limestone
9'10" | Elmwood dolomite and dolomitic limestone member
| 2'7" | Elmwood C argillaceous dolomite submember
| 2'9" | Elmwood B dolomitic limestone submember
| 4'6" | Elmwood A argillaceous dolomite submember
22' | Olney limestone to bottom of exposure

Roadcut in Manlius fm
Road cut on left in the upper few feet of the Rondout dolomite and the Thacher and Olney limestone members of the Manlius. Some unusually large algal colonies are present in the Thacher in a zone about 3 feet thick.

STOP 8. Penitentiary quarries
The two Onondaga County penitentiary quarries provide exceptionally good exposures of most of the Manlius and Onondaga limestone formations. Also a thrust fault can be seen in the upper quarry.
The stratigraphic section of the quarries is as follows:
Onondaga limestone formation
5' | Seneca limestone member (To top of quarry).
24' | Moorehouse limestone member
13' | Nedrow limestone member
23' | Edgecliff member including 4.5 feet of sandstone at the base (Springvale sandstone bed).
--- disconformity ---
Manlius limestone formation
7'3" | Pools Brook limestone member
22'2" | Jamesville limestone member
3'3" | Clark Reservation limestone member
11'4" | Elmwood member
| 3'6" | C submember
| 3'0" | B submember
| 4'8" | A submember
19' | Olney limestone member
The strata exposed in the lower quarry range from the lower part of the Olney member to the bottom 1-foot of the Pools Brook member. The main floor of this quarry is at the top of the Olney limestone with a few inches of the bottom of Elmwood A dolomite in places. The Elmwood A and C submembers are distinguished by their yellow brown weathering color, the Clark Reservation limestone by its very light gray weathering color and diagonal fractures, and the Jamesville limestone by the massive stromatoporoid biostrome that constitutes its upper half.
Most of the Pools Brook member and the overlying sandstone (Springvale sandstone bed of the Edgecliff member) are exposed in the stripped area between the two quarries. The Pools Brook is easily recognized by its thin bedding and sparseness of fossils. The Springvale sandstone is brown and contains scattered black phosphatic nodules.
The upper quarry is entirely in the Onondaga limestone. Most of the floor is on the top of the Springvale sandstone. On the downthrown side of the thrust fault, at the north side of the quarry, the floor is in the lower part of the Moorehouse limestone member. The middle and upper parts of the Moorehouse member are most accessible for examination on the downthrown side of the thrust fault at the north side of the quarry, where loosely coiled cephalopods of the Halloceras bed are exposed on the floor. Oliver (1954, G.S.A. v. 65) designated this quarry as the type locality of the Moorehouse member. He derived its name from Moorehouse Flats nearby. The Seneca member is poorly represented in the quarry. All but a few feet has been eroded.
The Edgecliff member contains numerous rugose and tabulate corals and much crinoid debris including some unusually large columnals. It is most easily seen at the west end of the north side of the quarry. The Nedrow member also is most accessible here.
The reverse fault on the north side of the upper quarry strikes about N 70 W, dips about 20 degrees south, and has a throw of 31 feet. It is complicated in places by multiple slip planes, drag, and crushing. Small veins in north-south joints near the fault contain calcite, dolomite, fluorite, quartz, and a solid hydrocarbon. These are best seen in the Olney limestone of the lower quarry.

STOP 9. View to the South
View to south of the stripped surface on the Onondaga Limestone which forms a prominent bench about 150 feet above the bottom of Butternut Creek Valley. The Marcellus and Skaneateles formations of the Hamilton Group form the steep slopes to the southeast.

STOP 10. Coral Bioherm in Onondaga Limestone
Taylor Road crosses a coral bioherm here. Most of the exposures are in the wooded tract on the west side of the road. This is the only bioherm known in the Onondaga Limestone in the Syracuse area. Usually these bioherms start in the Edgecliff member and, if thick enough, extend upward into higher members. In the absence of exposures of the adjacent limestone, it is not possible to determine the stratigraphic range of this bioherm, but it appears to extend well up into the formation.

Thrust fault
A thrust fault, which strikes about N 70 W, dips about 20 degrees south, and has a throw of 42 feet, crosses Route 173 near this road junction. Formerly it was exposed in one of the old quarries that are now filled. Present exposures east of the road junction show the Onondaga and Manlius limestones offset by the fault.

Onondaga outcrop
Outcrop of Onondaga limestone at edge of road on left.

Subsidence structure
Subsidence structure in Onondaga limestone in field on left. Exposed beds have an anomalous dip west because of this structure.

Smoky Hollow cross channel
Road crosses west end of Smoky Hollow cross channel at an altitude of about 780 feet. This is the southernmost of the well-developed cross channels eroded between Onondaga Valley and Butternut Creek Valley by the outflow from glacial lakes in Onondaga Valley. The channel was eroded in Marcellus shale down to the more resistant Onondaga limestone.

STOP 11. View of Onondaga Creek Valley
Some of the topographic, glacial, and stratigraphic features of this part of the valley will be pointed out at this stop.

Onondaga limestone roadcuts
Turn left (S) on Kennedy Road. Road cuts on the new divided highway (Route 81) to right are in the Edgecliff and Nedrow members of the Onondaga limestone. The road cuts on Kennedy Road are in the Moorehouse member and the top few feet of the Nedrow member.

STOP 12. Top of Onondaga and thrust fault
STOP 12. Top of the Onondaga limestone and Union Springs shale displaced by a small thrust fault. The upper 8 feet of the Onondaga limestone and about 10 feet of the Union Springs shale are exposed on the side of the deep drainage ditch on the east side of the road. Exposures of the top contact of the Onondaga such as this are rare. At the south end of the drainage ditch a thrust fault with a throw of about 5 feet cuts the top of the Onondaga but is absorbed in the Union Springs shale above by complex crumpling and jointing.

STOP 13. Manlius and Onondaga fms.
The stratigraphic units exposed in the road cut are as follows:
Onondaga limestone formation
11'6" | Moorehouse limestone member (to top of exposure)
11-12' | Nedrow limestone member
12'8" | Edgecliff limestone member
--- disconformity ---
Manlius limestone formation
10' | Pools Brook limestone member
18' | Jamesville limestone member
4' | Clark Reservation limestone member
9'10" | Elmwood dolomite and dolomitic limestone member
| Elmwood C (only the top few inches exposed)
The lowest part of the section is at the north end of the cut where the top few inches of Elmwood C, the Clark Reservation, and the Jamesville are exposed.
This stop provides an opportunity to compare the stratigraphic units with the same units seen at the Penitentiary quarries (stop 8) 4 miles northwest. Most of the units are similar, but one significant difference at this stop is the absence of the Springvale sandstone bed at the base of the Edgecliff member and another is the presence of a bed with stromatoporoids and favositid corals at the top of the Pools Brook member. This bed has a small erosion surface at its base suggesting that it might correlate with the Bishop Brook limestone exposed on the hill northeast of Manlius, which is in a similar stratigraphic position and also has an erosion surface at its base. However, the bed appears to resemble the Jamesville more closely than the Bishops Brook both faunally and lithologically.
Inclined joints are well developed in the Nedrow member on the south side of the exit road from Route 81. Many of these are limited to certain beds and end upward against prominent shaly partings. They also are numerous in the Manlius at the north end of the road cut where the beds are slightly arched.

STOP 14. Type locality of the Nedrow member.
Indian Reservation quarry in the Onondga limestone, the type locality of the Nedrow member. This quarry formerly was worked for building stone.
The stratigraphic units exposed in the quarry are as follows:
Onondaga limestone formation
15'19"' | Seneca limestone member (To top of quarry).
18'6" | Moorehouse limestone member
11-12' | Nedrow limestone member
12'0" | Edgecliff limestone member (base not exposed).
The main floor at the south end of the quarry is at the top of the Edgecliff member. The south face exposes the Nedrow, Moorehouse, and Seneca members. The Tioga bentonite bed (8" to 9" thick), which Oliver (1954, Bull. G.S.A., v. 65) uses as the boundary between the Moorehouse and Seneca members, can be seen in the upper part of the face where it forms a reentrant a few inches above a 4-inch layer of black chert.
The best fossil collecting is on the main floor of the quarry where brachiopods, corals, bryozoa, and crinoid debris, including segments of unusually large columnals, are abundant.
Climb up the south side of the quarry to observe the Tioga bentonite and the Seneca member at the top. A zone of pink chonetid brachiopods is exposed about 2 feet below the highest beds at the edge of the stripping.
Walk east to the fence on Route 81 to observe the Union Springs shale and the Cherry Valley limestone exposed in a new road cut.

Marcellus Shale
Ravine in Marcellus shale on left a short distance west of the County Home.

STOP 15. Quarries in Manlius and Onondaga limestones
Split Rock quarries in the Manlius and Onondaga limestones. Park in old part of quarry at end of road and walk east into the easternmost quarry in the Manlius. The Edgecliff member of the Onondaga limestone can be seen in this quarry to rest disconformably on Elmwood A bed of the Elmwood member. The 33 feet of limestone between the Elmwood A bed and the Rondout dolomite exposed on the floor of the quarry, is considered to be the Olney member of the Manlius formation by Rickard (1962, N.Y.S. Mus. Bull., 386). The bottom 5 feet of this limestone, however, has beds characteristic of the lower part of the Thacher limestone member to the east. These beds will be examined in an attempt to evaluate their significance in resolving the problem of the "disappearance" of the Thacher. End of Trip

D: GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE NORTH MARGIN OF THE APPALACHIAN UPLANDS NEAR SYRACUSE
Surficial Geology of the Syracuse Field Area
Ernest H. Muller

Start

Meltwater channel
Cross meltwater cross channel utilized as corridor by N.Y. Central R.R., Erie Boulevard and formerly by Erie Canal. Channel is below main Iroquois lake level and auguring shows peat and marl over fine sand and clay, underlain by coarse alluvium, suggesting rise of Iroquois waters into meltwater channel, followed by swamp development in poorly drained basin left after Iroquois extinction.

Sharp Slope on Syracuse Formation
Crossing Erie Boulevard at traffic light, proceed S on Thompson Rd. rising onto sharp slope developed on Syracuse Formation.

Thin till
Turn right (W) onto Salt Springs Rd. over drumlinized upland developed on thin till over Syracuse shales.

Meadowbrook Meltwater Channel
Continuing SW on Meadowbrook Drive, follow meltwater channel to its end in "t-intersection"

Rock Cut road
On left, railroad cut exposes section in Fiddlers Green dolomite which forms floor of flat-bottomed, steep-walled Rock Cut or Railroad Channel leading east from this point. With its threshold at 550-ft. this is one of several major meltwater channels which controlled eastward escape of water from lakes impounded in central New York through valleys, between the northward receding margin of the ice sheet and the plateau divides to the south.

Rise at Elmwood Formation
In .2 mile rise sharply over scarp developed on Manlius Group, with Elmwood Formation exposed at left near bench edge.

Onondaga trough
Descend to floor of Onondaga trough over strata of Manlius Group. Cross U.S. Rte. 11 (Salina St.) and Onondaga Creek.
Near Onondaga Lake, about 3 miles north, the bedrock floor of Onondaga trough is 417 ft. below the surface or about 25-ft. below sea level.

Dorwin Springs Bench
Near Dorwin Springs, road ascends onto gravel bench, dissected and with low constructional topography. At right (W) massive Onondaga Limestone supports narrow benches on the valley wall. At left (E) the gravel bench is about at level of the threshold of Rock Cut Channel on opposite side of the valley.

STOP 1 Saunders Gravel Pit
Discussion of character and structure of gravel bench in its relationship to Onondaga Trough history

Cross Commissary Creek
Cross Commissary Creek which dissects end of 560-ft bench

Bench at 620 ft
Ascend onto bench at approximately 620 ft.

Rise to 720 ft bench
Continue west on Johnny Cake Rd., leaving N.Y. Rte 80 at Griffins Corners. Rise to level of 720-ft. bench. Cross Onondaga Hill Rd. then descending toward Nichols Corners, note sand and gravel exposures on left (S).
2009: Perhaps Rte 80 used to go through South Onondaga, and Tanner Road used to be called Johnny Cake Road?

Nichols Corners
At Nichols Corners, turn right onto Cedarvale Rd. Just before turning note red clay till in stream bank at left (S).
Proceeding NW on Cedarvale Rd. follow Cedarvale meltwater channel. Note constructional topography due to deposition from stagnant, debris-littered ice on slope at right (NE).

Benches at 680 and 800 ft
Turn left (S) onto Amber Rd. and proceed across gravel bench at 680 ft. msl, with sharp rise to bench above 800 ft. msl on right.

STOP 2 Cedarvale Gravel Quarry
Composition and structure of the gravel bench in relationship to Cedarvale Channel and Onondaga Trough history

View of Delta Remnant in distance
Continuing on Amber Rd. turn sharply south and continue ascent. Note flat-topped mesa-like delta remnant on left (E) at 800 ft. msl. near South Onondaga.

Navarino Channel
On right (W) note head of sizable meltwater channel, the Navarino Channel by which glacial meltwaters escaped southward into basin of Otisco Lake.
Continue through area of moderate constructional topography deposited by stagnant ice. Note Navarino Channel paralleling Amber Rd.

Head of meltwater channel
At Joshua Corners, on right (SW) note level swampy area at head of minor meltwater channel which contributed to complex Amber delta deposited into a predecessor of Otisco Lake, 3 miles SW.

Bioherm in the Spafford Shale
Turn right (S) at Lords Corners, onto Lords Hill Rd., N.Y. Rte. 80. Ascend over Hamilton section, near summit passing biohermal zone in Spafford Shale, rich in rugose corals, overlain at top by Owasco shale. When not tar-concealed by Highway Department these gullies afford fine collecting.
Descend and cross open, marshy east-west valley. To left (E), Fall Ck. flows to Rattlesnake Gulf. To right (W) stagnant ice features comprise divide between 0tisco and Onondaga drainage basins.

Glacial Trough
Descend SE along trough like glacial furrow occupied by headwaters of Onondaga Creek.

Tully moraine belt
Cross Onondaga Creek. Enter complex Tully moraine belt where minor ridges project into this tributary trough with curvature convex to the northwest. At Fellows Falls, Onondaga Creek drops with hanging and barbed juncture into Onondaga trough, in this area called Tully Valley. To the left ahead (NE) local reIief exceeds 1250 ft. from upland to trough floor on proximal (northern) flank of massive Tully (Valley Heads) moraine. The abrupt proximal border and gently graded distal slope of this moraine is characteristic of valley-blocking moraine loops of this system in central New York.
Seismic refraction profiles suggest that the unconsolidated valley fill in mid-trough opposite Fellows Falls may be 400 to 500 ft. thick with the bedrock floor at 300 to 400 ft. msl.

STOP 3 Green Lake (Tully Lakes)
Examination of features and materials of pitted outwash plain. Discussion of significance in terms of Valley Heads and Onondaga trough glacial history.
Proceed east toward Tully.
2009: With Interstate 81 in the way, Lake Road no longer continues East here. The path gets us to Tully just the same.

Kame and kettle
Leave N.Y. Rte. 80. Continue south along west wall of Onondaga trough. On right Moscow shale exposed in trough wall. On left, Tully moraine with strong kame and kettle topography. Southward the kames diminish in relief and grade into kame terrace. Crooked Lake at left occupies a compound kettle.

Leave outwash plain
Leave outwash plain and ascend onto upland developed on Ithaca and Sherburne Formations.

Kettle Dotted Outwash Plain
Turn left (E) across kettle-dotted outwash plain. Stagnant ice of the Tully ice tongue extended about one mile south of this route to an "advance Valley Heads" position, before receding 3 miles north to the massive "main Valley Heads" position. The position of this moraine complex has been ascribed to bedrock topographic control at the former drainage divide. Seismic data at Tully Lake suggest depth to bedrock of about 225 ft.

Enter distal margin of Tully moraine
Enter distal margin of Tully moraine. For next 2 miles constructional topography is strong, diminishing gradually on proximal edge of moraine.

Butternut Creek trough
At traffic light in Lafayette, turn right (E) onto U.S. Rte 20, Cherry Valley Turnpike. In.2 mi. turn left (N) onto Lafayette Rd. The gently curving, partly drift-filled trough of Butternut Creek is visible ahead on right, with U.S. Rte 20 swinging across at Big Bend.
Crossing the upland, bedrock ridges, such as Irish Hill on right (E) are streamlined, gently molded and parallel to lineation of drumlins a few miles to the north.

Drumlin field
Pass Bull Hill Rd. Drumlins on left (W) are composed of bouldery, lime-rich lodgment till. Alignment is N5W, as compared to N30W in outskirts of Syracuse. Artificially impounded Jamesville Reservoir on right (NE) ahead.

STOP 4 Horseshoe or Loop Channel
Consideration of nature of Smoky Hollow and the Loop umlaufberg, and of their significance with respect to late Cary glacial recession.
Continue north on Barker Hill Rd. Descend onto terrace that blocks upstream end of the Loop. Roadcut at the terrace edge exposes rhythmically laminated lake sediments. The eastern arm of the Loop contains kame gravels.

Smoky Hollow
Cross Smoky Hollow, part of a major meltwater channel with bedrock floor just below 800 ft. msl. Sharply incised into non-resistant Hamilton shales, this outlet may have controlled drainage of impounded waters in Onondaga trough at level of highest delta in Cedarvale Channel. Note that drumlin on right (E) is truncated by wall of Smoky Hollow, indicating that channel cutting postdated final drumlin moulding. Continue north on Barker Hill Rd.

Descend onto Onondaga bench
Descend from drumlinized Hamilton upland onto channeled Onondaga bench.

STOP 5 Clark Reservation
Examination of features due to erosion by glacial meltwater, solution by underground water and joint control as developed near Green Lake and along south wall of Rock Cut Channel. Discussion of significance in terms of interpreted history of glacier recession.
Return to N.Y. Rte 173 and turn left (E) toward Jamesville.
On left (N) of road note deep channel leading east from Green Lake to Butternut trough.

Fiddlers Green Dolomite
Cross tracks and turn left (N) onto Jamesville Rd. which parallels Butternut Creek. Below falls, in .2 mi. Butternut Creek exposes type Fiddlers Green dolomite.

Rock Cut view and Rams Gulch
At fork bear right, continuing N on Jamesville Rd. Descend to floor of Butternut trough. Cross Butternut Creek and the eastern or outlet end of Rock Cut Channel is visible on left (W), notched by narrow post-glacial Rams Gulch.

Alluvial Plain of Iroquois Lake
Recross Butternut Creek on alluvial plain at approximate level of Iroquois Lake which may have inundated lower end of valley as a consequence of isostatic upwarp northward. Rise onto trough wall and proceed north.

E: STRATIGRAPHY OF THE HAMILTON GROUP IN THE SYRACUSE AREA
Newton E. Chute and James C. Brower

E: STRATIGRAPHY OF THE HAMILTON GROUP IN THE SYRACUSE AREA

View of hills in the Marcellus and Skaneateles fms ahead.

Drumlin and scarp
Drumlin on the left and a scarp in the Manlius and Rondout formations on the right.

Entering Rock Cut Channel.
This large cross channel was cut during the recession of the glacial ice by the drainage from a glacial lake in Onondaga Valley to the west.
2010: What is now called "Old Stonehouse Road" used to be the continuation of Nottingham Road. It continues, on the far side of I 481, as "Rams Gulch Road" where the bridge beneath the railroad still exists. This ends at Rock Cut Road, which used to be called "The Jamesville Toll Road." The route here will get you to the next stop...

Cobleskill and Roundout fms
Road cut on right in the Cobleskill and Rondout dolomite formations. The Cobleskill is thicker bedded and is composed of purer dolomite than the Rondout.
DEC site 416

Bridge over the D. L. & W. Railroad.

Stone crusher building
Junction of Jamesville Toll Road and Jamesville Road. The stone crusher building of the Solvay Process Division of the Allied Chemical Corporation can be seen on the hillside to the left.

Edgecliff member
Exposure of the Edgecliff member of the Onondaga limestone on the left near top of grade.

Cherry Valley member
Small exposure of the Cherry Valley limestone member of the Marcellus formation in road cut on left near top of rise.

View of the Solvay Process Division Quarry on left.

STOP 1. Monocline in the Onondaga
STOP 1. Monocline in the Onondaga limestone and exposures of the Union Springs shale, Cherry Valley limestone, and Chittenango shale members of the Marcellus formation.
Walk south up the stream for about 500 feet to where the top beds of the Onondaga limestone exposed in the stream bed dip northward due to the presence of a monocline that strikes about N 70 W. This monocline probably grades into a thrust fault in the Solvay Process Divisionis quarry. Solution-widened tension joints are well-developed in the limestone on the monocline.
Continue up the stream to where it forks. About 15 feet of Union Springs shale and about 3 feet of Cherry Valley limestone are exposed at a small waterfall on the left branch not far from the fork. The Union Springs consists of black shale with numerous thin beds of black limestone. Styliolina fissurella, a small mollusc shaped like a penci point, is common in the shale of the upper part of the member. The Cherry Valley limestone forms the lip of the falls. This member is noted for cephalopods and one or more may be seen in the stream bed at the top of the falls. The basal few feet of Chittenango shale, exposed in the stream bank above the falls, contains one or more thin beds of black limestone. Numerous styliolina fissurella can be seen on the bedding surfaces of some of the shale.

Small waterfall on the left branch not far from the fork

STOP 2. Chittenango and Cardiff shales.
This shale is quarried by the Alpha Portland Cement Company for use in cement manufacture at its Jamesville plant. The upper bench is in the upper 40 to 50 feet of the Chittenango shale member of the Marcellus formation.
Although these shales are similar in appearance, they can be distinguished easily by their streaks. The Chittenango shale, because of its relatively high content of carbonaceous matter, streaks brown when scraped by a hard object such as a geologic hammer, whereas the Cardiff streaks light gray. Examination of drill core from several test holes has shown that the change in color of the streak takes place within a vertical interval of 3 feet. The contact is placed where, in going downward, the streak becomes distinctly brown. Located this way, the contact is near the top of the lower face, 5 to 6 feet above the upper layer of large septarian concretions.
Many of the septarian concretions in the upper part of the Chittenango are several feet across. The Cardiff shale on the other hand has only a few concretions and these are seldom more than 6 inches in diameter. The cracks within the septarian concretions commonly contain calcite, ferroan dolomite, and white, platy barite. Small crystals of barite with some pyrite also coat joint surfaces in the shale in places.
Fossils are sparse or lacking in most of the Chittenango and Cardiff shales, but one or more zones near the top of the Chittenango contain numerous carbonized plant remains and a few fish scales, fish body plates, pyritized straight cephalopods, and small brachiopods. Because the shale tends to break down into small pieces after exposure for a few months, the success of fossil collecting depends on the recency of quarrying in the fossil zones.

Centerfield member in road cuts.

STOP 3. Butternut member
Road cuts and small quarry in the upper part of the Butternut member of the Skaneateles formation.
About 40 feet of the upper Butternut is exposed in the small quarry and road cuts nearby. Most of the exposure consists of shale with thin siltstone layers and silty shale that increase upward. The top 5.5 feet in the quarry is siltstone. This siltstone and the silty shale below contain some brachiopods particularly Leiorhynchus sp. The lowest beds exposed in the road cut are poorly fossiliferous shale that splits into thin flat pieces "paper shale", a characteristic of the shale of the middle and lower parts of this member.

STOP 4. Platform of Staghorn Point biostrome.
Stop opposite the yellow brick house. Walk about 100 feet up the hillside on the west side of the road to exposures of siltstone strata that form a bench on the hillside. This is the siltstone platform on which the Staghorn Point coral biostrome was formed. It is about 50 feet above the base of the Otisco member of the Ludlowville formation and is an important horizon marker in Syracuse area. The exposed section here is as follows:
Ludlowville formation - Otisco member
8" | siltstone bed with numerous molds of corals in bottom 2 inches
3'0" | covered
4'10"
siltstone platform with several thin discontinuous fossil-rich layers. Base not exposed but total thickness of siltstone probably about 6 feet.

STOP 5. Delphi Station and Pompey members.
Observe the upper beds of the Pompey member exposed near the top of the falls. Walk right on path along the edge of the gorge to where the falls can be observed.
The top 60 feet of the falls is Cooper's (1930, Am. J. Sci. v. 19) type section of the Pompey member. The resistant siltstone beds that form the lip of the falls are his  Eunella-Nyassa zone that marks the top of the Pompey, distinguished by the presence of  Eunella lincklaeni, Athyris cora, and  Nyassa arguta. The lower part of the falls exposes the upper part of the Delphi Station member. The Mottville limestone member which underlies the Delphi Station member is exposed a moderate distance downstream from the falls.
DEC sites 347, 348

Small shale quarry
Small shale quarry in the Butternut member of the Skaneateles formation on the right side of the road.

STOP 6. Pompey and Delphi Station members
Road cut in the Pompey and Delphi Station members of the Skaneateles formation.
This cut exposes about 115 feet of the Pompey and Delphi Station members. The 8 feet of siltstone at the top of the cut is Cooper's Eunella-Nyassa zone that marks the top of the Pompey, the same unit that forms the lip of Pratts Falls. This siltstone grades downward into gray shale.
The contact between the Delphi Station and the Pompey members is not easily located and is one of the problems to be considered at this stop.

Butternut member
Road cut on the left in the Butternut member of the Skaneateles formation on road connecting Routes 81 and 20.

STOP 7. Lower part of the Centerfield
Lower part of the Centerfield calcareous siltstone member of the Skaneateles formation.
Walk a short distance north from Route 20 to the waterfalls on the lower part of the Centerfield. The deep ravine below the falls is in the Butternut shale member of the Skaneateles formation.

STOP 8. Centerfield member.
Walk southeast about 200 feet to the stream where the Centerfield member forms a waterfall. Most of the Centerfield is exposed here, and the upper part with calcareous concretions is accessible for close observation. The gradational nature of the bottom contact of the Centerfield with the Butternut member can be seen on the side of the falls. The total thickness of the Centerfield is not closely determined in this area, but may be about 30 feet.
One of the noteworthy features here is the joint controlled cleft at the top of the falls through which the stream flows.

STOP 9. Joshua Coral Reef
Joshua Coral Reef in the Otisco shale member of the Ludlowville formation.
This is the famous Lords Hill locality described by W. A. Oliver, (1951, Amer. Jour. Sci., p. 705-728). The coral bed is estimated to be as much as 50 feet thick in this area and to be about 90 feet above the bottom of the Otisco Member. The exposure was much better before the road ditches were coated with blacktop, but some of the corals can still be seen and collected. According to Oliver, the most common genera of rugose corals here, in order of abundance, are: Cystiphylloides, Siphonophrentis, Bethanyphyllum, Heliophyllum, and Heterophrentis. In addition the colonial rugose form Eridophyllum and several species of Favosites are present.

Ivy Point siltstone member
Small exposures of the Ivy Point siltstone member of the Ludlowville formation on both sides of the road. The Ivy Point forms benches in this area.

STOP 10. Owasco, Portland Point and Windom members
Road cut in the Owasco member of the Ludlowville formation, and the Portland Point and Windom members of the Moscow formation.
The section is as follows:
Moscow formation
1'6" | Windom shale member (to top of exposure)
9'1" | Portland Point member
| 7'6" | shale and thin interbedded fossilrich limestone layers
| 1'7" | impure limestone, fossiliferous
Ludlowville formation
2'3" | Owasco siltstone member
2'0" | Spafford shale member (to base of exposure)
The Portland Point member, according to Cooper (1930), consists of 1 foot of crinoidal limestone overlain by 8.5 feet of calcareous shale with interbedded thin layers of limestone. At this locality the basal limestone is a little thicker, and thin beds of fossiliferous limestone are present in the overlying shale for about 7.5 feet above the limestone. Because of the indefiniteness of the position of the upper contact, the amount of Windom present in this exposure, if any, is uncertain.

STOP 11. Tully limestone.
Small exposure of the upper part of the Tully limestone on the south side of the road opposite a red barn. Walk down the hill to the east a short distance and turn into the old quarry in the Tully limestone on the north side of the road. The top 5 feet of the quarry is the West Brook member below which is 10 feet of the Apulia member. The contact between them is placed at the bottom of the nodular limestone of the West Brook. The Tinkers Falls member is not exposed. Fielding (1956, MS thesis, Syracuse Univ.) estimates the total thickness of the Apulia member to be 18 feet and the West Brook member to be 9 feet in the South Onondaga quadrangle.
The Apulia member contains crinoid fragments, ostracods, and brachiopods particularly Hypothyridina venestula. The coral Lopholasma is characteristic of the West Brook member. In addition, Fielding (1956) reported finding Metriophyllum tullium, Elytha fimbriata, Phacops rana, Tornoceras uniangulare and crinoid fragments.

STOP 12. Windom member of Moscow fm.
About 20 feet of the top part of the Windom shale member is exposed in the road cut on Kingsley Road. The shale becomes silty near the top of the exposure and is sufficiently resistant to have formed a bench about 500 feet wide. A few small calcareous concretions can be seen in this exposure and enough pyrite is present to cause considerable limonite staining. Brachiopods, pelecypods, and trilobites are present, but are not abundant. End of trip.