The Geology of the Lake Plain

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I. Location and Boundarie~

The 1,069 squar9 ~ilcs 0: ~~~~:auq~a County is located in the southwestern ·corner c~ ~iew Yo~~ ~~a~2. It iF ~ord~red by ~rie Co .• N.Y. and Cattaraugus Co .• ;;.':. in the east ahd by 'tiarren and .2:rie counties, Fa. in the south aYIc. west. Lake :2:rie fo"rms the north ern border of the county.(~igure 1). II. Physiographic Divisions Chautauqua County is located within two different physiographic province~. the CentralCOPYRIGHT Lowlands and the Appalachian Plateaus. The Central Lowlands section is located along the plains of Lake Erie, in the northernmost part of the county. The Portage Escarpment serves as the border between this area and the Appalachian;Pl,2l.teausc' The " ~()uthern Appalachian Plateau "ectionCHAUTAUQUA can be further divided int() the New York section and the ~anawha section. The Kanawhasecti6n occupies a triangular area in the southeastern corner of the county(figure 3). III. Elevation and rtelief Central Lowlands Appalachian"Pla,te?u~ Kanawha secti Lake Erie ------PortageCOUNTY ~scarpment------Oak Hill 580 ft.(avg.~------1000 ft.------~------~2160 ft. t,1ax. relief ~iax. relief 420 ft. HISTORICAL 1160 ft. Max. relief of Chautauqua County 1580 ft. Relief- The lake plain section of the county has verySOCIETY minimal relief and the plateau section exhibits moderate relief with rolling landscapes. IV. structural Controls WESTFIELD, ~he Lake escarTImen~ mcr~inal deposits influenced s~ream drain- a~e in the county. ';;orth of the moraine,streams flow to the north into Lake ~rie and the St. Lawrence River 3asin. Streams south of ,the ~oraine moraine flow into the Allegheny Kiver 3asin. Another NY located in the ~outh~a~tern cor~er 0: the county, between -~arnestown arid Salamanca,'diverted a northward flow of the Allegheny River to2012 it's pre!Oent cour",e. Stre3.ffi gradient!O vary dramat~cal1ydue to, the influence of the Portage escarpment and 'the Lake 'moraine. ' Streams that are forced to flow down the Portage escarpment by the Lake moraine are generally short and steep with high gradients(20-300ft./mile). Streams that ~low to the south have a gradient of only 1-2 ft./mile. V. Geomorphic Processes Two past geomorphic processes are the major influences on the geology of Chautauqua County. The first occured 300 m.y. ago when sediments were deposited in the county which would later form the bedrock of the county. :',iost bedroc!;: in the county are identified with the Upper Devonian period, with the ~riapp formation being associated with the Lower Mississipian period. The order of deposition suggests an approaching shoreline with association with the Catskill delta. The other process was the advance and retreat of glaciers between 350 thousand and 10 itousand years ago".· The!3e glaciers are responsible for the sculptedlandscapes and the deposition of glacial debri~ throu~hout the county. Some deposits in river valleys are SOC7't. -::-:ic~:. ~eomor~hic processes(con~I~).

Present day procesRes ir:.clud2 :l:r'lial '.=rosl.c-r., :"'3.lc"G -9rosi6n,. creep, and mass wasting.

'! I. Landforr:'ls Landforms i:J the county include the!'or'tag(l>eschave been two separate valleys and lakes.· 11; becal1)!l\c>ne .. 1akevalli'!Y.?-s the last glacier retreated and scoured o.ut a small ridge be'tWe.eri'i Bemus Pt. and Stow. . ., . COPYRIGHT VII. Climate

Chautauqua County's climate showsa.'lLF6ur Seasorts. 'Ort the' lake plai:J, Lake SrieCHAUTAUQUA is responsible for' a cooler Spring and an extension of the growing season in the Fall; VIII. Economic Geology

The geology' of ChautauquaCOUNTY County .·isre!3P()i')SIBle'fo~1~s?-ridioi.i. indu!3try, farming, and t!1e presence ofgravel pits thr0tlghou-tthe county. . . HISTORICAL

IV.3ibliography SOCIETY 1.luller, Ernest H. Geology o~ Chautauaua County, Part II, Pleistocene Geolo , of Chautauaua Cou~ty. New Yor"k- State l,juseum and Science Service.,Albany, 19 3. WESTFIELD, Jamestown Post-Journal; "Panama ~ocks: Far Older Than the Glaciers", October 2, 198J.

::loseberry. C. R.: Niagara to i'iontauk,' "Sce!1ic Pleasures.NY 9f New York State. ,I 2012 I T~smer, Irvir.,~ ~.; Thi!_GeologL~! Ghau-tauauaCounty, New.York. Buffalo Museum of SClence, VoL 35, J~0.2.,'-195.. . '.. '. Tesmer, ,1'he Geoloor;L of ChautauguaCoUrtty, Part I,' Strati!tiatihy and Paleontoloa:y( Upuer Devonian). Albarty1963;"· . Van Tyne, Ar.thur M.. "oil and Gas Developments in New York" AAPG 5ulletin, Vol. 67, No. 10. COPYRIGHT

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NY 2012 Subsurface Straticra hie Units in OutcroD Unlts in NY and PA Group Series Formation h-hick- Lithologies Member ness Lower Olean 80 Conglomerate Penna. l,.,Owe'r Sandstone ~ Shale, COng .• Hiss. Knapp i 80 .

Os....ayo 150 . Sandy Shllle

-]~O I ' Sandst·one., SH.t.tone • . c;:"'ttarau9'ls ',. .:. :". . . .;-. ~- ,p.~~~' ~~~'~1!( . . ":': . . . , ·.....1-·S·~ .. f-l.~~J.v ... tl·,. I, ' Ellicott 150· .8bale an~ Siltst~e ~.'t-H.. ~'lll""''''' 11.... ,I . , COPYRIGHT ..,.. -n._';-+C::~ (A .k.. ~.,.. Dextervil~e ],00 Siltstone and Sh!l.1e I B •.c..1.c ! , f--, ..' ·.~.~ad.f.o_z:d Firilt . '"< - CHAUTAUQUA '"c Northeast 070 Shale and Siltstone Qlj:~un~': [;; Q. Br.adford'· Se'e~::md .."'" 'Ha,rr ~:spu.rg ·'Ran· .. .'. :> . Shumla 30 Siltstone COUNTY Westfield 150 Shale and Silt!ftone .. cscar-pm""'.. :~~c1~O'~d·~.ird ,~O' . '. ' +f' won... , : Sl·lt.tone· HISTORICAL", ...'J .. ... ::.:..;..,.;..,- -..._-':---._::. ,_·_,o~- '.' , . " .... ~---.---- , """,_. 100+ Shale ",isil~storie

South tllll•• 70 'Shale

shale Dunkirk '0 Black SOCIETY Hanover 90 Shale

.~•" '~gola '220 0 Shale .>" WESTFIELD, " Q• Rhinestreet 170 81ack Shale •"- :>"- Cashaqua 65 Shale Middlesex 10 Black Shale - lddle Genes•• 25 Shale NY

:VQU.l.o'!l.:--. !:illl'!li-lton 270 Shale, 50me linel5tone 1U:?~dilnt.ly f~:'AG1- 2012 , Limestone wichert nodu e5 ononda-oa 100 Ree! known at Base Driller's "Flint" , . Ge",!r~l-,l-r ~~"sen.~ in n., ,Or "lIkanv' '. " '0-201' , Sands·tone <- C:heWest:· ' . '. .. : '" ' ... , '. " .,' 'Bertie '75 ·Oolonl.i·ti! • ~. t.e r i· tJDe ~~:ipt.e'rid6 ppeJ; Camillur; 10. Shale it'brian· Syracu.ae If>O' Shale, salt, '"GypsUm .:Ev~Po'r ites : absent under Chautauqua Co'. Vrtn\on 200 " She.leo ~ak Orchud

D. Er..040a '-' " Goat hlMld 200 Dolomite Driller' 8 -Big Lime" ~•" .," ! ~.port. .Reel. • "~ " S O;,p.w

~ '" '" '" Rochester )0 ShaJe - .It'ond~quoit. 35 Limestone - ower aorOld 20 .. S~nd8to:n~ llO S"'ridstone, Red . Driller'. "Red Hedin." iluri all ._ ~~~~b~. 79" 78" 77" 78" 75 74" 73"

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~ UpperDevornan HISTORICAL m MlddlaDevonian 41" 41" li'li*\l] Lower Devonian ~., SOCIETY L{}~_~~ 79" 77" 78" 75" 73" 72"

WESTFIELD, Figure S.L" Outcrop map:o{the'Lower;·Mirldle. and U'P~_Devonianrock'·unitsinNe.w-York state. Notice'that the Lower Devonian formations do not extend into th~ west.ei'J) ,~. ,of th~·State. An unconfonnity cuts. across these'..fomiatio~; as you can see on Plate 3. Erosion removed the Lower DeVonian urP.ts from western"New Y~Tk before'~ent Wa5._~epo5ited th~ .m,M.i9~~-Deyoman time. . . .

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\,: .. , Flgu~ 8.1~.' 'Qul~:m ~f th~ de~itional environmenls 01 the "Catskill Delta" and the lades that were deposited in them. The arrangement of the fades (Genesee·Pocono) shows that the environII'.l~ts. have moved from right to left through time as the sediment has filled in the edge of the sea. This process could be.reversed by a rise in sea level, which would move the shQre zone toward the right. (In this oversimplified diagram, the Pocono fades looks as if it were underneath the Acadian Mountains. It was actually deposited at the loot 01 the mountains.) ~CU"re-Y)"~ l- -+--+-----:-+- R~~ + -....:...,.--,---....~~~'-"""..----"--'-./'------:-:::yf ::Lee.1' f """--c, " -1 + ,1' -I- of L.J ICL ei1it:U:,o '1i'rot\h, ,

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WESTFIELD, ala NY 2012