Geology of the Plattsburgh and Rouses New York-Vermont, Quadrangles DONALD W. FISHER The gastropod, Maclurites magnus Le Sueur (xl) from the Chazyan Crown Point Limestone. Moc/ur/tes SPECIAL BULLETIN NO. 1, 1968 VERMONT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, BURLINGTON CHARLES G. DOLL, STATE GEOLOGIST Vermont Water Resources Department, Monipelier Figure 1 WORLD PHANEROZOIC TIME SCALE Era Perod Epoch Description MILLIONS OF YEARS PLEISTOCENE 1/p-2r,Mon O P I GENE 7 ------ Large carnivores bundant grazing mammals. NI 0 TERTIARY arge running mammals. any modern types of mammals. UPALEOCENE arliest placental mammals UPPER Earliest flowering plants. 0 CRETACEOUS 10 Climax of dinosaurs and ammonites-followed by extinction. Great decline of brachiopods. Great development of bony fishes. LOWER 0 NI 13 Z 0 UPPER 16 Earliest birds and mammals, JURASSIC MIDDLE 0 17 Abundant dinosaurs and ammonites LOWER 190-9 UPPER 20 TRIASS/C MIDDLE Earliest dinosaurs, Abundant cycads and conifers. 21 UPPER Extinction of many kinds marine animals 1 including trilobites. PERM/AN LOWER Little change in terrestrial animals. (II) 28C 0 PENNSYLVANIAN Earliest reptiles. Great coal-forming forests. N CARBONIFEROIIS *31C Abundant sharks and amphibians. 0 MISSISSIPPIAN Large and numerous scale trees and seed ferns. MIDDLE DEVON/AN Earliest amphibians and ommonites. Extinction LOWER of armored fishes, other fishes abundant. Earliest terrestrial plants and animals. SILURIAN Peak development of eurypterids. LU. UPPER --- - -- Earliest fishes. Invertebrates dominant -coelenterates • ORDO V/C/A N and mollusks become abundant, echinoderms expand • --- U LOWER II in numbers and kinds. 'Sn UPPER 515 u_ MIDDLE CAMBRIAN Earliest abundant record of marine life 540 Trilobites dominant. -'--.- LOW ER z cr 'S7C PRECAMBRIAN EON Fossils extremely rare, primitive aquatic plants. OR/GIN OF THE EARTH4500 '- DATES (except C) FROM: Quop/erly Joe,, Geol Soc. Lo,,don, v.120, p. 260- 262 (1964) Geology of the Plattsburgh and Rouses New York-Vermont, Quadrangles DONALD W. FISHER SPECIAL BULLETIN NO. 1, 1968 VERMONT GEOLOGiCAL SURVEY, BIJRLINGTON CHARLES G. DOLL, STATE GEOLOGIST Vermont Water Resources Department, Montpeiier M731-Ag67 . 3000 ( 53 083) CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT . 1 INTROI)UCTION ....................................................3 History and Geologic Setting ....................................... Acknov!edgnients ................................................5 Geog mph and 'Jopog rapliv ........................................3 Geochronologv ...................................................8 PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS .............................................11 CAMBRIAN-ORI)OVICIAN ROCKS ....................................15 Saratoga Springs Group ..........................................15 Beekrnanto on Group ..............................................19 ChazyGroup ....................................................2 Black River Group ...............................................26 Trenton Group ...................................................27 Lacohle Melange .................................................30 LATE JURASSIC-EARLY CRLTACEOUS IGNEOUS ROCKS ............... .33 PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS ...........................................35 GEOLOGIC AND TECTONIC 1-IISTORY ................................. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY ...............................................43 BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................48 in ILLUSTRATIONS FIcIJRI,: PAGE The gaStropod, 4Iaclurztes mugnus Le Sueur (xl) from tile Chazyan Cro ii Point Limestone. ........................................... front cover L World Phanerozoic Time Scale........................inside front cover 2. Eurystoniies ke/loggi Whitfield ) . a coiled nautiloid from the Fort Cassin Formation at Chellis Ba . Iouses Point quadrangle ................... vii 3. Index map, sho ing mapped area ith respect to adj acent mapped and tin- mappedareas . ................................................... 4 1. Generalized geologic and tectonic map of the Champlain Valley........... 6 5. Vista. looking north. from Trembleau Mountain Precambrian across Pale- ozoic lois land; Port Kent in (enter ( on Potsdam Sandstone ) ............. 7 6. Panorama. from the iop of land Hill. looking south-southeast. Precambrian lrembleau Mountain on center horizon, metamorphosed Cambrian and Or. dovician Green Mountains in left haze, and Precambrian high peaks of Adirondacks on right horizon. Lake Champlain Valley floored by 6 ireland rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician ages. ............................ 8-9 7. Vertical narrow diabase (likes, cutting metagabbro which had earlier cut metanorthosite. On west side of Northway ( Interstate 87). one mile south of Keesevjlle. .................................................... 11 8. Narrow diabase (like cutting metanorthosite along Delaware and Hudson Railroad. near Trembleau Point . .................................... 12 9. Metanorthosite inclusions o hite slivers) in (liabase (like is hich has pene- trated the metanorthosite, along road to Trembleau Point . .............. 13 10. Summary of development of nomenclature of foreland rocks in the Cham. plainValley ..................................................... 14 11. Closeup of Ausahie Arkose Member of I'otsdam Formation at Lapharns Mills; note crosslaminations . ...................................... 16 2. Current ripple marks (arrow denotes current direction) in Keeseville Sand. stone Member of Potsdam formation above falls at Ausable Chasm....... 16 13. Keeseville Sandstone Member of Potsdam Formation in Ausable Chasm; note the regular bedding.. ........................................ 17 14. Lecanospira compacta (Salter) . a depressed-spire gastropod and indicator of a medial Canadian age, Spellmaii Limestone. Kirby Ledge, Beekman. town , New York.................................................. 19 15. Closeup of reticulated surface produced by differential iseathering of (1010. mitic limestone; Fort Cassin Formation south of Chellis Bay ............. 20 16. Fort Cassin limestone and (lolostone of the Beekmantown Group, along lake shore south of Chellis Bay......................................... 20 17. Providence Island Dolostorie, along east side of U.S. 9, 4 miles north of Plattsburgh ...................................................... 21 18. Crossbedded coarse grained limestones (calcarenites ) of Day Point Forma- tion, in pasture one mile south of Sheldon Lane...................... 23 9. Reef topography in uppermost I)ay Point Limestone, atop abandone(l quarry north of Boyntomi Avenue, Plattsburgh............................... 23 V FILMIHID PAGE 20. \1 1e illu., lioling, the abundance If the ga , tropod 1100/UI (Ill nogiiiis Le Snout- in the Cn Ill II P1 11111 1 ,ii11(tI(l1e. North II a (lit 2.5 1111105 SI liltillI est of(:h ....................................................... 24 21. Cr01111 Point I,ii11Itoile at southerii end of Vih'oijr Islatol : (liii marks trace of an (Ist-oest I rending normal fault of the latit 101111111 fault \ 51(n) ....... 21 22. Reef i'o'k Hiaiti 1)005) alIli lilIiIkilIU ('lll('aI('IIit(S (ilIrkIr areas iii basal Valcotir I,iiIll'StoII( at ahandolled quarrN , on lec1lard fariti. west of kings Bay 25 2%. Spotres and itIglil itodulis iii reellet in basal Valcour I,iiitestoite ill type lo- caht\ . 1.3 lilies soutiloet of Chazv . ................................ 25 21. Straigitl-sit('lI('Ii itlltllllOi(i (1(1)05 1ll(tlttillg reef rock at Berliard quarry reef coniple......................................................... 25 25. Valcour.Pantelia-i,Io I illeisle La Motto transition in south fate of akin. (ioile(l hiiternat ((11111 futite and Stone ivarr . lIne utile sotithleast of Cliazy 26 26. The trilolot' (:rI/iloIi//oI.', ie,ssel otus Gree n . an indicator of fttrileveld aie and ('oiltitloiI ii the Mont real Limestone Meitiher (f the F01l5 Lime- 510111 1111(1 ii till Ctituiheriaioi 1100(1 Argihte ......................... 27 27. Uedding ( liqIpilig to leftl 1111(1 ('Leavage (hj(pilg SteeplE to tile right in Cumherlarii 1 lea)1 A rliill ite. along U.S. Q. I lilies ilortil of Platlshurgli 28 28. Correlation Ultart. (atithriaiu.Ordovit'ian of the Adirotudaok 1ordei' region 30 29. I,acolle MI"lar(ge. along south side of N.Y. 9A east of Cooporville. Note angultriI\ 1111(1 (lisparit\ in SIZe of varied rock fragiiteitts............... :31 30. i"ault i( nit ia 010111.1 'Irltl'\ llrook fault. Ill west side of U.S. 9. north of rail. road niolerlutss iii i illage of Chazy . The rock is eniiel orushued Potsdani I Keese' ut SlulldStIIlIe ........................................... 32 31. l,an1lool(hI, re (luke. fta mules north (If Valcour. t-uttmg i)ay Point Lilnestolle and trlIidmg toll 01(1 atiotiter (hke shown In arloll I 11001 sollthleril tip of \Talcotur 1511111(1 ................................................... 33 32. Glacial striatlluts. treitdjii nOl'til-Sotltil. (01 1,ari'ahee Mruiiio'r of the Glens F ails I ,jniesiouie : alop 11)11th lILt!1 of ahaildolleli I Ilteritlit i nal I ,ime and Stone ContJIaui% (1uarry . one mile southeast of Chaz. .................... 35 ii. Map shuoll iulg ('\teltt of I ,ake Vermont ................................ 36 3!. M111( skm ilg (XIelII of ChaluujIhain Sea .............................. .37 35. Crossiedded. laitlitIlIled Pleistocene sands of tlic [hamplaiit Sea in sand pit south of N.'I. 373. one niile east of Ausable Chasm. .................... 36. Ingrailltin I'sker: l(rftle illustratiuc sand aiii eravel, and laini,uated sands ieldiig