Geology

For a complete explanation, see Map & Chart Series Number 40

available from the NYS Museum Publications Department
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov

af - Artificial fill

al - Recent alluvium
Oxidized fine sand to gravel, permeable,
generally confined to flood plains within a valley,
in larger valleys may be overlain by silt,
subject to flooding, thickness 1-10 meters,

alf - Alluvial fan
Poorly stratified silt, sand, and boulders,
fan shaped accumulations,
at bottoms of steep slopes,
generally permeable, thickness 1-10 meters.

alt - Alluvial terrace
Fluvial sand and gravel,
occasional laterally continuous lenses of silt,
remnants of earlier higher flood plains,
generally permeable, thickness 1-10 meters.

b - Beach
Sand and gravel deposit at marine shorelines,
thickness variable.

co, col - Colluvium
Mixture of sediments,
deposited by mass wasting,
thickness generally 1 - 5 meters.

cof - Colluvial fan
Fan shaped accumulation,
mixture of sediments,
at mouths of gullies,
thickness generally 1 - 5 meters.

d - Dunes
Fine to medium sands,
well sorted, stratified,
generally wind-reworked lake sediment, 
permeable, well drained,
thickness 1-10 meters.

pm - Swamp deposits
Peat-muck, organic silt and sand in poorly drained areas,
unoxidized,
commonly overlies marl and lake silt,
potential land instability, 
thickness 2-20 meters. 

alp - Pleistocene alluvium

lb - Lacustrine beach
Generally well sorted sand and gravel,
stratified, permeable and well drained,
deposited at lake shoreline,
generally non-calcareous,
may have wave-winnowed lag gravel,
thickness variable (1-5 meters).

mb - Marine beach
Generally well sorted sand and gravel,
elevation at or below highest marine level,
permeable and well drained,
may be fossiliferous,
deposited in brackish to salt water,
thickness variable (1-5 meters).

ld - Lacustrine delta
Coarse to fine gravel and sand,
stratified, generally well sorted,
deposited at a lake shoreline,
thickness variable (3-15 meters).

md - Marine delta
Coarse to fine gravel and sand,
elevation at or below highest marine level,
stratified, generally well sorted,
deposited in brackish to salt water,
permeable, thickness variable (3-15 meters).

lsc - Lacustrine silt and clay
Generally laminated silt and clay,
deposited in proglacial lakes,
generally calcareous, low permeability, 
potential land instability,
thickness variable (up to 50 meters).

sc - Undifferentiated marine and lacustrine silt and clay 
Elevation within highest marine level,
generally laminated to massive silt and clay,
may include fossil shells,
deposited in brackish to salt water,
low permeability, potential land instability,
thickness variable (up to 50 meters).

ls - Lacustrine sand
Generally quartz sand, well sorted, stratified,
usually deposited in proglacial lakes,
but may have been deposited on remnant ice,
generally a near-shore deposit or near a sand source,
permeable, thickness variable (2-20 meters).

s - Undifferentiated marine and lacustrine sand
Well sorted, stratified, fine to medium sand,
generally a near-shore deposit,
at or below highest marine level,
may include fossil shells,
may be a brackish to salt water deposit,
permeable, thickness variable (2-20 meters).

d - Wind-deposited sand
Fine to medium sand,
well sorted, stratified,
generally wind-reworked lake sediments,
permeable, well drained,
thickness variable (1-10 meters).

og - Outwash sand and gravel
Coarse to fine gravel with sand,
proglacial fluvial deposition,
well rounded and stratified,
generally finer texture away from ice border,
permeable, thickness variable (2-20 meters).

fds - Fluvial deltaic sand
Same as outwash sand and gravel,
except deposition further from glaciers,
age uncertain.

fg - Fluvial sand and/or gravel
Sand and/or gravel, 
occasional laterally continuous lenses of silt,
deposition farther from glacier than outwash,  
age and proximity to ice uncertain,
permeable, thickness variable (1-20 meters).

k - Kame deposits
Coarse to fine gravel and/or sand,
includes kames, eskers, kame terraces, kame deltas,
ice contact, or ice cored deposition,
lateral variability in sorting, texture
and permeability,
may be firmly cemented with calcareous cement,
thickness variable (10-30 meters).

ki - Inwash
Coarse to fine gravel and/or sand,
interpreted as alluvium
deposited adjacent to active or remnant ice
by streams of nonglacial origin,
thickness variable (2-20 meters).

usda - Undifferentiated stratified drift assemblage
Dominantly clay, silt and sand,
limited gravel and diamicton,
stratification includes undisturbed and deformed laminations,
ice-contact structures, 
lenticular, discontinuous bodies of gravel and flow till, 
may represent dead-ice, disintegration and local ice-contact lake deposits
in ice-marginal and subglacial environments.,
Thickness variable (10 - 30 meters).

ali - Alluvial inwash
Deposited between active or remnant glacier ice 
and draped on adjacent valley wall, 
lacks kettles, permeability varies,
thickness variable (2-10 meters).

sf - Subaqueous fan
Coarse to fine gravel and/or sand,
variable texture and sorting,
deposited adjacent to glacier with 
englacial or subglacial conduit debouching in deep water,
thickness variable (5-30 meters).

km - Kame moraine
Variable texture (size and sorting) from boulders to sand,
deposition at an active ice margin during retreat,
constructional kame and kettle topography,
locally, calcareous cement,
thickness variable (10-30 meters).

tm - Till moraine
Variable texture (size and sorting),
generally low permeability,
deposition adjacent to ice,
thickness variable (10-30 meters).

ta - Ablation moraine
Till, deposited by downwasting, 
with minor amounts of sand and silt,
deposition during final melting of glacier,
thickness variable (1-10 meters).

cd - Colluvial diamicton
Mixture of sediments,
unique to region beyond Wisconsinan glacial limit,
rebedded saprolite and glacial debris,
may be old (Illinoian) drift,
homogenized by varying degrees of colluviation,
bedrock may sporadically crop out or be within 1 - 3 meters of the surface.

t - Till
Variable texture (boulders to silt),
usually poorly sorted sand-rich diamict,
deposition beneath glacier ice,
permeability varies with compaction,
thickness variable (1-50 meters).

Adirondack tills:  generally sand-rich diamict,
metamorphic provenance.
Ontario-St. Lawrence-Champlain tills:
generally silty clay to silt loam,
sedimentary provenance.
Tug Hill tills:  generally stony silt-clay to sandy silt,
               differentiated from  "ta" in this region, 
sedimentary provenance.                         

r - Bedrock
Exposed or generally within 1 meter of surface,
in some areas saprolite is preserved.

The following symbols are used to plot the NYSGS Suficial maps, and are designed for use with a Calcomp electrostatic plotter.

They have been used with an HP-Inkjet Plotter and Tektronix phaser.

The symbol number will have to be modified depending on the plotter being used, as color is VERY HARDWARE SPECIFIC.

The Symbolset comes from ArcInfo: Calcomp1.shd.  The symbolset can be imported into ArcView. 
In the future, we will have an ArcView legend available.

SURFICIAL SYMBOL 

alp       739    
al        739    
co        739    
cof       739    
alt       739    
d          17    
mb        473    
lb        473    
ld        473    
md        473    
lsc        37    
sc         37    
ls        742    
s         742    
og         31    
fg         31    
ki        123    
ali       123    
k         123    
sf        186    
km        186    
tm        417    
ta        417    
udc       377    
r         235    
h2o       724    
cd        761    
usd       123    
af         41    
bi        739    
b         739    
to        417    
c         739    
af        739    
t         377    
du        123    
wt        604    
cs        300    

.787
Alluvium:  Recent floodplain deposits; most are sandy with silt, clay, or
organic lenses as minor constituents.  Low terraces that mimic 
irregularities of stream gradient are mapped as alluvium.
.787
Fluvial Terrace:  Stream terraces are mapped as fluvial terrace.  Fluvial
Terrace is mapped rather than outwash where there is no obvious source for
outwash, or where fluvial deposits grade toward, rather than away from, a
presumed glacier margin.
.787
Colluvium:  Unsorted mixture of fine to coarse material.  Colluvium is
mapped only where deposits are obvious, otherwise it is designated till.
Much of the diamict mapped as till may well be till-derived colluvium,
particularly on the lower portion of steep valley walls.
.976
Paludal Sediment:  Organic silt, sand, and organic accumulations
deposited in swamps or marshes.
.72
Ice-Contact Stratified Drift:  Coarse to fine sand and/or gravel.
Inferred where constructional topography suggests collapse of subjacent
ice, and by characteristic topography above outwash terraces.  Numbers
1-4 refer to morpho-sequences described below.
.31
Outwash:  Coarse to fine gravel with sand; restricted to valley bottoms
and stream terraces; numbers 1-4 refer to morpho-sequences described below.
.725
Lacustrine Sand:  Sand deposited as deltas and beaches in large
proglacial lakes; may be gradational with outwash. Numbers 1-4 refer to
morpho-sequences described below.
.37
Lacustrine Clay:  Lake clay; or laminated silt, silt and clay, or silty
clay; deposited in proglacial lakes.
.61
Glacial Till:  Mixture of clay, silt, sand to boulder sized material in
varied proportions; unsorted to poorly sorted; deposited beneath glacial
ice; till is generally more than 2 meters thick. 
.417
Glacial Till:  As above, but generally 1-2 meters thick; overlies bedrock
which may crop out sporadically.
.109
Superglacial Till:  Similar to till described above, but less compact and
commonly contains pockets and stringers of stratified drift or matrix
deficient till; generally 1-2 meters thick.
.2
Bedrock:  Exposed or generally within 1 meter of the surface.
.724
Water
.739
Recent alluvium:  Oxidized fine sand to gravel, permeable, generally
confined to floodplains within a valley, in larger valleys may be 
overlain by silt, subject to flooding, thickness 1-10 meters.
.37
Undifferentiated marine and lacustrine silt and clay:  Elevation within
highest marine level, generally laminated to massive silt and clay, may
include fossil shells, deposited in brackish to salt water, low 
permeability, potential land instability, thickness variable
(up to 50 meters).
.17
Dune sand:  Fine to medium sands, well sorted, stratified, generally
wind-reworked lake sediment, permeable, well drained, thickness 
1-10 meters.
.883
Swamp Deposits:  Peat, muck, organic silt, and sand deposits in poorly
drained areas, thickness is variable (1-5 meters).
.235
Bedrock:  Exposed or generally within 1 meter of surface, in some areas
saprolite is preserved.
.742
Undifferentiated marine and lacustrine sand:  Well-sorted, stratified, 
fine to medium sand, generally a near-shore deposit, at or below highest
marine level,may include fossil shells, may be a brackish to salt water 
deposit, permeable, thickness variable (2-20 meters).
.377
Till:  Till in a sheet showing little or no morainal topography, variable
texture (boulders to silt), generally silty clay to silt loam, sedimentary
provenance, usually poorly sorted sand-rich diamict, deposition beneath
glacier ice, permeablility varies with compaction, thickness variable
(1-50 meters).
.604
Winnowed till:  Gravel left when waves of the lakes or Champlain Sea
"winnowed" out the clay, silt and fine sand of the till to leave 
coarse, poorly rounded gravel.

NYS Museum
NYS Geological Survey
Bedrock Attributes
version 1.0 , 7-26-1999

.14
Q     1    GLACIAL AND ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS    
.377
      2     COASTAL PLAIN DEPOSITS
Km    Monmouth Group, Matawan Group and Magothy Formation    
Kr    Raritan Formation
.382
      3 MESOZOIC INTRUSIVES
KJk    Kimberlite and alnoite dike and diatreme
KJd    Lamprophyre, trachyte, ryolite, albite-basalt, and diabase dikes
.433
KJtp    Trachyte porphyry
.394
      4    NEWARK GROUP
Trhc    Hammer Creek Formation
Trb    Brunswick Formation
Trs    Stockton Formation
Trl    Ladentown Diabase
Trp    Palisade Diabase sill
.999
      5    POTTSVILLE GROUP
Pp    Connoquenessing Formation
.967
      6 POCONO GROUP
Mp    Cuyahoga Formation
.728
      7 DEVONIAN INTRUSIVES
Dpgr    Muscovite-biotite granite
Dpgd    Muscovite-biotite granondiorite
Dbg    Muscovite-biotite granite gneiss
.728
      8    CONEWANGO GROUP
Dco    Osway Formation
.728
      9 CONNEAUT GROUP
Dct    Ellicott Formation
.728
     10    CANADAWAY GROUP
Dcys    Northeast Shale
Dcyl    Westfield Shale
Dcyd     Gowanda Shale
Dcy    Machias Formation
.728
     11    JAVA GROUP
Dj    Hanover Shale
.728
     12    WEST FALLS GROUP
Dwf    Angola Shale
Dwn    Nunda Formation
Dwg    West Hill Formation
Dwr    Lower Beers Hill
Dwc    Nunda Formation, West Hill Formation
Dwrg    Gardeau Formation
Dwm    Beers Hill Shale
Dwnm    "New Milford" Formation
Dwh    Honesdale Formation
Dws    Slide Mountain Formation
Dww    Upper Walton Formation
.728
     13    SONYEA GROUP
Ds    Cashaqua Shale
Dsw    Lower Walton Formation
.728
     14 GENESEE GROUP AND TULLY LIMESTONE
Dg    West River Shale
Dgo    Oneonta Formation
Dgu    Unadilla Formation
Dt    Tully Limestone
.739
     15    HAMILTON GROUP
Dhmo    Moscow Formation
Dhld    Ludlowville Formation
Dhsk    Skaneateles Formation
Dhpm    Panther Mountain Formation
Dhpl    Plattekill Formation
Dhmr    Marcellus Formation
Dhm    Undifferentiated Lower Hamilton Group
Dh    Undifferentiated Hamilton Group
.739
    16    ONONDAGA LIMESTONE AND TRISTATES GROUP
Dob    Onondaga Limestone
Don    Onondaga Limestone
Dou    Onondaga Limestone
Do    Oriskany Sandstone
Dgl    Glenerie Formation
.744
     17    HELDERBERG GROUP
Dhg    Port Ewen Formation
.744
     18    UNDIFFERENTIATED LOWER DEVONIAN AND SILURIAN ROCKS
DS    Port Ewen thru Manlius Limestone, Rondout Dolostone
.755
     19 AKRON DOLOSTONE & COBLESKILL LIMESTONE & AND SALINA GROUP
Sab    Akron Dolostone
Scv    Camillus Shale
Scy    Syracuse Formation
Scc    Cobleskill Limestone
Ssy    Syracuse Formation
Scs    Cobleskill Limestone
Sv    Vernon Formation
.755
     20    UNDIFFERENTIATED SILURIAN ROCKS I
Srp    Rondout Formation
.755
     21    UNDIFFERENTIATED SILURIAN ROCKS II
Sbs    Bloomsburg Formation
.755
     22    LOCKPORT GROUP
Sl    Guelph Dolostone
.755
     23    CLINTON GROUP
Scl    Rochester Shale
Sr    Decew Dolostone
Sik    Irondequoit Limestone
.817
     24    MEDINA GROUP AND QUEENSTON FORMATION
Sm    Thorold Sandstone
SmOq    Grimsby Formation
Oq      Queenston Formation
.113    
     25 CORTLANDT AND SMALLER MAFIC COMPLEXES
Oban    Biotite augite norite
Od    Diorite with hornblende and/or biotite
Ohn    Hornblende norite
Oh    Hornblendite
Oopx    Olivine pyroxenite
Opx    Pyroxenite
Ogb    Gabbro or norite to hornblende diorite
.64
     26    LORRAINE & TRENTON &  BLACK RIVER GROUPS AND METAMORPHIC EQUIVALENTS
Oo    Oswego Sandstone
Oqu    Quassaic Quartzite
Opw    Pulaski Formation
Of    Frankfort Formation
Osc    Schenectady Formation
Oag    Austin Glen Formation
Ou    Utica Shale
Oc    Canajoharie Shale
On    Normanskill Shale
Owl    Walloomsac Formation
Om    Manhattan Formation
Oi    Iberville Shale
Osp    Stony Point Shale
Ocum    Cumberland Head Argillite
Ot    Trenton Group
Obr    Black River Group  
Otbr    Dolgeville Formation
Oba    Balmville Limestone
Otm    Taconic Melange
OCs    Taconic Melange
.64
     27    CHAZY GROUP
Och    Valcour Limestone
.75  28    LOWER ORDOVICIAN INTRUSIVE
Os    Serpentinite
.75
     29    BEEKMANTOWN & WAPPINGER & STOCKBRIDGE GROUPS & POTSDAM 
    SANDSTONE & POUGHQUAG QUARTZITE & VERMONT VALLEY SEQUENCE 
    AND METAMORPHIC EQUIVALENTS
Obk    Beekmantown Group
Ow    Upper Wappinger Group
OCth    Theresa Formation
OCst    Stockbridge Marble
OCw    Wappinger Group
OCi    Inwood Marble
OCs    Cambrian thru Middle Ordovician carbonate rock
.100
Cbk    Beekmantown Group
Cth    Theresa (Galway) Formation
Cw    Lower Wappinger Group
Cp    Potsdam Sandstone
Cs    Stissing Formation
Cwmd    Winooski, Monkton and Dunham Dolostone
Cc    Cheshire Quartzite
Ccd    Cheshire Quartzite and Dalton Formation
Cpg    Poughquag Quartzite
.139
     30    TACONIC OVERTHRUST (ALLOCHTHONOUS) SEQUENCE
Ob    Bedford Gneiss
Ohr    Harrison Gneiss
Oht    Hartland Formation
Oag    Austin Glen Formation
Omi    Mount Merino Formation
Opl    Pillow lava at Stark's Knob near Schuylerville, Saratoga County
Op    Poultney Formation ("B" and "C" Members)
Osf    Stuyvesant Falls Formation
OCu    Undivided Ordovician and Cambrian pelite, quartzite and conglomerate
OCe    Elizaville Formation
.131
Cpw    Poultney Formation ("A" Member)
Cg    Germantown Formation
Cm    Mettawee Formation
Cn    Nassau Formation
Ca    Austerlitz Phyllite
Cgt     Greenstones and tuffs and/or basalt
Cr    Rensselaer Graywacke
Cev    Everett Schist
.7
     31    METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF SEDIMENTARY AND VOLCANIC ORIGIN
f    Fordham Gneiss  
y    Yonkers Gneiss
pg    Poundridge Gneiss
.289
     32    INTRUSIVE PEGMATITE DIKES
p    Granite pegmatite dikes, unmetamorphosed
.155
     33    METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF IGNEOUS ORIGIN
gb    Olivine metagabbro
.69
a       metanorthosite and anorthositic gneiss
ao    Gabbroic metanorthosite and anorthositic gneiss 
.171
    34     METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF SEDIMENTARY ORIGIN (PROBABLY INCLUDES 
    SOME METAVOLCANICS)
    ADIRONDACKS
cs    Calcsilicate rock, dolomitic and calcitic marble
mb    Calcitic and dolomitic marble, variably siliceous
mu    Undivided metasedimentary rock and related migmatite
.790
bqp    Biotite-quartz-plagioclase paragneiss, amphibolite, and related migmatite
bqpq    Biotite-quartz-plagioclase paragneiss, commonly leucocratic
garb    Quartz-feldspar paragneiss with variable amounts of garnet and sillimanite
qt    Quartzite, quartz-biotite schist and graphitic schist
.171
     35 SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK
cs    Calcsilicate rock, dolomitic and calcitic marble
mb    Calcitic and dolomitic marble, variably siliceous
.412
bqpc    Biotite-quartz-plagioclase paragneiss
qtcs    Garnet-biotite-quartz-feldspar gneiss
qtlg    Garnet-bearing paragneiss and interlayered quartzite
rg    Rusty and gray biotite-quartz-feldspar paragneiss
sc    Sillimanite-cordierite-almandine-biotite-quartz-feldspar gneiss
.845
     36    METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF UNCERTAIN ORIGIN
    ADIRONDACKS
qpg    Pyroxene-hornblende-quartz-plagioclase gneiss
ffg    Ferrohedenbergite-fayalite granite and granite gneiss
hqs    Hornblende-quartz syenite gneiss
hs    Hornblende syenite gneiss
phgs    Charnockite, granitic and quartz syenite gneiss
phqs    Charnockite, mangerite, pyroxene-quartz syenite gneiss
ps    Mangerite, pyroxene-(hornblende) syenite gneiss
.20
am    Amphibolite, pyroxenic amphibolite
lg    Leucogranitic gneiss
bg    Biotite granite gneiss
phg    Leucogranite and granite gneiss
hbg    Biotite and or hornblende granite gneiss
hbgo    Megacrystic Biotite and or hornblende granite gneiss 
.845
     37 METAMORPHIC ROCKS OF UNCERTAIN ORIGIN SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK 
qpg    Pyroxene-hornblende-quartz-plagioclase gneiss
.20
am    Amphibolite, pyroxenic amphibolite
lg    Leucogranitic gneiss
bg    Biotite granite gneiss
bhg    Biotite-hornblende granite and granite gneiss
hg      Hornblende granite and granite gneiss
.808
     38 UNDIVIDED AND MIXED GNEISSES
        ADIRONDACKS
amg    Interlayered amphibolite and granitic, charnockitic, syenitic gneiss
mug    Interlayered metasedimentary rock and granitic gneiss
ach    Hybrid rock:  mangeritic to charnockitic gneiss
ack    Interlayered gabbroic or noritic metanorthosite
amu    Hybrid rock:  metanorthosite and sedimentary rock
.808
     39 UNDIVIDED AND MIXED GNEISSES  SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK
amg    Interlayered amphibolite and granitic, charnockitic, syenitic gneiss
mug    Interlayered metasedimentary rock and granitic gneiss
.724
h20   40 wate