Cameron. - Area, 380 square miles; population in 1880, 5,159. This
irregular district of rough and wooded mountain land is traversed
lengthwise by the Sinnemahoning branch of the West Branch Susquehanna
River, with the lower reaches of the First Fork from the north, and
Bennett's Branch from the west. Innumerable deep, narrow, winding
ravines traverse the county in all directions, cutting down from a
general table land of 2000' A. T. to a main river channel bed, which
itself descends from about 1220' at Beechwood station (Philadelphia
& Erie R.R.) to about 750' at Grove Station at the eastern boundary
line.* The upper Chemung rocks (VIII) nowhere appear except along
the main valley for 2 miles below and 4 miles above Emporium; for
6 miles up West creek; and for 5 1/2 miles up the Portage fork, northward.
Every where else the Catskill red rocks (IX) supporting the gray Pocono
sandstones (X) form the walls of the valleys and ravines. The isolated
strings and patches of highland are faced on top with Pottsville Conglomerate
(XII), around the rough edges of which comes out, in a ring around
each summit, the Mauch Chunk red shale (XI.) The coal measures have
been eroded from all the summits of the south-eastern half of the
county; but the lowest coal beds are still left upon the pretty continuous
highland of the west of Stirling and north of Cameron, an extension
north-eastward of the Caledonia bituminous coal basin of Elk county;
and also on the highlands in the north-western corner of the county,
an extension north-eastward of the Little Toby creek basin in Elk
county. (See Report R2.) The Cameron coal basin, bounded
by Boon's mountain on the west, is 13 miles wide; but the strip of
coal measures left in it is less than 2 miles wide; and north-east
of the Sinnemahoning they occupy only the summits. Hunt's and Hick's
runs also cut down through into No. XI; but Stirling run and its many
branches penetrate the coal area in all directions and furnish ample
opportunities for mining. At Emporium the top of the Chemung rocks
(VIII) is 300' above water, but sinks below water in less than a mile;
the summit south of Emporium (2080' A.T.) holds 200' of Pocono rocks
(X); all between is Catskill (IX.) The Conglomerate (XII) 3 miles
S.E. at the Cameron Coal Co.'s is 1300' A.T. showing a dip of over
300' per mile. Here the section reads: Drift 4 1/2; sandstone 27';
black slate 15'; Dayus coal bed 3'; fire-clay 2 1/2; gray slate
and shale 27'; Sulphur coal bed 3'; gray slate and shale 52';
Clermont coal bed 5'; fire-clay and thin soft JOHNSON RUN SANDSTONE
and shale 27'; Star-vein rider-coal 1'; black and gray slate
and shale 7'; Star coal bed 2 2/8; fire-clay 3 1/2; slate 1
1/2; fire-clay 5'; Bogus cannel coal and underlying slate 5';
coal 1 1/4; slate 19'; KINZUA CREEK CONGLOMERATE, Marshburg coal
bed, and OLEAN CONGLOMERATE, together, 125'. The sandstone and
two conglomerates make up No. XII.
* R. R. grade at Driftwood junction with Bennett branch
R.R. 816' A.T.
From: A geological hand atlas of the sixty-seven
counties of Pennsylvania :embodying the results of the field work
of the survey, from 1874 to 1884. By J. P. Lesley. (Report of
progress (Geological Survey of Pennsylvania), v. X ) Harrisburg, PA
: Board of commissioners for the second geological survey, 1885.
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