Lycoming. - Area, 1,205 square miles; population in
1880, 57,486. The rock formations of this large area range from the
coal measures (No. XIII) on the Allegheny plateau (2,000` A.T.) in
the northern tier of townships, down through the Devonian and Silurian
strata, to the limestones on No. II in Nippenose and Oval valleys
in Limestone and Armstrong townships, two elliptical holes of erosion
sunk through the great Nittany valley anticlinal arch of Medina sandstone
(No. IV), between the Seven mountains of Union and Clinton counties,
and the Bald Eagle mountain which bounds the valley of the West Branch
Susquehanna on the south. At the foot of this mountain flows the river
along the outcrop of Helderberg limestone (No. VI), the Oriskany (No.
VII) being absent, and the hills of Hamilton, Chemung, and Catskill
forming the foothills at the foot of the bold escarpment of the Allegheny
mountain, which sweeps in a gentle curve from west to east the whole
length of the county, 47 miles. The Nittany valley anticlinal slowly
sinking eastward, the river bends around it at Muncy; and all the
formations (Clinton, Onondaga, Lower Helderberg, and Marcellus) curve
back through Clinton, Brady, and Washington townships; form concentric
loops in the White Deer Hole; and then pass east again through Union
county, to cross the river into Northumberland. The limestone beds
of the river valley are extensively quarried. "Black marble" beds
of great beauty occur in the Trenton limestone of Nippenose valley,
where fossils are abundant. A sharp steep anticlinal arch runs along
the foot of the Allegheny mountain and brings up the Mansfield iron
ore of Tioga and Bradford counties, compact, reddish brown, in red
slate, very fossiliferous, full of fish teeth, dipping very steeply
to the north, and 2` to 4` thick. The same bed has been a good deal
mined at Cogan’s station on Lycoming creek for the Danville furnaces;
at Quigglesville, 1 mile N.W. of Perrysville, with phosphate pebbles
(fish dung?) dipping only 6º
to 8º N.; on
Stewart’s run N.E. of Jersey Shore; and on Furnace run near the south
line of Watson township. For analyses given in Report G2,
p. 153, show oxide of iron 41 to 50 (metallic iron 28.5 to 35); oxide
manganese 1 to 3; limes 1 to 6; insoluble residue 29 to 46; and phosphoric
acid .863 to 1.759 (phosphorus .377 to .768.) The Marcellus iron ore
has not been recognized in this county. One Clinton fossil ore bed
has been mined for two miles along the face of Bald Eagle mountain
opposite Jersey Shore, in three layers of block ore 3 inches, 4 inches
and 8 inches thick (average) yielding as usual about 30 per cent.
of iron. Very little attention has been paid to this ore along its
outcrop of 45 miles, but what prospecting has been done has been discouraging.
The Ralston iron ore of No. XI, underlying the Conglomerate No. XII,
along the brow of the precipitous on thousand foot slopes of the grand
gorges of Pine Creek and its forks, Lycoming Creek and its side branches,
and Loyalsock Creek with its two branches and side ravines, has been
traced throughout northern and western Pennsylvania, but nowhere mined
with any success except in Fayette county. At McIntyre No. XII is
only 70` thick, and No. XI under it only 75`, divided into: (1.) 20`
of red and gray slates with large lumps of ore, and some ore beds
one inch thick; (2.) 5` of shale with two feet of ore;
(3.) 50` of red shale with small nodules and layers of ore. No. X
shows 105` of sandstone, 10` black slate with ore nodules, 40` of
sandstone, 420` of shale and sandstone, 1` coal bed, 80` massive
sandstone= total 655`. At the Red Run mines are 3` to 4` "white ore."
At the old Cartervill furnace mine the ore yields 31 per cent of
iron and has only .07 per cent phosphorus. The old Astonville furnace
was started in 1837, the new one in 1853. Every attempt to establish
an iron industry on this attractive deposit has ended in disaster.*
A small patch of coal measures remains on the mountain top of Plunkett’s
Creek township between Big and Little Bear runs, with one small coal
bed on 120` of coarse Conglomerate XII; another remains on the mountain
top in the south-east corner of Cogan House township; and several
at the west county line, ends of the Queen’s run and Tangascootac
basin of Clinton county. A wide gentle anticlinal arch runs through
Cascade, Lewis, Cogan House, Cummings and McHenry townships, and all
the coal measures (XIII), conglomerate (XII), red shale (XI), and
much of the Pocono sandstone (X) have been swept away from the county,
so that wide elevated rolling valleys of Catskill red shale and sandstone
(IX) lie sunk in the general upland. North of this arch is an equally
well-marked synclinal trough in which a large body of coal measures
have been preserved in all the mountain tops of McIntyre, Jackson,
Pine and northern McHenry townships. Little Pine Creek (Blockhouse
run) cuts the coal field in half, a western portion 15 miles long
by 3 wide, and an eastern 17 miles long by 4 wide. The highest summits
are covered with remaining blocks of a conglomerate (80` thick at
Red run), under which lies coal E from 2` to 5` thick; then massive
sandrock 80`; coal D 7` (with a 3 foot parting); sandstone 21; coal
C` 1`; sandstone 13`; coal C 1` to 3`; shales 20`; coal B (the "big
bed") 4 ½` to 6`; slates 20`; coal A less than 1`; Conglomerate XII
130`; XI 300`; IX 40`= 795` to Little Pine Creek level. The Banner,
Old and New Bache, English and other mines get coal which yields to
analysis from 20 to 22 percent, gas, and from 7 to 14 ash. Old and
new mines at Ralston, Astonville, Cartersville, Red run and McIntyre
work the same beds, which, at McIntyre appear thus: Top rock 50`;
coal E 5` 7"; interval 80`; coal 9 inches; interval 5`; coal D 2`
3"; interval 48`; coal C 7` 4"; interval 21; coal B 7` 1"; interval
13`; coal A 9` 10"; sandstone and conglomerate (XII) 66`, = total
332`. (For the exact details of this section see Report G2,
p.124.) The Terminal moraine enters the county at its eastern point,
crosses Muncy Creek just below Tivoli, ascends the escarpment to the
top of the Allegheny mountain, swings round north to Bodinesville,
crosses the Lycoming creek and again ascends to the highland, ’
westward north of Gray’s run, and crosses Pine Creek (first fork)
just below Seachrist’s mill, the next branch below Texas, and the
main creek at Lloyd, where the Babb fork comes in, then traverses
the high plateau to Elk Run P.O. and descends into Pine Creek valley
a second time just as it enters Potter county. The whole surface of
Lycoming County north of this line is scratched and covered with Drift.
(See Report Z.)
* For the carefully made section at Ralston, see Report G2,
p.106.
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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