The physical geography of New York state . al Survey). setts have been more highly altered than those of the Taconic Mountains justwest of the Berkshires. In some places this metamorphismhas proceeded so far that gneisses have been made out ofconglomerate, and other sedimentary beds; and nearlyeverywhere in the New York-New England area the sedi-mentary strata have been transformed to schists, or thesandstone to quartzite, the limestone to marble, and theshale to slate. Denudation has etched these complexly altered andfolded strata, and since they were originally deposited assheets of sediment
The physical geography of New York state . al Survey). setts have been more highly altered than those of the Taconic Mountains justwest of the Berkshires. In some places this metamorphismhas proceeded so far that gneisses have been made out ofconglomerate, and other sedimentary beds; and nearlyeverywhere in the New York-New England area the sedi-mentary strata have been transformed to schists, or thesandstone to quartzite, the limestone to marble, and theshale to slate. Denudation has etched these complexly altered andfolded strata, and since they were originally deposited assheets of sediment, though now greatly changed, the fold-ing has placed them in sucha position that,like the Appa-lachians, theyhave beencarved intoridges. Butthe complexityof the rockstructure andposition isgreater than inthe Appalach-ians, and hence the ridges are not long and continuous,but short and choppy, with many intermediate peaks ( and 15). This is the typical Berkshire type (p. 51).There is a mixture of the sedimentary and the crystalline. FIG. 15. A short ridge showing the Berkshire type,western Massachusetts. The Mountains of (he State 55 habits. Thus, in general, the mountains extend in ridgesthat run parallel to the lines of folding (usually aboutnorth and south in New England and New Jersey); butthe ridges cannot be followed for a great distance. Thedifference between the Appalachian and Berkshire typesof mountains is quite like the difference between the well-developed ocean swell and the deep, wind-broken wavesof the billowy sea. The Taconic series includes mountains of varyingheight, some nearly as lofty and rugged as the Adiron-dacks. These are well illustrated in the Hoosac Mountainsof western Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Ver-mont. In other parts the ridges are low hills, like thosein the southern part of Connecticut and in the neighbor-hood of New York City. These latter, though in the formof low, well-rounded hills, are as typical mountains, in ageograph
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