it ranges between 35 and 45 inches, being least in the northwest.
Geology. There are two areas of Archæan rocks, which probably represent the portions of the State that rose above the pre-Cambrian ocean. These are the Adirondack region of the north and the Highlands of the extreme south. Both consist of very ancient crystalline and metamorphic rocks, granites, gneisses, etc., with intruded basic rocks forming the central or Mount Marcy group of the Adirondacks. The northern Archæan area is flanked on the north by outcrops of Potsdam sandstone of the Cambrian Age, and again on all sides by a narrow band of Trenton limestone, while a tongue of Lower Cambrian extends from the southern end of Lake Champlain toward the Hudson Valley. In the early Silurian Age a great upheaval connected the Adirondacks with the Highlands and raised above sea-level the regions bordering these on the west. That portion now appears as Lower Silurian slates and limestones, running in a great curve from Lake Ontario toward Lake George, and thence south and southwestward into the Kittatinny Valley of New Jersey. On this formation the Upper Silurian rests unconformably and crops out along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The rest of the State, including the entire southwestern and south-central portion as far east as the Hudson Valley, remained submerged until the close of the Devonian Age, when, in the early Carboniferous Age, it was raised by the great Appalachian upheaval. This portion is now covered by rocks of the Devonian system, forming the great western plateau, which is terminated by the abrupt escarpment formed by the Helderberg limestone. The eastern portion of the plateau is more folded and upturned than the western, and is capped by harder sandstone, whence it remains at a higher level as the Catskill Mountains. The Upper Devonian may have been overlain by a light Carboniferous stratum; but if so, the latter has been entirely worn away, and the State contains no rocks later than the Upper Devonian, with the exception of a small area of Triassic and Cretaceous strata in the southeastern part. Glacial action has been very effective in shaping the present topography of New York, by the formation of lakes, the changing of river courses, the scooping out of some valleys and filling in of others, and the deposition of moraine materials, these materials covering the older rock-formations in an irregular sheet from a few inches to several hundred feet in thickness, and constituting the principal soil of the State.
Mineral Resources. The coal measures, which are so extensively developed south of the boundary, are not represented in this State. There are valuable clay deposits in the lowlands around the lakes and river valleys, formed by the deposits from the larger lakes which covered those regions in Pleistocene times. The granites of the Archæan regions, the limestones of the Trenton and Niagara formations in the northwest, and the Potsdam and Catskill sandstones, especially those layers of the Hamilton group known as the Hudson River bluestone, form valuable sources of building stone. The principal metallic ore is iron, which occurs in extensive beds of magnetite and hematite in the crystalline rocks of the Adirondacks. Interbedded with the shales of the Upper Silurian strata south of Lake Ontario are extensive deposits of rock salt from 15 to 150 feet thick, while other minerals are found in smaller quantities in various parts of the State.
Mining. New York has no coal mines, and is in this respect in marked contrast with the sister Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The State ranks high in the stone-quarrying industry. All the more important varieties of stone, as well as industrial clays, are worked. The output of limestone in 1900 was valued at $1,730,162, the largest for any year in the decade 1890-1900. The sandstone for the same year (nearly two-thirds being bluestone) was valued at $1,467,496—also the largest value attained from 1890 to 1900. The annual production of granite and of marble each ranges in value from about $200,000 to $500,000. Slate is of less importance. New York produces over half of the total output of rock cement for the country, the value for 1900 being $2,045,451. Portland cement is also made. The value of the clay products for 1900 was $8,073,769—a little less than in 1890—of which over one-sixth represented pottery, and the remainder brick and tile. New York is the largest salt-producing State, the value of the product being over one-third that for the entire country. Prior to 1893 New York was exceeded by Michigan in the salt output, but it has regularly held first rank since that year. Since 1898 the annual value has been more than $2,000,000. The yield of the different kinds of iron ore in 1900 was: red hematite, 44,467 long tons; brown hematite, 44,891; magnetite, 345,714; and carbonate, 6413 long tons, the value of the entire product being $1,103,817. Petroleum and natural gas are obtained in the western part of the State. The value of the natural gas yield was greatest in 1890—$552,000. The highest subsequent figure was that for 1900—$363,367. Only one State, Wisconsin, exceeds New York in the value of its mineral waters, the total receipts being $929,038, from 44 springs reporting in 1900.
Fisheries. The fishery industries, like those of most of the Middle Atlantic coast States, have greatly declined in value of late. Its vessel fisheries, however, show an increase. In 1898 there were 9185 persons engaged in the industries, as against 12,246 in 1891. The value of the catch for the same year was $3,545,189, showing a decline of nearly 30 per cent. since 1891, although the amount of the catch increased during the same period. Suffolk County, on Long Island, is the foremost county in the State in fisheries. The oyster represents more than one-half of the total value. Next come menhaden, bluefish, and clams. In the counties bordering on the Hudson the fisheries are of minor importance. The chief species here are shad and alewives. The lake fisheries of New York are also of some importance. The menhaden industry has been considerably consolidated in late years. Its product in 1898 was $405,488. The value of the canned fish amounted in 1900 to $197,869. See the bibliography under the article Fisheries.
Agriculture. For a long time New York was the first State in agricultural importance, and as late as 1890 was surpassed by Illinois alone in the value of farm products. In 1900, although these products had increased 51 per cent. in the decade ending with that year, the amount was
