The relative height of this chain illustrates the peculiar position of the whole system. These ele vations demonstrate that the plain on which the chain extends rises gradually from tide water in the Hudson, to the sources of New River, or the highest constituent of the Great Kenhawa.
Above Tide.
Delaware below the influx of the Lehigh at Easton, 160 Schuylkill at Reading, 178 Susquehannah, below the influx of Swatara, 276 Potomac at Harper's Ferry, 9.82 James River, below the union of its two main Forks, and at the passage of the Blue Ridge, 670 Roanoke at the passage of the Blue Ridge, 1000 Base of Blue Ridge at the sources of Yadkin ' and New River, 2000 The mean height of this chain falls short of one thousand feet, if taken from its base, and does not amount to two thousand if estimated from tide water. It usually stretches in one, two or three sharp ridges, clothed with timber to the summit. There has no vestige of any volcanic eruption been discovered and made public in this or any other Appalachian chain.
The few peaks in the Blue Ridge arc composed of rocks piled on each other, and when examined, appear the remains of masses of much greater mag nitude. The Peaks of Otter in the northern part of Bedford county, Virginia, N. Lat. 37° 23', and between James and Roanoke rivers, are the highest points in the Blue Ridge, and of the whole system south-west from the Delaware, and they are only 4250 feet above the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
The great difference of elevation, however, be tween its two hounding plains, is more remarkable in the Blue Ridge than in similar phenomena of any other chain of the Appalachian system. The sub joined Tables of elevations along both plains or valleys, will illustrate the preceding remarks.
Tables III. and IV. are in great part constructed from elements procured from actual admeasure ment, and will serve to exhibit the great elevations and depressions of, perhaps, the most remarkable mountain valley, not only in the United States hut on the earth. Before, however, proceeding to close the description of the intervening valley, we shall proceed to trace the succeeding chain to the Blue Ridge, the Kittatinny.
One of the greatest difficulties in classifying the Appalachian chains, is the want of general names; a deficiency arising from another disgraceful want, a scientific survey of the whole system. Such a survey, would, it is probable, connect the Shawan gunk ridge with those to the eastward of the Hud son. To the westward of that stream, in the lower part of Ulster county, New York, and between the Rondout creek and Wallkill, or rather between Rondout and Shawangunk creeks, ridges of moun tains are found rising, and ranging thence south westward towards the Deliware. These ridges
are the commencement to the south-west of the Hudson of the Katautin Chunk, or, as we have corrupted the Indian term, the Kittatinny chain.
Extending about 40 miles between the Shawangunk and Nevesink rivers, the Kittatinny is reached by Delaware river, at the extreme northern angle of New Jersey, and at the mouth of Nevesink. From this point the mountain chain deflects the Dela ware, and the river and mountain stretch nearly parallel to each other, south-westwardly 56 miles, to the Delaware Water Gap. Here the river as sumes a southern course and traverses the moun tain; whilst the latter again rising and inclining a little more to the westward, stretches 28 miles to where it is traversed by the Schuylkill, above the village of Hamburg. Inclining so much more to the westward as to lie nearly S. W. by \V., the Kit tatinny extends SO miles from the Schuylkill Water lip to where it is pierced by the Swatara. Be tween the latter point i,nd the Susquehannah, five miles above the borough of Harrisburgh, in a dis tance of about 22 miles, the direction of the chain is something W. of S.W., and pierced by several small confluents of Swatara, it is there broken into successive ridges.
Beyond the Susquehannah, the Kittatinny again rises, and extending first nearly west between the confluents of Conedogwinet and Shareman rivers; thence broken into ridges bounding on the west ward the valley of the Conecocheague, the chain gradually curves to the southward and reaches the Potomac, extending very little west of south. Rising again beyond the Potomac, between the Opequan and Back creeks, it assumes a very near parallelism with the Blue Ridge, is passed by the North Fork of Shenandoah, and extends thence between the two main branches of that river. Though scarcely appearing on our maps, the chain of Kittatinny remains continuous over Rocking ham, Augusta and Rockbridge counties of Virgi nia into Botetourt, to where it is traversed by James river below the mouth of Craig's creek. Still faintly represented, the chain stretches along the higher sources of James and Roanoke rivers to the centre of Montgomery near Christiansburg, where it merges from the Atlantic slope into the valley of Ohio, by entering the sub-valley of New river or Upper Kenhawa.