Example of a steam-powered “teeter-totter” or “walking-beam” drill rig used in the middle to late 19th Century 

to drill through as much as 400 feet of unconsolidated sediments to obtain concentrated brine from the deep valley-fill 

deposits along the southern shore of Onondaga Lake, New York. (Courtesy of the Onondaga County Salt Museum.)

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5007

February 2005

Hydrogeology of the Valley-Fill Aquifer in the Onondaga Trough, 

Onondaga County, New York 

Continuing efforts to improve water quality in Onondaga Lake, New York and its 

tributaries require an understanding of how the natural, brine-filled aquifer in the Onondaga 

Trough (valley) affects the freshwater in Onondaga Lake. The city of Syracuse, locally 

known as “The Salt City,” was built around the salt springs, which issued from a valley-fill 

aquifer that contains a highly concentrated brine (up to six times as salty as sea water), but 

little is known about the source of the brine, its movement within the glacial sediments that 

partly fill the Onondaga Trough, and the interaction of the aquifer and the lake. This report 

summarizes initial data-collection and analysis efforts in the 25-mile long Onondaga Trough 

that extends from near Tully, N.Y., to the outlet of Onondaga Lake and presents results 

of some initial chemical and geographic analyses that will lead to the development of a 

mathematical ground-water-flow model of the valley-fill aquifer. 

Introduction

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Onondaga Lake Clean-up 

Corporation and Onondaga Lake Partnership, is currently (2005) developing a ground-waterflow model of the unconsolidated deposits (valley-fill aquifer) in the Onondaga Trough 

to determine the direction and rate of flow of brine in the aquifer and its interaction with 

Onondaga Lake. The purpose of this report is to describe the geologic and water-quality data 

that are being used to develop conceptual and mathematical models of the aquifer. 

Geologic Data Collection — The primary source of geologic data are logs of test holes 

drilled at construction sites throughout the valley for buildings, roads, bridges, public 

utilities, and other projects. Many of these projects are concentrated in the urban area of 

Syracuse and along major highways. Test holes outside Syracuse are scant and the data 

are generally less detailed because only limited geologic data are required for most smallscale construction in rural areas. Test-hole logs (descriptions of materials penetrated) 

provide data on stratigraphy (layering of the glacial sediment), soil properties (permeability, 

compactness, texture, and color), and ground-water levels encountered during drilling. Test 

holes can be drilled into unconsolidated material only or they may penetrate into bedrock. 

In cooperation with the Onondaga Lake Cleanup Corporation and the Onondaga Lake Partnership

By William M. Kappel and Todd S. Miller
Most of the test-hole logs used in this study were provided by the New York 

State Department of Transportation, especially those from the Interstate corridors 

(I-81, I-90, I-481, and I-690) and the many road- and bridge-construction 

projects throughout the study area. Additional logs of local projects (public 

buildings, utility corridors, and road construction) were provided by the city 

of Syracuse and Onondaga County, and private construction projects (large 

buildings, office complexes, and malls) provided others. 

 Supplemental information in rural areas was obtained from hydrogeologic 

data obtained from local ground-water studies and from a statewide, wellregistration program established in 2000 by the New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Additional stratigraphic data for the 

valley-fill deposits were obtained from 12 deep test holes drilled for the USGS 

between 2002 and 2004.

Geologic Data Analysis — A bedrock geologic section along the thalweg 

(deepest part) of the valley was developed to depict the general southward dip 

of the bedrock (40 to 50 feet per mile) and the approximate location of these 

bedrock units along and beneath the valley walls and floor. 

Geologic sections of unconsolidated materials were drawn across the 

Onondaga Valley, or a major tributary valley, where the available information 

was sufficient for geologic interpretation. A total of 17 geologic sections 

between the outlet of Onondaga Lake and the moraine at Tully, were drawn. 

These sections depict the configuration of the bedrock surface below the 

valley floor, as well as the layering within the unconsolidated deposits above 

the bedrock. Stratigraphic details are omitted where data were unavailable 

within part of a geologic section, and in these cases, the bedrock profile is 

approximated.

 A longitudinal geologic section of the Onondaga Trough was drawn using six 

geologic sections that incorporates data from and between these sections into an 

approximation of the unconsolidated deposits along the thalweg of the valley. 

Geographic Analysis of Data — The development of the ground-water-flow 

model of the Onondaga valley-fill aquifer will require the compilation and 

display of large amounts of data, such as a digital-elevation model (DEM) of 

land-surface elevation, depth to bedrock from test holes drilled throughout the 

valley, water-table elevations, and type and thickness of unconsolidated deposits. 

These data are managed through a geographic information system (GIS). Data 

analyzed in this GIS will be used during development and calibration of the 

ground-water-flow model.

Brine Analysis – The quality of brine was determined through analysis of 

water collected from test holes drilled for the USGS in 2002 and 2003. These 

data were needed to measure brine concentrations throughout the valley-fill 

aquifer and determine the origin of the brine. These data are to be incorporated 

into the hydrogeologic framework of the regional ground-water-flow model that 

is to represent the valley-fill aquifer in the Onondaga Trough.

Figure 1. Oblique view of the land surface in and around the Onondaga 

Trough, as viewed from the southeast, looking northwest. 

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Figure 2. Oblique view of the bedrock surface in the Onondaga Trough, as viewed from 

the southeast, looking northwest. Data were obtained by subtracting test-hole elevation 

data from the 10-meter digital-elevation model of the land surface. Not enough data are 

available outside the Onondaga Trough for reliable interpretation of the bedrock surface 

in the upland areas or in adjacent valleys.

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GIS- Based Assessment of the Onondaga Trough 

 Two initial products of the geographic 

information system (GIS) analysis are shaded-relief 

maps of (1) the land surface in the Syracuse area 

(fig. 1) and (2) the underlying bedrock surface 

(fig. 2) in the Onondaga Trough. The bedrocksurface map was generated by interpolating 

elevation data from test-hole logs and other data 

sources, and subtracting these values from the 

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) land-surfaceelevation value at each well location. The resulting 

dataset is to be directly applied to the groundwater-flow model to generate mathematical grids 

of the bedrock surface that will establish the 

hydrogeologic framework for model simulation.

The shaded-relief map in figure 1 was developed 

from the USGS 10-meter DEM of land-surface 

elevations. The elevation data were derived from 

various sources, including topographic maps and 

recent air and satellite imagery. The image for 

figure 1 was then rotated to provide an oblique 

view of the Onondaga Trough (as if the viewer 

were flying northwestward toward Syracuse from 

the southeast). The upland area to the south (in the 

white to brown shades) is the northern extent of 

the Appalachian Plateau. The dark green to light 

green colors indicate land-surface elevations that 

slope down to the Lake Ontario Plain — the plain is 

shown as the light blue area on the northern end of 

the image. The darker blue is Onondaga Lake.

 The bedrock floor of the Onondaga Trough is 

depicted in figure 2 as if all the glacial sediments 

have been removed from the valley. Bedrockelevation data from the upland areas surrounding 

the Onondaga Creek, Otisco Lake, and Butternut 

Creek Valleys are insufficient to provide a reliable 

image of the surrounding bedrock surface on this 

map; therefore, the land outside the Onondaga 

Trough represents surface elevation, not bedrock 

elevation. 

Figure 3. Onondaga Trough projected as a plan or 

“birds-eye” view.

Onondaga

Lake

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Figure 4. Elevation contours of the Onondaga Trough.

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 A “birds-eye-view” of the bedrock-surface map shown in figure 2 is given in 

figure 3, and a contoured representation of the bedrock surface of the Onondaga 

Trough is shown in figure 4. Small, circular depressions and hills, mostly outside 

the main valley are shown in figure 3. These features reflect individual bedrock 

(well) elevations so widely scattered that the GIS process could not accurately link 

them to draw a representative bedrock surface in those areas.

 The bedrock-surface elevations depicted in figure 4 range from mean sea level 

[National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29)] in the deepest part of this 

bedrock valley to greater than 550 feet on the hillsides to the south. The bedrock 

reaches elevations greater than 1,400 feet along ridge tops on either side of the 

valley, but upland features are not depicted on this map. 

 The lowest part of the bedrock valley is under the southern end of Onondaga 

Lake and the city of Syracuse. The bedrock floor of the valley rises southward, to 

and south of the Tully Moraine, and continues to gradually rise further to the south. 

The bedrock floor also rises to the north under Onondaga Lake. The thickness of 

unconsolidated valley-fill deposits along the thalweg of the Onondaga Trough, from 

Onondaga Lake to the Tully Moraine, averages 420 feet, but near the Tully Moraine 

it exceeds 800 feet (Kappel and Miller, 2003).

Figure 5. Geologic section along the thalweg of the Onondaga trough valley from the Tully Moraine to the Onondaga Lake outlet showing the generalized bedrock stratigraphic sequence.

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Bedrock Stratigraphy

The geologic section of bedrock units along and beneath the Onondaga Trough 

from Tully to the Onondaga Lake outlet (fig. 5) depicts the approximate bedrocksurface altitude along the thalweg of the Onondaga Trough, the thickness and 

surface topography of unconsolidated deposits in the valley, the ridgeline profile 

of the western Onondaga Trough hillside, and the approximate location of bedrock 

units along the section. The gentle southward dip of the bedrock units, and the 

southward thickening of the halite beds within the Syracuse Shale is shown 

graphically, although thin shale beds within the halite unit cannot be shown at the 

scale of the section.

 Bedrock units in central New York are aligned as east-west trending bands. 

These units dip gently to the south at the rate of 40 to 50 feet per mile. The older 

(Silurian aged) units underlie the lowlands north of Syracuse, whereas the younger 

(Devonian aged) units form the hills in the southern part of Onondaga County 

(fig. 5). The stratigraphic column (fig. 6) summarizes the regional characteristics 

of the bedrock sequence from the Upper Silurian through Middle Devonian time 

period, and includes the group and formation names, the lithology, and relative 

thicknesses of the bedrock units, from the Silurian Lockport Dolomite through the 

middle Devonian Tully Limestone.

Unconsolidated Stratigraphy

Geologic sections along and across the Onondaga Trough and some tributary 

valleys (fig. 7 and sections A-A’ through Q-Q’) were constructed from hundreds 

of test holes drilled in the greater Syracuse area. These sections were assembled 

from data sources that span more than 50 years of varied drilling techniques and 

sediment interpretations. Therefore, these test-hole logs have been modified, 

and many have been simplified, to conform to the New York State Geological 

Survey’s lithologic characterization of glacial sediments (Pair, 1998a and b). 

The stratigraphic units and colors used in these geologic sections follow the 

nomenclature of the South Onondaga and Otisco Valley quadrangle surficialgeology maps produced through the Statemap program by Pair (1998a and b). 

Where possible, modifiers have been added to the lithostratigraphic unit names to 

indicate their association with a specific landform.

 The longitudinal geologic section of unconsolidated sediments along the 

Onondaga Trough from Tully to the Onondaga Lake outlet is shown in figure 

7. This section depicts the layering of sediments deposited generally from south 

to north during the recession of the glacial ice mass from this part of New York 

(from 12,000 to 14,000 years ago). This period of recession included pauses and 

brief readvances of the ice margin in the Onondaga Trough. Interpretation of the 

geologic data used to create this section during the glacial recession was aided by 

discussions with Allan Randall (USGS-retired) and Dr. Donald Pair (University of 

Dayton) who were instrumental in the presentation given in figure 7.

Figure 6. Stratigraphic column of bedrock below and surrounding the Onondaga Trough.

STRATIGRAPHIC COLUMN OF BEDROCK

UNITS IN THE ONONDAGA TROUGH

LOCKPORT

SALINA

HELDERBERG

TRISTATES

LOCKPORT

SYRACUSE

MANLIUS

ORISKANY

ONONDAGA

SILURIAN DEVONIAN

Upper Lower Middle

VERNON

Dolomite, grey

Shale, gypsum - green/red

Shale, halite and trace 

gypsum, black

CAMILLUS

Shale, trace gypsum,

some Dolomite

Oxbow

Forge Hollow

Fiddler s Green

Mostly dolostone with

gypsum layers 

Pools Brook

Jamesville

Clarks Reservation

Elmwood

Olney

Limestone and

dolostone, grey/brown

Sandstone, white

Seneca 

Moorehouse

Nedrow

Edgecliff

Limestone, grey,with 

some cherty layers and

one or more bentonite 

layers

MARCELLUS

Butternut

Pompey

Delphi Station

Mottville

Cardiff

Chittenango

Cherry Valley

Union Springs

SKANEATELES

Black shale and 

limestone

Shale and

siltsone

LUDLOWVILLE

Shale and sandstone

TULLY Limestone

HAMILTON

MOSCOW 

FORMATION

Member LITHOLOGY

Windom

Portland Point ls.

Owasco

Spafford

Ivy Point

Otisco

Centerfield ls.

Shale and limestone

RONDOUT

 Chrysler

COBLESKILL Limestone

Dolostone

GROUP

THICKNESS

180

30

10

1-3

25

50-60

160-180

30

100-200

 60

100

 45

185-200

100

 3

 13-15

0-5

 5

16

15

12

40

50

25

 9

55

30

BERTIE

Brower, J.C., and others, 1978 Ciurca, S.J., 1978; Hanson Aggregates, 1999; Allied Chemical Corporation, 1964

27

24

14

12

Oliver, W.A., 1954

250

275

C&S Engrs.1992

500-600

120-140

Winkley,

S.J., 1989

Age, in

millions of 

years

374

387

408

421

(FEET)

PERIOD

REFERENCE

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Figure 7. Geologic section along the thalweg of the Onondaga Trough from the Tully Moraine to the Onondaga Lake outlet, showing the generalized layering of 

unconsolidated sediment in the valley-fill deposits. (Explanation of units shown with geologic section A-A’ through Q-Q’, see page 8.)

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-7-
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Vertical Exaggeration 10x -- all sections

Datum is NGVD 29

Lacustrine silt

and clay

Fluvial silt, sand,

and gravel

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(od) outwash delta

(fd) fluvio-delta

fsg Ice contact 

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 bedrock deposits) co Till

EXPLANATION

Artifical

fill pm Peat af

Marl & mo Organics

w Water

 Shale

Bedrock

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Scy - Camillus/Syracuse

Sv - Vernon

Contact between geologic 

units, dashed where approximate

SEDIMENT TYPE

BEDROCK TYPE

GLACIAL LITHLOGY AND LANDFORM TYPE

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sand and/or gravel sf

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aluvial deposits)

al

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sand and/or gravel ld

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sand/silt lss

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sand

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West Branch ValleyFigure 7 only

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Don - Onondaga

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Clay and silt

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-8-
Source of the Brine 

 The brine found in the Onondaga valley-fill aquifer could be derived from either 

(1) the dissolution of local halite (rock salt) beds found in the Syracuse Shale south 

of the city, or (2) from deeper bedrock formations below the Lockport Dolomite 

(figs. 5 and 6) in the Appalachian Basin of New York, Pennsylvania, and eastern 

Ohio. Water-quality samples were taken from test holes drilled for the USGS to the 

base of the Onondaga Trough (approximately 420 feet deep) to determine the source 

of the brine. The brine samples were tested for major ion concentrations as well as 

stable isotope concentrations. Results of these analyses were consistent with salinity 

from rock salt (dissolution of local halite beds) rather than salinity contributed by 

(regional) Appalachian Basin formation waters (Baldauf, 2003). This finding is 

encouraging because brine derived from halite dissolution contains mainly sodium 

chloride with minor amounts of heavy metals, whereas deep-basin brines have high 

concentrations of metals that could impair water quality in the lake.

A plot of chloride concentration as a function of sodium concentration in brine 

samples from different sources in the Onondaga Trough is shown in figure 8. These 

sources are artesian-pressured springs and mudboils in the southern end of the valley 

(Kappel, 1996), and 19th century data from brine springs and deep brine wells near 

Onondaga Lake, which are compared with average seawater and a composite of 

Appalachian Basin brine samples (Siegel and others, 1990). All samples except the 

Appalachian Basin brine fall along the halite-dissolution line, supporting the thesis 

that the Onondaga Trough brine is not from an Appalachian Basin source (Baldauf, 

2003). A plot of bromide concentration as a function of chloride concentration in 

samples from deep USGS wells and Appalachian Basin brine (fig. 9) indicates that 

the Appalachian brine is typically enriched with bromide, whereas the Onondaga 

Trough brine contains negligible bromide concentrations.

Figure 9. Bromide concentration as a function of chloride concentration in brine from 

U.S. Geological Survey test holes installed in the Onondaga Valley during the summer 

of 2002 (Data from Baldauf, 2003, fig. 19).

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Figure 8. Chloride concentration as a function of sodium concentration in brine from 

historic and current Onondaga Valley datasets. (Data from Baldauf, 2003, fig. 14).

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-9-
 A plot of strontium concentration as a function of calcium concentration 

in USGS well samples (fig. 10) shows the trend line for the Onondaga Trough 

samples to be slightly steeper than the trend line for Appalachian Basin 

samples, further differentiating the two sources of the brine. A plot of the 

isotopic content of deuterium (D) as a function of oxygen-18 (18O) in brine 

samples from Onondaga Trough wells and Appalachian Basin brine is given 

in figure 11. The “light” isotope values from the Onondaga Trough wells 

cluster around the “local” meteoric water line that represents recharge water 

from local (recent) sources, the “heavier” isotopic signal represents deeper, 

older, and more distant Appalachian Basin water. 

Figure 10. Strontium concentration as a function of calcium concentration of 

unconsolidated-sediment matrix water from U.S. Geological Survey test holes 

drilled in the Onondaga valley during the summer of 2002 (Data from Baldauf, 

2003, fig. 18).

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Figure 11. Deuterium (D) and Oxygen-18 (18O) content of brine samples collected 

from U.S. Geological Survey test holes during the summer of 2002. (Data from 

Baldauf, 2003, fig. 21, Syracuse area meteoric water line developed by Dr. Henry 

Mullins, Syracuse University).

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-10-
Brine Concentrations in the Onondaga Valley-Fill Aquifer 

 Preliminary analysis of water samples collected from deep wells 

throughout the Onondaga valley-fill aquifer indicate that the brine tends 

to increase in concentration toward the northern end of the aquifer near 

Onondaga Lake. At present, brine concentrations are highest near the outlet 

of the lake and in the lower sections of the Ninemile Creek tributary valley 

(fig. 12), rather than in the deepest part of the aquifer beneath and south of 

the southern end of the lake (fig. 4), where the densest (heaviest) brine would 

normally settle.

 Historical records of brine concentrations from wells drilled for the 

production of salt during the mid-19th century indicate that, when the 

deepest wells were drilled, the most-concentrated brine was about 80-percent 

saturated (Kappel, 2000), or about six times as salty as seawater. This brine 

would yield about 2.0 pounds of salt from every gallon of brine withdrawn 

from the aquifer. After 5-6 decades of pumping, the concentrations had 

decreased to about 60-percent saturation — about four times as salty as 

seawater (Kappel, 2000) or about 1.5 pounds of salt per gallon of brine. 

Because these wells were located near the southern end of the lake, the lower 

brine concentrations seen today in deep wells in this area (Lake Inlet and 

Spencer St. wells, fig. 12) may indicate that the most concentrated brines had 

been extracted from the aquifer by the end of the 19th century. The higher 

concentrations seen today (2004) near the lake outlet and near the outlet 

of the Ninemile Creek valley may be remnant concentrations of brine still 

trapped within this part of the aquifer. 

 Ground water along the Seneca River upstream of the lake outlet in 2003 

was fresh (having low dissolved-solids concentrations), as indicated by 

samples from a test well drilled at the Baldwinsville wastewater-treatment 

plant (WWTP), where depth to bedrock was only 46 feet. A similar test well 

was drilled along the Seneca River at the Wetzel Road WWTP (fig. 12), 

downstream from the lake outlet. Depth to bedrock at this location was 104 

feet, and the water was brine. This difference in water quality is attributed to 

(1) the configuration of the Seneca River channel – shallow bedrock upstream 

from the lake outlet and deeper bedrock downstream; (2) the northward 

direction of flow in the river – from Baldwinsville toward Wetzel Road, and 

(3) the presence of strong brine in the lake outlet area that naturally flowed 

into the deeper part of the Seneca River bedrock valley. The salty water that 

is found in the bedrock further north, near Lake Ontario, is assumed to be a 

deep-basin brine flowing slowly northward through the Vernon Shale, the 

Lockport Dolomite, and deeper bedrock units (Kantrowitz, 1970).

Figure 12. Locations of test holes drilled to bedrock in the Onondaga, Ninemile Creek, 

and Seneca River valleys in 2002-03 and the results of salinity analyses, as expressed in 

seawater-equivalent values. 

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-11-
 Two wells were drilled offshore in Onondaga Lake during the 

summer of 2003 (Parkway and West Trail sites) as part of this 

study. These wells were drilled nearly 400 feet from shore and 

penetrated more than 100 feet of unconsolidated sediment before 

entering the Vernon Shale. The water in each well was about 2.5 

times as salty as seawater, even at these shallow depths in the 

valley-fill aquifer. 

A test hole was drilled 189 feet to reach bedrock in the Ninemile 

Creek tributary valley, just downstream from the village of 

Camillus. Water from the bedrock was saline (70 percent as salty as 

sea water), and the source of the salty water was probably ground 

water flowing up dip (northward) through bedding-plane fractures 

in the Vernon Shale. A test hole drilled within a calcium-chloriderich industrial wastebed area, close to Onondaga Lake, penetrated 

bedrock at 135 feet and the water was a concentrated brine. The 

source of this water was probably remnant valley-fill aquifer brine 

that was unaffected by the pumping of brine at the southern end of 

the lake during the middle-to-late 1800’s.

 Salinity in the southern part of the Onondaga Trough (the Tully 

Valley) is variable. Water at the Tully Moraine is fresh, at a depth 

of 730 feet below land surface. Whereas further north, the water 

ranges from fresh to nearly brackish (about 20 percent as salty as 

seawater) in flowing wells and in springs that discharge on the 

valley floor in and around the Tully Valley mudboil area (fig. 12). 

Springs along the western flank of the valley that discharge within 

four landslide areas north of the mudboil area, range from fresh to 

saline. A 380-foot-deep domestic well along the valley floor in this 

area discharges saline water, whereas just to the north, a 420-foot 

deep test well (Apple Festival, fig. 12) and some 250-foot-deep 

domestic wells arrayed across the valley floor discharge water that 

is generally fresh. All of these wells are artesian-pressured, having 

hydraulic heads (water levels) tens of feet above land surface. Finegrained sediments most likely confine the valley-fill aquifer in this 

part of the valley, causing artesian pressures and limiting the flow 

of ground water northward into the northern part of the valley-fill 

aquifer. Brackish to saline water discharging from springs and wells 

in the Tully Valley enters Onondaga Creek, but this water is diluted 

by the volume of freshwater flowing in the creek.

Summary

Efforts to improve water quality in Onondaga Lake, 

N.Y. and its tributaries require an understanding of how the 

natural, brine-filled aquifer in the Onondaga Trough affects 

the freshwater in Onondaga Lake. Little was known about 

the source of the brine, its movement within the glacial 

sediments (valley-fill aquifer) that partly fill the Onondaga 

Trough, and the interaction of the aquifer and the lake. Initial 

data-collection and analysis efforts by the U.S. Geological 

Survey in the 25-mile long Onondaga Trough indicate that 

(1) the trough is deepest near the city of Syracuse and under 

the southern end of Onondaga Lake, (2) the brine was formed 

naturally by the dissolution of halite deposits in the bedrock 

which lie to the south of Syracuse, and (3) the concentration 

of the brine is highest under the central and northern part of 

the valley-fill aquifer. All of the geologic and water-quality 

data collected to date will be used in the development of a 

mathematical model of ground-water flow in the valley-fill 

aquifer that will assist others to improve water quality in 

Onondaga Lake. 

-12-
Selected References

Allied Chemical Corporation, Solvay Process Division, 1964, Brine section-brine 

supply Tully [bedrock] Stratigraphy: Syracuse, N.Y., pl. no. 94129-1. 

Baldauf, A.C., 2003, The origin of Onondaga Valley brines — a geochemical 

investigation: Syracuse, N.Y., State University of New York - School of 

Environmental Science and Forestry, M.S. thesis, 61 p., 3 appendixes.

Brower, J.C., Nye, O.B., Jr., Belak, R., and others, 1978, Faunal assemblages in the 

lower Hamilton Group in Onondaga County; in, Merriam, D.F., ed., New York 

State Geological Association Fieldtrip Guidebook: Syracuse, N.Y., p. 104-142.

C&S Engineers Inc., and H&A of New York, 1992, A projection of future geologic 

conditions in the Tully Valley, Onondaga County, New York: Syracuse, N.Y., 

[prepared for Allied Signal. Inc.], 35 p.

Ciurca, S.J., 1978, Eurypterid horizons and stratigraphy of upper Silurian and 

Lower Devonian rocks of central-eastern New York state; in, Merriam, D. F., ed., 

Syracuse, N.Y., New York State Geological Association Fieldtrip Guidebook, 

p. 225-249. 

Hand, B.M., 1978, The Syracuse meltwater channels; in, Merriam, D. F., ed., 

New York State Geological Association Fieldtrip Guidebook: Syracuse, N.Y., 

p. 286-314.

Hanson Aggregates East, Inc., 1999, Generalized geologic columnar section - 

Jamesville Quarry: Jamesville, N.Y., 1 pl.

Kantrowitz, I.H., 1970, Ground-water resources of the eastern Oswego River 

Basin, New York: New York State Conservation Department, Water Resources 

Commission, Basin Planning Report ORB-2, 129 p.

Kappel, W.M., 2000, Salt production in Syracuse, New York (“the salt city”) and 

the hydrogeology of the Onondaga Creek valley: U.S. Geological Survey Fact 

Sheet FS 139-00, 8 p.

Kappel, W.M., and Miller, T.S., 2003, Hydrogeology of the Tully trough: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigation Report 03-4112, 16 p.

Kappel, W.M., Sherwood, D.A., and Johnston, W.H., 1996, Hydrogeology of the 

Tully Valley and characterization of mudboil activity, Onondaga County, New 

York: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4043, 

71 p.

Oliver, W.J., Jr., 1954, Stratigraphy of the Onondaga limestone (Devonian) in 

central New York: Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, v. 65, p. 621-

652.

Pair, D.L., 1998a, The Surficial Geology of Otisco Valley, NY (7.5-minute) 

Quadrangle: United States Geological Survey—New York State Geological 

Survey Map no. 2gk1234, scale 1:24,000. 

Pair, D.L., 1998b, The Surficial Geology of Tully, NY (7.5-minute) Quadrangle: 

United States Geological Survey—New York State Geological Survey Map 

no. 2gk1236, scale 1:24,000.

Siegel, D.I., Szustakowski, R.J., and Frape, Shawn, 1990, Regional appraisal 

of brine chemistry in the Albion Group sandstones (Silurian) of New York, 

Pennsylvania, and Ohio: Association of Petroleum Geochemical Explorationists, 

Bulletin no. 6, p. 66-77.

Winkley, S.J., 1989, The hydrogeology of Onondaga County: Syracuse, N.Y., 

Syracuse University, Department of Geology, M.S. thesis, 171 p.

-13-
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