Limestone was used to build locks, aqueducts, and other features throughout New York State's canal system both because of its availability and its durability. This limestone block was a capstone from the Schoharie Aqueduct.
Local limestone formed under a sea that covered much of New York State over 450 million years ago. The remains of marine animals became shell-rich sediment on the sea floor. During a process called cementation, the mineral calcite formed crystals in the spaces between the loose sediment grains, "gluing" them together to create the limestone.
The stone before you was a capstone over one of the arches in the aqueduct. It was retrieved from Schoharie Creek.
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Lake Iroquois about 12,000 years ago
Around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, melting ice created Lake Iroquois, a predecessor to Lake Ontario. The lake's water flowed eastward in a great deluge, carving out the Mohawk Valley and exposing layers of limestone, making it available for later use on the canal.
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