Latitude:                             40° 25' 29"N

Longitude:                          79° 59' 24"W

Quadrangle:                        Pittsburgh East 7 1/2'

Age:            

Formation(s):

Purpose:                            This site provides a good view of the east side of Pittsburgh.

Easy pull-off and overlook. Parking available for motor coach. Recommended for all age groups.

(Make sure you get an up-to-date PAT Transit schedule:

From Oakland, take any bus to downtown Pittsburgh. Then take 46A (Sunday only) or the Arlington T.  Return.

From the Cathedral of Learning, Drive 1.2 mi. west on Fifth Avenue. Make a left onto the Brady Street Bridge and cross to East Carson Street. Make a right onto East Carson Street. Go 1.6 miles and then make a very sharp left at the light. Follow this road for 0.8 miles, crossing under the Liberty Bridge, and up Arlington Avenue. Pull off on left side of road at overlook.

See map and figures.

From this site, you will look directly across the Monongahela River to Duquesne University that sits on "The Bluff." The bluff is underlain by the resistant Morgantown sandstone that is exposed along the Boulevard of the Allies. If you get a chance to drive along the Boulevard, take a look at the sandstone as you go past. The process of weathering has enhanced the cross-bedding within the sandstone and it stands out sharply. The hill on which Duquesne University is located was originally known as Ayers Hill. It was here that the British originally proposed building a fort in the late 1700s, but the Point area won out, despite it being flood prone.

Looking down and to the east, you will see the Southside flats, which are underlain by river gravels and glacial sands and gravels. Look to the west and you will see The Point where the Monongahela River joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River.  (see site PGHBW 4-3).

The name of the Monongahela River comes from the Indian word Menaun-gehilla meaning "river with the sliding banks" or "high banks which break off and fall down." As you look down at "the Mon" you will see that the Army Corps of Engineers have remedied the problem of the sliding banks by building a seawall along the length of the river.

Geologic History: Environment of Deposition:

See Site PGHBW 4-3 for summary of the Pittsburgh rivers and their history.

Click on the thumbnails below for pictures of the outcrops:

The view from the overlook.

A close-up showing the Morgantown sandstone outcropping below Duquesne University

A view to the west toward downtown Pittsburgh and The Point where the Monongahela River joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River.

A view to the east showing the Southside flats, an area underlain by river and glacial sands and gravels.

No fossils here.

Alberts, R. C., 1980, The Shaping of the Point: University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 247 p.

Cowin, V. L., 1985, Pittsburgh Archeological Resources and National Register Survey, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 507 p.

Ferrick-Roman, K., July 29, 2001, Islands of the Ohio, The Times Sunday, The Times/BeaverNewspapers, Inc., Beaver, PA.

Harper, J., 1997, Of Ice and Waters Flowing: The Formation of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers: Pennsylvania Geology, v. 28, p. 2-8.

Hunter, W. A, 1960, Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier, 1753-1758: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Leverett, F., 1934, Glacial deposits outside the Wisconsin terminal moraine in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4^th Series, General Geology Report 7, 123 p.

Lorent, S., 1980, Pittsburgh, The Story of an American City: Third edition, Authors Edition, Inc., Lenox, MA, 670 p.

Kussart, S., 1938, The Allegheny River. Pittsburgh: Allegheny River Improvemetn Association, 1938.

Roberts, P. ed., 1996, Points in Time: Building a Life in Western Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 124 p.

Stotz, C. M., 1985, Outposts of the War for Empire, The French and English in Western Pennsylvania: Their Armies, Their Forts, Their People, 1749-1764: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 203 p.

Schafer, J., and Sanja, M., 1992, The Allegheny River: Watershed of the Nation, The Pennsylvania State University Press, Unversity Park, Pennsylvania, 304 p.

Stryker, R., and Seidenberg, M. eds., 1959, A Pittsburgh Album, 1758-1958, Two Hundred Years of Memories in Pictures and Text: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, 95 p.

Wagner, W. R., Craft, J. L., Heyman, L., and Harper, J. A., 1975, Greater Pittsburgh Region Geologic Map and Cross Sections, Pennsylvania Geological Survey Map 42.

Wagner, W. R., Heyman, L., Gray, R. E., and others, 1970, Geology of Pittsburgh Area: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4^th Series, General Geology Report 59, 145 p.

Click here for  an image of the County Geologic Map (1880)