4 ~ i i i ectetih *
3 a tell
1042 CANADA
tol ; DEPARTMENT OF MINES
4 *) \LOUIS CODERRE, Minister
1 0 + 7 | A, P. LOW, Deputy Minister
oo Abe ae GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
R. W. BROCK, Director
Po. GUIDE BOOK N. . I
Fastern Quebec.
endlihe
Maritime
reese
PART II
ect
OTTAWA
GOVERNMENT PRINTING BUREAU
1913
GUIDE BOOK No. 1
EXCURSION
Eastern Quebec and the
Maritime Provinces
(EXCURSION A 1.)
PART II
ISSUED BY THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
AL. OTTAWA
GOVERNMENT PRINTING BUREAU
1913
35063—IA
211
CONTENTS.
PART sole
The Riversdale-Union group at Truro and in the
type section along the Intercolonial railway east
@LmalbreLI Oe ner ys ie eg ero once renee eee ater cae:
Iniroduction= by, GavA= Y OUNGe = 5-5.) ae
Biblioera plies sores emis ae nsec Spas ee
Character and fauna of the Riversdale and
Union formations. Bya) bydessa. 4...
Annotated guide: Truro to Campbell’s Siding. By
Vio WB TEIN Co le pet We Serer ie etre ar eae ee ee Te eat tee meee
Annotated guide: Campbell’s Siding to New Glas-
OWE aE LD Va Grae Ne OUI tenet cure ey « Goaeeetis teu ne citemeers
The New Glasgow Conglomerate. By G. A. Young
EINCROGUCELOller esi ceae ike ho oe avai ee
Wetatlededescriptione 25 42.0 ei) sl ee
Bilplioginap mye creo g ew eras es Mea tie
Annotated guide: New Glasgow to Sydney. By
GP ACRE O UTA Crees aR rate Nee LIAM ec edi or ich a egy ey on
Sweeny @oaletie ld wm sete mi ue a eet
imecoductiones sy. Gale NOUS see
Note on the flora of the Coal Measures. By
ID aa ANNAN CC\ x patentee) cre nwt rmsd Nest eps
The Carboniferous sections on Sydney harbour.
ESN) esp ra ely eee een a, RR Ae gt
IanO GITCELOT pee Arey metre rasta: oyun cee cae ENS 2
Detailededescrptionss.4. 9.0.0.4. 054.8
The basal division of the Windsor series. .
The fauna of the Windsor series..........
Point Edward Post Office to the Quarantine
Stavionsone oimteske Gwar 9 eo eee
Section of Millstone Grit and Coal Meas-
ures in the vicinity of North Sydney....
LBM ovbKoyeaereljoy Mh ipareane es dosealans rae aonb 2 Supe eaniaatoon FAL San
Annotated guide: Sydney to George River station.
WAG oe Ne COUN Ge ure cry Cahn mec nae Nee ee
CGeorgernaver =. by GuATwOUnge crn ae ae eer
Introd WCtiOneesee mney marae). chorea. One ne
Detatledvdescriptionvws i see tae ee
Bilbliograph yarn rey: rede cies Cai ag yen:
35063—I3A ee
PAGE.
215
215
220
221
222
225
229
229
234
239
240
242
242
250
251
251
254
254
257
259
260
260
262
263
266
266
27ak
276
212.
Annotated guide: George River station to Anti-
gonish. By Gs A. Youngs. 2550.) ae
Arisaig. By W. H. Misono ees. 5
Introduction®: 2°02 2. eo ee
Previous work.-:..... ree MC.
¢'S Table of formations: ::... Dee as REO 3h .5 5.
~' Antigonish to McAra’s ode Sete Pe.
McAra’s brook and the shore section east to
Arisaig pointless eo ee ee ee
Description of the geological sequence..... Jee
The Arisaig faunas and their correlates:
Bibliography se. .2522. 12S) ee eee ;
Annotated guide: Antigonish to Maccan Junction.
By GaAe Youngs. a. Sao Wagh) ones 2 eee
Annotated guide: Maccan Junction to Joggins.
By Gi Ar VOune 3.27 secs. ce ina ee
The Joggins Carboniferous section. By W. A. Bell.
Introduction 444474) 22) se ee ee eee
Physical features... si-20). 215. 2 eee
General geology <<. 24.3 Se alae ee
Historical notes...) 5.2 Ae eee
Detailed description... -\.2- a ese eee
Table of formations: =.—4 >. se-.0 eee
Lower part of section: to Lower cove.......
Middle part of section: Lower cove to Mc-
Carren: brooks o.ccac oer aoe
Upper part of section: McCarren brook
westward... ¢2 40.4. Se ae eee
Joggins fauna: eee ee ee
Joggins floras =. .5..cheoas See eee eee
Industrial notes... 05.20 ee ee eee
Bibliography’. 2.0.9.0. 2S eee ee
Annotated guide: Maccan Junction to Moncton.
By Gr A. Young. 3. eee
Moncton—Albert Mines. By G. A. Young........
Introduction......¢..:..4 5 eee one
Detaileddescription..4.- 2) 4 eee
Moncton to Stony Creek oi! field...........
Stony. Creek oil andigas fieldy eee
Stony Creek oil field to Hillsborough gypsum
QUATTIES «2.052 S. 7s Se ee
PAGE.
213
_ , PAGE
The Hillsborough gypsum deposit By
Jal) el Gree a a tee ee ene ape 0 rant Aa see 363
PNliberta VME Sia ae ae een tse ce aaron eam 365
FM IKO STATON. 2 ances eer ale ae knee, 1 nee 367
Annotated guide: Moncton to St. John. By G. A.
WY CRIT eset Secu iacretate ime ie ale ei eae Re ae rae 368
Sim Onnbandevicinity«9 Diy. Gaye VOUTIC 4. oa 369
Meno CUCtO Mm meen kenya enn ene are garneneee 369
Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian section, St. John
Cie hee aN PAN Ie cman elie 376
SuSpensiompbmGdge. ne bapa evans She an 384
Generalidescripeionmn scree ore 284
ID ectallededescription 4 yy ee tee 387
Suspension bridge to Seaside park (Fern ledges) 389
Remuledges by ManyaCeStopess ees) sae 390
I Bil o) Oyen gay Ont aeatec hese Geel acmee Mig eae RE eR A Rae 395
Annotated guide; St. joka to Grand Falls. By
PANTO UITIOT Oe Ree Suc ck aren rein trad Ah ay Winey F396
Grand Falls, St. John river. By G. A. Young...: - 3099
GRO GIUCUTO My sania ete ee en uci ae 399
Wetrailedidescriptionse ane ee oe 401
Bilolioguapinyiur ta ros er hag Are anon ence, 405
Annotated guide: Grand Falls to Riviére du Loup.
BA Gar Ae OVOUITIOR ee em Sie ew Min eee eek a omnis 405
MBEUSERE ME ONSs DORE AR ile
MAPS.
PAGE
WrtonsRaversdaleney. 3) ssh ee (in pocket)
INewaG lascowrie ws wie ee gee en ere 234
swalney Comlinglel sgecasconestdocccesonues elit jxoe eae)
SHG etree re eee eee een nce ee cm ee ek 250
GeOnue RKP GMOs 564 lees des doa ou solb odo e oe 270
ANGE —AVIMOON ISO GhISEKCEs noon pee sucasescesoces Ke
JENSTNSESNORS 6 ees it es Rae ae eR A eae (in pocket)
Logan’s section of the Carboniferous at Joggins
IMG ES ayer ee ae IGT air ini Bee
IMoncton-AllbentsViines 1.4. ee eee 352
Sem OMnran a wiGintyegce late van wey eee ty casi eae 370
ranceO la Sta OMMNGHEY bic cease itis MN ue as 376
214
PAGE
Suspension bridge, St. John’; -.4-2 24- 4m eee 384
Bern, Ledges... ioc. liys ie iy ate ee ee 390
Grand’ Falls ooo, ad oes ces Dee ee 400
Geological’map of Canada, 554-5 eee (in pocket)
PHOTOGRAPHS.
PAGE.
Coal measures, Sydney, N.S. Looking north from
*“Main seam’ outcrop.-:.5.5.... 0. eee 261
An upright fossil tree. Joggins, N.S. 2-2) 4535. 338
Etcheminian at right, basal quartzite of Cambrian
(centre) and Protolenus bed (left). Seely
street, St.John, N.B. 02. ee 379
Base of Etcheminian unconformably on the Pre-
Cambrian, Park street, St. John, N.B........ 379
Fault between Tetragraptus shale and Acadian,
near Suspension bridge, St. John, N.B....... 388
The.“Fern Ledges, “St. Johny N28). 2s eee 392
215
THE RIVERSDALE-UNION GROUP AT TRURO
AND IN THE TYPE SECTION ALONG THE
INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY EAST OF TRURO.*
INTRODUCTION.
(G. A. Young.)
The interest attached to the Riversdale—Union series
does not lie directly in the structures presented by these
measures nor in the characters of the faunas or floras they
may carry. It arises from the fact that though this series
locally at least, is as much as 10,000 feet (3,050 m.) thick,
apparently is widely displayed over a considerable portion
of Nova Scotia, and has been studied and mapped in detail,
yet one group of geologists holds that the strata are of
Devonian age while another group contends that the
measures are of Carboniferous, probably Pennsylvanian,
age.
The strata of the Riversdale-Union series as exposed
along the Intercolonial railway eastward from Truro,
occur in a band of so-called Devonian rocks which stretches
continuously from Cape Breton island on the east to near
Truro on the west where the band forks. One branch
continues in a westerly direction along the south side of
Minas basin to Horton Bluff near Windsor, the other band
parallels the north shore of Minas basin and with some
interruptions, extends nearly to Cape Chignecto. The
length of the band from Cape Breton to Horton Bluff is
about 180 miles (290 km.), in places it expands to a width of
nearly 20 miles (30 km.), in other places it contracts to a
breadth of only 2 or 3 miles (3-5 km.).
Throughout their whole extent, the measures have been
studied by the late Hugh Fletcher and mapped by him in
detail on a scale of I mile to 1 inch. His work shows that
along the borders of the long band of these measures, the
so-called Devonian is brought into contact with representa-
tives of most of the geological divisions developed in Nova
Scotia, though for many miles at a time the strata are
bounded by Carboniferous beds of Mississippian age.
The accompanying diagram map prepared from maps of
Fletcher exhibits his conception of the geological relations
*See Map—Union-Riversdale.
216
of a portion of the Riversdale-Union area in a region from
which considerable paleontological evidence is forthcom-
ing to indicate that the strata are not of Devonian age but
are approximately the equivalents of the Millstone Grit
and therefore of Upper Carboniferous or Pennsylvanian
age.
For various reasons Fletcher in working out structural
details made little or no use of fossils but instead depended
solely on stratigraphical methods, and in making corre-
lations was guided almost entirely by structural and litho-
logical characters. Furthermore, during the course of his
long life work, as he extended his mapping from the
extremity of Cape Breton on the east to and over the Car-
boniferous areas of the mainland, his views regarding the
classification of the Carboniferous changed, but yet, in
deference to established custom or for other reasons, the
classification as expressed on his maps remained essentially
unchanged. As an instance in point, it may be noted that
under the term Carboniferous Conglomerate was classed on
earlier maps a thick series of coarse sediments supposed to
mark the base of the Carboniferous system; on later maps,
the term was made to include also a series of shales, etc.,
recognized as representing the Horton series; while on
still later maps, the older meaning of the term Carboni-
ferous Conglomerate was readopted and the Horton beds
were mapped as Devonian. Besides the difficulty of
interpreting Fletcher’s maps arising from the conditions
outlined above, a student is confronted with another
difficulty due to the fact that if not personally acquainted
with the field he is not in a position to understand why, for
instance, the area of rocks indicated on the accompanying
map as lying north of Riversdale and wholly enclosed by
‘Devonian’, was classed as Carboniferous Conglomerate,
i.e. as the basal portion of the Carboniferous, and not as
some higher member of the system. The explanation
seems to be that Fletcher from his studies of such sections of
the Carboniferous as are exposed at Sydney and Joggins, be-
came convinced that the Carboniferous system where most
fully developed, consists in ascending order of Conglomerate
series, Limestone series, Millstone Grit, and Productive
Coal Measures, and furthermore that the Conglomerate
series was more or less local in its development and that in
many places the Limestone series forms the base of the
Carboniferous.
217
From the above view points, Fletcher made use of five
main arguments to show that the Riversdale-Union and
associated strata are of Devonian and not Carboniferous
age as held by various paleontologists. It should be
remembered that of the contending parties, Fletcher is
virtually the only member who has studied the strati-
graphy of the region. Fletcher held that the strata in
question are of Devonian age because: (1) The measures
as compared with the Carboniferous beds, are in general
metamorphosed, contorted, and associated with igneous
rocks generally absent from the Carboniferous areas.
(2) The measures contain fossil plants, etc., of Devonian
types. (3) The measures closely resemble the Little
River group of St. John, N.B., which by Dawson was
placed in the Devonian. (4) The measures cannot le
above the Limestone series since they are not developed in
such well defined sections as those of Joggins and Sydney
harbour. (5) The measures lie unconformably beneath
the Carboniferous Limestone series.
As opposed to the above arguments it may be urged:
(1) That, deductions based on relative degrees of metam-
orphism and of disturbance of the strata and on the pre-
sence or absence of igneous bodies, are not always reliable
since by using such arguments, Fletcher [5] in the case of
one area, grouped in the Devonian certain metamorphosed,
disturbed, fossiliferous limestones and associated beds cut
by igneous rocks but later [6, p. 33 and pp. 44-45; 7],
in spite of their evident metamorphism and disturbed
condition, placed them with the Carboniferous and stated
[6, p. 54] that some of the Carboniferous strata are as
much altered as the so-called Devonian. (2) That, though
the assemblage of varied measures grouped by Fletcher as
Devonian do hold Devonian fossils in places yet this is
only so because the so-called Devonian is made up of
diverse elements including the fossiliferous lower Devonian
of Arisaig. But the bulk of the strata, so far as the fossil-
iferous evidence goes, is held by paleontologists to be of
Carboniferous age and to include measures representative
of the Horton series at the base of the system and of horizons
about equivalent to the Millstone Grit in the upper part
of the system. (3) That, the bulk of the so-called Devon-
ian may represent the Little River group of St. John, N.B.,
is generally conceded but though Dawson assigned the
Little River group on paleontological evidence to the
218
Devonian, yet most paleontologists now agree that the
age of the Little River group is approximately that of the
Millstone Grit. Furthermore it does not appear that the
stratigraphical evidence of the Devonian age of the Little
River group is any more definitely proven than in the case
of the Riversdale-Union series. (4) The argument that
the Riversdale-Union series cannot be younger than and
therefore overlie the Limestone series because of its absence
from such a position in such relatively clearly developed
sections as the Joggins and at Sydney, is, in part at least,
met by the results of recent work by Hyde in the Sydney
basin (see later pages). (5) The main argument as put
forward by Fletcher, that the Riversdale-Union is uncon-
formably overlain by the Limestone series, remains to be
considered. Those who disagree with Fletcher’s con-
clusions are forced to adopt one or more of the three
following explanations. (a) That, Fletcher has placed
together under the heading of Devonian, different groups
of strata of diverse ages and that where the Limestone ser-
ies unmistakably overlies ‘Devonian’ strata, the older mea-
sures are not the equivalent of the Riversdale-Union series.
That in some instances such may be the case, is demons-
trated in the instance of the Horton series near Windsor
and of the lower Devonian of Arisaig both of which groups
almost of a certainty unconformably underlie the Carboni-
ferous Limestone series but are not the equivalents of
the Riversdale-Union series. (b) That, where the Rivers-
dale-Union is unmistakably overlain by strata of Carboni-
ferous age, Fletcher was mistaken in correlating the over-
lying measures with either the Carboniferous Conglomerate
or the Carboniferous Limestone. Except possibly in one
instance, no independent attempt has yet been made to
prove this contention. (c) That, where Riversdale- Union
and members of the Mississippian are in contact, Fletcher
was mistaken in regard to his interpretation of the struc-
tures. In this connection it is justifiable to point out, that
though Fletcher was emphatic in his oft repeated declar-
ation of the unconformable superposition of the Limestone
series upon the Riversdale-Union, yet in no instance did
he present detailed statements of the evidence of such a
relation but mainly was content to assert that at various
points one division unmistakably overlay the other. That
mistakes of interpretation may have arisen is not an
unwarranted supposition in view of the fact that the geolo-
219
gical structure of the region in general is admittedly
intricate, and exposures at critical points are usually
imperfect.
In view of the above stated lines of criticism it must
be emphasized that, whatever results future study of the
facts in the field may yield, in the opinion of all who have
used Fletcher’s maps, the boundaries laid down on them
by him will be found to accurately indicate the limits of
structural or stratigraphical units even though, eventually,
it may be proven that errors of classification and correla-
tion exist.
Of the geologists who have held opinions contrary to
those advocated by Fletcher, nearly all have based their
arguments solely on paleontological grounds. Dawson
from the first held that the strata in question are of Carbon-
iferous age and so described and mapped them in the first
edition of Acadian Geology published in 1858. The
following fossils have been determined by Dawson [4; 3,
p. 29] as occurring in the strata of the type section along
the Intercolonial railway. Possibly the list as given is
incomplete, since Dawson did not always record localities
from which fossils were obtained.
Anthracomya(Naiadites) elongata. Lepidophloios acadianus.
A. levis. Odontopteris antiqua.
Calamites cistii. Cardiopteris,—
C. canneformis. Pectopteris abbreviata.
Hymenophyllites furcatus.
From the character of the fossils, Dawson considered the
containing strata to be of Millstone Grit age.
In 1897 and succeeding years, H. M. Ami visited many
localities within the so-called Devonian area and made
extensive collections of fossils. Representative collections
were sent to Robert Kidston, David White, T. Rupert
Jones and Henry Woodward, all of whom as pointed out Ami
[1; 2] and Whiteaves [9], united in agreeing that the fossils
indicated that the strata are of Carboniferous age while
Kidston and White agreed that the horizon was well up in
the Carboniferous. White [8] in a later paper has directly
presented his conclusions and has shown that Kidston and
he are in essential agreement in placing the horizon of the
strata at or about that of the Millstone Grit.
Ami in one of his papers [2, pp. 168-9], has assembled the
determinations of the various paleontologists and the
220
following list of fossils collected from the type section of the
Riversdale series along the line of the Intercolonial railway
is the result. The plants were determined by Kidston, the
entomostraca by T. Rupert Jones, and the crustacea by
Henry Woodward.
Asterophyllites acicularis. Belinurus grandevus.
Sphenopteris marginata. Leaia tricarinata.
Neuropteris sp. Leaia leidyi var. baentschiana.
Alethopteris sp. allied to A. valida. Anthracomya elongata.
Cordaites principalis. A. obtusa.
C. robbii. Spirorbis eriaia.
Cyclopteris (Nephropteris) varia. ‘A neutopteroid insect allied to
Calamites sp. Miamia bronsoni’ determined
Cardiocarpum cornutum. by Charles Brongniart.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Dee Acai eel SIV eee ee Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report
for 1899, pp. 201-204.
Mee Caidioly Jak, Ile Ao 45 aie Proceedings and Transactions, Nova
Scotian Institute of Science, vol.
XI, pp. 162-178, 1903.
3. Dawson; W. J.=.- Geol. Surv. Can., Report on the
fossil plants of the Lower Carbon-
iferous and Millstone Grit form-
ations of Canada, 1873.
A Dawson, WV leneee Geol. Surv. Can., Annual Report,
Vola Tp: O4nE r8So-
5. Fletcher, Hugh....Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress,
1877-78, p. 18 F.
6. Fletcher, Hugh... .Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress,
1879-80, part F.
7. Fletcher, Hugh....Geol. Surv. Can., Annual Report,
vol. II, p. 50 P. 1886.
8. White, David..... Can. Record of Science, vol. III,
pp. 270-280, I9IO.
9. Whiteaves, J. F....Amer. Geol. vol. XXIV, pp. 210-40,
1899.
221
CHARACTER AND FAUNA OF THE RIVERSDALE
AND UNION FORMATIONS.
Gib? Hyn:E:)
The Riversdale and Union formations are each very
thick. The combined thickness has been estimated to be
10,000 feet (3,050 m.) and this is probably not exaggerated.
The Riversdale, which is the older, is composed of
grey, red and purplish shales, with sandstone beds. It
differs from the Union in the greater proportion of
grey shales, the Union being almost without exception
bright red in colour. There is, however, a considerable
thickness of red shale in certain portions of the Riversdale.
The strata are evenly bedded and are clearly water laid.
Only occasionally are there evidences of strong current
action. Mud-cracked beds are not infrequent and the
sandstones are composed frequently of undecomposed
rocks and mineral fragments. Rarely does a thin bed of
coal occur in the Riversdale.
The fauna and flora which have been described from the
“Riversdale-Union’’ series appear to have been collected
largely from the upper part of the Riversdale, but the exact
localities and horizons have not been specified. Although
the Union formation is almost barren, the writer has
obtained the same fauna with Leaia and Anthracomya in
beds almost at the top of the Union at Union station,
where plant remains also occur. Both the fauna and flora
are abundantly preserved in numbers of individuals if not
in species, in the upper beds of the Riversdale at railroad
cuts a short distance east of Riversdale station. Eastward
from these cuts these remains are observed less often.
Here and at every point where they have been found
by the writer, the faunas are confined almost entirely to
the beds of grey shale. Very rarely indeed are remains
found in the red shales. The Leaia is most commonly
found in beds of slaty, almost black shale. This same mode
of occurrence obtains in the Point Edward formation at
Sydney, believed to be an approximate equivalent of the
Riversdale and Union, or of some portion of them.
Miles and
Kilometres.
om.
o km.
222
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
TRURO TO CAMPBELL’S SIDING.
(6185 Iebaoy3,))
Truro— Alt. 60 ft. (18 m.). Truro is situated
on the south bank of the westward flowing
Salmon river which, a few miles to the westward,
empties into the Bay of Minas. For 6 miles
(9:6 km.) above Truro, the Salmon river flows
through a tract underlain by Triassic measures
consisting of red conglomerates, sandstones and
shales. To the westward of Truro, similar
Triassic strata fringe both sides of the Bay of
Minas and continue uninterruptedly along the
Cornwallis-Annapolis valley to beyond Digby
135 miles (217 km.) west of Truro. Along the
north side of the Cornwallis-Annapolis valley
the Triassic sediments are overlain by a thick
series of flows of amygdaloidal and _ basaltic
diabase. The Triassic measures are usually
horizontal or possess low angles of dip, but
locally, the measures are faulted and otherwise
disturbed.
At Truro the southern boundary of the
Triassic with the measures of the Riversdale-
Union group lies 14 mile (0-4 km.) south of the
railway. In Victoria Park which lies just south
of the station, the rocks of the Union formation
are excellently shown in the walls of a stream
gorge of unusual scenic beauty. The stream
which is of considerable size, appears to have
been deflected from its course by the Pleistocene
glaciers and it has cut a short, rugged gorge
into the head of which it falls in a series of
cascades. The Triassic sandstones are also
exposed in the park, lying on the upturned
Union beds, but the contact is not clearly shown.
Leaving Truro, the Intercolonial railway
proceeds in an easterly direction up the flat
wide valley of Salmon river. On the north bank
of the river, visible from the railway, are cut
banks in red, Triassic sandstone.
Miles and
Kilometres.
4-7 m.
7-6 km.
6-77:
10-8 km.
223
Valley Station—Alt. 102 ft. (31 m.). Beyond
Valley station, rock cuttings in the red Triassic
occur along the railway and continue on the
north bank of the river. After passing Valley
station the river valley narrows.
Salmon Siding—Salmon Siding is close to
the eastern end of the Triassic basin. At this
point, the contact of the Triassic with the Union
formation is excellently shown on the north
bank of Salmon river. The steeply dipping
Union measures are truncated by a nearly
horizontal plane and on them repose the flat-
lying Triassic sandstones.
For a distance of about 43 miles (7-2 km.)
east from Salmon Siding, the railway follows
the valley of Salmon river; beyond this point it
follows up the valley of Black river, a tributary
of Salmon river. From near Salmon Siding
eastward to beyond Riversdale these streams
are bordered by simple rock and drift terraces.
The stream flows in a narrow gorge less than
100 feet (30 m.) deep below Union, which
becomes shallower up stream. The rock ter-
races bordering this gorge are capped by 40 to
50 feet (9 to 15 m.) of drift, apparently stream
laid gravels. The larger tributaries to the
major streams show similar conditions.
The gravel terraces appear to belong to the
closing stages of the Pleistocene. Back of
Riversdale station and only 200 or 300 metres
from the railroad, there is preserved on this old
high-level, gravel floor, a sharply defined
abandoned stream channel. It runs from the
edge of Calvary river gorge westward behind
the village for a distance of only a few hundred
metres where it passes into a short gully which
descends to Black river at Riversdale station.
It is clearly the old channel of Calvary river at
the time when all the streams flowed on the old
high-level gravel floor, but abandoned for the
present nearby outlet probably before they had
cut through the gravels and into the hard rock.
Miles and
Kilometres.
9 m.
14°5 km.
224
The channel is sharp, and indicates abandonment
at a very recent period.
The relation of drift cap to rock wall can be
seen fairly well in the contours of the valley
walls, and both are laid bare by the cutting of
Black river just opposite Riversdale station.
Apparently the rock gorge has been cut en-
tirely subsequent to the accumulation of the
gravels. No evidence has been seen of an older
set of channels cut prior to the gravel stage and
covered by the gravels, to be later uncovered to
form in part the present gorge.
From the edge of the Triassic area at Salmon
Siding, eastward almost to Union station, a
distance of about 2 miles (3-2 km.), the dom-
inantly red beds of the Union formation are
shown, almost continuously, in numerous long
rock cuttings, with an easterly dip of about 25°.
Union Station—Alt. 218 ft. (66-4 m.). In
the rock cuttings west of Union station, the
beds are on the western limb of a_ syncline, the
highest beds of which are located just west of
Union. Eastward from Union, the direction
of dip is reversed, and lower and lower beds are
exposed until the passage into the underlying
Riversdale is reached a short distance west of
Riversdale station. The contact between the
Riversdale and Union is not a sharp one, and it
is nor clear why Fletcher drew it at this point.
It appears, however, that the boundary must
be arbitrarily chosen.
Riversdale Station—Alt. 314 ft. (95-7 m.).
West of Riversdale station, the rock cuttings
are in the grey rocks of the Riversdale formation.
In the rock cuttings about 4 mile (0-8 km.) east
of Riversdale, fossils occur. In one cutting,
the fauna, large in individuals but few in species,
is found in beds of grey and black shale; at
this locality, Leaia and Anthrocomya occur.
In a rock cutting beyond this point, plant frag-
ments occur abundantly in a sandy shale.
Beyond the rock cuttings west of Riversdale
Miles and
Kilometres.
225
the valley of Black river entirely loses its deep-
set character and the exposures of the Rivers-
dale formation become more and more infre-
quent.
Campbell’s Siding—Alt. 429 ft. (103-7 m.).
A short distance east of Campbell’s Siding, the
barren beds of the Riversdale formation are
well displayed in a number of cuttings.
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
CAMPBELL’S SIDING TO NEw GLASGOW.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Eastward from Campbell’s Siding the railway
follows upwards along the shallow valley of
Black river. The grey shales and sandstones
with red zones, of the Riversdale formation are
exposed in numerous rock cuttings. The strata
dip at high angles to the northwest and there-
fore, proceeding easterly, are crossed in descend-
ding order. Two and three-quarter miles (4-4
km.) east from Campbell’s Siding, the railway
crosses a low divide, (altitude 505 ft. or 153-9 m.)
and enters a watershed draining to the northeast
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
West River Station—Alt. 441 ft. (134-4 m.).
About 13 miles (2-4 km.) east of West River
station, the railway crosses the boundary be-
tween the Riversdale and Union formations.
Few, if any, rock exposures occur along the
railway.
Lorne Siding—Alt. 365 ft. (111-2 m.).
From near West River to beyond Lorne Siding,
the railway follows close to the boundary be-
tween the Riversdale and Union formations. In
this general district the sedimentary strata are
associated with numerous relatively small
bodies of igneous rocks whose origin and com-
position is unknown.
Beyond Lorne Siding the railway enters the
valley of Cameron brook and at a point about
13 miles (2-46 km.) farther enters an area of the
35063—2A
Miles and
Kilometres.
35 mM.
56-3 km.
(226
Carboniferous Limestone series. The Rivers-
dale strata are separated from those of the Car-
boniferous Limestone series by a fault, but
from evidence obtained elsewhere, Fletcher was
convinced that the Carboniferous Limestone
series overlaid the Union-Riversdale group.
The reddish shales and sandstones of the
Carboniferous Limestone series are exposed in
rock cuttings along the railway and in the valley
of Cameron brook. The strata are much
disturbed and in places are vertical. The strata
of the Carboniferous Limestone series occupy a
large area forming the southern boundary of
the Pictou coal field. The measures are largely
reddish shales and sandstone with many beds
of limestone and argillaceous limestone. Logan,
Dawson, Fletcher and other geologists have all
agreed in calling the strata the Carboniferous
Limestone series with the implication that the
measures at least roughly correspond in age with
the Windsor series.
Hopewell Station—Alt. 206 ft. (62-8 m.).
Before reaching Hopewell, the railway turns
to the north and proceeds down a large branch
of the West river of Pictou. The red strata
of the Carboniferous Limestone series are
exposed along the railway and on the banks of
the stream, dipping in various directions,
commonly at rather low angles. Approaching
Eureka, the stream valley first becomes gorge-
like and then broad and deep.
Eureka Station—Alt. 145 ft. (44-2 m.). At
Eureka the railway enters the deep-set valley
of the East river of Pictou. This river for
12 miles (19:3 km.) above Eureka station
flows through a district underlain by strata of
the Carboniferous Limestone series but towards
the southeast, for a distance of about 5 miles
(8-0 km.) along the railway, these measures
occur only in the valley bottom and form a
band nowhere more than 4+ mile (0-8 km.)
wide. On the south, the Limestone series is
bounded by an area of the Union-Riversdale
series; on the east they abut against a rough,
Miles and
Kilometres.
227
hill country occupied by Silurian and Ordovician
strata associated with large and small bodies
of igneous rocks varying in character from
granites to fine-grained acid and basic volcanics.
Associated with the Silurian and other strata
are deposits of spathic and hematitic iron ore.
These deposits have been mined and at one
time were smelted in furnaces at Eureka which
are visible from the railway.
Ferrona Junction—Alt. 129 ft. (39-3 m.).
The reddish strata of the Carboniferous Lime-
stone series are exposed along the river for
about I mile (1-6 km.) below Ferrona Junction,
where for a short distance they are replaced
by hard, reddish sandstones and slates thought
to belong to an underlying series of Devonian
age. These measures form a ridge rising to a
considerable height on the east side of the
river. The ‘Devonian’ strata are bounded by
east-west faults and on the north side, the
Devonian Limestone series is repeated.
After passing the narrow band of ‘Devonian’
the country lowers and becomes broadly rolling
in character. Before reaching Stellarton, the
railway leaves the Carboniferous Limestone
area, crosses a mile-wide strip of Millstone Grit
and enters a district occupied by Coal Measures.
Stellarton—Alt. 58 ft. (7-7 m.). Stellarton
is one of the mining centres of the Pictou
bituminous coal field. The Coal Measures in
this field occupy an irregular oval-shaped area,
103 miles (16-9 km.) long in an east and west
direction and, at the widest point, about 3 miles
(4-8 km.) broad. The total area of the Coal
Measures is in the neighbourhood of 20 square
miles (50sq. km.). The irregular oval or lozenge
outline of the area is marred towards the centre
of the field by a tongue-like area of Millstone
Grit projecting from the southern boundary
along an anticlinal axis. Except at the western
end of the field and in the neighbourhood of the
above mentioned tongue-like projection of
Millstone Grit, the area of the Coal Measures
is bounded by a system of faults whereby the
35063—23A
228
Miles and Coal Measures along the southern boundary are
‘brought into contact with strata of the Lime-
stone series, while along the eastern and north-
eastern boundary they are brought into
contact with the Millstone Grit, and along
the northwestern boundary into contact with
the New Glasgow Conglomerate supposed by
Fletcher to be of Permian age. The fault
system is a complex one and comparatively
little has been recorded of the magnitude and
nature of the individual faults. In general
there appears to be a set of major faults striking
in an east and west direction; another set in a
northeasterly direction and a third set in a
northwesterly direction. The Coal Measures
are also traversed by faults and one of these
striking in a northwesterly direction, dipping
to the northeast, and causing a downthrow of
the strata on the southwest side of approxi-
mately 2,600 ft. (790 m.), divides the field into
two main districts, respectively the western
and eastern districts. In the western district,
the strata dip in general to the northeast at
angles varying from 15° to 50°. In the larger,
eastern district, the strata in the eastern part
are traversed by a north-south syncline while
in the western part the main feature is a north-
easterly pitching anticline. The major struc-
tural features of the two areas are complicated
by the presence of minor undulations extending
in an east-west as well as other directions,
and of many faults of varying relative importance.
In the eastern district, which includes the
district immediately around Stellarton, the
coal seams occur in two sets, an upper and a
lower, separated by about 1,600 feet (485 m.)
of barren rock, mostly dark shale. The upper
set of coal seams is exposed in the eastern
part of the area, and the lower set in the western
part in the neighbourhood of Stellarton. In
the upper set there are five main seams of coal
varying in thickness from 3 feet to 8 feet
(0-9 m. to 2-4 m.). In the lower set there
are six main coal seams. One seam, known
229
Miles.and as the Main seam, varies in thickness as traced
ilometres. 6
along the outcrop or in depth, from less than
7 feet (2-1 m.) to 45 feet (13-7 m.). Another
seam ranges in thickness from 20 feet (6 m.)
to 33:5 feet (10 m.). A third seam, the lowest,
varies in thickness from 11 feet to I9 feet
(3-3 m. to 5-8 m.).
In the western of the two main areas, there
are four main coal seams supposed to be the
equivalents of seams of the lower set occurring
in the Stellarton district. As in the eastern
district the individual seams vary widely
in thickness from place to place. The largest
seam varies in this respect from less than 4 feet
to 18 feet (1-2 m. to 5-4 m.).
From Stellarton the railway continues for
about 13 miles (2-4 km.) along the west side
of the East river of Pictou, then crosses the
river and enters the town of New Glasgow.
A very short distance beyond the station, the
railway crosses the course of an _ east-west
fault limiting the area of the Coal Measures
in that direction.
42-9 m. New Glasgow—Alt. 29 ft. (5-8 m.).
69 km.
THE NEW GLASGOW CONGLOMERATE.*
(G. A. YOUNG.)
INTRODUCTION.
Along the banks of the East river, in the vicinity of New
Glasgow, are exposures of a red, coarse conglomerate which
has received the name, New Glasgow Conglomerate.
This formation is the basal member of a very thick group
of strata which in a comparatively undisturbed condition,
floor the country north and west of New Glasgow, out-
cropping along the Nova Scotian and New Brunswick
shores of Northumberland strait for a distance of about 80
miles (130 km.), and underlying the whole of Prince
Edward Island. What have been described as equivalent
* See Map, —New Glasgow.
230
measures also occur in the western part of the Joggins
section along the Bay of Fundy coast. The distribution
of this group of strata is confined, so far as known, to the
general region lying north of the Cobequid Hills which
stretch easterly from the Bay of Fundy to not far from
New Glsagow, a distance of about 100 miles (160 km.).
In the portion of Nova Scotia north of the Cobequid Hills
and the adjacent portion of New Brunswick, and in Prince
Edward Island, this thick group of strata of which the New
Glasgow Conglomerate in places forms the base, occurs in
four distinct basins or areas. One, the Prince Edward
Island area, occupies the whole of that island and is sepa-
rated by the waters of Northumberland strait from a
second which lies on the mainland fronting Prince Edward
Island. The second area stretches westerly to the head
of the Bay of Fundy, lies partly in New Brunswick, partly
in Nova Scotia. It is separated from the two remaining
areas by an anticlinal axis of folding running eastward
from the head of the Bay of Fundy to Northumberland
strait and along which are exposed Carboniferous strata
of the age of the Productive Coal Measures and older.
The third area fronts on the Bay of Fundy coast, forms the
western portion of the famous Joggins section, and extends
inland along the north flank of the Cobequid Hills. It is
separated from the fourth area by axes of folding along
which are exposed older Carboniferous rocks. The fourth
area may be named the New Glasgow area. It stretches
from New Glasgow westward along the north flank of the
Cobequids and northward from the foot of the hills to
Northumberland strait.
This widely extended and thick group of strata of which
in certain districts, the New Glasgow Conglomerate forms
the natural base, appears everywhere to form a conform-
able series and in places, even appears conformable with
the Productive Coal Measures. The strata are largely
sandstones and because, in certain districts, varieties of a
red colour predominate, the earliest geological observers
assigned the group in general, to the Triassic. As geolo-
gical investigations progressed, the term Triassic was
applied only to the supposedly higher members of the
group as displayed in Prince Edward Island. Later the
application of the term Triassic was restricted to a small
portion of the highest beds on Prince Edward Island in
which had been found reptilian remains of a supposedly
231
Triassic genus. Still later, it was determined that the
reptilian remains had been misidentified and that they
represented a lower Permian genus; consequently the
highest beds on Prince Edward Island are definitely con-
sidered to be of Permian age.
During the flux of time as opinions changed regarding
the age of the highest members of this great group of strata,
various terms were applied to the lower divisions by Sir
W. J. Dawson and other observers, These terms were such
as Newer Coal formation [1], Upper Coal formation [2],
Permo-Carboniferous [4], Permian, etc. In all cases the
different terms were used with the definitely stated or
plainly implied meaning that the group of strata repres-
ented a thick series laid down uninterruptedly from late
Carboniferous on into Permian time. In certain districts as
for instance where the strata are exposed along the Joggins
shore, there is no appearance in the exposed sections of an
unconformity between the Carboniferous Coal Measures
and the overlying Permo-Carboniferous group. In other
districts, as in the neighbourhood of New Glasgow, the evi-
dence implies the existence of a profound stratigraphical
break above what is customarily considered to be the
horizon of the Productive Coal Measures but below the
summit of the Carboniferous. Presumably, sedimentation
ceased over the greater part if not over the whole region
in later Carboniferous time, and in places at least, the strata
were folded, faulted and eroded. In other places the strata
were scarcely deformed at all, perhaps but little eroded and,
it is possible that in some local areas the processes of
sedimentation may have operated continuously. At a
later date but still before the close of Carboniferous time,
the processes of sedimentation were renewed and con-
tinued in force during the closing epochs of Carboniferous
and the opening period of Permian time.
The conclusion that the strata of the above mentioned
four areas are all portions of one great, unbroken group,
rests on evidence collected by Dawson and afterwards
substantiated by the detailed field studies prosecuted by
Fletcher. There does not seem to be any reasonable
grounds for doubting the truth of this general conclusion.
It is, however, as yet uncertain how high the strata range
-n the four main areas though it has generally been thought
232
that the highest strata are present only on Prince Edward
Island. In the New Glasgow area the total thickness of
the strata is very great. In the case of one section, a
detailed estimate by Fletcher [8, p. 114] gives a thickness of
above 8,000 feet (2,440 m.) chiefly sandstones, and shales,
overlying a basal series of conglomerates, etc., of undeter-
mined thickness but presumably not less than 1,000 feet
(300 m.). In the case of a second section [8, p. 117]
measured a few miles to the west of the first, the thickness
including the conglomerate strata at the base, amounts to
slightly over 5,000 feet (1,520 m.). The difference in the
total estimated thickness of the two adjoining sections is in
part accounted for by the presence of a fault in the case of
the section with the smaller total. However, having regard
to the character of the strata, it is reasonable to suppose
that the total thickness may vary rapidly from place to
place. In view of what has been stated it may be concluded
that the total thickness of the whole group is not less than
10,000 feet (3,000 m.).
The age of the group in general, depends upon the
finding of reptilian remains in what are supposed to be the
highest strata of the group on Prince Edward Island; and
on the paleobotanical studies of Dawson. The facts of
the case in connection with the reptilian remains have been
summed up by Lambe [10] as follows:—The fossil remains
found, consist of a ‘“‘portion of the head of the Rhyncho-
cephalian reptile (which was) described in 1854 by Leidy as
the mandibular ramus of a Triassic dinosaur under the name
Bathyenathus “borealis. Inv 1876,5. 2.) 44ee- , Sir Richard
Owen drew attention to the fact that the specimen apper-
tained in reality to the upper jaw and referred it to the
Theriodontia. Later in 1905, v. Huene and Case inde-
pendently recognized its true position in the Pelycosauria
but its exact generic affinities are still in doubt..........
The Pelycosauria are typical of the Permian.”
The following tabulation of the plants recovered from the
Permo-Carboniferous is based on one prepared by Dawson
[4] with the addition of a few species which Dawson believed
came from Triassic measures on Prince Edward Island [3].
233
Dadoxylon (Araucaroxylon) ed-
vardianum
Cycadoidea (Mautellia) abequi-
CENISISee ete Sere eee een tree
Dadoxylon materiarium
Walchia (Araucarites) gracilis. .
NWEEKO lb UStare mcm so occ:
Sigillariascutellaitays.-5-.-..4.-
GaAlamuitesisuckowiljen eae a
C. gigas
Calamodendron approximatum. |
Annularia sphenophylloides....
Exo LOMO. socuccokevcasadds
Sphenophyllum emarginatum....
S. Jlomentiohtitoscccocenscsconcs
Cyclopteris heterophylla.......
GMimbriatatean cece aes
Neuropteris flexuosa...........
INEcondattaliene ssc. nino et
INESbetero pli llamar eecie aere
N. rarinervis
IN; QUICHE. goc08 eeaus clos 6
Odontopteris schlotheimii......
Sphenopteris latior............
Alethopteris nervosa
A. serlti
prio alee. See eerie orotate ar
12> OAC DSRONG ES 4 accbsbaeaene
DeimertiacOeppenrtinne sss ee
alaecopteris acadical.n4..5- 4.
Cordaitesisimiplexee nei ss e
Lepidodendron pictoense.......
IL, Winclulkariiin. o5on6eopecdacee
Lepidophloios parvus..........
Trigonocarpum noeggerathii....
Rhabdocarpus insignis.........
Antholithes squamosus........
Nova SCOTIA.
> KK MK MK KKK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OKO
KK KK KK KK KK
Upper
Part.
PRINCE
EDWARD
ISLAND.
Upper.
Part.
234
Though by all geologists it has been conceded that the
New Glasgow Conglomerate at New Glasgow, is the base
of a continuous series of sediments whose upper portion is of
Permian age, yet there are two views advocated regarding
the age of the New Glasgow Conglomerate itself. By
Dawson and Hartley it has been contended that the con-
glomerate is of Millstone Grit or early Productive Coal
Measures age; this view was accepted by Logan. On the
other hand, Poole and Fletcher have argued that the con-
glomerate is of post-Productive Coal Measures age. Dawson
[6] based his view on two chief lines of evidence.
(Firstly) A few miles west of New Glasgow there is
some appearance of an anticlinal fold in the conglomerate
suggesting that the strata are developed along a deformed
anticline and thus, countenance, the view that the strata
may underlie the Coal Measures lying not far east.
(Secondly) Dawson states that the fossils from the strata
immediately overlying the conglomerate, are similar to
those occurring in the Productive Coal Measures. Un-
fortunately, so far as known, no list of these fossils plant
and fish remains have ever been published.
Pool [12] and Fletcher [7 and 8], contend that the New
Glasgow Conglomerate is of post-Productive Coal Measures
age because of two main reasons :—(firstly) the conglomerate
uncomformably overlies the Millstone Grit and (secondly)
no strata similar to the New Glasgow Conglomerate have
been found beneath the Coal Measures in other parts of
the Pictou coal field or elsewhere in Nova Scotia. Other
lines of evidence support the general argument of Poole and
Fletcher and, in the absence of any detailed statement of
the paleontological evidence, appear to be quite conclusive.
DETATEED DESCRIPATON:
Logan has described the New Glasgow Conglomerate
in the following terms [11].
“At the bridge of New Glasgow is exposed a series of
conglomerates, which, in general colour, are between a
brick-red and chocolate or indian-red, and whose enclosed
masses, varying from the smallest pebbles to boulders of
two feet in diameter, are for the most part, unmistakably
derived from the red and greenish-grey sandstones, red
shales and impure nodular limestones of the rock last
described (Millstone Grit), some of them containing the
wi
Geological Survey, Canada.
fF
[] New Glasgow
lr
New Glasgow
Feet
sao ae) 1000 2000 3060
Metres
1D
Q oe 108
New Glasgow conglomerate
Coal measures
Millstone grit
Fault
= i Je
at aggsld woth}
i a
j
aa |
\
Chore owe \eaigat
' . | wogesid wall
re ee woe |
=. | noose 00s A a
tg oe assem vegan the
Oo es SES fe)
235
same vegetable organic remains. With these pebbles and
boulders are associated a few from the rocks still lower down
(pre-Millstone Grit). The whole are inclosed in a matrix
of the same mineral character, constituting an argillo-
arenaceous cement, which is also calcareous, and in the
interstices of the boulders and pebbles is often observed a
network of white calc-spar aiding to keep them together.
There are interstratified in the rock, bands, from a few
inches to several feet in thickness, of fine red sandstone and
red shale, which serve to give assurance of the dip.......
From a point a short distance above the bridge, to one much
farther below, these conglomerates have a breadth of very
nearly a mile, with a dip, which on the average is N. 3°-
13° W., with a slope gradually diminishing from 50 °in the
lower to about 30° in the upper part, and giving a total
thickness of about 1,600 feet (490 m.)”’
Along the bank of East river, the strata conformably
overlying the New Glasgow Conglomerate are imperfectly
exposed. On the west shore beyond a short concealed
interval, occur fine-grained, pale yellow sandstones dipping
northward at an angle of about 10°. On the east bank a bed
of limestone outcrops that apparently occupies a place in
the section intermediate between the conglomerates and
the -above mentioned pale coloured sandstones. About
3 miles (4-8 km.) to the east a similar limestone directly
overlies the conglomerate and is succeeded by shales with
a thin seam of coal. On the east shores of the river com-
mencing at a place about 1,500 feet (450 m.) north of the
conglomerate, where the shore bends to the east, and then
northward to the mouth of Smelt brook, are exposures of
sandstones and shales.
A generalized description of the overlying series has been
given by Dawson [5] and is as follows:—
‘
Tiwecesesueeen sees the conglomerate is succeeded in ascending order by a grey con-
cretionary limestone 20 feet (6 m.) thick, associated with sandstone and shale, and
containing in some layers great number of the Spirorbis which I have described as S,
arvietinus.
2. Above this is a series of black shales and underclays with grey sandstones and
some reddish and purple shales, and thin seams of bituminous shale and coal. These
beds contain Stigmariae, Lepidodendra, Entomostracans, and fish remains; the
fossils and the mineral character of the beds alike corresponding with those seen in
the upper part of the Coal Measures south of the conglomerate. The thickness of
these beds is about 400 feet (120 m.).
3. This series is succeeded by a thick grey sandstone holding Calamites, Cala-
modendron, trunks with aerial roots, etc., 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m.) thick. This
appears at the mouth of Smelt Brook, and in several quarries to the eastward-of that
place.
4. Above this is a second series of dark shales and underclays, and bituminous
shales associated with grey sandstones, and containing fossils similar to those of the
236
series below. It especially abounds in fish scales and Cythere; and several of the
fishes arespecifically identical with thoseof the upper part of the Middle Coal Measures,
as seen in the southern trough south of New Glasgow. These beds are about 200 feet
(60 m.) thick.
5. The beds up to this point may be considered the equivalents of the Middle
Coal Measures, or of the upper part of them, and are now succeeded in ascending order
by thick grey and reddish sandstones, and reddish and grey shales............ These
may be regarded as belonging to the Upper Coalformation.................0.000008 ;
The New Glasgow Conglomerate in the form of a band
about 4 mile (0-8 km.) wide, extends eastward from New
Glasgow to the shores and islands of Merigomish harbour,
distant about 6 miles (9-6 km.). The measures in this
band dip uniformly northward at angles ranging between
45° and 60° along the southern edge of the band, and 15°
to 30° along the northern margin. In the eastward exten-
sion of the formation sandstones become relatively more
abundant and, on the islands in Merigomish harbour,
sandstones predominate over the conglomerates. West-
ward of New Glasgow, the conglomerate outcrops over a
band-like, area for a few miles, but beyond this, owing to
folding, faulting, etc., the band-like character is lost.
East of New Glasgow, the conglomerate directly overlies
measures that by all geologists have been ascribed to the
Millstone Grit. West of New Glasgow, for a distance. of
about I mile (1-6 km.), the conglomerate rests on strata
generally ascribed to the Millstone Grit, but beyond this
point,the New Glasgow Conglomerate is separated by faults,
from the adjoining strata on the south, or where not
bounded by faults, rests on strata considered to be
Devonian or older. Nowhere in the general district, does
the New Glasgow Conglomerate come in direct contact
with the Coal Measures.
East of New Glasgow, the New Glasgow Conglomerate
and the underlying Millstone Grit dip, as stated by Logan,
[11] ‘in such a way as, without other evidence, to induce
the supposition that the one series overlies the other con-
formably”’. To the eastward, the Millstone Grit strata
are displayed over a wide district but approaching New
Glasgow, these measures because of the presence of an east-
west fault are limited to a very narrow zone and are followed
to the south, beyond the fault, by the Coal Measures.
In the partial geological section displayed in the vicinity
of New Glasgow, along the west banks of East river,
a few exposures of the New Glasgow Conglomerate
dipping northward at an angle of 60°, occur above the
highway bridge. Along the river side, above these out-
237
crops there is a concealed interval beneath which lies
the lower portion of the New Glasgow Conglomerate, and
the narrow strip of underlying Millstone Grit. The first
exposures beyond, about opposite the New Glasgow rail-
way station, belong to the Coal Measures. The strata
there dip to the east at an angle of 45° and consist of a
partly reddish, partly greyish grit containing angular
fragments of quartz. The grit overlies a very fine-grained,
pale-coloured sandstone. A few yards farther upstream
the strata dip to the south at an angle of 55° and consist
of fine-grained, pale grey sandstone streaked with thin beds
or lenses of nearly black sandstone. Possibly the strata
of these two exposures are separated by a fault.
A short distance to the south, at the mouth of a small
brook, occur dark, nearly black, thinly bedded shales with
interbeds of fine sandstone. The strata dip to the north-
east at an angle of 60°. They are underlain by beds of
rather hard, light grey, fine-grained sandstone which in
the bank, in a space of Io feet (3 m.) are seen to be folded
along the strike through an angle of 60°. Plant remains
occur in these beds.
About 40 yards (35 m.) to the south, the strata dip to
the northeast at an angle of 30°. They consist of dark
shales with thick beds of fine-grained, light grey sandstones
in some of which plant and fish remains are abundant.
Beyond this the shales become slaty, and at one place, for
a space of a few feet, are nearly horizontal. Beyond this
they resume their normal dip to the northeast.
Farther south, near the mouth of a small brook, similar
strata outcrop, dipping to the east at angles of about 40°.
Farther south at Calder brook and beyond are outcrops
of the dark shales and light coloured sandstones dipping
towards the east. In general the measures as displayed
along this portion of the river, dip to the east but they are
crumpled and doubtless are traversed by minor faults.
That these beds belong to the Coal Measures does not
appear to have ever been doubted by any geologist who
has studied the district.
As already stated the New Glasgow Conglomerate and
the underlying Millstone Grit as displayed to the east of
New Glasgow dip and strike as though they were portions
of one conformable series. To the west of East river it
has been stated however, by various authorities that the
New Glasgow Conglomerate unconformably overlies the
238
Millstone Grit. Hartley [9)], Fletcher [8 p. 110], and Poole
[13] have stated that this unconformity is visible along the
course of Blackwood brook at points just to the west of
the crossing of the highway paralleling the west bank of
East river. Hartley and Pcole unequivocally place the
underlying strata in the Millstone Grit, but Fletcher
states that possibly the beds belong to the Carboniferous
Limestone series.
From the crossing of Blackwood brook by the highway,
a road leads westward along the south side of Blackwood
brook. From this road, ledges of the New Glasgow
Conglomerate may be seen outcroping along the north
bank of Blackwood brook. The coarse red conglomerate
presents very few indications of bedding but appears to
dip northward at an angle of about 40°. The conglomerate
is exposed at intervals along the low bluff extending west-
ward along the north side of the brook.
On the road leading westward, one or two imperfectly
exposed outcrops of the underlying series occur, but they
are better exposed farther to the west in the gully of a
small waterway crossing the road near the northwestern
corner of the Athletic Grounds. In this gully occur
fine-grained sandstones, red in colour but irregularly
streaked with grey. Towards the mouth of the small
waterway, where it joins Blackwood brook, the sandstones
dip to the northeast at an angle of 70°; a short distance
up Blackwood brook, in the bed of the stream, the red
sandstones are vertical; a short distance farther up
stream, in the low bluff on the north bank, the sandstones
are in direct contact with the New Glasgow Conglomerate
and both sets of beds dip at very high angles to the north-
east without any evidence of angular unconformity.
Thus even in the one place specifically cited by Hartley,
Poole and Fletcher, there is no conclusive evidence of the
existence of angular unconformity between the New
Glasgow Conglomerate and the underlying strata presumed
to be of Millstone Grit age. Where the exact contact of
the two formations is visible, no angular unconformity
is visible. The variations in the direction and value of
the angle of dip of the two formations, are no greater in
this neighbourhood than may be observed in the case of the
conformable series of beds composing the Coal Measures.
The conclusion is that west of East river, the New Glasgow
Conglomerate overlies the Millstone Grit without angular
239
unconformity as it does in the cases described by Logan
east of East river. In view of the evidence, the belief
held by Dawson, that the New Glasgow Conglomerate is
only a phase of the Millstone Grit does not seem impossible
and might be considered as established if the palzeontolo-
gical evidence of the age of the beds overlying the New
Glasgow Conglomerate had been fully stated and had
then been found to bear out Dawson’s contentions. But
in spite of the seeming absence of any angular unconforn:ity,
that a disconformity does exist between the New Glasgow
Conglomerate and the Millstone Grit seems to have been
established by Logan, and, later, by Fletcher. How
great an interval of time is represented by this discon-
formity is not altogether apparent and therefore the age
of the New Glasgow Conglomerate can hardly be con-
sidered to be as yet established.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. Dawson, J. W. Proceedings Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol.
IV, pp. 272-281, 1843-45.
2. Dawson, J. W. Quart. Journ Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol
X, pp. 42-47, 1854.
3. Dawson. J. W. Report on the geological structure
and mineral resources of Prince
Edward Island, 1871.
4. Dawson, J. W. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol.
XXX, pp. 209-218, 1874.
5. Dawson, J. W. Acadian Geology, Fourth Edition,
Supplement to Second Edition, p.
35.
6. Dawson, J. W. Acadian Geology, Fourth Edition,
Pp. 322, et seq.
femeletcher, ugh) (Geol SunvelCans, Vol ll, Tecoma
P
8
9
5 Iniewelner, Inhitely Geol, Stim, Cam, Wo Wo, uSoo-O1,
aiat: bye
joltartley, : Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress
1866-60, p. 66.
10. Lambe, L. M. Proceedings and Transactions, Roy.
Soc. Cans) Volt V; secn4)) po. 6, Torn.
11. Logan, W. E. Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress
1866-69, p. I3. .
240
12. Poole, H.S. Proceedings and Transactions, Nova
Scotian Inst. Sci., Vol. VIII, pp.
228-343, 1890-94
13. Poole, H.S. Geol. Surv. Can., Vol. XIV, 1905,
Miles and
Kilometres.
Om.
o km.
part M, p. II.
ANNOTATED GUIDE
NEW GLASGOW TO SYDNEY.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
New Glasgow—Alt. 29 ft. (8-8 m.). Leaving
New Glasgow the Intercolonial railway crosses
in a northward direction, the band of New
Glasgow Conglomerate and enters the area of
so-called Permian strata that stretches westward
for about 75 miles (120 km.) along the shores of
Northumberland strait. Ata distance of about
7 miles (11-2 km.) from New Glasgow, the rail-
way recrosses the band-like area of New Glasgow
Conglomerate and enters the eastern extension
of the Carboniferous area containing the Pictou
coal field.
The Carboniferous strata of the area traversed
by the railway belong almost entirely to the
Millstone Grit. The measures are mainly
reddish and greyish shales and sandstones with
occasional beds of limestone and are folded and
faulted. The Carboniferous area is low and
rolling, and forms a narrow strip of country, 3 to
4 miles (5 to 6-5 km.) wide, extending from the
sea and bounded on the south by a high rugged
area having a general altitude of about 1,000
feet (300 m.). This upland rises abruptly from
the Carboniferous area and is underlain by Sil-
urian and older strata (Ordovician?) with
which are associated bodies of intrusive and
extrusive igneous rocks. The strata lie in a
highly disturbed condition and, especially in
the case of the pre-Silurian measures, are in
many places schistose or otherwise metamor-
phosed.
Miles and
Kilometres.
22)aniii'.
35°9 km.
32m
51-5 km.
70:2 m.
113-0 km.
241
Avondale Station—Alt. 151 ft. (46 m.). At
Avondale, the railway enters the upland region
of Silurian and older strata and follows a series
of low valleys that cut completely through it.
The elevated district extends in an eastward
direction for about 25 miles (40 km.) and ends
in a promontory on the sea coast. In the
opposite direction, the highland joins the
central upland area that extends, though with
some interruptions, in a southwesterly direction
for about 200 miles (320 km.) and forms the axis
of the peninsula of Nova Scotia.
James River Station—Alt. 255 ft. (77-7 m.).
Shortly before reaching James River station,
the railway leaves the upland area of disturbed
Silurian and older measures and enters a low
rolling area occupied by disturbed Carboniferous
strata presumably belonging to the Windsor
series. The low-lying Carboniferous area
extends eastward to the sea. It is bounded on
the north and east by the highlands of Silurian
and older strata, while on the south it is limited
by an upland area of strata belonging to the
Riversdale-Union group.
Antigonish—Alt. 20 ft. (6-1 m.). Beyond
Antigonish the railway passes along the seaward
border of the Carboniferous area. For a
number of miles the low-lying country is under-
lain by measures supposed to belong to the
Windsor series, but, farther east, the railway
enters a bordering area of older Carboniferous
strata.
Harbour au Bouche Station—Alt. 271 ft.
(82-6m.). One mile (1-6 km.) beyond Harbour
au Bouche, the railway enters a wide area of
folded and faulted measures belonging to the
Riversdale-Union group. These measures form
the western shore of Cabot strait, distant a few
miles to the east, and have been traced almost
uninterruptedly as far as the neighbourhood of
Windsor 150 miles (240 km.) to the southwest.
35063—3A
242
Miles and
Kilometres.
80-2 m. Mulgrave Station—Mulgrave station is
129-1 km. situated on the western shore of Canso strait
which separates the island of Cape Breton from
the mainland. At this point the straits are
about three-quarters of a mile (1-2 km.) wide.
A ferry transports the trains across the straits
to Point Tupper on Cape Breton island.
80-9 m. Point Tupper Station—The island of Cape
130-1 km. Breton has an area of about 3,600 square miles
(9,360 sq. km.). About one half of the area of
the island is underlain by Carboniferous mea-
sures while the remainder is occupied by Pre-
Cambrian strata with minor areas of Riversdale-
Union and Cambrian beds. The Pre-Cambrian
rocks in general form upland areas rising to
heights of from 500 feet to 1,500 feet (150 m. to
450 m.) above the sea. The Carboniferous
strata occupy low-lying areas surrounding and
penetrating the detached Pre-Cambrian up-
lands. The railway from Point Tupper to
Sydney, follows in the main, a series of valleys
in the Carboniferous areas but in places crosses
low-lying areas of Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian
rocks.
WAyonsins Grand Narrows Station—Just before reach-
204-5 km. ing Grand Narrows station the railway crosses
Barra strait which connects Bras d’Or and Little
Bras d’Or lakes. These two salt-water lakes
are directly connected with the sea and, extend-
ing inland in a southeasterly direction, almost
completely divide Cape Breton into two islands.
72-Om. Sydney.
NO a
NON
oo
‘cn
3
SYDNEY COAL FIELD.*
INTRODUCTION.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
The name, Sydney coal field, is applied to the area of
Carboniferous strata fringing the northeastern coast of
Cape Breton for above 30 miles (48 km.) from Cape
*See Map—Sydney Coal Field.
243
Dauphin on the west, to Mira bay on the east. The area
occupied by these measures amounts to about 300 square
miles (780 sq. km.) of which total about 50 square miles
(130 sq. km.) is underlain by the Productive Coal Measures.
In addition to the land area of the Productive Coal Mea-
sures, there is, by reason of the low seaward dip of the
strata, a very considerable submarine area from which
coal may be won.
The Sydney Carboniferous basin is notable for the
splendid sections exposed along the coast and for the great
thickness of the strata, which, in the vicinity of Sydney
harbour, reaches approximately 12,600 feet (3,840 m.). The
section is characterized by the apparent absence of pro-
nounced stratigraphical breaks. In general, the geological
structure is simple in form, the angles of dip low, and
although a few prominent faults occur, the greater part of
the field is free from them. ;
By reason of a series of low folds and certain indenta-
tions of the coast, the coal field is naturally divisible into
six coal basins or districts. All of these with but one excep-
tion, contain, besides a number of minor seams, 5 to 8
seams of coal varying from 2 feet (0-6 m.) to 13 feet
(3:9 m.) in thickness. The total thickness of coal in seams
that may be workable varies in the five main basins from
23uicet (7 m=) up to 47 feet (14-3 mm.) The coalisief a
bituminous variety and in Ig11I the total production
amounted to above 4,900,000 tons. The _ individual
seams are traceable for miles along the strike, in fact many
of them are believed to extend throughout the whole
length of the field. The individual seams vary somewhat
in quality along the strike, change in thickness in a rather
remarkable manner, and in some cases what is one seam
in one locality becomes two in another because of the
greatly increased thickness of an elsewhere relatively
insignificant parting.
The fund of general geological information concerning
the Sydney Carboniferous area is contained, almost entirely,
in early reports by Charles Robb, and Hugh Fletcher,
published by the Geological Survey in the ’7o0s. and in a
series of maps by Fletcher which are, in part, revisions of
earlier editions. Important contributions to the geology
of the district were made by Richard Brown at one time
manager of a coal company operating in the field. The
varied and striking paleobotanical material described by
35003 —33A
24.4
Bunbury and Dawson was mainly collected by Brown,
chiefly from the North Sydney area and in no small part
from one shale bed overlying the Main seam. From this
single horizon, it is stated by Brown, that over 90 plant
species were obtained.
The Carboniferous strata of the district have been
grouped and mapped under four divisions of which the
highest, the Productive Coal Measures, embraces the
youngest consolidated rocks in the region. The different
divisions, in a general way, are displayed over long areas
trending east and west, parallel to the coast line—the
highest divisions bordering the coast, the lower divisions
developed inland towards the south and resting on Cam-
brian and Pre-Cambrian strata. The Pre-Cambrian com-
prises plutonic, volcanic, and highly metamorphosed
sedimentary strata; the Cambrian is mainly of sediments
which are in part fossiliferous.
The Carboniferous area, bordered on the north and east
by the Atlantic, is essentially a low, rolling country seldom
rising higher than 350 feet (105 m.) above the sea while the
Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian areas situated to the south
and west are more broken and in part consist of long
ranges of high hills rising abruptly from partly encircling
Carboniferous lowlands, to heights of from 500 to 1,000 feet
(150 to 300 m.) above sea level. The coast line is broken
by bays and channels of the sea running inland in a south-
westerly direction. One of the larger of these indentations
is that of Sydney harbour situated towards the centre of
the basin and forking towards its head into two arms each
of which is continued inland by a long valley. Farther
west, cutting through the Carboniferous lowland, are two
long channels leading southwestward into the salt water
Bras d’Or Lake which occupies so much of the central part
of Cape Breton island.
The general southwesterly trend of the depressions
occupied by the sea, of the courses of the axes of folds
in the Carboniferous, and of the high ranges of Pre-Cam-
brian and Cambrian strata, is a marked feature. The
presence of the Carboniferous over the lowlands that
border and penetrate the high hills of Pre-Cambrian and
Cambrian rocks, the overlapping of various divisions of the
Carboniferous on these ancient strata, the relatively
undisturbed attitude and the comparatively coarse nature
of the bulk of the thick series of Carboniferous measures
245
are signs which point to the conclusion that the topography
of the present day in some measure reflects that of early
Carboniferous time.
The nearness to the old shore of the portion of the
Carboniferous basin still preserved doubtless, in part at
least, explains the great volume and general characters of
the sediments. Possibly a considerable proportion of the
supposed thickness may be explained as due to dip of de-
position.
The general similarity of the Carboniferous measures
as displayed in Cape Breton, to those on the mainland of
Nova Scotia and over New Brunswick, along the southern
and western edge of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the resem-
blance of these beds to those developed in Newfoundland
on the east side of the St. Lawrence gulf; and the occur-
rence of Carboniferous strata on the Magdalen islands
situated towards the centre of the hydrographic basin,
have lead various observers to believe that the Sydney
Carboniferous area represents a remnant of the southern
border of a once continuous basin of Carboniferous strata
that may have occupied the greater part of the area of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Carboniferous section of the Sydney field is custom-
arily divided into the following groups, tabulated in
descending order with approximate thickness as developed
in the vicinity of Sydney harbour.
Productive Coal Measures....... 1,970 feet (600-5 m.)
IMiiistomex Gries. ae 3,625 feet (1,105-0 m.)
Limestone series................4,500 feet (1,371-6 m.)
Conglomerate series.............2,525 feet (769-6 m.)
ARO tales eansto escent A 12,620 ft. (3,846-7 m.)
The Conglomerate series consists essentially of red
conglomerates, sandstones and shales. The conglomerates
predominate and their waterworn pebbles and boulders
are often of large size. Calcareous material in places
forms the matrix of the conglomerates and occasional
impure beds of limestone occur.
The Limestone series includes a great thickness of
sandstone and shales, red and grey or green in colour,
also conglomerate horizons, and many beds of limestone
that frequently are fossiliferous. Only one bed of gypsum
246
is known to occur in this series in the neighbourhood of
Sydney harbour though a few miles to the west and in
other areas of the Carboniferous, gypsum forms an im-
portant member of the series.
The Millstone Grit is largely composed of coarse and
fine, grey or green sandstones in part conglomeratic
especially towards the base of the series, and shales usually
dark in colour. In the eastern part of the field shales
are relatively more abundant, are more largely red, and at
least one important coal seam is present, whereas, to the
west the shales are generally dark, are less abundant, the
conglomeratic phases of the sandstone are more prominent
and coal seams are absent or relatively unimportant.
The Productive Coal Measures are largely shales,
commonly dark coloured but also in part red or green,
and light coloured sandstones. Thin persistent beds of
dark limestone form a characteristic feature of the lower
portion of the division. In various measured sections,
there is, on an average, 24 coal seams with a total average
thickness of 46 feet (14 m.) of coal.
The thickness of the three lower divisions varies from
place to place. At the eastern end of the field, on the
shores of Mira bay, the Millstone Grit has an estimated
thickness of about 5,700 feet (1,740 m.); on Sydney
harbour, the measured thickness is 3,625 feet (1,105 m.);
while farther west, the thickness decreases to about 2,000
feet (610 m.). The Limestone series shows a more marked
variation in thickness, ranging from 4,000 feet (1,220 m.)
or more at the foot of Sydney harbour to less than 900 feet
(275 m.) on the east side of George river only 4 miles
(6-4 km.) to the west. The Conglomerate series exhibits
a still wider range of thickness, since in places it is altogether
wanting.
Of the great volume of Carboniferous strata, by far
the greater part is apparently of continental origin and
practically only in the case of the Limestone series with
its fossiliferous limestones and shales, is there positive
evidence of normal marine origin of any of the strata.
The evidence found in the Productive Coal Measures of the
former existence im situ of forest growth; the abundant
plant remains found in the Millstone Grit and their occur-
rence in a fragmentary state in the Conglomerate series;
the character of, and the channeling phenomena, etc.
exhibited by the sandstone beds that form so large a part
247
of the whole section; and other lines of evidence, all indi-
cate that throughout the greater part of the period of
deposition, the Sydney area was above sea level though
presumably forming part of a low lying coast.
On paleobotanical, stratigraphical and _ lithological
grounds, the Productive Coal Measures have been corre-
lated with the divisions of the same name in the other coal
basins of Nova Scotia. The Millstone Grit presents the
same general features in all the basins. These two repre-
sentatives of the Pennsylvanian, as well as portions of the
underlying series, in many ways present a remarkable
parallelism with the equivalent horizons of the famous
Joggins section 200 miles (320 km.) away. Owing to the
encroachment of the sea, the highest beds of the Pro-
ductive Coal Measures, if ever present, are no longer
visible. In other Nova Scotia coal fields, this series is
generally succeeded by strata classified as Upper or Newer
Coal formation (Dawson) or Permo-Carboniferous or
Permian (Fletcher).
The Limestone series from which, at Sydney, a compara-
tively meagre fauna has been obtained, has generally been
regarded as in some measure the equivalent of the Windsor
series and therefore of Mississippian age. The Con-
glomerate series has not been with any certainty correlated
with horizons in the coal basins on the mainland of the
province, and, indeed, there are good reasons for believing
that under this name, in different districts, entirely
different formations have been grouped.
By some the whole Carboniferous section at Sydney has
been described as a strictly conformable series but,
Fletcher, who devoted the work of a lifetime largely to the
Carboniferous of Nova Scotia, always held that a break
existed between the Millstone Grit and the Limestone
series but agreed on the other hand, that the divisions
between the Millstone Grit and the Productive Coal
Measures, and between the Limestone series and the
Conglomerate series, were in the main, arbitrary ones.
The same authority for a while, was inclined to maintain
that the measures of the two lower divisions were,in different
fields, in part at least contemporaneous, but at a later date,
Fletcher, as he extended his work over the various areas of
Carboniferous in Nova Scotia, abandoned this idea and
came to regard the Conglomerate series as a distinct
248
group, the lowest of the Carboniferous horizons or, possibly,
belonging to the Devonian in part or in whole.
As a result of recent investigations in the Sydney field,
Hyde (see later pages) divides the original Limestone
series in two and links the upper subdivision with the Mill-
stone Grit, and the lower with the typical Windsor series.
The geological structure of the Sydney Carboniferous
area is of a comparatively simple type. Over large areas
the strata dip with low angles ranging in value from 5° to
20°, and the greater part of the district is free from faulting.
The whole basin is divisible into four subordinate synclinal
basins whose axes in the west, strike N.E. and S.W. but
towards the east have a more nearly E.-W. trend. These
folds with their limbs in most cases dipping at low angles,
apparently all pitch seaward so that along the coast, the
highest Carboniferous strata, the Productive Coal Measures,
form, save for blank spaces due to indentations of the sea,
a nearly continuous band striking northwesterly at right
angles to the courses of the axes of folding.
On the western side of the field, the basin is bounded by
the bold range of the St. Anne hills composed of Pre-
Cambrian and Cambrian strata rising to heights of from
500 to 1,000 feet (150 to 300 m.). In places the hills rise
directly from the shore of the Great Bras d’Or channel; in
other places they are separated from the waters by a narrow
fringe of the Limestone series; while, towards the north-
east, they are divided by a pronounced fault from a small
basin of the Productive Coal Measures and older divisions of
the Carboniferous.
Separated from the St. Anne range by the Great Bras
d’Or channel, lies Boularderie island, about 25 miles
(40 km.) long, and representing a synclinal basin mainly of
Millstone Grit, this being the most westerly of the four
synclinal basins of the field. To the southeast of the island
and separated from it by St. Andrew channel, rise the
Boisdale hills composed of Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian
strata. This range extends in a S.W.-N.E. direction and
represents the axial portion of an anticlinal that strikes
through the northeastern extremity of Boularderie island.
The Boisdale hills are in part flanked by strata of the
Conglomerate series but in places members of the Limestone
series repose directly on the ancient strata of the range of
hills. A seeming overlap of the Carboniferous along the
southeastern flanks of the range has been considered by
249
some as evidence of a fault striking along the southeast side
of the hills and it has been held that this fault continues to
the northeast through the Carboniferous basin, perhaps
along the winding, river-like channel of the Little Bras
d’Or. No direct evidence has been produced of the exist-
ence of such a fault and it seems more probable that the
structure is due to overlapping and not to faulting.
The next anticlinal axis passes through Point Edward at
the extremity of the projection separating the two arms
of Sydney harbour. Ina southwest direction, the course
of this axis is indicated by the zone of the Conglomerate
series lapping around the Pre-Cambrian strata of the
Coxheath hills. Towards the northeast, beyond Point
Edward, the anticlinal axis follows a course that swings to
the E.N.E. and passes beneath the waters of Bridgeport
basin. A fault has been described by Fletcher as extending
southwestward up the valley of Sydney river on the south
side of Coxheath hills. This fault in the neighbourhood of
the town of Sydney has been supposed to abruptly change
its direction and to run thence with a southeasterly course
forming the northern boundary of a subordinate synclinal
basin of strata mapped as Millstone Grit but which on
palzobotanical grounds was considered by Dawson as
possibly of the age of the Productive Measures.
Farther eastward, an anticlinal axis strikes inland from
Cape Percy (North Head) with a W.S.W. course. This
anticline apparently dies away inland. It is followed on
the south by the synclinal basin of Cow bay which also dies
away inland.
The southern margin of the western portion of the field
when represented in plan on a map, indicates very clearly
the position of the anticlinal axes of the Coxheath, Boisdale
and Ste. Anne hills—the Carboniferous projecting south-
westward in the form of synclinal basins between the axial
areas of Pre-Cambrian strata. Towards the east, the
basin-like structure is not so strikingly exhibited and the
south boundary is formed by Millstone Grit strata resting
directly on Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian beds except in
the extreme east where beds of the Limestone series form
the basement and are separated by faults from the Mill-
stone Grit measures.
250
NOTE ON THE FLORA OF THE COAL MEASURES.
(DAvip WHITE.)
The paleeobotany of the Sydney coal field, in Cape Breton,
engaged the attention of the pioneers in paleontology in
Canada. The flora was first examined by Sir Charles Lyell
who, in his “Travels in North America’’, catalogued the
fossils plants found by him at the mines. The paper by
C. J. F. Bunbury, who carefully described about 50 species
from Sydney in the collection of Richard Brown, is a corner-
stone in the Palzozoic palezobotany of North America.
Two of the excellently illustrated species, Neuropteris
rarinervis and Neuropteris cordata |Neuropteris scheu-
chzeri] are most characteristic and omnipresent in the
Alleghany formation and its contemporaries in the coal
fields of the United States. They are present also in the
lower part of the Coal Measures of many of the basins of
Europe, and specimens indistinguishable from those of the
second species found in Cape Breton are assocciated with
some of the coals of central China. In the Appalachian
trough the two species occur sparingly also in the Mercer
group and within the synchronous topmost part of the
Kanawha formation, but they are unknown in the older
beds of the Upper Carboniferous. Dictyopteris obliqua
and Odontopteris subcuneata, species founded by Bunbury,
are present also in Europe as well asin the United States,
where they are characteristic of a restricted zone.
The flora of the Sydney coal field was further elaborated
by Dawson in a number of papers. About I15 species
are reported from this coal field, but, unfortunately, the
descriptions are generally so meagre and the illustrations so
inadequate in most cases that the paleontologist is hardly
able, merely from the examination of the reports, satisfac-
torily to determine the positions of the plant-bearing beds
in the cosmopolitan time classification. However, it would
appear from the comparison of Dawson’s list that the species
as a whole, cited as belonging to the‘‘ Middle Coal formation”’
of Cape Breton, are of slightly later date than those noted
from the same formation in the Joggins section, being
approximately referable to either the ‘‘transition series’’
or the basal portion of the Upper Coal Measures in Great
Britain, and to the base of the European Stephanian, which
Al.
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y. ; ny
aunders a
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4 y »
Stubbart Point
fLean PF
Be Legend
True North
3 \ George py,
es
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/ GA Pee Coal measures
ag Millstone grit
lprth Sydney June &
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[es | Point Edward formation
Windsor series
[er | Conglomerate series
Ba Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian
Carboniferous
Pre-Carboniferous
Geological Survey, Canada,
Sydney
Miles
' 0 2 a
—— a
Kilometres
! 0 2 + 6
(cme. je ee
251
embraces the greater part, at least, of the Alleghany form-
ation in the Appalachian trough of the United States.
Evidently several widely removed plant-bearing horizons
have furnished material for the list, and it is not unlikely
that some of the lower of these may be as old as the upper-
most portion of the Pottsville, or perhaps the Middle Coal
Measures of Europe. As belonging to the “Upper Coal
formation’? Dawson mentions a number of species some of
which are clearly Stephanian and as high as the upper part
of the Alleghany in the Appalachian coal fields.
tHE CARBONIFEROUS SECTIONS ON SYDNEY
HARBOUR*.
GQ Een.)
INTRODUCTION.
The section at Sydney shows the Mississippian (Sub-
Carboniferous) formations, especially the Windsor series,
succeeded by three Pennsylvanian (Coal-Measures) form-
ations, the Point Edward formation, the Millstone Grit
and the ‘“‘Coal Measures’. No other locality at present
known in the eastern part of Canada shows all of these
formations both so characteristically developed and with
their stratigraphic succession uncomplicated by faulting
or folding. Exception is not made even to the Joggins
section. The Sydney section is the only section so far
known in which beds with the Leaia fauna (the Point
Edward formation which is believed to represent the
Riversdale and Union) can be seen lying on the Windsor
series, and overlain by the Millstone Grit. This section
has determined the stratigraphical position of this fauna,
although its approximate age has been known for several
years.
*See Map—Sydney.
252
The section is as follows, from the top downward :—
Pennsylvanian system.
Productive Coal Measures.—Sandstones and
shales with a number of workable coal seams
and several thinner ones. Plant remains are
abundant in the series; upright tree trunks
are not infrequent in the shales, and roots and
rootlets in position are abundant. Anthra-
comya and ostracods are abundant in the
black shales associated with the coals and
much the same fauna is also found sparingly
in an occasional thin bed of limestone....... 1,970 ft.
(600-5 m.)
Millstone Grit——A massive, yellowish to grey,
coarse, feldspathic sandstone with numerous
pebble beds in the middle and lower portions;
occasional thin beds of coal occur. ..... .... 37625 iit
(1,105 m.)
Point Edward formation.—(Name new; form-
erly considered the top of the “‘Limestone
series.’’) Alternating sandstones and shales,
which are predominantly red or purplish in
colour. The sandstones are characterized by
cross-bedding produced by the translation
ripple. Occasional limestones occur which
with the shales are sometimes mud-cracked.
Gypsum beds occur occasionally. A fauna
consisting almost wholly of Leaia, a few
species of Anthracomya and ostracods occur
in the beds of grey shale. This fauna is also
found, in part at least, in the Riversdale and
Union formations near Truro. The Point
Edward formation is correlated in a general
way with those formations. According to
Robb, the thicknessis about... ee 700 ft.
Mississippian system.
Windsor series.—Marine limestones and grey or
red shales with occasional sandstones. This
formation is not so well developed or so well
shown in the Sydney section as it is in other
localities on Cape Breton island. The total
253
thickness, which is here given, is only about
half as great as the figure assigned by Robb
TCOnuMewSaTIIey De dSits ms. fe! pitas rs cen cee we ere
The following members of the Windsor series
arranged in descending order, can be distin-
guished :—
a. Odlitic marine limestones with red shales
and coarse sandstones. The limestones are
marine but with a limited fauna. Thickness
b. Reddish shales, sandstones and conglomerate
with beds of limestone which carry a fauna
almost wholly of ostracods; only a few small
marine lamellibranchs and gastropods are
resents Mblaickness alnouiy ase oe eee
600 ft.
183 m.)
(64-3 m.)
188 ft.
(57:3 m.)
c. Sandy shales, sandstone and conglomerate,
predominantly red, with at least four marine
limestones, not well shown. Thickness esti-
MAEM ete OUt crn Cone Rect Mie mwa ent ateis
Age uncertain, probably Mississippian, formerly
considered the lower part of the Sub-Carboni-
ferous ‘‘ Limestone series.”
Red and purple sandy shales, sandstones and
conglomerates all loosely coherent, with occa-
sional thin beds of barren limestone. Pebbles
up to several inches in diameter are present
but they are, on the whole, not as coarse as
in the formation next below. This formation
was included by Fletcher in his ‘“Sub-
Carboniferous Limestone series’’ because of
the presence of an occasional limestone bed.
These are not known to carry fossils. The
thickness given by Robb, which is here
adopted, is probably much too large........
200 ft.
(61 m.)
(802-5 m.)
Carboniferous Conglomerate series——This was
so called by Fletcher but its age is
unknown. It consists of red and purplish
conglomerates, differing mostly from the
overlying beds in their greater coarseness.
254
In degree of consolidation, distribution,
amount of folding, etc., it belongs to the
overlying series and is probably not far
removed from it in age. It rests on highly
metamorphosed Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian
rocks and was evidently deposited in basins
between hills of these old rocks, or on the
slopes of such hills. Thickness, according to
Fletcher 4s is 2 ee eee 2,525 ft.
The rocks about Sydney harbour lie in a broad anticline
which pitches to the northward. The axis of this anticline
runs along the western side of the broad peninsula which
lies between the east and west arms of the harbour. The
section is best shown beginning with the oldest rocks on
the brooks south of the west arm of Sydney harbour,
thence continuing along the east shore of this arm to
Point Edward. From there it can be followed, after
a long interval covered by the water, along either the
east or west shores of the main harbour.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS.
The Basal Division of the Windsor Series—At Point
Edward post office are located the quarries of the Nova
Scotia Steel and Coal Co., one of the principal sources
of limestone for the iron furnaces. At the road crossing
at the end of the branch railway leading to the quarries
is the southern margin of the belt of Windsor rocks. To
the southward, in the distance, rise the high Coxheath
hills of resistant Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian metamor-
phic and plutonic igneous rocks. These hills are prob-
ably of pre-Carboniferous age. The broad belt of rather
low land intervening between these hills is underlain
by the slightly resistant, loosely consolidated conglomerates
and sandstones of the lower part of the Carboniferous
section which overlap on to the Pre-Cambrian hills and
dip northward. These conglomerates constitute Fletcher’s
Conglomerate series and the lower part of his Limestone
series.
Proceeding westward, down the road to the shore,
the first rocks seen are the topmost beds of the loosely
consolidated sandstones and conglomerates just mentioned.
255
They are here much finer than to the southward nearer
the source of the material of which they are composed.
Overlying these sandstones is the basal bed of the Windsor
series proper, a massive grey limestone Io feet (3 m.)
thick which forms a prominent point projecting into the
bay.
In the following paragraphs, the beds of the basal
member (c) of the Windsor series are numbered in ascend-
ing order, as they occur along the shore northwards.
Le
Massive grey odlitic limestone, which
forms a prominent point projecting
into the bay. Occasional fossils,
chiefly Producti, occur. This is bed
51 of Robb’s section at Sydney.....10 ft.
(3 m.)
Red clay shales with thin limestones,
very poorly shown along the shore
just north of the last point; about... .40 ft.
(12-2 m.)
(Beds 3 to 8 inclusive are exposed on the shore just south
3.
of the old wharf.)
Coarse sandstone and conglomerate
walthnedsShaller mn auceccrace sete ec Atte
(1-2 m.)
Grey nodular limestone, greenish and
Iplatckeshaleawaecece in my decent ha Sie, WO) ia
(2277 10.)
Thin, soft, coarse sandstone with plant
TE MMA LT Soe eae aad chee NE Ae! Bitte ©. tits
(1-4 m.)
Bluish grey nodular limestone; fossils
abundant and surrounded by con-
centric deposits of limestone which
are apparently original. One of the
best fossils beds of the section....... Dales
(0-7 m.)
Sandy shales with abundant concentric
nodules containing Producti......... B jie, D shin.
(0.6 m.)
Light grey, thinly bedded limestone
Walt lela OG 1001 Deeumea aos rah ete Chey wernt 9 ft
256
The next set of beds in the section are exposed in the
old Louisburg quarry situated 75 metres inland at the
end of an abandoned road.
g. Thinly bedded, grey, finely odlitic
limestones with Producti abundant in
pockets and layers. These beds over-
lie those (No. 8) seen on the shore but
it is not exactly known whether or not
the basal beds in the quarry are shown
on the shore. It is reported that
limestone was once quarried here for
use in the building of Louisburg.
Thicknessatleast...% (Ann oe ee 13 hte
(3:9 m.)
Leaving the Louisburg quarry ,and continuing east-
ward up the hill, along the strike of the quarry bed, past
the old lime kiln, and from there along a more northeast-
erly course descending into a small shallow stream valley
the next two beds may be noted.
10. Massive pink limestones, single bed 2 ft. 2 in.
(0-6 m.)
11. Massive very finely odlitic limestone 6 ft. 6 in.
(2-0 m.)
Crossing the marshy stream in the shallow valley, the
line of section continues up the hillside over a covered
interval to the base of the main quarry.
12. Covered, but known to carry near the
middle a massive limestone 9% feet
thick (2-9 m.) and at the top 15 feet
(4-5 m.) of coarse sandstone with
plants, the top of which can be seen at
one point in the quarry. About.....70 ft.
(21-3 m.)
The following beds are exposed in the large quarry of
the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company.
13. Grey odlitic limestone with concentric
nodules, resting on the sandstone
mentioned under Now 0. ere 2ita jets
(0-8 m.)
14: Sandy shale with abundant hard con-
centric limy nodules in which fossils
257
15: Massive odlitic limestone, fossils very
rare except in basal two feet where
Productus is fairly common. In
places the limestones show the con-
centric structure prominently and in
such a manner as to suggest that it is
an original structure of the limestone.
This is the topmost bed of division C
of the Windsor limestones............32 ft. 8 in.
(10 m.).
Fauna of the Windsor Series—The fauna of the
Windsor series as developed at Sydney differs consider-
ably from the fauna found in these limestones at Wind-
sor, N.S., but several of the species are identical
and there is no question as to the general equivalence of
the beds. On the other hand, many species appear which
have not been recorded from Windsor. These differences
appear to be due, in considerable measure, to the variation
of the fauna from point to point. The following notes
are the results of a preliminary study and are subject to
considerable revision and amplification. The propriety
of using some of the specific names here adopted is very
doubtful. For example, “Dielasma sacculus’’ Martin, is
certainly not present. But the form here so designated
has almost always been so referred to, and a different name
cannot be adopted without much discussion.
The faunas of the three members of the Windsor series
differ considerably. That of the uppermost member is a
pure marine fauna with corals, Productus, Schuchertella,
Camarotechia, Spirtfer, Spiriferina, Composita, ‘‘Dielasma
sacculus’”’, several species of marine lamellibranchs and
gastropods, and other species.
That of the middle member is also marine but evidently
developed under restricted or special conditions. Several
species of ostracods, Spirorbis, two or three species of small
aviculoid and alate lamellibranchs, a small gastropod and
the Foraminiferal species (?) Nodosinella priscilla Dawson,
comprise the whole of the fauna so far observed.
The fauna of the lower member, as developed near
Point Edward Post Office, evidently existed under more
nearly typical marine conditions than did that of the
middle member but no such diversified fauna has been
observed as is found in the upper member. Whether this
is due to biotic conditions or difference in age cannot
as yet be stated. The lower member is marked by num-
erous species of Productus and by the alate lamellibranchs.
35063—4A
258
Rather striking, also, is the restriction of the faunules in
the several beds and the appearance of different species in
these beds. This tendency, the limitation of and difference
in the faunules in successive beds, is believed to be due to
varying biotic conditions.
Several species are common to the lower and upper members
of the Windsor, among them Productus cf. arseneaut, Produc-
tus laevicostus, Pugnax dawsonianus, and Dielasma sacculus.
One species only has been found common to the Point
Edward formation and the Windsor series, the ostracod
here called Beyrichiopsis granulata var, which is so strikingly
distinct as to be easily recognized. It occurs in several
beds of the Windsor, ranging from the basal bed of the
lower member into the middle of the middle member.
In the whole Windsor series of this section, there is only
one bed and one locality, so far observed, where fossils
are abundant. This is in the upper member. Usually
they are scarce, and not infrequently they are to be
obtained only after a long and patient search.
Following is a list of the species obtained in the lower
member at the Point Edward Post Office locality. The
numbers at the top of the columns are the ones used to
designate the beds in the detailed section already given.
Upper
x Part.
Serpulites annulatus Dawson......|.... Suldcar ale talte pel ioe easel eer ee
Spirorbisisprss scree eae Reel real eeral arenas GIT 2S loo 00
Productus cf. arseneaui Beede....|....|....] xX X || ssc ea lex
Productus auriculispinus Beede....| Xx |....|....
Productus dawsoni acadicus Beede.}. ..|....| xX |....]....]....)..-.
Productus laevicostus White...... auasroue | Gearepsi| edsne si| apa al eee ote | Cee
Productus tenuicostiformis Beede..}....]....|....J....]| xX ]....| X
ELOdUCCUSISp eee cence Bees |i? <i sical eets sec, Gest: 28
Pugnax dawsonianus Davidson....|.... NE epoca ecalliclaca o|/5 0-64
*Dielasma.sacculus Martin, . «ees. lle src 2 2X ecole eillortenetea ewer |S
AVACUIOpectents pase seer ee BEN altncecel| ys
Aviculopecten cf. debertianus Daw-
*
Keptodesmaispiee ss. aoka oes Pera rere n. Gan eae eS et
Leiopteria, dawsomi Beedes..).5. 52/7. 4s.) sein lecce alles Xone ee
Gastropod gen. et sp. (a)......... ee rate lite seal tari al OS || 38
Gastropod gen. et sp. (b)..........]....|....
@rthocerasispye ee Ree ala Nes
Endolobus avonensis Dawson..... Acca |Paee
@stracodsuae as ries peru X
x x KK
259
Point Edward Post Office to the Quarantine Station on
Point Edward.—The branch railway from the limestone
quarries at Point Edward post office, runs southward to
join the main line of the Intercolonial railway. This
branch railway passes on the western side of the north-
easterly pitching anticline whose position is marked to the
south by the Pre-Cambrian area of the Coxheath hills
around which the Lower Carboniferous beds are symmet-
rically disposed. Leaving the quarries, the railway passes
through a belt of northerly and gently dipping red and
purple, sandy shales, sandstones and conglomerates
underlying the Windsor series and forming part of the
original Limestone series. Farther south, the branch
railway enters the area of reddish conglomerates of the
Conglomerate series which extends southward over and
around the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Coxheath hills.
From the point of junction of the branch railway and the
main line, the Intercolonial railway runs in a northeasterly
direction towards and then around the head of the North-
west Arm of Sydney harbour. Along this course the rail-
Way passes over the Carboniferous strata in ascending
order as they occur on the western limb of the Point
Edward anticline. For some distance west of the railway
junction, the underlying strata belong to the Conglomerate
series; beyond this occur the measures of the Limestone
series outcropping along the eastern shore and about the
head of the Northwest Arm. The strata dip to the north-
west at angles of 5° to 20°. In the vicinity of Leitch
Creek station, the measures belong to the Windsor division
of the Limestone series; beyond this, on the western
shore at the head of Northwest Arm, the strata belong to
the Point Edward division which farther west along the
railway are succeeded by Millstone Grit beds.
Proceeding by boat from Leitch Creek station, north-
ward down the waters of Northwest Arm, low outcrops
of the Point Edward formation may be observed in the
banks on the west. These dip to the west under the Mill-
stone Grit which forms the high hills a few hundred metres
beyond the shore. The Point Edward formation is only
shown for a short distance, when it passes entirely below
the Millstone Grit. The contact is a sharp one, and is
moderately well shown. From the contact northward to
beyond North Sydney, outcrops of the Millstone Grit are
more or less continuous on the west bank. On the east
35063—45A
260
shore, the contact between the Windsor series and the
Point Edward formation lies between the two closely
located light houses. Northward from these lights
occasional low outcrops of the Point Edward formation
may be seen, in ascending order. Rounding Point Edward,
outcrops in descending order continue southward to the
landing pier at the Quarantine station.
The Point Edward Formation.—On the farther side of
the first little bay north of the landing pier, a bed of dark
grey shale furnishes the typical fauna of the Point Edward
formation, including Leaza. At the point beyond, mud-
cracked limestones, red shales and reddish and purplish
sandstones typical of the Point Edward formation, may be
observed. The sandstones are characterized by cross
bedding, the result of translation ripples. Plant fragments
are abundant and branches several feet in length are not
unusual. There are also peculiar vertical tubes distri-
buted abundantly through the sandstones, the origin of
which is uncertain.
Section of Millstone Grit and Coal Measures in the Vicinity
of North Sydney. The Millstone Grit and Coal Measures
form a thick, conformable series outcropping on the
western shore of Sydney harbour and Northwest Arm from
Limestone creek on the south to Cranberry head on the
north. Throughout this whole section, which has a length
of about 7% miles (12 km.), the strata dip at angles of
from 5° to 15° to the north and north-northwest. The
total thickness of measures displayed is about 5,350 feet
(1,830 m.) of which the upper 1,725 feet (525 m.) belong to
the Coal Measures. The Millstone Grit strata are almost
entirely grey sandstones which towards the base of the
formation are conglomeratic, while at the summit they are
interbedded with variously coloured shales. One coal
seam, with a thickness of about 2 feet (0-6 m.) occurs in
the Millstone Grit towards the top of the formation.
The Coal Measures consist of grey sandstones, dark and
variously coloured shales, thin limestones and numerous
coal seams which individually are as much as 6 feet (1-8 m.)
thick, and have a combined thickness of nearly 42 feet
(12-8 m.).
The exposures of Millstone Grit to the southward of
North Sydney are monotonously alike. The upper part
of the formation is well exposed along the shore to the
northward of the town and the strata there are quite
261
typical of the whole formation except that conglomeratic
beds are not present. The contact of the Millstone Grit
with the Coal Measures is a conformable one and is
excellently shown. The somewhat arbitrarily chosen
boundary between the two formations is indicated by a
rather abrupt change from the light colour of the sandy
measures of the Millstone Grit to the much darker, shaly
strata of the Coal Measures. An upright tree trunk,
several feet in height is shown (in 1912) in cross section a
short distance beyond the contact.
Immediately north of the piers at Indian Cove, and in the
shales overlying the Indian Cove coal seam, abundant
ce
Main seam”’ outcrop.
Coal measures, Sydney, N.S. Looking north from
fern remains may be found. Long Stigmaria roots are
found in these shales with rootlets radiating in all directions
in position as they grew. In the coarse sandstones
overlying this shale bed, are abundant upright Calamite
stalks up to two feet in length. Continuing up the shore, a
monotonous succession of sandstones, red shales, grey shales,
coals, etc., is traversed. The red shales are mud-cracked; the
grey shales commonly carry rootlets; the black shales
associated with the coals usually show abundant ostracods
and Anthracomya. An occasional thin bed of limestone is
exposed, one bed of which is known to carry fragmental
fish remains in abundance.
262
Just before the “‘ main seam”’ is reached, upright tree
trunks and roots are found in abundance in one of the shale
beds.
The ‘‘main seam”’ is indicated by old workings and
excavations, butits very top may be seen if tidal conditions
are favourable. The
many species of plants. A few metres beyond the main
seam, Anthracomya and ostracod s, may be found in black
shales in an old excavation in the cliff.
1.
BI
[BYRON ly ISS5 Goo 616 6
5 leony, (Co lobes
; Dawson, W. J-o4.
shales overlying it have furnished
BLIOGRAPHY.
.Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol.
I; pp. 207-203, 18452" Voleaaile
pp. 293-6, 1846: Vol> Tiieipp:
257-60, 1847: Vol. IV, pp. 46—
50, 1848:, Vol. V, “pp 83545co0"
1849: Vol. VI, pp. 115-133, 1850.
Coal Fields and Coal Trade of the
Island of Cape Breton, London,
LSA
Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol.
Ill, pp: 423-437, 18472 Vole NA
pp. 23-26, 1852.
Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol.
XXII, p. 95, 1866.
Canadian Naturalist, Vol. VIII,
Pp. 431, 1863.
Geol. Surv. Can., Fossil Plants of
the Lower Carboniferous and Mill-
stone Grit, 1873.
Acadian Geology.
Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress,
1875-76; Report of Progress, 1876-77
Geol. Surv. Can., Descriptive Note
of the Sydney Coal Field, 1901.
Proceed. and Trans. Nova Scotian
Inst. Se:, /Vol:: Wl pps 4s5ncr
1895.
Amer. Journ. Sci. and Arts, 2nd
ser., Vol. XXXVI, p. 179, 1863.
Proceed. Amer. Phil. Soc., Vol.
IX, pp. 93-109, 1865.
..Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Pro-
gress, 1872-73: Report of Progress,
1873-74: Report of Progress, 1874—
75:
Miles and
kilometres.
Om.
oO km.
263
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
SYDNEY TO GEORGE RIVER STATION.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Sydney.—Leaving Sydney station, the Inter-
colonial railway, before passing out of the city
crosses the fault line forming the boundary
between the area of Carboniferous Limestone
series on which the city is built and the
wide area of Millstone Grit extending far to the
south and east. After leaving the city proper,
the railway passes close to the shores of the
estuary of Sydney river. Occasional outcrops
of Millstone Grit occur along the shore, the
strata dipping to the southeast at angles of
from 15° to 35°. Strata of the Limestone
series, also dipping to the southeast, are exposed
on the opposite side.
Three miles (4-8 km.) from Sydney, the
railway crosses Sydney river. The low valley
of the river extends with this character for a
number of miles to the southwest and is floored
with strata of the Carboniferous Limestone
series, the measures dipping to the southwest.
At the crossing of Sydney river, the band of
the Limestone series is less than 4 mile (0-8 km.)
wide and the railway in a short distance passes
into an area occupied by the Carboniferous
Conglomerate series. The strata of the Con-
glomerate series are arranged in anticlinal
form about a ridge of Pre-Cambrian strata
which rises several miles southwest of the
railway. The reddish conglomerates, sand-
stones and shales of the Conglomerate series
dip at low angles, away from the central ridge
of Pre-Cambrian rocks and are flanked on the
east, north and west by apparently conformable
strata of the Limestone series.
Three miles (4-8 km.) beyond the crossing
of Sydney river, the railway passes over a low
summit situated approximately on the anticlinal
axis of the fold in the Carboniferous strata,
Miles and
Kilometres.
264.
and begins a traverse of the northwestern limb
of the anticline. In a distance of about 2 miles
(3:2 km.) from the summit, the railway again
enters the encircling area of the Limestone
series and shortly approaches the shores of
the Northwest Arm of Sydney harbour around
the head of which the railway passes: The
low valley at the head of the Northwest Arm
is floored by strata of the Limestone series
dipping to the northwest at angles of from
15° to 25°.
Leitch Creek Station—Alt. to ft.( 3 m.).
A short distance beyond Leitch Creek station,
at the crossing of Leitch creek, a view up the
valley shows the ridge of the Boisdale hills
rising to altitudes of 600 to 800 feet (180 to
249 m.). The Boisdale hills are composed of
Pre-Cambrian rocks and form the western
boundary of the Carboniferous basin. The
_ Carboniferous Limestone measures extend up
the valley of Leitch creek and there repose
directly on the Pre-Cambrian rocks without
any intervening strata of the Conglomerate
series.
A short distance beyond the crossing of
Leitch creek, the railway passes through cuttings
in reddish shales and sandstones possibly
belonging to the Point Edward formation
which in places lies between the Limestone
series and the Millstone Grit. Just beyond
this point, where the railway skirts the shores
of a small lake, the area of Millstone Grit
strata forming the summit of the western
limb of the anticline, is entered upon. Small
cuttings in Millstone Grit strata occur along
the railway. The measures dip to the north-
west at angles of 10° to 20°. The Millstone
Grit strata form a ridge exending in a northeast-
southwest direction and in which the strata are
arranged in a shallow syncline. To the south-
west, the Millstone Grit strata are encircled
by measures of the Limestone series which
rest on the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Boisdale
hills. To the northwest, the Millstone Grit
Miles and
Kilometres.
265
beds dip beneath the Coal Measures of the
North Sydney area.
North Sydney Junction—Alt. 159 ft.
(48-5 m.). North Sydney Junction is situated
approximately on the axis of the synclinal fold
traversing the Millstone Grit area. From
this point, the waters of St Andrew channel
are visible to the northwest, with the low
wooded heights of Boularderie island beyond,
while above these are visible the highlands on
the western side of Great Bras d’Or. These
highlands, distant about 9 miles (14-5 km.)
rise to altitudes of 900 feet (275 m.) and form
the western boundary of the Sydney Carboni-
ferous basin. Boularderie island is mainly
occupied by Millstone Grit strata arranged
in a shallow syncline with strata of the Lime-
stone series occurring at intervals along the
southeastern and northwestern shores. The
anticlinal axis separating the Boularderie Island
syncline from the North Sydney syncline is,
in a general way, the prolongation of the axis
of the Boisdale hills.
Leaving North Sydney Junction, the railway
descends towards the valley of George river.
The Boisdale ridge rises on the further side
of the river valley and after passing a small
lake, a quarry working in Pre-Cambrian crys-
talline limestone is visible on the side of the ridge.
The western side of the valley of George river is
floored with strata of the Carboniferous Lime-
stone series dipping to the east. The total thick-
ness of this series as developed in this neighbor-
hood is small as compared with the develop-
ment on the shores of Sydney harbour. Pos-
sibly the decreased thickness is due either to
faulting or to an overlap of the Millstone Grit.
The railway crosses George river near its
mouth and enters the narrow area occupied
by the Limestone series. The railway passes
close to the shore around the northern end of
266
esiend the Boisdale ridge and after leaving the area of
ometres. 5 5 5 5
the Carboniferous Limestone series, it crosses
Pre-Cambrian granite which extends westward
beyond George River station.
16:6 m George River Station—Alt. 37 ft. (11-3 m.).
26-7 km.
GEORGE RIVER.*
(G. A. YOUNG.)
INTRODUCTION.
The line of the Intercolonial railway eastward and
southward from George River station affords an opportunity
of examining a part of a section transverse to the axis of
the Boisdale hills at the northern end of this upland.
This range of hills is largely underlain by Pre-Cambrian
and Cambrian strata with detached areas of Carboniferous
measures outcropping along their flanks.
The Boisdale hills follow a S.W.—-N.E. course for a
distance of about 30 miles (48 km.) and vary in width
from 6 miles (9-6 km.) in the southern portion to about
3 mile (2-4 km.) at the northern end. Along their
northwestern side, the hills rise steeply, in places abruptly,
from the waters of Bras d’Or lake, to heights of 600 feet
(180 m.) to 900 feet (275 m.) above sea level. Along
their southeastern side, the hills in the north are bounded
by the lowlands of the Sydney Carboniferous basin, while
towards the south they rise directly from the shores of
East bay, a northeasterly extension of Bras d’Or lake.
The strata outcropping in the Boisdale hills have been
mapped and grouped by Fletcher [1! as follows:—
Gar honiteroue (Carboniferous Limestone series.
\Carboniferous Conglomerate series.
(Cambrian.
| Pre-Cambrian, George River series.
\Pre-Cambrian, granite, gneiss, schist,
eametce
Pre-Carboniferous
*See Map—George River Station.
207
The Pre-Carboniferous strata, at first considered to
represent metamorphosed Carboniferous measures intruded
by granitic bodies, were next thought to be of Silurian
age, and finally, by Fletcher were mapped and described
as divisible into Lower Silurian (7. e. Cambrian) and
Pre-Cambrian. Later still Matthew subdivided the
Cambrian into five divisions and placed in the Cambrian
certain strata previously considered to be of Pre-Cambrian
age.
The Pre-Cambrian strata as mapped by Fletcher,
occupy by far the larger part of the area of the Boisdale
hills. The Carboniferous beds occur only in the form of
a narrow, discontinuous border. The Cambrian beds are
mainly confined to a long, narrow zone which in the north
forms the western margin of the upland but in the south,
extends from side to side of the Pre-Cambrian area.
The Pre-Cambrian was divided by Fletcher into two
groups. One of these was termed the George River series
and because of its lithological characters was supposed
to be the equivalent of the Grenville-Hastings series of
Quebec and Ontario. This view was adopted by Matthew
also. As described by Fletcher, the George River series
consists of crystalline limestone, quartzite, mica schist,
hornblende schist, etc., interleaved with granitic and
gneissic rocks. The strata in most places, are inclined
at high angles and are highly metamorphosed. The
series was regarded as essentially of sedimentary origin
and was believed to be younger than, and to rest uncon-
formably on the associated granitic rocks. This view
of the relations existing between the sedimentary series
and the plutonic rocks was doubltess based on the beliefs,
held in the 70’s at the time the field work was performed,
regarding the relations existing in the typical Laurentian
areas of Quebec. Recent examinations made of some
typical sections of the George River series indicate, how-
ever, that the granitic rocks unmistakably cut and are
younger than the George River series. The correlation
on lithological grounds of the George River series with the
Laurentian (Grenville-Hastings) of distant Quebec is
perhaps no longer justifiable. But the various points
of resemblance existing between the Pre-Cambrain of
Cape Breton and the original Laurentian, are worthy of
note.
268
The George river series as mapped by Fletcher is confined
to three, long, detached areas situated along the south-
eastern flank of the Boisdale hills. These areas border
the great central mass of the ranges regarded by Fletcher
as essentially occupied by granite but including large and
small areas of rocks that in some cases possibly belong to
the George River series and in others to the Cambrian.
As already stated, it is now advocated that the granitic
rocks are younger than the George River series. It is
assumed, therefore, that the Pre-Cambrian of the Boisdale
hills consists of the remnants of one or more series of
limestones, quartzites, etc., and _ possibly deformed
volcanics, intruded by bodies of granitic rocks. In the
extreme northern portion of these hills, the granites form
relatively large, homogenous areas from which offshoots
extend into the older, bedded series.
The Pre-Cambrian age of the above described assemblage
of strata has been established by Fletcher, who stated that
Cambrian conglomerates hold rock fragments similar to
varieties of rocks in the Pre-Cambrian, and that the Cam-
brian is nowhere cut by the granites. Examples of the
actual unconformable superposition of the Cambrian on
the Pre-Cambrain have been described by Fletcher and
Matthew. In general, however, the two rock groups are
in contact along faults.
The Cambrian measures as mapped by Fletcher, form a
long, narrow band extending nearly the whole length of the
Boisdale hills. As described by Fletcher, the Cambrian
consists of a series of sediments and, also, a group of
igneous rocks generally described under the name of
‘felsites.’ On an earlier map, a considerable area of these
igneous rocks is unquestionably included in the Cambrian.
On a later map, a portion of these igneous rocks is mapped
separately. The relation of these igneous rocks to the
Cambrian sediments is not specifically described by
Fletcher, nor is it very apparent on what grounds certain
‘felsites’ were mapped as Cambrian while others were
assigned to the Pre-Cambrian. Matthew has definitely
grouped certain of the igneous rocks with the Cambrian,
including some that by Fletcher were considered Pre-
Cambrian.
Matthew has subdivided the Cambrian, on paleonto-
logical and lithological evidence, into five groups. The
269
following table is a condensed form of one published by
Matthew [2, p. 60].
Equivalents in Great Britain.
Llandeilo.
Ordovician.
Arenig.
Bretonian.
| Tremadoc.
|Dolgelly.
Maenterog.
Cambrian.
Johannian. Ffestiniog.
‘Menevian.
Acadian.
Solva.
Basal Etcheminian. \Caeteen
|
Cambrian. \Coldbrookian. Pebidian.
The Coldbrookian is described by Matthew as essentially
composed of volcanic rocks comprising flows and tuffs.
In places it is found lying unconformably upon the Pre-
Cambrian with a coarse conglomerate at the base. At one
locality only, are fossils described as occurring in the
Coldbrookian. At this locality, on Dugald brook, about
20 miles (32 km.) southwest of George River station, the
Coldbrookian is only 315 feet (96 m.) thick. The lower
portion is of feldspathic sandstones with layers of conglom-
erate. The upper portion consists of amygdaloids and
felsites. Above these occur members of the Etcheminian
division. The fossiliferous strata lie midway in the section
and are about 30 feet (9.1 m.) thick. Six species of brach-
iopods and two of ostracods are described by Matthew
[2, p. 72]. The two ostracods occur also in the overlying
Etcheminian accompanied by brachiopods very similiar to
those found in the Coldbrookian.
The typical region for the Coldbrookian series is in south-
western New Brunswick, where, so far as is known, the
270
rocks of this group are all igneous and have generally
been considered to belong to the Pre-Cambrian. The
correlation of the strata in the Boisdale Hills has been based,
(1) on supposedly similar stratigraphical relations and (2)
on similarity in appearance.
The Etcheminian is described as essentially a sedimentary
formation divisible into a lower and upper division. The
lower division consists largely of red and grey slates and
sandstones with conglomerate beds. The upper division
is composed mainly of grey, fine and coarse, shales and
slates. Both divisions are fossiliferous and besides a
number of species of brachiopods and osteracods, Matthew
has listed a trilobite “apparently related to Asaphus”’
(Holasaphus centropyge), a Paradoxoid trilobite and one of
the genus Solenopleura.
The Acadian division consists chiefly of dark grey
slates. It is unfossiliferous in the Boisdale hills area.
The Johannian is composed mainly of grey slates, sand-
stones and quartzites and has produced some fossils,
among them, Paradoxides forchhammert, and a number of
inarticulate brachiopods. The Bretonian division is
chiefly formed of dark grey and black slates; among the
few fossils that have been found are species of Asaphellus, a
typical ‘Tremadoc’ genus. On the Mira river, the Bre-
tonian is much more richly fossiliferous and contains
faunas, strictly comparable to the Scandinavian Upper
Cambrian and Lower Ordovician.
Matthew gives [2, p. 52) the following estimate of the
thickness of the Cambrian as developed respectively in the
Boisdale Hills area and in the Mira River valley not many
miles to the east.
Boisdale hills. Mira river.
Feet. Feet.
Bretomtanies: he yee cis Aurea vee ere 500 500
lohanmiane citar ee ee 1,200 2,000
IN Galdiaiiis) sete ae eee ee 200 800
Etcheminianes see eeieecee ee 500 3,000
Coldbrookian acre eee eee 300 very thick.
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271
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
The Intercolonial railway from George River station to
Young point closely follows the shores of St. Andrew
channel. To the north, across the waterway, lies Boular-
derie island mainly underlain by Millstone Grit measures
with strata of the Limestone series outcropping along the
shores. On the south side of the railway the land rises
quickly to heights of 600 feet (180 m.) to 700 feet (215 m.)
above the sea.
The geological section developed along the railway is
transverse to the axis of the Boisdale hills and cuts across
them at their northern end. At the eastern end of the
section, the Pre-Cambrian granite is exposed. Proceeding
westward, the granite is followed, according to Matthew, by
Coldbrookian and then by Etcheminian strata.
The rocks in the first cutting east of George River
station consist of pink granite traversed by a number of
parallel dykes of diabase dipping at high angles. The
granite is presumably of Pre-Cambrian age; the dykes are
possibly much younger. The dykes vary greatly in width
and individually send parallel off-shoots into the granite.
The rocks are much fractured and, in places sheared. As
a result, the rocks along the walls of some of the dykes
resemble a conglomerate. Referring to the basal con-
glomerate of the Etcheminian, Dr. Matthew makes the
following statement [2, p. 17]; “In the railroad cutting at
George River station the contact of these conglomerates
with the syenite (1.e., granite) can be seen at several places.
They fill hollows in the syenite.”’
A small outcrop of granite occurs on the south side of
the railway, a short distance west of the first brook crossing
the railway west of George River station. This is the last
exposure of granite. The rock does not outcrop on the
shore. It is visible at a number of points on the eastern
slopes of the valley in which flows the small brook just
crossed. The granite body is known to extend for an
indefinite distance southward. The western boundary of
the granite probably lies about 100 yards (90 m.) west of
the isolated exposure on the railway. The relations exist-
ing between the granite and the rocks exposed in the first
rock cut to the west of the brook are not known. Nowhere
in the immediate neighborhood has the granite or its
apophyses been found penetrating the rocks of this cut.
272
They may, therefore, be younger than the granite and
possibly are of Cambrian age.
The first rock cut to the west of the brook exposes
weathered and, in places, sheared igneous rocks. Two
main rock types are present, one is represented by dense
greenish black and reddish rocks apparently approaching
an andesite in composition. The other type is fine-grained,
greenish black in colour, and is of the composition of a
diabase. The diabase closely resembles the dykes of this
rock cutting the Pre-Cambrian granite in the first rock
cut and is thought to be the same rock.
At the eastern end of the rock cut are a few exposures of
an andesite tuff, while at the west end, there is a small
exposure of conglomerate. Throughout the length of the
cut, the andesite and diabase alternate. ‘The relations of
the diabase to the andesite are not known. The con-
glomerate at the west end of the rock cut, is penetrated by
the diabase and presumably the diabase also cuts the
andesite either in the form of dykes or sills.
Approaching the west end of the rock cut, on the sea-
ward side, are exposures of reddish, shale-like rocks
probably representing much decomposed andesite. On
the south side, at the west end of the rock cut, is a small
exposure of conglomerate composed of somewhat angular
rock fragments of small size in a quartzite matrix. The
rock fragments closely resemble the andesites. This con-
glomerate and the diabase that cuts it, mark the end of
exposures of igneous rocks. The same igneous assemblage
occurs on the beach north of the railway and the exposures
there also terminate with an outcrop of conglomerate.
In the hill country to the southwest of the railway are
outcrops of the same igneous rocks as occur on the railway.
The relations existing between the igneous rocks and
the succeeding Cambrian sediments is not directly known.
Both on the shore and along the railway, the exposures
of the two classes of rocks are separated by a concealed
interval. On the shore, the concealed interval is about
250 feet (76 m.) in width. Beyond it to the west are
continuous exposures of green and reddish grits, sandstones
and shales of Cambrian age. The sedimentary beds are
faulted and closely folded. It is assumed that they are
separated from the igneous rocks on the east by a fault.
The conglomerate at the west end of the rock cut possibly
represents the base of a series of rocks younger than the
273
andesites. The conglomerate may mark the base of an
older Cambrian series brought by the assumed fault against
the Cambrian strata to the west. If the conglomerate is of
Cambrian age, it is evident that the diabase is also of
Cambrian or younger age. This would then, also be true
of the dykes cutting the granite in the first rock cutting.
The igneous strata of the railway cut belong to a limited
area along the border of the Cambrian basin from which
they seem to be separated by a fault. There is no direct
evidence that they are not of Pre-Cambrian age and they
may be older than the Pre-Cambrian granite. Dr. Matthew
writing of the basal conglomerates of the Etcheminian,
makes the following statement [2, p. 17] regarding the rocks
exposed along the railway cut just traversed: “...... the
conglomerates are seen to rest on dark purplish-grey, fine
grained felsite similar to those of Long island and pre-
sumably of the Coldbrookian terrane...... She “so-=
called Coldbrookian on Dugald brook, 20 miles (32 km.)
to the southwest, contains a fossiliferous zone with Cambrian
fossils.
To the west of the above described rock cut, approaching
Young brook, a few exposures of Cambrian sediments occur
close to the railway. From the culvert over Young brook,
the Cambrian measures are visible in low cliffs extending
eastward along the shore. The strata consist of grey,
green and reddish slates, sandstones and fine conglomerate
faulted, folded and crumpled. Fossils, almost all inarti-
culate brachiopods belonging to the genera Lingulella and
Lingulepis, are abundant in these strata along the shore
west of Young brook and are present, though less common,
in some of the strata east of the culvert. Regarding these
strata, it has been stated [2, p. 17] that the reddish and
purplish beds belong to the lower division of the Etchemi-
mian and are cut off by a fault at Young brook from the grey
strata of the upper division exposed to the west along the
shore and railway as far as Young point.
In the first rock cut beyond Young brook occur greenish
shales and sandy beds with others of lighter coloured sand-
stone, also some dark shales. Near the beginning of the
rock cut, a synclinal crumple is visible. Beyond this, the
strata dip in a fairly constant direction, inland, at high
angles.
At about the centre of the rock cut are a number of thin
beds (8 inches and less) of fine, grey sandstone containing
35063—5A
274
brachiopods, etc. The same general strata are also exposed
in the low cliff along the shore on the north side of the
railway.
In the next rock cut are exposed crumpled dark slates
accompanied by torn bands of fine sandstone. <A short
distance further, a small rock cut passes through dark
greenish slates with very thin beds of sandstone.
To the south of the railway, the same general strata are
exposed with a general strike towards the northeast but
faulted, crumpled and closely folded. On the shore, to
the north of the railway, the shaly strata are also crumpled
and torn.
In the small quarry on the north side of the railway at
Young point, is exposed a face of dark slates interbedded
with sandstone bands carrying fossils, Lingulepis robertt
is the common fossil. The strata are bent into an anti-
clinal fold. On the higher slopes of the hill, above the
quarry opening, are outcrops of greenish slate and in places,
coarse and fine sandstone beds some of which are fossil-
iferous. The strata are much disturbed. In places they
are minutely crumpled; in other places they le in small
folds whose axes are separated by intervals of 5 feet to 10
feet (1-5 to 3 m.). The strike is, as before, fairly constant
and follows a general northeast course.
At Young point there is a small quarry in Carboniferous
limestone, which fills a depression in the eroded surface of
the highly tilted Cambrian shales. Similar pockets of
Mississippian limestone with fossils occur on the eastern
side of the valley south of the railway near George River
station and elsewhere. The limestone is fossiliferous and
at Young point, mingled with the Carboniferous types are
Cambrian forms derived from the underlying strata.
The following note has been prepared by J. E. Hyde:—
“The following species have been obtained from. the
Windsor limestone resting on the old land surface near
George River station, at Young point and in the two small
quarries back of the station. Those species which are
marked with an asterisk (*) are the more characteristic
of the faunule, although only one, Dielasma sacculus, is
very abundant. By far the greater part of these species
were obtained at Young point but the limestone at the two
other pockets carry the same fauna, in so far as it is
developed. Six of the 12 species have not been observed in
the Point Edward or Sydney section, namely 1, 6, 7, 8, 9,
and Tt
275
1. Auloporoid coral sp. undt.
2. *Serpulites annulatus Dawson.
3. Productus sp.
4. Schuchertella sp.
5. *Dielasma sacculus Martin.”’
6. Edmondia cf. magdalena Beede.
7. *Leptodesma sp. cf. Leiopteria acadica Beede.
8. *Pteronites sp.
9g. *“Loxonema sp.
10. Orthoceras cf. indianense Hall.
. *Conularia planicostata Dawson.
12. Ostracods.
The Cambrian consists of purplish and greenish shales
with thin layers and beds of purplish weathering sandstone
and grit. Similar strata outcrop along shore for about
1,000 feet (300 m.). The beds are traversed by small
faults and dip in various directions usually at high angles.
The folding and faulting is such that practically every-
where the same horizon is exposed and a three to four-foot
bed of coarse sandstone or fine grit in various attitudes is
exposed at a number of places. Beyond this, the above
measures give place to greenish shales crenulated and
closely folded.
At Young point some of the sandy beds are rich in
brachiopods. From these measures Dr. Matthew [2, p.19]
has listed the following species :—
Leptobolus atavus. Billingsella retroflexa.
Lingulella selwyni. Holasaphus centropyge.
Lingulepis roberti. A paradoxidoid trolobite.
Obolus discus. A eurypterid? crustacean.
This is the type locality for the trilobite genus Holasa-
phus, and specimens of the typical species (cranidia and
pygidia are quite abundant in the shale just north of the
quarry.
Regarding the fossils from this locality, Matthew states
[2, pp. 18-19] that on examining an earlier collection it was
thought that they were of Lower Ordovician age. But as
a result of a personal visit to the locality, he became
convinced that ‘the beds, in place of being at the summit
of the Cambrian, are towards its base. and are in fact of
the lower division of the Etcheminian.’”’ Recently the
35063 —52A
276
writer and Dr. P. E. Raymond obtained Paradoxides
forchhammert from the Young Point beds. The finding of
this species, as pointed out by Dr. Raymond to the writer,
indicates that the measures belong to the highest of the
Middle Cambrian Paradoxides zones.
The assignment of the Young Point beds to the upper
portion of the Middle Cambrian is of especial interest.
Prior to the recognition of Paradoxides forchhammert,
Dr. Matthew on faunal and lithological grounds assigned
the Young Point beds to a horizon about in the middle of
the Etcheminian. The fauna of the Etcheminian and the
Coldbrookian as stated by Dr. Matthew [2, p. 72] are very
similar. It would appear therefore that in Cape Breton,
the oldest known Cambrian is not older than the Middle
Cambrian. As far as the evidence presented along the
line of section traversed goes, it would appear that the
Cambrian is altogether a sedimentary series and that the
so-called Coldbrookian is of Pre-Cambrian age.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. Fletcher, Hugh....Geol. Surv. Can., Note on the
Sydney Coal Field, Cape Breton.
Map-sheets, Nos. 133,134 and 135.
2. Matthew, G. F....Geol. Surv. Can., Cambrian Rocks
of Cape Breton, 1903.
ANNOTATED GUIDE:
GEORGE RIVER STATION TO ANTIGONISH.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Miles and
Kilometres. ‘ :
om. George River Station—Alt. 37 ft. (11-2 m.).
o km. From George River station the Intercolonial
railway runs eastward around the northern end
of the Boisdale hills, and keeping close to the
shores of St. Andrew channel, passes along the
foot of the western slope of the range of hills.
A short distance beyond George River station,
the railway enters an area of Cambrian strata
which form the western slopes of the hills.
The Cambrian beds extend as a comparatively
Miles and
Kilometres.
277
narrow band southeastward throughout the
whole length of the Boisdale hills.
At Young point, about 13 miles (2-4 km.)
from George River station, Long island becomes
visible from the railway. A small island lying
north of Long island is composed of horizontal
limestone of the Carboniferous Limestone series.
Long island which has a length of about 23 miles
(4 km.), is in part occupied by disturbed
sedimentary beds, in part by fine-grained igneous
rocks possibly partly extrusive and partly of
intrusive origin. The sedimentary strata of
Long island are in part at least, of Cambrian
age and as described by Matthew, the igneous
rocks are of the same age.
Beyond Young point the railway closely fol-
lows the shore of the sound separating Long
island from the mainland. The bold, eastern
rock face of Long island is formed almost entirely
of igneous rocks. On the mainland, along the
railway are cuttings in dark Cambrian slates and
sandstones closely folded along north-south
axes. The Cambrian strata extend to the top
of the high, steep ridge which rises almost
directly from the shore to altitudes of 600 to
700 feet (180 to 215 m.). About opposite the
southern end of Long island, the Pre-Cambrian
strata which bound the Cambrian on the east,
approach closely to the shore and then recede.
Barrachois Station.—Just south of Barra-
chois station the railway passes through a long
cutting in dark slates. These slates are appar-
ently unfossiliferous but on lithological and
structural grounds are supposed by Matthew
to belong to the Bretonian and to be of Upper
Cambrian age. A _ short distance beyond,
the railway crosses the mouth of McLeod brook.
The Cambrian measures extend southward up
the valley of McLeod brook asa narrow band
about = mile (0-8 km.) wide and bounded on
both sides by Pre-Cambrian rocks. This band
of Cambrian strata continues southward across
a low divide and thence down the valley of
Indian brook almost to the shore of East bay
Miles and
Kilometres.
278
which bounds the Boisdale hills on the south.
This band of Cambrian strata has a length
from the mouth of McLeod brook southward,
of about 17 miles (27 km.). In the McLeod
brook basin the Cambrian strata apparently
belong to the Bretonian (in part lower Ordovi-
cian); in the Indian brook basin, all horizons
of the Cambrian are represented. Along the
eastern side of the band-like area, the Cambrian
strata are faulted against the Pre-Cambrian;
on the western side, in places at least, the
older Cambrian beds rest in an unfaulted
condition on the Pre-Cambrian.
After crossing McLeod brook, the railway
enters a small irregular area of Carboniferous
Conglomerate reposing on Cambrian strata.
Beyond this the Cambrian measures continue
along the shore for a distance of about 3 miles
(4-8 km.) until, opposite a low projecting point,
they are succeeded by gently dipping red sand-
stones and conglomerates of the Carboniferous
Conglomerate series. From this point, the
Carboniferous measures form an almost con-
tinuous band of variable width extending
southwestward along the shore of St. Andrew
channel. Inland these measures underlie a
low, broken country abutting against the
steeply rising, high ridges of Pre-Cambrian
rocks consisting chiefly of granite associated
with relatively limited amounts of ‘‘felsite,’’
quartzite, crystalline limestone, etc.
The Carboniferous strata dip in general to
the northwest at angles of 10° to 30°. Across
St. Andrew channel on Boularderie island,
distant about 22 miles (4-4 km.), strata of the
Limestone series outcrop, dipping in the same
general direction beneath the Millstone Grit
strata which, in the form of a syncline, occupy
the greater part of the island. The Limestone
series is characterized by beds of gypsum, white
cliffs of which are visible from the railway.
Rising above the hills of the island, are high
hills [altitude 700 to 900 feet, (215 to 275 m.)]
of Pre-Cambrian rocks on the mainland across
Miles and
Kilometres.
Teletit
17-7 km.
279
Great Bras d’Or channel on the far side of
Boularderie island.
Boisdale Station.—Near Boisdale station
and at intervals beyond, rock cuttings in the
red conglomerates and sandstones of the
Carboniferous series occur along the railway.
The Carboniferous strata continue along the
shore for about 53 miles (8-8 km.) or until
about opposite the end of Boularderie island,
where sedimentary strata, possibly of Cambrian
age outcrop near the shore. From this point
to Shenacadie station, several miles further on,
the Carboniferous strata are confined to a
narrow band, and the front of the high ridges of
Pre-Cambrian rocks closely approaches the
shore.
Shenacadie Station.— From Shenacadie
station onwards to Grand Narrows the railway
continues to follow the shore line. Along this
stretch the shore is bordered by a narrow strip
of strata assigned by Fletcher to the Carboni-
ferous Limestone series. These measures on
the inland side are bounded by strata of the
Conglomerate series occupying a zone that
widens southwards at Grand Narrows to a
maximum width of about 3 miles (4-8 km.).
The underlying Conglomerate series consists
of red conglomerates, sandstones and shales
with some bituminous shales, beds of limestone
and occasional thin seams of impure coal.
The overlying Limestone series contains be-
sides variously coloured sandstones and
shales, beds of limestone (in places fossiliferous)
and beds of gypsum. Presumably the Lime-
stone series is to be correlated with the Windsor
series.
The gypsum does not occur in the narrow strip
of the Limestone series traversed by the railway
but it is present on the opposite shores of Little
Bras d’Or lake. The flat-topped hilly country
of the opposite shore is, in part occupied by
Pre-Cambrian rocks occurring in two areas but
in the main it is occupied by measures of the
Conglomerate series lying in a broad anticlinal.
Miles and
Kilometres.
280
Along the shore, at intervals, occur patches of
the Limestone series which seem to lie along the
continuation of the synclinal axes that traverse
Boularderie island to the north.
Approaching Grand Narrows, cliff faces in
gypsum are visible on the opposite shore.
Grand Narrows—At Grand Narrows the
railway crosses the strait, about 650 yards (590
m.) wide, connecting Little Bras d’Or lake with
Great Bras d’Or lake. These two salt water
lakes extend southwesterly through the centre
of Cape Breton and almost divide it into two
islands. The combined lakes have a length of
60 miies (96 km.) and an area of 360 square
miles (935 sq. km.). Long bays. continued
inland by low valleys, are a feature of the lakes
and these with other characters indicate that
the lake basin, in part at least, represents a
system of drowned valleys.
After crossing the bridge at Grand Narrows,
the railway for a few miles follows the northern
shore of Great Bras d’Or lake. Inland rise low
hills of the Carboniferous Conglomerate series,
while along the shore occurs a comparatively
narrow zone of the Limestone series, the strata
dipping southerly with angles of 15° to 40°.
Cuttings in red conglomerates, shales and
gypsum occur along the line of railway for about
four miles (6-4 km.), to where the railway line
leaves the shore. In a distance of a little over
one mile (1-6 km.) the railway again touches
the shore at the head of McKinnon harbour,
a winding narrow bay about 3 miles (4-8 km.)
long.
McKinnon Harbour Station—Inland from
McKinnon harbour a low, hilly country under-
lain by gypsum and the associated strata of the
Carboniferous series, extends northwesterly for
about 4 miles (6-4 km.) to the shores of the
St. Patrick channel, a long (25 miles or 40 km.),
narrow, irregular bay extending southwesterly
from Little Bras d’Or lake. St. Patrick channel
is mainly bordered by areas underlain by the
Limestone series, but along the northwestern
Miles and
Kilometres.
281
shore these areas are narrow and are limited
inland by the Carboniferous Conglomerate
series or by detached areas of Pre-Cambrian
rocks. The Pre-Cambrian strata form bold
ridges and hills, in some cases only a couple of
miles in diameter, which in some instances rise
to heights of 1,000 feet (300 m.). In general,
the strata of the Conglomerate series surround
the high Pre-Cambrian areas, and in places the
Carboniferous strata form uplands comparable
in heights with those occupied by the Pre-
Cambrian.
Westward from McKinnon Harbour station,
the railway at first follows close to the shores of
the bay, then leaves the shore for a space, and
afterwards again approaches the water; beyond
this the railway strikes inland and after a
distance of about 14 miles (2-4 km.) again comes
to the shores of the lake towards the head of an
inlet which the railway crosses. Along this
portion of the railway, cuts and natural expo-
sures of gypsum are visible at intervals, while
in other places, the minutely broken and
irregular topography suggests that considerable
areas are underlain by gypsum. At intervals,
views are afforded of the numerous low islands
and the inlets occurring in this part of the lake.
To the south, across a wide bay studded with
islands, may be seen the bold ridge of North
Mountain formed of Pre-Cambrian strata
rising abruptly to heights of 500 to 700 feet
(150 to 215 m.) above the low, encircling Carbon-
iferous areas.
About 43 miles (7-2 km.) beyond McKinnon
Harbour station, the railway as already men-
tioned, crosses an inlet. This inlet extends
inland beyond the railway for about I mile (1-6
km.). The head of this inlet is separated from
St. Patrick channel by a space of low-lying
ground only about 400 yards (360 m.) wide
and as the railway crosses the valley of the inlet
glimpses are obtainable of the high ridges on
the north side of St. Patrick channel. A short
distance beyond this, Alba station is reached.
Miles and
Kilometres.
40-3 m.
282
Alba Station—A short distance beyond
64:8 km. Alba, the railway departs from the lake shore
to again come upon it after a distance of about
3 miles (4-8 km.) where it passes the heads of
several small bays extending inland from North
Basin, itself an arm of an irregularly shaped inlet
known as Denys basin. At various points as
the railway passes within sight of North basin,
the steeply rising north end and northwest
flank o the ridge of North Mountain is visible.
At Orangedale station, the railway passes
around the head of North basin and looking up
‘the valley at the head of the basin, the high
ridge of Craignish hills, about 5 miles (8 km.) dis-
tant, may be seen rising from the Carboniferous
lowland. All of the low country, 7 to 9 miles
(11-2 to 14-5 km.) broad, between the Craig-
nish hills on the northwest and North Mountain
on the southeast, is occupied by the gypsum,
limestone and associated strata of the Carboni-
iferous Limestone series.
Orangedale Station—About 14 miles (2-4
km.) beyond Orangedale station the railway
skirts the head of Seal cove, the last point on the
railway from which the waters of Bras d’Or
lake are visible. Beyond Seal cove, the railway
passes into the valley of River Denys, a winding
sluggish stream. The railway follows the river
for some distance, then crosses it, and 2 miles
(3:2 km.) beyond passes River Denys station.
Between Orangedale and River Denys, the
railway gradually approaches North Mountain
and a number of uninterrupted views are afforded
of the steep northwest face rising from the low-
lying area underlain by the Limestone series.
The ridge of North Mountain rises to heights of
between 600 and 800 feet (180 to 240 m.) and is
formed of Pre-Cambrian rocks. A portion of the
Pre-Cambrian is composed of crystalline lime-
stone, quartzite and various types of schists
associated with ‘‘felsites’’. Such rocks occur
Oi Ge
“J Go
Coun
283
in detached areas but the bulk of the Pre-
Cambrian is formed of granite and which is
intrusive into the limestone, etc.
River Denys Station—Alt. 72 ft. (21-9 m.).
From River Denys station the railway runs
southwestward up the valley of Big brook along
the foot of the slope of North Mountain. The
valley of Big brook is underlain by strata of the
Limestone series dipping at angles of 20° to 70°
to the west beneath a synclinal basin of Miuill-
stone Grit and perhaps younger strata lying
about midway between the Pre-Cambrian areas
of North Mountain on the east and the Craignish
hills on the west. In the lower part of the
valley of Big brook, the Craignish hills, distant 6
to 8 miles (9 to 13 km.), are visible but as the
railway ascends the valley the view of these
hills is cut off by the intervening ridge of Muill-
stone Grit. Towards the head of Big brook
valley, the bounding ridge of younger Car-
boniferous strata on the west attains altitudes
comparable with those of North Mountain
along the foot of which the railway continues
to run.
From the head of Big brook valley the railway
crosses a summit (altitude, 286 feet or 87-2 m.)
and enters a watershed draining southward to
the Strait of Canso. As the railway descends,
a view is afforded to the westward across the
wide low valley of River Inhabitants which
flows from the northwest. The valley of the
river and the lower slopes on both sides are
underlain by strata of the Limestone series and
perhaps older divisions of the Carboniferous
dipping in various directions and traversed by
a series of east-west and north-south faults.
The higher lands. on the western side of the
valley are occupied by measures that have been
mapped as Devonian but which are believed to
include at least some members that are the
equivalent of the Horton series (Lower Carbon-
iferous). The areas of so-called Devonian
encircle or partly surround still higher ridges of
Pre-Cambrian strata.
Miles and
Kilometres.
60-6 m.
97-5 km.
: 284
West Bay Road Station—Alt. 214 ft. (65-2
m.). West Bay Road station is situated at the
southern end of the Pre-Cambrian area of North
Mountain. Beyond this station, as the railway
descends to the crossing of River Inhabitants,
the higher ground on the east is occupied by
Millstone Grit. Where the railway crosses the
river, the waters are practically at sea level.
Beyond the river crossing the railway ascends the
long slope on the southwestern side of the river
valley underlain by the Limestone series and
passes along the eastern side of two small
lakes. About 153 miles (2-4 km.) beyond the
second of the two lakes the railway enters an
area occupied by Millstone Grit and in part by
strata belonging to the Coal Measures. From
this point onwards the railway descends to
Point Tupper on Canso strait. As the descent
is made an extensive view is afforded of the
upland country of the mainland across the
straits. This upland area is chiefly underlain
by strata mapped as Devonian and which are
in part at least the equivalents of the Rivers-
dale-Union series. A high, isolated hill known
as Cape Porcupine rising on the western side of
the straits, is occupied by Pre-Cambrian strata.
As the railway nears the shore, rock cuttings
in variously coloured shales and sandstones are
common.
The Carboniferous area traversed by the
railway from the River Inhabitants valley to
Point Tupper includes a series of strata having
a thickness of at least 19,000 feet (5,800 m.).
The strata are traversed by strong faults and
doubtless many minor faults are also present.
The measures are usually inclined at rather high
angles and apparently lie in open folds of large
dimensions. Both on the west and east occur
large areas of so-called Devonian. Sandstones
and dark shale that have been correlated with
the Horton series occur at the base of the mea-
sures that have been definitely assigned to the
Miles and
Kilometres.
74°5 m.
120 km.
75°2 m.
121-1 km.
285
Carboniferous. Above these lie limestone and
gypsum beds followed by a great thickness of
shales and reddish and grey, plant-bearing sand-
stones. Above these lies a thick series of black
shales with, in several places, coal seams. The
highest strata presumably belong to the Coal
Measures.
Point Tupper—From Point Tupper the rail-
way trains are ferried across Canso strait to the
terminus of the railway on the mainland at
Mulgrave. The strait at this point is 1,400 yards
(1,280 m.) wide.
Along the shore on the Cape Breton side of
the strait, the strata dip easterly at angles of
30° to 60°, and are well exposed over many
partial sections to the north and south of Point
Tupper.
From the Cape Breton side of the strait, the
mainland is seen to rise quickly to a rolling up-
land. To the north however, the Pre-Cambrian
area of Cape Porcupine forms a detached,
higher mass. Nearly the whole length of the
mainland side of the strait is bordered by so-
called Devonian strata which extend from here
in a continuous band westward to Windsor.
These “‘Devonian’’ measures are of variously
coloured shales and sandstones with an aggregate
thickness of, presumably, considerably more than
5,000 feet (1,500 m.). The strata dip in various
directions at angles usually of 45° or higher;
they apparently are much folded. Plant-
bearing beds occur at various horizons and, in
a general way, the measures have been corre-
lated with the Riversdale-Union group. At
several places strata of the Horton series occur
within this area in the neighborhood of Canso
strait, and at several places along the shore, as
just south of Mulgrave, there are limited areas
of the Carboniferous Limestone series.
Mulgrave—After leaving Mulgrave on the
mainland side of Canso strait, the railway enters
the valley bounding Cape Porcupine hill on the
south and west. From this point may be seen
the rolling ridges and low rounded summits of
Miles and
Kilometres.
85:3 m.
137-3 km.
286
the Carboniferous area stretching inland from
Point Tupper on Cape Breton island.
The railway passes close to the steep west face
of Cape Porcupine hill which rises to an eleva-
tion of 640 feet (205 m.). This hill with a
maximum diameter of 13 miles (2:4 km.) is the
only area of older Pre-Cambrian on the mainland
of Nova Scotia. The rocks of the hill consist of
quartzite, schists, ‘“‘felsite,’’ granite, etc. After
passing to the west of Cape Porcupine, high
hills and ridges on Cape Breton island are
visible. These uplands lie in the Pre-Cambrian
and ‘‘Devonian”’ area situated to the west of the
Carboniferous area of the River Inhabitants
basin.
After passing Cape Porcupine hill, the railway
rises to a summit elevation of 398 feet (121-3
m.) and beyond this begins to drop to a lowland
Carboniferous area that extends along the coast
westward from the northern entrance of Canso
strait. For about 3 miles (4-8 km.) westward,
the railway continues through a somewhat
broken country underlain by the “Devonian’”’
strata. Beyond this the railway begins to
descend somewhat rapidly and enters a district
underlain by the Carboniferous Conglomerate
series. This series consits of coarse red con-
glomerate and sandstone, purple slates, etc.
Included in the area are dark shales, sand-
stones and thin limestones of the Horton
series. The strata in a general way dip to the
west away from the ‘Devonian’ area and
towards the coast, where, a few miles away,
overlying beds of the Limestone series occur.
Harbour au Bouche Station—Alt. 271 ft.
(82-6 m.). After passing Harbour au Bouche
station, a view is afforded to the north of the
hills of Pre-Cambrian rocks, in Cape Breton.
To the west an extensive view opens up of the
low-lying Carboniferous area bordering the sea
as far as Antigonish, of the ranges of hills
beyond Antigonish limiting the Carboniferous
area in that direction, and of the upland of
Miles and
Kilometres.
89-3 m.
143-7 km.
=
on EL oo
94 m.
151-3 km.
Si ©) HO
qn OO
NO
a3
3:
N
OU
gs
287
“Devonian”’ strata bounding the Carboniferous
on the south.
Approaching Linwood, heavy cuttings in
conglomerate, sandstone and shale occur along
the railway. The rocks belong to the Conglo-
merate series and dip to the west at angles of 15°
to 40 °.
Linwood Station—Alt. 127 ft. (38-7 m.).
From the railway to the west of Linwood, the
steep front of the ridges of ‘‘Devonian’’ may
be plainly seen rising a short distance to the
south. About 23 miles (4 km.) beyond Linwood
near the bridge over Black river, the railway
line crosses the boundary between the Conglo-
merate series on the east and the Limestone
series on the west. The Limestone series
consists chiefly of sandstones and shales of vari-
ous colours and kinds and in places bearing plant
remains, and beds of limestone and gypsum.
These measures, directly border the ‘‘Devonian’’
area on the south. The measures, in places over
considerable areas, apparently lie in broad, open
folds, in other districts the folding is closer and
in certain areas the strata are contorted.
Less than 1 mile (1-6 km.) beyond the
crossing of Black river, the railway approaches
the shore of Tracadie harbour and continues
to skirt it for a distance of several miles.
Tracadie Station.—Alt. 48 ft. (14-6 m.).
A short distance beyond Tracadie, the railway
leaves the coast and for a number of miles
runs through a low rolling country underlain
by the Limestone series. The high lands to
the west beyond Antigonish, continue in view
throughout most of the distance. About 9 mile
(14-5 km.) from Tracadie, the railway passes
around the head of Pomquet harbour, an
inlet of the sea about 3 miles (4-8 km.) long.
Pomquet Station.—Alt. 43 ft. (13-1 m.).
. From Pomquet, the railway again strikes
inland through the low Carboniferous area.
South River Station.—Alt. 20 ft. (6-1 m.).
. A short distance beyond South River station,
the railway approaches the shore of Antigonish
288
Milssand harbour, an inlet of about 5 mules (@misae)
‘in length. The railway follows the shore of
Antigonish harbour around a point and thence
inland along the east side of the estuary of
West river. Across the estuary on the northeast
side, beyond a low interval occupied by the
Limestone series, rise comparatively high hills
of. igneous material and Ordovician strata.
Beyond these to the northward, the upland
rises to altitudes of 600 feet (180 m.) and
more, and is largely occupied by strata of the
Carboniferous Conglomerate series. The up-
land area also extends inland and from the
mouth of West river the hills to the west are
distinctly visible. The railway runs inland
along West river and in a short distance reaches
Antigonish. The town is situated within but
close to the northern border of the Limestone
series which a mile to the north abuts against
the hills of older strata.
II4 m. Antigonish —Alt. 20 ft. (6-1 m.).
183-5 km.
ARISAIG.*
(W. H. TWENHOFEL.)
INTRODUCTION.
The Arisaig region consists of an upland built of old
metamorphic and igneous rocks, having an average
elevation of 800 to 1,000 feet (243 m. to 304 m.) and a
lowland underlain by softer and younger sediments with
an elevation of from 200 to 400 feet (60-9 to I21-9 m.).
Nestling in the midst of the uplands are small lakes and
wide marshes in which the brooks take their sources and,
fed by never failing mountain springs, rarely cease their
flow. The streams of the upland flow in deeply incised
gorges and reach the lowland by a succession of falls and
rapids, where they meander in gently graded valleys to.
the sea. On the top of the upland, the flat fields prove
the former presence of an extensive, nearly level surface.
*See Maps—Arisaig—Antigonish District, and Arisaig.
-——t- YiJoN anjy
Geological Survey, Canada.
Malignant
Cove
i
Legend
Carboniferous
True North
Lower Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician?
Cambrian?and
igneous rocks
Diabase and
sporhyolite
Geological Survey. Canada.
Arisaig-Antigonish District
Miles
t a 2 4
a et
Kilometres
2 +
1 6
289
Viewed from the sea, the lowland presents the appearance
of three gigantic steps. The highest step at an elevation
of about 140 feet (42 m.) is not well preserved; but the
lowest two, at elevations of 20 (6 m.) and 40 feet (12 m.),
are sharply defined. Each represents a wave cut beach.
For splendid exposures of Silurian rocks of great thickness
there are few regions which surpass that of Arisaig. The
shore cliffs are well developed and these with the sections
exposed in the brook gorges show the Arisaig region to
consist of large blocks, bounded by faults of great magni-
tude, so that a structural and formational map of the
region forms an irregular mosaic. The fault of greatest
displacement is that separating Eigg mountain from
the narrower block of Silurian hills which fronts it. On
the land the locus of the fault zone is plainly shown by
the pronounced structural depression known as the Hollow
which can be followed westward to Bailey’s brook while
its northeastward extension forms the straight coast
reaching nearly to the end of the peninsula of Cape George.
The downthrow of the Silurian block proved its preser-
vation, but in its descent the drag along the fault zone
produced an asymmetric synclinal trough, the rocks of
which are criss-crossed by myriads of small faults and
fractures.
PREVIOUS WORK.
The first student of the Arisaig sequence was J. W.
Dawson, who investigated the region previous to 1845.
He was succeeded by David Honeyman, who began his
studies there about 1859. Following Honeyman came
Fletcher, Faribault, Ami, Schuchert, Twenhofel, and
Williams; each of whom has studied the section in whole
or in part and in their published results have built up
our present knowledge of the region. A compilation of
their results is summarized in the following table of for-
mations.
35063—6A
290
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35063—63A
292
ANTIGONISH TO McCARA’S BROOK.
The town of Antigonish (alt. 40 ft., 12 m.) is situated
in the valley of Right river which follows what is apparently
an ancient depression, now partially filled with the Car-
boniferous rocks of the McAra’s Brook and Ardness for-
mations, the latter of which immediately underlies the
town. Less than a mile to the north of Antigonish the
surface rises rapidly to the plateau, here underlain by the
James River rocks, through which protrudes a core of
diabase forming the elevation known as Sugar Loaf hill
(alt. 760 ft., 213 m.). This portion of the plateau is
separated from the larger area to the west by a lowland
whose surface rocks belong to the McAra’s Brook forma-
tion and through this lowland the Gulf road follows the
valleys of Right river and Malignant brook to Malignant
cove. Outcrops are not common. About two miles
south of the Malignant cove shore the quartz porphyry
of McNeil’s mountain rises to the west of the road to an
elevation of 1,010 feet (307 m.) while about a mile north
the rhyolite hill of Sugar Loaf ascends to 680 feet (207 m.).
At Malignant cove, a conglomerate, probably of Ordovician
age forms the surface rock and may be seen at the Malig-
nant Brook bridge crossing. For the first half mile west
of Malignant cove the road is underlain by this conglome-
rate after which the Silurian forms the surface rock to
McAra’s brook.
McARA’S BROOK AND THE SHORE SECTION EAST TO
ARISAIG POINT.
Just above the bridge crossing at McAra’s brook are
splendid exposures of the sandy shales from which Ami
obtained his Old Red Sandstone (Knoydart) fossils.
Below the bridge the hard red shales and grey sandstones
are exposed in the bed and along the bank. A road along
the west bank of the brook leads to its mouth, where the
shore cliffs are formed either of the McAra’s Brook
conglomerate or the diabase intrusives by which it is cut.
about a mile to the west the rocks of the Ardness formation
form the cliffs, while the farthest headland visible from
this point is in part built of the Pennsylvanian? conglo-
merates. McAra’s brook reaches the sea by a gateway
cut through a diabase dyke, on the seaward side of which
293
some blocks of the Mississippian conglomerate have been
included in the diabase. By ascending the brook the Devo-
nian shales as well as the Mississippian conglomerate
and the amygdaloid which lies just above the base of the
latter may be seen. For the first 250 yards (228 m.)
east of McAra’s brook the shore is formed almost wholly
of amygdaloid. There is no beach and the top of the cliff
must be followed. At McAra’s boat landing, where
descent can be made to the beach, the amygdaloid is
succeeded by the McAra’s Brook conglomerate which
then forms the shore for about 125 yards (114 m.) where
it is succeeded by the diabase dyke at the top of the
Silurian. It is quite easy here to make a representative
collection of fossils from the Silurian red limestones and
shales. At the mouth of Stonehouse brook it is possible
to obtain entire specimens of the trilobite, Homalonotus
dawsont.
From Stonehouse brook to beyond the “Red Stratum”’
there is no beach and this portion of the Silurian section
must be studied from the top of the cliff. The ‘Red
Stratum’”’ and the overlying green shales are without
fossils, but the limestone which underlies the former and
forms the point to its east contains many specimens of
a brachiopod resembling Eatonia medialis. Beyond
this point is McDonald Brook cove wherein the Moydart
rocks form low cliffs. The succeeding point is also formed
of Moydart rocks, but in the cove to the east the formation
comes to an end. At the western end of this cove descent
can be made to the beach which, with few interruptions,
extends to Arisaig point. The upper beds of the McAdam
formation form a serrated cliff from which it is quite easy
to collect many fossils, of which few are well preserved.
The point east of McAdam Brook cove is formed of
shales, which are full of pelecypod casts, and nearly
unfossiliferous limestone. The eastern side of the suc-
ceeding cove does not offer good exposures, but from a
few interstratified beds of limestone which project through
the beach debris it is possible to collect large individuals
of Atrypa reticularis. The slopes above this cove
show the elevated terraces in a fine state of preservation.
At its eastern horn is Black point, a headland formed
of glacial gravels, on the eastern side of which the McAdam
formation ends, being cut off by the fault which has
elevated the Ross Brook shales and placed them on a level
294
with the basal McAdam limestones here forming a low
anticlinal. At low tide the fault line is well shown, the
shales on one side and the limestones on the other serving
to make it very prominent, but at high tide it can not be
seen. Beginning at the fault is the broad cove extending
to Arisaig point. Its existence is determined by the readi-
ness with which the Ross Brook shales yield to erosion.
The upper half of the exposures is made prominent by
the high cliffs of green shales, but in the lower half the
cliffs are less high and steep. The lenticular beds of sand-
stone which are scattered through the shales make dis-
connected shelves across the cliffs and their varying
thickness is excellently shown. In the green shales it is
possible to collect fossils anywhere, but perfect specimens
do not commonly occur. A good black shale fossil locality
begins about 125 yards (114 m.) west of the mouth of
Arisaig brook and extends to its east bank.
Arisaig point is formed of the upturned edge of the
rhyolite flow at the base of the Silurian which, together
with the amygdaloid by which it has been intruded, forms
with a few interruptions, the shore for the next three miles.
The Beach Hill cove formation is so poorly exposed at
Arisaig point that it is not possible to adequately examine
it Toseeitin its completeness Beech Hill cove or Doctor’s
brook must be visited. The former locality is about three
miles east of Arisaig point and is best reached by way of
the shore road. There the beds are steeply upturned
and form a sloping shore which at no place rises to a cliff.
At Doctor’s brook the beds of the Beech Hill cove forma-
tion form the cliffs below the shore road bridge and the
same structural relations obtain as at Beach Hill cove.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE.
The sequence of the strata in the Arisaig region begins
in the Lower Ordovician and with many interruptions
extends perhaps to the Pennsylvanian. Excepting the
glacial and stream gravels there are no deposits later
than the Pennsylvanian.
Ordovician, Brown’s Mountain Group.
>)
The oldest rocks of the region have been described as
the Brown’s Mountain group, a name proposed by Will-
liams. On lithological grounds the group has been divided
295
into two formations, the lower and thicker of which is
called the James River, and the upper, the Baxter’s Brook.
The strata lie in broad open folds on which have been
superposed smaller secondary folds.
James River Formation.—The James River formation
is described by Fletcher and Williams as consisting of
clastic deposits of graywacke, silicified grits and banded
slates into which have been intruded rocks of such
varied character as granite, monzonite, rhyolite, quartz
porphyry, diabase and basalt. The thickness according
to Williams approximates one mile. Areally the rocks
of this formation constitute the greater portion of
the plateau and they contain most of “‘the beds’’ of
iron ore which have been prospected here for many
years. Some of the ore “beds” of the upper parts
are similar to those of the Belle Isle odlitic deposits of
Conception bay, Newfoundland, while other ‘‘beds’’ in
the formation consist of grit impregnated with hematite.
Williams inclines to the belief that the ores are of sedi-
mentary origin. Their economic importance and extent
are yet to be determined. From the iron ore and associ-
ated beds have been collected two species of inarticulate
brachiopods, determined by Schuchert as Obolus (Lin-
gulobolus) spissa and Lingulella?
Baxter’s Brook Formation.—The James River rocks are
succeeded on the northern portion of the plateau by the
Baxter's Brook formation, consisting of metamorphosed
red and grey sandstones and slates. Like the rocks of the
preceding formation these have been cut by similar or the
same intrusives with the exception of monzonite. The
only fossils so far found are indeterminable Linguloids.
Williams estimates the present thickness at 500 feet which
is probably far less than the original.
Ordovician?
Malignant Cove Formation.—At Malignant Cove are
exposed about 20 feet of coarse cross-bedded conglomer-
ates and sands of varied color which rest unconformably
on cleavage surfaces of the James River slates. These
clastics contain material derived from all the preceding
sedimentaries and intrusives except the diabase and basal t.
296
The deposits are probably not of marine origin, this con-
clusion being based on the absence of marine fossils and
the poorly bedded and little sorted character of the sed-
iments.
Silurian. Arisaig Series.
Where the base of the Silurian has been seen it rests on
the eroded surface of a rhyolite flow extruded before the
marine overlap of Arisaig time. The fault of the Hollow
separates the Silurian from the Ordovician. On lithologi-
cal grounds the strata can be placed in two subdivisions;
the lower portion consisting almost entirely of shales, has
a thickness exceeding 2000 feet (510 m.) while the upper
shales and impure limestones are 1454 feet (373 m.) thick.
The character of the sediments denotes proximity to the
shore, a conclusion confirmed by the pronounced develop-
ment of ripple marks, cross-lamination, and small lenses
of sandy and impure limestone. On the basis of lithology
and faunal differences the Arisaig series can be divided into
five well marked formations to which, beginning at the
base, the names of Beech Hill Cove, Ross Brook, McAdam,
Moydart, and Stonehouse have been applied.
Beech Hill Cove formation.—This formation consists of
greenish calcareous sandstones, sandy impure limestones
and grey sandy shales. At the type section and at Doctor’s
brook the strata have an almost vertical attitude. The
formation is poorly exposed at Arisaig point. Along the
line of the Intercolonial railroad on Barney’s river, opposite
the mouth of Bear brook, and again at Marshy Hope, are
outcrops of strata which probably belong to this forma-
tion. Fossils are nowhere abundant but the following have
been recognized: Zaphrentis cf. bilateralis, Lingula cf.
oblonga; Dalmanella cf. elegantula, and Cornulites flex-
uosus. The thickness has never been accurately deter-
mined. The present writer estimated the Beech Hill Cove
outcrop at 160 feet (48 m.) while Williams gives the thick-
ness as 200 feet (61 m.).
Ross Brook formation.—The strata of the Ross Brook
are divisible into two divisions, a lower one (zone 1) of
black papery shales with a thickness of about 200 feet
(61 m.) from which no graptolites have been collected, and
an upper division, 633 feet (193 m.) thick, throughout
which graptolites are present in abundance. The upper
division is again readily divisible into a lower subdivision
297
of dark grey to black shales (zone 2) with either splintery
or papery cleavage and an upper one (zone 3) of more or
less sandy bright green shales with which are interstrati-
fied numerous lenticular beds of compact, finely cross-
laminated quartz sandstone. What appears to be the
basal portion of the Ross Brook formation also outcrops
on Barney’s river opposite Avondale station on the Inter-
colonial railroad, where beds lithologically and faunally
similar but without any graptolites form a cliff about 30
feet high on the north bank of the river.
The fossils which are characteristic of the formation are:
Monograptus clintonensis
M. priodon chapmanensis
Retiolites geinitzianus venosus
Orbiculoidea tenuilamellata
Dalmanella elegantula
Leptaena rhomboidalis
Plectambonites transversalis
Chonetes tenuistriatus
Camarotoechia near equiradiata
C. cf. obtusiplicata
Rhynchonella cf. robusta
Anoplotheca hemispherica
Anabaia anticostiana
A. depressa; and Calymene tuberculata.
Zone 1.—Black, rusty weathering papery shales which
as a rule are little fossiliferous. The identified fossils are
Anoplotheca hemispherica; Anabaia anticostiana; and Lin-
gula cf. oblongo; The estimated thickness is 200 feet (61 m.).
Zone 2.—Dark-grey to black, rusty weathering shales
with splintery or papery cleavage. In the shore cliffs the
zone shows much disturbance and in some places the
attitude changes with nearly every ten-foot interval. It
is quite fossiliferous, particularly in graptolites, while
pelecypods and brachiopods are comparatively common
throughout and at a few levels are very abundant. The
identified fossils are :-—
Monograptus clintonensis
M. priodon chapmanensis
Retiolites geinitzianus venosus
Orbiculoidea tenuilamellata
Dalmanella elegantula
Chonetes tenuistriatus
Anoplotheca hemispherica
298
Anabaia anticostiana
A. depressa
Cornulites flexuosus
C. distans
Calymene tuberculata
Acaste downingiae
Dalmanites sp.
The thickness is 288 feet (87 m.).
Zone 3.—Green shales, in places sandy. Interbedded
are numerous layers and lenses of fine-grained sandstones
with fine cross-lamination. The strata are much disturbed
in places, but the units of fracture are much larger than
in the preceding zone so that there are few places where
the bedding is confused. The zone ends at the top of the
formation. The fossils which have been identified are:—
Monograptus clintonensis
M. priodon chapmanensis
Retiolites geinitzianus venosus
Orbiculoidea tenuilamellata
Dalmanella elegantula
Leptaena rhomboidalis
Chonetes tenuistriatus
Camarotoechia near equiradiata
C. cf. obtusiplicata
Rhynchonella cf. robusta
Wilsonia cf. saffordi
Anoplotheca hemispherica
Serpulites cf. dissolutus
Cornulites distans
Pterinea emacerata
P. rhomboidea
P. honeymani
Modiolopsis? cf. primigenis
Dalmanites, fragments of Eurypterus, and Conularia.
The thickness of the zone is 365 feet (110 m.)
McAdam _ formation.—The strata of this formation
consist of papery and splintery shales, and argillaceous
and sandy limestones. The attitude is more regular and
uniform than in the preceding formation and there are
fewer zones of marked disturbances. In the shore cliffs
the lower portion is cut out by faulting, but the missing
strata can be well seen in the gorge of Arisaig brook. The
formation has been separated from the Ross Brook form-
ation on both lithological and faunal grounds though
299
many species are common to both. The fossils which are
especially characteristic are Monograpitus cf. riccartoensis.
Dalmanella_ elegantula, Leptaena rhomboidalis, Camar-
otoechia neglecta, Atrypa reticularis, Spirtfer cris pus,
Bucanella trilobata and Calymene tuberculata. The Mc-
Adam formation has a thickness of 1120 feet (366 m.).
Zone 1.—The iron ore zone. Williams has described
this zone as consisting of ‘firm shales and thin-bedded
sandstones with 2 feet 3 inches of ferruginous shale and
weathered hematite.’’ The hematite is a ‘‘fossil ore’’ sim-
ilar to the Clinton ore of the Appalachian region. The
fossils are Dalmanella elegantula, Leptaena rhomboidalis,
Camarotoechia near neglecta, Homeospira sp., Mertstina
near oblata, and Cornulites flexuosus or proprius. Since
the fauna does not contain Monograptus clintonensis or
Anoplotheca hemispherica and is more closely related to
that which follows than that which precedes it has been
referred to the McAdam formation. The thickness has
been estimated by Williams at 100 feet (30 m.).
Zone 2.—Grey and greenish impure limestones inter-
stratified with shale of the same color. The zone ends at
the mouth of McAdam’s brook. The identified fossils
are:—Pholidops implicata, Dalmanalla elegantula, D. (avery
large new species), Leptaena rhomboidalis, Camarotoechia
neglecta, C. cf. obtusiplicata, Atypra reticularis, Pterinea
emacerata, Tentaculites sp. and Homalonotus dawsont.
The thickness is 540 feet (165 m.).
Zone 3..—Dark grey to black carbonaceous shale, the
greater portion with papery bedding cleavage. At several
levels are lenticular beds of fine-grained cross-laminated
sandstone. The fossils are:—
Dalmanella elegantula
Laptaena rhomboidalis
Chonetes tenuistriatus
Camarotoechia neglecta
C. obtusiplicata
Atrypa reticularis
Spirifer crispus
Grammysia sp.
Cleidophorus sp.
Bucaniella trilobata
Calymene tuberculata.
About 75 feet (22 m.) from the top is a layer about one
inch thick in which Monograptus cf. riccartoensis is present
300
in great abundance, while about 25 to 50 feet lower down
there are many very large oblate spheroidal concretions.
This zone has a thickness of 405 feet (123 m.).
Zone 4.—Grey and greenish grey impure limestones in
thick layers all of which are steeply upturned with many
of the beds beautifully ripple marked. Near the top they
are much disturbed and in some places the bedding has
been destroyed and the rocks reduced to breccia. Dal-
manella elegantula, Chonetes tenuistriatus and Cleidophorus
have been recognized. The estimated thickness of this
zone is 70 feet (21 m.).
Moydart formation.—This formation introduces a change
in lithology, the dark shales giving way to impure lime-
stones and shales of some shade of grey. The change in
facies is paralleled by a change in fauna. The formation
ends on the top of the “Red Stratum.”
The fauna is especially characterized by the appearance
of Chonetes novascoticus and Spirifer subsulcatus, these
two species taking the places of the earlier Chonetes ten-
uistriatus and Spirifer crispus. Other characteristic species
are Camarotoechia cf. formosa, a rhynchonelloid resembling
Eatonia medialis, Homeospira cf. acadica, H. cf. evax,
Pterinea emacerata, Grammysia cf. acadica, Diaphorostoma
niagarensis, and Homalonotus dawsont. The thickness is
379 feet (115 m.).
Zone 1.—Greenish grey, impure limestone in beds up to
four feet in thickness, interstratified with blue and grey
sandy shales. As a rule fossils are not common, but in
some limestone lenses they are present in great abundance.
They consist of large crinoid columns, thick stems of a
branching Monticuliporoid, Dalmanella elegantula, Cama-
rotoechia cf. formosa, a rhynchonelloid resembling Eatonia
medialis, Spirifer subsulcatus, Homeospira cf. acadica, H.
cf. evax, Pterinea emacerata, Grammysia acadica, Cornulttes
proprius, Serpulites cf. dissolutus, Orthoceras (two species),
Diaphorostoma cf. niagarensis, Calymene tuberculata, and
Homalonotus dawsoni. The zone ends at the base of the
“Red Stratum,’’ and has a thickness of 347 feet (105 m.).
Zone 2.—The ‘‘Red Stratum,’ consists of a brick red
shale of which the major portion has prismatic structure.
Little stratification is shown except near the base where
27 inches of thin beds of red limestone and shale are transi-
tional to the zone below. There is no transition to the
overlying green shale. About 20 feet (6 m.) below the
301
top is a band composed of bright green nodules with their
longer axes transverse to the bedding with a thickness
of about 10 inches. Fracture lines which cut the ‘‘Red
Stratum”’ are sharply defined by streaks of brilliant green.
Except for some obscure forms in the transition beds at
the base the zone is without fossils. The absence of well
defined bedding and marine fossils suggests that the
“Red Stratum”’ is not typically marine and that its depo-
sition may have taken place during a brief recession of
the sea. The thickness is 32 feet (9 m.).
Stonehouse formation.—This, the closing formation of
the Arisaig series, is by far the most fossiliferous of the
sequence. Lithologically the first 800 feet (243 m.)
are not very different from the limestones of the Moydart
formation, but faunally there is quite a distinction, the
difference being largely in the abundance of large and
undescribed pelecypoda. An unknown thickness of what
appears to be the lower portion of the formation outcrops
on the southwest end of a hill near the head of Vamey
brook. The beds at this locality are flanked on both sides
by the Devonian red shales and the structure appears
to beanticlinal. The fauna is a large one and is charact-
erized by the abundance and large size of Chonetes novasco-
ticus, and an abundance of Pholidops implicata, Spirifer
rugaecosta, Homeospira n. sp., Grammysia acadica, G.
rustica, Pterinitella venusta, P. curta, Calymene tuberculata,
Acaste logani, and fine large speciméns of Homalonotus
dawsont,and in the last 200 feet (60 m.) by myriads of
Beyrichia pustulosa and B. aequilatera. There is a total
thickness of 1,075 feet (327 m.).
Zone 1.—Deep green unfossiliferous shales with a few
lenticular bands of limestone. The zone rests in apparent
conformity on the ‘Red Stratum’’, but the contact is
obscure. The thickness is 33 feet (10 m.).
Zone 2.—Grey to green impure limestone in thick beds
with a few beds of green and rusty purple shales and blue
splintery flags. The limestones are criss-crossed by seams
of quartz and calcite and the surfaces of many of the beds
are highly ripple marked. The zone ends at the mouth
of McPherson’s brook. Fossils are not uncommon, but
at no place are they abundant. They are Stropheodonta
n. sp., Leptaena rhomboidalis, Chonetes novascoticus,
Atrypa reticularis, Spirifer subsulcatus, S. rugaecosta,
Homeospira cf. evax, Grammysia acadica, and Pterinitella
venusta. The thickness is 532 feet (162 m.).
302
Zone 3.—Red and green shales, red and grey impure
limestones, and grey splintery flags. The hard beds are
veined by quartz and calcite and ripple marked as in the
preceding zone. The zone ends at the mouth of Stonehouse
brook and is very fossiliferous. The identified fossils are :—
Pholidops implicata
Chonetes novascoticus
Camarotoechia cf. nucula
C. cf. borealis
Spirifer rugaecosta
Homeospira n. sp.
Cornulites proprius
Beyrichia aequilatera
B. pustulosa
Acaste logani
Calymene tuberculata
Homalonotus dawsoni
Pterygotus fragments.
The zone has a thickness of 136 feet (41 m.).
Zone 4.—Red shales and limestones with greyish blue
splintery flags. In the cliffs of the shore section this zone
is spotted with very bright green patches. The base
is drawn beneath the six inch layer of limestone forming
the bed of Stonehouse Brook at its mouth and which
contains an abundance of Homalonotus dawsont. The zone
is very fossiliferous. Those specifically known are:—
Pholidops implicata
Chonetes novascoticus
Schuchertella pecten
Camarotoechia cf. nucula
Spirifer rugaecosta
Homeospira n. sp.
Pterinitella venusta
Bucanella trilobata
Grammysia acadica
Goniophora transiens
Cornulites proprius
Beyrichia pustulosa
B. aequilatera .
Calymene tuberculata
Acaste logani
Homalonotus dawsoni
The thickness is 97 feet (29 m.).
393
The section ends here, abutting against a dyke of dia-
base, the intrusion having flexed the beds, but little altered
them. The dyke has a thickness of 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15
m.) and on its opposite side is in contact with the McAra’s
Brook conglomerate, the bedding of which is tilted in
the same general direction as that of the Stonehouse for ma-
tion, but there is no apparent alteration of the rock.
Devonian.
Knoydart formation.—The strata of this formation
lie in the syncline formed by the Silurian rocks. An
erosion unconformity separates the formation from the
Silurian, since at McAra’s brook it rests on the Stonehouse
formation and in McAdam brook on the Moydart (Wil-
liams). It does not appear in the shore section, probably
having been eroded before the deposition of the Mississip-
pian conglomerates. The strata consist of hard red shales
interbedded with compact fine-grained grey sandstones.
Above the bridge over McAra’s brook are sandy shales
which were formerly considered to be of tuffaceous origin
and have been referred to in the literature as the ‘‘ash bed,”’
but the work of Williams has thrown doubt on this view.
Several diabase dykes occur in the lower portion and in
the higher rocks of the formation there are numerous
small geodes lined with clear crystals of quartz. The
available evidence indicates a continental origin for the
Devonian sediments and it is very probable that they are
the deposits of some Devonian river. From the ‘‘ash bed”’
Ami collected fossils which were identified by A. Smith
Woodward and Henry Woodward as Pterygotus sp., Onchus
murchisont, Pteraspis cf. crouch, Psammosteus cf. anglicus,
Cephalaspis n. sp., and Ichthyordichnites acadiensis, the
last being i impressions made by a supposed animal having
sharp pointed spines or similar organs. Fletcher (1887)
gives the thickness of measured outcrops as 636 feet
(193 m.).
Mississippian.
McAra’s Brook formation (Williams).—This formation
begins with a red cross-bedded conglomerate composed
of angular fragments of the older rocks, in particular
some of the quartz geodes from the Devonian. Above
304
the basal conglomerates are beds of limy grey and
green shales and other conglomerates. Many intrusive
bodies, in the form of dykes and sheets, cut the formation.
At Pleasant valley and in the vicinity of Maryvale in the
Big Marsh, the upper portion contains beds of oil shale
(Ells, 1908), which with associated beds have a thickness
of 125 feet (38 m.). Plant fragments are present in these
shales, but in the shore sections no organic remains have
been found. There is hardly any doubt that the deposits
are of continental origin and were laid down in the old
erosion channels. Fletcher gives the thickness as 1145
feet (346 m.).
Ardness formation.—This formation begins with about 20
feet (6 m.) of limestone, thin-bedded at the summit and
base, but compact near the centre. The remaining more
than 2000 feet (610 m.) consist of sandstone, shale and
marl. The prevailing color is red and the sandstones are
ripple marked. Along the line of the Intercolonial rail-
road near Antigonish the bed of limestone is overlain by
about 200 feet (60 m.) of red sandstone and shale which are
followed by about an equal thickness of gypsum. The
bed of limestone is certainly of marine origin while the
gypsum was probably deposited in arms of the sea having
slight connection with the parent body. In the shore
section there is no evidence for considering the beds above
the limestones of other than continental origin. From
the limestones Williams obtained fossils which Schuchert
identified as Beecheria davidsonit (Terebratula sacculus
Davidson), Martinia glabra, Pugnax sp., Productus cf.
doubleti, and P. dawsont. ‘The thickness of the formation is
2045 feet (622 m.) (Williams).
Pennsylvanian.
Listmore formation.—The name Listmore has been pro-
posed by Williams for a series of sandstones and shales,
generally of red color which lie in apparent conformity on
the Ardness formation. The deposits are of continental
origin and contain imperfect specimens of Stigmaria and
Calamites as the only organic remains. The thickness is
982 feet (299m.).
With this formation the sedimentary record closes and
there were no other deposits laid down in the Arisaig region
till the advent of the ice sheets when irregular masses of
395
sand and gravel were spread over some portions of the sur-
face. Recent deposits consist of the stream gravels and
1
sols.
Igneous Geology.—In the Arisaig region in the interval
between the Lower Ordovician and Silurian and again
during the Mississippian period there were intrusions of
varied rock types. The Lower Ordovician rocks at some
time subsequent to the deposition of the James River beds,
but apparently before the laying down of the Malignant
Cove conglomerate were intruded by quite large masses
of granite and monzonite. Where fresh the granite is of
a bright, flesh-red colour, very compact, tough and _ fine-
grained and contains feldspar and quartz in the ratio of
about 2to1. The areas of outcrop are south of Malignant
cove and the intrusion appears to be in the form of a stock.
The time of the intrusion was certainly subsequent to
James River deposition and perhaps also Baxter’s Brook,
but prior to Malignant Cove time, since in thin sections
of the last, Williams has found particles derived from the
granites.
The monzonite outcrops on the shore about one half
mile east of Malignant Cove. The intrusion appears to be
in the form of a stock and consists of a medium granular
rock in which white plagioclase feldspar and green horn-
blende are the chief constituents. The colour is a mottled
green and white. Fragments of this rock are in the Malig-
nant Cove conglomerate so that the time of the intrusion is
probably to be placed in the same interval as the granite
intrusives.
At the base of the Silurian section are splendid expos-
ures of the upturned and eroded edges of a devitrified rhyolite
flow. In places this passes into a flow breccia and at
Frenchman’s Barn, a large knob of rhyolite about a mile
east of Arisaig village, there are considerable masses of
breccia which may be the result of explosive action, but
which Williams also considers flow breccias. Historically
the rhyolite is of interest since it was considered by the
earlier workers as having been produced by the metam-
orphism of sediments and Eozoon was reported from some
portions of it. Cutting the rhyolite are large dykes of
amygdaloidal diabase and a dyke of red shaly rock
which cuts both rhyolite and diabase. In places the rhyo-
lite shows flow structure and the color varies from grey
35063—7A
306
‘to green and black. The time of the extrusion was pre-
Arisaig and since fragments of a similar rock occur in the
Malignant Cove conglomerates it is probable that it was
antecedent to the deposition of that formation.
Elsewhere in the Arisaig district are outcrops of rocks
which Williams has called acid intrusives, consisting of
dark colored rhyolite and quartz porphyry, the outcrops
finding their greatest physiographic expression at Sugar
Loaf hill (rhyolite) south of Malignant Cove and McNeil’s
mountain’ (quartz porphyry), just south of the Sugar
Loaf hill and one of the highest points of the area. Assoc-
iated at one or two localities are rhyolite flow breccias.
The intrusions are in the form of dykes and larger masses
which Williams has described as necks and cut either the
James River and Baxters’ Brook sediments or the James
River granites. The available evidence points to their
formation during the same phase of volcanic activity
in which the rhyolite outflow at the base of the Silurian
occurred. Also in the Malignant Cove—Sugar Loaf area
are tuffs and breccias which are apparently interbedded
and contemporaneous with the James River slates.
In the shore cliffs there are no rocks more conspicuous
than the black dykes of amygdaloidal diabase or
basalt. These cut all the strata except those of the
Ardness and Listmore formations and are themselves
cut by the red dyke. The intrusions are in the
form of dykes and sheets and some may be flows. The
largest observed intrusion begins at Arisaig pier and extends
eastward for about three miles, but most of them do not
have a width exceeding 100 feet (30 m.). The intrusions
are all of one age as no diabase was seen to cut diabase.
The fact that neither the Ardness nor the Listmore forma-
tions are cut by these dykes suggests that the time of the
intrusions was pre-Ardness but it does not necessarily
follow that this view is correct as there may not have been
intrusions in the localities of the present outcrop of these
rocks. The red dyke resembles a shale and on the basis
of unpublished chemical analyses was considered such
by the writer, but after more extended study, Williams
is inclined to regard it asan intrusion. It cuts the diabase
and may have been intruded during a later phase of that
period of igneous activity.
307
THE ARISAIG FAUNAS AND THEIR CORRELATES.
Lower Ordovician.—Obolus (Lingulobolus) spissa from the
upper James River slates also occurs in or associated with
the odlitic iron ores of the Lower Ordovician of
Belle Isle, Conception bay, Newfoundland. The occur-
rence of the same species with similar deposits at Arisaig
leads to the correlation of the Arisaig measures with the
Belle Isle rocks. The close stratigraphical relations of
the Baxter’s Brook beds with those of the James River
hardly permits their separation and they are. included
therewith and considered part of the same system.
Ordovician?—The Malignant Cove formation contains
no fossils so that its age determination depends on super-
position. Since it is separated from the Lower Ordovician
rocks by both an erosional and structural unconformity and
appears to lie below the Silurian, it has been referred to
the Ordovician (Williams).
Silurian.—The rocks of the Arisaig series are abundantly
fossiliferous, but careful and painstaking collecting is
required. Free fossils are not common. The number
of species was given by Ami in 1891 as 162, of which about
100 have been described; but it is safe to say that the
collections now in the various museums, particularly
those of the Canadian Geological Survey, the U.S. National
Museum, and Yale, will largely increase the above number.
The Silurian faunas taken as a whole predominate in
pelecypods, as fully one-third of the species and specimens
belong to this class of invertebrates. Brachiopods,
generally the most abundant of Silurian fossils, at Arisaig
hold second place, which place is attained by reason
of the occasional deposition of lenses of relatively pure
limestone and not because they are abundant in the
sediments as a whole. Cephalopods and _ gastropods
are about equally represented, though neither group has
more than half a dozen species. Bryozoa and corals,
usually so abundant in strata of this age, are almost wholly
absent, the former being present in but a few stems of a
ramose Monticuliporoid, while of the latter only a few
specimens of a single species have been collected. Trilo-
bites are relatively abundant. These faunal peculiarities
with but little doubt are caused by the muddy character
35063—73A
308
of the habitat, which was extremely unfavourable to the
corals, crinoids, bryozoa and many brachiopods, but appar-
ently favourable to the pelecypods and not harmful
to the trilobites.
The Silurian fossils of Arisaig in aspect are more Euro-
pean than American, but yet are unlike those of either
country. Other than such cosmopolitan species as Dal-
manella elegantula, Leptaena rhomboidalis, Camarotoechia
neglecta, Anoplotheca hemispherica, and Atrypa reticularis,
there is little else in the faunas that occurs elsewhere.
By reason of its nearness, the Anticosti faunas apparently
should show close relations with those of Arisaig and
although separated by less than 250 miles (400 km.),
the two regions have less than ten species in common.
The only portion of the Anticosti series with which a
stratigraphic correlation can be definitely made is the
lower Jupiter River formation in which are found Mono-
graptus clintonensis, Dalmanella elegantula, Plectambonites
transversalis, Leptaena rhomboidalis, Anoplotheca hemis-
pherica, and Calymene tuberculata, all of which species
are also present in the upper 633 feet (193 m.) of the Ross
Brook formation. The Jupiter River sediments which
contain these species are 80 feet (24 m.) thick and consist
of highly calcareous shales which are succeeded by deposits
containing a greater lime content and preceded by a 100
foot zone of slightly sandy shale underlain by sediments
rich in lime. At Arisaig Atrypa reticularis appears for
the first time in the second zone of the McAdam formation,
but on Anticosti it makes its appearance below the
Monograptus clintonensis horizon. Its later appearance
at Arisaig may be due to the great amount of mud in
the Ross Brook sea. The 80 feet of the Jupiter River
rocks are the time equivalents of at least a part and
perhaps the whole of the 633 feet of the Ross Brook for-
mation, since it is very probable that the latter were
accumulated far more rapidly than the former.
The succeeding Jupiter River rocks would correlate
with the lower McAdam formation, but there is no simi-
larity in either the lithology or the faunas. The Chicotte,
the closing formation of the Anticosti series, carries a
pronounced coral fauna and its rock consists largely of
coral-reef limestone. Nothing similar exists in the Mc-
Adam formation, from which not a single coral has ever
been collected. It is believed that the striking faunal
309
differences between Anticosti and Arisaig are to be referred
to differences in the bionomic conditions existing at the
time of deposition of the sediments.
Correlation with the Silurian of the interior is equally
difficult. As before, the Ross brook faunas furnish the
point of departure because the same fossils which have
been mentioned above as occurring on Anticosti are a!so
present in the Clinton of New York where also beds of
hemetite occur which, however, lie below the strata
containing Monograptus instead of above as at Arisaig.
The only New York formation which can be correlated
with an Arisaig horizon is the Williamson shale with
Monograptus clintonensis and Anoplotheca hemispherica.
The presence of these two fossils in the Williamson shale
leads to the conclusion that it is the time equivalent of
the upper half of the Ross Brook formation. On this
view the preceding Sodus green shale, the Furnaceville
hematite bed, and the Wolcott limestone would find
their time equivalency in the basal portion of the Ross
Brook formation and the sandy limestones of the Beech
Hill Cove formation. The common Clinton guide fossil,
Pentamerus oblongus, which is so abundant in New York
has not been found at Arisaig.
The Rochester, which succeeds the Clinton of New York,
is thought to find its equivalency in the McAdam forma-
tion with which it has in common the species Monograptus
riccartoensis, Dalmanella elegantula, Leptaena rhomboidalis,
Camarotoechia neglecta, C. cf. obtustplicata, Atrypa reti-
cularis, Spirifer crispus, Pterinea emacerata, Bucanella
trilobata and Calymene tuberculata or niagarensis. The
Moydart formation has generally been considered the time
equivalent of the Niagaran and in its faunal development
it agrees best with the Waldron and Louisville of the
United States. However, these formations have few
fossils in common.
The Stonehouse formation has been variously correlated.
Ami and Fletcher considered it as representing the Lower
Helderberg, but it is difficult to see any Helderbergian
affinities in this fauna. On a basis of its stratigraphic
position the formation agrees best with the Guelph, but the
two faunas are wholly different. On the other hand the
Stonehouse faunas appear to be similar to those of the
north European Ludlow, the equivalent of which in Gotland
has, according to Lindstrom, Moberg, and others, the
common Guelph fossil, Megalomus.
310
Correlation with the European faunas are not readily
made, and until the Arisaig faunas have been completely
studied there would appear to be little value in making
the attempt in any great detail.
The presence in the Ross Brook fauna of Dalmenella
elegantula, Leptaena rhomboidalis, Plectambonites trans-
versalis, and Anoplotheca hemispherica indicates for this
and the Beach Hill Cove formation a probable time
equivalency with the Lower Llandovery of north Europe.
The highest beds of the McAdam formation contain
Monograptus riccartoensis and Spirifer crispus, both of
which are characteristic of the north European Middle
Wenlock, and their common presence would lead to the
reference of the highest beds of the formation to Middle
Wenlock time while the great body of the formation
should probably be placed in the Upper Llandovery.
Other fossils common to the Upper Llandovery and the
McAdam formation are Dalmanella elegantula, Leptaena
rhomboidalis, Atrypa reticularis and Calymene tuberculata,
all of which, however, also occur in the Wenlock.
The Moydart formation is marked by the earliest
appearance of Chonetes novascoticus, which suggests,
but is smaller than the European C. striatella; Walsomia
wilsont (Ludlow of Norway, Wenlock and Ludlow of
England); and Spirifer subsulcatus, a form of the S. crispus
type but larger. Calymene tuberculata and Leptaena
rhomboidalis are also present. The fauna is one suggesting
an approach to the Ludlow, but still within the Wenlock.
The abundance of large Chonetes of the C. striatella
type, Rhynchonella nucula, and Schuchertella pecten indicate
for the Stonehouse formation an horizon equivalent to
the north European Ludlow.
Devonian.—The Knoydart formation contains the re-
mains of ostracoderm fishes whose closest generic rela-
tionships, as stated by Woodward, are with those occurring
in the Old Red Sandstone of Europe. This indicates
a lower Devonian age for the Knoydart strata. Their
age can be determined, although less definitely, by another
line of reasoning. The period of faulting in which the
great fault of the Hollow was formed, is post-Knoydart
and pre-Mississippian, since the rocks of the former are
involved and those of the latter cross the fault. To the
northwest before the close of Devonian time occurred
disturbances which are expressed in the folds and faults
31
big
of the Gaspe region, and it is very possible that these
are related in time and cause to the pre-Mississippian
disturbance of the Arisaig region. Hence the time of
deposition of the Knoydart clastics was previous to later
Devonian time.
Mississippian.—The fossils from the limestone at the
base of the Ardness formation are also present in the
Windsor dolomites at Windsor, Nova Scotia, and in rocks
of the same age on the Magdalen islands, thus leading
to the reference of the Ardness formation to the Windsor
series which, according to Schuchert* and Beedej, is the
equivalent of the Kinderhook of the Mississippi valley.
Pennsylvanian ?—The Listmore rocks are difficult to
place. Fletcher correlated them with the Millstone Grit
which underlies the Coal Measures and is of Pennsylvanian
age. The plant remains are uncertain and obscure and
any correlation based on them would have but little value.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Reference is here made to only a few of the more import-
ant papers dealing with the Arisaig region. For a complete
bibliography relating to the Silurian the paper by Twen-
hofel should be consulted as well as a forthcoming report
of the Canadian Geological Survey by Williams.
1860. J. W. Daswon, on the Silurian and Devonian rocks
of Nova Scotia, Can. Nat. Geol., vol. V, pp. 132-143.
1860. James Hall, Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia,
Ibidem, pp. 144-159.
1864. D. Honeyman, on the Geology of Arisaig, Nova
Scotia, Quar. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. XX,
PP- 333-345.
1874. E. Billings, Paleozoic Fossils, vol. II, pt. I. pp.
129-144.
1887. Hugh Fletcher, Report on geological surveys and
explorations in the counties of Guysborough,
Antigonish and Pictou, Nova Scotia, Ann. Rept.
Ceol Sunve Canada vol il pp sbi 28k.
1891. J. W. Dawson, Acadian Geology, 4th edition,
London.
*Schuchert, Geo. Soc. Am. Bull. 21, p. 551, 1910.
{Beede, New York State Museum. Bull. 149, p. 158.
312
1892. H.M. Ami, Catalogue of the Silurian Fossils from
Arisaig, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotian Inst. Nat.
Sci., n. ser., vol. II, pp. 185—1o02.
1909. W. H. Twenhofel, The Silurian Section at Arisaig,
Nova Scotia, with a note on Correlation by Charles
Schuchert, Am. Jour. Sci. 4th ser., vol. XXVIII,
pp. 143-169.
1912. M. Y. Williams, Geology of Arisaig-Antigonish
District, Nova Scotia, Am. Jour. Sci., 4th. ser.,
vol. XXXIV, pp. 244-250.
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
ANTIGONISH TO MACCAN JUNCTION.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Miles and
Kilometres. i i
Om. Antigonish—Alt. 20 ft. (6 m.). From
o km. Antigonish westward, the Intercolonial railway
for some miles follows the northern edge of a
low-lying area occupied by strata of the Carbon-
iferous Limestone series (Windsor series?),
close to the bordering upland of older strata
that stretches northward to the coast. For a
short distance the railway lies on the north
side of Rights river along which white cliffs of
gypsum are visible, the strata dipping to the
south at an angle of 40°. A short distance to
the northeast rise high hills of deformed strata
presumably of Ordovician age and intruded by
basic igneous masses. At a distance of 15 miles
(2-4 km.) from Antigonish, the railway crosses
Rights river and for a very short interval,
enters an area occupied by the Carboniferous
Conglomerate series; tilted, red sandstones and
conglomerates of this series are exposed along
the river. The strata of the Conglomerate series
occupy an area several miles wide that extends
northwards along a depressed area across the
upland. To the eastward the strata of the Lime-
stone series abut directly against the bounding
Ordovician, but to the westward a narrow band
of the Conglomerate series is interposed.
Miles and
Kilometres.
313
About + mile (0-4 km.) beyond the first
crossing of Rights river, the railway again
crosses the river and shortly re-enters the area
of the Limestone series. The railway follows
the river closely and along it occur cliffs of
gypsum. The southern boundary of the Con-
glomerate series lies just north of the railway.
The strata of this series dip in a general southerly
direction at angles varying from quite low to as
high as 70°. One mile (1-6 km.) beyond the
second crossing of Rights river, the railway
crosses it again where it issues from the higher
ground to the north.
Beyond the third crossing of Rights river the
railway passes along the sides of a series of small
streams, the alternate ones flowing respectively
eastand west. Along the streams occur low cliffs
of gypsum, while in places between the heads of
streams the presence of gypsum is indicated
by the characteristic “‘sinks’’. The Limestone
series, as developed along the line of the railway,
consists of a basal limestone member possibly
about 10 feet (3 m.) thick overlain by about
200 feet (60 m.) of red sandstone and shale, above
which lie about 200 feet (60 m.) of gypsum. The
basal limestone rests on greenish conglomerate of
the Conglomerate series which west of a point
about 13 miles (2-4 km.) west of the third cross-
ing of Rights river, is confined to a narrow zone
bordering the steep front of the upland which
rises a short distance north of the railway.
The steeply rising hills are underlain by closely
folded greywacke varying to an impure quartzite
and interbedded with a very siliceous slate.
These measures compose the James River
formation which is possibly 5,000 feet (1,500 m.)
thick and is presumed to be of Ordovician age.
The strata are penetrated by irregular intrusions
of diabase and rhyolite and by one mass of granite
underlying an area of several square miles.
About 8 miles (12-9 km.) from Antigonish the
railway crosses James river, a southward flowing
stream which issues from the hills through a
deep, V-shaped valley. At the crossing of
Miles and
Kilometres.
9-4 m.
15:1 km.
314
James river an extensive view is afforded to
the south across the low-lying area of the
Limestone series to the southern uplands of
““Devonian”’ and older strata.
James River Station—Alt. 203 feet (61-9 m.).
The front of the uplands bordering the low area
of the Limestone series on the north, strikes
about southwest and a short distance beyond
James river the railway enters the abruptly
rising upland area by way of the deepset valley
of Hartshorne brook. This valley and its
continuation to the west, is underlain by
Silurian strata forming a narrow strip rarely
wider than } mile (0-4 km.) bounded on both
sides by a high, plateau-like upland occupied
by Ordovician strata belonging in part to the
James River formation and in part to the younger
Baxter Brook formation which consists of
reddish and greenish slates, and sandstones
and conglomerates. The Silurian measures
in places are fossiliferous and include shales,
sandstones and limestones.
About 24 miles (4 km.) from the entrance to
Hartshorne brook valley, the head of the valley
is reached and the railway crosses a low summit
(altitude, 451 feet or 137-5 m.) separating
Hartshorne valley from another valley drained
by a small stream flowing westward to Barney
river. Hartshorne brook as far as its head,
occupies a pronounced, though narrow, deep-
set valley. At the summit and on the divide,
the valley contracts; to the west of the summit,
the valley quickly widens, though still narrow,
and is occupied by a small westerly-flowing
brook whose volume is altogether dispropor-
tionate to the depth of the valley.
Marshy Hope Station—Alt. 373 ft. (121-9
m.). At Marshy Hope station, the east branch
of Barney river, flowing from the north, enters
the valley traversed by the railway, at a point
about I mile (1-6 km.) west of the summit.
The tributary valley of the east branch of
Barney river is very narrow and steep walled
whereas the main valley through also narrow,
Miles and
Kilometres.
7/02 100%
Pz 0 ay ante
18-I m.
29:1 km.
19-2 m.
30°9 km.
315
is comparatively broad and its slope less steeply
inclined.
Below Marshy Hope station the valley, for
a distance of 14 miles (2-4 km.) continues to be
underlain by Silurian strata everywhere con-
fined to a narrow strip seldom more than 400
yards (365 m.) wide. Beyond this point the
valley floor as well as the uplands, are occupied
by the Ordovician strata. About 2 miles
(3-2 km.) farther, the valley followed by the
railway joins the broad valley of the main
branch of Barney river.
Barney River Station—Alt. 183 ft. (55-8
m.). Barney River station is situated on the
west side of the comparatively wide valley of
Barney river. This valley is underlain by
folded and faulted Silurian measures occupying
a low area about 2 miles (3-2 km.) broad bound-
ed by steep slopes of Ordovician and igneous
rocks. The Silurian area extends several miles
to the south and then bends to the west. It
extends about the same distance to the north to
where the Silurian strata are overlapped by
Carboniferous measures. The low-lying Sil-
urian area is traversed by several streams which
unite to form the northward flowing Barney
river.
Dewar Station—Alt. 160 ft. (48-8 m.).
Dewar station is situated at about the centre
of the Silurian area at the confluence of the
two main branches of Barney river.
Avondale Station—Alt. 151 ft. (46 m.).
Avondale station is on the western side of the
Silurian area close to the boundary with the
Ordovician. About 4 mile (0-8 km.) beyond
Avondale station, the railway enters an area
of Carboniferous strata extending to the sea
coast, and turning through an angle of 90°,
proceeds westerly near the northern foot of
the upland area crossed by the railway and
which separates the low-lying Carboniferous
area on the north that extends westward to the
Pictou coal field and beyond, from the equally
low-lying area of the Antigonish Carboniferous
Miles and
Kilometres.
22m.
277) kame
316
area. ‘The steep northern face of the upland ex-
tends along a fairly uniform northeast-southwest
course. To the northeast the upland finally
approaches the sea coast. In this direction,
in the Arisaig district, the northern face of the
upland marks a profound fault, presumably
this is true also to the southwest. The upland
in its extension both to the northeast and south-
west is mainly underlain by Ordovician strata
with large areas of igneous rocks. In places
also, Silurian measures are largely developed.
Where the railway, a short distance beyond
Avondale station, enters the Carboniferous
area, the strata belong to the Limestone series
and consist chiefly of grey and red sandstones
with, towards the base, several beds of lime-
stone. These measures, with low northeasterly
dips, form a zone several miles wide extending
in a northeasterly direction and in the immediate
district rest directly on the Silurian strata.
On the sea coast these rocks have a thickness
of about 2,000 feet (600 m.) and on fossiliferous
evidence have been correlated with the Windsor
series.
At a distance of about 14 miles (2-4 km.)
from Avondale station, as the railway follows
along the southern boundary of the Carboni-
ferous at the foot of the upland of Ordovician,
it leaves the area of the Limestone series and
enters a district occupied by Millstone Grit
which at the south boundary rests directly on
the Pre-Carboniferous strata. The railway in
this part of its course, ascends a valley, crosses
a divide (altitude, 288 feet or 87-8 m.) and
enters the valley of Huggan brook. From the
neighborhood of the summit, a view to the
northeast shows the sharply marked, nearly
straight front of the upland of older strata
and the low, rolling Carboniferous area extend-
ing from its foot to the sea.
Piedmont Station—Alt. 241 ft. (73-5 m.).
The Millstone Grit strata in the neighborhood
of Piedmont station consist of grey and reddish
shaly sandstones with coal-like matter; the
Miles and
Kilometres.
27:8 m.
44-7 km.
Bib) Thy
50-2 km.
317
basal member is composed of conglomerates
reposing directly on the Ordovician strata
forming the face of the upland. The Carboni-
ferous measures dip to the northward, towards
the sea ai angles of 10° to 30°.
After leaving Piedmont station, the railway
for a distance of about I mile (1-6 km.) con-
tinues to parallel the north face of the upland but
beyond this point, the railway bends and runs
towards the coast through a low broken country
underlain by the Millstone Grit. A view of the
sea is afforded at Merigomish.
Merigomish Station—Alt. 18 ft. (5-5 m.).
A short distance west of Merigomish station
the railway crosses French river. Numerous
exposures of Millstone Grit beds occur along
the river. The strata consist largely of red
and grey or greenish sandstones and_ shales
with a few very thin coal seams and occasional
thin beds of argillaceous limestone. ‘The strata
dip in a general way towards the north or west,
and are traversed by a series of faults trending
east and west.
From Merigonish the railway runs in a
southwestward direction parallel to but about
a mile distant from the shore of Merigomish
harbour.
West Merigomish—Alt. 77 ft. (23-5 m.).
The Millstone Grit strata extend westward
past West Merigomish to the border of the
area of Productive Coal Measures of the Pictou
coal field.
Beyond West Merigomish station, the railway
swings around the head of Merigomish harbour
and from the railway a good view is obtainable
of the low islands and irregular shores of this
indentation of the sea. About 3 miles (4-8 km.)
beyond West Merigomish the railway crosses
the mouth of Pinetree brook. One-half mile
(0-8 km.) farther, the railway enters an area
occupied by the New Glasgow Conglomerate
which forms a ridge extending westward to
New Glasgow. These measures consist of red
conglomerates with lenticular beds of sandstone;
Miles and
Kilometres.
35°6 m.
57°3 km.
318
they dip to the north at angles of 15° to 30°,
and occupy a band having a breadth of somewhat
more than 3 mile (0-8km.). Along their south
boundary the strata have been described as
unconformably overlying Millstone Grit; along
their northern boundary they are conformably
succeeded by sandy shales forming a very
thick series displayed over a large area for many
miles to the west. By Fletcher, the New
Glasgow Conglomerate was considered to mark
the base of the so-called Permo-Carboniferous
or Permian series.
As the railway ascends the ridge underlain
by the New Glasgow Conglomerate, a view
opens up across the head of Merigomish harbour
and the low, rolling Millstone Grit country
beyond, to the high abruptly rising upland
of pre-Carboniferous strata already traversed
by the railway. The railway crosses nearly
the whole width of the band of New Glasgow
Conglomerate but before reaching the northern
boundary, turns to the westward and for some
distance runs parallel with it.
Woodburn Station—Alt. 136 ft. (41-4 m.).
From Woodburn station, for a distance of about
1 mile (1-6 km.) the railway continues within
the area of the New Glasgow Conglomerate.
Beyond this it enters the ‘ Permo- Carbon-
iferous’’ area.
Some distance farther, the railway crosses a
low divide (altitude 218 feet or 66-4 m.) and
enters the valley of Smelt brook. From thesum-
mit, the country to the north may be seen to be
low and gently rolling. As the railway descends
the valley of Smelt brook, occasional outcrops of
grey ‘‘Permo-Carboniferous’”’ sandstone are
visible. Before reaching the mouth of Smelt
brook, the railway turns to the south, follows
up the east side of East river, and recrosses the
belt of New Glasgow Conglomerate exposed
along the banks of the river within the limits of
the town of New Glasgow. The railway station
is situated a very short distance south of the
Miles and
Kilometres.
41-5 m.
66-8 km.
84-4 m.
135-8 km.
gI-9 m.
147-9 km.
97°38 m.
157°4 km.
319
conglomerate band, within the area of the Pro-
ductive Coal Measures of the Pictou field.
New Glasgow—Alt. 29 ft. (8-8 m.). The
railway route between New Glasgow and Truro
is described on pages 222 to 229.
Truro—aAlt. 60 ft. (18-3 m.). From Truro
the Intercolonial railway runs westerly through
the Triassic area extending along the north
side of the Bay of Minas. The country under-
lain by the Triassic is low and rises very
gradually from the shore of the Bay of Minas.
The northern boundary of this area lies at a
variable distance, in most places between I and 2
miles (1-6 km. and 3-2 m.), north of the railway
and is marked by the abruptly rising front of an
upland which merges farther inland, into the
Cobequid hills.
The hilly district bordering the Triassic area
on the north is in part underlain by measures
of the Riversdale-Union group lying with steep
angles of dip in a series of east-west folds. The
Triassic strata are mainly red conglomerates
and sandstones, which are in general, horizontal
or dip at low angles except along the northern
border where the strata are usually inclined at
angles of 30° to 45°.
Belmont Station——Alt. 84 ft. (25-6 m.).
East Minas Station—Alt. 193 ft. (58-8 m.).
In this district the Triassic area extends
inland for from 5 to 6 miles (8 to 9-6 km.).
To the westward, the band of Triassic strata
continues for many miles along the coast of the
Bay of Minas and in places the sediments are
associated with diabase or basalt. The igneous
rock in general occurs in large sheet-like bodies
overlying the sediments; in some cases, at
least, the masses are dyke-like or are sills.
At East Minas station, the northern boundary
of the Triassic sediments lies about I mile
(1-6 km.) north of the railway and there the
Triassic is in contact with strata mapped as
Carboniferous Conglomerate (lowest Carboni-
ferous) by Fletcher. This area of the ‘‘Car-
Miles and
Kilometres.
IOI-3 m.
163-0 km.
320
boniferous Conglomerate”’ exiends for many
miles both to the east and west, in the form of a
band varying in width between I and 2 miles
(1-6 km. and 3:2 km.). Along the northern
edge of this band of ‘‘Carboniferous Conglome-
rate’’ occur so-called Devonian strata of the
Riversdale-Union group, and from a point not
far east of East Minas station, the same ‘“‘ Devo-
nian’’ beds lie along the southern boundary of
the Conglomerate series between it and the
Triassic. The ‘Carboniferous Conglomerate’”’
measures strike in a general east and west
direction and dip either to the north or south at
angles of 20° to 75°.
One mile (1-6 km.) west of East Minas
station, the railway crosses Folly river. This
river flows across the band of ‘Carboniferous
Conglomerate’’ whose southern boundary lies
3 mile (0-8 km.) north of the railway. The
strata of the conglomerate series comprise not
only conglomerates but also reddish and greyish
sandstones and shales with very thin seams of
coal. By Fletcher the conglomerates are des-
cribed as holding fragments of the ‘“‘ Devonian ”’
rocks. By Sir William Dawson, the strata were
classed with the ‘“‘coal measures”’ and not with
the basal Carboniferous as Fletcher did.
Beyond the crossing of Folly river, the railroad
gradually approaches the southern boundary
of the ‘‘conglomerate series’’ and finally, after
curving around to a nearly north course, enters
the area of these rocks. The railway passes
through several cuttings in inclined red conglo-
merates and sandstones belonging to this series.
Londonderry Station—Alt. 334 ft. (101-8m.).
From Londonderry station, situated within the
area of the ‘‘Conglomerate”’ series, the railway
as it climbs the southern slope of the Cobequid
hills, runs in a northeasterly direction towards
the valley of Folly river. Cuttings in red
conglomerate and sandstone, and in red sand-
stone and shale, occur along the railway. As
the railway approaches Folly river, a view is
afforded to the south and east over the low
Miles and
Kilometres.
228
Triassic area along the shore of the Bay of Minas
and 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km.) to the eastward,
are visible the hills of ‘‘Devonian”’ strata rising
on the southern side of the Salmon river valley,
beyond Truro.
Where the railway enters the valley of Folly
river it turns to the north, and keeping to the
west of the stream, follows the valley north-
ward across the Cobequid hills. About where
the railway finally enters Folly river valley, it
crosses the northern boundary of the ‘Con-
glomerate series.’’ All along this boundary, for
a number of miles to the east and west, the
lowest: member of the ‘‘Conglomerate series”’
consists of conglomerates holding pebbles and
boulders up to I foot (30 cm.) in diameter of
the bordering ‘‘Devonian”’ strata and of the
igneous rocks that penetrate the “‘Devonian”’
and underlie by far the greater part of the area
of the Cobequid hills. The ‘“ Devonian”’ strata
in places have yielded plants precisely similar
to those of the Riversdale-Union group and it is
quite certain that the ‘‘Devonian”’ of the south
flank of the Cobequid is in part at least, the
equivalent of the Riversdale-Union group.
The “ Devonian”’ beds both to the east and
west of Folly river are traversed in an east and
west direction, by a zone of fissuring occupied by
veins of ankerite, siderite, etc., and masses of
limonite and hematite. These deposits for
many years were mined and the ore smelted at
Londonderry.
The “ Devonian”’ strata in general have been
metamorphosed to a_ considerable degree.
Quartz veins are common. In places the rocks
are schistose, and they are penetrated by various
types of igneous rocks. In these respects, they
differ from the strata customarily classed as
Carboniferous and therefore, notwithstanding
the paleobotanical evidence, Fletcher classed
them as Devonian. If the so-called ‘‘ Devonian”’
is not Devonian but is approximately of Mill-
stone Grit age, then the strata of the band of
“Conglomerate series’? to the south may be
35063—8A
Miles and
Kilometres.
108-8 m.
175:1 km.
322
of the age of the Coal Measures as stated by
Dawson, or even younger.
The zone of ‘“Devonian”’ strata lying north
of the belt of the ‘‘Conglomerate series’”’ is
quite narrow where crossed by the valley of
Folly river. Beyond the Devonian, occurs a
complex of igneous rocks that with a length in
an east and west direction of about 100 miles
(160 km.) forms the central part of the Cobequid
hills. Where traversed by the railway, the
igneous complex has not been studied petro-
graphically but is known to contain many
types including granite, diabase, and fine-grained
acid and basic intrusive rocks. Areas of
schistose rocks, in part of sedimentary origin,
are associated with the igneous rocks.
The railway enters Folly valley at a consider-
able elevation above the river but ina compara-
tively short distance, as a result of the steep
gradient of the valley bottom, the railway track
and the stream possess the same altitude. The
river rises in Folly lake (altitude 605 feet or
184-4 m.) along whose eastern shore the railway
runs. The upper part of the valley, to the head
of Folly lake, is comparatively broad and the
hills on either side rise gradually to heights of
100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 m.) above the valley.
Numerous cuttings in igneous rocks occur
along the railway.
Folleigh Station—Alt. 618 ft. (188-4 m.).
Folleigh station is situated near the head of
Folly lake. Beyond the end of the lake, the
valley contracts and the railway crosses a low
divide (altitude 618 feet or 188-4 m.) and
enters the valley of a northward flowing brook,
the headwaters of Wallace river. As the divide
is left behind, the valley broadens and rapidly
deepens so that the railway tracks run high on
the valley side. Before reaching Wentworth
station the valley opens widely and the hills on
either side sink abruptly to lower levels. To
the north an extensive view is displayed over a
low rolling country siretching northward to
Northumberland strait. A band of strata of
Miles and
Kilometres.
118-0 m.
189-9 km.
119-3 m.
192 km.
323
the Carboniferous Limestone series and of the
Millstone Grit, several miles broad, runs along
the northern flanks of the Cobequid hills while
the lower country to the north is underlain by
gently dipping Permo-Carboniferous strata.
Wentworth Station—Alt. 472 ft. (134-8 m.).
. Wentworth station lies almost on the northern
edge of the igneous area of the Cobequid hills.
Bordering the igneous complex at this point
for a length of about 23 miles (4 km.) in an east
and west direction, is an area of Silurian rocks
having a maximum width of about ? miles (1-2
km.). The strata consist mainly of highly
inclined dark slates which in places are fossil-
iferous and apparently are of Clinton age.
Beyond Wentworth station, the railway
enters this limited Silurian area and as it curves
around to the west on the steep northern slope
of the Cobequids, a splendid view is obtainable
across the low country to the north. At a
distance of about 13 miles (2-4 km.) from Went-
worth station, the railway enters a belt of strata
consisting largely of shales and sandstones
considered by Fletcher to belong to the Carbon-
iferous Limestone series. These measures directly
overlie the igneous rocks of the Cobequid hills and
with a width of 1 to 2 miles (1-6 to 3-2 km.)
stretch for a number of miles both to the east
and west. The strata dip northwards at angles
Of TOs stO) 40m
Westchester Station—Alt. 299 ft. (91-1 m).
Westchester station is situated on the northern
margin of the narrow band of the limestone
series. To the north, for a width of about 2
miles (3:2 km.), the low, broken country is
underlain by strata assigned to the Millstone
Grit and consisting mainly of an assemblage of
conglomeratic strata overlain by sandstones
and shales. The strata dip to the north at
angles of 30° to 12°.
Grenville Station—Alt. 290 ft. (88-4 m.).
Grenville station is situated near the northern
boundary of the Millstone Grit conglomerate.
The Millstone Grit sandstones and shales occupy
35063—83A
Miles and
Kilometres.
324
a zone about 3 mile (0-8 km.) in width beyond
which they are overlapped by Permo-Carboni-
ferous measures dipping northward at low
angles.
Beyond Grenville station, the railway follows
a general northwesterly course and _ passes
diagonally across the remaining width of
the Millstone Grit. From the railway the
steeply rising north front of the Cobequids
is visible at intervals. Two and a half miles
from Grenville station the railway enters an
area underlain by Permo-Carboniferous strata.
These beds terminate a short distance west
of the railway but extend eastwards to New
Glasgow 50 miles (80 km.) distant. The strata
with very low angles of dip lie in an open
synclinal fold pitching to the east. The railway
in a distance of about 4 miles (6-4 km.) crosses
the western end of this syncline of Permo-
Carboniferous and enters an area of Millstone
Grit strata dipping to the southward at low
angles and extending to the northeast as a
border to the Permo-Carboniferous area. To
the north, an anticlinal fold brings measures of
the Limestone series to the surface, while on
the northern limb of this anticline the Millstone
Grit followed by Permo-Carboniferous strata
are again repeated.
From where the railway leaves the synclinal
area of Permo-Carboniferous, to Springhill Junc-
tion, 17 miles (27-3 km.) west, the railway
crosses an area in which the strata have been
folded along axes pursuing a general northeast-
erly direction. Subsequent to the folding, the
measures have been crossed by heavy faults
some of which strike in a north-south direction
while others follow courses that are approximately
east-west, northeast-southwest, or northwest-
southeast. The strata range from the Limestone
series to Permo-Carboniferous and_ the whole
assemblage behaves as a conformable series. The
Limestone series is characterized by the presence
of beds of gypsum and of fossiliferous limestone.
The Productive Coal measures are present, and
Miles and
Kilometres.
143°5 mM.
230-9 km.
a
a5
325
in the coal field centering about Springhill, contain
8 coal seams ranging in thickness from 2 feet to
13 feet (0-3 m. to 3-9 m.).
Springhill Junction—Alt. 199 ft. (60-6 m.).
A short distance to the east of Springhill
Junction, the railway enters an area of Permo-
Carboniferous measures lying in a_ broad
synclinal basin that stretches westward for
about 20 miles (32 km.) to the Bay of Fundy
where the measures form the upper portion
of the famous Joggins sections. In the
neighborhood of Springhill Junction, the Permo-
Carboniferous strata appear to conformably
overlie Millstone Grit strata, whereas along the
northern margin of the basin, they appear to
conformably overlie the Productive Coal Mea-
sures.
For a distance of about 8 miles (12-8 km.)
from Springhill Junction, the railway traverses
the Permo-Carboniferous area. Beyond this it
crosses the northern boundary of the Permo-
Carboniferous and enters the band-like area of
Productive Coal Measures which with a width
of about 15 miles extends easterly to the Joggins
coast. Maccan Junction lies about in the
centre of this band-like area.
Maccan Junction—Alt. 31 ft. (9-4 m.).
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
MACCAN JUNCTION TO JOGGINS.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Maccan Junction—Alt. 31 ft. (9-4 m.).
From Maccan Junction to Joggins, the Maritime
Coal, Railway and Power Company railway
passes over an area underlain by the Productive
Coal Measures. These beds form a _ band
about 2 miles (3-2 km.) wide in which the strata
dip southwards, at angles of 15° to 40°, beneath
overlying Permo-Carboniferous measures.
326
Bilesand Leaving Maccan Junction, the railway crosses
’ Maccan river and ascends to the top of a
broad ridge (altitude 220 feet, or 67 m.). The
dumps of various small collieries may be seen
along the railroad line. From the summit of
the ridge, the Cobequid hills are visible about
15 miles (24 km.) to the south on the opposite
side of the open syncline of Permo-Carboni-
ferous and Carboniferous strata.
After crossing the broad ridge, the railway
descends to the wide valley of River Hebert.
7-1 m. River Hebert Station—Alt. 29 ft. (8-8 m.).
11-4 km. River Hebert station is situated near the
southern boundary of the band of Productive
Coal Measures and in this neighborhood are
several active collieries. From this station the
railway ascends the long western slope of River
Hebert valley and passes through a gently
rolling country (summit level, I91 feet or
60-9 m.) to Joggins.
11-6 m. Jogsins Station—Alt. 58 ft. (17-7 m.).
18-6km.
THE JOGGINS CARBONIFEROUS SECTION.*
(W. A. BELL.)
INTRODUCTION.
The Joggins section, Nova Scotia, is a great pile of
Carboniferous rocks which faces to the north on Chig-
necto bay, the northern arm of the divided head of the Bay
of Fundy. By the work of the powerful Fundy tides,
which here rise to heights of 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m.),
this section is happily opened to view in a flat, monotonous,
waste-mantled region of few rock outcrops. Though
lacking in great mineral wealth the majesty of the great
thickness of Carboniferous rock exposed, as well as the
ancient forests entombed therein, has won for it the homage
of geologists. As to its regional importance the Joggins
*See Map—Logan’s section of the Carboniferous at Joggins Mines.
327
section exposes an oblique cutting through an entire coal
basin, known as the Cumberland Coal basin.
This basin is in the form of a broad synclinal trough,
having a width of about 25 miles (32 km.), trending in a
general east-northeast direction in conformity with the
regional Appalachian structure, and paralleling a youthful
dissected old land to the south, the Cobequid hills. To
the north the basin is limited by a well defined anticline
and a narrow belt of subsidiary folds, referred to as the
Minudie anticlinorium, but rocks considered to be
equivalent to basal members of the Joggins series extend
with nearly horizontal attitudes beneath the southern
lowlands of New Brunswick.
From the Chignecto shore eastward, the syncline pre-
serves its general regularity of structure for 20 miles
32 km.) inland, where transverse folds and faults again
bring up the lower rocks of the series in a belt some I2
miles (19 km.) wide, which is partially occupied by the
watershed between the Bay of Fundy and Northumberland
strait. From here eastward to the Strait the synclinal
character of the trough is again manifest, but more notice-
ably interrupted by secondary parallel folds, until it sinks
gently beneath the waters of St. Lawrence gulf. In the
extreme southeast, however, it is no longer limited so
completely by the Cobequid plateau, but, passing around
several outliers of older rocks, merges into the Pictou Coal
basin.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
The whole area underlain by the Carboniferous rocks
forms the Cumberland lowland, as contrasted with the pre-
Carboniferous Cobequid upland to the south. The surface
of the lowland is everywhere nearly plain or gently rolling,
with an average elevation of little over 200 feet (61 m.)
above the sea, but rising gently to the base of the Cobequids
to elevations of over 300 feet (91 m.), and then rapidly to
the 800 (244 m.) to 1,000 feet (305 m.) elevations of the
upland surface. The monotonous character of the lower
plain is broken, however, by low rolling ridges developed
on the harder sub-rock, and by a few isolated monadnocks,
such as Springhill (610 feet, 186 m.), Claremont hill (565
feet, 172 m.), and the Salem hills (450 feet and 390 feet,
137 m. and 180 m.). Such a residual is also present in
328
New Brunswick, across the bay from the Joggins, in the
form of Shepody mountain, which rises to an elevation of
1,050 feet (320 m.).
Yet, properly, this Cumberland lowland is but a portion
of a much more extensive Carboniferous lowland of eastern
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, whose surface is broadly
characterized by its truncation and disregard of underlying
structure, thus constituting a part of a true peneplaned
surface which has been referred by Daly to the Tertiary
epoch.
The Cobequid upland is a higher residual plateau surface
representing a remnant of a once extensive and continuous
uplifted older peneplain, whose several surviving portions
now form the Cobequid upland, the Southern plateau of
Nova Scotia, and the Caledonian and neighboring highlands
of New Brunswick. Daly has correlated this higher
peneplain surface with the Cretaceous peneplain of New
England, and it has suffered in like manner a southeasterly
tilting movement, so that the elevations progressively
increase to the northwest. The Cumberland lowland is
then, on this theory, but a portion of a local peneplain
carved in Tertiary time in the softer Carboniferous rocks
of an elevated and warped Cretaceous peneplain. The
Cobequids might then be considered as a residual mass of
the Unakian type.
Late Tertiary history has been expressed by oscillatory
vertical movements of lesser amount, resulting in the
dissection, below the general surface of the lowland, of
narrow valleys whose mouths have subsequently been
drowned and converted into tidalestuaries. Tidal deposi-
tion, resulting in the aggradation of wide fertile flats of
marsh along the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy, has
been, aside from glacial action, the most recent and
conspicuous process, and one whose activity and effects
may still be observed in this region.
GENERAL GEOLOGY.
The pre-Carboniferous rocks of the Cumberland area
are confined to the region of the Cobequid upland, and
consist of folded and metamorphosed early Palaeozoic and
Pre-Cambrian (?) sediments, intruded by Pre-Cambrian (?)
and Paleozoic plutonic and volcanic masses, the whole being
known as the Cobequid series. Sufficiently detailed work
329
has not yet been done to state adequately the relations of
the rocks of this complex series, but the Cobequid upland
is underlain predominantly by plutonic and volcanic masses
ranging in acidity from diabase to acid granites. The
originally intruded sedimentary roof is present now in the
central areas only as scattered remnants, but in the southern
belt of the upland there is a considerable development of
altered sediments, which are chiefly dark quartzites, black
slates, red and green argillites, green micaceous and
chloritic schists, and small areas of crystalline limestone.
At Wentworth station a small outcrop of fossiliferous slates
carries Silurian fossils, and Dawson on lithological grounds
has assigned the remaining unfossiliferous quartzites and
slates to the Silurian with the exception of a few plant-
bearing beds doubtfully referred to the Devonian but
which are seemingly of Pennsylvannia age.
Fletcher and Selwyn have regarded the entire Cobequid
series as altered Silurian and Devonian sediments cut by
post-Devonian intrusives. Ells, on the contrary, has
considered these rocks as predominantly Pre-Cambrian
in age, but with Cambro-Silurian sediments flanking the
range on the north, and with an isolated outcrop of Silurian
at Wentworth station.
The Carboniferous rocks are not exclusively confined to
the Cumberland lowlands, as several outlying or inlying
conglomeratic remnants occur as isolated patches on the
Cobequid series.
HISTORICAL NOTES.
The Joggins section early attracted the attention of
geologists by the reported occurrences of many fossilized
trees still standing erect in the sandstone. In 1842 Sir
Charles Lyell made his first visit to this locality and was
impressed by the abundance of erect trees to be seen, as
stated in one of his letters:
“Whither I went to see a forest of fossil coal-trees—the
most wonderful phenomenon perhaps that I have seen, so
upright do the trees stand, or so perpendicular to the strata
....trees twenty-five feet high,and some have been seen of
forty feet, piercing the beds of sandstone and terminating
downwards in the same beds, usually coal. This subter-
ranean forest exceeds in extent and quality of timber, all
that have been discovered in Europe put together.”
330
Unfortunately the present stand of the fossil timber is
not so striking, owing in some measure to the destructive
tendencies of fossil hunters. In 1852-53 Lyell restudied
the section in the company of Sir William Dawson. Since
then his drawings of these logs and those of Dawson have
appeared in many text books on geology.
Sir William Logan in 1843 published a careful description
and detailed measurements of the northern limb of the
Joggins syncline, as exposed from Mill creek at the base of
the section to the uppermost beds of Shulie. In recognition
of the seeming continuity in the sedimentation of his 14,570
feet (4,441 m.) of strata, he divided the section more or less
arbitrarily into eight divisions, but each group was charac-
terized on the whole by a dominance of certain characters.
Fresh from his experience in the British coal fields, he was
the first to appreciate the significance of the numerous
ancient soil beds and underclays, so well exposed to view,
as illustrating the formation of coal in situ.
Dawson in his second edition of the ‘‘Acadian Geology”’
in 1868 presented an accurate and verv readable account
of the regional geology, with many ad litional detailed
observations on the sedimentary sequence and mode of
origin of the beds, and with illustrations and descriptions
of the characteristic flora and fauna.
To Fletcher and Ells of the Canadian Geological Survey
are chiefly due former interpretations of the difficultly
ascertained structure of the largely concealed inland _por-
tions of the basin.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
TABLE OF FORMATIONS.
The classification of the Carboniferous rocks as pre-
sented here is a provisional one, and the older terminology
is included for comparison.
331
Older classification.
JOGGINS SERIES.
Late Pennsylvanian—
Shulie formation—
(Thickness 2,136 ft. (658 m.)—Logan.) | Permo-Carboniferous.
Uplift and renewed erosion.
Middle Pennsylvanian—
Joggins formation—
(Thickness 6,886 ft. (2,099 m.)—Logan). Productive Coal Mea-
sures.
Early Pennsylvanian—
Boss Point formation—
(Thickness 4,583 ft. (1,397 m.)—Logan). Millstone Grit.
Disconformity.
Mississippian—
Windsor formation—
(Thickness 2,000 ft. (610 m.), roughly Lower Carboniferous.
estimated.)
Unconformity.
COBEQUID SERIES.
Pre-Mississippian
Pre-Cambrian and pre-Devonian altered sediments.
Pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic igneous intrusives.
The Joggins section is naturally divisible into five major
divisions, none of which is sharply delineated, but each is
the effect of peculiar conditions of sedimentation. These
are briefly: (a) a lower marine limestone and red shale
division of Mississippian age, called the Windsor formation;
(b) a conglomerate, grey sandstone, and shale division of
Pennsylvanian age, of fresh-water origin, and containing
plant remains and thin coal seams, comprising the Boss
Point (Millstone Grit) formation; (c) a barren red shale
division included in the succeeding Joggins formation; (d)
332
a sandstone and shale division of terrestrial origin, vith
plant remains and productive coal seams, forming the
typical Joggins formation; and lastly (e) an upper con-
glomeratic division also of terrestrial origin, comprising
the Shulie formation. A brief description of each formation
is given below.
LOWER PART OF SECTION: TO LOWER COVE.
Windsor formation.— Below the Joggins section, in the
axial region of the Minudie anticlinorium, near Minudie,
there may be seen at low tide some 50 feet (15 m.) or more
of black and nodular limestone, associated with red and
green shales and calcareous sandstones. The calcareous
beds carry a scanty fauna related to that of the upper
limestone at Windsor, of Mississippian age. The extension
of these beds at Nappan and across the bay in New Bruns-
wick is associated with a thick zone of gypsum, but this
mineral is concealed in the low area below the Joggins
section. Lying conformably above these definitely marine
beds, there are upwards of 2,000 feet (610 m.) of barren,
brick red, arenaceous and argillaceous shales, of which the
upper 966 feet (299-4 m.) are well exposed at the base of
the Joggin section. These soft red beds underlie a belt of
low country about 25 miles (4-2 km.) in width, striking in
an easterly direction from Cumberland bay to the river
Hebert. The shales contain abundant flakes of mica, and
from their rippled, mud-cracked and cross-bedded character
are believed to be the deposits of a receding Mississippian
sea and are hence included in the Windsor formation.
A greater development of the beds is exposed across the
bay in New Brunswick where the upper deposits are
distinctively calcareous, the lime occurring in the form of
thin beds, seemingly of chemical deposition, or as numerous
concretions in bright red shales and conglomerates. These
rocks dip uniformly about 27° southward.
Post-Mississippian unconformity.— Post - Mississippian
orogenic movements followed by uplift and erosion
before the deposition of the Pennsylvanian rocks, are
marked in many areas of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
by erosional unconformities. At the Joggins section,
however, the unconformity is accordant, and is therefore
distinguished by the term disconformity. It occurs at the
Division!
ee
357
Boss Point
SS 3
Whack’ irindstone
we eM,
Divisio
Division3
ay
Cumberland
Basin
Minudie Point
Geological Survey, Canada.
Logan's Section of the Carboniferous at Joggins Mines
URRnnrewed
oe
Miles
1
kilometres
on
Al.
{ aeieiwid
333
base of the lowest bed of grey sandstone in the Boss Point
formation. These overlying Boss Point beds are charac-
terized by the presence of grey sandstone bearing abundant,
though frequently generically obscure, drift plant debris
indicative of Pennsylvanian time, and by the occurrence of
basal quartz conglomerates seemingly derived from the
erosion of upper beds of the underlying Windsor. The
geological history represented by this depositional break
must be largely of a speculative nature until further
regional data are obtainable.
It is probable, however, that the Cobequid mountains
were established as a region of uplift in early Palwozoic
times, and partook of the orogenic movements of late
Silurian and post-Silurian times, which took place generally
in western New England, and still later possibly they may
have suffered post-Devonian deformations. At least the
faunal and structural evidence points to the existence of the
Cobequids as highlands or islands in the Mississipian sea. The
post-Mississippian orogenic movements were Appalachian
in character with the thrust from the south, and highly
disturbed the Windsor strata in the basin south of the
Cobequids, but seemingly little affected these to the north
of the Cobequids. Contemporaneous or later vertical
movements then initiated a period of active erosion and the
deposition of terrestrial deposits in the form of fluvial flood
plains and subaerial delta deposits which were derived in
part from the large continuous areas of upland to the south
and west, and in part from the forelying Appalachian
mountain chains. Of these mountain ridges, the Cobequids
were sufficiently developed to delineate the two main
Carboniferous basins of Nova Scotia. The southern or
deeper basin which lay between the Cobequids and the
Southern uplands was an. area of estuarine or brackish-
water deposition resulting in the Riversdale deposits. In
the north the Cumberland and the southern New Bruns-
wick basins were seemingly continuous and this area was
one of contemporaneous terrestrial fluvial deposition,
giving rise to the Boss Point (Millstone Grit) sediments.
Boss Point Formation—The Boss Point formation
continues westward from the Windsor belt for about 5
miles (8 km.), and consists primarily of two distinct
divisions, a lower prevailingly red division, and an upper
predominantly grey division. The lower division contains
considerable conglomerate which is characterized by the
334
presence of well rounded pebbles of varicolored vein quartz
and quartzites, embedded in a matrix of sharp or subangular
sand grains and red ferruginous cement, the pebbles ranging
in size up to 3 inches in diameter. In addition, occasional
grey limestone pebbles occur. Within this formation,
as exposed in the Joggins section, siliceous conglomerates
are confined to these basal members, but in New Brunswick,
conglomerate is, however, as mentioned above, of common
occurrence, not only in the lower division, but throughout
the formation, in the form of lenticular beds which channel
into the underlying grey sandstones or shales.
The succeeding division is the one especially character-
istic of this formation, and consists mainly of greenish grey,
yellow or buff weathering sandstones interbedded with
brick red argillaceous shales, but with subordinate grey
and black carbonaceous shales, as well as thin seams of
coal and of fossiliferous bituminous limestone. The latter
may carry Leperditia-like ostracods, Anthracomya ovalis
(Dawson), A. /aevis (Dawson), coprolites as well as scales
and teeth of Crossopterygian and Chondrostean ganoids.
The flora has not yet been worked out in detail, but the
commonest forms are drifted trunks of Dadoxylon acadi-
anum Dawson, Calamodendron, Stigmaria ficoides Brong-
niart, Sigillaria, Calamites and leaves of Cordaites, all of
which are also found in the succeeding formation.
MIDDLE PART OF SECTION: LOWER COVE TO MCCARREN
BROOK.
The typical sharp quartz sandstone of the formation
occurs at Boss point and at an abandoned quarry at Lower
cove, where, in the past, the rock from the reefs was ex-
tensively worked into grindstones. The frequent occur-
rence, however, of hard concretions and of drifted plant
material must be a serious defect of this stone.
Joggins Formation—The sandstones of the quarry at
Lower Cove are succeeded by 2,000 feet (610 m.) of red
beds which because of their lithological contrast with the
underlying Boss Point measures, and for other reasons, in-
dicate the possibility of a disconformity existing beneath
this horizon and are therefore classed with the Joggins
formation.
It is thought that the 2,000 feet of red shales may be
the equivalent of certain red conglomerate and associated
SOD
strata occurring at Spicer’s Cove at the western end of the
Joggins section. It should be stated however that the
conglomerates, etc., of Spicer’s Cove were held by Fletcher
to possibly represent the New Glasgow conglomerate
and therefore to be of Permo-Carboniferous age. It
is interesting to note here that a somewhat similar
thickness of brick red conglomerates, soft sandstones and
shales occurs in a belt immediately to the north of the
Minudie anticlinorium in New Brunswick seemingly over-
lapping the Boss Point beds unconformably, suggesting
that these too may represent in part synchronous deposits
of the Joggins formation but with the material largely
derived from the New Brunswick highlands to the north(?)
and west. This is supported, moreover, by the fact that
fragments of a very poorly preserved Lepidodendron like
that of a species commonly occurring in the Joggins
formation have been seen in these rocks. These rocks
have been mapped by Ells as Permo-Carboniferous.
Aside from their importance in the above theoretical
consideration, these almost barren red beds are without
any special interest. Their softness in comparison with
the rocks above and below has resulted in the formation
here of a low depression. From any point along this
shore, however, may be had an excellent view of the suc-
ceeding rocks of the Joggins formation, which are exposed
continuously with great regularity of dip (20°+) for more
than 4 miles (6-5 km.) or to the vicinity of Ragged Reef
point. On a clear day this view may be extended across
the bay into New Brunswick where the monadnock mass
of Shepody mountain may be clearly seen, rising con-
spicuously above the gently sloping plains of Carboniferous
rocks which there form a low foreland 4 miles (6 km.) in
breadth, skirting the Caledonian upland. The Carboniferous
rocks there exposed belong exclusively to the Windsor and
Boss Point formations, and the Cumberland syncline ap-
parently curves sharply to the south underneath the waters
of Chignecto bay. Even from the Joggins shore, the rocks
of the Boss Point formation may be seen to strike uniformly
in a westerly direction across to the Maringouin cape, but
along the farther shore of the New Brunswick mainland
they strike southwesterly about parallel to the coast and
dip steeply at angles greater than 45° beneath the bay.
Shepody mountain itself lies in line with the Minudie
anticlinal, which may then be considered as deflected to the
336
southwest parallel to the present outline of the New Bruns-
wich coast. The Carboniferous area lying to the westward
of Shepody mountain is therefore an integral part of the
Cumberland synclinorium, or it represents more properly
the extension of the Minudie anticlinorium.
The remaining strata of the Joggins formation are the
most interesting in the Joggins section both on account of
their organic remains and their economic importance.
The beds differ from the preceding beds of the Boss Point
formation chiefly in those characters resulting from depo-
sition under more pluvial or swampy conditions. Thus the
measures are predominantly grey in color, the sandstones
are generally much thinner, and are replaced or interbedded
with thick or thin zones of red, grey, or variegated shales
in which the coals or carbonaceous beds occur. It will
be seen that the division of this formation into unequal
zonal groups may be conveniently made in the field, since
there is a noticeable monotonous sequence of zones of
regularly evenly-bedded shales, thin sandstones, under-
clays, coals and thin bituminous limestones, in alternation
with massive falsely-bedded sandstones that character-
istically channel into the underlying shale zones. The
rapid deposition of these heavier sandstone beds is well
attested by the fact that they frequently contain the
casts of erect trees which occasionally exceed 20 feet in
length and whose bases occur in the mudstone soils beneath.
That these soil beds are extremely abundant throughout
the whole formation, may be seen from the widespread
vertical recurrence of shale beds with rootlets (Stigmaria).
As a consequence of the presence of such abundant
organic material much of the ferric iron contained in the
sandstones and shales has been reduced to a more soluble
salt. This process has been accompanied by a leaching
action and deprivation of iron from these beds, which has
been supplemented by concentration and redeposition of
the iron in the shales in the form of argillaceous hydrated
carbonate (ironstone) concretions. The above characters
of this formation are illustrated in the first rocks encountered
at the high cliff. The first zone of evenly-bedded red shales
has associated with it the first coal group, which consists
of three minute seams of coal or coaly matter, each less
than one inch in thickness, but each underlain by a distinct
Stigmaria underclay. The regularity of these beds is
abruptly and unevenly terminated above by the succeeding
337
10 feet of reddish grey ill-sorted sandstone, but the latter
passes up into a second zone, 46 feet in thickness, of evenly-
bedded, red shales without coals, which is likewise cut off
by 9 feet of greenish grey coarse sandstone. The succeeding
third zone of regular strata includes an interesting and
characteristic coal group, where the coals are intimately
associated with thin beds of black bituminous fossiliferous
limestone. One of these coals has a floor of this dirty
limestone, and although the characters of the limestone
floor would not seem to furnish a good forest soil, yet
nevertheless, this limestone has in it abundant Stigmaria
with the attached radiating rootlets, again furnishing
evidence of the formation of this coal 7m situ. The upper
limestones in the roof carry crushed pelecypod shells of
genus Anthracomya associated with a tubicular annelid
shell, Spirorbis carbonarius Dawson, Leperditian ostracods
including Cythere and fish scales. This coal group like
many of the following provides few plant remains. Dawson
states however that the coal itself has Cordaites and
vascular bundles of ferns associated with vascular tissue
of Sigillariz.
The succeeding 40 feet or so in this group is mainly grey
shales containing ironstone balls, and with subordinate
carbonaceous seams carrying a fauna similar to the above.
Three erect trees, poorly preserved, with coaly streaks
marking traces of the old roots, were observed here in the
summer of 1912, embedded in the shales but penetrating
the coarsely-bedded sandstone above. Several upright
Calamites were also noted arising from the base of the
sandstone bed. The succeeding strata may be similarly
marked out for convenience into zones as the contrast
between the regularly bedded strata of the coal and shale
zones and the irregular and cross-bedded sandstone zones
is usually quite marked.
Erect trees—The number of erect trees to be seen in the
following rocks varies of course from year to year with the
seasonal wearing back of the cliffs. Their abundant
occurrence and position perpendicular to the bedding, is
alone good evidence that they are preserved in the position
of their growth, 12.e., 1” situ.
On close examination it will be seen that in almost every
case where the roots are absent, the trunks are abruptly
terminated downward either by a coal seam or by a thin
seam of carbonaceous shale. The cases indeed are very
35063—9A
ExcursION A I.
, N.S.
ins
ight fossil tree. Jogg
An upr
339
few in which the rhizomes or roots are preserved, but
apparently in every case where the trunks stand in shale
independently of a coaly seam, some traces of the roots may
be seen. Several of such have been observed, where in
each case the trunk was attached to roots (rhizomes) of
Stigmaria ficoides aspect. As the great majority of the
trees are sandstone or mudstone casts replacing the
interior, only the markings of the deeper cortical surfaces
are reproduced as surface markings on the casts. The
bark itself, however, is frequently preserved as a coaly
coating which may show imperfectly the internal cellular
structure. Dawson has carefully worked out the structures
of these trees and accompanying flora, and has stated that
the greater number of the erect stumps preserved at the
Joggins are Sigillarie which have also contributed very
largely to the formation of the coals. In fact all of these
Joggins coals show unequivocal evidence of Stigmaria in
their underclays, with the exception of a few thin shaly beds
which are filled with drifted leaves. Every underlcay or
soil bed, however, does not necessarily bear a coal seam
above it.
Dawson has enumerated five species of Sigillarie from
the Joggins of which S. brownit Dawson, and 5S. elegans
Brongniart are the two commonest. The roots of the
Sigillarie, or Stigmarie, are the most abundant fossils
in the sections but seemingly they are not readily deter-
mined specifically, and the greater number are included
under the species Stigmarie ficoides.
Associated with these standing forests of Szgillarie are
those of Calamites, but, whereas the former are embedded at
their base in the argillaceous shales, the Calamite brakes ter-
minate most commonly in the arenaceous beds. At the
Joggins seven species have been recognized, of which C.
suckovt Bron. and C. cistit Bron. are the most prevalent.
The remaining type of tree standing in an erect position
is preserved as pillars of coaly matter or of mineral charcoal,
occasionally calcified, which do not show external marking
but whose microscopic structure has determined them to be
coniferous (Dawson), and which therefore probably
represent remains of Cordaites. These are rarely seen
except in the upper portions of the Joggins formation and
in the following Shulie formation.
Flora of the Joggins Section—The remaining flora of
the Joggins formation is a drifted one, and for a coal region
35003—95A
340
is noticeably meager. The Lycopods are much less abun-
dant than Sigillaria, and are represented only by six
identified species of which Lepidodendron rimosum Dn., L.
elegans Dn., and L. pictoense Dn., are the most common.
There are in addition several species of the related Lepi-
dophloios of which might be mentioned L. acadianus Dn..,
L. parvus Dn., and L. prominulus Dn. Moreover detached
Lepidodendroid axes, assigned to the genus Ulodendron
occur, as well as the detached Lepidodendroid leaves known
as Lepidophyllum, and fertile shoots or strobile classified
as Sporangites. The great group of Pteridosperms is next
in importance, but is seemingly remarkably deficient in
representative species. They include Alethopteris
tonchitica Sternb. Sphenopterts latifolia Bron., Pecopterts
lonchitica Dn., Cyclopteris sp., including seeds doubtfully
referred here, e.g., species of Trigonocarpum. The addi-
tional filicales Caulopteris (Psaronius) sp., Megaphyton
(Psaronius) humile Dn., and M. magnificum Dn., may be
representatives of the true ferns.
From the beginning of the cliff to the old wharf at the
Hardscrabble coal seams, little plant material will be seen,
but from the wharf to beyond the Joggins Coal mine, the
material is more abundantly found. A nearly complete list
of the identified species of the flora and fauna is appended
at the close of this account.
Fauna of the Joggins formavuon—The invertebrate
remains are confined almost exclusively to the thin beds of
limestone and carbonaceous shales, which probably repre-
sent the consolidated mucks of stagnate lakes or lagoons
which occurred in the marshy flats. The chief organic
remains are crushed shells of Anthracomyas or Natadites,
of which several species may be recognized, and of smooth
Leperditoid ostracods assigned by Dawson to the genera
Cythere and Bairdia. Associated with these remains are
the excrement, scales, spines and occasionally the teeth
of fish. Of the shark-like types there occur the skins and
teeth of Ctenoptychius cristatus Dn., Diplodus sp.,
Gyracanthus duplicatus Dn., of the Crossopterygian and
Chondrostean ganoids, scales of Rhizodus, and Palgoniscus ;
while the Dipnoi may be represented by teeth of the genera
Conchodus.
In common association with the above remains, but
especially in attachment to the drifted plant debris, are
341
found abundant coiled annelid tubes of the species Spirorbis
carbonarius Dn.
The greatest interest in the Joggins fauna has, however,
been directed to the land vertebrate remains which are
found in the basal carbonaceous deposits and always in the
upright Sigillariza tree stumps. These all belong to the
Stegocephalian amphibians, and are comprised under three
main genera, Dendrerpeton. Hylonomus and Hyler-
peton. An interesting associate with these forms is the
delicate land snail shell, Pupa vetusta Dn., which like-
Wise occurs in a few of the shale soils in company with
another land shell, Zonites priscus, Carpenter. Within the
strata proper no amphibian remains have been found with
the exception of footprints referred to Dendrerpeton, and
the single vertebra of Eosaurus acadianus Marsh, which
was discovered by Marsh west of the coal mine near
McCarren brook.
UPPER PART OF SECTION: McCARREN BROOK WESTWARD.
Between McCarren brook and Ragged Reef point,
sandstones become again dominant, and the coal groups,
although 22 in number, are of very minor importance, but
interesting in the fact that they are all accompanied with
Stigmarian undersoils. Beds of limestone are entirely
lacking in this part of the formation, and in general the
effects of swampy conditions are much _ less evident.
Thus the shale zones are prevailingly red in colour, and
almost lacking in organic remains with the exception of
traces of small rootlets, suggesting conditions of thorough
oxidation as well as dessication upon the original mud flats.
Erect trees are here rare and the vegetation in general is
much more scanty. On the other hand, channelling
action of the sandstones and sudden lateral replacements
are more conspicuous than before, though evidences of
strong current action are not so prevalent as in the succeed-
ing Shulie formation.
Post-Joggins uplift and eroston—The peculiarities of
the succeeding Shulie formation are the emphasizing
features of strong current action. The beds are dominantly
coarse or conglomeratic, and the greater percentage of the
pebble content may be readily traced by lithological com-
parison to its source in a Cobequid upland. Furthermore,
the size of the individual pebbles increases towards the
342
old land. For, whereas the pebbles north of Shulie are in
general less than 2 inches in diameter, those in the Apple
River conglomerate frequently exceed 12 inches. The
presence of a considerable percentage of sandstone and
shale pebbles of Pennsylvanian aspect is additional evidence
in support of a renewed activity of erosion in the Cobequid
area in Upper Pennsylvanian time. But corroborative
evidence is also found in the structures of the beds them-
selves, not only in their unsorted and uneven characters,
but in the appearance of the bedding plane of the pebbly
sandstones or conglomerates. These show a markedly
uneven surface in the presence of great ripples or more
properly crests and hollows of a flow and plunge structure.
The distance from crest to crest frequently exceeds 10
feet (3 m.) while the furrows may be several feet in depth.
As some beds of the Joggins formation have been stated to
have passed over at least a portion of the Cobequids it seems
necessary to explain these phenomena by arenewed uplift
and erosion of the Cobequid area in post-Joggins time.
The continuity of the sedimentation in the central areas
of the Cumberland basin seems not to have been disturbed,
but an unconformity or disconformity, representing a great
time interval, must exist in the borderland of the Cobequids
at Spicer’s cove as apparently only the basal members of
the Joggins formation are there preserved.
Shulie formation—The main characters of the Shulie
formation have been stated above. The flora is meagerly
represented by large calcified drift trunks of Dadoxylon
materiarium Dn., and of drift fragments of Calamites
suckovt Bron., C. cistit Bran., Calamodendron approx-
imatum Dn., Lepidodendron undulatum Gutbier, Lepido-
phloios parvus Dn., Lepidophyllum lanceolatum Lindley
and Hutton, L. trinerve Dn., erect Calamites, erect
Sigillarie?, erect conifers (Dadoxylon?), Sphenopteris
hymemophylloides Bron., Alethopteris lonchitica (Sternb.),
Cyclopteris heterophylla? Dn., Beinertia goepperti Dn.
The above flora is, according to Dawson, distinct in
assemblage of forms from the preceding floras of the Boss
Point and Joggins formations, though still retaining per-
sistent types, such as Alethopteris lonchitica (Sternb.),
Calamites suckovi Bron., and C. cistii Bron. It suggests,
however, as stated by Dawson, Upper Pennsylvanian
time, and not Permian, as Lepidodendra and Sigillaria
still hold a prominent position.
343
JOGGINS FAUNA.
Annelida
Spirobis carbonarius Dawson.
Pelecypoda
Anthracomya elongata Dawson.
A. laevis Dawson.
A. ovalis Dawson.
Naiadites carbonarius Dawson.
N. longus Dawson.
Gastropoda
Pupa vetusta Dawson.
Zonites (Conulis) priscus Carpenter.
Crustacea
Ostracoda
Bairdia
Cythere
Myriopoda?
Xylobius sigillariae Dawson
Amphipoda?
Diplostylus dawson Salter.
Merostomata
Eurypterus? DeKay.
Pisces
Elasmobranchit
Ctenoptychius cristatus Dancent
Diplodus.
Gyracanthus duplicatus Dawson.
Psammodus.
Dipnoi
Conchodus
Crossopterygil
Rhizodus.
Chondrosteli.
Palaeoniscus.
Amphibia (Stegocephali)
Temnospondyli
Dendrerpeton acadianum Owen.
D. owent Dawson.
Dendrerpeton? footprints.
Microsauria
Hylerpeton dawsont Owen.
Hylonomus aciedentatus Dawson.
H. lyelli Dawson.
H. wymani Dawson.
Stereospondyla
Eosaurus acadianus Marsh.
344
JOGGINS FLORA.
Pteridophyta (vascular cryptogams)
Equisetales
Calamites cannaeformis Schlotheim.
C. cist. Brongniart.
C. nodosus Schlotheim.
C. nova-scoticus Dawsom.
C. pachyderma Brongniart.
C. suckowi Brongniart.
Calamodendron approximatum Brongniart.
Detached foliage and leaves of Calamites.
Calamocladus (A sterophyllites).
Annularia.
Roots of Calamites?
Pinnularia ramosissima Dawson.
Sphenophyllales
Sphenophyllum schlotheimiu Brongniart.
Lycopodiales
Lepidodendron aculeatum Sternberg.
L. dichotomum Sternberg.
L. elegans Brongniart.
L. pictoense Dawson.
L. rimosum Sternberg.
L. undulatum Gutbier.
Lepidophloios acadianus Dawson.
L. parvus Dawson.
L. platystigma Dawson.
L. prominens Dawson.
Lepidodendroid axes.
Uloderdron of majum Lindley & Hutton.
U. cf. minum Lidldey & Hutton.
Detached leaves of Lepidodendra.
Lepidophyllum.
Fertile shoots or strobile of Lepidodendra.
Sporangites glaber Dawson.
S. papillatus Dawson.
Sigilaria brownit Dawson.
S. catenoides Dawson.
S. elegans Brongniart.
S. schlotheimana Brongniart.
S. scutellata Brongniart.
Sigillaria leaves.
Sigillaria rhizomes or roots.
Stigmaria ficoides Brongniart.
345
Filicales (chiefly Pteridospermae).
Alethopteris lonchitica Sternberg.
Caulopteris (Psarontus).
Cyclopteris.
Megaphyton (Psaronius) humile Dawson.
M. magnificum Dawson.
Pecopteris lonchitica Dawson.
Sphenopterts latifolia Brongniart.
Seeds of Pteridospermae?
Trignoncarpum avellanum Dawson.
T. intermedium Dawson.
T. minum Dawson.
T. sigillariae Dawsom.
Cordaitales.
Araucarites (Dadoxylon) gracilis Dawson.
Cordaites borassifolius Sternberg.
Dadoxylon (Araucarioxylon) annulatum Dawson.
D. materianum Dawson.
Pith casts of Cordaites.
Sternbergia artis Dawson.
Seeds of Cordaitales.
Rhabdocarpus Goeppert and Bergeron.
Fertile stems of Cordaitales?
Antholites Brongniart.
Cardiocarpum fluitans Dawson.
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
The main coal seams were worked at the Joggins as early
as 1826, by shaft and horse-gins, but. previous to 1854
the total production was only 7,700 Newcastle chaldrons
(a chaldron=72 bushels).
The Joggins mine, at present, is owned and operated by
the Maritime Coal Railway and Power Company, Ltd.
The seam in the Joggins mine is 3 feet 6 inches (1-06 m.)
in thickness. The slopes pitch about 17° at an angle
slightly less than that of the seam, and at present are
3,600 feet (1,096 m. ) from the surface to the face of
sinking. The total output for I91I was 149,670 tons.
In 1912 the output was 600 long tons per day.
The same company owns and operates in the same field
the Minudie mine, Black Diamond mine, Maple Leaf and
Chignecto mines, which together produced 71,315 tons
346
in the year 1911. In addition, the Kimberley mine is
owned and operated by the Minudie Coal Company.
No definite correlations have yet been made of the seams
worked in these various colleries, although it is probable
that some are equivalents of the Hardscrabble and over-
lying seams. The dips of the coals increase inland from
19° south at the Joggins to 40° south at the old Styles
mines, 12 miles (19-3 km.) inland. Beyond this the basin
is apparently interrupted by transverse folding and
faulting.
About 6 miles (9-6 km.) south of the Styles area, in the
southern limb of the Cumberland synclinorium, there is
situated a coal basin known as the Springhill basin, which
embraces seams of greater economic importance. Of
these, three are worked which are respectively 5 feet 6
inches (1-7 m.), 8 feet 4 inches (2-5 m.), and Io feet 6
inches to 4 feet 2 inches (3:2 m. to 1-3 m.) in thickness.
The dips vary from 20° to 80° westerly. The precise
relation of this basin to that of the Joggins is still one of
speculation, although the measures undoubtedly belong
to the Joggins formation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Dawson, J. W......Acadian Geology.
Fletcher, Hugh.....A section of the Carboniferous Rocks
in Cumberland County, N.S., Proc.
and Trans. Nova Scotian Inst. of Sci.,
Vol. XI, part 3, pp. 417-550, 1908.
Eocans\Veibaae. se Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress,
1845.
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
MACCAN JUNCTION TO MONCTON.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Miles and
Kilometres.
Om. Maccan Junction— Alt. 31 ft. (9-4 m.).
o km. From Maccan Junction the Intercolonial railway
tuns northward following for some distance
the eastern side of Maccan river. About 3
Miles and
Kilometres.
12-9 km.
347
mile (0-8 km.) beyond Maccan Junction, the
railway crosses the northern boundary of the
Productive Coal Measures and enters a narrow
belt of Millstone Grit beds which dip beneath
coal measures. Where traversed by the railway,
this band of Millstone Grit has a width of about
3 mile (1-2 km.). The country traversed is low.
To the west are visible the highlands on the
New Brunswick shore of the Bay of Fundy,
distant about 18 miles (28 km.). The high.
detached hill is Shepody mountain composed of
lower Carboniferous strata. The continuous,
somewhat lower upland beyond Shepody moun-
tain, is Caledonia mountain which stretches
westward for many miles parallel with the shores
of the Bay of Fundy and is formed chiefly of
Pre-Cambrian strata.
The Millstone Grit strata are succeeded on
the north by a wide area of the Carboniferous
Limestone series in which the strata dip south-
ward at angles of 20° to 40°. These measures
where traversed by the railway occupy a belt
about 32 miles (6 km.) wide. Towards the
northern edge of this belt, the railway passes
close to a gypsum quarry, visible on the western
side of the railway.
About 5 miles (8 km.) beyond Maccan Junc-
tion, the railway enters a broad band of Permo-
Carboniferous strata stretching westward from
the head of the Bay of Fundy to the shores of
Northumberland strait. These measures over-
lap the Carboniferous Limestone series on the
south.
Amherst—Alt. 63 ft. (19-2 m.). The very
low country around Amherst is underlain by
gently dipping reddish sandstones and shales
of Permo-Carboniferous age. These measures
extend northeastward to Cumberland strait,
distant about 20 miles (32km.). The tract of
country between the head of the Bay of Fundy
and the Gulf of St. Lawrence is everywhere low,
probably nowhere reaching an altitude greater
than 100 feet (30 m.).
348
Miles and
Bae ee From Amherst, the railway runs in a general
westerly course and approaches close to the head
of the Bay of Fundy. About 4 miles (6-4 km.)
beyond Amherst the railway enters a narrow
belt of country believed to be underlain by
Millstone Grit. This belt is about 13 miles
(2-4 km.) wide and extends to the northeast
where it is marked by a low ridge. This band
of Millstone Grit extends in a westward direction
across the head of the Bay of Fundy and there
rises in a marked ridge.
14-2 m. Aulac Station—Alt. 26 ft. (7-9. m.). Aulac
22:8km. station is situated near the northwestern margin
of the presumably anticlinal band of Millstone
Grit. The low country beyond and the rising
ground towards the west are occupied by reddish
Permo-Carboniferous strata dipping over the
greater part of the area to the southwest at
angles of 15° to 30°. Between Aulac station
and Sackville, the railway passes around the
extreme head of the Bay of Fundy.
m. Sackville Station—Alt. 26 ft. (7-9 km.).
km. The low country about Sackville presumably lies
on the axis of a synclinal fold in Permo-Carboni-
ferous strata. These measures extend for about
13 miles (2-4 km.) to the south to the foot of a
ridge of northward-dipping Millstone Grit
beds. To the northwest of Sackville, the
Permo-Carboniferous strata dip southwards
at angles of 20° to 30° and rise in a series of
ridges 400 to 600 feet (120 m. to 180 m.) high.
On the top of this upland, Millstone Girt strata
appear from beneath the Permo-Carboniferous
without any evidence of an unconformity.
From Sackville the railway runs westerly up a
valley near the southern margin of the Permo-
Carboniferous area and for some miles continues
to ascend. Beyond the head of the valley the
railway crosses a divide with an altitude of
234 feet (71-3 m.), anda short distance beyond
crosses the northern boundary of the Permo-
Carboniferous area and enters a district occu-
pied by Millstone Grit strata. As the railway
continues to descend, it enters and follows a
Miles and
Kilometres.
349
pronounced valley which eventually turns to
the west and joins the broad valley of Memram-
cook river. Before entering this main valley,
the railway passes through a long cutting of
grey Millstone Grit sandstone dipping south-
ward at an angle of 20°.
On entering the Memramcook valley, the
railway bends to the north and traverses the
low diked land bordering the river. On the
opposite shore of the river rises a rounded ridge
of Millstone Grit grey sandstone and quartz
conglomerate dipping southward at low angles.
Before reaching Dorchester station the railway
passes out of the Millstone Grit area and enters
one occupied by a coarse red conglomerate of
lower Carboniferous age. The two formations
dip to the southward at angles of 10° to 25° and
appear to be conformable though they are
presumably of widely different ages.
Dorchester Station—Alt. 27 ft. (8-2 m.).
Beyond Dorchester station the rising ground on
the east is occupied by red conglomerates and
sandstones capped on the summits of the
ridges by the grey strata of the Millstone Grit.
Approaching Upper Dorchester station, the
low-lying ground immediately adjacent to the
railway is underlain by strata of the Albert
series which have been correlated with the
Horton series of Nova Scotia, and are con-
sidered to be of early Carboniferous age.
Upper Dorchester Station—Alt. 27 ft.
(8-2 m.). On the western side of Memramcook
river, just above the highway bridge at Upper
Dorchester, are low cliffs of the Albert series
which at this point lie in a flat anticline. The
strata in these low cliffs are dark shales or “‘oil-
shales” very rich in hydro-carbons. The
lower slopes of the rising ground west of the river
are occupied by gently dipping red sandstones
and grits while the summit of the ridge is
formed of the grey sandstone and quartz
conglomerate of the Millstone Grit. On the
opposite side of the ridge somewhat similar
strata occur overlying the Albert series which,
Miles and
Kilometres.
350
as exposed in several detached areas, dip with
high angles in various directions.
North of Upper Dorchester station, the
railway again enters an area underlain by
Albert strata and these are capped by coarse
grey Millstone Grit conglomerate forming a low
ridge rising just east of the railway.
College Bridge Station—Alt. 32 ft. (9-7 m.).
In the vicinity of College Bridge station the
Albert series underlies a very limited area on
the east side of the river. On the west side of
the river, this series with its “‘oil-shales’”’ is
more fully developed over a band about 1 mile
(1:6 km.) wide which extends in a northwesterly
direction for about 6 miles (9-6 km.) to the banks
of the Petitcodiac river, opposite the Stony
Creek oil and gas field.
A short distance beyond College Bridge sta-
tion, the railway again enters an area underlain
by lower Carboniferous strata—red_ shales,
sandstones and conglomerates. These measures
occupy the lower slopes of the ridges bounding
the Memramcook valley but the summits of
these hills are capped by nearly horizontal
grey, Millstone Grit sandstones and_ con-
glomerates.
As the railway follows northward up the
Memramcook river, the valley gradually con-
tracts. About 43 miles (7-2 km.) beyond
College Bridge station, the railway passes
through a series of cuttings in granite. These
exposures belong to an area of granite having
a maximum diameter of about } mile (0-8 km.)
and which apparently represents an island-like
projection of the floor on which the Carboni-
ferous measures were deposited.
Calhoun Station—Alt. 54 ft. (16-4 m.).
Beyond Calhoun station the valley of Mem-
ramcook river becomes very shallow and
gradually dies away. The surrounding country
is very even in character and is presumed to be
underlain by nearly horizontal strata of Mill-
stone Grit age. Four and a half miles (7-2 m.)
beyond Calhoun station the railway crosses a
Miles and
Kilometres.
i
NO
8-6 m.
8-2 km.
351
low summit (altitude 180 feet or 54-8 m.) and
commences to descend to the valley of Petit-
codiac river.
Painsec Junction—Alt. 149 ft. (45-4 m.).
The gently rolling country to the west of
Painsec Junction is underlain by nearly hori-
zontal red shales and sandstones, interbedded
with grey sandstones, all of Millstone Grit
age. From several points along the railway
a comparatively high ridge is visible to the north.
This ridge is formed in part of sedimentary
strata and possibly in part of igneous rocks.
It is probable that the Albert series is repre-
sented in this ridge but it is not improbable
that the strata are chiefly of pre-Carboniferous
age.
Moncton—Alt. 50 ft. (15-2 m.). Moncton
is situated on the north side of Petitcodiac
river where this river after flowing for a number
of miles in an easterly direction, abruptly
turns and pursues a southerly course as far as
its mouth where it empties into the Bay of
Fundy.
MONCTON—ALBERT MINES.*
GEZAS YoOuNG>)
INTRODUCTION.
Moncton is situated near the southern margin of the
great Carboniferous area of New Brunswick which in the
eastern part of the province, stretches from Chaleur bay
on the north to the head of the Bay of Fundy on the south,
a distance of about 150 miles (240 km.). The Carboniferous
area of New Brunswick extends over approximately 10,000
square miles (26,000 sq. km.) and over by far the greater
part of this large area the strata are nearly flat-lying and,
customarily, are considered to be of Millstone Grit age.
Along the southern margin of the area older divisions of
the Carboniferous are exposed and, in places, are folded
and faulted.
*See Map--Moncton—Albert Mines.
352
The city of Moncton lies about 20 miles (30 km.) north
of the eastern end of Caledonia mountain, an upland area
largely underlain by pre-Carboniferous igneous and sedi-
mentary rocks that extend southwesterly along the Bay of
Fundy coast and mark the southern boundary of the
Carboniferous area. Over considerable portions of Cale-
donia mountain, the surface is comparatively level with a
general altitude of above 1,000 feet (300 m.). In the
vicinity of Moncton, the country is low and gently rolling,
and in only a few places rises higher than 200 to 300 feet
(60 m. to 90 m.) above the sea. The lowland area about
Moncton and the upland area of Caledonia mountain merge
into one another, though when the country is viewed from
a vantage point, there is every appearance of a sharp
boundary between the two areas.
Moncton is situated near the southern margin of the
area of grey and red sandstones and shales of Millstone
Grit age which stretches westward and northward like a
great mantle over a large portion of New Brunswick.
The Millstone Grit beds extend southward past Moncton
over the area of gradually rising country which merges
into the upland of Caledonia mountain. Along the borders
of Caledonia mountain and stretching northward and east-
ward from it, are deep-set valleys and in and along these
valleys are exposed older Carboniferous measures out-
cropping from beneath the Millstone Grit beds which on
the north crown the ridges and higher spurs that project
finger-like towards Caledonia mountain. The underlying,
older Carboniferous strata include representatives of the
Carboniferous Limestone series, and of the Albert series
which have been correlated with the Horton series of Nova
Scotia, and are considered to be of very early Carboniferous
age.
The Millstone Grit strata lie horizontally or with very
low angles of dip; in places the underlying Carboniferous
strata are as little disturbed, while in other places in the
same district they are faulted and tilted at high angles.
There is thus abundant evidence of a pronounced uncon-
formity between the Millstone Grit and the underlying
divisions of the Carboniferous, and there is also direct
evidence of the existence of unconformities between some of
the older divisions.
The Millstone Grit beds and the underlying Carboniferous
formations extend southward around the eastern end of
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Gypsum Quarry
Geological Survey, Canada
Moncton-Albert Mines
Miles
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SO
the pre-Carboniferous area of Caledonia mountain and
eastward into Nova Scotia where the New Brunswick
Carboniferous area merges into that of the Carboniferous
basin, the general characters of which are so well displayed
in the Joggins section. In the relatively elevated country
which extends eastward from the end of the Caledonia
upland, the Millstone Grit strata gradually lose the nearly
horizontal attitude so characteristic of their general develop-
ment over so large a portion of New Brunswick, and in
places are inclined at angles of from 30° to 45° and presum-
ably traversed by faults. On the other hand, the under-
lying Carboniferous measures in their extension southward
and eastward into Nova Scotia, are less and less folded and
faulted. As a result of these progressive changes, the
evidences of the unconformities in the Carboniferous section
so plainly displayed to the south of Moncton, largely
disappear in the Joggins section and in other districts of
Nova Scotia, and the Carboniferous series in such places
appears to have always been folded and otherwise deformed
as a unit.
The districts bordering Caledonia mountain and extend-
ing eastward along the continuation of the axis of this up-
land, are, as indicated above, favourable places in which
to determine and fix some of the revolutionary periods
of Carboniferous time. Unfortunately, however, this has
not yet been accomplished. On the accompanying geolo-
gical sketch map of the district lying immediately south of
Moncton and east of Petitcodiac river, the Carboniferous
strata have been provisionally mapped in three divi-
sions, namely,—Millstone Grit, Intermediate group and
Albert series. It isnot improbable that in the Intermediate
group are placed certain measures that should be classed
with the Millstone Grit, and others that should have been
assigned to the Albert series.
In the general district to the south of Moncton, outlined |
on the accompanying map, there is a very distinctive
division of the Millstone Grit consisting of a quartz con-
glomerate overlain by a quartzose sandstone. Both types
of rock are light coloured, weathering yellow. The conglo-
merate is usually crowded with smooth, rounded pebbles
of white and variously tinted quartz lying in a sandy, in
part calcareous, base. This conglomerate with its dis-
tinctive characters, and the overlying sandstones, occur in
neighbouring districts and the same conglomerate, or a
35063—I0A
354
very similar one, has been described as being present in
many places over the wide extent of the Carboniferous
area of the Maritime Provinces.
_ In the vicinity of Hillsborough and Albert Mines, these
light coloured conglomerates and sandstones are the
youngest Carboniferous strata present; the areas occupied
by them are those which on the accompanying map, have
been coloured as being underlain by the Millstone Grit and
over these areas the strata are horizontal or only very gen-
tly inclined. Northward of the vaguely defined boundary of
these pale coloured, quartzose sandstones and conglo-
merates, the low country towards Moncton is floored by
nearly horizontal reddish sandstones, shales and red,
argillaceous limestones. In a few places the pale coloured,
Millstone Grit sandstone and conglomerate outcrop and
in such places appear to conformably overlie or to be
interbedded with the red strata which have customarily
been assigned to the Millstone Grit. Along the southern
boundary of the main area of the pale coloured Millstone
Grit strata as defined on the accompanying map, measures
outcrop from beneath these distinctive beds which have
been placed in the so-called Intermediate group but which
probably in part belong to the Millstone Grit group.
Such strata, for instance occur in the valley of Stony creek
and there consist of quartz conglomerate, coarse and fine,
light-coloured sandstone, and red and green argillaceous
and calcareous shales.
The greatest thickness of the pale coloured, Millstone
Grit conglomerate and sandstone does not exceed a few
hundred feet. The reddish, underlying strata presumed
to belong to the same group, may be somewhat thicker
but the strata of the whole Millstone Grit group as develop-
ed in the neighborhood of Moncton and Hillborough, does
not anywhere attain a thickness comparable with that
found in various districts of Nova Scotia. In general,
the Millstone Grit strata appear to form a comparatively
thin mantle resting on and covering the variously disturbed
and eroded members of the older divisions of the Carbon-
iferous. In places, however, in this and adjoining districts,
the Millstone Grit beds appear to conformably succeed
different divisions of the earlier groups without any plainly
marked indications of the unconformity that is known to
exist below the horizon of the Millstone Grit.
359
The strata of the area of the so-called Intermediate
group indicated on the accompanying map, may, as
already stated belong in part to the Millstone Grit. What
appears to be the lowest member of the Intermediate
group holds as a characteristic member a very considerable
thickness of red strata that in composition vary from an
argillite to a limestone, are generally of a bright, brick-
red colour but in many places are splotched or banded
with green. With these rocks are associated reddish sand-
stones and conglomerates and, perhaps, grey and dark
grey limestones and siliceous beds. :
A second division of the Intermediate group, younger
than the above, consists of coarse, heavily bedded conglo-
merates and sandstones overlain by dark grey thinly
bedded limestones which in places, as near Hillsborough,
are capped by a considerable volume of anhydrite and
gypsum.
A third, still younger member of the Intermediate group
is made up essentially of red conglomerates and sandstones
succeeded by red and green argillites and argillaceous
limestones.
The total thickness of these three divisions of the
“Intermediate group’’ must surpass several thousand feet.
The strata in places lie with high angles of dip; in other
localities they are nearly horizontal, and in such cases
different divisions may appear to succeed one another
conformably, as if without a break, although there is
indirect evidence to indicate that prior to the deposition
of each succeeding division, the strata of the immediately
underlying division had been eroded in no inconsiderable
degree.
The Albert series is the oldest of the Carboniferous
system in the district. This series consists of a group of
thinly bedded, usually dark coloured slates, calcareous
slates, limestones and sandstones. Interbedded- with
these, whether or not at more than one general horizon has
not yet been determined, are slates relatively rich in hydro-
carbons and of a distinctive appearance. These, so-called,
oil-shales when retorted yield varying amounts of crude
oil and nitrogen—about 27 to 56 imperial gallons of crude
oil, and about 30 to 112 pounds of ammonium sulphate
per ton [3, part I, p. 17]. In these oil shales and associated
beds, in places, are numerous remains of fishes of the genus
Palaeoniscus. From the Albert series as developed in the
35063—I03A
356
neighborhood of Albert Mines, the following species have
been described. [6].
Rhadinichthys alberti.
Elonichthys browni.
E. elegantulus.
E. ellsi (Lambe).
Though by some geologists it has been claimed that the
Albert series and the correlated Horton series of Nova
Scotia are of Devonian age yet the paleontological evidence
indicates that they are of Carboniferous age as pointed
out by Lambe [6] in the following words.
‘There is a great similarity between the fishes of Albert
TTC and those described by Dr. Ramsay Traquair
from the Calciferous Sandstone series of Scotland; they
belong to the same genera, but differ as to species. The
genera of Palaeoniscidae; Rhadinichthys, Elonichthys,
and (Canobtus cars have been considered to be typical of
the Carboniferous age’’.
From the Albert series have been recovered several
species of plants. These include “ Aneimites acadiens and
Lepidodendron corrugatum, the characteristic and omni-
present species of the Horton group, to which the Albert
series belongs.’’*
The strata of the Albert series are exposed in the vicinity
of Albert Mines and at other localities to the east and west.
In some of these places the strata are comparatively un-
disturbed and he with low angles of dip ranging in value
between 5° and 30°. In the Albert Mines area, however,
the strata form a rather tightly compressed anticlinal fold,
and in places are vertical. At this locality they are uncon-
formably overlain by division two of the Intermediate
group.
The Albert series is of especial importance since it is
from the sandstone members of this series that the petro-
leum and natural gas of the Stony Creek field (situated a
few milesnorth of Hillsborough) are derived. The Albert
series, with the same general characters as at Albert Mines,
is exposed over a few detached areas extending east from
Albert Mines for about 15 miles (25 km.). The same strata
outcrop at intervals for about 25 miles (40 km.) to the
west of Albert Mines and there occur along the northern
slopes of Caledonia mountain. The Albert series has been
*From personal communication from David White, U. S. G. S., Washington, D. C.
357
traced still further westward and the late R. W. Ells has
recorded his belief [3, part II, pp. 10-21], that the Albert
series progressively changes in character as followed in a
westerly direction, and that near St. John, on Kennebecasis
island it is represented by coarse grey sandstones.
The oldest strata, in the district to the south of Moncton,
are those forming Caledonia mountain. Over this upland
area, the rocks are largely of igneous origin, and at many
localities have a schistose structure. The original rock types
appear to have been mainly volcanic varieties, both massive
and fragmental, and both acid and basic. Plutonic rocks—
granite, diorite, etc-—form large bodies in the complex,
and true sediments— slates, crystalline limestones, etc.—
have been noted at various places. The general assemblage
is of pre-Carboniferous age, for most of the rock varieties
have furnished pebbles and boulders to the Carboniferous
strata. Presumably the greater part of the rock complex of
Caledonia mountain is of Pre-Cambrian age but in its
western extension towards St. John city, Cambrian rocks
and possibly younger strata are involved.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
MONCTON TO STONY CREEK OIL FIELD.
Along the highway leading from Moncton southward
along the wesi side of Petitcodiac river to the Stony Creek
oil field, there are few outcrops for a number of miles. On
the south bank of the Petitcodiac, a short distance below
the highway bridge crossing the river at Moncton, red arg-
illite and argillaceous sandstone are exposed at low water.
These beds are assumed to belong to the Millstone Grit
group and to occur at a horizon below the light coloured
quartzose sandstones and conglomerates so widely displayed
over the country to the south.
About 3 miles (4-8 km.) south from the bridge at Monc-
ton, the road on the west side of Petitcodiac river crosses
Mill Creek. In the bank of the stream, just above the
road crossing, is an exposure of nearly horizontal, light
coloured sandstone resembling the strata of the higher
horizon of the Millstone Grit developed farther south.
In the bed of this stream for a considerable distance inland,
red argillites, sandstones, and fine grits with grey beds of
358
the same rocks, outcrop with nearly horizontal attitudes.
These measures presumably also belong to the lower
division of the Millstone Grit.
No further exposures occur along the river or the road
for some distance. About 1 mile (1-6 km.) beyond the
crossing of Mill Creek, the road swings away from the shore
of the river and runs on the side of a ridge sloping somewhat
steeply to the river. This ridge is presumably underlain
by the higher division of the Millstone Grit though no
rocks outcrop.
On the shore opposite a point on the road about I mile
(1-6km.) south of the junction with a branch road leading
inland, exposures commence and continue to occur along
the shore to within a short distance of the mouth of Stony
creek. The most northerly exposures are of pale coloured
quartzose sandstones belonging to the upper division of the
Millstone Grit. The strata dip to the south at a very low
angle. Farther south the strata are horizontal and beyond
this, dip at very low angles to the north. Approaching
Stony creek, the quartzose conglomerate is brought to the
surface by reason of the gentle northward dip and in the
cliff faces along this part of the shore, the Millstone Grit
conglomerate may be seen to be underlain by about 30
feet (9 m.) of red argillite reposing on red conglomerate.
All the strata appear to be conformable and _ possibly
belong to the Millstone Grit group. The boundary between
the light coloured strata above and the red beds below,
crosses the shore road where the steep descent into the
valley of Stony Creek is commenced. This boundary line
approximately follows a contour line and swings up the
deep valley of Stony creek and returns towards the river
higher on the slopes of the ridge lying south of Stony creek.
The light coloured strata evidently lie on the northern
limb of a very low anticlinal fold or flattened dome.
Where the shore road crosses Stony creek, there are, in
the steep south bank of the stream valley, exposures of
nearly horizontal, light coloured sandstones and _ con-
glomerates. Up the valley of Stony creek, these measures
are overlain by green and red banded argillites and argilla-
ceous limestone.
South of the crossing of Stony creek, the shore road enters
what may be termed the Stony Creek oil and gas field.
The wells are scattered over the top and eastern face of
the high ridge fronting on the river.
359
STONY CREEK OIL AND GAS FIELD.
The present developments of the Stony Creek field are
confined to an area about 2 miles (3-2 km.) long by 13 miles
(2-4 km.) broad, fronting on the west bank of Petitcodiac
river and lying between Stony creek on the north and
Weldon creek on the south. Between the two creeks the
land rises rather rapidly from the level of the tidal river
to an altitude of 460 feet (140 m.). Of the 23 wells drilled
by the Maritime Oilfields Company, 4 are on the steep east
front of the hill and the remaining 19 are scattered over
the top of the hill.
Along the river front, strata of the Albert series are visible
at low water over a stretch of about 2 miles (3-2 km.). At
the north end of the section they are overlain by coarse, red
conglomerate; proceeding southward, at the first exposures
they lie nearly horizontally, beyond this they dip in various
directions between south and west, at angles of 10° to 20°.
The measures consist of thin-bedded limestones and dark
shales with sandstone beds which in places are impregnated
with hydro-carbons. The measures apparently lie on the
crown of an anticline but there are indications that in
places the strata are crumpled and faulted.
The lower slopes of the ridge facing the river to the east
and the valley of Weldon creek to the south, are occupied
mainly by nearly horizontal coarse red conglomerates and
sandstones with some shales. These measures are con-
formably overlain by the quartz conglomerate and over
this, by the light-coloured sandstone of the Millstone Grit.
Possibly the lower, red strata belong to the Millstone Grit,
but it may yet be proved that they are considerably older.
On the north side of the ridge along the valley of Stony
creek, the measures underlying the pale-coloured Millstone
Grit beds consist of red and green shales, and sandstones,
with beds of grey sandstone, quartzose conglomerate, etc.
Thus the Albert series outcropping along the eastern base
of the hill extends westward under it, as shown by the
borings, and is overlain by red strata capped by grey beds.
The Albert series is of very early Carboniferous age, the
grey beds of mid-Carboniferous age. The exposures indicate,
in general, that the measures of all the divisions have
relatively gentle dips.
The wells stand at elevations varying between 250 feet
and 460 feet above sea-level, and in depth they range from
360
1,200 to 2,060 feet (365 to628m.). After passing through
a thickness of overlying formations usually amounting to
about 350 feet (107 m.), they enter the Albert series, of
which a maximum thickness of 1,800 feet (548 m.) has been
penetrated without encountering any signs indicating the
approach of the base of the formation.
The strata of the Albert series, as found in the various
wells, consist mainly of thinly-bedded, shaly beds, usually
black or dark green in colour and varying in composition
from argillite to limestone. Besides the shaly strata, fine-
grained quartzose sandstones are comparatively common,
the number of individual sandstone beds in a single well
varying between 3 and 15. In thickness the individual
sandstone beds vary from a few feet to 100 feet (30 m.) or
more. There isa rather general tendency for the sandstone
beds to occur in groups, in a number of instances three
such groups separated by intervals of 150 to 350 feet of
shales (45 to 106 m.) being encountered in a single well.
The aggregate thickness of a single group of sandstones
may rise to 180 feet (55 m.), but more often lies between 3
and 9o feet (9 and 27 m.). The individual beds of a group
of sandstones may be separated by shaly layers varying in
thickness all the way from a few feet to 30 feet (9 m.) or
more.
Though slight traces of oil or gas have been found in the
shaly beds and, in one instance, in strata overlying the
Albert series, the oil and gas are confined, practically, to
the sandstone beds in the Albert series. In the case of one
well which the drillers recorded as apparently passing
through disturbed, broken strata, practically all the sand-
stones are free from oil or gas. In the producing wells, a
small number of sandstone beds do not afford any trace of
oil or gas. Usually the number of such dry beds is small in
comparison with the total number of sandstone beds in a
well; and the dry beds, as a rule, occur towards the top of
the well, but such beds are also recorded as occurring
beneath others with showings of oil or gas. Usually by
far the greater number of the sandstone beds are recorded
as at least showing oil or indicating the presence of gas,
and in some of the wells, sandstone beds of two different
horizons yield large volumes of gas.
In the case of about one-half of the number of the wells,
all the sandstone beds (except such as are dry) of each well
are recorded on the logs as being either all oil sands or all
361
gas sands. In the remaining cases, oil and gas sands
irregularly alternate or they occur in two groups of which,
in some wells, the oil sands form the higher group while in
others the gas sands form the higher groups.
In two wells, strong flows of salt water were recorded. In
one case the salt water was struck near the bottom of the
well, being first met in a I2-foot (3-6 m.) sandstone bed
lying 68 feet (20-7 m.) below an oil sand that, with other
immediately overlying sands, yielded oil at the rate of 5
barrels per day. In the second instance, after having
passed through two sands, both giving indications of oil,
and one giving a small show of gas, a salt water sand was
struck at a depth of about 810 feet (247 m.). This well was
continued to a depth of 1,250 feet (380 m.), and in the
additional distance of 440 feet (134 m.) passed through
four beds of sandstone with an aggregate thickness of
245 feet (74-5 m.), but which were barren of oil or gas
except in the case of the lowest bed which was said to give
be)
a ‘‘show of gas”’.
From seven of the wells the total calculated yield of gas,
as derived from measurements made with a Pitot tube, was
nearly 4,000,000 cubic feet per day, the closed pressure of
the individual wells varying from 20 to 200 pounds per
square inch. From twelve other wells, varying results
were obtained. One well had a closed pressure of 525
pounds, rising in three days time to 610 pounds, and an
estimated flow of 3,695,000 cubic feet per day; a second
had a closed pressure of 475 pounds and an estimated flow
of 8,893,000 cubic feet per day; and a third had a closed
pressure of 560 pounds with an estimated capacity of
6,417,000 cubic feet per day. In these three cases, the
volume was estimated from observing the rate of rise of
pressure at one minute intervals. As regards oil, in the
case of one well, 60 barrels accumulated in 20 hours; from
another after an interval of 7 days, 87 barrels were pumped;
while a third gave anestimated yield of 40 barrels in 25 hours.
The above figures have been taken from records of the
Maritime Oilfields Company who are developing the field.
362
STONY CREEK OIL FIELD TO HILLSBOROUGH GYPSUM
QUARRIES.
Leaving the Stony Creek oil field, the highway
descends the long slope to the valley of Weldon creek, and
ascends and crosses the low ridge to the south, on which
stands Hillsborough. The strata outcropping on the
southern slopes of the ridge facing Weldon creek valley,
are red conglomerates with interbedded red shales and
sandstones. On the higher slopes, these measures are
nearly horizontal, lower down on the valley side they dip
both southward and westward at angles of 20° to 50°.
Similar measures outcrop in the valley of Weldon creek
dipping to the north, though where the highway crosses the
creek near its mouth, the strata are nearly horizontal or dip
at low angles tothe south. Weldon creek valley apparently
marks a synclinal axis in the red series and confirms the
impression that the general structure of the Stony Creek
oil field is anticlinal.
The low, broad ridge on which Hillsborough stands is
underlain by red conglomerates with sandstones and shales,
forming a general assemblage very similar to that developed
in Weldon creek valley. The strata are folded along east
and west axes, in places the angles of dip are high—60° to
70°— and presumably the measures are traversed by faults.
The ridge on which Hillsborough stands is bounded on the
south by the valley of Quarry creek, which heads to the
west in the gypsum quarries. A road leads up this valley
to the quarries; the main road continues southward
parallel with the river. Along the main or river road
there are a few exposures of red conglomerate and the same
strata, lying nearly horizontal, are exposed on the eastern
slopes of the ridge rising to the south. In this ridge the
red conglomerate is directly overlain by grey limestone
beds which on the summit of the ridge are capped by
gypsum beds. Farther south, apparently the same red
conglomerate beds outcrop along the river bank, dipping
gently to the south. These red conglomerates outcrop
in the steep, cliff-face of Hopewell cape and are there over-
lain by about 100 feet (30 m.) of red sandstones, above
which come 30 feet (9 m.) of red and grey shales capped by
heavy beds of grey quartzose conglomerate and sandstone
belonging to the Millstone Grit. All the strata appear
363
conformable and the general succession is very similar to
that in the cliffs along the river above Stony creek, 12 miles
(19 km.) to the north. The absence of the limestone and
gypsum in the cliffs of Hopewell cape and their presence
elsewhere intervening between the red conglomerate and the
grey strata of the Millstone Grit, is presumptive evidence
of the existence of an erosion plane beneath the Millstone
Grit. Elsewhere in the general district there is evidence
that this erosion was of a very pronounced character; that
prior to Millstone Grit time, the older Carboniferous
strata were carved into pronounced valleys and during
the Millstone Grit period these valleys were filled with
reddish sandstones and shales, while over all was laid a
mantle of the grey quartzose conglomerates and sandstones.
On both sides of the valley of Quarry creek, along which
runs the road leading to the gypsum quarries, are exposures
of red conglomerate. The conglomerate strata of the
ridge on the south side dip gently to the south and are
overlain by grey limestone. The red conglomerate and
the limestone beds are exposed on the side of the creek at
the northern entrance to the gypsum quarries. Similar
limestones outcrop to the west on the northern and western
sides of the area of gypsum, and in general fashion, the
dips indicate that the gypsum occurs towards the centre
of a very shallow syncline probably traversed by a north
and south fault situated toward the western edge of the
area. On the south the gypsum area is bounded by a high
ridge over whose summit the grey Millstone Grit strata
outcrop, while between these and the gypsum beds, inter-
vene red sandstones and conglomerates with a maximum
thickness of probably not more than 100 feet (30 m.).
THE HILLSBOROUGH GYPSUM DEPOSIT.
(H. E. KRAMM.)
The limestone upon which the gypsum and anhydrite
beds rest, have a thickness of approximately 40 feet (12 m.).
The gypsum and anhydrite beds have a thickness of about
250 feet (76 m.). The gypsum is the massive crystalline
variety. It is usually slightly coloured by some impurities
such as oxide of iron, calcium carbonate and organic matter,
but absolutely pure gypsum, the variety alabaster, is also
found at Hillsborough and mined. Crystals of selenite
364
imbedded in the solid crystalline gypsum are common near
the surface of the deposit. Some of them are 3 to 4 inches
(7-5 to 10 m.) in length and are perfectly terminated and
easily separated. Satinspar, the fibrous variety, is rare at
Hillsborough.
For the origin of the gypsum deposits of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, Dawson proposed a conversion of cal-
careous beds by means of sulphuric acid, the acid being
derived from igneous rocks and active volcanoes. This
theory is an improbable one since there are ,at least in New
Brunswick, no extensive bodies of igneous rocks present in
the neighborhood of the gypsum deposits. Furthermore
the gypsum often exhibits a series of approximately
parallel lines of adarker color. These lines represent planes
of easy cleavage and are thin films of calcium carbonate.
Assuming an origin as proposed by Dawson it would indeed
seem strange that sulphuric acid should convert practically
the whole mass to gypsum and leave a series of films of
calcium carbonate unattacked.
The field evidence obtained by the writer indicates a
transformation of the anhydrite into gypsum. Evidence
of this is especially abundant at Hillsborough. The gypsum
rests upon a bottom of anhydrite and reaches a maximum
thickness of perhaps 125 feet (38 m.). The hydration of the
anhydrite can be observed in many places, taking place
in either of two ways, namely :— (1) Hydration is uniform
from the surface towards the centre of the mass and the
increase in volume caused by the process breaks and
shatters the outer layers. (2) Hydration starts along
some crack or fissure which becomes filled by gypsum.
The force exerted by the gypsum during its formation,
causes the anhydrite to split into a network of fissures
along which hydration proceeds and eventually converts the
whole mass into gypsum.
It is, however, not likely that the calcium sulphate was
originally deposited in the form of anhydrite. The
physical chemistry of anhydrite has never been understood.
Van’t Hoff determined thermodynamically, that anhydrite
is deposited in a saturated sodium chloride solution at 36° C.
Actually, to the writer’s knowledge, this has never been
experimentally verified. The claims of geologists for the
deposition of calcium sulphate as anhydrite are principally
based upon the fact that anhydrite is found in nature, and
upon the experiments of Van’t Hoff. The first is an idea
365
which can be disputed; Van’t Hoff’s results, however,
as to soluble anhydrite have been disproven by W. A.
Davis* who showed that it is ordinary anhydrite that
forms, and not, as Van’t Hoff claimed, an anhydrite with
entirely different physical properties. This puts the
results as to anhydrite into a rather doubtful light. It is
certain that anhydrite is not deposited in water at ordinary
temperatures and under such conditions as exist at the
present day, and it is not deposited at much greater
temperature.
On the other hand, gypsum is easily dehydrated at low
temperatures. It is much more probable that the calcium
sulphate deposits were deposited in the form of gypsum,
and that the pressure caused by the enormous layers of
sediments which were subsequently piled on top of it
partly or wholly dehydrated it. The dehydration of the
gypsum is observable at the present day.
ALBERT MINES.
From the western head of the gypsum quarries, a
road leads to the valley of Frederick brook and to the
area of the Albert series at Albert Mines. Along this
road, on the brow of the slope to the valley of Frederick
brook, are exposures of grey limestone dipping eastward at
angles of 60° to nearly 90°; in places the strata are con-
torted. Presumably the strata are traversed by a fault.
Along the road farther south where it parallels the railway
traversing Frederick brook valley, is a low cliff of coarse
conglomerate dipping to the east at a low angle. A short
distance east, the conglomerate is overlain by the grey
limestone, above the limestone occurs red sandstones
overlain by the grey beds of the Millstone Grit. No
gypsum is known to be present and though it may have been
cut out by a fault, it is more probable that the gypsum was
eeved by erosion prior to the deposition of the Millstone
rit.
The conglomerate exposed in the cliff at the roadside,
and in a small cutting along the railway and elsewhere in
the neighborhood, is very dark in colour due to the presence
of hydro-carbons with which the rock is impregnated.
The conglomerate is the ordinary red conglomerate which
*Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind. Vol. XXVI, 1907, p. 727.
366
cee occurs underlying the limestone and gypsum
beds.
The low area of the valley of the western branches of
Frederick brook which extends westward from opposite
the cliff of conglomerate on the road side, is occupied by
strata of the Albert series. The rising ground on all four
sides is underlain by the gently dipping red conglomerate
which near the area of the Albert series is, in many places,
of a dark grey colour from the presence of hydro-carbons.
Though no fragments of the Albert series have been found
in the conglomerate of the surrounding area, it seems
impossible to escape the conclusion that the surrounding,
gently dipping conglomerates unconformably overlie the
highly disturbed strata of the Albert series.
The Albert series at Albert Mines outcrops over an area
about 14 miles (2 km.) long in an east and west direction
and having a variable width of from } to ? miles (0-4 to
1-2 km.). The strata are comparatively well exposed in the
eastern part of the area, along the various branches of
Frederick brook. The measures, in general, dip to the
south with angles varying from 15° to nearly 90°. On one
branch of the brook the crown of an anticlinal fold is visible
and it has generally been stated that the measures lie in an
anticlinal fold whose axis strikes east and west. The
strata as exposed consist chiefly of dark, thinly bedded
shales, and thin beds of dark limestones. At certain
horizons occur ‘‘oil-shales’’ heavily impregnated with
hydro-carbons. Two main varieties of oil-shales are
present. In the case of one variety —‘‘curly shales’’—
the rock is compact, splintery, and the bedding planes in
many instances are minutely crenulated. In the case of
the second variety—‘“‘paper shales’’— the beds split into
thin, slightly flexible sheets.
The mining operations at one time carried on in this
area and the extent of which is indicated by the large
dumps, were conducted for the purpose of winning the
substance albertite, fragments of which are abundant
in the mine dumps. Albertite, by many authorities classed
with asphalt and supposed to be a solidified form of
petroleum, is a black substance, having a conchoidal
fracture and a hardness of about 2 on the ordinary scale
of hardness. It is easily fusible and readily ignites in an
ordinary flame. It is essentially composed of hydrogen
and carbon with about 3 per cent of nitrogen, 2 per cent of
367
oxygen, and a trace of sulphur. The mineral occurs
filling fissures, usually narrow, not only in the Albert series
but in younger Carboniferous strata. Most of the reported
occurrences of such veins have been within a radius of a
few miles from Albert Mines. The only large vein ever
discovered was that occurring at Albert Mines. This vein,
it is said, was mined over a distance of about § mile (0-8 km.).
and to a depth of 1,100 feet (330 m.) or more, beyond which
it became too narrow to be profitably worked. The vein
was nearly vertical and followed an almost straight course
along the general direction of the anticlinal axis in the
country rock, but varied in width up to 15 feet (4-5 m.)
and sent apophyses into the adjoining strata.
Regarding the origin of the albertite, ‘‘oil-shales’’, and
natural gas and petroleum occurring in the accompanying
sandstones as developed in the Stony Creek oil fields,
two general views have been held. On the one hand, it
has been thought that the various hydro-carbons are of
secondary origin, derived from sources outside of the
Albert series. The second view is that the hydro-carbons
are indigenous to the shales and that they have been
derived from organic matter entombed in the sediments.
This latter view of the origin of the hydro-carbons seems
particularly applicable to the known facts in connexion
with the Albert series.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. Bailey, L. W., and Ells, R. W., Geol. Sur. Can., Report
of Progress, 1876-77.
2. Dawson, W. J.....Acadian Geology.
Sees RA Wieecse 2S: Dept. of Mines, Bituminous or Oil-
Shales of New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia, 1910.
Zi JS es US Cosa: aoe es Geol. Surv. Can., Map 35A, I911.
5. Kramm, H. E.....Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report
for IQII.
6. Lambe, L. M......Geol. Surv. Can., Memoir No. 3,
I9IO.
7. Young, G. A......Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report
LOTION
Miles and
Kilometres.
Om.
oO km.
89:2 m.
143-5 km.
368
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
MONCTON TO ST. JOHN.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Moncton—Alt. 50 ft. (15:2 m.). The Inter-
colonial railway leaving Moncton, runs in a
southwesterly direction up the valley of Petit-
codiac river, crosses a low summit with an
altitude of 167 feet (50-9 m.) and enters the
valley of Kennebecasis river which flows in a
southwest direction. The railway follows the
valley of Kennebecasis river to the head
of Kennebecasis bay, a long lake-expansion
of St. John river. The railway, at this point
leaves the waterway; farther on it again skirts
the shore of the lake, and finally leaving it for
a space of about 6 miles (9-6 km.) runs directly
to St. John city, situated on the Bay of Fundy
coast, at the mouth of St. John river.
Throughout the greater part of the distance
from Moncton to St. John, the railway runs
parallel with and from 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km.)
north of the foot of Caledonia mountain.
This upland area with a mean altitude of about
1,000 feet (300 m.) is composed chiefly of
Pre-Cambrian rocks of igneous and sedimentary
origin. This area of ancient strata extends along
the coast to St. John city and beyond, but
towards St. John and to the southwest, the
country underlain by these rocks is much lower
than is the case to the northeast. The Pre-
Cambrian area as far southwest as St. John,
is bordered on the northwest by Carboniferous
measures and immediately along the border
these belong to pre-Millstone Grit divisions.
These Carboniferous measures for many miles
southwest of Moncton, extend to the north and
west to join the main Carboniferous area of
New Brunswick. Farther to the southwest,
however, the Carboniferous strata are confined
to a long band-like area bounded on both sides
by ridges of Pre-Cambrian beds.
St. John.
369
ST. JOHN AND VICINITY.*
(G. A. YOUNG.)
INTRODUCTION.
The neighbourhood of St. John city is of special geological
interest since it includes a portion of the Cambrian basin
which has furnished so much paleontological material
to Doctor G. F. Matthew. In the immediate neighbor-
hood also, occur the ‘Fern Ledges’ from which many
plant remains have been recovered whose age has been
variously assigned to the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboni-
ferous.
In the neighborhood of St. John, the following formations
and groups are developed.
Carboniferous..Red Head formation.f
Mispeck formation
| Cordaite formation.
Little River group Dadoxylon forma-
Bloomsbury formation| tion.
Cambrian and
Ordovician. .St. John group.
Pre-Cambrian..Crystalline limestone, quartzite, schists,
gneiss, granite, etc.
The various groups of strata are exposed over elongated
areas all trending northeastward parallel with the coast
of the Bay of Fundy and with the axial lines of the more
prominent physical features. The Pre-Cambrian rocks
are developed over a wide zone stretching for more
than 100 miles (160 km.) along or near the Bay of Fundy
coast. The Cambrian measures are confined in the main,
to an area almost completely encircled by the Pre-Cambrian
strata and reaching for 30 miles (48 km.) northeastward
from St. John city. Minor parallel basins of Cambrian
beds lie to the northeast within the same general Pre-
Cambrian region. The Little River group together with the
immediately underlying and overlying formations, out-
crops over an elongated area situated southeast of the
St. John Cambrian basin.
* See Map,—St. John and Vicinity.
7 The term, Red Head formation, is applied provisionally to certain strata at one time
classed as Lower Carboniferous Conglomerate.
35063—IIA
370
The details of the geological structures of the region
are largely unknown. The Pre-Cambrian strata are
presumably much faulted and folded. They have been
intruded by large and small bodies of plutonic rocks.
Different broad divisions of the Pre-Cambrian are developed
along northeasterly trending axial lines and this mode of
distribution doubtless indicates that the axes of folding
and the strikes of the major faults are also parallel with
the same general direction. The Cambrian and Carboni-
ferous measures are also folded along northeasterly trending
axes, but, whereas the Cambrian beds in places are tightly
folded and overturned, the Carboniferous measures lie
in open folds.
The Pre-Cambrian strata include both sedimentary and
volcanic types probably belonging to groups of greatly
differing ages. So far as we know, all have been intruded
by plutonic masses varying in composition from gabbro to
granite and not all of the same age. Possibly some of the
plutonic rocks classed with the Pre-Cambrian may be of
Paleozoic age and the same may be true of some of the
volcanic rocks and even of some of the metamorphosed
sediments. The Pre-Cambrian rocks have been divided
into various divisions grouped under the terms Laurentian
and Huronian. The Laurentian has been described as
characteristically composed of crystalline limestone,
quartzite, various schists, gneisses and granitic rocks.
The Huronian has been defined as composed of great
thicknesses of volcanic rocks including flows and pyroclastic
types. The correlation of the volcanic strata with the
Huronian as now defined, cannot be upheld. The corre-
lation of the crystalline limestones and associated strata
with the Laurentian is also of doubtful value.
The Pre-Cambrian rocks were greatly deformed, intruded
by plutonic bodies and deeply eroded certainly earlier than
Middle Cambrian time and in all probability earlier than
Lower Cambrian time.
The Cambrian and Ordovician strata have been divided
by Dr. Matthew into a number of divisions. These are
presented in the following table based on one prepared by
Matthew.
Legend
Carboniferous
Conglomerate
Carboniferous (?)
Little River group
Carboniferous(?)
Basic eruptives
Cambrian
Trachyte
Limestone series
Quartzite series
Pre-Cambrian
Granite, etc.
[Se Street Railway
Se ‘Fern Ledges
St John and Vicinity
Miles
i a
Kilometres e
to... 1
Go
WinioN ‘dos nado 4% -
371
THICKNESS.
Feet. Metres.
Lower Ordovician. |
Bretonian. 700 213
Cambrian. \Johannian. 750 228
Acadian. 200 61
‘Etcheminian. 1,200 365
Basal Cambrian.
'Coldbrookian. p ?
The Acadian, Johannian and Bretonian together compose
the St. John group which consists largely of dark slates and
very fine sandstones. Fossiliferous beds occur at many
horizons.
The Etcheminian strata are shales, sandstones and
conglomerates and fossils are not common in them. The
Coldbrookian consists of various types of volcanic rocks.
Dr. Matthew regards the St. John group as being the
equivalent of the whole of the Cambrian proper including
the Lower Cambrian, Olenellus zone or its equivalent, and
a part of the lower Ordovician. The Etcheminian, because
in certain places it seems stratigraphically unconformable
to the overlying Acadian and because it varies widely in
thickness from place to place, is thought by Dr. Matthew
to unconformably underlie the Cambrian proper. The
Etcheminian is stated to contain a fauna of Cambrian
aspect but of an earlier type than that customarily classed
in other regions with the Olenellus zone. The Cold-
brookian is described by the same author as formed of
35063—II15A
372
volcanic flows and ejectementa older than the Etcheminian
but still of Paleozoic age.
Dr. C. D. Walcott has presented arguments to show
that the lowest division of the St. John group, the Acadian,
is of Middle Cambrian age and belongs to the horizon of
the Paradoxides fauna. By the same authority the
Etcheminian is regarded as a phase of the Lower Cambrian.
The variations in thickness of the Etcheminian from place
to place are believed to be due to the presence of inequali-
ties in the original floor of the Cambrian basin whereby in
some places a thousand feet of Etcheminian strata were
deposited, in others only a hundred feet or less, while in
others the Middle Cambrian rests directly on the Pre-
Cambrian. Evidence is given to show that the uncon-
formities which in some places appear to exist between the
Acadian and Etcheminian are, in some instances at least,
due to faulting and minor movemenis attendant on the
deformation of the Cambrian basin asa whole. The Cold-
brookian is classed with the Pre-Cambrain as had been
done by earlier writers.
The fine muds and sands of the St. John group and the
coarser detrital material of the basal formation, the Etche-
minian, were laid down in a sea having a very uneven
bottom and which apparently existed continuously through-
out the greater part of Cambrian time and on into the open-
ing epochs of Ordovician time. It is assumed that this sea
withdrew temporarily at least, during the Ordovician
period. Elsewhere in the Maritime Provinces, marine
Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous measures are
extensively developed but these if ever present in the
immediate vicinity of St. John, were removed by erosion
before mid-Carboniferous time and the Cambrian beds
were faulted and closely folded along axial lines pursuing a
general northeasterly course.
The Bloomsbury, Dadoxylon and Cordaite formations
as developed in the neighborhood of St. John, succeed the
Cambrian measures on the south and in places at least,
are brought against them by faulting. The Dadoxylon and
Cordaite formations together compose the Little River
group (*)
On the eastern shores of Courtenay bay, these measures,
including a band of igneous rocks, are developed on the
(*) On the map of St. John and vicinity, t e Bloomsbury division has been included
under the term, Little River group.
373
northern limb of an open synclinal fold. The strata dip
in a southeasterly direction at angles ranging from 65°
in the north to 20 ° in the south towards the centre of the
syncline. The beds are exposed at intervals only. Their
thickness is approximately 4,000 feet (1,220 m.). In
the lower portion of the series, at the faulted contact with
the Cambrian, the beds for a few hundred feet in thickness
are largely reddish conglomerates and sandstones with
beds of greenish shale; these measures compose the Blooms-
bury formation. They are succeeded by greyish and green-
ish sandstones and shales forming the Dadoxylon formation.
Above them lie dark green shales and arenaceous shales with
fewer sandy measures: these belong to the Cordaite form-
ation. Towards the base of this general series, occurs a
band of igneous rocks, largely diabase. These igneous
rocks are probably, for the most part, contemporaneous
extrusives though there is some evidence that they are in
part at least, intrusives.
The lower divisions, including the igneous member,
of the above general assemblage, occur also in the southern
part of St. John city and along the shore to the west on
the western side of St. John harbour. In the western
extension at a locality known as the Fern Ledges and a
short distance farther west at Duck Cove, the sedimentary
beds have yielded to collectors a large number of plant
species. First systematically described by J. W. Dawson,
the plants were then considered to be Devonian. In
more recent years, Dr. Matthew has contended that the
containing beds are of Silurian age, while amongst others,
Dr. White and Dr. Kidston have stated that the plants
are of mid-Carboniferous, Pennsylvanian age. The stra-
tigraphical evidence regarding the age of the Little River
group is discussed in the immediately succeeding para-
graphs.
The Mispeck formation consists largely of red conglo-
merates, sandstones and shales. They overlie the measures
of the Little River group on the northern limb of the
synclinal on Courtenay bay [1], and are repeated in a similar
position on the southern limb of the same fold. The
Mispeck beds in the Courtenay Bay district, appear to
conformably succeed the strata of the Little River group
but Dr. Matthew believes that the Mispeck is unconform-
able to the Little River group. This belief is founded on
the phenomena exhibited at a locality a few miles to the
374
southwest of St. John where the Mispeck beds rest directly
on Pre-Cambrian strata. In reference to this locality,
Dr. Matthew states that since the Mispeck conglomerate
there “‘contains rolled fragments of Silurian corals, the
whole series below it to the horizon of these corals must
have been denuded before or during its (the Mispeck)
formation.’’ The relations thus described may however,
be explained as due to overlap and not as indicating the
existence of an unconformity between the Mispeck and
Little River group.*
The existence or non-existence of an unconformity
between the Little River group and overlying Mispeck is an
important point in the discussion of the age of the Little
River measures to which belong the strata of the Fern
Ledges. If an unconformity exists, it forms a link in the
chain of stratigraphical evidence tending to place the
horizon of the Little River group below the Carboniferous.
The Red Head formation? consists chiefly of coarse,
red conglomerate and sandstone. These measures occur
over a considerable area situated towards the centre of the
synclinal basin of Little river and Mispeck strata exposed
along the shore of Courtenay bay. The measures of the
Red Head formation are not exposed in actual contact with
the Mispeck beds. The relative areal distribution of the
two series of strata, the marked difference in the direction
of dip of the two formations, and the presence in the Red
Head conglomerates of pebbles of sandstone and_ shale
closely resembling rocks of the Mispeck formation, are
all factors indicating that the Red Head beds are uncon-
formably above the Mispeck measures. The physical
characters of the strata of the Red Head formation also
indicate that these measures are younger than the neigh-
bouring beds of the Little River and Mispeck formations.
The conglomerates and sandstones of the Red Head _ for-
mation are only loosely cemented whereas the Mispeck and
Little River beds, especially those of the latter formation,
are more compact and in places at least, have suffered a
slight amount of shearing not found to have affected the
Red Head beds. It is remotely possible, however, that
the Red Head formation does not overlie the Mispeck
for along the eastern side of the area of Red Head beds,
*On the map of St. John and vicinity, the southern part of area represented
as being occupied by Little River group is doubtless underlain by Mispeck strata.
_ On the map of St. John and vicinity, the areas occupied by the Red Head forma-
tion are mapped as ‘Carboniferous Conglomerate.’
OS)
are exposures of schists and gneissic rocks apparently
altogether foreign in character to the strata of the Little
River and Mispeck formations. It has been suggested
that these schists and gneisses which occur towards the
centre of the syncline of Mispeck and Little River strata,
are deformed contemporaneous volcanic rocks. Possibly,
however, they are of much greater age and it may be
that the Red Head beds rest directly on them and not
on the Mispeck formation
The red strata of the Red Head formation outcrop
over a second considerable area lying northwest of St.
John city. At this locality, the measures repose on Pre-
Cambrian strata. They extend to the shores of Kenne-
becasis lake and lithologically similar strata outcrop
on Kennebecasis island where they are conformably
succeeded by a series of grey sandstones and shales with
plant-bearing beds. The late Dr. Ells stated that the
lower red strata on Kennebecasis island, the supposed
equivalents of the Red Head formation, have been traced
westward to the Maine boundary and there found to be
the equivalents of the Perry formation. The Perry
on the evidence of its contained plants has been assigned
by Dr. David White to the Devonian. Both Dr. Ells
and Dr. Matthew correlate the upper, grey plant-bearing
beds of Kennebecasis island with the Albert series of New
Brunswick and the Horton series of Nova Scotia. By
Sir. J. W. Dawson, L. M. Lambe, and other paleon-
tologists, the Albert and Horton series are considered
to be of Lower Carboniferous age and older than the
Windsor marine limestone.
Paleobotanical material has been collected by Mr.
W. J. Wilson from the plant-bearing beds of the upper
grey series on Kennebecasis island. The flora indicates
that the containing measures are of early Carboniferous
age and that, at least approximately, they are the equiva-
lents of the Albert and Horton series
The measures occuring on Kennebecasis island, as the
above evidence indicates, are of Lower Carboniferous age
or possibly in part of upper Devonian age. If the red
strata of Kennebecasis island are the equivalents of the
Red Head formation which apparently unconformably
overlies the Mispeck and which in turn overlies the Little
River group, then it is manifest that the Little River
group and the contained Fern Ledges, cannot be younger
376
than Devonian and that as far as the stratigraphical
evidence indicates, may be even Silurian as contended by
Dr. Matthew.
The plant-bearing Fern Ledges undoubtedly belong to
the Little River group and according to various eminent
authorities, the plants indicate in the strongest fashion
possible that the strata are of mid-Carboniferous age.
If this conclusion is correct then it must be conceded that
either the Red Head beds are not younger than the Little
River group, or if they are younger, that they are much
younger than the lithologically similar strata occurring on
Kennebecasis island.
CAMBRIAN AND PRE-CAMBRIAN SECTION,
ST. JOHN CITY.*
The Cambrian strata underlying St. John city are
arranged in three synclinal folds whose axes strike approxi-
mately northeast. The folds, in general, are overturned
and the strata are usually either vertical or dip steeply
towards the south. The basin is traversed by a few
major faults striking parallel with the course of the axes
of folding.
The centre of the northern of the three synclines is
indicated by a depression known as the ‘ Valley‘‘ and in
which lies the yard of the Intercolonial railway. The
centre of the syncline is occupied by strata belonging to
the Bretonian but the measures are largely concealed
beneath the drift-covered floor of the Valley. The axis
of the syncline passes on the south side of the depression,
at the foot of a steep hill. On the opposite northern
slope of the Valley are outcrops of Acadian, Johannian
and Etcheminian strata forming the north limb of the
syncline. Pre-Cambrian strata are exposed on the summit
of the hill.
On Meadow street, just south of the junction of this
street and City road, at the foot of the slope forming the
southwest side of the Valley, a rock-cutting exposes strata
belonging to the Bretonian, the highest of the Cambrian
divisions. The measures are dark slates with many thin
beds of hard, fine sandstone. At the beginning of the
* See Map,—Part of St. John City.
YWON II7AUseY/
Geological Survey, Ca
q
=
g
z
3
Geological Survey, Canada.
Feet
500 =igt. 1090 2090
Metres
40g eI0b = 200 400 600
(Scale of map is approximate)
Al.
Cambrian
Pre-Cambrian
Legend
Dark slate and
sandstone
White sandstone
Purple conglomerate,
sandstone, etc.
Trachyte
Limestone series
Quartzite series
Gneiss, SChist etc.
Granite
SM
rock-cutting, the strata dip southerly at angles of about
45°. A few yards farther, they are twisted and torn,
while just beyond this point, they again dip regularly at
high angles to the south. The general attitude of the
beds in the rock cutting suggests the presence of a synclinal
axis and this may be the main synclinal axis of the northern
syncline.
Fossils have not been found in these measures but in
the corresponding strata in the next syncline to the south
there have been found various characteristic Upper Cam-
brian forms including, Peltura scarabeoides and other
trilobites of the genera Agnostus and Ctenopyge.
Along the south side of City road, are outcrops of the
dark slates and fine sandstones of the Bretonian, striking
almost parallel with the street and presumably situated
on the northern limb of the synclinal fold and not far
removed from the axial line. If this be so, the strata
underlying the Valley and outcropping on the northern
slopes of the Valley are arranged in descending order.
No strata outcrop along Stanley street which crosses
the Valley at right angles to its course. Small outcrops
of dark greenish or greyish slates with fine sandstone
beds occur in rock cuttings along the railway tracks beneath
the bridge on Stanley street and to the east and west of
this bridge. These measures dip steeply to the south and
strike at a very acute angle across the course of the railway.
The concealed contact between these lighter coloured
strata and the darker coloured shales of the Bretonian
division probably crosses Stanley street not far north
of the junction of this street and City road. The lighter
coloured measures underlie the dark Bretonian slates and
presumably belong to the Johannian division.
Though no strata outcrop on Stanley street north of
the railway, there are a number of exposures of slate and
sandstone along the streets and lanes immediately to
the east. The measures there exposed belong in part to
the concealed horizons that belong, stratigraphically,
between the beds in the railway cuttings and the measures
exposed on Wright street at the junction with Gooderich
street. On Gooderich street and at the head of this
street, a series of exposures forms a nearly continuous
section of the Cambrian down to the contact with the
Pre-Cambrian.
378
At the junction of Wright and Gooderich streets are
exposures of dark greenish slates and many beds of fine
sandstone. The strata dip southwards at angles of 70°
to 80°. These measures belong to the Johannian division.
Northward along Gooderich street, a progressive change
takes place in the strata, the sandstone beds are thinner
and fewer and the slates darker in colour. Towards the
head of the street, the strata are mainly dark slates with
thin, disrupted beds of fine sandstone. These measures
belong to the Acadian division.
At the northwest corner of the junction of Seely and
Wright streets are exposed remnants of fossiliferous shale,
though this is not now a good collecting place. The
common fossils still to be obtained are; Paradoxides
eteminicus, Ctenocephalus matthewi, Liostracus tener Lin-
narssonia transversa, and Acrothele matthew. Some years
ago, members of the Protolenus fauna, including Pro-
tolenus paradoxides, were found by Mr. J. E. Narra-
way between the above fossiliferous layer and the white
sandstone at the back of the quarry, but this outcrop is
no longer available. The strata belong to the Acadian
division and by Dr. Matthew are regarded as the
equivalent of the Lower Cambrian of other regions. By
Dr. Walcott and others, the fauna is held to be of Middle
Cambrian age.
In the low rocky mound and small quarry at the head
of Gooderich street, there are exposed to the north of, and
therefore below the fossiliferous shales, about 70 feet
(21 m.) of nearly vertical shales and sandstones. These
are succeeded by a 20-foot bed of white, comparatively
coarse sandstone. Beyond this distinctive sandstone
bed are exposures of dark grey and purplish sandstones
and shales with one thin bed of white sandstone separated
from the main bed by about one foot of the dark rocks.
A thickness of about 50 feet (15 m.) of the dark sandstones
and shales is exposed. To the north, after a concealed
interval of about 60 feet (18 m.), rises a low ridge of dense,
green trachyte belonging to the Pre-Cambrian. The
strata in general strike to the southwest and dip at very
high angles to the southeast. In spite of local slips and
warpings in the beds, the whole series appears conformable.
The massive bed of white sandstone marks the base
of the Acadian. The dark grey and purple sandstones
Etcheminian at right, basal quartzite of Cambrian (centre) and Protolenus bed
(left). Seely street, St. John, N.B.
Base of Etcheminian unconformably on the Pre-Cambrian, Park street, St. John, N.B
380
and shales represent the Etcheminian. The green trachyte
belongs to the Coldbrookian.
The white sandstone is a constant feature at the same
horizon over a great part of the whole Cambrian basin.
By Dr. Matthew this bed is regarded as the base of the
Lower Cambrian while by Dr. Walcott it is held to mark
the base of the Middle Cambrian as the fauna of the
immediately overlying beds indicates. Under this view
the Etcheminian is of Lower Cambrian age. By Dr.
Matthew the trachyte is considered to be an effusive flow
closely associated as regards age with the overlying Etche-
minian both of which formations are thought to be older
than the Lower Cambrian or Olenellus zone.
Seely street follows a nearly due east course from the
head of Gooderich street, almost parallel with the strike
of the Cambrian (Acadian) measures. At the junction
of Seely and Prospect streets, the strata are well exposed.
The measures consist of dark slates alternating with harder
beds usually less than one inch in thickness.
On the eastern side of the road leading north from the
eastern end of Seely street, are exposures of nearly vertical,
dark slates with thin beds of dark, fine grained sandstone.
To the north of these beds, the white sandstone, the base
of the Middle Cambrian, is exposed in a small ridge. The
width of the outcrop along the roadside is about 40 feet
(12 m.). Immediately overlying the white sandstone is a
dark, coarse sandstone, while underlying it are dark
greenish sandstones belonging to the Lower (?) Cambrian,
Etcheminian division. The strata dip to the south-
east at an angle of about 60°. The contact of the Etche-
minian with the underlying volcanics of the Coldbrookian
is not exposed along the roadside. The first exposures
of the underlying volcanics is a few yards north of a branch
road leading to the northeast.
The basal beds of the Cambrian are only imperfectly
exposed along the roadside. The following section as
measured by Dr. Walcott in the immediate neighborhood,
indicates the general character of the strata. The measures
are tabulated in descending order, that is, in the order in
mei they are exposed along the road from south to
north.
Bole
Middle Cambrian ;—
b. Greenish and dark shales and fine sandstones........
a. Light grey, quartzitic sandstone 40-45 feet (12-14 m.)
Lower (?) Cambrian (Etcheminian) ;—
c. Reddish-purple and greenish shales
ancdeuhimesandstOnes..) 256-4. 4s -e- 52 feet (15-8 m.)
b. Concealed (presumably shales and
SATIS EOIES) Merece en seed ee eren eae ee 85 feet (26 m.)
a. Dark reddish conglomerates, sand-
Stomevadyshale ge 2.05 yeas tee le ees 12 feet (3-6 m.)
Pre-Cambrian.—
The lowermost beds of the Etcheminian and the nature
of the contact with the Coldbrookian (Pre-Cambrian) is
indicated in a series of exposures along the branch road
leading to the northeast. This road passes along the
south side of a low rocky ridge of the dark green, fine-
grained trachyte immediately underlying the Cambrian
beds. The Pre-Cambrian volcanic rock in some of the
exposures on the road side is reddish in colour and in places
possesses an irregular, shale-like parting, apparently re-
sulting from weathering. At some points, the igneous
rock is less altered and is of a pale greenish colour. At
several places are small exposures of fine greyish or slightly
reddish conglomerate overlying decomposed trachyte
and evidently mainly composed of detritus from the Pre-
Cambrian volcanic.
The purple weathering, green volcanic rocks underlying
the Cambrian forms a band striking to the northeast.
This band where it is traversed by a path running northward
to Mount Pleasant avenue is about 700 feet (215 m.) wide.
Along the pathway outcrops are few but the rocks are well
exposed on the ridges rising on both sides. The igneous
rock in most places is quite uniform in appearance being
a fine grained, almost dense trachyte with minute feldspar
phenocrysts. In some places as along Mount Pleasant
avenue where it skirts the shores of Lily lake, the rock
has a fragmental structure and appears to be of tuffaceous
origin. The occurrence of this fragmental variety suggests
that the igneous rock as a whole is of effusive origin.
The age of the rock is supposedly Pre-Cambrian since it
382
underlies and has furnished detrital material to the
Cambrian beds and since nowhere in the general Cambrian
basin have volcanic rocks been described as occurring
interstratified with Cambrian measures.
The relations of the trachyte to the other Pre-Cambrian
strata exposed over a very wide area to the north, is un-
known. On the north side of the volcanic rock lies a band
of crystalline limestone and the two rocks are in contact
for a distance of at least two miles. The constancy of
this feature considered in connexion with the nature of the
volcanic rock, may be taken to indicate that the trachyte
is of the same age as the limestone strata. No decisive
evidence is available to indicate whether the igneous rock
is stratigraphically above or below the limestone.
The band of crystalline limestone extends in a southwest-
northeast direction for at least 4 miles (6-4 km.). At the
end of the path traversing the band of trachyte, the contact
between the volcanic and the crystalline limestone follows
southwesterly along Mount Pleasant avenue. On the north
side of this road are many exposures of white crystalline
limestone traversed by broken and bent dykes or sills of
diabase. To the northeast, the full width of the band of
limestone is exposed on the eastern shores of Lily lake.
In this neighborhood, the width of the crytalline limestone
band is about 250 feet (76 m.). To the southwest, the band
rapidly expands to a maximum width of about 950 feet
(290 m.).
The character of the limestone measures is exhibited
in a series of exposures along the road known as Lake Drive
North which leads from Mount Pleasant avenue past the
west end of Lily lake and along the shores of a group of
smaller lakes to the north. Where this road crosses the
band of crytalline limestone, the rocks at one point are
flexed into a syncline and other indications of the deforma-
tion of the strata are present. The original bedding planes
are indicated by variations in texture, colour, etc. The
northern margin of the limestone band is marked by a zone
of black rocks, partly slates, partly diabase.
Just beyond the first cross road on Lake Drive North,
are exposures of dense, light coloured quartzite belonging
to a band of such rocks having a width of about 800 feet
(245 m.). This band of rocks forms the northwestern
boundary of the limestone series for some distance both
to the northeast and southwest, except where the quartzites
383
have been replaced by intrusive rocks. The quartzite and
limestone presumably belong to the same series but it is
not known whether the quartzite underlies or overlies the
limestone.
The quartzites are exposed at intervals along Lake
Drive North. Ata series of exposures where this roadway
rises over a low hill, the quartzites are comparatively
coarse grained and are distinctly bedded, the strata being
nearly vertical. The quartzites are exposed along the
roadsides to the top of the rise but farther on, as the road
descends to where a branch road runs east to the shores of
Lily lake, decomposed gneissic rocks outcrop.
Gneissic rocks are exposed along the driveway from the
point of junction of the branch road, northward to where
the main road bends to the northeast beside a small stream.
The gneisses are of medium to fine grain, are dark coloured,
flecked and streaked with pink and are strikingly foliated.
The rocks have the mineral composition of a biotite or
hornblende granite and appear to be deformed granites.
They occupy a narrow band-like area reaching a few
hundred yards to the east but extending much farther to
the west where they join a large area of granite. The
relations of the gneissic rocks with the granite are unknown.
Possibly the gneissic rocks have resulted from the local
deformation of the granite.
The area of deformed granite is bounded on the north
by a band of crytalline limestone which extends to the
southwest as a long narrow band surrounded by granite.
The limestone is bounded on the northwest side by granite
and the roadway crosses and recrosses the line of contact.
The limestone is of the same general character as the rock
of the calcareous band striking across Lily lake. The
granite occurring on the northwest side of the limestone
band, is of medium grain, usually pink in colour and poor
in coloured bisilicates which include both biotite and horn-
blende. In the neighborhood of the contact with the lime-
stone, aplite dykes occur in the calcareous rocks.
The granite body shows slight variations in texture and
composition from place to place. Small patches of foreign
material occur. Small detached blocks of crystalline
limestone also lie within the granitic rocks; one such block
with a major diameter of about 35 feet occurs on the
roadside towards the western end of the larger of the three
lakes lying north of Lily lake. Along the road leading
384
northward from the end of the same lake, exposures of
granite alternate with others of diorite, diabase, quartzite
and various types of schists. Some of the diabase rocks
cut the granite, but the diorite and various types of schists
are probably all older than the granite.
SUSPENSION BRIDGE:*
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.—At the locality known as
Suspension bridge, the St. John river is spanned by two
bridges—a railway bridge and a highway bridge. At this
point the river is confined for about 300 feet (90 m.) to a
gorge-like channel about 300 feet (90 m.) wide through
which the waters rush in a southerly direction. Below
this point the river channel suddenly widens, abruptly
turns to the northeast, and follows this course for about
one mile, to the head of St. John harbour. Above the
constricted channel at the bridges, the river widens and
about 500 yards (460 m.) farther up, again contracts.
Above the second constriction, known as the “upper falls’’,
the river widens to lake-like dimensions and after abruptly
bending to the northwest continues with this character
for many miles. A long arm of this lake extends to the
northeast and this arm together with the northwesterly
extending lake-like expansion of the St. John river is
known as Kennebecasis lake.
The lake bottom is very irregular, with deep channels in
which the water reaches depths of between 100 feet and
200 feet (30m.to 60 m.). At the constriction known as
the upper falls, the water is only about 25 feet (7-5 m.)
deep. Below this point the channel is deep; even in the
gorge-like portion at Suspension bridge, the water is 100
feet (30 m.) deep but at the exit from the short gorge at
the lower falls, the water shoals to a depth of about 25
feet (7-5m.). In the channel-way below Suspension
bridge as far as Navy island at the head of St. John Har-
bour, the depth of the water varies between 30 feet and
100 feet (9 m. and 30 m.).
The waters of Kennebecasis lake, though in direct
communication with the sea, always stand above mean
tide level. In the spring of the year, the waters of the
lake lie at a height of 9 feet (2-75 m.) or more above mean
tide; later in the year as the volume of fresh water draining
*See Map—Suspension Bridge.
etic North
=
Cs)
=|
i
Geological Survey, Canada
Suspension Bridg
Feet
100 O 200 400 (
Metres
100 100
(Scale of map /5 apg
Legend
Ordovician
ee)
es Cambrian
Magnetic North
Limestone series
. Quartzite series
Pre-Cambrian
“in [RIN
—_ Fault
ae Street railway
Geological Survey, Canada
Suspension Bridge,St.John
Feet
IROnee pO 1890. Le EE
Metres
190 2
(Scale of map is approximate)
nado 32 eebinG noleneqen’
H >
(aheminonaagya ts ier Mer eas eS,
385
into the lake decreases, the level of the lake falls to about
3 feet (I m.) above mean tide. The cause of the higher
level of the lake waters relative to mean sea level is due to
the constricted nature of the outlet of the lake and to the
fact that besides the great volume of sea water entering
the lake twice each day there is also an additional large
amount of fresh water to be discharged.
The level of high tide in St. John harbour varies between
10 feet and 14 feet (3 m. and 4-2 m.) above mean tide.
The waters of the lake rise with the tide only 15 or 18
inches (0-38 or 0-46 m.), therefore at high tide during the
latter part of the summer, the water in the St. John channel
at Suspension bridge stands 6 to Io feet (1-8 to 3 m.)
above the level of the lake and as a result of the contracted
and shallow nature of the channel at the upper falls, the
waters there fall inwards. During other portions of the
day when the tide level sinks below the lake level, the falls
are reversed in direction and the waters fall outwards.
The general configuration of the constricted channel
at Suspension bridge is sufficient evidence to indicate
that it is not of normal origin. Kennebecasis lake pre-
sents many of the general characters of a dammed body of
water. The lake and the contiguous lake-like expansions
of the St. John river occupy a series of depressions that are
portions of valleys belonging to two sysiems, one of which
follows a northwest-southeast course, and the other a
northeast-southwest course. The channel of the St.
John below Suspension bridge follows a northeast course
and therefore belongs to one of the above systems. The
lower channel of the river is apparently continued by the
depression traversing St. John city and known as the Valley.
At Suspension bridge, the depression occupied by the mouth
of the river abruptly ends, being cut off by a high ridge from
a valley extending some miles to the southwest. It is
not improbable that the dividing ridge is composed of
unconsolidated material of Glacial and post-Glacial age
and that at one time the valleys now heading in this ridge
were continuous.
The lake of the lower St. John, whose bottom in places
lies nearly 200 feet (60 m.) below sea level, has probably
been formed by the empounding of the waters of the drain-
age system by dams choking the old outlet or outlets.
These dams are presumably of Glacial or post-Glacial
age. Forced to seek a new outlet, the waters for a time
35063—I2A
386
may have reached the sea by a number of channels, but
eventually they appear to have broken over and then
through the comparatively low rocky ridge at Suspension
bridge and to have found their way to the sea by means of
the old valley entered at this place.
The rocks forming the walls of the canyon-like outlet
of the St. John river at Suspension bridge are of Pre-Cam-
brian, Cambrian and Ordovician age. The strata of
these three groups are separated from one another by
faults that strike in a northeasterly direction. The strata
are, in general, steeply inclined and strike in an easterly
direction.
The Pre-Cambrian measures outcrop on both sides of
the constricted passageway of the St. John and form the
northern portion of the walls. They are bounded on the
south by Cambrian beds from which they are separated by
a fault. The Pre-Cambrian at this place is represented by
a band of quartzite flanked on the south by a band of
crystalline limestone with beds of black slates and sills
or dykes of diabase. The strata are folded, faulted and
torn, but in general stand with nearly vertical attitudes.
The Cambrian rocks are largely dark slates and fine
sandstone. On the eastern banks of the gorge they form
a narrow band separated by a fault from the Pre-Cambrian
on the north and by another fault from the Ordovician on
the south. These beds have been assigned to the Johannian
by Dr. Matthew. The measures bounded by the same
faults, occur on the western side of the narrows of the river.
They are bounded on the north by Pre-Cambrian rocks
while on the south side lie conglomerate, sandstone and
shale beds probably of another horizon of the Cambrian,
not the Johannian.
The Ordovician measures are largely dark shales. They
are exposed in a narrow band along the northern shore of
the river below Suspension bridge. The shales are not
very fossiliferous, and contain only a few species which
are common. Tetragraftus quadribranchiatus is the most
common fossil, others being species of Didymograptus,
Clonograptus and Loganograptus, beside the brachiopods,
Orthis electra major, and Strophomena atava. The
Ordovician beds are overturned since they dip southward
at high angles thus appearing to underlie the Cambrian
strata outcropping on the opposite, southern bank of the
tidal river. The Ordovician measures are the highest
387
preserved members of an overturned syncline which in-
cludes the Dictyonema beds of Navy island situated about
1 mile (1-6 km.) to the northeast on the southern side of
the channel. The thin-bedded, dark shales on Navy
island, are, in places, extremely fossiliferous, Dictyonema
flabelliforme being particularly abundant. Separated
cranidia of trilobites are not uncommon, associated with
the Dictyonemas, some of the species found here being
Parabolina heres grandis, Parabolinella posthuma, Lepto-
plastus latus, and Ctenopyge flagillifer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
At the end of the street car line on Douglas avenue,
at the railway crossing, are exposures of Pre-Cambrian,
white, crystalline limestone. The railway runs along
the course of the fault separating the Pre-Cambrian
from the Cambrian. In the rock cuttings along the north
side of the railway, the Pre-Cambrian limestone is ex-
posed, while on the south side of the railway steeply
inclined, bent and twisted, dark slates and fine grained
sandstones of Cambrian, (Johannian) age outcrop.
The position of the fault bounding the Cambrian on the
south is indicated by certain exposures on the Strait Shore
road which joins Douglas avenue about 200 feet (60 m.)
beyond the railway crossing. On the Strait Shore road
about 50 yards (45 m.) east of the junction with Douglas
avenue, are outcrops of twisted and torn, Cambrian slates
and sandstones. These measures are exposed on the north
side of the road, while in the gutter on the same side of the
road are exposures of dark shales supposedly of Ordovician
age since they are lithologically very similar to the grap-
tolite-bearing beds of this age outcropping a few yards to the
south in the cliffs along the shore of the river. The fault
plane separating the Cambrian and Ordovician, is visible
in the cliff face at a point just opposite the anchor pier of
the Suspension bridge.
From a view point on the western shore between the two
bridges, the fault separating the Pre-Cambrian and
Cambrian is plainly indicated in the steep rock cliffs about
20 feet (6 m.) south of the railway bridge. The position of
the nearly vertical fault is made apparent by the contrast
between the white, Pre-Cambrian limestone on the north
35063—I24A
388
and the dark Cambrian slates on the south. The crystal-
line limestone beds as indicated by the associated dark
rocks, are much torn. The limestones are succeeded on
the north by quartzites and the boundary between these two
formations is in part at least, a fault plane whose general
course is indicated by the ledges of white quartzite out-
cropping beyond the railway bridge and a short distance
Fault between Tetragraptus shale and Acadian, near Suspension bridge, St, John, N.B.
back from and approximately parallel to the cliffs forming
the shore of the river.
The fault plane separating the Cambrian and Ordovician
is visible from the hillside south of the highway on the
western side of the river. The two sets of strata do not
sharply contrast in colour. The dense black, Ordovician
shales form the cliff back to two ruined docks, while the
greyer Cambrian measures form the rocky projection
extending westward parallel with and to the south of the
highway bridge.
The small, bay-like indentation on the west side of the
river immediately below the highway bridge, marks the
line of the fault between the Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian
389
on the west bank. The fault on the eastern shore between
the Cambrian and Ordovician presumably continues on
the west side of the river and apparently passes close
to the small pavilion standing near the shore. The
fault at this place brings lithologically dissimilar Cambrian
beds into contact with one another.
SUSPENSION BRIDGE TO SEASIDE PARK (FERN
LEDGES).
The street car route from Suspension bridge to Seaside
park for a short distance follows a westerly course over-
looking the St. John river which is bordered on both sides
by Pre-Cambrian rocks consisting of crystalline limestone,
quartzite, etc., and large intrusive bodies of granite and
diorite. The street car route is situated on the northern
slope of a ridge which possibly is composed altogether of
unconsolidated materials since on the lower slopes, towards
the river, heavy cuttings reveal a very considerable thick-
ness of stratified clays and sands.
Shortly after leaving Suspension bridge, the street car
route turns sharply to the southeast and passes along the
western edge of the summit of the above mentioned hill.
To the southwest extends a long broad valley joining the
valley of the St. John to the southwest. This valley is
continued on the eastern side of the ridge by the lower
reaches of the St. John river and by the valley running
northeasterly through St. John city.
At the junction with the street car line leading eastward
to Carleton, are outcrops of dark, basic volcanic rocks.
Similar rocks outcrop at intervals along and at the end of
the street car route at Seaside park. These basic rocks form
a thick zone apparently interbanded or interbedded with the
lower portion of the Little River group. Similar rocks in
a similar stratigraphical position outcrop in St. John city
and farther east on the shore of Courtenay bay. The
igneous rocks vary considerably in appearance from
moderately coarse diabase to fine-grained, porphyritic
and amygdaloidal varieties. In places they appear to
have slightly metamorphosed the overlying sediments.
The basic igneous rocks possibly are eruptives, though it is
more probable that they form an intrusive, sill-like body.
390
At Seaside park, at the end of the street car line, the
basic igneous rocks are exposed at intervals along the path
leading across the railway to the shore and to the Fern
Ledges. Where the path crosses the railway are exposures
of quartzose sandstone belonging to the Dadoxylon division
of the Little River group. The measures dip seaward (to
the south) at an angle of 30°. Similar measures are exposed
a short distance farther, but from this point to the beach,
to the locality of the Fern Ledges, the strata are concealed.
PERN LEDGES]
(Mary C. STOPES)
Editorial Note——Recently Dr. Mary C. Stopes has pre-
pared for the Geological Survey of Canada, a memoir on
the flora of the Fern Ledges. This memoir is not yet
published but permission has been obtained to make use
of the information contained in the manuscript in the
preparation of the following account of the geology and
flora of the Fern Ledges. Dr. Stopes was able to assemble
nearly all the original specimens of the Fern Ledges flora
and studied them as well as a great mass of new maierial
obtained from Duck Cove, a short distance west of the type
locality. The following account is essentially an abstract
of the unpublished memoir by Dr. Stopes. Certain
portions of the manuscript have been extracted word for
word; such portions are indicated by quotation marks.
“The fossil plants of the St. John Fern Ledges in the Little
River group occupy a unique position in the annals of
paleontology owing to the extensive........ discussions
they have aroused ever since (so long ago as 1861) Sir W.
Dawson began to describe them as representatives of a
Devonian flora. Sir W. Dawson from time to time named
and illustrated the majority of the species described from
the beds. At this early date comparatively few figures
of European and other American Palzozoic fossil plants
were available for his use and so it is not surprising that
Sir William made new species from most of the specimens.
As a consequence, judging to-day by the list of species de-
scribed from the locality, one receives the impression that the
“Little River”’ flora is an isolated and peculiar one. In
quite recent years, Dr. Matthew...... has been publishing
* See Map—Fern Ledges.
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391
revisions and additions to this interesting flora and latterly
he has maintained that the plants are of Silurian age.”’
Sir W. Dawson in his various descriptions of the flora
pointed out the Carboniferous aspect of many of the
species. ‘‘As early as 1866 Geinitz pointed out that the
insects described by Scudder as Devonian were on the
same slab as a fragment of Pecopteris plumosa”’ and that
this suggested that the strata were of Carboniferous and
not Devonian age. The controversy as to the age of the
flora did not take a serious aspect until thirty years later
when attention was forcibly directed to the matter in
connexion with a discussion of the age of the Riversdale-
Union formations of Nova Scotia which on floral, litho-
logical and stratigraphical grounds were correlated with
the Little River and associated strata.
Dr. J. F. Whiteaves in 1899, in a vice-presidental
address to the American Association for the Advancement
of Science presented extracts from manuscript reports pre-
pared by Dr. Kidston and Dr. David White, in which
both of these paleobotanists maintained that the Fern
Ledges were of Carboniferous age. Dr. White in another
publication very definitely correlated the Fern Ledges with
the Pottsville.
In 1906, Dz. G. F. Matthew commenced a revision of the
flora of the Fern Ledgesand tookup the position that the flora
was Devonian, butlater,in 1910, asserted that it was Silurian.
The classic locality for the Fern Ledges fossil plants is
on the shore between high and low water, at Seaside park,
a mile west of Carleton a suburb of St. John. ‘‘The same
strata are repeated along the shore of Duck Cove, where the
most prolific beds now lie, for the original sections at the
Fern Ledges are both nearly worked out and have been
covered to a considerable extent by the drifting sand and
gravel of the shore. The same series also outcrops to the
east of St. John harbour where some plants are to be found
if they are carefully sought for, but the extent of alteration
in the shales is much greater here, and the fossils are seldom
sufficiently well preserved to repay collection, except
merely for identification in the field.’”’ The same beds occur
to the west of the Fern Ledges locality, and outcrop on
the shore at Lepreau harbour where ‘‘fossil plants are to be
found, but these specimens also have but little value
beyond indicating the identity of the beds in which they
occur. One may take it that practically all the plants
392
of importance to the palzobotanist originated from the
Fern Ledge section of Carleton, or from one of the numerous
beds a little further around the coast toward and just
beyond Duck Cove.”’
‘““The Fern Ledges series consists of alternations of
sandstones and shales. In the compact, heavy grey
sandstones but few fossils, and those principally fragments
of woody stumps, are to be found. Inthe numerous beds
of fine grey or blackish shale, which is laminated and
The ‘‘Fern Ledges,’ St. John, N.B.
in many places, is considerably altered, a rich flora of
debris occurs. The more or less altered shale occurs in
beds ranging from a couple of inches to a couple of feet in
thickness.’’? At Duck Cove, at the present time the best
collecting locality, the plant-containing bands are more
numerous than in the original section at the Fern Ledges
as reported by Hartt and Matthew. The beds dip at
an angle of about 30° to 50°. There are several minor
faults which tend to cause repetitions of the series but
even allowing for this there cannot be less than 20 bands
of plant-containing shales, of various thickness, most of
them containing a great variety of plants.
Previous accounts seemed to indicate that the various
shale bands might represent zones in a geological sense.
This, however, does not appear to be the case though it is
not impossible that extensive and careful work over the
393
whole outcrop may reveal definite assemblages in a definite
sequence.
‘““The general appearance of the fine shale bands alterna-
ting with the sandstones, is that of a deltaic deposit, proba-
bly at the mouth of a great river or at its entry into a lake
or it might be, the bend of a lagoon (the remarkable lack
of marine fossils in the neighbourhood renders some such
view very probable). The deposits appear to have collected
rapidly (geologically speaking). The difference in the
species of the plants brought down from time to time in
the current of the river can be readily accounted for by
slight changes in the course of the water, or by flood effects
in different parts of its course. The Fern Ledges flora is
the remains of the inland flora of the period, and one
which had travelled down stream as debris for some
distance before being entombed. It is, therefore, natural
that sometimes one, and sometimes another species should
preponderate in the various beds now appearing in con-
secutive order; but the sequence of these plant remains
depended on local, fortuitous accidents, and do not appear
to be an indication of appreciable differences of geological
time.”’
The plants in this series of beds are found in two forms.
(1) Scattered, isolated and infrequent trunks or branches,
some of Calamites, but mostly of branches of gymnospermic
wood of an ancient type generally known as Dadoxylon.
These occur principally in the sandstones alternating
with the shale bands. (2) The impressions of ferns,
Cordaites, Calamites, and other plants, forming the debris
of a rich, mixed flora, preserved in the series of shale
bands. It is unfortunate that these impressions are all
much altered. They often occur on slickensided surfaces,
and locally the shales have quite a slaty cleavage. The
plant impressions have been completely graphitized and
most of them consist merely of a bright film or streak on
the rock.
“Though over 80 ‘‘species’’ have been from time to
time described from the Fern Ledges flora, among all
these only about 40 are of value and have been determined
on a sufficiently sound basis to make them of any real
use in the comparison of this flora with others.’’ In the
following list are given only such species as are thought
to have been determined from material that by competent
paleobotanists would be universally considered to be
394
sufficiently good to enable the species to be reliably deter-
mined.
Calamites suckowt Brongnt.
Annularia sphenophylloides Zenker.
Annularia stellata Schlotheim sp.
Annularia latifoila Dawson sp.
Stigmaria ficoides
Adiantides obtusa Dawson sp.
Rhacopetris busseawa Steer
Sphenopterits marginata Dawson
Oligocarpia splendens Dawson sp.
Sphenopterts valida Dawson sp.
Pecopteris plumosa Artis.
Diplothmema subjurcatus Dawson sp.
Alethopteris lonchitica Schlotheim sp.
Megalopteris dawsont Hartt sp.
Neuropteris heterophylla Brongnt.
Neuropteris gigantea Sternberg
Sporangites acuminata Dawson
Pteriopermostrabus bifurcatus Stopes
Dicranophyllum glabrum Dawson sp.
Whittleseya dawsoniana D. White
Whiuttleseya concinna Matthew
Cordaites rubbit Dawson
Cordatites principalis German sp.
Dadoxylon ouangondianum Dawson
Cordaianthus devonicus Dawson sp.
Cardiocarpon obliquum Dawson
Cardiocarpon batley1 Dawson
Cardiocarpon cornutum Dawson
Cardiocarpon crampu Hartt.
Every species of importance is a typical Carboniferous
one. By David White the plant-bearing Fern Ledges have
been correlated with the Pottsville; by Kidston they have
been correlated with the European Lower Coal Measures.
By White the upper part of the Pottsville is considered
to be very nearly contemporaneous with the Lower Coal
Measures of Europe. But it would appear that the Fern
Ledges represent a somewhat higher zone than that
assigned by White.
If a comparison be made between the Fern Ledges and
Westphalian floras it is at once evident how remarkably
395
Westphalian is the character of the Fern Ledges flora.
““The genus Megalopieris alone, is entirely unrepresented
in the Westphalian of Europe, but it is a peculiar form
which is confined (though recently Arker identified a
small fragment from the British Coal Measures as belonging
to this genus) to North America, where it has been recognized
in beds of undoubtedly Pottsville age. Otherwise the
leading species have not merely allies in the Westphalian
flora of Europe, but are identical in the majority of cases.
We may take it as indisputable that the Fern Ledges
flora is of Westphalian age and that probably it corresponds
in point of time most nearly to the lowest zone of the middle
Westphalian. The specific identity between so many
of the plants from Europe and Canada is a point of great
interest in relation to the geographical distribution of the
forms.’”’
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The general geology of the area in the vicinity of St.
John city, and the faunas of the Cambrian and the flora
of the Little River group have been exhaustively dealt
with by Dr. G. F. Matthew in a long series of articles
appearing in the Proceedings and Transactions of the
Royal Society of Canada from volume I (1882-83) onwards.
A few of the other more important contributions to the
general subject are as follows:—
Bailey, L. W. Geol. Surv. Can., Report of Progress
1877-78.
Dawson, W. J. Acadian Geology.
Ells, R. W. Geol. Surv. Can., Geology and Mineral
Resources of New Brunswick, 1907.
Walcott, C.D. Proceedings Washington Academy of
Sciences, Vol. I, p. 301, 1900.
Miles and
Kilometres
Om.
o km.
135:I m.
217-4 km.
396
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
ST. JOHN TO GRAND FALLS.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
St. John—From St. John city, the Canadian
Pacific railway runs northward for about 15
miles (24 km.) along the western side of the
lower St. John, traversing in this distance a
region underlain almost entirely by Pre-
Cambrian strata. Leaving the St. John valley,
the railroad strikes northwestward across a
broken hilly country occupied by Silurian and
older strata and large batholithic areas of granite.
At a distance of about 20 miles (32 km.) from
the St. John valley, the railway crosses the
southern border of the Carboniferous area
which, terminating not many miles to the west,
extends in a northeasterly direction for more
than 150 miles (240 km.). Crossing the compara-
tively narrow southwestern extension of the
Carboniferous area, the railway enters a second
area of Silurian and older rocks penetrated by
large bodies of granite. This broad belt of
strata extends in a northeasterly direction
across the province. The railway crosses it
in a northerly direction and near its northwestern
boundary descends into the valley of the St.
John river at Woodstock which is situated on
the west bank of the river.
Woodstock—Alt. 136 ft. (41-4 m.). At Wood-
stock and for many miles to the north, the St.
John river is a broad, swift-flowing stream in
places occupying nearly the whole width of
the valley bottom, in other places bordered
on one side by a flat in some cases nearly one
mile (1-6 km.) wide. Everywhere the valley
walls rise steeply and the general level of the
country on both sides has an average altitude
of between 500 and 600 feet, (150 and 180 m.).
On the western side of the river, the country is
plateau-like, while on the eastern side, many
397
isolated hills and ridges attain altitudes of
above 1,000 feet (300 m.).
At Woodstock the country on both sides of
the river is underlain by strata that have been
classed with the Ordovician. The measures
are everywhere tilted at high angles and in
many places are closely folded or contorted.
The strata in places are penetrated by large and
small bodies of granite. Besides slates, sand-
stones and occasional beds of limestone, “‘fel-
sites,’’ diabase, and other fine-grained igneous
rocks occur. In many places the strata are
much metamorphosed and are schistose or
gneissic. These or similar rocks form a wide
zone extending for many miles to the northeast
to the Bay of Chaleur. At one or two localities
fossils possibly of Ordovician age have been found
in the rocks of this assemblage. Ina very few
other places, Silurian and lower Devonian fossils
have been found.
These ‘“‘Ordovician”’ strata are bounded on
the northwest by measures classed with the
Silurian. At Woodstock, the boundary between
the ‘“Ordovician”’ and Silurian lies about 13
miles (2-4 km.) to the west. This boundary,
pursuing a northeasterly course, crosses the
river about 10 miles (16 km.) above Woodstock.
Two miles (3:2 km.) above Woodstock, the
railway crosses the St. John river to the east
bank. Above this point, the Ordovician strata
west of the river are confined to a very narrow
strip. Along the boundary with the Silurian
occur detached areas of coarse red conglomerate
with some finer materials. These measures
in places dip with angles as high as 60°; they
have been considered to be of Lower Carbon-
iferous age.
About 10 miles (16 km.) from Woodstock,
the railway crosses the northeasterly extending
boundary of the ‘‘Ordovician”’ and enters the
Silurian which extends from this point north-
wards for 150 miles (240 km.), almost to the
shores of the St. Lawrence. Over the many
hundreds of square miles of territory that have
’
Miles and
Kilometres.
147°
237°
183:
295°
aAaAN-
ae
184-8 m.
297°4 km.
189-2 m.
304:°5 km.
200-1 m.
322 km.
398
been mapped as underlain by Silurian strata,
fossils have been recovered from only a very
limited number of localities. While perhaps
in the majority of the cases the fossils are of
Silurian age, in other cases they are definitely
known to be of Devonian age. Possibly it
would be more correct to consider the underlying
strata of this very extensive ‘‘Silurian”’ area as
being an assemblage of measures ranging in
age from lower Devonian to Silurian or even
older. The bulk of the strata are grey, calca-
reous slates and slate-like, impure limestones.
In places heavy beds of purer limestone occur
and these in some cases are fossiliferous. Beside
the above mentioned rocks, grey, green and red
slates, grey sandstones and conglomerates also
occur and locally bodies of fine-grained, perhaps
effusive, igneous rocks are present. The strata
are everywhere closely folded.
Hartland Station—Alt. 151 ft. (46 m.).
Perth Station—Alt. 243 ft. (74 m.). At
. Perth, the railway crosses to Andover on the
west side of the St. John. The strata under-
lying the country on both sides of the St. John
river from Hartland to Perth, all belong to the
“Silurian”? and are largely grey, slaty rocks
varying in composition from a slate to an
argillaceous limestone.
Andover Station—Alt. 257 ft. (78-3 m.).
Several miles above Andover, the Tobique
river joins the St. John from the northeast.
Aroostook Junction—Alt. 271 ft. (82-6 m.)
Just beyond Aroostook Junction, the railway
crosses Aroostook river a large tributary from
the west.
Ortonville Station—Alt. 352 ft. (107-3 m.).
About opposite Ortonville station, Salmon
river flowing from the northeast joins the St.
John. The valley of Salmon river is as_deep
and as pronounced as that of the St. John and
has the appearance of being the northeastward
continuation of the St. John valley.
399
Bes end Five miles (8 km.) above Ortonville station,
ometres. . e .
the railway leaves the river side and commences
to ascend the side of the stream valiey.
207-7 m. Grand Falls Station—Alt. 507 ft. (154-5 m.).
344 km.
GRAND FALLS, ST. JOHN RIVER.*
(G. A. YOUNG.)
INTRODUCTION.
The St. John river both above and below Grand Falls,
flows in a broad pronounced valley which in the neighbor-
hood of Grand Falls gradually bends from a general south-
easterly course above to a more nearly due south course
below. Above Grand Falls, the St. John valley is probably
in many places 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km.) wide and for a
distance of about 35 miles (56 km.), the river current is
comparatively feeble and the banks of the river low.
Below Grand Falls, the river valley is narrower, the current
swift and the stream in many places is bordered by steep
banks 50 to 175 feet (15 to 50 m.) high. Both above
and below Grand Falls, the St. John is bordered by river
terraces but these are much more markedly developed
below Grand Falls than above.
At Grand Falls the St. John river abruptly diverges
from its general southerly course and swings easterly through
a semi-circular course having a radius of about 2,000 feet
(600 m.). In this abrupt bend of the river, the waters
pour over a vertical fall of about 60 feet (18-3 m.) and, in
a deep canyon beyond, descend in a series of cascades and
rapids a further vertical distance of about 55 feet (17-7 m.);
the total drop in this part of the river being 115 feet (30 m.).
The abrupt bend in the river, the falls, the deep canyon,
etc., all very obviously indicate that this portion of the
river channel is of comparatively recent age, and the
position of the old channel, now at least partially filled
with bedded sands and gravels, is shewn in the banks of
*See Map, Grand Falls.
400
the river valley where the newer waterway rejoins the
older.
Two geologists, Hind and Chalmers have offered explana-
tions of the main causes whereby the St. John at Grand
Falls was deflected from its original course and forced
to carve out a new channel. Hind [2, pp. 31, 132 and 207-8]
writing in 1865, believed that following the Glacial period,
the whole region was submerged beneath the sea and that
during this interval of submergence the St. John. valley
was partially filled with unconsolidated material. Sub-
sequently as the land rose, the river cut into and removed
this filling material but during this process of re-excavation,
the river at Grand Falls, as it cut its way through the
overburden, departed from the course of the original
channel and as a result eventually carved out a new
channel in solid rock.
Chalmers [1] in various articles, advanced the view
that during the Glacial period the St. John valley was
largely filled in with both stratified and unstratified
material of glacial origin. After the final retreat of the
glacial ice, the unconsolidated material, in places as at
Grand Falls, formed dams that diverted the river from its
old channel and caused it to excavate a new channel
through solid rock.
The general hypothesis favoured by the writer is that
during the Glacial period while the region was manitled
with ice, the St. John valley was also filled with ice and
comparatively little unconsolidated material was there
deposited. Later, perhaps during an inter-glacial period
if such occurred, but more probably during and after the
final retreat of the ice, the river for a variety of causes,
was overburdened with detrital material and as a conse-
quence largely filled in the pre-existing valley. Ata still later
date, the river, no longer overloaded, re-excavated its —
ancient channel except where for perhaps minor causes,
it was diverted and carved out new channels. In the
case of the new channel at Grand Falls, it is thought that
one factor that caused the river to form a new channel,
was the existence of a deeply cut channel in the case of
a minor tributary, Falls brook, coming in from the east.
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(Scale of map is approximate)
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AOI
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
The railway at Grand Falls station and for some distance
northwards, runs on the floor of a river terrace having
an altitude of 507 feet (154-5 m.). A short distance north
of the station, there is on the west side of the railway tracks,
a small cutting in cross-bedded sands and gravels illustrating
the nature of the material in which the terraces have been
carved.
About 200 yards (180 m.) north of the railway station,
a road crosses the railway tracks and runs for some distance
to the southwest up the slopes of the ridge bounding the
St. John valley on the west. In the opposite direction,
to the northeast, the road forms the principal street of
the town of Grand Falls and leads to the bridge crossing
the St. John river below the falls. At this road crossing,
the eroded scarp of the 507-foot terrace floor on which
the railway runs, is plainly visible a short distance to the
west rising to a second terrace floor having an elevation
of about 530 feet (161-5 m.). Beyond this another scarp
is visible rising to a terrace floor having an elevation of
about 560 feet (170-7 m.). Still farther up the slope of
the hill which rises to an altitude of about 690 feet (210 m.),
other, more faintly marked, bench-like steps occur. Be-
sides the main terrace scarps, other much more faintly
marked intermediate ones occur. These terraces were
presumably formed when, after the main valley had been
filled in to a height of about 600 feet (180 m.) by stratified
sands and gravels, the St. John river commenced to re-
excavate its valley, and they mark successively lower stages
of the probably rapidly falling river level.
The 507-foot terrace floor and the scarp rising from it
form the most strongly developed terrace in the neighbor-
hood. This terrace is present on both sides of the St.
John valley and extends up the valleys of the several tribu-
taries. It also occurs in the centre of the valley surround-
ing the rising ground on which the town of Grand Falls
is built. At the time when the river flowed over the 507-
foot terrace floor it occupied two channels separated by
an island now the site of the town of Grand Falls; the
eastern channel eventually developed into the present
channel of the river, while the western channel which
35063—13A
402
followed the course of the pre-Glacial river bed was aban-
doned shortly after the waters fell below the 507-foot
level.
The original, pre-Glacial channel passes just east of
the railway and its course is now marked by a depression
crossed by a bridge at the western continuation of the
main street of Grand Falls. At the bridge crossing, the
elevation of the bottom of the depression is about 495 feet
(150-8 m.). To the south, the bottom of the depression is
nearly level, perhaps even falls a little in that direction,
but farther south the bottom of the depression distinctly
rises. In the opposite direction, to the north, a small
stream enters the depression and flows northward with
a constantly increasing gradient. This depression was
perhaps outlined by the former western channel of the
St. John river just before the final abandonment of this
western passage. The bottom of the depression, however,
rises to the south that is, downstream. This slight rise
in the bed in the direction of the flow of the water may
possibly only represent slight inequalities in the former
river bed. The shape of the depression, on the other
hand, has been obviously modified by streams tributary
to the main river and perhaps it is to the action of such
streams that the depression is largely or even wholly due.
Across the depression, to the east on the main street of
Grand Falls, a slight rise leads to a terrace floor of the same
elevation (507 feet or 154-5 m.) as that on which the railway
runs. Farther on, the street rises to a higher terrace
floor; beyond this the road descends to the 507-foot
terrace floor whose scarp is plainly visible to the south of
the road. Still farther to the east, approaching the canyon
of the St. John, the road crosses other, lower terraces.
From the bridge over the St. John a splendid view is
obtained of the falls at the head of the rock-walled gorge.
The water enters the gorge by a vertical drop of about 60
feet (18-3 m.) and below this descends between vertical
walls in a continuous series of cascades and rapids that
continue down stream for a distance of 1,000 yards (900 m.),
beyond which quiet water is reached. Looking westward
up the river, a stream of considerable magnitude—Little
river—may be seen joining the St. John just above the
brink of the Falls. From the eastern end of the bridge a
view may be obtained of the sharp bend of the St. John
river where it leaves the course of the original channel.
403
Little river, the tributary entering the main river
just above the falls, flows over a rock floor just before it
joins the St. John and therefore, it is presumed, has also
abandoned its pre-Glacial channel. This large affluent
may have given rise to one of the causes whereby the St.
John was led to abandon the western channel, since it is
conceivable that by joining the St. John at this place,
the erosive power of the eastern branch was increased over
that of the western branch.
The first branch road running south, west of the bridge,
joins a pathway leading to the edge of the gorge of the St.
John opposite the mouth of Falls brook. This road and
path pass over a terrace floor having an elevation of
about 495 feet (150-9 m.). This terrace level is in places
at least, rock-floored. Where the pathway approaches the
edge of the gorge, it descends to a lower terrace floor
having an elevation of about 450 feet (140 m.).
At the edge of the gorge, the rock walls rise almost
vertical for 160 feet (49 m.). Upstream the nearly perpen-
dicular walls are higher. Looking up the St. John from this
view point, the river may be seen descending over a con-
tinuous series of cascades and rapids which abruptly cease
at this place and give way to comparatively quiet waters
which continue down the curving gorge to where it joins
the broad stream channel of the original course of the St.
John. Where this marked change in the character of the
river bottom commences, there is also a change in the
character of the slopes bounding the gorge. Above, the
walls are nearly vertical but below, they are much less
steep and in a general way are patterned like the bounding
slopes of Falls brook which enters directly opposite the
view point.
Falls brook at its mouth empties over a rock lip about 30
feet (9 m.) high, into the comparatively quiet waters of the
St. John. Inland the bed of the brook rises about 250 feet
(75 m.) in the first mile. Towards the mouth of the brook,
the gradient of the stream is much less than the above
average rate and when plotted in profile suggests that if
Falls brook flowed with its normal gradient down the lower
portion of the gorge now occupied by the St. John, it would
enter the main valley of the St. John at grade. This
suggestive line of evidence, together with others such as the
hanging relation of Falls brook, the existence of quiet
water in the lower part of the gorge of the St. John as far
404
up as the mouth of Falls Brook and the presence of a long
series of rapids and cascades above it, and the change in the
character of the valley walls at the mouth of Falls brook,
indicates that the lower part of the gorge of the St. John
was once part of the valley of Falls brook and that this
portion of the valley is of pre-Glacial age. The existence
of this valley appears to have been one of the factors that
caused the St. John to carve out its new valley. In doing
this the St. John lowered the original gradient of the lower
part of Falls brook so that the valley of this brook is now a
hanging valley. Where the St. John entered the valley of
Falls brook, a fall was established which has since receded
to its present position, 2,800 feet (850 m.) upstream.
Eventually these falls may retreat as far as the pre-Glacial
site of the river above the falls. If this should occur, the
St. John would speedily re-excavate the upper portion of its
course.
The exit of the gorge of the St. John may be seen from
the top of the steep banks overlooking the river about 200
yards (180 m.) east of the railway station. This view
point is situated close to the western slope of the old valley
of the St. John for a succession of rock ledges outcrop
along the western shore and bounding slopes that stretch
in a straight line to the south. To the east, distant about
600 yards (550 m.), the rock-walled mouth of the gorge of
the St. John is visible where it enters at right angles into
the older course of the St. John still occupied by the river.
Between the rock cliffs at the mouth of the gorge on the
east and the steep slopes on the western side, there runs a
curving escarpment convex towards the north whose
crest lies about 200 feet (60 m.) above the waters of the St.
John. This escarpment has been formed in the unconsoli-
dated material filling the abandoned portion of the river
channel. The upper part of this escarpment is cliff-like
and is there seen to be composed of bedded sands and
gravels. The lower, greater part of the escarpment is
mantled by talus and the nature of the material occupying
the lower part of the old valley cannot be directly deter-
mined. It is assumed that it is of the same character as
that filling the upper portion. That the thickness of this
material is no greater than the height from the level of the
St. John waters to the top of the escarpment, is indicated
by the outcrops of rock occurring at the foot of the talus
slope along the side of the river. These rock outcrops are
405
evidently a portion of the rock floor of the abandoned
pre-Glacial channel.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. Chalmers, R. Geol. Surv. Can., Report of* Progress
for 1882-83-84, part GG., pp. 12-13,
85-3 Loom:
Geol. Surv. Can., Annual Report, Vol.
Ie RartsG-Ge pps 36-30) loco:
Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report for
1894, p. 82, 1895.
Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report for
1899, p. 149, 1900.
Geol. Surv. Can., Summary Report for
1900, pp. 152-53, I9OI.
2. Hind, H. Y.. Preliminary Report on the Geology of
Miles and
Kilometres.
Om.
oO km.
New Brunswick pp. 31, 132, 207-8,
Fredericton, 1865.
ANNOTATED GUIDE.
GRAND FALLS TO RIVIERE DU LOUP.
(G. A. YOUNG.)
Grand Falls—Alt. 507 ft. (154-5 m.). About
I mile (1-6 km.) above Grand Falls the Canadian
Pacific railway crosses the river to the eastern
side along which it runs to Edmundston. The
country bordering the St. John is hilly though
few of the hills are of any considerable elevation.
Approaching Edmundston the country begins
to be rugged. Very few rock exposures occur
along the river and these in most cases are dark
slates. At one locality a few fossils have been
found of about Niagara age, but the strata in
general have been considered to be late Silurian
or early Devonian.
Edmundston—Alt. 468 ft. (142:6m.). From
Edmundston, the Temiscouata railway runs
northwestward up the valley of Madawaska
Miles and
Kilometres.
68-1 m.
109:6 km.
76-3 m.
122-8 km.
406
river, one of the larger tributaries of the St.
John. The valley of the Madawaska is flat-
bottomed and rock exposures are rare. Such
outcrops as occur are of dark slate of Silurian
age.
Ste. Rose Station—Alt. 504 ft. (153-6 m.).
About 13 miles (2-4 km.) beyond Ste. Rose
station, the railway approaches the foot of
Temiscouata lake, out of which the Madawaska
river flows. The railway for a number of miles
closely follows the southwestern shore of the lake.
Temiscouata lake is about 24 miles (38-6 km.)
long and varies between I and 2 miles (1-6 and
3-2 km.) in width.
The strata along the shores of the southern
part of the lake consist of tightly folded and
contorted dark grey slates and argillaceous
limestones with occasional beds of sandstone.
These measures are of Silurian age and are ex-
posed in a number of cuttings along the rail-
road.
Notre Dame du Lac Station—Alt. 517 ft.
(157.6 m.). The folded crumpled dark slates
occur in a number of cuttings along the railway
for about 3 miles (4-8 km.) beyond Notre Dame
du Lac station. Beyond this for a distance of
several miles occurs a thick series of strata in
places containing fossils of Niagara or perhaps
Clinton age. The series in part consists of slates
and sandstones, in part of fine-grained tuffs and
volcanic conglomerates. The volcanic strata
consist of slightly waterworn fragments of
andesite, devitrified glass, etc. The same strata
are repeated on the northeastern shore of the
lake.
Cabano Station—Alt. 500 ft. (152-4 m.).
On the northeast shore, opposite Cabano,
Mount Wissick rises 550 feet (167-6 m.) above
the lake, to an altitude of 1,035 feet (315 m.).
Mt. Wissick is formed of Silurian strata dipping
to the southeast at angles of 15° to 70°, and
these measures there yield a section of above
1,950 feet (595 m.) of strata which in places are
richly fossiliferous and have been described as
M les and
Kilometres.
396-9 m.
638-7 k.m.
iy 1 1s
825-7 k.m.
407
being of uppermost Silurian or lowermost
Devonian age. These measures along the
northern base of Mount Wissick repose on strata
of the Quebec group over which it seems likely
they have been thrust.
A short distance beyond Cabano, the railway
swings away from the lake and following a
westerly direction crosses the boundary of the
Silurian area about 2 miles (3-2 km.) west of
Cabano. From this point the railway crosses
the zone of the Quebec group strata that borders
the lower St. Lawrence, and which at this point
has a width of about 30 miles (48 km.). These
measures are usually vertical or steeply inclined
to the south suggesting that the strata for the
greater part occur in a series of overturned anti-
clines. The beds occur in alternating bands of
grey sandstones and grit, and grey, green and red
slates. These measures have been classed with
the Sillery and considered to be of Cambrian age.
Possibly, however, other strata are present.
The strata are exposed in numerous cuttings
along the railway.
Westward from Cabano, the railway ascends
through a country occupied by long low ridges
and hills and 19-3 miles (31 km.) from Cabano
station crosses a summit level having an alti-
tude of 1,324 feet (403-5 m.). Beyond this,
the railway gradually descends through a less
broken country to the lower levels bordering
the St. Lawrence.
Riviere du Loup—Alt. 316 ft. (96-3 km.).
. Riviére du Loup is the junction point of the
Temiscouata railway and the _ Intercolonial
railway.
Lévis—For description of route from Riviére
.du Loup to Lévis via the Intercolonial Railway,
see pages 52-56.
Montreal—For description of route from
Lévis to Montreal via the Intercolonial Railway,
see pages 24 and 25.
Ottawa—
Geological Survey, Canada
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Kilometres
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Lower Devonian
Stonehouse
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Foss Brook
Beechhil! Cove
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Diabase
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TERTIARY
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PRE-CAMBRIAN
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grees Arparhment of Mines
* GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Hon.L.CoperrRe, Minister. A.P. Low, Deputy MINISTER
R.W.Brock,Director.
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1277
C-:0.Senécal, Geographer and. Chief Draughtsmar
MAP 914 Geographical base trom engraved plates
(Issued 1913) of the Department of the Interior.
Geology of Newfoundland from official,
map of the colony.
Geological Map Geology compiled by G.A Young
of the
DOMINION OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND
1
Scale, 6336000
a “vines
o 100 200 300
Sez
Kilometres
“ererereret — G2 He
100 MILES TO |! INCH
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