65 V>'.J'^4Uf; 



THE GREAT ICE AGE AND SUBSEQUENT FORM 



AT OTTAWA, ONTARIO. 



By H. M. Ami, M.A., F.G.S. 



Among the most intei'esting and captivating subjects ^vLich attract 

 the attention of even a casual observer in the i-ealras of geological 

 science, few are so full of interest and afford so much informa- 

 tion as I'esearches amongst the most recently deposited strata. Besides 

 this interest, there is carried with it the fact of its pi'actical impor- 

 tance, so that the economic aspects of the question liave likewise to be 

 taken into consideisation. 



There are numerous questions which press themselves one upon 

 the other in examining the mai-ls, sands, gravels, clays, boulders and 

 kindred materials which constitute the Post-Tertiary deposits of a 

 district. The following are some of the move important questions 

 which we will attempt to consider with regard to our own locality: 



At what period in the Earth's History did the Glacial Epoch or 

 the Great Ice Age make its appearance 1 



What were the causes which led to it, what phenomena 

 characterized it, what was its duration and what traces did it leave 

 behind'? And again, specially, to what extent was this continent 

 submerged, for how long, and what traces of animal life has that period 

 left behind it ; and, further, are there unquestionable proofs of a period 

 of subsidence followed by another of elevation carrying us on to the 

 present day, during which time numerous and varied lacustrine or 

 alluvial deposits were ltid down, and in the lapse of which man made 

 his appearance. 



Then, in which of the newer deposits are traces of the existence of 

 certain tiibes of the American Indians to be found? What aie these 

 traces 1 To what extent do they assist in forming an estimate of the 

 degree of civilization to which these aborigines attained 1 What 

 customs and njodes of liferare exemplified by the implements of various 

 kinds found in what has been very appi'opriately termed the Human 

 Period 1 At what time and for how long did these inhabitants occupy 

 the land before the intrusion of the whites, and what was their history ] 



