506 



APPENDIX. 



[No. I. 





' 



new red sandstone. It may in general be characterized as compact, splinty, 

 yellowish-grey limestone. It appears to contain a considerable portion of clay, as 

 mostof the varieties adhere to the tongue when newly broken. Perhaps the whole 

 bed owes its origin to shells cemented together by argillaceous matter. Many 

 portions of it are almost entirely composed of bivalve shells ; and even the 

 most compact kinds, when long exposed to the weather or to the action of fire, 

 shew traces of shells. It yields readily to the action of the weather, and burns 

 into a very white lime, but requires to be long exposed to the heat. 



Its strata are in general horizontal ; and where large beds of it are exposed, 

 it is traversed by fissures crossing each other at right angles. When washed 

 by the rivers, too, it tumbles down in large cubical fragments, which soon se- 

 parate in the direction of the strata into thin layers. This is well exhibited 

 at the Grand Rapid near the mouth of the Saskatchawan, where there is a fine 



section of it. 



It may be proper here to take a general view of the extent of this forma- 

 tion ; and in so doing, to make a few general remarks upon the districts in 

 which we observed it, or through which we suspect it to extend. We obtained 

 specimens exactly similar to those in Lake Winipeg from Manito-baw Lake, 

 and were informed that it abounds much farther to the southward. In our 

 journey up the Saskatchawan, we traced it to the Neepewan, a distance of 

 three hundred miles, where it is succeeded or covered by calcareous clayey 

 cliffs, similar to those which preceded it on our route. 



From this place to the foot of the Rocky 3 fountains, the river flows through 

 a plain of fine sand. Its bed is about two hundred feet below the plain, and 

 it presents almost every where a regular gradation of three distinct banks, 

 shewing the height of the water at former periods. The channel of the river 

 is continually shifting, encroaching on the steep bank on one side, and form- 

 ing with its alluvia low flat points on the opposite shore. 



Between the Neepewan and Carlton, the plains are interspersed with clumps 

 of wood ; but above the latter place the dry sandy soil produces only a short 

 grass, which supports numerous herds of buffalo. The newer depositions be- 

 neath the high bank contain more vegetable matter, and are covered with wil- 

 lows, and occasionally with aspen trees. These plains are said to extend to the 

 Missouri, and to be interrupted by few hills. Two only of moderate height, 

 and even outline, were observed in the neighbourhood of Carlton, the limit of 



