88 GLACIAL AXD SUEFACE GEOLOGY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 



rano-es north of Vancouvei' Island were so situated, Avith reference to the 

 prevaiHng winds, as to condense by far the larger portion of the moisture 

 swept inland from over the ocean surface, — a condition of things perfectly in 

 accordance with what is now taking place along the Pacific Coast flirther 

 south, as an inspection of the Smithsonian rain-charts well illustrates. How 

 extensive the glaciers were in these comparatively high latitudes, on a lofty 

 range rising almost directly from the sea to a height of six or eight thousand 

 feet, can only be told by actual observation ; that they were of such gigantic 

 dimensions as to unite in one main stream of ice filling the Straits of Georgia, 

 moving southward and impinging against the base of the Olympian Range, 

 as maintained by Mr. Dawson, does not seem to have been j)roved, as has 

 been set forth in the preceding pages. 



The investigations of Mr. James Richardson, of the Canada Geological 

 Surve\', who had an opportunity of examining many of the inlets north of 

 Vancouver Island, seem to have been carefully and conscientiously made. 

 His observations all go to prove the former existence of large glaciers in the 

 range along the portions of the coast seen by him on a trijj from Douglas 

 Channel to ^yrangel in Alaska. His remarks on this subject are instruc- 

 tive, although brief, and may be here quoted in full.* " Throughout the 

 whole of the inlet and channels which were examined, wherever the surface 

 of the rock is exposed, the ice-grooving and scratching is very conspicuous, 

 from mere scratches to channels often several feet in width, and from a few 

 inches to as much as two and three feet deep. Often they can be distinctly 

 seen with the naked eye from the surface of the water to upwards of 3,000 

 feet above it on the sides of the mountains. They run in more or less 

 parallel lines, and are not always horizontal, but deviate slightly up or down. 

 Sometimes the rocky surface resembles that of a field covered with narrow 

 ridges. Where two valleys meet, the upward deviation is always well marked 

 on the side of the smaller valley. A good example of this occurs at the 

 junction of the Kamino Valley with that of Gardner Channel, where on 

 the west side the hard gneissose rocks are scooped out in wide deep 

 grooves, occasionally undercut on the upper side, and rising from the level 

 of the water at angles of from eight to fifteen degrees. It would be 

 useless to enter into any great detail as to the direction of the grooves. 

 Generally, it conforms wilh that of ihc vallcijs,^ and the movement of the ice has 



* Geological Siirvej' of Canada. Report of Progress for 1874 - 75, p. 81. 

 t Italicizc-J by the present writer. 



