OF THE SKRGll'E-ALAGOAS BASIN OF BRAZIL. 405 



side of the cape is not known, and it lias been assumed tluit tiiey do not, altliougii 

 there is nothing in the topography of the region to make such connection between the 

 Sergipe-Aiagoas beds and the Pernambuco beds impossible. 



■ At Olinda the cretaceous rocks are exposed in the southern face of the hill upon 

 which the church stands. The rocks are soft, earthy, somewhat calcareous, fossilifer- 

 ous sandstones. This and an exposure of white limestone a short distance west of it, 

 and known as the Forno de Cal, are the only exposures of cretaceous rocks now 

 known in the immediate vicinity of the city of Recife, the next one to the north being 

 in the vicinity of Kio Maria Farinha. 



The region, rocks, and fossils of the Maria Farinha beds have been described 

 by Kathbun in his paper upon the cretaceous lamellibranchs,* and by Derby in Dr. 

 White's contributions,! and only such of their characters as may be useful for future 

 comparison with the other cretaceous localities of the coast need be mentioned here. 

 Lithologically the beds vary from cream-colored and white pure limestones to earthy 

 sandstones, all of which dip at a very low angle to the east. They are undisturbed, 

 and none of the beds are oolitic in character. It is to be remarked that, of the several 

 fossils of Jurassic aspect in the Brazilian collection described by Dr. AVhite, none 

 have been found at the various Maria Farinha localities. It is also noticeable that 

 all of the genera in this collection suggestive of the tertiary age are represented in 

 the Maria Farinha locality, but none of them have been found at the Sergipe-Aiagoas 

 localities. These facts seem to suggest, at least, that the Pernambuco beds are not 

 so old as those of the Sergipe-Aiagoas region from which the collections were made. 



It is the opinion of the writer, though it is expressed with that hesitation which 

 should come from a lack of sufficient facts to suppoi-t it pioperly, that the INIaiia 

 Farinha and Olinda beds belong to the same horizon as those exposed three miles 

 south-east of Pencdo at Villa Nova, and that the latter overlie all the cretaceous beds 

 from which the collections were made in the province of Sergipe. 



The extent of the Pernambuco deposits has not been determined, even approxi- 

 HKilely, and it is not known, perhaps cannot be from surface exi)osure« alone, whether 

 the Olinda beds are, or ever were, connected with those of Maria Farinha, and whether 

 the latter are continued by those found at Iguarassu and Goyanna, or whether those 

 at Parahyba are also a continuation of the Pernambuco beds. 



The coast between Olinda and Maria Farinha is low, and there arc no lock ex- 

 posures along it to aid one in connecting the two localities. From near Maria Farinha 



• Preliminary Report on llic Cretaceous r.amellibrnnclis collected in llie vicinity of Pornainhiico, Hrn/.il. Hy Kidi- 

 ard Kathbun. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XVII. 1874, pp. 311-256. 

 t Contributions to the Paleontology of Brazil. By V. A. Wliitc. 



