446 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. ix. 



older beds of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Within the Coast 

 Range the Cretaceous rocks are probably for the most part equiva- 

 lent in age to the Upper Neecomian. The Cretaceous rocks are 

 of great thickness, both on the coast and inland, and include 

 extensive contemporaneous volcanic beds. 



The Pre- Cretaceous beds have been much disturbed and alte- 

 red before the deposition of the Cretaceous, and their investiga- 

 tion is difficult. On Vancouver Island, beds probably Carboni- 

 ferous in age include great masses of contemporaneous volcanic 

 material, with limestones, and become altered to highly crystal- 

 line rocks resembling those of parts of the Huronian of Eastern 

 Canada. In the Queen Charlotte Islands these beds also probably 

 occur, but an extensive calcareous argillite formation is there 

 found, which is characterised by its fossils as Triassic. 



The Coast Hange is supposed to be built up chiefly of rocks 

 like those of Vancouver Island, but still more highly altered, and 

 appearing as gneisses, mica-schists, &c., while a persistent argilla- 

 ceous and slaty zone is supposed to represent the Triassic argillites 

 of the Queen Charlotte Islands. 



The older rocks of the interior plateau are largely com- 

 posed of quartzites and limestones ; but still hold much contempo- 

 raneous volcanic matter, together with serpentine. Carboniferous 

 fossils have been found in the limestones in a number of places. 

 The Triassic is also represented in some places by great contempo- 

 raneous volcanic deposits with limestones. 



In the Gold Range, the conditions found in the Coast Range 

 are supposed to be repeated; but it is probable that there are here 

 also extensive areas of Archaean rocks. Some small areas of an- 

 cient crystalline rocks supposed to be of this age have already 

 been discovered. 



The Rocky Mountain Range consists of limestones with quart- 

 zites and shaly beds, dolomites and red sandstones. The latter 

 have been observed near the 49th parallel, and are supposed to 

 be Triassic in age. The limestones are, for the most part, Carboni- 

 ferous and Devonian, and no fossils have yet been discovered in- 

 dicating a greater age than the last-named period. On the 49th 

 parallel, however, the series is supposed to extend down to the 

 Cambrian, and compares closely with the sections of the region 

 east of the Wahsatch, on the 40th parallel, given by Clarence 

 King. Volcanic material is still present in the Carboniferous rocks 

 on the 49th parallel. 



