No. 2.] WILKINS — SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS. 85 



merit the gravel ridge is met with which is the watershed divid- 

 ing streams flowing into Lake Ontario on the north from those 

 flowing southwest to the Grand River. This watershed rises in 

 Binbrook Township, Wentworth County, not far from the Grand 

 River and trends N. W. to Copetown, Ancaster Town ship, through. 

 Binbrook, Glanford and Ancaster Townships. It then sweeps 

 round the head of the valley and trends north-east. It contains 

 great numbers of boulders of Hudson River or Cincinnati 

 age of the lithological character given on page 212 of the 

 Geology of Canada, 1863 ; at the same time it holds few, if any. 

 Medina Clinton or Niagara remains, and is stratified. 



The valley at Hamilton, Ont., is occupied by Medina red 

 shales and sandstones. The iron in upper layers has been 

 deoxydised by organic matter prior to the deposition of the 

 stratified sand thereon, and the blue calcareous clay is evidently 

 wanting. This is seen abundantly at different localities along 

 the edge of the marsh near the Toronto branch of the Great 

 Western Railroad, immediately east of the eastern city limits 

 on the main line of the G. W. R. R., and towards Dundas west of 

 the city. The Medina shale, is otherwise unchanged in appearance, 

 showing that the change is due to organic matter only. The 

 beautiful valley now occupied by Burlington Bay is, as Mr. J. 

 W. Spencer, Bac. App. Sc. has shown, protected' by two sand- 

 spits in which beach structure and wind drift structure are 

 plainly seen. These are rudely parallel, the western one being 

 called Burlington Heights and reaching a hundred and fifty feet 

 in height, marking of course an ancient lake-level. A still more 

 ancient margin can be observed, and is very distinctly seen at 

 Dundas. West of Dundas to Copetown, the valley is occupied 

 with hummocks of sand and clay, the latter underlying the 

 former. A ridge of gravel leaves Burlington Bay on the north 

 shore and trends north-eastward crossing the Toronto branch, 

 of the G. W. R. R. half-a mile east of Waterdown Station. 

 Near the G. W. R. R. bridge on the west bank of the Twelve 

 mile Creek, near Bronte Station may be seen a bed of gravel 

 occupying a hollow in the Medina sandstone. 



The valley of Burlington Bay at Hamilton was formed as 

 •hown by Mr. Spencer by the erosion of several streams, though 

 the primary form of the valley is doubtless due to the fact that 

 the strata of the Niagara group fold over an anticlinal, and that 

 hence the valley would occupy the crown of the arch, cceteris 



