48 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. VI. 



tion is less evident, the high bluffs of the Northern Head (300 to 

 350 feet) consisting for the most part of columnar trap ; but West- 

 ward of this Head the beddins: is a<?ain seen alons; the shore from 

 Long Eddy Point to Dark Harbor. In this last named indenta- 

 tion may be seen another fine display of the columnar structure, 

 its northern side being almost entirely built up of well-marked 

 prismatic blocks, from a few inches to a foot or more in diameter, 

 at some points nearly vertical but at others standing out like 

 needles at various inclinations and sometimes (though rarely) 

 horizontal. From Dark Harbor to the Southern head of the 

 island its Western shore has not been examined by me, but is 

 described by Prof. Verrill as consisting of cliffs of trap. (From 

 200 to 300 feet. Admiralty survey). 



The Eastern side of the great trappean plateau, though less 

 regular and abrupt than that last described, is nevertheless well 

 defined throughout the entire length of the island. From the 

 Southern Head to Benson's Cove it fronts the shore, but just East 

 of the latter, near the promontory of Red Head, it is met by the 

 older stratified rocks, which thence form the remainder of the 

 Eastern shore, the line of separation between the two describing 

 a broad curve from Benson's Cove, just in rear of the settlements, 

 to Whale Cove. The greatest breadth of the trappean mass is 

 about the centre of the island, being between four and five miles. 



The older rocks of Grand Manan present considerable diversity, 

 and may belong to more than one series. They are everywhere 

 highly disturbed, being thrown into innumerable folds and fre- 

 quently broken by faults, which render the determination of their 

 true succession somewhat difficult. My stay upon the island was 

 not sufficiently long to enable me to ascertain this order satisfac- 

 torily, and I have accordingly, in the following observations, de- 

 scribed their features nearly in the order in which they were 

 examined. 



Between Whale Cove and Flag's Cove, near the Northern ex- 

 tremity of the island, is a large peninsula, terminating in the 

 promontories of Fish Head and the Swallow Tail. This penin- 

 sula (which is considerably more elevated than any other portion 

 of the eastern metamorphic belt) exhibits, as seen in the shore 

 bluffs between the two headlands last named, features not else- 

 where met with in the region under consideration. Towards the 

 promontory of Fish Head these bluffs are composed of hard and 

 very homogeneous compact rocks, of crystalline texture, in some 



