same interests and at the same time acquaints him with what they 

 are doing in their fields. The articles which the Bulletin prefers 

 are those which will be of interest to a serious student of Geology 

 and at the same time are so written that an educated layman without 

 specialized training in geology may read them with profit. 



The geological section of the Bulletin may be of service to the 

 person who has no especial interest in geology, but who has an in- 

 terest in outdoor life and natural scenery. A lover of our hills and 

 valleys, our lakes and streams, would have his enjoyment in them 

 increased if he could read the story they tell of their past history. 

 The level top of a hill blue against the se'tting sun may tell the story 

 of an old plain once at sea-level now lifted by some mountain build- 

 ing movement of the past. A lake mirroring the forest in its cool 

 depths is there because a glacier halted its northward retreat long 

 enough to build a morainic dam across the valley. Wherever one 

 turns, the landscape bears traces of its past history. The interpre- 

 tation of scenery in terms of geology is a field in' which very little 

 has been done, and the interpretation of the scenery of our State 

 in terms of its past history is one way in which the' Bulletin can 

 be of aid to the lover of nature. 



Maine, like the rest of the New England states, has many unsolved 

 geological problems. In the solution of these problems, the Geolo- 

 gists of Maine may contribute to the advancement of this science. 

 Very little is known concerning the history of the various formations 

 making up the bed rock underlying the surface gravels. Some sec- 

 tions near the coast have been mapped in detail. Over most of the 

 State the age and relations of the rocks are known only in the broad- 

 est sense. The fossils, which are the geologists' time markers, have, 

 over large areas, been destroyed by metamorphism. One way in 

 which members of the Academy may contribute to our knowledge 

 of the geology of the State is by reporting new fossil localities. In 

 addition to the lack of fossils, the geologist interested in the struc- 

 ture of the bed rock is hampered by the fact that the glacial gravels 

 cover most of the State and efifectively hide the bed rock. The 

 gravels themselves furnish many problems. In what manner were 

 they formed? Were they formed by the glacier itself, by floods of 

 ice-water, or by the waves of the sea during a submergence of the 

 land? We have gravels of all three types in Maine. 



There is also the problem of the number of ice sheets concerned in 

 the formation of our gravels. In the interior of the continent six 

 invasions of the glacier are recognized. Some geologists find traces 

 of four on Long Island. So far we have evidence of but one ice 

 sheet in Maine. Was this the only one, or was it the last of several, 

 removing all traces of its predecessors in its advance? Some day 

 we may find remains of old gravels that will tell the story of glaciers 

 older than the one forming the bulk of our deposits. 



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