Geological Notes, Tasmania. 123 



Overlying the " pug " is a series of clay, sand, and gravel beds. 

 Two typical sections may be seen on the track to the Queen 

 River, within a short distance from the Iron Blow, The first of 

 these consists of soft irregularly-stratified clay, with bands of 

 grit and larger stones here and there. These rest upon schist, 

 which is much broken and decomposed. It is covered by 

 angular hill-wash. The second, a little further on, shows an 

 unstratified clay containing numerous rounded, angular and sub- 

 angular stones irregularly scattered through the matrix. The 

 stones range from small pebbles up to boulders a foot in diameter. 

 Irregular bands of sti'atitied material, stained with iron, occur 

 here and there. The included stones consist of quartz, quartzites, 

 and hard sandstones, evidently obtained from the adjoining hills. 

 8ome of the stones are well striated. On the track between the 

 boarding-house and the Iron Blow occur patches of a dark, 

 tenacious clay, from which well-marked striated stones were 

 procured. 



Mr. T. B. Moore, in a recent paper recording the discovery of 

 scored stones from this locality, states that the Linda Valley is 

 covered with a layer of morainal matter. He is also of opinion 

 that " the deep ground hydraulically sluiced " for gold in the 

 upper part of the Linda Valley " is nothing but a huge mass of 

 morainal matter." 



Although striated stones undoubtedly occur in the Linda 

 Valley, we must be careful not to ascribe too much to the action 

 of ice, for it must be borne in mind that landslips and other 

 gravitational results may produce, to a greater or less extent, 

 many of the efiects noticed in a glaciated area. Further research 

 may bring to light other evidence of glacial action in the shape 

 of roches moutonnc-es., erratics, ifec. ; and in the absence of such 

 evidence we hestitate in coming to any definite conclusion as to 

 the origin of the striations observed. 



The head of the valley, which we should have expected to be 

 somewhat bare and denuded of surface material, had it been 

 occupied by a glacier, within Pleistocene times at least, is filled 

 to a great extent by the pug, clays, gravels, tkc, already referred 

 to, besides a great accumulation of angular debris, which has 

 gravitated from the adjoining heights. We are inclined to think 

 that much of the morainal matter referred to by Mr. Moore is 



j2 



