THE GEOLOGY OF THE COAST OF THE STATIC OF 

 ALAGOAS, BRAZIL. 



PART I. 



By J. C. Branner. 



Introductory. — The following brief sketch of the geology of the coast of 

 the state of Alagoas, Brazil, is given here, partly in order to make clear 

 the stratigraphic relations of the beds from which the fossil fishes de- 

 scribed by Dr. Jordan in the second part of the paper come, and partly 

 because the discover^' of the fossiliferous beds in which these fishes were 

 found has thrown much light on the geology of the state of Alagoas and 

 of the eastern coast of Brazil. The fossil fishes were obtained from a 



Fig. I. Looking northward on the sea-coast three kilometers north of Jequia 

 da Praia, showing the coast sediments forming the bluffs. (Crandall phot.) 



series of bituminous shales at the village of Riacho Doce on the coast. 

 These shales form part of the coastal belt of sedimentary rocks exposed 

 along the entire sea-coast of that state. The accompanying map (Plate 

 II) shows the general geology of Alagoas so far as it is now known; the 

 belt referred to is the narrow one lying next to the ocean. From this 



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