PART OF THE PEOVIISrCB OF QUEBEC. IIS 



of the Magdalen River, where they are exposed for about four miles. Throughout this 

 whole distance, where coutacts are observed, they dip beueath the Sillery. The character 

 of the bods composiug this part of the shore section varies at different points. Thus for 

 about twelve miles west of Marin Brook the rocks are mostly bituminous or graphitic 

 black limestones and shale-^, frequently dolomitie, such portions weathering a character- 

 istic rusty brown. In places surfaces are covered with impressions of graptolites, lists of 

 which have been published in the reports referred to, and show that these rocks are 

 of the same age as those of the city of Quebec and the northwest end of the Island of 

 Orleans. One mile and a half west of Little Fox River beds of grey sandstones, separated 

 by bands of black and grey shale, come in. The surface of the sandstones is frequently 

 broken by peculiar knobbed markings, and impressions of brachiopod shells and grapto- 

 lites are seen. These probably are newer beds than the black limestone first described. 

 They, however, dip at certain points beneath the black beds, showing that the structure 

 of the whole series here is probably an overturned one. And this is apparently the case 

 with the greater part of the entire St. Lawrence River section. 



The grey beds predominate to the Magdalen River, above which the black series 

 again occupy the shore for some miles to Gros Mâle Point, where also graptolites like those 

 of Griiïin Cove are abundant. The strata are much folded along this x^art of the coast, 

 and occasionally the knobbed surfaced sandstones come into view. These latter again 

 predominate for the remainder of the section, nearly to the mouth of the Marsouin River, 

 at which place black graphitic shale contains the usual forms of graptolites of the series as 

 found at Orleans Island and elsewhere. For the last half mile above Marsouin the black 

 beds occupy the beach and the red and green Sillery the cliff overlying. 



A peculiar band of rock, noted both at Griffin Cove and at Marsouin River, and 

 important inasmuch as its presence aids to determine this formation at many other 

 points, occurs frequently near the contact with the Sillery formation. This is a belt of 

 hard black cherty slates, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, and among other points 

 where these can be observed are Gaguon's Beach, Crane Island, the Etchemin River and 

 the beach above St. Nicholas, in which latter place graptolites of the black limestone 

 series are found in the cherty beds, showing them to be a part of the newer series. 



Between Gros Mâle and the Marsouin, the cliffs along the shore are frequently of great 

 height, reaching in some places j)robably not far from 1000 feet. In the face of these the 

 strata are seen to be twisted and folded in the most marvellous manner, great overturniugs 

 and abrupt curves being visible, which at times extend from the beach nearly to the sum- 

 mit and furnish evidence of the tremendous forces to which these sediments have been 

 subjected. 



From the contact at the Marsoirin River to Ste. Anne des Monts point, which is three 

 miles west of the river of that name, the coast is occupied by strata of the Sillery form- 

 ation. These are for the most part red, green and black slates, with beds of dolomitie 

 limestones and local developments of greenish-grey grit. The gritty portion is particularly 

 developed about ten miles east of Ste. Anne, and from the peculiar weathering of certain 

 masses on the beach, has received there the name of the 'pillar sandstone.' This rock 

 precisely resembles in character that from the Sillery quarries above Quebec City ; and 

 it is here associated with the red and green .slates, so that their horizon is readily fixed. 

 From these some years ago Richardson reported the finding of a phyllograptus. In the upper 



