288 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Along the north shore of iSkidegate harbour, extending westward 

 for some ten miles from Skidegate village there is an aimiost unbroken 

 series of Cretaceous rocks comprising shales, sandstone and conglomerate. 

 These are cut by diorites at several pomts. The stratified members of 

 the series extend northward across the island and at several points carry 

 large deposits of coal which outcriop principally at two points inland, one 

 about eight miles from the shore, the other at fifteen miles. The strata 

 show the presence of several anticlines and near the contact with the ig- 

 neous rocks are somewhat altered. 



The two coal outcrops have been opened to some extent. The more 

 southerly one is known as iiobertson Camp, the noxtherly as Wilson's. 

 At the former place the coal is seen in two seams of workable size with a 

 shale parting of eight to ten feet, and at the Wilson camp one large seam 

 with a thickness of about eighteen feet with a shale parting of one foot 

 only, near the lower part. The extension of these seams has never been 

 ascertained by boring owing doubtless to difficulty of access in a densely 

 wooded country which at present is merely by trail. That there is a 

 very large quantity lOt excellent coal in this part of the island is evident. 

 The general dip of the coals at both camps is to the north-east at a mo- 

 derate angle, or away from the hilly country which forms the western 

 half of the island, where the formation is volcanic. It is therefore pno- 

 bable that the seams exposed extend eastward in the direction of the dips 

 anci should be traceable along the strike north-east and south-west. 



In addition to the bituminous ooals, which are of high grade, there 

 are in the northern and eastern portions of the island large areas of Ter- 

 tiary rocks in which moderately large seams of lignite are known to oc- 

 cur. These, however, will scarcely be utilized in view of the presence of 

 such large supplies of bituminous coals which are easier of access and 

 have greater facilities for shipment. The extent of these lignite beds in 

 the northern part of the island could easily be ascertained by boring east 

 of Masset. 



Along the lower part of the Mackenzie river there is a large de- 

 velopment of coal-bearing rocks m which seams of lignite occur and these 

 also outcrop on several of the islands ofi' the mouth of that river. No 

 attempt has yet been made to ascertain the extent or value of these 

 deposits. 



The observations in the preceding pages have shewn clearly that in 

 the western half of the Dominion the supplies of mineral fuel are prac- 

 tically inexh3i7stible. The analyses of these coals shew that their quality 

 is greatly superior to those now mined in the Pacific states of the Ameri- 

 can imion. 



