6 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [oeraze, 
forms Orient Point, the southern or older one, Montauk Point. 
In the exploration of the northern branch I stated that I had 
failed to find the characteristic ferruginous concretions and 
sandstones, which are such prominent features in the moraine 
towards the western end of the Island, and which are of creta- 
ceous origin. In explanation I ventured the conclusion that 
these must have been all carried forward in the first advance of 
the ice and should therefore be found in the Montauk Point 
branch. With this object in view a special trip was made and 
the region between Easthampton and Montauk Point was 
thoroughly examined. 
At almost every exposure the characteristic material was 
found in greater or less abundance. Indications of fossils were 
rare however, and it was only at the extreme end of the Point 
that any were discovered. These consist of the molluscs already 
mentioned and of fragmentary plant remains. Amongst these lat- 
ter is a specimen of T'ricalycites papyraceus Newb., a species 
originally described from the cretaceous clays of Amboy, N. J., 
and also found on Lloyd’s Neck. ‘The verification of the con- 
clusions previously arrived at was, therefore, highly satisfactory. 
NANTUCKET. 
General remarks.—The geology of this island has been so 
thoroughly described by Prof. N. 8S. Shaler* that any extended 
account on my part would be superfluous. It has been some- 
what irreverently referred to by popular writers as “a sand heap 
in the Atlantic Ocean, bounded on the north by Cape Cod, on 
the east by Spain, on the south by the West Indies and on the 
west by Martha’s Vineyard and Long Island.” Asa matter of 
fact it is an exceedingly isolated piece of land, when compared 
with any other portion of the eastern United States, being 
about twenty miles distant from Cape Cod, ten from Martha’s 
Vineyard and seventy-five from Long Island. It is composed 
entirely of morainal débris, except for the broad beaches and 
long sand spits, which have been accumulated in more recent 
times. In shape it is rudely crescentic or somewhat resembling 
a bill hook. The greatest length—from Siasconsett to Tucker- 
nuck Island—is about ten miles, and if the long, narrow sand 
spit known as Coatue Beach is disregarded, the average width 
at right angles to the greatest length is about two miles. The 
actual area is probably about eleven square miles. 
The interest which especially attaches to the island is due to 
the fact that it occupies the extreme southeastern limit of glacial 
* The Geology of Nantucket. Bull. no. 53, U. S. Geol. Survey. 
