360 Transactions of the Canadian Institute. [Vol. VII. 



is characterized by the old Antillean igneous foundation dating back to 

 the beginning of the Tertiary era, or in part a little older. Even the 

 latest trace of volcanic activity does not appear to have been as late as 

 the Miocene period. The central portion of the island is underlaid by 

 tuffs derived from the older volcanic remains, but contain some beds of 

 silicious limestone and others of fresh-water origin with silicified wood 

 and land shells. It belongs to the Eocene formation. The north- 

 eastern part of the island is composed of white limestone — the Antigua 

 formation belonging to the Oligocene period. But over this is a 

 mechanical limestone, composed of the broken debris of an older one, 

 dating back to the close of the Pliocene or beginning of the Pleistocene 

 epoch, and probably still another series of late origin composed of the 

 same material, but distinguished by unconformity and the contained 

 fossils. There is also a still newer formation of gravel belonging to a 

 later Pleistocene epoch. 



Barbuda is a flat limestone island, with lagoons on the west. The 

 highest point rises to only 115 feet. It is the remains of the old 

 Antillean coastal plain extending seaward from the mountains of 

 Antigua. 



The termination of the central plain in the harbour of St. John's is 

 illustrated in figure i, Plate III., where the cliffs of the eastern rolling 

 country are shown in the distance. Figure 2, Plate III., shows a 

 fragment of the dissected coastal plain at Hodges' hill, which appears in 

 the background to the right. 



The population and the present conditions of Antigua are similar to 

 those of St. Kitts. The roads are nearly always excellent. Being 

 generally low, the island is rather dry and is not subject to the same 

 rain-fall as the more mountainous islands. Dr. Christian Branch could 

 find no remains indicating the permanent occupation of Antigua by the 

 Caribs, who were numerous in all the other islands, and he attributes the 

 fact to the scarcity of water at certain seasons of the year. 



The Guadeloupe Archipelago. 



This is another remnant of the dissected Antillean plateau, of which 

 the lower lands are now submerged. The summit of the ridge con- 

 necting it with Antigua is covered by about 2,000 feet of sea, but 

 both sides of it are indented by deep embayments (see map, Plate B, 

 appended). The tableland has been deeply dissected, so that being now 

 sunken there are deep channels between the islands. The archipelago is 



