24 



to about the Corniferous and Hamilton groups of New 

 York State. There are higher beds of shales with Spiro- 

 phyton. Shales with SpiropJiyton near Itaituba, Tapajos, 

 and 'without fossils on the Xingu possibly belong to the 

 Devonian. (Derby.) To the north of the Amazonas 

 the Devonian formation has been doubtfully traced as far 

 west as the Rio Negro. (Rodriguez and Derby.) The 

 Palaeozoic fossils from the interior of Parana are either 

 Devonian or Carboniferous. 



Carboniferous. — The large area underlaid by this forma- 

 tion on the Amazonas, was in part marked out in the 

 preceding pages. Carboniferous rocks have been found 

 on the Rio Negro and doubtfull}- in the province of 

 Maranhjio. In southern Brazil the extent of the deposits 

 of this age is very great, ranging through Sao Paulo, 

 Parana, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande, and containing 

 numerous seams of coal. Fossils are abundant in some 

 places. 



[The partially metamorphosed deposits, forming the 

 Serra of Itabyana and other neighboring serras, are prob- 

 ably Palaeozoic ; they overlie the gneiss unconformably. 

 Other more or less metamorphosed deposits have been 

 referred to the Palaeozoic] 



Triassic (?). — Extensive series of sandstones overlaid by 

 trap, on the Serra of Sta. Catharina, and inland toward 

 the Rio Parana. Also doubtfully found in Sergipe. 



Cretaceous. — Rio Purus, Upper Amazonas ; sandstones 

 overlying the Devonian of Ererd, with dicot3'ledonous 

 leaves, probably Cretaceous ; Braganza, province of Par^, 

 (discovered by Snr. Penna) ; Ceara ; skirting the coast 

 from near the city of Pernambuco to Parahyba do Norte; 

 Province of Sergipe, near the sea-coast; Rio Sao Fran- 

 cisco, at several localities; Bahia de Todos os Santos; 

 Abrolhos Islands, etc. It is possible that the Jurassic 

 period is represented at some of the above localities. 



Tertiary, with fossils on the Rio Maranon, and possibly 

 at other localities ; also the unfossiliferous deposits before 

 enumerated. 



Post Tertiary. — Lagoa Santa; interior of Bahia; Espi- 

 rito Santo, etc. 



