A LABRADOR SPRING 



Genevieve Island are flat-topped and com- 

 posed of light gray limestone, whose strata 

 are nearly horizontal but dip slightly to the 

 west and south. These islands vary in size 

 from those of an acre or two in extent like the 

 Perroquets, which rise but a few feet above the 

 water, to those of ten or fifteen miles in cir- 

 cumference, like Esquimaux Island, with cliffs 

 seventy-five or one hundred feet high. 



All display the effect of the wear of the ocean 

 on the limestone cliffs, which are often hollowed 

 and turreted in a curious manner. In places 

 great caverns are formed by the waves; in 

 others rounded pillars are the predominant 

 features, and, owing to the varied resistance 

 of the strata, these pillars sometimes assume 

 strange shapes. If the harder layers are in the 

 middle, the pillars become worn above and be- 

 low, and a series of spinning-top shaped masses 

 line the shore. In other places, where the 

 denser layers are on top, the wear results in 

 toadstool forms which sometimes extend for 

 considerable distances along the water front. 

 In many ways these limestones reminded me 

 of the water-worn ice formation seen on the 

 eastern Labrador coast. 



60 



