150 



CHAPTER XL 



THE CAEBONIFEROUS fiYS,TEM— Continued. 



CARBONIFEROUS DISTRICT OP CUMBERLAND SECTION AT THE 



SOUTH JOGGINS. 



Though the great triangular area of Carboniferous rocks in eastern 

 New Brunswick is the largest in Acadia, it does not present such 

 admirable facilities for the study of these rocks as those afforded by 

 the coast sections in Western Cumberland ; we shall therefore first 

 study these with some minuteness, as typical of the whole Acadian 

 Carboniferous districts, and afterwards notice the larger New Bruns- 

 wick area. 



The rocks of the Cumberland Carboniferous area have a general 

 trough-shaped arrangement, which in the western part of the county 

 at least appears to be very regular. (See Genei-al Section.) On the 

 south side, all along the base of the Cobequids, we find conglomerates 

 and other Lower Carboniferous rocks dipping to the north, and forming 

 the southern edge of the trough. Resting on these are the beds of 

 the Coal formation, still dipping to the northward. Toward the centre 

 of the county, we find the rocks of the Upper Coal formation slightly 

 inclined and finally dipping to the south, to form part of the northern 

 side of the trough. Proceeding onward, we find the repetition of the 

 OlderCoal formation and Lower Carboniferous series Avith southerly dips. 

 The latter extends into New Brunswick, where it turns over and dips 

 to the northward, underlying the great Carboniferous plain of that pro- 

 vince. In crossing the county of Cumberland, this regular arrange- 

 ment of the beds is evidenced by the long parallel ridges that cross 

 the country from east to Avest, and which are produced by the out- 

 cropping edges of beds of firm sandstone, which have resisted Avasting 

 agencies better than the softer beds that occur betAveen them. There 

 is, however, reason to believe, as we shall find in the sequel, that in 

 the central and eastern part of the Cumberland trough there are 

 subordinate undulations which prevent the coal-beds from running 

 continuously across the country, and that in some places the Coal forma- 



