36 The Edmonton Beds 



a rolling stone would bring up in a sudden halt 

 in the waters of the river three or four hundred 

 feet below. All this region, except of course 

 the main channel and flood plain of the river, 

 has been transformed by nature's sculpturing 

 into fantastic bad-land scenery. The rocks carv- 

 ed into the most intricate patterns entirely de- 

 void of vegetation, except perhaps, along the 

 northern slope of some butte or rounded bluff 

 where sponge moss and dwarf cedar and spruce 

 with many flowers, found a resting place. The 

 slopes are usually covered with cherty frag- 

 ments that threaten to slip or roll under the feet 

 and hurl the adventurous fossil hunter into the 

 gorge below. The canyons are rich in coal, and 

 now that the Canadian Northern Railway, has 

 terminals at Calgary there is great demand for 

 it. 



The Edmonton beds are brackish water origin. 

 On top is a great bed of oyster and clam shells. 

 Below the principle bone-beds are about 200 feet 

 of greyish clay (that crumbles under the feet), 

 interlaid with dark shales and seams of coal. 

 Many of the clay beds have hard iron concretions 

 scattered through them. As these are practically 

 indestructable they remain scattered over the 

 surface, the other material having been carried 

 away by water. There is a bed of massive sand- 

 stone within a hundred feet of the top, and it 

 weathers out into table lands. Below, the soft 

 clays form conical mounds, often capped with 



