208 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 75 



formities is at the base of the Sikirian at the time of the Wonah 

 transgression/ and another at the base of the Devonian (pp. 201, 

 192), at the time of the Messines transgression.'' 



An example of great variation in deposition within the area of the 

 geosyncline is afforded by the Middle Cambrian Eldon Hmestone. 

 which is 2,728 feet (831.5 m.) thick in the Bow-Kicking Horse sec- 

 tion at Mount Stephen and absent in the Sifffeur section (p. 333) of 

 the Saskatchewan River area 39 miles (62.7 km.) to the north. The 

 Beaverfoot, Brisco, Wonah, and Glenogle formations of the Beaver- 

 foot Trough in the Stanford-Brisco Range, and the Goodsir forma- 

 tion of the Goodsir Trough, are not known to occur north of the 

 Kicking Horse River drainage, and at Glacier Lake the pre-Devonian 

 section is very dissimilar to that of the Bow-Kicking Horse section. 



In the following pages will be found a discussion of the formations 

 under the names now in use, giving their history, content, and general 

 characters. 



DEVONIAN 



It has not been my purpose to study the Devonian formations further 

 than to identify those that occur immediately above the great Ghost 

 River interval. In this connection I have had occasion to name the 

 Messines formation of the Middle Devonian in the Glacier Lake 

 section and the Pipestone formation of the Upper Devonian. These 

 formations are discussed on page 194. 



Two formations. Ghost River formation and Mount Wilson quartz- 

 ite, occur beneath the Middle Devonian and above the remaining 

 lower Paleozoic rocks. 



Mount Wilson Quartzite. Walcott, 1923 



Type locality. — Mount Wilson, on the north side of the Saskatche- 

 wan River (C on map. pi. 26) in the Glacier Lake Trough. 



Derivation. — From Mount Wilson. 



Character. — Compact, white quartzite or quartzitic sandstone in 

 layers varying from 2 inches (5.1 cm.) to 6 feet (1.8 m.) in 

 thickness. It breaks up into angular blocks and fragments, and shows 

 very little erosion except where rounded and polished l)y glaciation. 



Thickness. — At Mount Wilson (C on map) 250 feet (76.2 m.). At 

 Clearwater Canyon (E on map) 32 miles (51.5 km.) southeast of 



' Smithsonian Misc. Coll., Vol. 75, No. i, 1924, p. 50. 



^ Named after the Messines formation at the base of the Devonian in the 

 area between the Saskatchewan and Bow Rivers in the Rocky Mountains of 

 Alberta. 



