762 REPORT— 1900. 



It will of course be suggested that the Drift may have slipped down from the 

 cliffs above on to the ' head.' This hypothesis is fairly negatived by the very 

 strong contrast in material between the ' head ' and the overlying Drift. The latter 

 is full of rounded stones of Carboniferous sandstone and Old Red pebbles and frag- 

 ments, with scarcely a trace of limestone, whilst on the contrary the underlying 

 debris contains nothing but fragments of limestone. The change is exceedingly 

 sudden, and forbids the possibility of the Drifts resting on the cliffs for long pre- 

 viously and later slipping down on to the debris. Scattered boulders would 

 certainly have occurred in the d6bris 



The Drift is evidently the ordinary Glacial Drift of Glamorganshire, such as 

 abounds further to the north-east, nor can we doubt that it is about the same age 

 as that which sealed up in the Victoria Cave at Settle, and other caves, the fauna 

 which has been so abundant in the caves of Gower, a fauna which if not Pre- 

 glacial was certainly Interglacial. 



On the other hand, the discovery of the antiquity of the raised beach, which 

 does not appear to have been ev?n hinted at, is one which, from the wide range of 

 that physical feature, must necessarily be of importance. It will assist in building 

 up the relations of late formations to the Glacial Period into a consecutive system 

 and establish relations with other successions in lands to which Glacial phenomena 

 have not extended. 



9. RejDort on the Erratic Blocks of the British Isles. 

 See Reports, p. 343. 



10. .4 Ferriferous Horizon in the Huronian, North of Lake Stqyerior. 

 By Professor A. P. Coleman. 



The Huronian of Ontario has long attracted attention for its geological interest, 

 and also because it is much the most important formation in the Province for its 

 economic products, most of the mines of gold, copper, nickel, and iron occurring 

 in it. There has, however, been much difficulty in correlating the different areas 

 mapped as Huronian, and doubts have been expressed as to their being of the 

 same age. The finding, a year ago, of a band of iron-bearing sandstone and 

 jasper in the Michipicoton district, north-east of Lake Superior, has thrown fresh 

 light on the subject. This band has already been traced sixty miles, and very 

 similar rocks have been proved to exist at various points for a distance of 600 

 miles, practically from one end of the Province to the other. Not far off from 

 this band there are very often thick beds of schist conglomerate containing pebbles 

 of the ferriferous rock, indicating a profound break between upper and lower 

 Huronian. These two easily recognised horizons occur in practically all the 

 Huronian areas of Ontario, and afford an excellent clue to the stratigraphy. Their 

 equivalents are probably found in the Vermilion iron range of Minnesota and the 

 Markette and Penokee ranges in States to the south of Lake Superior, containing 

 the most famous iron mines in America. One similar mine has been found at 

 Michipicoton, estimated to contain at least 15,000,000 tons of high-grade hematite ; 

 and there are indications of other ore deposits on the same range. The recent 

 discoveries promise, therefore, to be of great economic importance, as well as of 

 much interest in solving some tangled problems in connection with the oldest 

 formation in Canada. 



11. Final Sejiort on the Pleistocene Beds of Canada. 

 See Reports, p. 328. 



