THE SOUTHERN COMPLEX. 191 



schists. At other times drift covers the contucts. In such cases the rela- 

 tious of the two series can not be determined. Nevertheless, there is no 

 reason to believe that they are different from those observed where the 

 rocks are seen in iictual contact. 



DISTRIBUTION AND TOPOGRAPHY. 



The topooTapliy of the Southern Complex differs but little from that 

 of the northern granite areas. In its eastern part the chift is thicker than 

 in the western part, and consequently the ledges are frequently small 

 isolated exposures, single knobs, or collections of knobs, that are presum- 

 ably the tops of hillocks with several peaks, separated from one another 

 bv little defiles. The hillocks themselves are separated by drift deposits, 

 so that the Southern Complex iii its eastern portion consists in reality 

 of distinct areas. 



Between the north-and-south center line of R. 27 W. and the west 

 line of R. 28 W. the country is swampy and ledges are rare. When they 

 occur it is as small, low outcrops in the midst of tlie swamps. Farther 

 west hills and swamps alternate, and the surface has the usual aspect of 

 pre-Algonkian topography. 



In its eastern portion the rocks comprising the Southern Complex 

 form a narrow belt bordering the Marquette sediments and extending 

 southward under a broad sand plain, above which here and there isolated 

 knobs of granite protrude, thus indicating the presence of pre-Algoukian 

 rocks beneath the sands. To the west the belt expands, vait'A, near the 

 Michigamme River, it is many miles in width. Here the area is divided 

 by the Republic tongue of the Marquette rocks into a large eastern portif)n 

 and a narrow western one, which, uniting just south of the city of Republic, 

 merge into one large area. 



To the east, near Lake Superior, granites predominate. Westward 

 from the lake shore for 10 miles these are about the only members of 

 the Southern Comi)lex met with. Farther west schists become involved 

 with the o-ranites in the most intricate manner, so that frequently it is 

 impossible to declare wdiether tlie former or the latter rocks are the more 



