248 STRATIGRAPHY 



50 feet white sandstones. 

 200 „ yellowish sandstones. 

 100 „ marble-like sandstones. 



50 „ nearly white sandstones. 



10 „ stalagmitic sandstones. 



60 ,, almost white sandstones. 



30 „ variegated brown and yellow sandstones. Chard. 2 feet ferruginous 

 concretions, sandstones altered. 



Side by side for comparison is a section obtained by Frank Wild on the 

 Shackleton Expedition. The latter shows in descending order 



500 feet . Sandstone, 

 about 300 feet . Coal-measures, containing seven seams of coal from 

 1 foot up to 7 feet in thickness. 



This is succeeded by 700 feet at least of sandstone. 



The general appearance of these coal-measures is shown on Plate XXXII. of 

 Chapter V. of this Memoir. 



Near the base of the formation water-worn quartz pebbles were observed in 

 the sandstone. These pebbles are about a couple of inches in diameter. Ferrar, 

 at the Ferrar Glacier Valley, collected quartz pebbles up to about 4 inches in 

 diameter, and one of these is now in the British Museum. They are obviously 

 well water-worn. 



As seen at Buckley Island, the dark grey Cambrian (?) lime.stone was wedging 

 out southwards, and widening towards the north, and it underlies the Beacon 

 Sandstone. The argillaceous limestone of the Ferrar Glacier Valley is probably 

 not on the same geological horizon as this very massive and pure limestone. 

 In addition to actual seams of coal vast numbers of blocks of greyish-brown 

 sandstone and laminated black carbonaceous sandstone were seen in the great 

 median moraine below the Buckley Nunatak, following the course of the valley 

 for fully 50 miles. Fragments of clay shale were observed in places in this 

 moraine, and they exhibited traces of fossil rootlets.* The most interesting fossil 

 so far discovered in this Beacon Sandstone area is a fragment of fossil wood 

 imbedded in a loose piece of the sandstone collected from this median moraine 

 derived from Mount Buckley. This has been carefully examined by Professor 

 Goddard of Victoria College, Stellenbosch, South Africa, who has furnished the 

 following description : — 



"Specimens from Medial moraine, December 11, 1908. 



" Longitudinal sections of the included dark masses give a homogeneous banded 

 appearance of a distinctly organic nature. The banded appearance is due to the 



* Obviously this is a fact of great importance, as showing that the vegetation of the coal-measures 

 grew where the seams now occur. At present this area is in darkness for five months in the year, and 

 yet abundant vegetation, with trees, flourished there once. 



