Reviews — Geological Survey of Canada. 369 
Cheadle, and W. F. Butler,? have made this vast region familiar to 
many readers by the graphic descriptions they have. given of their 
journeyings through it; while Selwyn (1878), Ells (1875), and G. 
M. Dawson (1879) have added much to our knowledge of its 
geology. The physical features of the country are treated of in 
detail by Mr. Tyrrell (pp. 14 E to 56 EK) ; but we have space only for 
avery brief extract from this part of his report. We learn that 
“‘the general character of the country is that of a sloping plain, 
breaking into abrupt ridges to the south-west, where a small area 
of foot-hills is included. From the base of these hills, which attain 
a height of 5000 feet above sea-level, the country declines to the 
north- east, sloping off from an altitude of 4000 feet, along the 
eastern edge of the foot-hills, to 1650 feet at Fort Pitt, on the 
Saskatchewan, The slope, though fairly regular, taken as a whole, is, 
however, broken by numerous high hills and deep river channels.” 
The rock formations dealt with in the report, under the head of 
“Descriptive Geology” (pp. 56 E to 126 KE), are enumerated in the 
following table in descending order :— 
Post-TERTIARY. Feet. 
Recent Deposits.—Sands, Clays, etc. 
Upper Boulder Clay.—Light-grey sand, and, ‘eenerally, ‘indistinctly 
stratified clay, with pebbles of gneiss, quartzite, ete. 
Lower Boulder Clay.—Dark-grey, “thick - bedded, or massive, ‘sandy 
clays, containing pebbles of quartzite, etc., ‘and numerous frag- 
ments of lignite 
Pebble Bed.—Quartzite shingle, lying i in a loose sandy matrix 
MrI0cEne. 
Gravels, fine sands and argillaceous marls, the gravels sometimes 
cemented into a hard conglomerate. . c < : C 270 
Laramie. 
a, Paskapoo Series.—Grey and brownish-weathering, lamellar or 
massive sandstones, and olive sandy shales; an exclusively fresh- 
water deposit . 5700 
b, Edmonton Series.—Soft ‘whitish sandstones and white or ‘grey, “often 
arenaceous clays, with bands and nodules of clay ironstone, and 
numerous seams of lignite; a brackish-water deposit . c 700 
Fox Hitt anp Pierre, 
Brownish-weathering sandstones and dark-grey clay-shales . : : 600 
Betty River Serres. 
Soft, whitish sandstones and arenaceous clays, changing towards the 
east to light-brownish and ae sandstones and andy al 
bottom not seen. 
“No intrusive rocks occur anywhere ehrouphout the district and 
below the top of the Laramie there is no evidence of any uncon- 
formity between the different formations. a 
Belly River Series.—Owing to the unfossiliferous character of the 
beds and the scarcity of sections, the exact boundaries of this series 
could not be accurately defined. The only fossils found were a few 
fresh-water genera, Unio, Spherium, etc., and fragments of the leaves 
and wood of plants. No workable coal-seams were found. 
t “The North-West Passage by Land,” 1863. 
2 “The Great Lone Land,” 1873. 
3 Described by Sir W. Dawson in Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, 1887, Sect. iv. p. 31. 
DECADE III.—vVyOL. V.—NO. VIII, 2k 
