O12 Reviews—Geological Survey of Canada, 
other geologists. The question has been attacked with much ability 
and mastery of details by Mr. Lestey F. Ward, in a “Synopsis of 
the Flora of the Laramie Group.”* This writer gives it as his 
opinion that “it is wholly immaterial whether we call the Laramie 
Cretaceous or Tertiary, so long as we correctly understand its 
relations to the beds below and above it. We know that the strata 
immediately beneath are recognized Upper Cretaceous, and we 
equally know that the strata above are recognized Lower Tertiary. 
Whether this great intermediate deposit be known as Cretaceous 
or Tertiary is therefore merely a question of a name, and its 
decision one way or another cannot advance our knowledge in the 
least.”” Sir William Dawson, in his memoir on the “ Fossil Plants 
of the Laramie Formation of Canada,’”? concludes “that we must 
either regard the Laramie as a transition Cretaceo-Eocene group, 
or must institute our line of separation in the Middle Laramie 
division, which has, however, as yet afforded no fossil plants.” 
Miocene.—“ Resting on the denuded edges of the Laramie in the 
Hand Hills, are beds of light-grey argillaceous marls inter-bedded 
with fine grained sands, which pass upwards into a bed of quartzite 
pebbles, in some places held together by a hard calcareous cement, 
and forming a compact conglomerate.” 
No fossils were found in this formation, but from its position and 
character it was judged to be of the same age as the Miocene of the 
Cypress Hills, described by Mr. McConnell in 1884.° 
Post-Tertiary.—The following are the subdivisions of this forma- 
tion, distinguished by Dr. G. M. Dawson, which hold good also in 
the area explored by Mr. Tyrrell :—“ Stratified sands, gravels and 
silts. Upper boulder-clay. Interglacial deposit with peat. Lower 
boulder-clay. Quartzite shingle and associated beds.” 
These beds overlie the greater part of the region examined in “an 
extensive, though generally thin, sheet,” filling up the irregularities 
in the surface of the Cretaceous and Laramie rocks, and forming also 
many of the rolling hills. 
Economic Minerals.—First in importance are the extensive deposits 
of Coal and Lignite which underlie an area of more than 12,000 
square miles in the western part of the district surveyed. Of 
bituminous coal, a seam near the Bow River is estimated to contain 
about 9,500,000 tons of coal to the square mile. Of the lignitic or 
semi-bituminous coals, the seam on the North Saskatchewan River 
was computed to contain over 150,000,000 tons. The occurrence of 
Gold in this river has already been noted. 
This valuable report closes with four appendices, the first con- 
taining descriptions by J. F. Whiteaves of the fossils collected by 
Mr. Tyrrell (1885 and 1886) in the Cretaceous and Laramie Rocks ; 
the second, * Lists of Lepidoptera,” by Mr. James Fletcher; the 
third, “List of Elevations”; the fourth, “Cree and Stoney Indian 
names for places within the area of the accompanying map.” It 
Sixth Annual Rep. of the United States Geol. Surv. 1884—85, Washington, 1885. 
2 Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Sect. iv. 1886, p. 19. 
3 Geol. Surv. Rep. Canada, for 1882—84, p. 140 C. 
