GEOLOGY OF GUATEMALA AND SPANISH HONDURAS 513 
Considered as a whole, the Omoa Range consists principally of 
slates, schists, quartzites, and limestones, while the Sierra de Pija 
is composed of mica schists and quartzites intruded by granodiorites, 
_diorites, and tonalites.' The igneous rocks as a whole may repre- 
sent phases of a single large batholith. The intrusions have a lineal 
arrangement in a N. 50-80° E. direction and occupy the region 
between the sea and the summit of the range. Basalt of Tertiary 
or Quaternary age occurs in the Sierra de Omoa at Chameleconcito, 
near Puerto Cortez, and on the island Utilla. Sandstones and 
conglomerates of late Tertiary age are found along the shore cliffs 
between Puerto Cortez and Omoa. 
The age of part of the metamorphic rocks is known to be 
Paleozoic; the age of the remainder is thought to be Paleozoic. 
Carboniferous fossils were found by the writer in metamorphosed, 
horizontally bedded limestones in the hills west of Puerto Barrios, 
Guatemala, not far from the line of strike of the marbles in the 
Sierra de las Minas, north of the Motagua River valley, and 
of other metamorphic rocks. If the metamorphic rocks are of 
Paleozoic age the batholithic intrusions must have appeared 
during the subsequent folding, presumably at the close of the 
Paleozoic. 
Along the continuation of the Sierra de Omoa at Punta Sal, 
north of Tela (Fig. 2), black slates striking N. 70° E. and dipping 
55. N. form a prominent ridge. The main range of the Sierra de 
Omoa consists of mica schists, quartz schists, and quartzites, as 
seen in the exposures along the Ferrocarril Nacional de Honduras 
between Chameleconcito and Baracoa. Limestone appears at 
Baracoa, where springs of cool carbonate water have built large 
calcareous tufa terraces. At Rio Vijao marble has been quarried 
for ballast. The marble may be seen as far as Rio Chaloma (El 
Paraiso), but is replaced by tonalite or granodiorite from this point 
to San Pedro Sula. No observations were made on the Sierra de 
Omoa near the Guatemala boundary, but at Quebradas de Oro, in 
Guatemala, placer gold is mined hydraulically, the country rock 
being hornblende schist penetrated by quartz veins. 
Described in “‘ Notes on Collection of Rocks from Honduras, Central America,” 
by Wilbur G. Foye, in this issue of the Journal of Geology. 
