176 Hevieics — Geological Survey of Canada. 



and American " specialists." Professor Macoun (Botanist to the 

 Survey) reports upon the plants collected, while Sir J. W. Dawson 

 frequently lends his valuable assistance in the department of pal geo- 

 botany. Messrs. Hoffmann and Adams carry on the work of the 

 chemical laboratory. The staff now numbers 50, viz. 34 " pro- 

 fessional," and 16 "ordinary" members. 



Much attention is naturally bestowed upon the mining industries 

 of the country. In 1885 a survey was commenced by Mr. Bowman 

 and assistants of the gold-mining region of Cariboo in the interior 

 of British Columbia. This district, comprising an area of 50 by 75 

 miles, has yielded in the past twenty-five years about thirty million 

 dollars of gold by placer mining. The various mining centres in the 

 Eastern Townships (Province of Quebec, east of the St. Lawrence) 

 were visited by Messrs. R. W. Ells and N. I. Giroux. The minerals 

 obtained are gold, silver, iron, copper, and asbestos. In the last of 

 these a flourishing trade is carried on. The copioer deposits are also 

 extensively worked. Most of these minerals find a market in the 

 neighbouring States. 



Leaving the Summary Eeport, of which we have given but a very 

 brief sketch, let ns now turn to the reports of the field corps, which 

 make up the bulk of the volume. 



Eeport B. (pp. 7b — 167b), by Dr. George M. Dawson, " is intended 

 as a preliminary geological and general account of that portion of 

 the Eocky Mountain range included between the 49th parallel on 

 the south and the upper waters of the Eed Deer River (about lat. 

 51° 30') to the north. The Eocky Mountain range proper, in this 

 region, is definitely limited to the south-west by the great Columbia- 

 Kootanie Valley, which separates it from the Selkirk and Purcell 

 ranges, while to the north-east the edge of the Palaeozoic rocks may 

 be regarded as its boundary. The width of the range thus naturally 

 outlined is about fifty miles. The length of the range here treated 

 of in a north-west and south-east beai'ing is about 200 miles, while 

 the approximate total area coA^ered by this report and the accom- 

 panying map is about ten thousand square miles." The map spoken 

 of is geologically coloured, and is on a scale of five miles to one 

 inch. It contains marginal notes and sections. 



Beginning with an account of former geological and geographical 

 explorations of the region, amongst which the most important were 

 those of Captain Palliser, Dr. Hector, and Mr. Bauerman, the author 

 proceeds to describe its orographic features. He explains that the 

 so-called Eocky Mountains are divisible into four great systems, 

 which are from east to west as follows: — " (1) The Eocky Moun- 

 tains proper ; (2) Mountains which may be classed together as the 

 Gold Eanges ; (3) The system of Coast Eanges sometimes impro- 

 perly regarded as a continuation of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon 

 and Washington Territory ; (4) A mountain system which in its 

 submerged parts constitutes Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands." 



Taking up the geology of the district survej^ed by Dr. Dawson, we 

 find that the Cambrian is the basal formation, and consists of 

 "quartzites, and quartzitic shales passing into argillites, and occa- 



