GEOLOGICAL INTEREST NEAR MEDICINE HAT. 1 55 



Specific gravity — 1.3972. the weight of a solid cubic foot being 

 87.32 pounds 



The composition of this coal indicates that it is a lignite, showing 

 a considei-able proportion of water and ash and a tendency to dis- 

 integrate when exposed to the air. A comparison of this coal with 

 that derived from seams nearer, and in the Rocky Mountains, shows 

 the latter to be freer from water, gives less ash and a much higher 

 psrcentage of carbon, in other words the quality of the coal improves 

 as you approach the mountains. In the iron-stone band near the 

 river several interesting fossil plants were found in the fragments 

 of stone. These are well defined and in many respects can be readily 

 observed to be closely related to the genus Brosenia and the species 

 has been given the name Brosenia antiqua by Sir William Dawson 

 to whom some specimens were shown. These before you were 

 obtained near the river's edge. On account of the gradual slope 

 from the ]">rairie level down the ravine to the river's edge, it is an 

 easy matter to examine the different layers of deposits indicated in 

 the section already referred to. The fossils from the bed almost two 

 hundred feet below the level of the prairie can be readily identified 

 as allied to the oyster family. They are not imbedded in solid rock, 

 but form a layer of loose shells lying between beds of clay ; they 

 are exceedingly fragile, usually small and require to be handled very 

 carefully, or they crumble to pieces on examination. 



From m my gathered, the specimens before you are the only ones, 

 which have remained at all complete. 



The presence of oyster shells so far below the prairie level, in a 

 region now removed 2,000 miles from the sea is very suggestive of 

 the wonderful changes which that country has undergone in the ages 

 long receded into the past. At several places along the banks of the 

 river, the remains of petrified trees are very common; some of these 

 belong to types entirely different from those which nosv grow on 

 the banks of the Saskatchewan. 



The clay band 110 feet above the river in some places presents a 

 very attractive appearance, being almost as red as vermilion ; a con 

 dition which has likely resulted from the burning of coal in the 

 seam below. 



