22 GEOLOGICAL AREAS OF CANADA. 



Those of the Queen Charlotte Islands to the north, apparently 

 indicate Lower Cretaceons deposits, or beds of passage between 

 Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous formations, whilst the fossils of the 

 coal strata of the Vancouver group are clearly Upper Cretaceous. 

 The coal of the northern islands is more or less anthracitic in 

 character, but that of Vancoxiver Island is of ordinary bituminous 

 quality, identical in all essential respects with the coals of the Coal 

 Measures proper. These Cretaceous strata are covered very generally 

 by thick deposits of sand and clay, forming high cliffs in many 

 places ; and over a large portion of Vancouver Island, the latter 

 deposits are again overlaid by a dark vegetable soil, holding, here 

 and there, layers of marine shells, belonging apparently to existing 

 species. Brine springs occur on one of the islands of the Vancouver 

 group ; and the sands of Leech River and other streams have yielded 

 considerable amounts of gold. 



Note. — As the composition of the iron ore of Texada Island has not hitherto 

 been made known, the following analysis (by the writer) of a sample received 

 from Mr. de Cosmos, M.P., on whose property on the island a large display o' 

 the ore occurs^ may not be out of place. A description of the exposure will be 

 found at page 99 of the Geological Report for 1873-4. 



The ore, as regards the sample analysed, is of a coarse-granular texture, and 

 is strongly magnetic, but shows polarity only in special places. Its specific 

 gravity ^=4.11: the average weight per cubic foot is thus equal to 2934- lbs; and 

 6.81 cubic feet (of solid ore) will make a Canadian ton, and 7.63 cubic feet an 

 English ton. 



The analj'sis yielded : — 



Protoxide of ii'on 28 . S3 



Sesquioxide of iron .... 67.31 



Oxide of manganese tr. only 



Titanic acid 0.11 



Phosphoric acid ........ . 07 



Sulphuric acid 09 



Insoluble siliceous matter . 3 . 97 



Metallic Iron=69% 

 Another trial, in which all the iron was calculated from the Fe^O^ obtained, 

 (without separation of FeO), gave Fe^O* 98.49=Metallic Iron 68.94%. 



^*^ The concluding portion of this article, embracing the Eastern 

 Provinces — Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince- 

 Edward Island — will appear in the next issue of the Journal. 



