Geology, ^c. of Malhay, L. C. 209 



the view is immediatel)' shut in by a transverse ridge of 

 gneiss. 



The fall is narrowed to the breadth of thirty yards and 

 plunges down an inchned descent of ten or twelve feeta- 

 mong large masses of gneiss. 



The river now rolls impetuously to the; defile inclosed in 

 very deep banks, making frequent and considerable elbows 

 (which every spring enlarges) and branches off into chan- 

 nels, which from time to time coalesce, and separate, form- 

 ing islands of woods, sand, or cornfields ; the different 

 streams being traced with double borders of shrubbery. 



Somewhat less than a league to the north of the circular 

 expansion of the valley, and separated from it by high 

 grounds in some state of cultivation, is a lake about a third 

 of a mile in diameter, surrounded by interesting scenery. 



It is confined on the east and south by precipices and 

 bold slopes of cedar and pine ; while its western and north- 

 ern sides are moderate ascents of woodland and farms, clos- 

 ed, in the distance by conical mountains. 



Two or more miles north of this small lake is another, 

 seated in the midst of woody hills of gentle acclivities and 

 marshy intervals. It is of irregular shape, and about three 

 miles across, in its largest dimension. 



A small stream enters it on the north, and another leaves 

 it on the south. Both lakes contain abundance of trout. 



The Geologist will find in the district of Malbay, an in- 

 structive assemblage of rocks ; but, as must have been an- 

 ticipated, its examination is greatly embarrassed by the un- 

 cultivated and often inaccessible nature of the country, by 

 the piles of the larger ruins which encumber the higher 

 grounds, and by the alluvia of the slopes and valleys. The 

 shores of the St. Lawrence, and of the Bay, the sides of 

 the vale of Etienne and the bed of the Malbay river afford 

 almost the only points of observation. 



The prevailing rocks are gneiss and mica-slate, plenti- 

 fully interleaved with a dark limestone, quartz rock, and 

 supporting a calcareous conglomerate of a remarkable kind. 



As the rocks of this limited district are nearly of the 

 same age, (excepting perhaps the conglomerate) I shall 

 describe them geographically, and not in any assumed geo- 

 logical succession, commencing with the West Hill. 



As far as can be discerned, the bod}^ of this hill consists 

 principally of fine white Gneiss, with a sparing proportion 



