646 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIY. No. 1140 



though devoted in the main to a description 

 of the ore deposits, gives much valuable in- 

 formation concerning the stratigraphy and 

 geological history of the region. The oldest 

 rocks are the slates, shales, quartzites, cal- 

 careous sediments, and tuffs of the Mt. Roberts 

 formation, aggregating over 1,200 feet in thick- 

 ness. A meager collection of fossils, collected 

 by R. W. Brock and identified by H. M. Ami, 

 indicates the Pennsylvanian age of the forma- 

 tion, but gives no clue to f aunal relationships. 

 The sediments are cut by intrusive and ex- 

 trusive volcanic rocks of Triassic and Jurassic 

 age; the whole region suffered orogenic uplift 

 at the close of the last-named period. By the 

 end of Cretaceous times it had been pene- 

 plained and was again deformed during the 

 Laramide revolution. Stream gravels, prob- 

 ably of Eocene age, are known in two locali- 

 ties, but the major record of mid-Tertiary 

 time is one of volcanic activity. By the close 

 of the Pliocene period, a late mature topog- 

 raphy of comparatively slight relief had been 

 carved beneath the Cretaceous paleoplain and 

 at that time the streams were rejuvenated by 

 another epirogenic uplift. The greater, part 

 of the present relief is the result of Quater- 

 nary stream erosion aided by glaciation. 



The agricultural development of the Prairie 

 Provinces of Canada must inevitably bring an 

 increasing demand for phosphates, although 

 at the present time no deposits of mineral 

 phosphate are being worked in the Dominion. 

 In the hope that phosphate beds similar to 

 those of the western United States might be 

 discovered in Alberta and British Columbia, 

 the Canadian Conservation Commission dele- 

 gated P. D. Adams and W. J. Dick to make 

 a reconnaissance of favorable localities during 

 the 1915 field season. The report 2 of their 

 work was published late in 1915 — an enviable 

 record for prompt publication by a govern- 

 ment scientific bureau. Three lines of section 

 across the Rocky Mountains were selected as 

 possibly exposing strata similar to the phos- 

 phate-bearing Pennsylvanian terranes of 



2 ' ' Discovery of Phosphate of Lime in the 

 Rocky Mountains," P. D. Adams and W. J. Dick, 

 Commission of Conservation, Canada, Ottawa, 

 1915. 



Idaho and Montana. Relying solely upon 

 paleontological evidence, it was speedily as- 

 certained that two of these contained no rocks 

 of Upper Carboniferous age and attention was 

 centered upon the third area, the Rocky Moun- 

 tains Park at Banff. By faunal analogy with 

 the Montana field, 350 miles to the south, phos- 

 phate beds might be expected to occur near the 

 contact of the Upper Banff limestone and the 

 Rocky Mountain quartzite. Search was re- 

 warded by the discovery of low-grade phos- 

 phate rock in place and one piece of high- 

 grade " float," enough to demonstrate that 

 careful prospecting in these horizons is justifi- 

 able. The report is concluded with a number 

 of valuable suggestions for prospectors and a 

 summary of the phosphate resources of the 

 world. 



Recent field work carried on in the Cana- 

 dian Rookies by L. D. Burling 3 has resulted 

 in important additions to our knowledge of 

 Paleozoic stratigraphy in that region. The 

 ammonite-bearing shales near Massive, west 

 of Banff, Alberta, originally described as of 

 Jurassic age 4 are now known to represent the 

 Upper Banff shales, are probably of Permian 

 age, and occupy the normal position above the 

 Rocky Mountain quartzite. Devonian and 

 Cambrian strata are in juxtaposition over an 

 area of 5,000 square miles between Banff and 

 Elko, British Columbia, although only a few 

 miles to the northwest 10,000 feet of Ordo- 

 vician and Silurian strata overly the Cam- 

 brian. The Albertella fauna is of especial in- 

 terest because it is the oldest Cambrian fauna 

 found in contact with the Beltian rocks of 

 Montana and adjacent regions. It is now 

 known to be of early Middle Cambrian age 

 from its discovery in strata in Mount Bos- 

 worth, British Columbia, and elsewhere. The 

 line between the Middle and Upper Cambrian 

 was found over wide areas to be the locus of a 

 pronounced emergence of the sea bottom, 



s ' ' Notes on the Stratigraphy of the Eocky 

 Mountains, Alberta and British Columbia," L. 

 D. Burling, Geological Survey, Canada, Summary 

 Report for 1915, 1916, pp. 97-100. 



•4 Geological Survey, Canada, Guide Book 8, Pt. 

 2, 1913, p. 191. 



