Was Mount Boyal an Active Volacno ? 321 



Was Mount Royal an Active Volcano ? 



By J. S. BucHAN, K.C. 



Mount Eoyal is commonly described as the root or rem- 

 nant of an old volcano, which has been worn down through 

 long ages by the action of the elements, and its peak shorn 

 by ice fields carried over it during the great subsidence of 

 the Griacial Period, until it was reduced to its present 

 comparatively small proportions. 



Doubtless many have pictured in their own minds the 

 Mountain in all its glory, in the far distant time when the 

 struggling forces burst through the barriers which 

 restrained them, and seem to see again a great mountain 

 peak piercing the sky, with volumes of smoke and clouds 

 of ashes thrown out and scattered over the surroundincr 

 country, while rivers of lava ran down its almost perpen- 

 dicular sides. It may even be supposed that some have 

 contemplated this picture with a sigh of regret, when they 

 think what a magnificent advertisement the Volcano would 

 be for Montreal, provided, of course, it was removed to a 

 safe distance from the City. 



Be that as it may, the Cjuestion as to what was the 

 height and magnitude of Mount Eoyal when it had 

 reached its greatest proportions, and the conditions which 

 then prevailed, possesses an intense interest, which the 

 difficulties in the way of its solution only tend to increase. 



At the outset, it must be admitted that the records con- 

 taining the story of the Mountain have for the most part 

 been swept away, and any conclusions based on those 

 which remain are largely conjectural. It will, however, also 

 be admitted that any attempt, however humble, to bring 

 together the facts which bear on the subject, and to state 

 such conclusions as may appear to flow from them, may 



