tradition has been preserved of the irruption of the sea by which 

 the forest was submerged. 



Nov. 20. — Joseph Burkart, Esq., Engineer of Zacatecas, Mexico, 

 and Jolin Kenyon, Esq., of Devonshire Place, were elected Fellows 

 of this Society. 



A paper was read entitled, " Notes on the Geology of the North 

 Coast of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the Mouth of 

 the Saguenay (Long. 69° 16') to Cape Whittle (Long. 60°)," by 

 Captain Bayfield, R.N., and communicated by George Bellas 

 Greenough, Esq., P.G S. 



The line of coast surveyed by the author, and described by him 

 in this memoir, includes above 500 miles. It is traversed by ranges 

 of round- backed hills, rarely exceeding 1000 feet in height, and 

 towards the eastern termination of the district sinking nearly to a 

 level with the sea. In some parts of the coast the hills approach 

 close to the shore; but in others they recede to a distance from it, 

 and the country presents a succession of flats or extensive peat bogs. 



The formations of which the main land and adjacent islands 

 consist, are granitic and syenitic compounds, limestone, a deposit 

 of clay, sand and gravel, and modern alluvial accumulations. 



The granitic and syenitic rocks compose the whole of the hilly 

 districts, with the exception of a tract opposite the Mingan Islands. 

 True granite was noticed only in one place, the prevailing rocks 

 being formed of felspar, quartz, hypersthene and hornblende. 

 Porphyry, passing into syenite, was observed at the falls of the 

 Maniton river ; and veins of trap were occasionally noticed traver- 

 sing the syenite. Magnetic iron was found in great abundance 

 along the whole line of the coast, either as a constituent of the 

 rocks or as beds of sand accumulated on the beach. 



The limestone forms the Mingan and Esquimaux Islands, and it oc- 

 curs on the adjacent main land, reposing in horizontal beds on the 

 syenite. It composes also the whole of the island of Anticosta, 

 which lies to the southward of the Mingan Islands, as well as Cape 

 Gaspe on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. It varies consider- 

 ably in its characters, being sometimes compact, at others earth}', 

 arenaceous, shaly, or crystalline ; and it generally abounds in fossils, 

 which agree with those found in the limestone of Lake Huron and 

 near Quebec. The strata, except at Cape Gaspe, dip at a very low 

 angle towards the S.W. 



The deposit of clay, sand and gravel forms a series of horizon- 

 tal strata, sometimes 300 feet thick, in the valleys and basins be- 

 tween the syenitic hills. The clay invariably occupies the lowest 

 portion, and the gravel generally the highest. No shells were no- 

 ticed, though the water-courses of the rivers cut through the de- 

 posit. 



The modern alluvial accumulations are of great extent, and in 

 some parts of the~ coast are rapidly increasing. In Outard Bay 

 (100 fathoms deep) the surface of the water was highly charged 

 with earthy matter, which the surveying vessel cut through in her 

 course, and displayed "beneath the pure sea water. 



