﻿1861.] 



GESNEK MOVEMENTS OF LAND. 



383 



supposed to be Tertiary deposits ; but late observations have deter- 

 mined their more recent origin. The greatest elevation observed 

 was near the town of St. Andrew's, where the marl with recent shells 

 is found 28 feet above the level of the highest tide. 



Among the numerous islands of Passamaquoddy Bay the writer 

 observed many of the indications of elevation ; nor is it difficult to 

 discover along the borders of the creeks and rivers the sites from 

 which the sea has been slowly and gradually withdrawn. Strata 

 of marl and clay with shells like those before mentioned appear 

 at Beaver Harbour, where the elevation has been less considerable. 



Grand Manan is a beautiful island, situated off the mouth of the 

 St. Croix River, and 12 miles from the American hue. It is 25 miles 

 long and 5 miles in breadth. The north-west side is a somewhat 

 lofty ridge of trap-rock, uninhabited and presenting to the sea per- 

 pendicular and overhanging cliffs. The opposite side of the island 

 is inhabited ; and the industry is agriculture and fishing ; and a number 

 of small islands and harbours afford shelter for vessels. 



The most remarkable circumstance connected with this isolated 

 part of New Brunswick is the fact, that the entire south side of the 

 main and its islets have within a recent period been submerged to 

 the depth of 18 feet and upwards. There still remains a tradition 

 that there once existed between the main, the three Duck Islands, 

 and Nantucket Island a kind of marsh of several thousands of acres. 

 This marsh has slowly disappeared beneath the sea; and its surface is 

 only partially uncovered by the water at the lowest spring-tides. 

 The roots, stumps, and trunks of a great number of trees (the pine, 

 hemlock, and cedar) still remain firmly attached to the sunken earth, 

 and at the very sites where they flourished. The once living forest 

 with its branches and leaves is now deeply covered by each suc- 

 ceeding tide. The anchors of small craft are often held fast among 

 the wood of the bottom of the harbour. It was by this subsidence 

 that several islands became isolated ; for the marshes that formerly 

 attached them one to the other have been denuded and washed away 

 by the waves. The subsidence extended to the distance of several 

 miles westward; but it is best measured near the small islands 

 before mentioned. Viewed altogether, it would seem that Grand 

 Manan has slowly moved upon its axis, depressing one side and 

 elevating the other. 



At the mouth of the River St. John and at the city of the same 

 name, in the Province of New Brunswick, the evidences of elevation 

 are distinct over an area of twenty square miles. Between the city 

 and Portland, there is a narrow and deep valley now occupied by a 

 church, manufactories, and dwelling-houses. In this valley, and 

 above strata of clay, there are marl-beds containing marine shells 

 and decomposed sea-weeds identical with those still inhabiting the 

 shores of the harbour. These beds are about 18 feet above the 

 level of the sea, which at some former period surrounded the site of 

 the city. 



At Manawagonis, Mispec, Emerson's Creek, and many other places 

 in this quarter, there are beds of sand, clay, marl, and marly clay 



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