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PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



[Apr. 10, 



Sir John Richardson refers to strata of a similar nature as occurring 

 at Edmonton on the North Saskatchewan ; and, on first arriving at 

 that place in January 1858, I had no difficulty in identifying the 

 heds there with those which he describes. I got not only the same 

 yew-like leaf (Taxites) that he figures as characterizing the shales, but 

 also the same general succession of strata, excepting only the beds of 

 shingle and gravel, which he describes in his sections of the Mackenzie 

 River. Before leaving England, Colonel Lefroy furnished me with 

 the following extracts from his notes on Peace River, a point midway 

 between the Mackenzie and Eort Edmonton, which are sufficient to 

 show that the strata are probably continuous throughout this area. 

 He observes that " at the ramparts on Peace River is a vertical cliff 

 of sandstone with broken stratification towards the top," and that " at 

 Dunvegan the river is depressed 600 feet below the general level, and 

 great quantities of crystals of sulphate of lime were collected in the 

 upper strata, while actual coal occurs in the seams about ten miles 

 above the fort on one of the small tributaries." The lignite-for- 

 mation has also been remarked on Smoking River, a tributary of 

 Peace River ; and I have traced it on the Athabasca and McLeod 

 Rivers, and on Pembina River, all to the north of Edmonton ; thus 

 proving the range of this formation over a slope rising from 500 to 

 2300 feet above the sea, and yet preserving on the whole the same 

 characters, and showing no evidence of recent local disturbance 

 beyond the gentle uplift which has effected this inclination. 



I shall now describe this formation as it was observed in different 

 parts of the country explored, commencing with the North Saskatche- 

 wan. The lowest point on that river where the coal was actually 

 observed, was about two miles below Eort Edmonton, where a thick 

 bed of it was seen dipping gently out of sight below the water-level 

 to the N.E. I have reason to believe, however, that other beds of it 

 occur further down the river for a distance of 50 or 60 miles. 



At Fort Edmonton the flanks of the river- valley are from 190 to 

 250 feet high, and at most places densely wooded. Seven to ten miles 

 back from this valley, on either side, a line of high ground rises from 

 200 to 300 feet above a willow -covered plain, and consists, as far 

 as I could learn, of the white marly clays of the group D ; but the 

 country in this neighbourhood is much obscured by superficial deposits 

 and by small copse-wood. The river-valley has a wide flat bottom 

 through which the river winds in a channel 40 to 60 feet deep, and 

 wherever this present channel sweeps close under the higher valley- 

 banks, sections are displayed, disclosing horizontal strata of arena- 

 ceous clays, sometimes passing into clay-sandstone with spherical con- 

 cretions, but at others into clay-shales. Many of these beds are highly 

 charged with nodules of clay-ironstone, which are filled with commi- 

 nuted fragments of vegetable matter. The coal occurs in the clay 

 strata, and varies greatly in purity. It is used in the forge at the fort, 

 and is found to answer very well, excepting that it " burns" the iron 

 more than ordinary coal. It ignites with difficulty, but keeps alight 

 for a very long time, and, if left to itself without a draught, smoul- 

 ders away into an abundant orauge-colourcd ash. It contains a quan- 



