RECORDS OF MEETTXGS 445 



George H. Girty, Xew Gexei^^. axd Species oe Cakboxifekous 



Fossils from the Upper Mississippi Valley. 

 (Read by title.) 



Summary of Papers 



Professor Woodman, with the aid of maps, discussed the distribution 

 of the metallurgical limestones of Nova Scotia and their geological occur- 

 rence. It was shown that limestones of metallurgical value are restricted 

 to the pre-Cambrian and the Mississippian, the beds of former age. known 

 locally as the George River Series, occurring in great abundance in cen- 

 tral and northern Cape Breton Island, in the vicinity of St. Johns, Xew 

 Brunswick, and near jN'ew Campbellton, in Nova Scotia. The metallur- 

 gical limestones of Mississippian age, known as the Windsor Series, are 

 found both in Cape Breton and on the mainland. As these beds are non- 

 resistant, they are usually found outcropping in lowlands eroded below 

 the level of the Cretaceous peneplain; whereas the George River lime- 

 stones withstand erosion so well that they ordinarily appear as parts of 

 the upland surface. The composition of the limestones was described and 

 typical specimens were exhibited. 



Mr. Lobeck said in abstract: Three possibilities present themselves. 

 The New England upland may be represented near the summits of the 

 White Mountains, near their base, or somewhere in between. An un- 

 qualified choice is made and it is concluded that the upland strikes 

 squarely and abruptly at the base of the mountains. Two types of 

 evidence lead to this conclusion. 



Field study shows that it is possible to trace the upland from its well 

 recognized position at the base of Mount Monadnock, where it stands at 

 an elevation of about 1100 feet, northeast along Contoocock River to near 

 Concord, where it stands 800 feet. North of this point it rises again 

 to about 1000 feet near Lake Winnepesaukee. In central and eastern 

 New Hampshire it is post-maturely dissected and the broad lowlands are 

 occupied by lakes and alluvial plains which lie 400 or 500 feet below the 

 peneplain level. In the Lake Winnepesaukee region it is, as a matter 

 of fact, difficult to trace the upland for the reason that it is preserved 

 only as fragments and the region is complicated by the presence of such 

 residuals as the Ossipee Mountains, which rise directly from the lower 

 lake-strewn plain. However, at the base of the White Mountains, north 

 of Lake Winnepesaukee, the upland is undoubtedly represented by a 

 pronounced terrace-like shelf and adjacent remnants which stand at an 

 elevation of approximately 1100 feet. 



