169 



Inlet. Both petrographically and also in other respects, this 

 tract offers a unique geological interest, and it is much to be 

 regretted that, although two expeditions stayed here for several 

 days, it is not yet possible to draw up a geological map of 

 the district, on which the various crystalline rocks and the 

 quaternary phenomena could be entered. Even now the topo- 

 graphical basis which could make this work possible for a 

 future expedition, is wanting. Nathorst has furnished a short 

 survey of the geology of the district^). The sweep of the fjord 

 is continued along a broad deep valley, which, broadly speaking, 

 divides the two chief formations: in the west, Jurassic with an 

 underlayer of Rhaetic, and a series of still older sedimentary 

 rocks; in the east, chiefly primary rock and some curious 

 strata, to which I shall return later. Moreover, on the Fame 

 Islands as well as on the mainland, basic eruptive rocks of the 

 labrador-porphyritic type were met with, besides which Nat- 

 horst had already found blocks of the alnöitic rock that I 

 shall describe later on. 



In this place we will only dwell on the archæan rocks. 

 The district in so far reminds one of that just described, as 

 both limestone and granite occur here too, and moreover in 

 far greater quantities than there; above all it is granite, at 

 least in places near the shore, that is the predominant rock, 

 while gneiss retires. Here we Gnd a red, coarsely crystalline 

 even-grained granite, consisting almost exclusively of felspar 

 and quartz. Microscopically it reveals considerable pressure: 

 the different grains are sharply defined, but with sinuous 

 outlines which are scarcely primary. The plagioclase is strongly 

 weathered, while microcline and, as a general rule at least, the 

 orthoclase are quite fresh. 



The granite that forms in a mixture with basalt the curious 

 breccia which is described later, is more strongly pressed, and 



') Geol. foren, i Stockholm fôrh., 23 (1001), pp. 282— 285. 



