150 B. WILLIS—DRIFT PHENOMENA OF PUGET SOUND. 
inlet south of Everett, in August, 1896, Russell sums up his observations 
on the occurrence of lignite. Designating all the stratified formations 
between an upper till (probably the Vashon) and a lower till (possibly 
the Admiralty) as the ‘‘ Medial sands and gravel,” he writes: 
“In the lower portion of the Medial sands and gravels, frequently resting on 
the lower till, there is a lignite deposit. The lignite occurs in beds frequently from 
4 to 6 feet (1 to. 2 meters) thick, interstratified with sands and clay, which are more 
or less thoroughly charged with organic matter. The thickest deposit of lignite 
observed occurs at Possession Head, where from 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 meters) of 
lignite sand and clay are exposed. The lignite contains flattened stems 6 to $ inches 
(15 to 20 centimeters) across, and occasionally impressions of leaves resembling 
those of the alder. When burned the:lignite leaves a fine white ash resembling 
diatomaceous earth. 
“The lignite deposit is widely spread. I have seen it at Port Townsend, Skagit 
Head, Possession Point, and Tacoma. It occurs also at Seattle, according to Pro- 
fessor Landes, and is reported to be present at Port Gamble.”’ 
The climatic significance of these lignite beds will be ascertained only 
by careful study of their nature. The conditions of deposition, and es- 
pecially the kinds of plants and trees which compose them, need to be 
determined ; but in so far as the lignite is identified with the Orting 
gravels, its forest growth was contemporaneous with stagnant ice upon 
which they accumulated. The conditions may then have been similar 
to those of the Alaskan coast and the Malaspina glacier, of which Rus- 
sell has written : * 
“The outer and consequently older portions of the fringing moraines are cov- 
ered with vegetation, which in places, particularly near the outer margin of the 
belt, has all the characteristics of old forests. It consists principally of spruce, 
cottonwood trees, alder, and a great variety of small shrubs and bushes, together 
with rank ferns. The vegetation grows on the moraine, which rests on the ice. 
In many places the ice beneath the dense forest is not less than a thousand feet 
thick. 
““The vegetation is confined principally to the border of the Seward lobe of the 
glacier. Near the Yahtse the belt is 5 miles broad, but decreases toward the east, 
and is absent, as previously noted, at the Sitkagi bluffs, where the glacier is being 
eaten away by the sea. It is only on the stagnant borders of the ice-sheet that 
forests occur. Both glacial lakelets and forests on the moraine are absent where 
the ice has motion. The forest-covered portion of Malaspina glacier is by estimate 
between 20 and 25 square miles (5,172 and 6,465 hectares) in area. 
‘The lower ends of the Lucia and Atrevida glaciers are also forest-covered, and 
similar conditions exist on some of the glaciers flowing north from the St. Elias 
mountains, as was observed by Dr C. W. Hayes f during his recent exploration in 
that region.’’ 
* Second Expedition to Mt. St. Elias, 13th Annual Report U. 8. Geological Survey, p. 76. 
} National Geographic Magazine, vol. 4, 1892, p. 152. 
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