58 G. M. DAWSON — ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION IN CANADA 



being identical with that part of the western Cordillera comprised in the 

 Dominion of Canada. To its geological exploration a great part of my 

 own time has been devoted for many j'^ears. The results, as obtained, 

 have been published chiefly in the reports of the Geological Survey of 

 Canada, but it is undoubtedly difficult for the inquirer, with only a 

 limited amount of time at his disposal, to form a connected and bal- 

 anced idea of the conditions, as a whole, froui a series of such progress 

 reports, dealing usually with particular districts. 



Twenty years ago, after having worked in British Columbia or on its 

 borders for six seasons, I read a paper before the Geological Section of 

 the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Swansea, en- 

 titled " Sketch of the geology of British Columbia," which was afterwards 

 published in the Geological Magazine.* So far a^ they go, the geneVal 

 outlines then laid down still hold ; but much has been accomplished 

 since that time, the relative importance of the observations recorded has 

 been considerabl}'' changed, and opinions expressed from time to time 

 have had to be modified as the work progressed. All I shall attempt 

 to do here is to review the principal geological features as they are now 

 understood, but in order to render this address of more practical value 

 as a clue to the geology of the region covered b}" its title, references to 

 the principal reports and papers in which details may be found will be 

 given throughout. 



Special Features of the Region 



The region dealt with is in many respects one of particular geological 

 interest, and it is likewise remarkable as one which it has been necessary 

 to work out as an almost entirely detached geological problem. Its older 

 rocks are separated from those of the eastern parts of Canada by the whole 

 width of the Great plains, and the newer formations found in it are gen- 

 erall}'' unrepresented in other parts of Canada. Nor until the work was 

 well advanced did any satisfactor}'- standard of comparison exist in the 

 far west. California could be referred to in regard to certain defined for- 

 mations of the Tertiary and Cretaceous, but a great intervening region 

 of the Cordillera remained practically unknown geologically, except for 

 the earlier results of the Hayden surveys and some reconnaissance sur- 

 veys by other explorers along lines of travel. Clarence King's great 

 volume, the " Systematic Geology of the 40th Parallel," did not appear 

 till 1878, and the relations of the region here referred to with others, 

 which have become apparent, have been developed at later dates. 



♦Decade II, vol. viii, April and May, 1881. 



