CRIJTACEOrS / < 



marine molluscs have, however, since been foiinU at the base of the for- 

 mation, in the Devils Lake deposits, not far north of the How river, and 

 these I)r W'hiteaves has provisionally referred to the ajjje of the ft)ssil- 

 iferous beds of Queen Charlotte ishmds, thus apparently confirming 

 the general correlation already indicated by the fossil })lants. 



Tlie Kootanie consists of alternating sandstones and shales with some 

 thin bands of limestone toward the base and holding in parts of its ex- 

 tent numerous and thick seams of bituminous and anthracite coal, the 

 latter occurring where it has been closel}' included in the mountain fold- 

 ing. Its thickness is about 7,000 feet, including only that part of the 

 general section characterized by its fossils. Above this is a thickness of 

 4,000 or 5,000 feet, largel}^ made up of conglomerates that are supposed 

 to represent the Dakota group. 



Conglomerates occupjang about the same stratigraphical position in 

 the Queen Charlotte islands have alread}' been alluded to, and similar 

 important conglomerates attached to or closely associated with the 

 Earlier Cretaceous have been found in many places on the mainland of 

 British Columbia and northward to the Yukon district. These con- 

 glomerates appear throughout to be api)roximately contemporaneous 

 and are believed to be of more than local significance. They evidently 

 mark a time of wide subsidence and of shorelines advancing on the 

 land, and it was at this time that the Cretaceous Dakota sea spread itself 

 eastward across the interior plain of the continent. 



In the Fraser valley east of the Coast ranges, in addition to the occur- 

 rence of the conglomerates, the existence of beds of about the period of 

 the Dakota is shown by the discovery of a few fossil plants;* but no 

 evidence of higher members of the Cretaceous has been found in the 

 inland region to the west of the Selkirks, although it is probable that 

 such members are represented further north, in the Yukon district. 



From a systematic point of view, it appears to be desirable to confine 

 the Earlier Cretaceous, or Queen Charlotte formation, to rocks below the 

 Dakota; but it will be understood that, over a considerable part of the 

 inland country, the earlier rocks are intimately associated with those of 

 about Dakota age, and that where those of still later date are not pres- 

 ent, the most natural break, and one coinciding with some notable 

 physical change, would be above the Dakota. 



Beds referred to the Upper Cretaceous f in the Queen Charlotte Islands 

 section have already been alluded to. Collectively it is supposed that 

 the two upper members of that section represent the Dakota, Benton, 



*AnTiual Report, Geol. Suuv. Can., vol. vii (N. S.), p. 148 B. 



t For references in regard to the Upper Cretaceous see Geol. Mag., Decade II, vol. viii, p. 21(; ; .iIho 

 Arn. Jour. Sci., vol. xxxix (1890\ p. 180 et seq. 



