Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia. 305 



philosophical research has left almost no corner or recess of 

 the physical world unexplored, this should have been still 

 considered as a wonderful secret of nature. But I believe 

 it often happens, that while we are looking out for something 

 more recondite and profound, we overlook the most obvious 

 cause, which seems to solicit our notice — and perhaps as 

 often reject it as an alien or a vulgar intruder, because we 

 find no niche to accommodate it, in our favorite system. 

 Tinmouth, Vermont, Jan. 8th, 1828. 



Art. XI. — A Description of the Mineralogy and Geology 

 of a part of Nova Scotia ; by Charles T. Jackson and 



Francis Alger. 



In laying before the public an account of the mineralogy 

 and geology of this Province, it will be perhaps necessary 

 to premise a few geographical remarks on the situation and 

 extent of the country, and to describe the ranges of hills and 

 mountains, which are to be particularly noticed in this paper. 



The peninsula of Nova Scotia is situated on the north 

 eastern coast of North America, and is included within the 

 forty third and forty sixth degrees of north latitude, and be- 

 tween the sixty first and sixty seventh degrees of longitude 

 west of the meridian of Greenwich. It is connected with 

 the continent by a narrow isthmus which joins it to New 

 Brunswick, and is bounded on the north by part of the gulf 

 of St. Lawrence, which separates it from Prince Edward's 

 Island, on the north east by the Gut of Canso, which divides 

 it from Cape Breton ; on the west by the Bay of Fundy and 

 New Brunswick, and on the south and south east by the 

 Atlantic Ocean. The whole Province is nearly three hun- 

 dred miles in length, by one hundred and fifty in breadth, and 

 contains about fifteen thousand square miles of surface. 



The face of the country presents us, with some irregular- 

 ity, three distinct ranges of highland, two of which have 

 some claim, to the title they bear of mountains ; the other 

 consists of rounded hills of inconsiderable elevation, exten- 

 ding through the county of Cumberland, and the districts of 

 Colchester and Pictou. The other two ranges alluded to, 

 are called the south and the north Mountains ; the former 

 extends through the Province in the direction east north 

 east, passing through the counties of Annapolis, Kings, 



Vol. XIV.— No. 2. 13 



