343 

 FIRE CLAY DEPOSITS AT CLAYBURN, B. C. 



By 



Charles Cam sell. 



INTRODUCTION. 



This excursion has been arranged to start from Van- 

 couver, B.C. going by electric car over the line of the B.C. 

 Electric railway to Clayburn, distant 46 miles (74 km.), 

 for the purpose of examining the brick works and fire clay 

 deposits situated at that point. These fire clay deposits 

 are the most important known in British Columbia, and the 

 fire brick manufactured at the works supply the market 

 for practically the whole province. 



The route of the excursion lies eastward from Vancouver, 

 and, crossing Fraser river at New Westminster, continues 

 on the south side of that stream through the level country 

 which forms the delta of the Fraser. 



The country embraced within the modern as well as the 

 ancient delta of Fraser river extends from Agassiz west- 

 ward to the coast, and runs southward into the State of 

 Washington. It is on the whole low and rolling, the eleva- 

 tions ranging from sea level to about 400 feet (122 m.) 

 above. Here and there, however, isolated hills, which 

 attain elevations as high as 1,000 feet (304-8 m.) above the 

 sea, rise above the general level of the plain. The northern 

 boundary of the delta is the Coast range of mountains, 

 whose slopes rise quickly from the delta plain to elevations 

 of 3,000 (914 m.) to 6,000 feet (1,828 m. ) above the sea. 



The oldest exposed rocks of the region are the granitic 

 rocks of the Coast Range batholith, which border the delta 

 on the north. These rocks have been proved by borings 

 at Vancouver to underlie the Eocene rocks of the delta 

 itself. 



Remnants of once more extensive Cretaceous beds occur 

 as hills rising above the general level of the delta in its 

 upper part near Agassiz, and around these the more receni 

 deposits were laid. Sumas mountain, on which the clay 

 deposits are situated is one of those. 



