119 



Kilometres ^^^ famous Vermilion cliffs are situated on the 



north bank of Tulameen river about 2 miles 

 (3-2 km.) beyond Princeton. The colour of the 

 cliffs is due to the combustion of a coal seam, 

 ignited, probably, by the lava which overlies 

 it immediately to the west. The river takes its 

 name from the cliffs, "Tulameen" being a local 

 Indian name meaning red earth. The rocks of 

 Vermilion cliffs contain many fossil plants. 



The sedimentary Oligocene rocks are overlaid 

 a short distance west of Vermilion cliffs by 

 volcanic fiows, and for the next three miles 

 (4-8 km.), exposures of the two formations 

 can be seen in the cliffs bordering the river and 

 in the railway cuttings. Turning a sharp bend 

 in the valley, the Tertiary rocks are replaced 

 by Triassic rocks, consisting largely of volcanic 

 materials with only a few sedimentary beds, and 

 these persist almost all the way to Tulameen. 

 These rocks are unfossiliferous, but from litho- 

 logical characteristics are correlated with Daw- 

 son's Nicola series. 



Placer mining for gold and platinum was at 

 one time carried on in Tulameen valley from 

 Princeton up to Champion creek, a distance of 

 28 miles (45 km.). Some of the placers were 

 worked as early as i860, but it was not until 

 the discovery of coarse gold in Granite creek 

 in 1885 that much interest was taken in them. 

 Granite creek, which enters Tulameen river 

 one mile below Coalmont, was the most pro- 

 ductive stream, and the whole district at one 

 time was the biggest producer of platinum on 

 the continent. Some payable ground still 

 remains on the main river and on a few of its 

 southern tributaries, but the more easily 

 worked deposits have long been exhausted. 

 148 m. Coalmont — Alt. 2,450 ft. (746-7 m.). Coal- 



238 km. mont is a new town that has sprung up within 

 the last two years as the result of the develop- 

 ment of a coal basin on the southern side of 

 the river at that point. The basin is of Oligo- 

 cene age covering about 5 square miles, and 

 contains a considerable quantity of coal much of 



