53 



KUometers The Kamouraska measures form a series of 



detached hills seldom rising more than 300 feet 

 (90 m.) above the surrounding country. The 

 strata are sharply folded into anticlines, slightly 

 overturned to the northwest, and pitching both 

 to the northeast and southwest. The conglo- 

 merates in places contain limestone pebbles 

 holding Cambrian and in some cases possibly 

 early Ordovician faunas. 



The Kamouraska formation has been held 

 by some authorities to be an integral part of the 

 Sillery. J. A. Dresser has, however, brought 

 forward arguments tending to show that the 

 Kamouraska unconformably underlies the 

 Sillery. 



For the greater part of the distance between 

 Quebec and Riviere du Loup, the broad band 

 of Sillery is travesred by a zone of overthrust 

 faulting with the downthrow on the northwest 

 side. The fault zone is marked for a length of 

 65 miles (105 km.) by a well denned escarpment 

 which at the point of the maximum development 

 rises 700 feet to 1 ,000 feet (215 m. to 300 m.) in a 

 distance of I to 1^ miles (1.6 km. to 2.5 km.). 

 This fault escarpment, begins not far from 

 Quebec city and with a curving, irregular front 

 extends northeastward parallel with the St. 

 Lawrence and at a distance inland of 3 to 8 

 miles (4.8 km. to 13 km.). From the foot of the 

 escarpment a low, fairly level area broken only 

 by a few sharp hills, extends to the St. 

 Lawrence. Inland from the top of the escarp- 

 ment a rolling upland extends to the southeast 

 for distances of 15 miles to 20 miles (24 km. to 

 32 km.). 



At intervals along the railway route from 

 Quebec eastward, views are obtained of the 

 margin of the Laurentian upland bordering 

 the north shore of the St. Lawrence river. 

 This upland, the Pre-Cambrian protaxis of the 

 continent, rises abruptly from the shore of the 

 river, to heights of 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 m. 

 to 600 m.) . Though in places the upland is rugged 

 and of a mountainous character and though it is 



