286 



Knometre- ^^^ Carbonifcrous area stretching inland from 

 Point Tupper on Cape Breton island. 



The railway passes close to the steep west face 

 of Cape Porcupine hill which rises to an eleva- 

 tion of 640 feet (205 m.). This hill with a 

 maximum diameter of i| miles (2-4 km.) is the 

 only area of older Pre-Cambrian on the mainland 

 of Nova Scotia. The rocks of the hill consist of 

 quartzite, schists, "felsite," granite, etc. After 

 passing to the west of Cape Porcupine, high 

 hills and ridges on Cape Breton island are 

 visible. These uplands lie in the Pre-Cambrian 

 and "Devonian" area situated to the west of the 

 Carboniferous area of the River Inhabitants 

 basin. 



After passing Cape Porcupine hill, the railway 

 rises to a summit elevation of 398 feet (121-3 

 m.) and beyond this begins to drop to a lowland 

 Carboniferous area that extends along the coast 

 westward from the northern entrance of Canso 

 strait. For about 3 miles (4-8 km.) westward, 

 the railway continues through a somewhat 

 broken country underlain by the "Devonian" 

 strata. Beyond this the railway begins to 

 descend somewhat rapidly and enters a district 

 underlain by the Carboniferous Conglomerate 

 series. This series consits of coarse red con- 

 glomerate and sandstone, purple slates, etc. 

 Included in the area are dark shales, sand- 

 stones and thin limestones of the Horton 

 series. The strata in a general way dip to the 

 west away from the "Devonian" area and 

 towards the coast, where, a few miles away, 

 overlying beds of the Limestone series occur. 



85 3 m. Harbour au Bouche Station — Alt. 271 ft. 



137-3 km. (82-6 m.). After passing Harbour au Bouche 

 station, a view is afforded to the north of the 

 hills of Pre-Cambrian rocks, in Cape Breton. 

 To the west an extensive view opens up of the 

 low-lying Carboniferous area bordering the sea 

 as far as Antigonish, of the ranges of hills 

 beyond Antigonish limiting the Carboniferous 

 area in that direction, and of the upland of 



