THE MIOCENE PERIOD. 281 



the period, sheets of basalt were poured out over the sedimentary 

 formations. In New Zealand 1 also, the system is well developed on 

 both islands. It includes both marine and non-marine beds, and 

 among the latter, coal. The fauna is distinguished by the great size 

 of some of its molluscan shells. Both the flora and fauna have a 

 tropical aspect. The fruit of the palm has been found as far south 

 as latitude 45°. Igneous rocks are associated with the sedimentary. 

 The beds are found up to heights of 2500 to 4000 feet, giving some 

 clue to the extent of post-Miocene crustal deformation. Miocene is 

 found, with other Tertiary formations, in Borneo and in the Philip- 

 pines. 2 



In South America, Miocene beds probably occur on the western 

 coast, and are known to have extensive development on the eastern 

 plains of the southern part of the continent, 3 where the distinction 

 between the Upper Oligocene and the Miocene is not sharp. The 

 lower part of the Oligocene-Miocene series (Patagonian beds) is marine, 

 while the upper part (Santa Cruz) is of fresh-water origin. A strik- 

 ing feature of the faunas of this region is their similarity to the Mio- 

 cene and later faunas of Australia and Xew Zealand. This relation- 

 ship has caused speculation as to an Antarctic continent connecting 

 these regions. 4 Miocene is probably present also in northern Chili. 5 



Arctic latitudes and climate. — Miocene beds are somewhat widely 

 distributed in high latitudes. They are found in Spitzbergen (Lat. 78°), 

 in Greenland (Lat. 70°), in Grinnell Land (Lat. 81° 45'), and at other 

 points in the Arctic regions. In all these places the formations seem 

 to have been largely of terrestrial origin, and the fossil floras indicate 

 a warm temperate climate. Forty-six of the 137 species of plants 

 found in North Greenland 6 (Lat. 70° and less), including species of 

 sequoia and magnolia, are also found in central Europe. The floras 

 of Spitzbergen and Grinnell Land were hardly less luxuriant, or less 



1 Geikie, Text-book of Geol., 4th ed., p. 1274 from Murray and Hector). 



2 Becker, 21st Ann. Rept., TJ. S. Geol. Surv., Pt. Ill, p. 548 et seq. 



3 Hatcher, Sedimentary Rocks of Southern Patagonia, Am. Jour, of Science, 

 Vol. IX, 1900; and Ortmann, Princeton Univ. Repts. of Expedition to Patagonia, 

 Vol. IV, Pt. II. 



4 Ortmann, op. cit. 



5 M6ricke and Steinmann, N. Jahrbuch f. Min., etc., Beilagebd., X, p. 533, 1896. 

 8 Heer, Flora Fossilis Arctica, 1868-83. Also Q. J. G. S., 1878, p. 66, and Nor- 

 denskjold, Geol. Mag., 1876, p. 257. 



