THE 



AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 



Art. I. — Physiography of Newfoundland / by William PI. 



Twenhofel. 



Introduction. 



Only isolated references to the physiography of Newfound- 

 land occur in the various papers that have been published 

 relating to its geology, while almost nothing has been written 

 on the physiography from the modern standpoint. To obtain 

 some idea of the surface, and its history, the writer, while 

 assisting in a study of the Cambro-Ordovician section of the 

 west and northwest coasts,* made such notes on the physi- 

 ography as time and opportunity permitted, and as these and 

 the conclusions based upon them may be of value, it has been 

 thought best to publish them. Only the west and northwest 

 coasts have been seen and data relating to other areas have 

 been derived from earlier writers, and in this connection the 

 map by Mr. James P. Howley, Director of the Geological 

 Survey of Newfoundland, has been of great assistance. The 

 complete absence of topographic maps and the lack of detailed 

 facts relating to the geology of much of Newfoundland, 

 requires that many of the statements be couched in general 

 terms. 



In treating the subject the major physiographic features are 

 described, and as the Newfoundland surface is to a large degree 

 controlled by rock and structure, these are shown in so far as 

 necessary for interpretation. The chief factors concerned in 



* For the opportunity of assisting in this interesting work, undertaken in 

 the summer of 1910, the writer is indebted to Professor Schuchert, for whom 

 he acted as assistant, and Doctor Charles D. Walcott ; the work being done 

 under the auspices of the Peabody Museum of Yale University and the 

 Smithsonian Institution. The writer is further indebted to Professors 

 Schuchert and Barrell for having read the paper. 



Am. Jour. Sci.— Fourth Series, Vol. XXXIII, No. 193.— January, 1912. 



