E. W. Berry — Carboniferous Plants from Peru. 191 



and the age is given as Westphalian. Both of these 

 species are represented in my collections. 



The question of the age of the Paracas deposits and 

 their relation to the widespread Carboniferous limestones 

 of the Andes is one of great importance. It was appar- 

 ently some conversation with Sehor Bravo, the Director 

 of the Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Minas regarding the Para- 

 cas continental Carboniferous that was the basis for the 

 beautiful diagrams of the relations of land and sea during 

 Carboniferous time published by Bowman, 7 which he 

 unfortunately located at Pacasmayo which is 805 km. 

 north of Paracas in a region of crystalline rocks. 



There was not time for a detailed study of the Carbon- 

 iferous of Paracas during my visit, necessarily short since 

 the peninsula is a practically uninhabited desert. The 

 wide and desert coastal plain, interrupted only by the 

 irrigated valley of lea, that extends from the igneous 

 foothills of the "Western Range to the ocean, consists of 

 wind-blown sands,, desert pavement gravel, and paper 

 shales. Similar deposits form the neck of the Paracas 

 peninsula, which is thus the result of the block-faulted 

 Carboniferous and apparently bears no relation to west- 

 erly spurs from the Andes or igneous intrusions in the 

 Coastal Plain. 



Following is a measured section of the easternmost 

 fault block and was repeated in the next block to the south- 

 west. 8 The horizons from which fossil plants were col- 

 lected are indicated and there is no chronologic change in 

 the flora from top to bottom although fossil plants are 

 more varied in the lowermost horizon. 



Thin to heavy bedded rather coarse greenish-gray sandstone, 13 

 Greenish-gray massive and crossbedded sandstone with vary- 

 ing amounts of shalv intercalations with Lepidodendron. 



(N. 21 E, 26 E) 75 



Dark shale with sandstone layers less than a foot in thick- 

 ness 55 



Sandstone with a shale parting in the middle 35 



Sandy and somewhat carbonaceous fossiliferous shale 80 



Sandy shale (tunnel) . . . .' 22 



Massive sandstone passing into thin-bedded sandstone along 

 the strike. (N. 9 E, 25 E) 30 



~ Bovrman, I., The Ancles of South America, p. 19. 

 " Measured by Professor Joseph T. Singewald, Jr. 



Am. Joue. Sci.— Fifth Series, Vol. Ill, No. 15.— March, 1922. 

 14 



