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1893.] Geology and Paleontology. 469 
GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 
The Western Lowland of Ecuador.—A paper by Dr. Th. 
Wolf, read at the Berlin Geographical Society, Dec. 3, 1892, gives the 
following account of the Western Lowland of Ecuador :— 
Its superficial area is 25,950 square miles. As late as the end of 
the Neocene period the waves of the ocean washed the foot of the 
Western Cordillera of Ecuador. At the commencement of the 
Plistocene period a part of the northern half of the lowland appeared 
above the ocean while the southern half was covered over by an 
immense sandstone formation. The latter, containing here and there 
the bones of mastodons and horses, was, at a very recent period, sub- 
jected to upheaval, which gave to the country very nearly its present 
configuration. 
e great low-lying plain east and west of the Gulf of Guayaquil as 
well as the smaller alluvial plains, are quite recent formations, true 
deltas. The highest points of the coast ridge attain an elevation of 
2,300 feet in a chalk range between Guayaquil and the sea, and in the 
Cordillera of Chongon and Colonche. In the Neocene region there are 
summits of from 650 to 1000 feet. The Plistocene marine strata form 
a gently undulating country rising from 65 to 260 feet above sea-level, 
while the extensive plain of alluvium is quite level. The rivers which 
issue from the Western Cordillera, do not flow due west ; but, in con- 
sequence of the chalk range which runs north and south, form two 
extensive river systems, Rio Guayas emptying into the Gulf of Guaya- 
quil, and Rio Esmeralda, flowing without a delta into the sea at 1° 
N. latitude. (Geog. Journ. Feb., 1893). 
Devonian Fossils from Manitoba.—During the summer sea- 
son of 1888 and 1889, Mr. J. B. Tyrrell made a collection of the fossils 
of the Devonian rocks of the islands, shores and immediate vicinity of 
Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis. This collection forms the subject 
of a report by Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, published by the Geological Sur- 
vey of Canada. According to the author, this collection is one of the 
most important that have been brought back by the Survey collectors 
for many years. The species represented are of unusual interest, not 
only on account of the number of new forms, but also as showing the 
close relations that exist, in so many respects, between the fauna of 
these rocks and that of the Devonian rocks of Europe. 
