1894.] Geology and Paleontology. 411 
General Notes. 
GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 
The Geology of the Antartic Continent.—So little is known 
of the Antarctic polar regions that the résumé of facts given by Dr. 
John Murray, in a recent address before the Royal Geographical 
Society is of especial interest. Dr. Murray believes that there is 
abundant evidence of true continental land within the Antarctic circle, 
equal if not surpassing in extent the continent of Australia. Ross re- 
ports gray granite in the neighborhood of Victoria Land, and Dr. 
Donald secured some Tertiary fossils from the Seymour Island. 
D’'Urville found both granite and gneiss exposed on an island near 
Adélie Land, while Wilkes describes an iceberg in the same locality 
covered with clay, mud, gravel, stones and large boulders of red sand- 
stone and basalt, 5 or 6 feet in diameter. During the Challenger 
expedition fragments of granite and quartz were dredged from the 
bottom of the sea at the fortieth parallel of south latitude and as the 
vessel proceeded toward the Antarctic circle these fragments of rocks 
increased in number until they together with mineral particles and 
mud derived from land made up the larger part of the deposit. These 
fragment consist of granites, quartziferous diorites, schistoid diorites, 
amphibolites, mica schists, grained quartzites, sandstones, a few frag- 
ments of compact limestone, and partially decomposed earthy shales. 
They are distinctly indicative of continental land, and were undoubtedly 
transported by icebergs from the South Polar regions. 
; Among the numerous maps used by Dr. Murray to illustrate his paper 
18 one showing the oceanic deposits around the Antarctic continent. 
Near the Antarctic land are the terrigenous deposits made of detritus 
from the continent. Glauconite is found in the blue mud of this area. 
A little to the north, the bottom is covered with a pure white siliceous 
deposit, the Diatom Ooze. Still further to the north, where the Diatoms 
on the surface have been replaced by Foraminifera and Pteropods, the 
deposit is a pinkish-white Globigerina Ooze. In latitude about 40° S. 
the sea is about 3 miles in depth, and here the deposit is composed of a 
fine Red Clay, manganese nodules, zeolitic crystals, spherules of extra- 
terrestrial origin, thousands of sharks teeth, and the remains of 
Cetaceans. In this red clay area a trawl brought up in a single hand 
Over 1500 sharks teeth, some of them not to be distinguished from the 
