GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTH GEORGIA. 809 



Royal Bay, and the presence of a great thickness of the rocks of the lower division 

 is evidence that one of the hollows in the Cape George Series existed here, and has 

 been filled up by the younger rocks. 



There are several horizons of dark shales in the lower division, which are seamed 

 with secondary quartz, which is extensively but not anywhere continuously developed. 

 They occasionally carry some iron pyrites and tiny specks of copper pyrites. In 

 other places the black graphitic shales display iron pyrites and incrustations of 

 gypsum. We will refer to all these occurrences at a later stage of the report. 



Cape Charlotte to Cooper Island and the S.E. 



A short distance below Cape Charlotte the low foothills disappear, and the coast 

 recedes into the slopes coming down from the main range. The slopes of the range 

 are practically one continuous ice-field, and every recess or little fiord is occupied 

 by a glacier right down to sea-level. Between Cape Charlotte and Cooper Island 

 three large and three small glaciers come down to sea-level. 



It is a snow- and ice-covered country, merely a collecting ground for glaciers, 

 while here and there rock escarpments and splintery crests rise above the cover of 

 ice and snow. From Cooper Island to the south-east point of the island, Cape Dis- 

 appointment, the coast is bordered by steep hills with deep rugged glens, each con- 

 taining a glacier, coming down to sea-level. The glaciers were formerly connected 

 with broad ice-fields, which covered most of the hills and left only the steeper 

 ridges and crests exposed. 



Leaving Cape Charlotte and going towards the south-east, the island recedes 

 several miles to the south-west and the rocks of the middle division appear to have 

 sunk under the sea. The exposed rock standing out to sea, between Cape Charlotte 

 and Cooper Island, apparently belongs to the middle division. At Cooper Island a 

 complete change takes place. It is formed of a hard resistant rock, dipping at very 

 steep angles in a north-west to north direction, but the dip does not appear to be 

 uniform. 



The rock weathers to a creamy-white colour along the shore and for 50 to 100 

 feet above it ; but nearer the highest point, where a cirque has been cut into it, the 

 colour is more of a greyish blue. 



On the mainland opposite Cooper Island the same rock appeared to strike inland 

 in a direction west-north-west or thereby, in a broad ridge rising into steep slopes 

 and splintery ridges, from which it was impossible to obtain specimens. 



From Cooper Island to the south-east point of the mainland the rocks appear to 

 be different from anything seen on the north-east coast. About a mile or two from 

 the south-east point another ridge of steeply inclined rocks, with steep slopes and 

 splintery crests, runs west-north-west. It is composed of creamy-white rocks ap- 

 parently of the same character as those on Cooper Island. 



