? 
16 Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 
the Ottawa, to the east of the meridian of Kingston, are occupied by 
stratified clays, which, unlike those of western Canada, contain 
abundance of marine shells, for the most part identical with species 
now living in the lower St. Lawrence and the gulf. The clays are in 
many cases overlaid by sands, occasionally interstratified with clay, 
which also contain marine remains. The two are regarded as forming ~ 
parts: of one formation, and as corresponding to the upper and lower 
divisions of the Champlain clay of Vermont. The lower division is 
called the Leda clay, and the upper the Saxicava sand. Ifa line be 
drawn from the outlet of Lake Champlain to Ottawa, and from the 
extremities of this, as a base, two others be carried to Quebec, there 
will be included a very level triangular area of about 9,000 square 
- miles, for the greater. part covered by the Champlain clays and sands. 
The plains on either side of the St. Lawrence below Quebec are occu- 
pied by the same formation, which is found at intervals as far down 
. as Matanne; while on the north side it Covers an extensive area in 
the valley of the Saguenay and around lake St. John and its tribu- 
taries. Clays belonging to the lower division are found at various 
levels from the surface of the sea to 600 feet above it, and in some 
cases they have been observed some feet below the sea-level. The 
river Rouge enters the Ottawa between hills of bare rock; but on its 
western side, in the fourth range of Grenville, a bank of clay 125 feet 
in thickness occurs, the summit of which is 405 feet above the sea. 
Again, not far east of this river, in the rear of Grenville, and in the 
front of Harrington, is an area of several hundred acres, underlaid by 
stratified blue clay, the surface of which is about 500 feet above the 
sea. Several similiar portions of clay occur in that vicinity. In Gaspe, 
-at the head of Lake Matapedia, stratified clay occurs at the height of 
480 feet, and near the outlet of the same lake, at the height of 
530 feet above the sea. At Bay St. Paul, on the north side of the St. 
Lawrence, terraces occur at 130 and 360 feet above the sea. Marine 
fossils occur throughout the strata in which these terraces are worn, 
and still higher at 390 feet above the sea level. In the valley of the 
Saguenay, marine clays, generally overlaid by sand and gravel, are 
found almost everywhere between Ha-ha bay and the west side of Lake 
St. Johns; as well as between that bay and Chicontimi. Between Chi- 
contimi and Ha-ha bay the clay is sometimes 600 feet in thickness. 
About a half mile below the falls of Bell Riviere, marine shells occur in 
the clay at 400 feet above the sea. 
The Saxicava sand forms a belt on the north side of the St. 
