UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 



GEOLOGY 



Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 237-266 August 6, 1921 



AN OUTLINE OF PROGRESS IN PALAEONTO- 

 LOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE PACIFIC 

 COAST* 



BY 



JOHN C. MEEEIAM 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Introduction 237 



History of invertebrate palaeontology 2S9 



History of vertebrate palaeontology 245 



History of palaeobotanical investigations 250 



Conclusions 252 



Principal publications cited 254 



INTEODUCTION 



The earliest published record known to the writer giving data on 

 palaeontological material from the West Coast section of North America 

 appears to be included in Beechey's report on the voyage of H.M.S. 

 "Blossom," published in 1831. In this publication Professor Buck- 

 land gives a description of the geology in the region adjacent to San 

 Francisco Bay, and notes that, in 1827, "Petrified bones of a cylin- 

 drical form" were found in a cliff of sand or loose sandstone near 

 Santa Ci-uz. These remains probably pertained to some member of 

 the cetacean order which is largely represented on the West Coast, 

 and is still, at this late date, among the groups of which the Pacific 

 Coast history is practically unknown. 



Development of the study of history of life on the western border 

 of North America virtually began with investigation of collections 



* Annual address of the President, read before the Palaeontological Society, 

 Pittsburgh, Pa., December 31, 1917. 



