TERTIARY FORMATIONS. 



345 



Scaphites Conradi. — D'Orbigny, 1850. Prodromus, p. 

 214. 



Ammonites Nebrascensis, <Sfc. — Owen, 1852. Eep. 

 Iowa, &c. 



Scaphites Conradi. — Meek and Hay den, 1856. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 281. 



Locality and position. — South Branch of the Saskatche- 

 wan. — No. 5, Nebraska Section, or most recent Cretaceous. 



TERTIARY FORMATIONS. 



No evidence of Tertiary rocks in position east of the 

 South Branch of the Saskatchewan was obtained during 

 the exploration. 



On the crest and abrupt sides of the Eiding, Porcupine, 

 and Thunder Mountains, the Indians affirm that beds of 

 Lignite exist, a statement rendered probable by the occur- 

 rence of worn fragments in the drift of the valleys of the 

 rivers flowing from those eminences. 



But this does not establish the existence of Tertiary 

 rocks on these elevations or their flanks, for Dr. Hector 

 found at La Boche Percee, near the flanks of the Grand 

 Coteau, Lignite bands in a formation which much re- 

 sembles Formation No. 5 of the Nebraska section, and 

 from the occurrence of the underlying formation on 

 the Eiding Mountain, it is not improbable that Formation 

 No. 5 is found in position there with associated beds of 

 Lignite. 



The sand dunes, which form so distinguishing a feature 

 near the Elbow of the South Branch, may have been 

 derived from Tertiary sandstones formerly overlying the 

 upper Cretaceous rocks in that vicinity. In a foot-note 

 on page 139 of the Geology and Palaeontology of the 

 Mexican Boundary Line, Prof. James Hall says that 



