348 ASSINNIBOINE AND SASKATCHEWAN EXPEDITION. 



An extensive deposit of Tertiary coal was found by the 

 same gentleman on Eed Deer Eiver, in lat. 52° 12' N. 

 long. 113° W. associated with the same sands and clays as 

 at Edmonton. One group of three beds measured twenty 

 feet in thickness, of which twelve feet was pure coal, the 

 remainder being carbonaceous clays. This deposit on Eed 

 Deer Eiver extends over fourteen miles. 



On the South Branch they are said to exist, by Sir 

 Alexander Mackenzie, in long. 116° W. ; but as the 

 country between the Elbow and the mouth of Bow 

 Eiver is still in part a terra incognita, it is not improb-" 

 able that important Lignite beds may be found much 

 further east than the longitude specified by that illustrious 

 traveler.* 



At Nanino, Vancouver's Island, lignite beds, long con- 

 jectured to be of Tertiary age, but now known to be 

 Cretaceous (Dr. Hector), have been worked to some extent 

 for the San Francisco market, and to supply steamers 

 which touch there, f 



Some years since Dr. Evans, U. S. Geo., described the 

 coal of Oregon and British Columbia. He says, " These 

 coals do not belong to the true coal measures but to the 

 Tertiary period ; they have, however, been altered by 

 volcanic action. The Bellingham Bay coal particularly, 

 in consequence, is of a remarkable crystalline structure, 

 and presents under the magnifier a very singular and 

 beautiful appearance. It will produce excellent coke, 

 and is well-suited to manufacturing and domestic pur- 

 poses. It burns freely and although rather light for long 

 sea voyages, unless the construction of furnaces should be 



* Foot note, page 110, Am. Ed. Sir John Richardson's Arctic Searching 

 Expedition. 



t Pacific Railway Report, vol. vi., Geological Report. 



