164 
THE GEOLOaiST. 
truly remarkable object, and described by Captain Bayfield as being 
worn so small at its base by the waves, that it appeared astonishing 
that it could resist their force or the pressure of the ice. It sub- 
sequently' disappeared, and has fallen into deep water, it base having 
become worn away by the action of the sea ; but for a long time it 
formed a prominent object to the mariner. Boats could pass between 
it and the Cape when there was no surf. The Gaspe limestone of 
the Cape is the equivalent of the Niagara limestone of the upper 
Silurian foi'mation. (See map, plate vi.). 
5. — Little River Caverns, Bat of Chaleur. 
From Cape D'Espair to Little River, in the Bay of Chaleur, the 
cliffs which form the coasts are composed of beds of conglomerate, 
which belong to the lower carboniferous rocks already mentioned, 
with a gentle dip to the southward. They have been described by 
Sir Wm. Logan as very narrow, and consisting of nothing more than 
mere patches of the rim of the formation. These have been saved 
from the wearing action of the sea, which has carried off other parts, 
by the presence of harder tilted strata at high-water mark. This is 
well seen at the present time, for wherever the cliff is wholly formed 
of the rough conglomerate, deep horizontal caverns have been fonmed 
beneath by the action of the waves dashing against their base. The 
cliff being thus deprived of support, gTcat masses, cracked vertically 
off fall in huge fi-agments, wliich form a temporary talus, of which 
Sir William believes that it is possible the ice of winter may assist 
other causes in effecting a removal.* 
6. — Arched and Flower Pot Rocks of the Mingan Islands. 
The Mingan Islands are twenty-nine in number and uninhabited, 
they lie close to the northern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, are 
bold and precipitous on their north, east, and west sides, whilst they 
are low and shelving towards the south. None of them exceed three 
hundi'ed feet in height, and ancient beaches and ten-aces are met 
with in nearly all, far above the reach of the highest tides. The pre- 
sent appearances of these islands are such as to indicate that at one 
time probably hundreds of caverns existed at the base of the cliffs 
and precipices of the Lower Silurian limestone rocks which were ex- 
posed to the wearing action of the sea. The violent action of the 
waves must have been nearly as gi-eat at one time as at present sub- 
sists on the shores of the Shetland Islands, where huge caverns are 
worn out of the hardest and most ancient rocks, which at the same 
time offer a greater resistance than the soft limestones which com- 
pose the Lower Silurian formation. The evidences of former sea- 
caverns in the Mingans consist of many hmidreds of columns of 
various shapes and heights resembling flower-pots, and arched and 
* Geol. Soi'vey of Canada. Report for 1841. 
