434 
SCO'lTS LAST EXPEDl'IMON 
times — that is, sonicwJiat later than when the great 
coal measures of England were being formed — the whole 
of the Victoria Land region became an area of deposition 
of a very interesting kind. For belonging to this period 
we find a very well marked series of rocks, named by 
Mr. Ferrar of tJie Discovery Expedition the Beacon 
Sandstone. 
In the district visited by him , the Royal Society 
Range, the series is composed mainly of a dense sand- 
stone with thin beds of shale, and is at least 2000 feet 
thick. Farther to the north the series is represented 
by a similar sandstone, but associated with beds of coral, 
shale, and limestone. In the Beardmore district it 
appears as limestone, calcareous sandstone, beds of 
coal, and shale. There can be little doubt that these 
all represent deposits of approximately tlie same period 
under slightly varying conditions. 
In the Royal Society Range (Lat. 78°-79'') the 
sandstone itself tells us a good deal. TJie grains of sand 
are very well rounded, as though wind-worn, there is 
mucli false bedding, the shale bands are thin, and there 
are remains of fresh-water plants in these bands. From 
those facts wc can postulate a low-lying area with sand 
dunes or desert sand in tlie neighbourhood, which was 
collected and redepositcd, probably by water. A semi- 
arid climate prevented any great amount of animal or 
vegetable life, for there are no fossils in the sandstone. 
There are, however, worm markings, ripple marks, and 
the casts of sun cracks, all of which mean conditions 
such as now obtain in parts ttf the Gobi Desert. As 
