Rev. E. R. Leids— Notes on the Geological Survey of Lebanon. 159 
IY. — Notes on the Geology of the Lebanon. 
By the Rev. E. R. Lewis, M.A., 
Of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, Syria. 
I HAYE been fortunate enough to obtain from the eastern slope of 
Mount Hermon (Jebel esh Shech) a large lot of fossils, whicli 
not only determine the geological position of that part of the Lebanon, 
but also settle the question of the existence of Jurassic formations 
in Syria. Of course it has been often enough asserted that Jurassic 
rocks are found here, but the fact has not been considered settled 
beyond doubt. 
M. Louis Lartet, in bis “Geologie de la Palestine,” p. 120, says : — 
“ Le Cidaris glandifera et le Collyrites bicordata sont les deux seuls 
fossiles jurassiques du Liban et de l’Anti-Liban dont l’authenticite 
soit jusqu’ici etablie.” M. Lartet evidently feit that Botta, Russegger, 
and others had been hasty, if not inaccurate, in their conclusions. 
Dr. Oscar Fraas, of Stuttgart, in bis “ Aus dem Orient,” p. 40, 
says that bis chief object in visiting Syria was to determine “ with 
what part of the Jura formation we have here to do,” and adds, 
“ denn dass in Palästina die Juraformation die Hauptgruppe der 
Gebirge bilde, war mir nach Allem, was ich an Literatur kannte, 
eine ausgemachte Sache.” 
Dr. Fraas, as a geologist who had been brought up among Jurassic 
formations, and therefore by M. L. Lartet styled “geologue juras- 
sien,” was without doubt competent to decide the question which 
he went to decide. He examined the geological formation of 
Palestine from Jaffa to the Dead Sea, and from Jerusalem to the 
Mountains of Galilee. and then wrote, “ dass weder von älterer 
Kreide noch von Tertiär, geschweige von Juraformation oder sonst 
einem secundären Gebirge die Rede ist, glauben wir an der Hand 
leitender Fossile zur Genüge beweisen zu können,” p. 72. He also 
writes, p. 71, that the formation which makes up the Lebanon is the 
same as that in the south. These late and trustworthy investigations 
of M. Louis Lartet and Dr. Oscar Fraas certainly left the existence 
of Jurassic formations a matter to be yet decided. 
In the summer of 1873 I first found, on the eastern slope of Mount 
Hermon (at a place a little north of where M. Louis Lartet found 
specimens of Collyrites bicordata), a lot of fossils which differed 
from any I had hitherto found in the Lebanon. Dr. Fraas had 
never reached this place, I believe. Again, in 1874, I visited this 
place, and collected a large and exceedingly valuable set of fossils 
which I submitted to Dr. Fraas for determination. The following is 
the answer returned by him : — 
Rhynchonella lacunosa, Buch. 
Terebratula bisuffarcinata, Ziet. 
Ammonites transversarius, Quenst. 
dentatus , Rein. 
convolutus, Schloth. 
flexicostatus, Phillips. 
Ammonites hecticus, Quenst. 
pernrmatus, Sow., d’Orb. 
Nueula variabilis, Sow. 
ornata, Quenst. 
lacryma , Morr., Sow. 
Belemnites semihastatus, Blainville. 
Dr. Fraas adds to this list, “ Yraiment oxfordien ! tous des fossiles 
correspondent exactement aux fossiles du meme horizont enEurope.” 
