NATURAL HISTORY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NEW HRUNHWICK. 449 
river, rise in the Pre-Carboniferous highlands, and all show a change 
of direction near the line of contact between Carboniferous and Pre- 
Carboniferous, which must have some physiographic meaning ; and 
the parts of these rivers flowing over the Carboniferous plain have 
cut well into that great peneplain, which rapidly falls in elevation to 
the eastward. What, now, is the explanation of the remarkable right- 
angled bends which thus throw these several independent streams into 
one trunk ? We notice, first of all, that the general line of these 
bends is nearly that of the trunk valley of the Northwest, and this 
suggests that they lie in the same synclinal depression, which is 
probably the case. Moreover, it is likely this part of the Miramichi 
occupies a great trough parallel with the Appalachian trend (see pre- 
ceding note), so that another influence has aided in throwing them 
together. In any case, however, their direction and parallelism 
suggests that they formerly (i. e. on the Tertiary peneplain) emptied 
independently into the sea to the eastward, following an even slope of 
the little disturbed Carboniferous strata. Indeed, it is possible that 
traces of such an arrangement still exist, for our maps"^" show a 
remarkable arrangement of rivers to the eastward. Barnabys River 
cuts straight back from the lower Miramichi and has long branches 
from the westward, which are approximately in line with the Miramichi 
branches, while still farther to the eastward the Napan, Black and 
Bay du Vin rivers continue the same lines. It seems possible, there- 
fore, that the Bartholomew, the main Miramichi and Cains river 
formerly flowed along the present branches of Barnabys River, and 
along the Napan, the Black and the Bay du Vin rivers independently 
into the sea, but that the synclinal warping of the Tertiary peneplain 
(aided perhaps by fault lines) threw them into one another, while 
Barnabys River, flowing down the slope of the trough of Appalachian 
trend, has cut back and bisected their lower courses. 
We consider next the part above the Taxes. That the Taxes is 
the morphological head of the lower river, there is, I believe, no 
doubt. This part of the Miramichi is the most puzzling of all. Pro- 
ceeding first to its head, we notice that its upper course runs nearly 
south, until, at the junction with the western branch, it turns abrupt!}^ 
to the eastward. But exactly in line with this upper part of the 
* Unhappily, the lack of accurate maps is a well-nigh insuperable obstacle to more 
than speculative conclusions in such studies as these. 
