82 
MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 2. 
a light buff and are characterized by the presence of abundant 
casts of salt crystals. 
Phillips Formation. The Gateway formation passes gradually 
into the overlying Phillips formation which consists mainly of 
dark purplish and red metargillites, sandy argillites, sandstones, 
and quartzites. At several horizons are intercalated thin lami- 
nae of green, siliceous argillite. These rocks are exposed in a 
rock cut on the Great Northern railway, 1§ miles east of Elko, 
from which point they rise to the east in the hill to the north of 
the track. 
Roosville Formation. The Phillips is overlain conformably by 
the Roosville which is composed mostly of massive, laminated, 
green, siliceous metargillites weathering greenish grey and 
rusty brown, and buff coloured sandstones. Mud cracks are 
abundant at all horizons. The Elk River canyon is carved in the 
horizontal strata of the Roosville formation. Cryptozoan forms 
occur at several horizons near the top of the Roosville. 
Burton Formation. The Burton formation, called after Burton 
creek near Elko, rests with no discordance of dip on the Roosville 
siliceous metargillites, and consists in great part of greenish 
black, calcareous shales with interbedded siliceous limestone 
bands. A detailed section of the Burton formation at Elko is as 
follows. 
Elko formation. 
Burton formation. ■< 
Greenish black shales with 
limestone interbands .... 60 + feet 
Sandy limestone 10 
Greenish black shale 4 
Calcareous grit 3 
u 
u 
u 
Hematite conglomerate . 
8 — 10 inches. 
Unconformity. 
Roosville formation. 
The hematite conglomerate, the base of the Burton, is com- 
posed of rounded to subangular pebbles of siliceous hematite, 
embedded in a cement consisting of quartz and hematite. 
This conglomerate passes gradually into the overlying grit 
which is made up of angular and subangular grains of the 
