82 
the intention of the Dawsons, the upper limit of the Kootenay must be 
drawn high up in the beds now referred to the Rlairmore formation, but 
below the beds containing the upper Blairmore flora. If the Intermediate 
flora is the equivalent of the lower Blairmore flora, very little or none of 
the beds now included in the Blairmore, i.e., the beds between the coal and 
volcanic zones, can be referred to the Kootenay. Whatever the age of the 
Intermediate flora is, it may prove wise to draw the upper limit of Kootenay 
as Leach has drawn it, at the top of the coal zone, i.e. the coal zone of 
southwestern Alberta; it cannot be drawn at the top of the beds now referred 
to the Blairmore, for beds expressly stated by the Dawsons to lie outside 
the Kootenay would be included in it; and it cannot be conveniently 
drawn within the beds between the coal and volcanic zones, i.e. within the 
beds now referred to the Blairmore, for there is no lithological change to 
mark it. However, until the Mill Creek and Intermediate floras of the 
Oldman are restudied and their identity as Blairmore floras is established, 
the final interpretation of Kootenay is best left in abeyance. Probably 
the most important departure from the original definition and usage is in 
the exclusion of the lower marine beds, which have been removed to form 
the Fernie formation. 
PREVIOUS STUDIES 
A brief review of previous work on the faunas and floras of the Blair- 
more region is given below. 
Earlier workers found few fossils in the Fernie formation of this region. 
A few Belemnites had been observed and some fragments of Plesiosaurian 
bones. 1 Outside the Blairmore region, however, a few fossils of diagnostic 
value had been found: ammonoids had been collected near Fernie, B.C., 
west of the Rocky mountains, had been studied by Whiteaves 2 , and on 
their basis a Jurassic correlation had been made ; far to the north ammon- 
oids and other fossils had been found at Minnewanka lake and at first were 
dated as Cretaceous 3 , but later were recognized as Jurassic. 4 * 
The Kootenay flora had been known for a long time and the earliest 
work of the Dawsons included studies of this flora from the region around 
Blairmore. The history of the introduction of the name Kootenay and 
its restriction by Leach have been briefly reviewed above. 
The name Blairmore was given by Leach, on his map published in 
1913 6 , to the formation which he had previously designated as “Dakota? 6 ,” 
and which other authors had designated as “Dakota” in southwestern 
Alberta, The term Blairmore has gradually come into use and has now 
almost entirely supplanted the earlier name. Prior to the writer's work 
no Blairmore floras had been recognized, but as already noted the Inter- 
mediate flora and Mill Creek flora of the middle branch of Oldman river 
may be Blairmore floras. The floras of these localities have not been, 
studied since Dawson's time. 
1 Geol. Surv.. Canada, Sum. Rept. 1913, p. 298 (1914). 
* Whiteaves, J. F.: Ottawa Naturalist, vol. 17, pp. 65-67, text figs. (1903), 
* McConnell, R. G.: Geol. Surv., Canada, Ann. Rept., N.S., vol. II, pt. D, p. 17 (1887). 
Whiteaves, J. F.: Geol. Surv., Canada, Cont. Can. Pal., I, pt. 2, p. 163 (1889). 
* Dowling, D, B.: Geol. Surv., Canada, "Cascade Coal Basin," pp. 8, 9 (1907); Mem. 53, p. 26 (1914). 
6 Geol. Surv., Canada, Sum. Rept. 1912, p. 234 (1913). 
* Geol. Surv., Canada, Sum. Rept. 1911, p. 195 (1912). 
