Geology of the Rocky Mountains. — Coleman. 91 
spread in the shape of moraines, lakes dammed with loose 
materials, polished and striated rock surfaces. In fact the 
Ice age still exists in a shrunken condition in the hundreds, 
perhaps even thousands, of glaciers to be found on the higher 
summits. A score may often be observed from a single point, 
e. g., any summit along the Sun-wapta. A glacier traversed 
by us on Misty mountain is nearly three miles in length, with 
a magnificent ice fall. Many others are much longer and 
larger than this, especially east and west of Fortress lake ; 
but all appear to be shrinking, as proved, in some instances, 
by a series of terminal moraines below the present ice foot, 
the lowest tree-covered, the higher ones still bare. The low- 
est level of permanent ice observed was at the foot of a large 
glacier which comes down to the level of the valley, 4,400 
feet, on Whirlpool river near the summit of the Athabasca 
pass. 
Since the retreat of the ice from the lower levels there has 
not been time, e. g. along the Brazeau, for the formation of 
very high terraces, though most of the river valleys show 
traces of terracing. North of the Saskatchewan nothing at 
all like the fine terraces of Bow river was observed. The 
man} r lakes, ranging in size from Fortress lake, eight miles 
long, to mere ponds, indicate also a comparatively recent re- 
treat of the ice. The wearing away of a small amount of 
rock would drain Brazeau lake, which is separated from a 
violent rapid by only a few feel of quartzite. The fine water- 
falls of the Sun-Wapta and Athabasca have cut their way 
back through canons, sharp-walled but only a few hundred 
yards long, indicating only a short period of action under 
present conditions. 
To sum up the geological features of the region examined. 
we may describe the southeastern portion, well displayed 
along the Brazeau river, as consisting of a series of seven or 
more minor ranges, each striking northwest and southeast, 
and tilted 25°-45 toward the coast line of the Pacific. These 
blocks, consisting of thousands of feel of quartzite and con- 
glomerate, often overlain by thousands of feel of Devonian 
limestones, appear to have been thrown into their present 
attitudes by a series of reversed faults, as described by Mc 
Connell in Bow pa>s. The rare folds observed in this portion 
