anhise.}  THE    CORDILLERAS.  339 
ion  winch  appears  satisfactorily  to  account  for  the  appearances  met 
nth  is  that  in  consequence  of  upheaval  and  denudation  we  now 
lave  at  the  surface  a  plane  which  was  at  one  time  so  deeply  buried 
n  the  earth's  crust  that  the  rocks  beneath  it  had  become  subject  to 
granitic  fusion.  It  is  clear  that  the  granitic  rocks  beneath  were 
n  a  plastic  condition,  not  alone  from  the  fact  that  they  are  found  to 
>enetrate  the  older  series,  but  also  from  the  evidence  everywhere  met 
rith  of  the  scattering  out  of  fragments  of  the  stratified  rocks  into  the 
granites.  Both  the  granites  and  the  rocks  of  the  Vancouver  series  have 
>een  subjected  to  great  pressure  in  a  horizontal  direction,  causing  the 
ragments  in  the  agglomerates  to  assume  lenticular  forms  and  impress- 
Dg  a  more  or  less  distinctly  schistose  character  upon  them,  while  the 
Lark  included  fragments  in  the  granites  have  been  squeezed  out  into 
heets,  giving  the  portions  of  these  rocks  which  are  characterized  by 
^n  abundance  of  such  ^fragments  an  almost  gneissic  lamination.  At 
he  time  at  which  this  effect  was  produced  the  granites  must  still  have 
>een  in  a  plastic  state.  On  the  inner  side  of  Vancouver  island  it  may 
urther  be  remarked  that  for  a  long  stretch  the  flaggy  argillites  and 
[uartzites  are  frequently  directly  in  contact  with  the  granitic  rocks, 
endering  it  probable  that  the  refractory  character  of  their  materials 
as  proved  a  sufficient  barrier  to  the  progress  of  the  granitic  change, 
rhich  may,  locally,  have  nearly  reached  its  possible  limit.  Particular 
ccurrences  of  granite  at  many  localities  are  described  in  detail. 
MoOonnell,"  in  1887,  describes  the  Bow  river  series  in  the  eastern 
art  of  the  Eocky  mountains.  It  consists  of  dark-colored  argillites, 
ssociated  with  sandstones,  quartzites  and  conglomerates.  The  base 
not  seen,  but  the  part  exposed  has  an  estimated  thickness  of  11,000 
et.  The  argillites  are  occasionally  cleaved  and  have  scales  of  mica 
ten  developed  along  the  divisional  planes.  The  only  fossils  obtained 
om  this  formation  are  a  couple  of  trilobitic  impressions,  one  of  which 
as  identified  by  Walcott  as  Olenellus  gilberti. 
Bowman,100  in  1889,  states  that  certain  schists  are  found  in  the  Cari- 
>o  gold  belt  of  British  Columbia,  which  are  referred  to  the  lower 
ileozoic.  These  consist  in  the  main  of  slates  and  sandstones,  the 
tal  thickness  being  placed  in  the  neighborhood  of  from  5,000  to  8,000 
3t.  No  fossils  are  found,  and  their  position  as  lower  Paleozoic  is 
atative.  In  the  Alpine  region  of  Cariboo  are  found  gneisses,  gran- 
is  and  quartzites,  which  resemble  the  characteristic  rocks  of  the 
*chean.  Associated  with  these  are  lower  granitic  rocks.  The  entire 
fstalline  series  of  the  gold  region  of  Cariboo  is  lithologically  identi- 
[,  as  near  as  can  be  described  in  general  terms,  with  the  rocks  of  the 
Cambrian  and  Cambrian  gold, regions  of  eastern  Canada.  The 
eissic  and  schistose  type  of  rocks  of  the  mount  Stevenson  group 
ecially  (supposed  to  represent  the  lowest  horizon,  on  account  of  their 
ociation  with  granite  in  a  central  and  massive  mountain  group) 
