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 ' 1 
 FROM THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOqlETY OF CANADA 
 
 SECOND SERIES— i896.9i 
 
 VOLUME II SECTION IV 
 
 OBOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIBNCB8 
 
 « 
 
 1> 
 5P 
 
 i ■■ :m 
 
 PALi£OZOIC OUTLIERS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 m' 
 
 
 OTTAWA RIVER BASIN 
 
 B . W. ELLS, LL.D. 
 
 
 FOR SALB BY 
 
 JOHN DURIE ft SON, OTTAWA ; THE COPP-CLARK CO., TORONTO 
 
 BERNARD QUARITCH, LONDON, ENGLAND 
 
 Z896 
 
 sJ'* 
 
 .^> 
 
 *i>'a'-.iaKkJ 
 
 *.i..w».«.^. 
 
T c 
 
 ^'^'1 IS 
 
 Sbotion IV., 1896. 
 
 [137] 
 
 Tkanb. R. 8. C. 
 
 VIII. — Paliiiozoic Outliers in the Ottawa River Basin. 
 
 By R. W. Ells, LL.D. 
 
 (Read May lil, mw.) 
 
 The presenee of fossilif'erous sediments at various pointa throughout 
 the valley of the Ottawa has been known for many years, and some of 
 these have been described in considerable detail in the earlier reports of 
 the Geological Survey. Important and extensive collections of the con- 
 tained fossils have been made froni time to time, both by oiiicei's of the 
 Survey and by others interested in the subject, and the horizon of most 
 of these outliers has thus been ascertained. No regularly arranged tables 
 of these fossils have, however, hitherto been made and j»ublished.' 
 
 The formations recognized embrace the whole range of the Cambro- 
 Silui'ian (Ordovician) system from the Potsdam sandstone to the Lon-aine 
 shales, both inclusive, while certain areas of newer strata, found at widely 
 separated points, show that the ^ledina and Niagara formations of the 
 Upi5er Silurian are also represented. 
 
 The basin of the Ottawa River, as determined by its tributaries, is 
 extensive, the drainage area probably comprising not far from 130,000 
 square miles. The Ottawa itself follows a somewhat peculiar coui-se, the 
 upper part for nearly three himdred miles flowing westward from its 
 source near the upper waters of the (iatineau, on« of its principal tribu- 
 taries from the north, to the head of Lake Temiscaming, while the lower 
 portion flows in a nearly op])osite or southeasterly direction to its junc- 
 tion with the St. Lawrence, a distance in a direct line from the head of 
 Temiscaming Lake of about four hundred and flfty miles. 
 
 The height of land which separates the drainage basin of the Ottawa 
 from that of James Bay is J'o\uid a short distance to the north of the 
 upper stretch of the river. That part of the basin between the main or 
 lower portion of the Ottawa and the northern divide is occu])ied for the 
 most part, in .so fur at least as is now known, by crystalline rocks com- 
 prising limestones, gneisses, granites, etc., of Archu'an ago, which have 
 always i)eeu regarded as belonging to the Laurentian system. To the 
 north of Ottawa city the height of land is about two hundi'ed and thirty 
 miles distant, and the eastern limit of the drainage area is marked by 
 \hv River du Nord, which after a somewhat irregular course to the 
 northwest of Montreal enters the Ottawa River about thirty miles west 
 of its junction with the St. Lawrence. To the west of Lake Temiscaming, 
 the line dividing the Ottawa waters from those of Lake Huron on the 
 
 ' The publication of these lists is for tlie present deferred, owinf? to the large 
 amount of material therein contained. They will, however, shortly appear in the 
 report of the Geological Survey on the areas adjacent to the Ottawa River. 
 
/ 
 
 138 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
 
 south and .Tamos Huv on the north, is detonnincd by the Montreal River 
 and its trihularios. while from the head wiUers ot' this stream the height 
 of hind extends soutiioat-terly in an irrcguhirly curving line to the eastern 
 end of Lake Nipissing. 
 
 To tiie south of the Ottawa, the St. Lawrence water-shed, for nearly 
 one hundred miles, keeps very close Jo the latter river, ahd in the vicinity 
 of I'rescott and Brockvillo it is soareeiy more than three to four miles 
 distant. Thence it curves northwesterly to the liead of the Eideau chain 
 of lakes in Bedford township, continiung northward through the centre 
 of the county of Addington, and the northern portions of Hastings and 
 Ilaliburtini, and separating the watei-s of the ^ladawaska and Petawuwa 
 rivers on the north from those of the Muskoka <m the south, continues on 
 to meet that already described as reaching the east shore of Lake Nipissing 
 from the Montreal Kiver basin. 
 
 The area to the north antl south of the Ottawa is well watered, 
 abounding in lakes, often of large size, with many tributary streams, so 
 that the country is comparatively easy of access by canoes through(nit 
 the greater part of its extent. Much of this areu. 'specially to the south, 
 has long been openeil u]» for settlement, the soil where underlaid by the 
 Pala'ozoic formation iieing of very sui)erior quality. The area to the 
 north, being more rugged, has been settled principally along the valleys of 
 its principal streams. 
 
 North of the Ottawa the principal attluents are the Kippewa, l>u 
 Moine, Black, Coulonge and Gatineau, with its mai\y branches, some of 
 which have their source in lake expansions of great extent, in the vicinity 
 of the upper stretch of the river, and the Lievre. Nation. Eouge and ilii 
 Nord. To the west and soutli the Montreal, ]\lattawa. Petawawa. Mada- 
 waska, Bonnechere, Mississi]ipi, Eideau and South Naticm also drain a 
 large expanse of country. Over this soulliern area the greater ])art also is 
 occupied i>y the crystalline rocks of Laurentian and Huronian age. the 
 Palieozoic areas apparently tilling deeply eroded basins in these underly- 
 ing rocks. 
 
 While much of the country, on both sides of the Ottawa, is greatly 
 broken l)y mountain masses or sti-ongly pronounced hill features, very 
 large tracts, more particvdarly as we recede from the river itself, become 
 comparatively level, presenting the aspect of great sandy plains, out of 
 which hills of granitic and gneissic rock rise to considei-able t'levations. 
 So marked is this feature of sand distribution, with its underlying bluish- 
 gray clay, that one naturally infers the presence of watei- at .some time, 
 over the greater portion of the entire area, probably tot he height of land 
 itself. This sandy character is probably best seen on the several tribu- 
 taries of the Ottawa from the north as well as along much of the Ottawa 
 itself for nearly a himdred miles below its junction with the Mattawa, 
 where for many miles the country is covered with a great thickness of 
 
[ells] PAL/I':0Z0IC outliers in the OTTAWA RIVER BASIN 139 
 
 sund, supporting at present a growth of small pine. As lor much of 
 the undcM'lying clay its origin is doubtful. Shi'lls are found only at rare 
 intervals, but in character the sedinuMits strongly resemble the marine 
 clays of the lower Ottawa. Organic rcnuiins have, however, been found 
 at widely separated points in the valley, up to elevations of over four 
 hundred and fifty feet above sea level. The overlying depo.sits of sand 
 and gravel are frequently well stralitied, and excellent sections of these, 
 as well as of the underlying clays, are ])re.s(,>nted along many of the 
 streams which have cut deep channels in the drift. In these Sa.riraiia 
 and other forms are found. 
 
 While there are no exact determinations as to the altilu<le of the hei<rht 
 of land north of the Ottawa, several close ai)proximations have been 
 obtained by means of barometric observations. The elevation of the 
 Iroquois Chute (liabelle).onthe Ilouge River, has been ti.xed by the survey 
 of the railway from St. Jerome at 875 feet on tiu- terrace level one hundred 
 feet above the river, though the elevation of the ridge oast of 8t. Fauslin, 
 which the railway crosses, is 1 ,520 feet. The elevation of the height of land 
 to the northeast between the head watei's of the Eouge and the head of the 
 Mattawin, a branch of the St. Maurice, will not probably exceed three 
 hundred leet more, as we enter upon a broad extent of plain sandy country 
 beyond the bend of the river near the Nominingue Lake and Creek, so 
 that the height of land in this direction would not be far from 1.050 to 
 1,100 feet. Further west, near the sources of the (iatineau and upper 
 Ottawa, the height of land has been estimated, by Dr. Eell, at about the 
 same tigure, the elevation of (<rand Lake being put at about 860 feet. 
 From observations by A. E. Barlow, the height of tho Abittibbi divide, 
 north of Lake Temiscaming. is put at 1)23 feet, while that at tho bead of 
 Montreal lliver is not far from l.HOO feet, the eU'vation of Lake 'J'emi."-- 
 earning being only 585 feet. Continuing round by the south the heigh, 
 of the divide at Lake Nipissing is only 642 fei't. iiut this gradually rises 
 till, at the head waters of the Muskoka and Petawawa, it is, according to 
 Murray, about 1,400 feet. Near the source of the Madawaska River at 
 Papineau Lake, the same authority gives the elevation at 1.121 feet. 
 Murray also places the source of the Little Madawaska at 860 feet, and 
 of Wahsuhze Lake at the head of the Maganetawan at 1,097. Further 
 east the height of tho divide at the head of the Rideau lakes, accoriling 
 to the Canal survey, has sunk to 4 17 feet. 
 
 The principal ai'ca of fossiliferous sediments in the Ottawa valley, is 
 that which extends up the lower part of the Ottawa River from its junc- 
 tion with the St. Lawrence and is continuous with the great area which 
 occupies the valley of the St. Lawrence for hundreds of square miles. 
 Prior to the deposition of these sediments a deep depression must have 
 extended northwestward from that river for many milesand the(lrainage 
 basin of the Ottawa, even at that early time, was well established. The 
 
140 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
 
 st'dimciitary dcjtOHilN aloni; the nortli sido ol'tlir lower Otlawii at prcseiit 
 i'onn a narrow margin aloii^ llit> stivain wliicli is <()ntiim()us almost to 
 till' Chats Falls, nearly one himdrod and Hf'tj' miles from its mouth. Tlie 
 area is hoimiled 1)}' ranges of hills which rise a short distance haek from 
 the river ; hut to the south of the Ottawa the country is largely a level 
 plain. aii<l the Hi-dimentary formations s])read over a very considerahle 
 extent, whoso wostern limit may bo roughly hounded by a line drawn from 
 Arnprior. forty miles west of Ottawa city, to Brockville. on the St. 
 Lawrence, about one hundred and twenly-tive miles west of Montreal, 
 Several small outcrops of the underlying crystalline rocks appear, how- 
 ever, from beneath these generally horizontal strata. 
 
 The basal beds of this great series of fossiliferous sediments nrc^ fre- 
 quently composed of the debris of the Laurentian gneiss an<l limestone, 
 upon which these arkoso strata rest, and these constitute the lowest 
 member of the Potsdam sandstone which is now regarded as the base of 
 Culciferous lormation. The whole series along the lower Ottawa is of 
 special interest from the geological and jjaheimtological standpoint, from 
 the fact that wo have here, in unaltered form and undisturbed, a com 
 pletc series of strata which maj" be regarded as furnishing a ty|)ical 
 section of the Cambro-Silurian system from the very bottom t<> the over- 
 lying Silurian. While, however, .several sections are found which enable 
 us to measur'- the thicknesses of the various formations, this thickness is 
 found to vary somewhat in diHerent portions of the area; and though the 
 strata, as a whole, ai'c com])arativoly horizontal in attitude they are at 
 nriny points atfectoil by local faults, some of which are of considerable 
 extent, so that the problem of the deterntination of the entire thickness 
 is th'^'/eby somewhat complicated. 
 
 In addition to the ( ■anibro-Silurian formations which occur in this 
 area, wi; tin<l to the southeast of Ottawa city, in O.sgoode and Rus.sell. 
 townships, several outcrops of a I'cddish sandy shale, jirecisel}- similar to 
 what have been described as occurring in the area east of the St. Law- 
 I'ence, between Montreal and Quebec, and which have there iieon regarded 
 as belonging to the Medina, iiike the St. Lawrence outliers the.se newer 
 red beds also appear to rest unconformably upon the Lorraine or titica 
 shales, while in the western part of the basin, on Lake Temiscaming, the 
 geological section is still lurlher extended upward by the presence of 
 several outliers of Silurian fossiliferous strata whicdi represent the Niagara 
 formation. It will thus be .seen that the fossiliferous sediments of the old 
 Ottawa basin have a very wide range, and that this area atfords especially 
 good facilities for the study of these early sedimentary strata. 
 
 The Potsdam sandstone is reailily recognized by its ]u'culiar physical 
 features wherever it t)ccurs. It fills uj) depressions in the underlying 
 crystalline rocks, is uniformly siliceous in compo.sition and varies in colour 
 from a gray to a deep red, the latter tint being a])parontly duo to the 
 
[buh] palaeozoic 0I"''LIERS in the OTTAWA UIVER BASIN 141 
 
 prcsonci' of u ooiiMid' ruble porcentago of iron (luMnatito) in its componi- 
 tioii. Its obwTvod .liicknoHs, on Iho Ottawa, is no wIuto nioro than lifty 
 to sixty fcot and in places is much less. In the upper stretches ol' tho 
 river it is entirely wanting, tho upper formations such us Calciferous, 
 Chazy or Trenton resting iipon the Laurontian. In tho development of 
 the Potsdam sandstone and the Calciteroiis i'ornnitions, as studied at 
 many points, no line of separation is possihle, the one passing intfi the 
 other by insensible gradations through the ad<lilion of calcareous matter 
 to the siliceous beds of the lower member. 
 
 The typical Potsdam sandslune has not yot been rccngniz.ed in the 
 Ottawa Itiver basin, much beyond the township of ^larch or about twenty 
 miles west of Ottawa city. At the Chats Falls and further west along 
 tho shore of the Chats Lake between Arnprior and tho mouth of the 
 Bonnechere, the Calciferous form.s tho lowest member of the series and 
 tills up the inequalities in tho Arcluean tloor. It is succeedetl directly by 
 tho greenish-gray shales and sandstones of the Chaz}' which pass upward 
 liy tho develo])nient of calcareous bands into the upper or calcareous 
 portion of that formation. The line of the Chats Falls, properly speak- 
 ing, marks tho western limit of tho great lower Ottawa basin, though tho 
 sedimentary beds further west, around the lower part of the Chats Lake, 
 were probably at one time continuous. There is, however, a marked 
 break in the levels of the deposition of the Calciferous below and above 
 the fulls ; the Chats Lake bods being at a eonsideral)ly higher level than 
 tho.sc below. 
 
 Tho groat lower Ottawa basin is ati'octed by several low undulations, 
 though the inclination of tho strata is at a low angle throughout tho area. 
 The lowest oi' Potsdam sandstone member is very regularly expo.sed along 
 the western or Ontario margin, the highest members, viz., the Lorraine 
 shales and the overlying ^[odina, being found nearer the northwestern 
 angle of the basin but a short distance to the south and cast of Ottawa 
 city. 
 
 Between the Calciferous and the Chazy a somewhat well detincd 
 change in tho character of the strata is vi.sible at various points. Thus 
 tlu' entire .series of tlu' former consists of limestones, somewhat siliceous, 
 but generally highly dolomitic, with a well defined fauna. Occasionally 
 somewhat thin arenaceous but dohmiitic shales apjiear in tho upper 
 j)ortion. A ])eculiar feature ot tho limestone, and one iiy which the 
 formation can be readily recognized, is tho presence of geodes. holding 
 yellowish-wliito calc-spar, though sonietinu's with quartz crystals or 
 gypsum. This peculiarity is seen in tho dolomites, from the most 
 westerly outcrop on Allumette Island in the Ottawa, as well as in the beds 
 oast of tho St. Lawrence ; and as a whole the strata composing this for- 
 mation present a marked uniformity in texture and compo.sition through- 
 out their whole extent. 
 
I 
 
 / 
 
 142 
 
 ROYAL SO('IP:Ty OF CANADA 
 
 Tilt' Mtc'itiul lormiitioii. viz., llin Cliazy. h si'|turulil»' into IW(( port ions. 
 tho low*'!' of wliicli is ji sliiily and Miimly series, while tin* iipiuT is lari,'tiy 
 I'alcari'ous. Kust of Otluwu, tim lowest muiuliei's can Ix- well stiidieil alon^ 
 (lie (Irciivilic and Carillon ('anal, while the nppei' port inn is well develojied 
 in till' area to the south. K.xeollent seel ions are also e.xpo.sed in the vicinity 
 of Ottawa eity and uloni; tho whores of the Ottawa Uiver at Aylmer, and 
 on th») southern haidv in the townships of March and l''itzroy. 
 
 The lowest lieds of the ('hazy at these |)laees consist of a somewhat 
 coarse ^reenish-^ray ifiit or sandstone in places coni^lomeralic in char- 
 actor, and in general aspect not uidike some of the urilty heds of tho 
 Sillery formation. Thosi' have a IhieUness of oidy a few feet and they 
 i^raduate ii)iwards into finer i'.reiiaecnus heds of a liydit iireenish-i^ray 
 shade, with a consideraMe thickness of shales. Certain hands in this 
 jtorlion contain fossils and are fucoidal. Intorcalated hods ol limestone 
 appear in the upper part, which gradually hecomes more calcareous till 
 (he formation is essentially a limestone. At Aylmer the thickness of the 
 lower itorlions of the ('hazy, to the haae of the iiniestoni's proper, is 
 apparently not fai' iVom one hundred to out' hundred and twenty feet. 
 
 The tliickne.ss of the ujiper or calcareous portion varies greatly at 
 ditt'erent ]>laces, rangini;; from Hfly to nearly one hundred feet. In its 
 ujiper part the limestones hecome nodular, and certain beds of grayish 
 colour are largely- composed o\' Jilojnionella jilcna. 
 
 The ])assage from the up|)er beds of llu' Chazy to the ovei'lying heds 
 ol'the Bird's Kye and Black Kiver, which lie lietween those just descrihed 
 and the main mass of the Tronton fornuition. apjiears to he gradual and 
 to present no well defined break in tho succession of tho strata. The 
 Black Jiiver, which in ( 'anada includes the Bird's Kye in its lower )iortion. 
 consists of certain dark brown and black limestones ofteti cherly, break- 
 ing with a marketl couchoidal fracture, and distinguished largely by the 
 |)resence of l^ tnu/iuiii fihrafiini. which is in places so abundant as to con- 
 stitute almost the entire niabs of some of tho heds. Certain other fossil 
 I'orms. such as Coliuniuirut JIalll ami Orthoccrax Bi</til'i/i are particularly 
 dovelopod in the strata of this formation bnt from tho dilliculty of clearly 
 • listinguishing these limestones us a grou]) from the Tronton at many 
 jilaces, they are now generally included in tho latter formation. Tho 
 thickness of the Bird's Kye and Black River is giveii in tho (jeology of 
 (Janada ' as only thirty-eight feet for the area in tho lower Ottawa basin, 
 near Montreal, but on the u]i|)er Ottawa, as at Eganvillo, Douglas, etc., 
 this is increased to over one hujidred feet. 
 
 Tho Trenton is essentially a limestone formation throughout. The 
 lower jiortion consists largely of grayish and black, often bituminous 
 heds, holding an abundance of fo.ssils, among which Stenopora fibrosd is 
 very abundant ; tho upjwr .350 to 400 foot are for tho most part dark 
 
 ' Geology of Cuiiiulii, l.stV.J, ]>. lit". 
 
[EUJ»] I'AI-.KO'/OIC OUTMKKS IN THE OTTAWA RIVKll HA8IN 143 
 
 I'oloiinMl, hitiiiniiKnis and cniiiinut. with |iarlin;^8 of dark limwn or hiack 
 iuxillii<<'<'ii>"^liiil"- '11'"^ tormutioii is parlieulailv ricli in organic reniainH, 
 liotli <>l coiiiIh. shells ami triloliitoH, and tlii> area lictwuen tlir Ottawa and 
 St. liawiTiici), (»t('n|iit d \<y it, iH csiinialt'd at ovor liOd H(|Uttrt' niiU's. Tlu' 
 Idtal tliicUnoHS nf tliis t'oiiniition as di-vi'lnpcd in llic lower Ottawa liasin 
 is not tar from t>r)(» to T<K) tcct. 
 
 Till' I'tita and Hudson River n^oiTuinej t'orniations eonHtitiile the 
 nplH'r ini-nihers (d' tiit- Cuinliro Silnrian system. While havinj; tlieir 
 i^reatest development in the St. Jiawreiiee valley, they also up|)ear at 
 several [loints in the Ottawa hasin. Tlie rooks of tlu' lowei- division, or 
 the IJtiea. are usually hiaek hrittie l>ituininous shales with thin hands ot° 
 yellow-weal herini,' limestone. The formation is t hus litholoirically distinct 
 trom the underiyiiii'- Trenton. The ihitkness as j;iven in tlie typieal 
 section at the Montmorency Falls, lielow (^iieliec. is '.\\H feet, hut this 
 tliickne.ss must he ^really reduced for the deposits in the Ottawa hasin 
 wliere it will prohahly not I'eatdi one hnndri'd ti-et. TIk-i'c is no detined 
 Itreak hetween the strata of the Utica and lliose ot' the Jiorraine. the 
 ])assai;e heiuii apparently eonlinnoim. Ihi'ouiili the replacement of the 
 dark liituminons iieds by grayish shales and sandstones and hy an almost 
 entii'e disappearance of calcareoas matter. T|ie tliiekness of the upper 
 division is jtiaced at 719 feet in the St. .Lawrence section, but as in the 
 eas*' of the Utiea this must be also very larj^ely reduced for the western 
 
 area. 
 
 Tl 
 
 le on 
 
 v k 
 
 nown outlier of the Lorraine to the southeast of Ottawa 
 
 is rejircsented by a very thin series of beds, probably not more than thirty 
 or forty feet in so tar as yet ob.'served. 
 
 The fornnitions jnst described for the lower Ottawa area< omplete the 
 CambroSilurian series; but. as already intimated, in the townships of 
 ( ).sir()ode anil lius.scll. certain reddish shales and sandstones' occur whicli 
 overlie the Lorraine, and presumably represent the Medina division (»f the 
 Silurian. No fossils have yet been found in these newest outliers ; and 
 owinii' to the ijreat mantle of drill with which tliev ai 
 
 e snri'ounded. anil 
 
 for the most part concealcil, their thickness cannot be ascertained. 
 
 In order to com]ilele the series of I'aheozoic formations which occur 
 in the area now beiiiijf discu.s.sod we may hero refer to the peculiar outlier 
 of Niagara rocks whieh occurs near the up|)er end of Lake Teiniscaming. 
 A description of these is given in tlie (leology of ('aiiada, IStDJ, from 
 Avhicli we learn that the formation lies unconformably ujion the sand- 
 stones (i|uartzites) of liie Iluroniaii of that district. The lower part of 
 tlie outlier is generally arenueeous. and very often a conglomerute, con- 
 taining large boulders of the underlying rock. Mr. A. K. Harlow, who 
 has recently studied these rocks, describes them as occui'ring on both 
 sides of the lake as well as on ("liief's Lsland and on several smaller islands 
 near by. The base of the deposits is said to •■ consist of vast boulders and 
 
 ' Geology of Ciiiiii(ia, 1H(W, p. 21it. 
 
/ 
 
 144 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
 
 fragniiTits of the undorlying sandstone, in a ealcaroo-aronaccons fossilif- 
 eroiis matrix ; some of the inelosed masses being nine feet in diameter. 
 Xear by are seen llie Huronian sandstone strata, great craeks and worn 
 fissures whicli are filled witli tlie fossiliferous cement." ' 
 
 Tiie limestones whieh make up the bulk of tliis outlier are mostly 
 butl' or ereum-coloui'ed with thin intoi-stratitied shales. Some of the beds 
 are hard and cherty, resembling lithographic stone, and the whole series 
 contains an abundance of coi'als with other fossils which clearly indicate 
 tlieir horizon. 
 
 The thickness as exposed in the sections is stated to be about one 
 hundred and fifty feet, and this is probably increased by t lie series of beds 
 near the centre of the deposit, so that the whole thickness is estimated 
 by Mr. Barlow as not more than three hundred feet. 
 
 In regard to the several fossiliferous outliers which occur at often 
 widely separated points throughout the basin of the Ottawa, it may be 
 said that in none of these can the same succession of formations as we 
 have Just dcsci-ibed be observed. Some an^ represented by but one, the 
 others having been presunuibly removed by denudation of the overl^'ing 
 strata. 
 
 On the niM'th .side of the Ottawa Eiver, with the exception of the 
 small fringe which is found between the ijaurentian hills and the river 
 itself, only two, or at most three, distinct areas of small size have yet been 
 recognizeil. The most easterly of these is the small outlier of Calciferous 
 strata lying to the east of the North l?iver about .seven miles northwest 
 of St. .lerome to the north of ^lontreal. where characteristic fossils of this 
 formation are found. Further west at the village of Lachute, a hill of 
 Potsdam sand.stone occurs just east of the village with an exposed thick- 
 ness of about forty feet, and is directly overlaid by the Calciferous, which 
 is seen in the bed of the North River at the cro.ssing of the Canadian 
 Pacific I'ailway ; but these outcrops ])resumably rei)re.sent the northern 
 margin of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence basin. The succession of for- 
 mations seen in the city of Hull and thence to Aylmer and for several 
 miles bcyonil. representing roeks ot' Calciferous, Chazy. Black JJiver and 
 'J'renton age. also lu'long to the same basin, the northern nuirgin of 
 which is seen in thin strata of the ('alciferous and ('hazy near the village 
 of (^uyoii, as \\v\\ as in a small margin of the former on the north side of 
 the river near the old villagi' of Pontiae at the foot of the Chats Fails. 
 
 The northern margin of the Ai'nprior and Sand Point outlier is also 
 seen above the Chats, along the north sliore of the Ottawa for several 
 miles, as well as in .•several islands in the river below Bristol ; but on the 
 roads, a mile or so east of Portage du Fort, isolated outcrojis of dolomitic 
 ( 'aieiferous strata occur whieh have been broken up and, in ])laees, altered 
 bv the action of <tM"tain intrusive masses of o-reenstone which have cut 
 
 I (ieolofiv of Caiiiuia, 18(»:t, i)p. :m'M. 
 
[BLL8] PAL/EOZOIC OUTLIERS IN THE OTTAWA RIVER BASIN 145 
 
 the undcrlyintr Luurentian limostono jind iissooiatocl gneiHs. Tliese out- 
 liers are small in extent covering only a few hundred square yards. 
 
 With the exception of a narro"/ fringe of fossiliferous strata of (^al- 
 ciferous and Chazy age along the shore of Coulonge Lake, which is an 
 expansion of the Ottawa above the village of Fort Coulonge, and well 
 seen at Seche Point, as well as at the point above, no otlier deposits of 
 sedimentary fossiliferous rocks were observed in this area. The I'otsdam 
 sandstones iuivc evidently not been deposited along these upi)er stretches 
 of the river basin, as tiie Talcifei'ous and Chazy rest direct l}- upon the 
 crystalline rocks. 
 
 The largest area of the Pahcozoic strata in this direction is presumably 
 that which occupies the greater part of Alhunette Island and extends 
 eastward across the channel of the Ottawa, comprising a very consider- 
 able portion .)f the township of Westmeatli. The formations here repre- 
 sented are the Calciferous. on the west end of the island, ( 'hazy and Black 
 River, the latter ot wliich has been particulat-ly studied at I'aquette's 
 Itajtitls near the jimction of the south or rei.:^ roke channel with that 
 which continues down the north side of the island. The fossils occur in 
 the usual dark-grayish limestone and are frequently silicitied. causiuii- 
 them to stand out distinctly from the weathered or water worn surface of 
 the containing rocks. The €haz\' i's represented by the lower u-reenish- 
 gray shales and sandy beds and by the upper or limestone fornuitions, 
 the ui)per beds presenting the same nodular character as .seen on the 
 lower Ottawa. 
 
 The western etiife of this outlier shows a verv narrow martrin of 
 Calcifer(nis on the shore about four miles above the town of Pembroke, 
 while the Chazy portion is represented in the town it.self and for several 
 miles to the southeast. The Westmeath area, which is the eastward 
 I'xtension of that on the island, shows but few outci'oi)s of solid rock, the 
 country being generally low and dritt covered, but large masses of the 
 characteristic «^'hazy and Black liiver limestone are seen at several points 
 indicating tlie existence of the basin ovei- a considerable area. The 
 elevation of the Alhunette Lake is about 370 feet above sea level which 
 would be about the same as tor the Chazy and Black River ridge at 
 Sand Point near Arnprior. 
 
 Another area of considerable size, but apparently separated from 
 that just described, is seen to the south of the lower end of Miiskrat Lake 
 in the townships of Staflbrd and Bromley. The outlier embraces nearly 
 twenty .square miles and consists of the Chazy and Black Piver for- 
 mations (mly, in so far as can lie determined, the latter being particular!}' 
 well exposed. Like other Paheozoic outcrops in this basin, the strata lie 
 in a nearly or quite horizontal attitude, the inclinations observed being 
 only from 1° to ;{°, the principal area rising in a somewhat bold escarp- 
 ment from the vallev of the Muskrat IJiver to a height of seventy-five or 
 
146 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
 
 1 1 
 
 III 
 
 eighty feet. Tlieslialy liedsof the Cliazy do not iippour in this direction, 
 but the upper part of the plateau is oceupied l)y tlie lower portion of the 
 Trenton proper. 
 
 A aomewhat extensive and important outlier is that found on the 
 Bonnechire and extending on both siiles of tiiat stream for several miles. 
 
 To the east of Lake Dore. a ridge of a hundred feet or so in height is 
 thickly strewn with large blocks of Black liiver limestone and with 
 boulders of Laurentian gneiss, the former holding characteristic fossils of 
 the formation. Well defined ledges, however, rarely appear, though 
 they are found at several points, rendering it probable that they underlie 
 the area over a very considerable extent. These massive blocks of the 
 Black Hiver limestone form a peculiar feature, not only here but at 
 several widely separated points and show that the Hhick liiver formation 
 has liad a very considerable development, being probably s))read in a 
 regular sheet at about the same elevation over long distances, throughout 
 that part of the Ottawa basin above the Chats Falls in the vicinity of 
 Arn]irior, the beds near which place would seem to mark a second stage 
 of elevation in the deposition of this formation. 
 
 In the bed of the Bonnechere liiver near the village of Douglas, well 
 defined ledges of the ('hazy shales and sandstones are seen which dip at 
 angles of ii° to 20° and these pass upward into the characteristic Chazy 
 limestone which at the summit of the ridges to the north and south 
 graduates into the Black liiver formation. What arc regarded as Trenton 
 beds are stated to occur at Jessup's Rapids about seven miles west of 
 Douglas and not far below the town of Kganville ; but as the lower 
 (jhazy occu]ties the bed of the stream at that place, dislocations must 
 occur which have broken the regular succes.sion of strata. The beds of 
 the Black liiver are well exposed at this place, both along the stream and 
 on the hills to the south, the thickness of the formation here being 
 apparently not far from one hundred feet. Sections of the formations at 
 these places on the Bonnechere were published by Murray in 1854.' 
 
 The elevation of t he I Jiver Bonnechere at Douglas, is given by Murray 
 at 383 feet The area along the stream is separated to the nortli by a 
 ridge of crystalline limestone and gneiss, on which Douglas village is 
 built, from a more extensive area which occupies a very considerable 
 portion of the townships of Bromley and Wilberforce. and extends from 
 the eastern side of I )or6 Lake for some fifteen miles in a southeast direction 
 with an average breadth of from four to five miles. The upi)er beds of 
 this outlier clearly belong to the Trenton formation, while to the south 
 of the Bonnechere, Black Elver beds have a breadth of over one mile a.id 
 extend for several miles eastward in a ridge along the .south .siiU' of the 
 stream. The two areas presumably connect in the tiat-lying country to 
 the east of Douglas. To the south of Lganville also an exten.sion of the 
 
 I Report of Progress, lS.53-.5(), pp. !tt!»H. 
 
lirection, 
 mx of the 
 
 (I on the 
 ml miles, 
 height is 
 and with 
 J fossils of 
 I-, thounh 
 Y underlie 
 ;ks of the 
 ■re but at 
 formation 
 read in a 
 u'oughout 
 i-ieinity of 
 :'ond stage 
 
 iiglas. well 
 ich dip at 
 Stic Chazy 
 and south 
 IS Trenton 
 es west of 
 the lower 
 Lions must 
 'he beds of 
 tream and 
 lere being 
 mat ions at 
 854.' 
 
 ly Murray 
 )rth by a 
 village is 
 )nsiderable 
 tends from 
 *t direction 
 ler beds of 
 the south 
 I' mile a.id 
 sidi' of the 
 country to 
 sion of the 
 
 -i 
 
 l^BLLs] PALvEOZOIC 0UTLIEP:< the OTTAWA RIVER BASIN 147 
 
 upper Bonneehtire outliers is sjoii witii a breadth of more than a milo 
 resting upon the liaurentian gneiss. 
 
 Owing, however, to the very considerable extent of the drift deposits 
 over much of this country, it is obviously very ditticult to detei'mine with 
 ^lecuraey the limits of these outcrops, since largo areas are covered with 
 blocks of the HlacU River formation, which rest i)re8umably in many 
 cases upon the underlying gneiss and granite. 
 
 On the line of the Ottawa. Arnprior and Parry Sound railway, about 
 three miles west of the station of Killaloe, which is near the southwest 
 angle of Golden Lake, a small outlier of grayish sandy-looking limestone, 
 possibly a part of the Chazy formation, has been cut through. The 
 ox|)Oscd outcrop is only a few hundred yards in extent lying among the 
 hills of giieiss and granite. The elevation of the spot on the railway 'vas 
 not ascertained, but is not far from 750 feet. 
 
 To the south of this, on the southwest portion of Clear Lake, dejiosits 
 of Trenton limestone are overlaid near the shore by typical Utica shales 
 containing fossils' characteristic of that formation. The elevation of 
 Clear Lake is 745 feet above the sea, and this is the only observed out- 
 crop of the Utica west of the city of Ottawa. Its elevation above the 
 lake is about one hundred feet, but on the road which extends along the 
 mountain at a further height of 500 feet c)r about l,3.jO feet above the 
 sea. great quantities of large blocks of the Black River limestone are 
 scattered about. These do not. however, represent an outlier in place, 
 the jiresent position of the blocks being evidently due to ice action in 
 some form. On the Opeongo road, however, about tive miles east of this 
 place, a large outlier of the Black River tbrmation is seen. 
 
 In the vicinity of Calabogie Lake, which has an elevation of 503 feet, 
 outliers of Chazy and Black J{iver rocks occur, both on the north and 
 south side. The exposed outcrops are but small, much of the area being 
 drift covered. Chazy blocks are also numennis on the Opeongo road 
 aliiiut eight miles west of JJcnfrew, indicating a jjossible outlier of the 
 formation in ihis direction. To the southwest of Clear Lake in the 
 township ot Lvndoch. an outlier of Silurian rock was also discovered by Dr. 
 F. D. Adams in l,s94. This is not far from the Madawaska River, but in 
 the aliscnce of fossils from this locality, its exact horizon cannot yet be 
 stated. 
 
 On the up|)er Ottawa an interesting (jutlier is seen on both sides of 
 the river at Deux Rivieres, about twenty miles below the mouth of the 
 Matlawa. The exposure is seen along the stream for about three miles 
 and consists for the most part of an impure limestone, which liecomes 
 more sandy in its lower ])ortion. It is a buff gray in colour, and sutti- 
 ciently siliceous to be used for grindstones. Throughout the entire 
 thickness of the outlier orthoceratites and other fossils occur which fix its 
 horizon as that of the Mlack Hiver formation, though in lit hological char- 
 
148 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
 
 iictor tho strata are (luito ditforcnt from tlioHC of the typical Hlaclc IJivor 
 of the lower Ottawa. Tlu'.se beds extend along the stivam to fi'liveille 
 Rapids, a distance of aliout tlireo miles, and the elevation of this point is 
 480 feet ahovc sea. Interestinn' outliers also occur on some of tlie islands 
 in Lake Nipissing, at an elevation of 642 feet. These are also of Black 
 lliver ai;e. but like those last mentioned the strata differ in aspect from 
 those of the lower Ottawa, tliou^-h the contained fo.ssils are similar. 
 
 The formations recoifnizi-d in all these I'alico/.oic outliers, are for the 
 most j)art. hiifhly fossiiifertius, with the exception of the Potsdam sand- 
 stone. Ill this, as deveIo|)ed in the lower Ottawa hasin. the ])rinci[ial 
 traces of oru;anic remains are seen in the peculiar markini^s known as 
 Scidif/tus. which, on weathcri'il surfaces, present the form of nearly 
 cylindrical holes from the twentieth to the eighth of one inch in diameter. 
 Some of the strata aiv thickly studded with these markings which pene- 
 trate the I'ock to a depth of several inches, sometimes in a direct course 
 luit frerpieiuly curved, and often irregularly contorted. The origin of 
 tliese is. as yet. douiitful. Other jieculiar markings found on the surfaces 
 of certain \<v(\:< of the sandsloui' have apparently hoen caused by the 
 passaii'e of some crustacean across them, of which, however, no trace has 
 j-et hei'n found in the rock itself. These have received the name of 
 Priitii:linites. As we approach the transition beds between the sandstones 
 and the calcareous members of the Calciferous, however, several well 
 dcHned forms of lirac hiopods. gasteropods aiul cephalopods occur, among 
 which species of Jjiiiijidn and Oiihilcta are recognized. These are well 
 .seen on the .southern nuirgin of the main Ottawa basin at Beverly, in the 
 township of Bastard, not far from the head of the chain of the Jlideau 
 lakes, and these fossils may be held to mark the lowest well defined forms 
 of organic life yet found in the Cambro-Silurian system of the Ottawa 
 basin and that of the St. Lawrenci- basin adjacent. 
 
 While the strata in all the areas described tire for the most ])art 
 nearly horizontal, indications of faults are (clearly visible at a number of 
 poiiUs and tend to render uncertain the calculations made to determine 
 the thickness of the several geological divisions. Several of these can be 
 well seen about the city of (Jttawa and in the country to the west 
 between that place and Arnprior. Along the lower ( )ttawa also, tibout 
 llawkesbury and L'Orignal. several breaks can be observed which affect 
 tlie strata of the Chazy and I^lack JJivcr formations. 
 
 The jiresence of intrusive masses is also clearly seen at several points, 
 among which nuiy be mentioned the Pot.sdam area of Nepeaii, near the 
 line of the township of .March, where dykes cut the underlying hau- 
 rentian as well as the overlying Potsdam sandstone. These are particu- 
 larly well seen in the cuttings of the Ottawa and I'arrv Sound railway ; 
 while further west near i'oi'tage <lu Fort the Calciferous beds ii'-e also 
 similarix' affecti'd. 
 
[ELL8] PALAEOZOIC OUTLIERS IN THE OTTAWA RIVER BASIN 149 
 
 As alroiuly intiinatod very considorahlc collections of" tlio contained 
 organic remains have lu-en made at, various times. These have now been 
 determined and have been ])roporly classitied and arranged under tiicir 
 respective localities by Br. H. M. Ami and by Mr. L. M. Lumbe. As 
 these lists will be of great benefit for the purpo-ic of determining exact 
 horizons and for assisting in the future study of these interesting out- 
 liers, a number of them have been ])repared, which will shortly' appear in 
 the Geological Survey's rei)ort on this area, now in course of publication. 
 It may be remarked, however, that the fossiliferons sediments of the 
 extreme western portion of the basin ditfer very considerably froni liiose 
 of the tj'pical areas as developed along the lower Ottawa in lithological 
 character ; and in this I'espect thoy approach somewhat the sediments 
 founil in the basins of Lake Ontario, Krie and Huron, Avliere apparently 
 somewhat different conditions of dei)osition have prevailed. The deposits 
 are somewhiit more sandy and dolomitic in their character, resembling 
 the peculiar deposits of similar horizons seen in the valley of the Red 
 Jiiver in Manitoba ; so that those of the upner Ottawa ajjparently par- 
 take of the character of both, or are intermediate between those of the 
 two districts, so widely separated by distance. Those of the lower Ottawa 
 are for the most part clearly due to conditions of deep water deposi- 
 tion, while the western deposits are apparently more littoral in character 
 or have been laid down in shallow \yater8. The evidence therefore seems 
 fairlj' conclusive that over a very large portion of the Ottawa River basin 
 the Paheozoic fi>rmations were at one time continuous over its greater 
 part. The subsequent denudation must, hovvever. have l)een enormous, 
 since not only has the greater jiart of these been removed, the evidence 
 of such removal being readily seen in the many bold escarpments at 
 widely separated jtoints throughout the area, but there are also great 
 depo.sits of clays, sand and gravel, which constitute a marked feature 
 over many portions of the basin itself. 
 
 See. IV., 18J«. 9.