t> ^^. .^'V^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 7 // A I/a Zc ^ 1.0 1^ '" ■ I.I 12 5 2.2 40 12.0 1.8 11.25 11.4 111.6 V] 7: ^ V > r^?./ 7 /A mm mmm CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. D D Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur L'Institut a microfilmd le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains ddfauts susceptibles de nuire A la quality de la reproduction sont notte ci-dessous. 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The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: National Library of Canada Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la der- nidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grflce d la g6n6rosit6 de l'6tablissement prdteur suivant : Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper Iflft hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont film^es d partir de I'angle sup^rieure gauche, de gauche A droite et de haut an bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m^thode : 1 2 3 * I 1 2 3 4 5 6 w ... . / A HISTORY OF NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. BY R. W. ELLS, M.A., Of the Geological Survey of Canada. \ \W''' MONTREAL : GAZETTE PRINTING COMPANY. 188T. :myi >,' ^ft" '"■ '-vW f.C"t,j.j**-* N A HISTORY OF NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. BY R. W. ELLS, M.A., Of the Geological Survey of Canada, MONTREAL: GAZETTE PRINTING COMPANY, 1887. A HISTORY OT NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY, BY R. W. ELLS, ALA., 0/ the Geological Suney of Canada. The literature pertaining to the Geology of New Brunswick, embracing a period of nearly half a century, and expressing the views of nearly a score of observers, has become at length so volum- inous as to be in a manner somewhat unintelligible to one not fami- liar with the Province and the peculiar geological problems there presented. For this reason it has been deemed advisable to pro- duce, in concise form, an epitome of the work done and the opinions held, from time to time, by those who have labored in this field ; especially when we consider that, no matter how interesting the sub- ject, but (tw persons have the time necessary for the careful perusal of all the reports bearing on this special field, many of which also are now not to be obtained, having been long out of print. The writer can only plead, in excuse for this attempt, a somewhat intimate accpiaintance with the topographical and geological features of the Province, extending over a period of some ten years devoted to the study of its geology. The systematic study of the geological structure of New Bruns-pn A. Gcsncr, wick may be said to have begun with the appointment, by the Local (iovernment, to the position of Provincial Geologist in 1838, of Dr. A. Gesner, a man of undoubted ability. The results of his labors were presented in a series of reports, which may " -^ said to consti- tute the basis of our knowledge in this direction. .lie first of these, appearing in that year, embraced the results of his examination of the country bordering on the Bay of Fundy, west of the St. John River, and along that stream as far up as Fredericton. This was followed, in 1839, t>y a report on the coast district east of St. John, gxtendiug to the head of Shepody Bay, with a brief description of 1838-43. Ni.w i;kin.s\mck r.Koi.uc.y. the Tormentinc peninsula and the country along the llanunoncl River. His tJiird season's work embraced generally the counties of St. John and Kings, with a very complete description of the (Irand Lake coal-field. The fourth described the western portion of the province as far north as Woodstock, on the River St. John, with the country contiguous to that river, as well as the character of the coal- fields lying along the Main South-West Miraniichi River, while the fifth included generally the area lying north of a line extending from Woodstock to Bathurst, on the liay of Chaleurs. Considering the state of geological science in that early day. the reports of Dr. (lesner contained a large amount of valuable informa- tion. It must be borne in mind that the nomenclature of the science was very limited. The grand formation wliich now comprises the fundamental rocks of our record, the Laurentian, had not then received its now world-wide designation, nor had the term Huronian been even thought of. The divisions into Primary and Secondary, Old and New Red Sandstone, Coal measures and granitic rocks, composed the bulk of the geological scale. 'There could, therefore, have been no attempt to separate the rocks of the older systems into such an arrangement as now exists. Hut Gesner evidently did a large amount of good work in the delineation of his areas of Coal measures and New Red Sandstones, his Transition or slate and limestone group, and his volcanic rocks, though many of his boundaries were, of necessity, from the sparsely settled and, in consequence, comparatively inaccessible character of the country, far from correctly laid down, and the stratigraphical order, as given in his reports, is, in some cases, the reverse of what is now known to be the true position. He pointed out also the presence of the two great areas of granitic rocks which traverse the province, one along its southern portion, the other diagonally across the northern half, extending south- westerly into the State of Maine, where these two areas evidently unite. They were considered by him as of Primary age, and included a large proportion of the felsitic rocks, with which, in some places, the granites are intimately connected. He held that these so-called Piimary ridges were flanked by beds of Cambrian age, con- sisting r f slates and hard-grained sandstone, styled by him greywacke, while to the north of the northerly belt the great Silurian fossiliferous area of slates and limestones was clearly indicated. Then, as now, the creology of the southern part of the province was found to btj age. otht NRW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. :iminon(i unties of le (Irand .1 of tlK' with the the coiil- ,vhile the Ung from r day, the I infonna- le science prises the not tlieii Huronian ;econdary, itic rocks, : the rocks cists. Hut delineation Transition ugh many ed and, in ountry, far as given in known to < of granitic ixn portion, ing south- evidently age, and ch, in some that these \\\ age, con- greywacke, fossiliferous len, as now, found to be much more complicated than that of tlie northern portion. The igneous rocks were arranged into two belts, the one composed of true granite and syenite, with mica or hornblende, the representa- tives of the red granitic areas now recognized in Charlotte county and western Kings ; the other comprised a large portion of the old pre-Cambrian syenites and felsites of the present day, and were regarded as intrusive and as overflowing the schistose strata with which they are associated. Resting upon the Hanks of these intrusive ridges were two great series, one containing the limestones now regarded as of Laurentian age, together with certain slates about St. John, and classed as the lower series; another portion, consisting of sandstones and slates and holding fossil i)Iants and tree stems, was recognized as an upper or newer division. 'I'hese two groujjs, the lower of which was sup- posed to belong to the Silurian system, were held to pertain to the greywacke or transition series and to overlie another area of schists, sandstones, conglomerates, etc., unconformably, which, from an a| (parent absence of organic remains, was styled Primary. • Concerning the rocks which underlie directly the great central Carboniferous area, the limestones were correctly placed in the lower i)ortion of that system, but the associated red sandstone, con- glomerates and marls, together with similar rocks in the Valley of the Kennebacasis and Petitcodiac Rivers, were regarded as of more recent age and referred to the horizon of the New Red .Sandstone; while other red sediments on the St. John River, near Hampstead, were regarded as older and of the age of the Old Red Sandstone. The areas of soft red sandstones and shales along the Bay of Fundy, at Quaco and at other points east of St. John, were also regarded as of New Red Sandstone age. Reviewing the reports of Dr. Gesner, one can hardly fail to be impressed with his evident desire to convince the Government, and through it the people, that the mineral resources of the Province were practically limitless. This is more particularly the case in regard to the central coal basin and the iron ore deposits of Kings and Queens counties ; and this feature has been ably criticized by the late Dr. Robb in his subsequent report on the coal fields of the Province, published in the report of Prof Johnson on the agricultu- ral resources of New Brunswick, in which he clearly points out the unwarrantable exaggerations of Dr. Gesner as to the boundless stores of mineral wealth. UKW nRUNSWICK GEOI.OfiV. Dr. J. Robl), 1849-00. Doiihtlcss many false hopes were raiseil hy this unwise poh'cy, and ground was given for much unprofitable controversy, before the true geological relations of the Carboniferous rocks were finally estab lislied. To his researches, however, we must ascribe the discovery of that wonderfully rich mineral deposit called generally " Albert coal," and concerning the true ciiaracter and comjiosition of which he appears to have had a just judgment, regarding it as an altered asjjhalt in the face of the combined opposition of the majority of the leading scientists of the day. It is unfortunate that, althougb Dr. Gesner sjicnt the greater part of five years in his prelimin surveys of this Province, his labors ended without the publication of any geological map which might embody the result of the very large amount of exploratory work he evidently accomi)lished ; and this is the more to be regret- ted, since many of the points so graphically described by him, lose, in conseciuence, very much of their actual value to the general reader. Following Dr. Gesner, the next writer on the subject was the late Dr. Robb, of Kings College, Fredericton (now the ITniversity of New Brunswick), who, in 1849-50, published a geological map which k embodied in the report of Prof. Johnson, already referred to, and contributed a chapter to that work. Comparing this map with the reports just described, it will be seer, that a considerable advance has been* made both as regards stratigraphy and nomenclature. The Primary and Transition groups are now arranged imder the head of Cambrian and T.ower and Upper Silurian, biit no distinction was made in the red-colored sediments, the whole being massed vmder one heading, though comjirising areas which range from the Devo- nian to the top of the Upper Carboniferous. He, however, clearly understood the true position of the Lower ("arboniferous sandstones and conglomerates as underlying the (>)al measures — to which arrangement Dr. Cesner dissented. The belts of granite, both of the northern and southern areas, were indicated roughly, but much of what is now called pre-Cambrian, embracing a great thickness of vol< anic rocks, was included under the head of traps, .syenites, felspar-porphyries, etc. ; while the Cam- brian rocks were supposed to include, not so much the recognized Cambrian of the present day, as what are undoubtedly the oldest of the pre-Cambrian rocks, viz., the Laurentian limestones, syciites and gneisses, with associated slates. The limits of the central Carboniferous basin were outlined with considerable correctness, and the various coal crops clearly defined. NFW BRUNSWICK r.roi.ooY. a )oliawsoii. 1H(>1. Prof. L. W. IJailey. 18()l, northern New Brunswick. JfftW nRtJNSWICK OF.OI.Or.Y. 11 ivcstigations 562, and by preliminary Dbservations It author in the vicinity ipliy of that most higlily bounding in hglit,atoler- The map ed with the ly important of the first le limestones their pro})er hem uncon- recognized already been exceedingly le geological since been rocks of the ich compose t papers on commented scriptions of syenites, and ort in 1865, e considered rocks in the in the C ana- ring a canoe way of the il interest as 30tany of the Robb, while the areas of Upper Silurian and Lower Carboniferous on the Tobique were laid down with tolerable accuracy, the boundaries of the forma- tions on the other streams flowing east to the Bay of Chalcurs were largely imaginary. The great areas of felsites and other crystalline rocks about the head waters of the Nipisiguit were noted by Prof. Bailey, though their age was not determined, and the Lower Silurian as[)ect of the strata on the lower portion of this stream was pointed out. This was followed in the same year, 1864, l)y his " Notes onL.w. Bailey, the mineral resources of New Brunswick," which, while giving noth- Resources of ing specially new in reference to the geology, contained much inter- mu, '^"'"^**'"^ esting matter concerning the mining industries, then in their infancy. It was in turn followed the next year, 1865, by two reports on the L. W. Buiiey, (Geology of the Province, the first by Prof. Bailey on the southern southern Ni-w portion already alluded to, and the second by Prof. H. \. Hind, also wm/ on its general geology, but more especially of interest in reference to (Seoi.'of New the northern portion, and containing much information on the mine- isl;""^'"" ' rals of economic value. In both of these a marked increase in the nomenclature of the science is manifest. The researches of Prof. Hartt on the Primordial already noted, led, not only to the separa- tion of a portion of the crystalline rocks as Laurentian, but made a still further stride by the removal of a second portion, lying stratigraphi- c.ally between the Laurentian and tlie Cambrian, which was erected into a distinct group with the title of Coldbrook, and assigned to the Huronian system. This division was in time subdivided into an upper and lower, the former of which, consisting largely of reddish strata, was regarded as of purely sedimentary character, while the latter, conij)oscd largely of hard, greenish rocks, was held to be chiefly of volcanic origin, the thickness of the whole being estimated at 5,000 feet. The recognized areas of Huronian rocks were, however, as yet very limited. The intricate stratigraphy of the south coast still prevented the separation of much of what is now known to be of that age from the position it had so long held as presumably Devonian or Silurian. From their apparently interstratified position among the plant bearing beds of the former, at several points east of St. John, it was inferred that a great thickness of strata, highly nietamorphic in character, and now known to be among the oldest in the Province, constituted an integral portion of that series. This belt which has an extensive development in eastern St. John, Kings and Albert comities and which has since been found to un- ■^ li NEW P.RUNSWICK GEOLOGY. Kingston group conformably underlie rocks of Primordial age, had been brought into its apparent abnormal superposition upon the fossiliferous Devonian by a comi)li<-:atcd system of faults and overturns, which at that time had not been investigated. Another great group of rocks, also for the most part highly meta- morphic, and designated by the term " Kingston," was brought pro- minently into notice in the same report. More difficult, apparently, of location than even the Coldbrook, its exact position could not, at that time, be determined by the New Brunswick geologists, and a suite of specimens was accordingly submitted to the insi)ection of Sir W. Dawson and Dr. iTunt of Montreal. The lithological characters of the group were stated to be very like those found in the rocks of the Cobequid series of Nova Scotia, which were then regarded as of Upper and Middle Silurian age, but it was also stated that possibly portions of the group might pertain to the Devonian system, from their resemblance to the supposed J )evonian of south eastern New Brunswick, while the similarity of many of the rocks to older or true Plutonic masses was also pointed out. The true position of this group of rocks, which has a consi- derable development in the southern part of the province, will be <:onsidered later. The Devonian of this area, as descril^ed in the report in question, has, since its jjublication, been greatly modified. It became very evident, as the relations of the Huron ian and Primordial were more Divii^ionof the fully understood, that a considerable thickness of what was styled the Blooinsljurj- "^ . . Hloomsbury group, which represented the lower portion of the Devo- nian, possessed lithological characters very similar to much of what was now called Coldbrook, and that it was clearly separable into two parts, the upper of which only, — embracing some 500 feet of sand- stones, shales and conglomerates, — was referable to the Devonian ; the lower portion, which was largely volcanic, being transferred to the pre-Cambrian. group into 'phe Little River group, the second division, was also clearlv i)iido.\yloii o 1 ' 7 saiKistone 1111(1 seiJarable into two, the Dadoxylon sandstone and the Cordaite Cordiiitt' shale. ' . . "^ . . shales ; the former of which, consisting for the most part of hard grey sandstones, shales and grits, and representing a total thickness of about 2,800 feet, was characterized throughout by a wonderfully rich and important flora, of which large collections were made and carefully determined by Sir W. Dawson. The second subdivision of the Little River group was, iu 1865, held to embrace rocks of very dissimilar character. In addition to group. Division of Little Rivor NF.W liRl'NSWTCK « ■.KOI.OCY. 13 )ught into Devonian that time ;hly meta- )ught pro- pparently, :ould not, )gists, and |)ection of ;o be very )va Scotia, m age, but ht pertain supposed milarity of so pointed as a consi- ice, will be 1 question, came very were more styled the the Devo- ;h of wliat le into two ,'t of sand- Devonian ; isferred to so clearly Cordaite rt of hard thickness wonderfully made and , in 1865, ddition to ttnc shales and sandstones, holding the remains of Cordaites from which the formation received its name, it was thought that a great thickness of mctamorphic rocks, chloritic and talcose schists, fel- sites, etc, presenting a marked resemblance to strata, which at a later period were recognized as Huronian, constituted, from their position upon the Dadoxylon sandstone, an upper part of the same series. This view was entertained for some years, or till the subsecjuent study of the many faults seen on the east side of the St. John harbor, and which affected this area very seriously, disclosed the fact that the apparent position of the metamorphic upon the unaltered i)or- tion was due to an overturn, or possibly to a sliding fault, 'I'he error thus stated in 1865 and repeated by Prof Hind in his rejjort in the same year, was again reproduced in the geological map which accompanied the second edition of the Acadian Geology in 18O8; but it was soon afterwards discovered by the local geologists, and the metamorphic portion was separated, and established as a division of Sop;inition of the Huronian, under the title of the " Coastal group. uroup. The highest beds of Devonian age were arranged under the head of the Mispec group. They consisted principally of reddish con- Mispocgnjui) glomerates and slates, the former holding fragments of felsitic rocks, red sandstones and slaty limestones in a reddish slaty paste. These . were not found to contain fossils. Passing to the consideration of the next system, we find the gene- Carboniferous ral outlines of the Carboniferous indicated with tolerable accuracy. '"*'*'''-'"'• The observations appear, however, to be largely directed to the struc- ture of the lower division ; which, more especially in its eastern extension, included considerable areas of the middle Carboniferous ; sufficient opportunities for study not having been afforded in this direction to admit of their complete separation. The various subdi- visions of the Lower Carboniferous, as there laid down for the east- ern part of Albert county, were verified on subsequent detailed examination, though certain sections elsewhere appeared at first view to present a somewhat different arrangement ; more especially in regard to the true position of the bituminous or " Albert shales." In its distribution, the Lower Carboniferous formation was found to constitute a well defined belt, underlying, throughout its whole extent, the Middle Carboniferous basin of the interior. It also com- prised certain areas in eastern Albert and Kings counties which rested upon the flanks of what was then regarded as the melainor- 14 Nr:W liRUNSWUK (lEOLOGY. Prof. 11. V. Hind, 1865. phic Devonian of the Caledonia Mountain range. West of St. John, however, its presence was not definitely noted, certain rocks in the vicinity of Lepreau village and harbour, which had been regarded by Dr. Gesner as of New Red Sandstone and Carboniferous age, being found to pertain to a much lower hori/on, rei)resenting the upper part of the Devonian system. Concerning die structure of the central or Middle Carboniferous basin, but few additional details were added to the views already expressed by the late Dr. Robb. Fossil plants were obtained at points about Grand Lake, as well as in the vicinity of the Mira- niichi River and the Bay of Chaleurs, which ap{)eared to present what was at that time regarded as a mingling of forms, including some portions even uf the Upper Carboniferous, while fossils from other outliers oi' the formation, distributed along the North side of the Bay of Fundy, indicated a Millstone-grit age. The discovery however by Mr. C. R. Matthew, of the presence of a considerable area of micaceous slates, which are probably Devonian, in the very heart of the Grand Lake coal field, was very important, since it confirmed the view as to the apparent thinness of the measures at this point : while the fossils in the overlying rocks were of the horizon of the Millstone-grit. The report of Prof. H. \. Hind to the New Brunswick govern- ment, (1865) contains a huge amount of very valuable and interesting matter, relating, not only to the ge( >gy, but to the mineral and agri- cultural resources of the province. A marked advance in geological knowledge is evident in connection with the work, more especially in regard to the northern portion, cencerning which area, our informa- tion up to that time, owing to its largely inaccessible character, was very limited. A number of sections were made by Prof Hind along the various streams of the interior. The southern outline of the Upper Silurian was more clearly defined, both along the coast of the Bay of Chaleurs and on the Upsalquitch and Tohicjue rivers, as well as on the St. John, to the west. The great belt of metamor- phic rocks of the interior, crossed by Prof. Bailey on the Nipisiguit, were examined and classed by Prof. Hind, principally on lithological grounds, as the ecjuivalents of the Quebec Grouj) of Canada, as laid down by the late Sir William Logan. The great areas of granite and syenite, both of the southern and northern portions of the province, were held to be intrusive and of Devonian age. No specially new acts bearing on the geology of the southern part of the province NF.W BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. 15 of St. John, ■ocks in the regarded by iferous age, :senting the irbon iferous ;\vs already •e obtained )r the Mira- 1 to present s, including fossils from orth side of le discovery considerable in the very nt, since it measures at were of the l^ick govern- interesting al and agri- geological especially in )ur informa- iracter, was Prof. Hind outline of le coast of e rivers, as metamor- Nipisiguit, lithological ada, as laid granite and e province, ecially new le provinc. (Jeol, Sur 1872-7.3. and which was thought might be similar in character to the coed area of Spring Hill, in Nova Scotia, a supposition, however, not verified by later examination of the district. The occurrence of intrusive traps in eastern Al])ert, of supposed Triassic age, was also noted, and this was considered important, as tending to strengthen the view expressed the previous year, as to the Mesozoic age of certain i)atches of red sandstone found at points along the coast in the vicinity. The intrusive character of the red granites, both of the great southern area, in Charlotte county, as well as certain masses in Albert and Kings, not only in Silurian sediments, but clearly intruded into older and ])Ossil)ly Laurentian rocks in the south- western portion of the province, was well indicated. The season of 1872, was devoted to an examination of the central or Grand Lake coal field, with a view to determine more conclu- sively its economic value by a series of borings, and thus to settle definitely the much vexed question as to the occurrence of workable seams underlying that, which, as a surface seam, had been worked to some extent for many years. No detailed study of this coal field liad been attempted since the time of Dr. Robb, whose views on the subject have already been stated. In the report on this area, 1872- 73, the entire thickness of the formation above the Lower Carboni- ferous was estimated to be only 600 feet, which was divided into three portions, of 200 feet each, assigned to the Millstone grit, the Produc- tive Coal measures, and the Upper Carboniferous, respectively. The general thinness of the formation was again conclusively pointed out by the presence of areas of older rocks at various places at the surface, and subsequenUy by means of the diamond drill, which penetrated the entire thickness of the Middle Carboniferous at the head of Grand Lake, at a depth of not more than 200 feet. Borings carried on during the next three years, at different points, effectually proved the barrenness of the measures and disproved beyond a doubt the erroneous ideas entertained by many concerning the great economic importance of this area. Later examinations of the Carboniferous basin over its entire extent, embracing an area of 10,000 to 12,000 square miles, have led to a modification of the views then expressed, and it has been satis- factorily established that witl\ the exception of certain small outly- ing patches of Upper Carboniferous rocks, occurring for the most part along the shore of Northumberland Strait and in the eastern part of Westmoreland county, the rocks of the entire area belonged or tJEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOCV, '11 the coal ivever, not urrence of .', was also strengthen ;oic age of he coast in js, l)Oth of lain masses but clearly tlie south- thc central ore conclii- us to settle of workable een worked lis coal field news on the area, 1872- er Carboni- ;d into three the Produc- :lively. The ely pointed )laces at the drill, which rous at the et. Borings , effectually 1 beyond a ng the great its entire es, have led been satis- small outly- )r the most the eastern ea belonged to the horizon of the Millstone-grit, and were below the true pro- ductive measures of Nova Scotia. The season of 1873 was devoted to the completion of the geolo- gical and topographical map of Queens and Sunbury counties, em- bracing not only the coal field just described, but the various forma- tions bordering this area on the south, including the hitherto doubtful groups of the argillite series and the associated Huronian strata. The conclusions then arrived at, together with the map, were withheld for several years, pending further investigations, or until the appearance of the general geological map of southern New Brunswick in 1878-79, in which, however, the views expressed were very considerably modified as compared with those held in 1873. In 1874-75, several papers on the geology of the province were Ruiiey ami ])ublislied. In Charlotte county, these related more particularly to the cimriotte Mascarene series as developed about Passamac] noddy Bay, and Cuoi. Sur. in the adjacent part of the State of Maine. From the facts then observed, the age of the series was inferred to be Upper Silurian, but as this question has already been fully discussed in previous pages, nothing further need here be said. The age of the pale argillites was, from the observations of the preceding season, i)ro\ed to be, for the most part, at least, Devonian, while, concerning the lower or dark argillite group, satisfactory conclusions could not be arrived at. Other papers also appeared relative to the age, and distribution iron ore of' of the iron ore deposits of Carleton county, and sundry facts were c'ounty'.'Rei). also given concerning the structure of the Grand Lake coal field, i874-7.\"'' derived from boring operations, by which the statements already j^. ^v_ ^]i^^ made respecting the general barrenness of the measures were fnlly (^peyr"fi„„s^ confirmed. itern.*'"'''"^"'" In this year also, (1874,) appeared a paper by Dr. Honeyman of i>r. iiontynmn, Halifax, Nova Scotia, upon the various formations of the southern Niit"sci Inst, and eastern portions of New Brunswick, in which he paralleled the ' ' Laurentian and Huronian systems about St. John, with the rocks of the Cobe--jG, a report on the pre-Carboniferous formations of South- ern Queens and Sunbury counties, with various rocks in northern Kings, was presented, illustrative largely of the work done in 1873. These were now divided into three groups, the crystalline or older felsitic series, Coldbrook or Huronian, the dark argillites which were now considered to be Upper Silurian, though possibly containing areas of I-ower Silurian, and the i)ale argillites, which were again asserted to be Devonian, from the evidence of the contained plant remains. The Upper Silurian, however, was now made to contain a considerable area of what was in 1870-71, regarded, on lithological grounds, as pre-Silurian or Huronian. In 1876-77, an interesting report by Mr. G. F. Matthew, on the geology of Charlotte county, was published. In this, the aspect of certain supposed pre-Silurian rocks in the south-western ])ortion,was discussed, more especially in their development west of the lower part of the Digdequash River. These, for the most part, highly crys- talline rocks, consisted of diorites, fine and coarse, hard schists, por- l)hyritic and slaty felsites and gneissoid sandstone, which often present the appearance of true fine-grained gneiss. They form an area of considerable extent, and are intersected by intrusive granites which may be spurs from the main granitic mass of that district. They cross Oak Bay and extend into Maine, and also form a consj)i- cuous band on the St. Croix River, in the vicinity of, and for some distance above, St. Stephen and Calais. From the fact that these older volcanic rocks do not |)enetrate recognized Silurian strata in that vicinity, as well as from their marked lithological resemblance to the pre-Cambrian of St. John county, they were at that time re- garded as also of Huronian or Laurentian age. In this rejjort, also, the dark argillites which have a considerable development in this county, forming an extensive belt which stretches diagonally across from the St. Croix River to its north-east corner, were considered as of Upper Silurian age , the rocks of which system were arranged in five divisions, the three lowest being paralleled with the divisions of that system, as stated in the report for the pre- ceding year, whilst Nos. 4 and 5 of that series were supposed to MIL!- NKW HRUNSWrrK r.EOLOC.Y. 29 by tlie laic e alteration urian fossils ns of Soulli- in northern one in 1873. line or older i which were y containing 1 were again itained plant to contain a 1 lithological Ihew, on the the aspect of I portion, was of the lower t, highly crys- 1 schists, por- often present m an area of ranites which strict, 'i'hey rm a consi)i- and for some t that these ian strata in resemblance that time re- considerable hich stretches i-east corner, which system ig paralleled t for the pre- supposed to represent Nos. 3 and 4 of the Kingston group. The latter was, by this arrangement, removed from the position assigned it in 1870-71, as a portion of the Huronian to the upper part of the Upper Silurian, chiefly from its supposed superposition on the St. John ,ujroui), as inferred from the presence of pebbles of black slate in the conglo- merates near its base, which were held to be derived from beds of Primordial age. The crystalline and Huronian aspect of the Kingston group, as a whole, can be well seen by reference to the sections given on the New River ; the character of the several divisions there seen being as follows : — Green chloritic and granitoid rocks. Dark, porphyritic, slaty felsite, with grains of ck-ar cpiiirt/. Grey clay-slates and diorites. Chloritic and felspathic slates and grits, with slate conglomerate overlaid by about 11,000 feet, principally schists both micaceous and hornblendic, the latter predominating, crystalline felsites, and capped by chloritic and felspathic gneiss. No fossils were found in any of the strata, hut it was distinctly stated that this group in Charlotte county constituted the mineral belt in the same way as the Coastal group to the eastward, and which was also formerly considered to occupy nearly the same relative position as now assigned to the rocks under discussion. As, however, uncertainty still existed as to the true position of the Kingston group, the publication of the map and section accompany- ing this report was for the time, deferred. In the report for 1876-77, the relations of the great mass of red syenite and granite, which form so imi)ortant a feature in the geology of this county, to the associated rocks, were also carefully given. That they were clearly newer than the overlying Upper Silurian was evidenced by the metamorphism of the slates in contact, shown by the production of various crystals, as also by the presence of numerous faults and dislocations, and by the penetration of con- tiguous strata by numerous dykes and veins of granite, which, \no- ceeding from the main mass, cut the adjoining beds with sharply defined lines of contact. The same volume contained also a report on the Lower Carbonifer-Haiiey and Ells. ous of Albert and part of Westmoreland counties, by Prof. L. W. Bailey Car^inri^rous and the author of this paper. This had particular reference to the Coiuitjs'^Rep distribution and economic value of the portion known as the Albert iItS.'t^"''' 30 NF.W RRUNSWICK CFOLOOY. R. W. Elh. Pre-Ciimbiinn (if southern New Brunswick, Kep. (icol. Sur. 1877-78. Anticlintil structures pointed out. or bituminous slialcs, of special interest, from thoir containing the remarkable mineral, Albertite. In this paper, also, the pre-Cambrian aspect of the rocks of the Caledonia Mountain range was pointed out. The divisions of the I.ower Carboniferous there given were five in number, representing an exposed thickness of 4,150 feet, separable into two unconformable series by a break between the bituminous shales and associated conglomerates of the Albert Mines, and the sandstones and conglomerates of division 3, while the great masses of gypsum and limestone were found to lie near the upper part of the formation. The season of 1877-78 was devoted to further detailed work, prin- cipally bearing on the relative positions of the various divisions of pre Silurian rocks in Kings, St. John, and Albert counties, the results of which were stated in three papers by the writer, Prof. Bailey and Mr. G. F. Matthew respectively, with a supplementary report by the latter on the superficial geology of the southern part of the province. In the first of these, the structure of the pre-Cambrian ridges was given as follows : — three main anticlinals, situated to the south of of Kennebecasis Bay, extend from the vicinity of St. John north- easterly, and roughly parallel to the north shore of the Bay of Fundy. In Albert county, and for some distance to the west, the two more southerly anticlinals arc apparently overturned ; the con- tained synclinal occupying the area along the Shepody road, and for some distance on either side. The most southerly anticlinal forms the crest of the mountain ridge in rear of Hopewell, whence, extending westerly, it crosses the Upper Salmon River, some three miles below the Shepody road, and comes to the coast a short distance west of Martin's Head. On the Albert county line, it has a breadth of three to four miles, and is distinguished by the presence of syenite and gneiss, often greenish or protogine, with schists, felsites and dolomites. The second anticlinal extends from the eastern part of the Cale- donia Mountain range in the vicinity of the Albert mines, southerly through the southern part of the Mechanic Settlement and reaches the Shepody road a short distance west of the Kings county line, on which road it can be traced for nearly eight miles. Further west, it can be seen on the Big Salmon River, about four miles from its mouth, beyond which it is apparently concealed by overlying sedi- ments. This anticlinal, in Albert county, is flanked at one point by crystalline limestones, of Laurentian aspect, similar in character to those in the vicinity of St. John. NKW IIRUNSWICK OEOLOOY. 31 itaining the e-Caml)rian ,^as pointed given were 4, 1 50 feet, Detween the Ibert Mines, le the great r the upper [ work, i)rin- divisions of s, the results F. Bailey and eport by the :he province, n ridges was the south of John north- the Bay of the west, the ed ; the con- road, and for ficlinal forms /ell, whence, •, some three lort distance a breadth of " syenite and id dolomites, of the Cale- es, southerly and reaches county line, i^'urther west, niles from its '^erlying scdi- one point by character to The third anticlinal comf)rises the syenite, gneiss and limestone of St. John and ^'icinity. Westward, it can be readily traced to its termination on the coast at Lepreau Harbour, although in places, concealed by Lower Carboniferous and Devonian strata, while eastward it extends along the south side of Kennebecasis Hay, appearing also in the islands and headlands of the southern extremity of the Kingston Peninsula, uninterruptedly to a point south of Hampton station, from which point it is about four miles distant. It re-appears from beneath 1-ower Carboniferous beds, four miles further east, and forms a narrow ridge, eight miles in length, when it again becomes overlapped by the Carboniferous formation, and does not again re-appear, but on the Kings county line an anticlinal, in the continuation of the one just described, brings up the Lower Carboniferous beds from beneath the Millstone grit, and probably indicates the extension of this third axis, which, in this case is parallel with the second anticlinal of the Caledonia Mountain. A series of chloritic, talcose and felspathic schists, ash rocks, l)urple grits, and conglomerates occupy the first synclinal in Albert county. These are apparently unconformable to the rocks of the underlying anticlinals just described as well as to their supposed equivalents in Kings and St. John counties. They occupy a con- siderable area along the Shepody road, and the greater part of the coast of the Bay of Fundy, between Point Wolf and Melvin's Beach, about five miles east of Quaco. Along the northern side of the second anticlinal in Kings county, these rocks, which constitute the Coastal portion of the Huronian, are to a great extent apparently replaced by a considerable thickness of brecciated, siliceous and felspathic, ash rocks and diorites, which, according to Prof. Bailey (see his report on this group, 1877), com- Prof. L, w. , - , /^ , ■ ■ 1 1 r 1 Bailey on pro- pose the greater part of the pre-Cambrian series to the south 01 the Cambrian of _ . . .,.,-- „ii 1 1 , southern New mam Laurentian axis or anticlinal No. 3. Ihese are regarded by Brunswick, him as older than the Coastal rocks which occupy the synclinal isttIts.*^ just mentioned and which form the shore series, and are described ^''^*'^' ''°'='^^- Ml ascending order under two heads, the first or felsite petrosilex group consisting largely of the following rocks : — Red and grey felsites, blue, grey, reddish and black petrosilex and breccias, diorites, and amygdaloidal ash rocks and ashy conglo- merates. Grey felspathic sandstones and conglomerates, the whole repre- senting the Coldbrook of former reports and now regarded" as the oldest member of the Huronian. 32 Mr. ({. F. Matthew. Pre Cambrian of southorn \e^ Brunswick, Rep. (Icol. Sur 1877-78. KinprtJton group. T)r. T. Sterry Hunt, 1878. Bailoy, Mattliew and Ells. Final Report on southern Now Brunswick, 1878-79. NKW liRUNSWICK (lEOI.Ol.Y. The sfcond or upper division consists of the following rocks : — Chloritic schists, greenish, grey and purple ash rocks and aniygda- loids, with purple conglomerates. Pale grey pyritous and rusty-weathering felsites and felspathic quart/ites. Hydromica schists, chloritic and felspathic schists, grey clay-slates and purple conglomerates, with beds of haematite, styled Coastal in former reports, and now regarded by him as the upper member of the Huronian. The third report, by Mr. (I. l-". Matthew is confined to the King- ston group and principally to its development in the Kingston penin- sula, where from the disi:overy of fossiliferousashy rocks and slates of Upper Silurian age along the south side of the Long Reach of the St. John River which, at several points on the shore, have a dip inland, it was inferred that a large portion of the rocks of this group were stratigraphically above the fossiliferous beds and conseijuently newer. He, however, at the same time, in tabular form, paralleled the King- ston of this locality and its extension westward into Charlotte county, under the heading Upi)er Silurian, with the recognized Huronian of St. John, in which the lithological resemblance of the two groups is such as to strike the most casual observer. The Huronian character of the crystalline and metamorphic rocks of southern New Brunswick, was next pointed out by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, in his report to the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, published in 1878, and subsequently in a paper read before the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, (1879;, in which their uncon- formity to the Laurentian of the St. John area was indicated as well as their lack of conformity to the overlying primordial slates. In the "supplement to Acadian deology, Sir Wm. Dawson, 1878, several allusions to this province also were'made, the principal points of which have been already considered." Fn this year also, the final report on the geology of southern New Brunswick appeared, accompanying the map of that area, which had been so long deferred. From a careful consideration of all the data in the possession of its several authors, which had been accumulating for years, the various geolo- gical lines were there laid down, and the most recent and probable views concerning the horizons of the different formations stated. As no subsequent publication on this portion of the province has appeared, we will briefly state the position and arrangement of the geological systems as there expressed, with some probable changes TiV.W HRUVSWICK GEOLOGV. 33 ocks ; — (1 amygtlii- fclspathic clay-slates Coastal in nber of the 3 the King- ^ston penin- uid slates of :h of the St. lip inland, it group were ently newer. ;d the King- lotte county, Huronian of ,vo groups is phic rocks of Sterry Hunt, published in can Associa- their uncon- |ted as well as tes. In the 878, several ints of which nal report on ccompanying :d. From a f its several arious geolo- |and probable Ltions stated, province has ;ement of the [able changes which may hereafter be made in certain groups, about which sufh- cient was not at that time known to pronounce definitely as to their exact age and relations. It must be premised that in speaking of the geology of southeru New Brunswick, we include that portion only which lies to the south of the great central Carboniferous area, in so far as relates to the pre-Carboniferous rocks, and in regard to the central area, that lying to the south of the parallel of 46°, which passes a short distance north of Fredericton. The study of the northern and south-eastern portions having been taken up at a date subsequent to 1878, these areas will be considered further on. The geological systems at present recognized in that portion of the province now under consideration, are as follows : — Laurentian Lower. Upper. Huronian Formerly divided into Coldbrook, Coastal and Kingston. Cambrian Primordial Silurian Acadian,or St. John group. Cambro-Silurian Formerly Middle Silurian. Silurian. Devonian. Carboniferous Lower. Middle or Milltitone-grit. Upper of eastern Westmorland county. Triassic. Intrusive rocks Granites, syenites, diorites, diabases. Trappean rocks of Carboniferous and Triassic age. Post Pliocene. In the general geological map of the southern part of the province, mufentian. the area colored as Laurentian embraces principally that portion which, in i860, was separated from the Devonian, under the title of the Portland group. It has, however, since then, been considerably extended ; and west of St. John City, it embraces the greater part of the county of St. John, extending across into Charlotte county, and terminates westward, at Ragged Head, which forms the south-western point of Lepreau Harbor. Though apparently divisible into two unconformable series, it was not deemed advisable to color these se- parately, but the limestones were designated, wherever known to occur, oy a distinct tint, and thus the upper men^ber was, to a certain 3 34 NI.W imUNSWICK r;KOI.(JOY. exi .t, made conspicuous. The anticlinal structure of the lower mem- ber is well marked, and its [jrohahle extension north easterly has already been ^iveji. 'I'he limestones in the vicinity of the St. John River tlank the axis on cither side. These are well develojjed alon^^ the south side of Kennebecasis ]5ay, and from South l!ay they extend about four miles west of the river, where they apparently form a basin. Eastward they appear as outliers on the syenitic rocks beyond Rothesay, and ai several points as far east as Ncnton, West of St. John, they extend entirely across the peninsula whii h divides Pisarinco from Muscpiash Harbor on the south tkink of the main anticlinal and on Point Lepreau are also exposed in synclinal form, resting upon greenish gneiss and granitic rocks. The width of the I-auientian area, comprising both divisions, is from six to seven miles. In report 1S70-71, it was stated that a belt of gneissic rocks, bear- ing much resemblance to those just described, extended from the head of the Long Reach of the St. John River, along the north side of that sheet of water, to 1,'Etang Harbor, forming an anticlinal ridge flankeil by Huronian sediments. On Frye's Island, near the south- western extremity of this axis, the syenitic |)ortion is overlaid by crys- talline limestone, in character precisely similar to those which occur with Laurentian rocks elsewhere, and the whole belt was considered as probably a parallel ridge, contemporaneous with the belt just de- scribed. While, however, this view was held concerning the age of these rocks, the difficulty of sej^arating them precisely from the over- lying Kins[ston group, owing in large part to the wooded character of the country which they traverse, was such that it was thought best to include this series in the general pre-Cambrian color without defi- nitely specifying its exact position. Lying off the coast in this direc- tion, the group of islands called The Wolves, were found to be the extension of the main Laurentian anticlinal, and to be composed of the greenish syenites and other rocks of the lower series in which, however, no- limestones appeared. Further west in the parishes of St. Patrick, St. Croix and St. Ste- phen, syenitic, dioritic and gneissic rocks are common. These in the vicinity of the St. Croix River, present characters very similar to those of the fundamentUi rocks of the St. John area, and were at one time described as of the same horizon. They are intersected by large dykes and masses of intrusive syenite, some of which are of much later age than the rocks with which they are associated. In this locality a'so, the authors found much difticulty in separating the NF.W nRUNSWICK nEOI.OOY. 35 ower mcni- asterly lias e St. John Dpcd along hey extend itly form a cks beyond West of St. es Pisarinco iticlinal and sstinp; upon Lauienlian rocks, bcar- ■d from the e north side ticlinal ridge ar the south- laid by crys- which occur [s considered x'lt just de- g the age of )m the over- d character lought best without defi- in this direc-. nd to be the composed of ies in which, : and St. Ste- n. These in very similar and were at itersected by which are of lociated. In parating the the newer intrusive ro( ks from the older portions, and all these areas of syenites, &c., of whatever age, were therefore included in the same color, though the outlines of the newer are indicated on the map in a general way. I' must therefore be fully understood that in the area indicated as granite west of the Digdeguasli River, and for a mile or so 'o the east, a considerable portion may possibly be of pre-Cambrian age. In Albert county, also, attention was called in 1870-71, to the presence of rocks similar to those of the typical Laurentian of St. John, and the supposition was then advanced that these occurred as ridges surrounded by Hurouian strata. This view, in so far as the stratigraphical relations of the sevenil groups were concerned, was confirmed in 1878, and the probable Laurentian age was indicated by the presence of crystalline limestones and dolomites. The older portions of these ridges, as we proceed westward into Kings county, speedily become concealed by the unconformable overlap of the Coldbrook and Coastal groups, from which, in lithological character, they are markedly different. They contain also a considerable area of coarsely crystalline diorites, holding magnetite, which in places be comes, almost a pure hornblende rock. A similar area of magnetic diorites is found in northern Kings county near the Scotch settlement. This was referred to in 1870-71, and supposed to be of Laurentian age, as well as several areas west of the St. John Rive*, in the valley of the Nerepis stream. Dioritic rocks occur in Charlotte county, near St. Stephen, which are also probably of this age. They contain serpentine and chrome iron in small quantity and underlie, unconformably, hard micaceous quart- zites. East of St. John also, near Dolin's Lake, bands of hard crystalline felspathic, sometimes dioritic rock occur, associated with hypersthene and magnetic iron which have been considered by Dr. T. S. Hunt, as identical with some varieties of Norite rock of the Upper Laurentian or Labradorian series. They are associated with gneisses, also presumably of the upper division. The limestones near St. John, are in places highly serpentinous and have furnished indications of the presence of Eozoon. At Pisa- rinco, however, serpentine is seen to cut talcose and chloritic rocks associated with limestones, as a true dyke six feet wide. At the falls or the St. John River, also, deposits of plumbago of large extent are found in the slates and limestones. It is worthy ui" remark that in Supposed Lau- rentian of Albert county. Magnetic diorites. ScrpentinoM.o limestone of St. John with Eoziion. I If I 1 36 NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. ■ ,t :i4- lIuroi...(.n. Discussion of the several groups of Coldbrook. Coastal and Kingston. all the supposed Laurenlian areas of Charlotte county, no traces of limestone have as yet been found, except at Fryc's Island and Lepreau. The history of the Huronian system, with the many changes which have taken ])lace in relation to its various groups, has already been somewhat fully stated and we will, therefore, here present only the views now held regarding its distributioji and mineral character. The term Huronian does not appear on the general map, for the reason that, owing on the uncertainty as to the age of the several groups, some of which have just been described, it was thought best, until their true relations to the Laurentian or Huronian systems proper could be accurately worked out, to include these under a general term, pre-Cambrian, since, in position, they were found to unconformably underlie the fossiliferous Cambrian, at several points. The former division of the Huronian into Coldbrook, Coastal and Kingston was exceedingly unsatisfactory, inasmuch as, while they were all regarded as portions of the same system, their respec- tive horizons could not with certainty be determined. Thus in 1870-71 the Coldbrook is the first described after the Laurentian, leading to the inference that this group comprised the lowest mem- bers of the Huronian system, while at the same time its upper part was held to represent the basal beds of the St. John group, to the exclusion of the Coastal and Kingston. In the last report by Prof. Bailey, the Huronian south of the Kennebecasis is divided into two groups only, the Coldbrook and Coifstal, of which the latter is held to be the newer. The older is distinguished by the term " felsite petrosilex group," from the prevailing character of the rocks which compose it, while the newer is termed the " micaceous and chloritic or " schistose group," for the same reason. It is evident, from a con- sideration of the rocks of the Coldbrook, that they are for the most part of volcanic origin, the prevalence of breccias and brecciated agglomerates, dio rites and ashy rocks, which make up the bulk of the group, presenting a marked contrast to the more slaty and schistose rocks of the Coastal, though the latter has abundant evidence also of volcanic action in the presence of ashy and agglomerate rocks ; it has also a considerable thickness of clay-slates, with purple grits and conglomerates. It is exceedingly doubtful, however, whether a separation such as has just been proposed, into an upper and a lower division, can be successfully made on stratigraphical grounds, owing to the difficulty of determining which group rests primarily on the NEW BRUNSWICK GEOl.OOV. St o traces of Island and ngcs which ready been ;nt only the iracter. lap, for the the several lought best, an systems jse under a 2re found to ^eral points, ok, Coastal ;h as, while heir respec- d. Thus in Laurentian, lowest mem- upper part oup, to the art by Prof, ed into two atter is held erm " felsite ocks which md chloritic from a con- "or the most id brccciated bulk of the md schistose dence also of ite rocks ; it rple grits and whether a r and a lower unds, owing larily on the Laufetitian, since in some places this jiosition is held by the Cold- brook, while at others the Coastal is in direct contact. This diffi- culty becomes more apparent, when we consider that the original Coldbrook of the earlier rei)orts, so named from the place where first studied, is now regarded as Coastal. It is i)ossible, that both divisions may be contemporaneous, or that the Coldbrook or volcanic l)ortion may be the more recent, and this latter view receives a certain amount of support from the stratigraphical evidence seen in the overturned synclinal of Albert county, the rocks of which rest upon the basal ridges and are undoubtedly of the Coastal or .Schistose type, (see Rep. 1877-78). These occupy the southern portions of eastern Kings and St. Johns counties, and, while in their western extension they overlap the ridges just mentioned, they are in turn apparently overlaid by the volcanic rocks of the Coldbrook group, the Coastal not appearing' at all in the northern portion of the main prc-Cambrian area south of the Kennebecasis, unless we excep!" certain doubtful and limited areas lying to the north and east of the Loch Lomond lakes. There yet remains to be considered the third division of Huronian rocks, viz: the Kingston group, which, also receiving its name from Kingston, the plaoe where first studied, the peninsula lying between the Long Reach and Kennebecasis Bay, has also a considerable development westward in Charlotte county. The various changes of opinion respecting the position of this group have already been stated, and we will, therefore, give the reasons, lithological as well as stratigra- phical, which seem to us conclusively to prove that these rocks should be considered an integral portion of the Huronian system, rather than to belong to a later horizon. The character of the rocks which compose this group are well given in the report of Mr. Matthew, already referred to, for the Kingston area and for its exten- sion westward, and are here presented for the sake of comparison : — Compact, dark-grey, diorite and fine-grained, llesh-red felsite. i» Hornblende and m;ca-schists, schistose diorite, and dark felspathic slates, with grey argillites. Fine-grained mica-schist, silico-felspathic gneiss and schistose felsite. * Chloritic gneiss and syenite, with thin beds of limestone, argillites, &c. In addition, beds of slate conglomerate occur, and chlorite and epidote are found in veins of considerable size. That the Kingston group is entirely distinct from and older than 1 t wmn ^^ ^fiW feRtJNSWlCk geologV. ■;i!.! ,1 Primordiiil rocks. the Silurian was pointed out in 1870-71; but the pre-Cambriarl aspect is more clearly indicated, if we glance at its structure, as seen along the St. John River. By reference to the general report, 1878- 79, it will be seen that the pre-Cambrian rocks of southern New Brunswick, are arranged in a series of approximately parallel anti- clinals, the synclinals being occupied by fossil.ifcrous Cambrian strata. These anticlinals were arranged in fine divisions, of which Nos. i and 2 were considered of Laurentian age. No. 3 Coldbrook, No. 4, Coastal, and No. 5, Kingston. This arrangement does not, however, necessarily indicate the true stratigraphical position of the various groups ; for, while we have seen that the Coastal has not yet been definitely proved to be the upper portion of the Coldbrook, it is evident that the Kingston includes, in part, at least, rocks common to both divisions 3 and 4, and possibly even lower. * The extension of the anticlinals i, 2 and 3, has already been given. Of the latter two, which pertain to the Kingston Peninsula, No. 4, beginning at Clifton, on the south side, extends north-east, past the head of Kingston Creek, towards Dickie Mountain, while No. 5, com- mencing near the western extremity, and well seen atMilkish Creek, keeps along the north side of the peninsula, and crossing the entrance of Belleisle Bay, is probably continued along the north side of that sheet of water into the Scotch settlements. A sixth ridge bounds the north side of the Long Reach and forms the eastern extremity of that which, in Charlotte county, was stated to underlie Huronian sediments, and to be possibly of Laurentian age. That all these ridges are, at least, pre-Cambrian, is plainly indicated by the presence of unconformably overlying areas of Cambrian slates, which occur in the form of basins of greater or less extent, the limits of which have been largely affected by denudation. The most northerly of these, definitely recognized by fossils, (though it must be remembered that in the Report of I870-71, other areas still further inland of Primordial age, but in which no fossils have yet been observed, were supposed to exist,) is found on the west flank of the sixth ridge ; but along its south side, a much more important belt occurs, which occupies the greater part of the north shore of the Long Reach from the moutbof the Nerepis to Jones Creek, beyond which, it is largely concealed by Silurian beds. It also appears in several small islands in the river and on the point at the mouth of NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGV. S^ e-Cambriarl Lire, as seen ;port, 1878- uthern New arallel anti- brian strata, hich Nos. I rook, No. 4, :ate the true ,^e have seen )e the upper includes, in md possibly ' been given, isula, No. 4, last, past the ; No. 5, com- ilkish Creek, the entrance side of that h and forms , was stated ■ Laurentian nly indicated ibrian slates, extent, the 1. ssils, (though ler areas still lave yet been t flank of the iportant belt ; of the Long eyond which, appears in be mouth of Eelleisle Bay, where it overlies the more northerly of the two King- ston anticlinals. That this basin ot Cambrian rocks occupies the entire valley of the St. John River at this place is highly probable ; although its contact with the Kingston group along the south side of the Reach is partially concealed by fossiliferous strata, which are possibly the prolongation southward of the Silurian area of Jones Creek, since the overlap of the Primordial on the Kingston rocks is well seen at both extremities of the basin. It is probable also that the horizons of the two ridges of metamorphic rocks which extend on either side of the Long Reach, is not very different ; although westward of the St. John River, the Kingston group proper appears to occupy a synclinal between the true Laurentian of the Lepreau axis and the older ridge north of L'Etang. 'I'his position would also correspond, on stratigraphical grounds, with that assigned to it from lithological characters as largely representing Divisions 3 and 4 of the pre-Cambrian scale, but in this part of Charlotte county, the Pri- mordial has not yet been definitely recognized. The presence of slaty conglomerates in the rocks of the Kingston ■group, the pebbles of which were, at one time, regarded as derived from Caml)rian slates, cannot be held as conclusive evidence of the later age of these crystalline rocks ; since the fragments may, with ecjual reason, be su])pose(l to be derived from the bands of black and graphitic slates, wliich, at many points, form an integral portion of the Laurentian area, as already stated, and unconformably underlie the Huroniau. In the areas now colored Cambro-Silurian, extending along the county line of Kin,i!;s and Queens, belts of rock which very closely resemble those just described, are found. They consist of hard fel- sites, often porphyritic, with felsitic, chloritic and talcose schist, and fine and coarse diorites. After many ineffectual attempts to separate these satisfactorily from other slaty beds, with which they are intim- ately associated, but which are, without doubt, of much later age, the greater part of these areas was included, provisionally, in the meta- morphic Cambro-Silurian system. These areas of Huronian-iooking rock are in no place of great extent, but appear as crests of ridges exposed by denudation and protruding through the overlying strata. In fact, the greater part of the formations of southern New Bruns- wick have been so intricately folded, that the projjlem of deciphering their exact age has been a very diflSicult one ; and it is to be presumed that with the accession of new light, derived from the study of simikir rocks elsewhere, other important changes will be found necessary. 40 NEW SRUNSVVlCK GEOLOGY. ) [ I Similar rooks of fingland and Wales. r I Islfthds ill Pas- The views concerning the geology of the islands in Passama- Bayf'^"" quoddy Bay, called the Western Isles, have undergone the same changes as already described in connection with the pre-Cambrian rocks farther east. The group of The Wolves, consisting almost entirely of syenitic and gneissoid rocks of Laurentian aspect, are, as intimated, the western prolongation of the Lower Laurentian axis from the mainland at Lepreau, while Campobello and Deer Islands, together with the greater number of the smaller islands lying between these and the shore, represent, probably, the extension of the Kings- ton group. Ores of copper and iron are common, in which respect the rocks resemble those of the metamorphic Coastal l)elt east of St. John, as well as in their general lithological character, while the eastern portion of the great island of Grand Manan, probably marks the westward extension of the Huronian area lying to the south of the Laurentian axis, which extends through The Wolves. The resemblance of the pre-Cambrian rocks ius*^ described, to those of certain areas in England and Wales, regarding the age of which much controversary has lately arisen, is very marked. These, by Dr. Hicks, Prof. Bonney and others, arc held to be of pre-'^ambrian age. They are also divided into three groups, the Dimetian, Arvonian and Pebidian ; of which the lower or Dimetian corresponds in lithological characters with the Coastal of Kings and Albert counties, the middle is very similar to the lower Coldbrook, while the tuffs and slates of the Pebidian, much resemble the upper part of that group. By Prof. Geikie, however, none of these rocks are regarded as older than Cambrian ; the Pebidian being held by him to form the lowest mem- ber of that system, while the other two comprise sundry masses of granite and kindred rocks intruded among the Cambrian strata. The rocks of the St. John group, or Cambrian, were, until 1865, as already stated, regarded as an integral part of the Devonian sys- tem. The early researches of Messrs. Hartt and Matthew on these rocks have been alluded to in former pages, but of late years their fauna has been particularly studied by the latter gentleman, whose investigations have brought to light many interesting facts relative to the palaeontology of the group, the results of which have appeared, from time to time, in several papers contributed to the Royal Society ot Canada and elsewhere. In character, the rocks may be said to consist of purple sandstones and conglomerates, with shales, the former apparently derived from the underlying Coastal and Cold- brook groups, and which constitute the basal portion of the forma- Primordial ocks., Passama-' the same -Cambrian ing almost ect, are, as :ntian axis er Islands, ig between the Kings- ich respect east of St. , while the . probably ^ing to the Wolves. )ed, to those ^e of which lese, by Dr. mbrian age. •vonian and ithological the middle nd slates of By Prof, older than owest mem- y masses of strata, mitil 1865, ivonian sys- ew on these years their man, whose s relative to e appeared, oyal Society y be said to shales, the and Cold- f the forma- iJ*\V fiRt^NS^VICk GEOLOGV. 41 tion. These are succeeded by red and greenish-grey argilHtes, often micaceous, whitish and grey sandstones, with grey and dark grey sandstones and shales, the latter of which are often fossiliferous, and contain a variety of trilobites. such as Conocep/ialites, Microdisctis^ Agnostus and Paradoxides, all of Primordial type, together with Lingula, OholeUa^ Discina and Ort/iis. They lie in well defined basins upon the Huronian and Laurentian rocks, of which six, at least, art- known. Among the most imjiortant are the areas on the St. John River, already described, and the great development which extends from the city of St. John, northeasterly, past the Loch Lomond lakes, towards the upper part of the Hammond River ; the other areas consisting of outlying patches, which have apparently escaped denu- dation, and which serve to illustrate the great dislocations by which, in many cases, these rocks have been affected. The smaller areas about the Kennebecasis Bay are overlapped by Lower Carboniferous sediments. Other areas, whicli were supposed to be of this age, have been already noticed in preceding pages, but, though no fossils have been found in these to indicate their exact horizon, their position upon beds which are identical in character with recognized Huronian elsewhere, renders it highly probable that they may belong to the Primordial zone. Until, however, such fossil evidence has been obtained, or their true position otherwise established, these detached areas are, for the present, included in the Cambro-Silurian system. This system, as at present understood, comprises all the formations Cumbro- between the Chazy and the Hudson River or Lorraine shales, both inclusive. In New Brunswick, the subdivision into intermediate groups has not yet been attempted. The system comprises certain rocks known^ for the most part at least, to underlie the fossiliferous Silurian, and to overlie the Cambrian. The characters of these have already been given. In their distribution, the rocks of this system may be said to form a belt, principally of metamorphosed sediments, extending from the western boundary of the province, diagonally across the county of Charlotte, to its north-east corner, flanking on its north side the great granitic area for the greater part of the distance. Thence it extends to the River St. John, in the vicinity of Hampstead, and, reappearing on the eastern bank, continues along the county line of Kings and Queens for a further distance of twenty miles. The northern limit is fixed, for the most part, by the unconformably ■H^^ a NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. overlying interior basin of Devonian sediments ; but to the west, at the head of Oak Bay, and to the east of the granite area in south- western Queens, it is overlapped by strata of Silurian age. Much of the country occupied by these rocks is exceedingly ditirtcult of access, find it is presumed that a more detailed examination, when practicable, will change somewhat the outlines of the area as at ])resent defined. Siiuriun. The rocks of the Silurian system are not extensively distri- buted in the southern part of the province. Along the coast of Charlotte they are found for the most part in small lenticular basins, which have been infolded with areas of pre Cambrian or other rocks along the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay ; the association being intricate and often obscure, as in the case of the Mascarene series. Certain beds are, however, well defined by the ))resence of charac- teristic fossils, which are ])robably of the horizon of the Niagara formation. The fossiliferous beds are also well seen around the upper part of Oak Bay, where they rest upon the Cambro-Silurian just described, and from this place they extend in a continuous belt along the south side of the granite area as far east as the New River, a distance of thirty miles. In the southeastern part of the province, they have not been definitely recognized, but along tlie St. John River, in the vicinity of the Kings and Queens county line, they form a considerable area, abounding in fossils at many points, and resting imconformably upon rocks of the Huronian, Cambrian and Cambro- Silurian systems. An interesting l)and occurs along the Long Reach, resting upon Cambrian grits and conglomerates, and on the east side forming a narrow stri]) of ash}- rocks, which resemble, in some respects, beds of Coastal or Coldbrook age. They are, how- ever, clearly distinguished by characteristic fossils, both corals and shells. They dip inland at a moderate angle, as if underlying the crystalline rocks of the peninsula, but this position is only an appar- ent one, since, a short distance from the shore, the contact between the two sets of beds is well seen, the old Kingston felsites and gneissic schists dipping towards the river at a high angle ; against these the Silurian rests uncontormably. The somewhat obscure stratigraphy at this point has, in the past, led to much misunder- standing as to the proper position of the Kingston rocks, but the true structure in this section is undoubtedly a synclinal in the pre- Cambrian overlaid by Cambrian fossiliferous rocks, which, in turn, are partially overlapped by Silurian strata. Devonian The formations which compose the Devonian are of particular J^ ■iih Ntw BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY; 4.^ le west, at in south- Much of t of access, )iacticable, t defined. ve\y distri- le coast of iilar basins, other rocks ition being irene series, of cliarac- he Niagara around the bro-SiUirian tinuous belt New River, he province, le St. John e, they form and resting nd Cambro- the Long and on tlie resemble, in ey are, how- corals and ierlying the y an appar- act between felsites and gle ; against hat obscure 1 misunder- cks, but the 1 in the pre- ich, in turn, 3f particular interest, from their intricate entanglement with others of much greater age; which, while really underlying them at a great distance in the geological scale, are apparently superimposed upon the fossil- iferous rocks of the system ; an order of things which, in the early history of its geology, as already shown, naturally led to much con- fusion as to the true relations of the various groups. This system is also interesting from its wonderfully rich flora and fauna in the vici- nity of St, John and Lepreau ; more especially from its yielding the earliest remains of insect life yet known, at least in America. The flora of the system both from New Brunswick and Gaspe has been carefully studied by Sir William Dawson, whose labors in this direc- tion have appeared in a series of papers ranging in date from 1859 to 1882, and have been readily accepted as standards for the deter- mination of its various formations. The areas of Devonian along the coast are somewhat limited; the jnincipal, occurring to the east of St. John Harbor, where the rocks form a double synclinal which extends inland for about eight miles, and occupies the shore from the mouth of Little River, nearly to Cape Spencer. West of the harbor, these rocks occupy a narrow strip along the beach, near Carleton, and constitute the " Fern I-edges" in this vicinity. A second area extends between ^lusquash and I^epreau harbors, resting upon Laurentian rocks in a series of folds, of which at least three can be clearly recognized. 'J'hese areas, at Lepreau Point, are in turn unconformably over- lapped by sandstones and conglomerates, the probable ecjuiva- lents of the Perry Sandstone group of Maine, the aspect of whose contained plants led to their being regarded by Sir William Dawson as constituting the upper member of the Devonian, but wliich were afterwards believed by Prof. Bailey to belong rather to the Lower Carboniferous, principally on lithological grounds, but also from a lack of conformity to the underlying Devonian sandstones and shales of this place. We may also include in this system sundry strata found at Wright's Head, on Beaver Harbor, in which are found remains of ferns and other plants, described in the section on the Mascarene series. But by far the largest area is found underlying the central Carboni- ferous basin. This, beginning at the boundary of Maine, extends almost to the St. John Hiver, having in Charlotte county a breadth of about twelve miles and Ijounded on either side by rocks of Cam- I ' ( 44 NEW BRUMsWtCk GEOLOCJV. !^'^: Oarboniferoiis I'orinutions. iiii brO'Silurian age. It doubtless underlies a very considerable portioti of the Carboniferous area of central New Brunswick, since at several places as at Coal Creek, near the head of Grand Lake, and on the Canaan River and its branches, strata of Devonian aspect come to the surface in the beds of the streams and in low cliffs with cappings of Millstone-grit. These Devonian strata have apparently participated in the series of disturbances which have affected all the formations of the southern part of the province older than the Carboniferous. The general characters of the Carboniferous formations, as given from the time of Dr. Gesner, down to the publication of the general map in 1878-79, have been given in considerable detail in the pre- ceding pages. Since that date, however, a large amount of work has been done on the rocks of this system in the northern, eastern and central por- tions of the province, the results of which, more particularly in refer- ence to the Middle and Upper formations, will be briefly stated. The total area of Middle Carboniferous rocks is about 12,000 square miles, throughout which great uniformity of character is ap- parent. A thin seam of coal extends over the greater portion, which crops out, not only at the places where worked for many years at Grand Lake and on the Richibucto River, but at various other points along its entire border. This seam, while varying slightly in thickness, in no place, however, amounting to more than 20 or 23 inches, is very uniform in general character ; and it is probable that all the outcrops noted pertain to the same seam, brought to the surface at intervals by a series of low anticlinals which affect the measures throughout their entire extent, following generally a course parallel to the pre Cambrian ridges which surround the basin on the south and north-west. Throughout the counties of Kent, Northum- berland and Gloucester, which comprise the area bordering on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the character of the NEW nRl.'NSVVICK GF.OLOGV. 49 I areas of ) tracts nl tlic upper s yet bct'n 1(1 to some /hat those fites which : mouth of It horizon, of dioritic ossiUferous ;sent much 1 described, rue felsites, ions of the md talcose lany places iive tract of of the pro- South-West et River, on a line drawn ve miles, in anites. The rian on the er, on which es from its ated basin, waters of the Ration of the obique Lake the Jacquet Upsalquitch, he high hills the streams branches of mbrian rocks and syenitic lotte county. ;d by similar granites, which are extensively exposed on the upper part of the Main .South-West Miramichi and its tributaries. On all the streams which flow east between the Nipisiguit and the Main South-West Miramichi, the prc-Cambrian rocks are easily recognized. Their intense degree of metimorphism, regional rather than local, distinguishes them from those of the overlying formations, while in many pla( es there is a marked unconformity between them. The western boundary of the series is seen on the Nictor Lake, which is at the head of the Tobiciue River, in several islands and in the great peak, known as the Bald Mountain, whence a high chain of hills extends to the Right Maud Branch of the Tobique, crossing it a short distance below the Forks of the Camj)bell and Serpentine Rivers, and continues with a more south-westerly trend to the Forks of the Miramichi. On the Nipisiguit, its eastern boundary is seen a short distance below Lidian Falls, not far from the 47-milc post on this stream. The north-eastern area is divided into three parts by basin-like overlaps of Cambro-Silurian and Silurian strata, presently to be described. To tlie south, the pre-Cambrian is overlaid principally by rocks of the Cambro-Silurian system, and on the west by sediments of various age, up to the Lower Carboniferous. The rocks of the Cambro-Silurian resemble those of the areas CamWo- already described under this head in previous pages. They consist of slates, grey, red, and black, with quartzose sandstones, some- times schistose, and where in contact with the granites, containing abundance of crystals, of staurolite, mica, tS:c. Certain bands of the red and green slates are persistent for long distances, and can readily be traced from their northerly terminus on the Bay of Cha- leurs, southwesterly, into the county of York. In character, these slates of various colors, with their associated sandstones, resemble very closely the beds of the Levis and Sillery divisions of the Quebec group,and this resemblance is strengthened by the occurrence of graptolites, in some of the graphitic layers, similar to those found in that group. As in the southern portion of the province, certain areas of highly metamorphic rocks also occur which lithologically closely resemble pre-Cambrian, but as in the case of the more south- ern area, these are so intimately associated with other sediments, as to render their separation impossible for the present. The rocks now considered of Cambro-Silurian age are in g part Formerly those described by Drs. Gesner and Robb as Cambrian, while jn the Cumbrian Iby I I 50 NEW P,RUNS\VICK GEOLOGY. Gesnor. h. W. IJailoy, Uep. (tooI. Sur. 188U-83-84. Rrs. Robband map accompanying the Acadian Geology, they were comprised un- der the term Lower Silurian. To tlie south-west, they occupy a large portion of the county of York, whence they extend into the adjoin- ing state of Maine. In this direction, they are directly overlaid by Carboniferous sediments of the central basin, the Devonian and Silurian being entirely concealed, or, at bei-t, rejjresented only by detached outliers of very limited extent. Their north-west outline crosses the province ''oundary into Maine, about two miles south of what is known as -..le Monument, at the source of the St. Croix River, whence, trending north-easterly, it crosses the St. John River, a little to the north of Woodstock, and extends nearly to the head waters of the Tobique. Areas of limestone which are often highly crystalline and mica- ceous are found as an integral portion of the system in the western area, near Canterbury. These resemble in some respects the crys- talline limestones of the Laurentian, and are associated with quart- zites and schistose rocks. The occurrence also of somewhat similar limestones in the eastern area as a part of the same formation has already been referred to in the remarks on the pre-Cambrian. While then the Cambro-Silurian rocks have a somewhat extensive development in this section of the province, their bulk is much reduced by the presence of large masses of syenite and granite of undoubtedly much later date. These have penetrated the surround- ing beds into which large dykes and veins are intruded in all direct- ions, while often large pieces have the appearance of being torn from their original position, and now held in the igneous mass. Their action on the slates and sandstones is marked, not only by the gene- ration of crystals of various kinds, but by a general alteration of the contiguous beds into schists and gneisses containing mica. Two principal areas of these rocks are seen, the mote southern flanking the south side of the pre-Cambrian axis of the interior, and continuing to the shore of the Bay of Chaleurs, north of Bathurst, the other on the north-west side of the axis, terminating, as described, near the head waters of the Tobique. These areas are distinctly uncon- formable to the underlying series. They are not, as a rule, rich in fos- sils, but at several points in the southern belt, notably on the Tete-a- gW Klls ep. Gooi. 'Sur. gauche and Miramichi rivers, different forms are found, including brachiopods as well as graptolites. These, while in many cases too indistinct for perfect determination, present features more nearly allied to Cambro-Silurian forms than to those of any other horizon, but in 1879-80. NEW T5RTTVSWTCK r,EOT,00Y. 51 ed iin- a large adjo in- laid by m and )nly by outline ;outh of t. Croix 1 River, lie head id mica- western the crys- h quart- It similar tion has 1. extensive is much ranite of ;urround- dl direct- orn from Their the gene- Dn of the southern irior, and Bathurst, described, tly uncon- rich in fos- le Tete-a- including cases too iarly allied ;on, but in the western lielt, more especially on the North Branch of the Becca- piof. l. W. (luimec River, in Carleton, a wonderfully mixed fauna is found in StUerifSrew a somewhat limited space. At one point, near Shaw's mill, on fcSt'sur. this stream, strata-holding fossils which appear to belong to this ^'*^* system are a])i)arently interstratificd with others containing Silurian forms, while in close proximity are beds filled with remains oi Psilo- phytoii. There would, therefore, in this locality, appear to be three systems represented, of which the Silurian forms seem to be near the base or junction with the Cambro Silurian. This peculiar admixture of so many different horizons can p'-obably best be explained on the hypo- thesis of intimate infolding and subsequent denudation by which narrow crests of older ridges are exposed. In addition to the fossils recently found at this place, several small outlying patches were noted, and first referred to l)y Mr. C. Robb (Rep. Geol. Sur. 1869), and others subse(]uently discovered by Mr. Mclnnes, in northern York ; but these appear to be more closely allied to Lower Helderberg forms, and consequently (juite distinct from the rocks of the principal Cambro- Silurian area upon which they rest as limited outlying patches . The view taken of this portion of the rocks in northern New similarity of Brunswick, by Professor Hind, as representing the Quebec group of portfonsof the Canada (see his Rep. 1865), has thus been fairly sustained by later assute/by"'*' investigation, both on grounds of lithology and palceontology. The mnd. Report similarity also of the fossils of the Beccaquimec area to those of the^*^*^°^"'^**^' Trenton group, to which horizon, a portion, at least, of the fossilifer- ous Quebec group belongs, is also evident, and leads to the conclu- sion, that a repetition of these rocks, both in their fossiliferous and metamorphic stages, is found in this section of the province. But by far the most extensive of the older geological systems in „.. . this area is the Silurian. This occupies the entire country along the St. John River, above Woodstock, extending far into the adjoin- ing province of Quebec, together with the greater part of the valley of the Tobique, where it is, however, to some extent overlapped by Lower Carboniferous sediments. Thence it extends to the Bay of Chaleurs ; occupying, with the exception of the pre-Cambrian belt of Jacquet River, and sundry areas of diorite and trappean rocks the remaining portion of the province to the north, and including the valley of the Restigouche and its tributaries, as well as a large por- tion of the Gaspe Peninsula, where it rests upon the southern flank of the Quebec group. The strata of this system are thrown into a series of anticlinals, the 5^ NEW BRUNSWICK GKOLOGY. ri'i II r' Dovonian. L. W.Bailey on Carle ton and Victoria counties. Rep. Geol. Sur.,b85. R. W. Ellit. northern New Brunswick. Rep. Geol. Sur. im-m. axes of which arc well exposed on the various streams, and the beds arc in places highly fossiliferous, the different formations from the Niagara to the Lower Helderberg, both inclusive, being already recognized. They are frequently penetrated by dykes and masses of trap, often of largo extent, some of which, as at Dalhousie, are intercalated sheets between the fossiliferous limestone and shales, which have been altered along the contact. The Silurian here contains traces of plant stems, which are probably the oldest found in the province, and are associated with distinctly Silurian forms. The same associa- tion of plants in Silurian strata is found in the Gaspe lin^.es- tone series near Gaspe Basin, and alluded to by Sir VVm. Dawson in ''The Fossil Plants of the Silurian and Dev., 1871." It is also possible that the plant stems noted on the Beccaguimec may be in the upper beds of the Silur' 1. though their aspect is at this place, more markedly Devonian. The rocks of the Devonian system occupy but limited areas in this section, and are, for the most part, confined to the vicinity of the upper portion of the Bay of Chaleurs. Several small outliers, have, iiow- ever been recognized in Carleton and Victoria counties, the fossils of which would place them near the base of the series. Of these, the former is found near the junction of the Beccaguimec, with the St. John, where certain black shales are exi)osed in a narrow band contain- ing abundant remains of Psilophyton princeps, a characteristic Devo- nian form (see Rep. Geol. Sur., C. Robb, 1870-71). This area is lar- gely concealed by Lower Carboniferous conglomerate and sandstone, which occupy a basin formed by the branches of the first-named stream. These rocks were in 1874 (see Rep. Geol. Sur. 1874-75, R. W. Ells,) on the evidence of the contained plants, regarded as belonging to the same horizon, but later detailed examinations about the upper part of the stream, by Messrs. Bailey, jVLitthew and Mclnnis, tend to establish a later age for the conglomerate and associated beds. (See Rep. Geol. Sur. 1883-84, L. W. Bailey.) Devonian rocks, however, underlie these, since along the northern boundary, on the North branch, certain fossils are recognized which appear to represent the upper part of the Gaspe limestone series. In the section along the Upsakjuitch River, a branch of the Restigouche from the south, a basin of Devonian sandstone and shales with characteristic plants was observed to rest unconformably upon Silurian rocks. Its extent inland could not by traced, as the NEW BRUNSWICK (GEOLOGY, :1s arc agara iiizcd. often alatcd have Lces of )vince, ssocia- linies- ;son in is also t in the J, more in this e upper e, liow- Dssils of ese, the the St. :ontain- c Devo- a is lar- dstonc, named R. W. longing le upper tend to . (See luwever, e North ent the 1 of the one and formably d, as the s'ew J^ur surrotmding country is generally low and densely wooded. As at other points the sediments were intersected by trappean masses, whose mctamorphic action was quite evident and proved their more recent age. On the Lower Restigouche areas of Devonian rocks are foimd on both sides of the stream which forms the dividing line between the provinces of New Brunswicis^ and Quebec. These, on the south side, extent from a point three miles above Campbellton, at intervals to within a coujjle of miles of Dalhousie. The shales and sandstones contain plant stems, descriptions of which are given in the report of n,',riyiVnl'Ne 1879. In the vicinity of Campbellton, also, beds of brecciated ^runswjck.^ limestone or calcareous breccia have yielded a comparatively rich iS7s^-so. fauna of Devonian fishes such as Cephalaspis Coccosteus, etc., repre- senting the lower |)art of the system, while on the side of the river, opposite Dalhousie, other beds contain an abundance of fossil fishes, which have been described by Mr. Whiteaves, and appear to indicate its middle or upper portion. It is of interest to note that as pogsii fishes early as 1842 these remains were recognized by Dr. Gesner, who, gr"t^J,'*te^^,y*'® however, regarded them as reptilian in their character. He supposed ^''^"*^'' '" ^^■" the containing beds, from their lithological aspect were portions of the New Red Sandstond* or Carboniferous formations, and it was not till 1879, that these interesting fossils were rediscovered by the writer and the true position of the beds established. The Devonian of this locality occupies a shallow synclinal. The strata are pene- trated by trap dykes, two periods of eruption being evident from the fact that the lower beds at Campbellton, in which the fishes were found are composed largely of trappean debris, as also from the pre- sence of i)ebbles of trap in the conglomerates elsewhere, and the occurrence of fossiliferous strata overlying trappean ridges. Later intrusions of volcanic matter through the newer members of the sys- tem, both here and at various points in the Gaspe Peninsula, are also common. The Carboniferous system is represented in northern and eastern Carboniferous New Brunswick, principally by the upj^er portion of the Lower forma- and eastern tion, styled the Bonaventure and the lower or Millstone-grit portions Brmiswick. of the middle division. The development of the latter over the great inland basin has already been referred to and but little more need be said concerning it. Along the south side of the Bay of Chaleurs a thin seam of coal occurs at several points, which has the same general character as in the interior. On the island of f u NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. R. W. Ells, Rep. Geol. Sur. 1882-83. Shipplgdtt, and on the mainland north of Tracadie, soft, fed rnida-' ceous sandstone is seen which probably represents a part of the Upper Carboniferous, but these areas are confined to a narrow fringe along the shore. A similar thin seam of coal is found on several of the branches of the Miramichi, and gives strong evidence that the formation has no great thickness at any i)oint. The area is traversed by several low anticlinals, of which four principal ones are recog- nized and described in Rep. Geol. Sur. 1882-83. The more northerly of these extends between Bathurst and the Miramichi River, where it forms a ridge running north-easterly with an elevation of between 500 and 600 feet. The second extends from the head of Grand Lake to the vicinity of Richibucto Head on Northumberland Strait. This brings up the Devonian rocks of Coal Creek. The third passes to the north of Moncton, indicated by the supposed pre-Cambrian ridges of Indian Mountain, and reaches the shore a few miles north of Shediac ; wiiilc the fourtii, which affects the south-eastern area only, is well seen in the Aulac ridge which extends to Bay Verte, and thence in a low rise runs through the Tor- mentine Peninsula to its extremity. The basin of Middle Carbonife- rous rocks is underlaid along nearly its entire boundary on the north, west and south by the Lower Carboniferous. At one or two points however, notably on the Dungarvon and Renous Rivers and on either side of the St. John River, west of Fredericton, the lower members are concealed by the overlap of the Millstone-grit, directly upon the Cambro-Silurian. The volcanic portion of the Lower Car boniferous though considerably developed in the counties of York and Victoria, is apparently absent from the northern area where the rocks are sandstones and shales with conglomerates, which in the southern part of the province, constitute the upper members of the gypsiferous division. They are well displayed along the south coast of Gaspe, at intervals to the extremity of that peninsula, where they received the name of the Bonaventure formation, as well as at several points on the shore north of Bathurst. In Carleton county also, considerable outliers of Carboniferous rocks, representing the lower and possibly some portion of the middle division, are found north of Woodstock and on the branches of the Beccaguimec River. These overlie Devonian and Silurian sediments already described, which in turn rest upon rocks of both Cambro-Silurian and pre-Cam- brian age, and conceal the contacts of the several systems for a con- is'E\V BRUNSWICK CEOLOGV. hb siderable distance. A considerable area principally of the gypsi- ferous portion is found on the Tobiqne, and recognized as long ago, as the time of Dr. (resner. Certain not clearly defined grits and sandstones, grey in their upper part, may indicate the existence of a patch of Millstone-grit in this locality. On Heron Island which is in tlie Bay of Chaleurs, about nine miles southeast uf Dalhousio, the rocks of the Bonuventure formation are well developed. The shales here contain remains of plant;r^ which have never yet been described, while the sandstones shew impres- sions of reptilian footmarks which are the only ones yet found in New Brunswick of this age, though somewhat similar tracks have been recognized at several points in Nova Scotia in strata of not much higher horizon. IdNEOus Rocks, The principal igneous rocks, which have not already been suffi- ciently described in connection with the various formations, are the intrusive granites and syenites and those of the newer trappean areas. Of these the former are much the more important, not only from their very considerable extent but from their economic value. They have been roughly outlined from the time of the earliest report on the geology of the province, but it is only within the last few years, that the details, more especially of the northern area, whicii is much the larger, have been studied. Generally speaking, these two great areas enter the province near its south-west corner from the adjoining state of Maine. Along the border in Charlotte and Vork counties, they are separated by a considerable extent of slates already described. The southern belt extends entirely across the former county, and occupies a large part of western Kings and Queens, reaching, with some interruptions, to the St. John River. Further cast, in the latter county and in West- morland, isolated outcrops protrude through Carboniferous sedi- ments revealed by the denudation of the latter. That these are of earlier age than the overlying beds is proved by the debris of the granites being found in the lowest member of the Lower Carboni- ferous formation. Similar areas of granite are also associated with the preCambrian of the southern >art of the province, but these are comparatively limited as compared with the principal granitic mass. '1 1 1 ,1 1 1 'I t |l 66 NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGV. In character these rocks are very similar, being generally reddish and moderately coarse grained, often with large crystals of felspar. In places, however, the texture is fine and the color grey. The northern area, while of greater extent, ]>resents a similar aspect. Crossing from Maine through the chain of the St, Croix lakes, which form the boundary for some distance, it enters the province in a belt more than twenty miles in width, and extending north-easterly, crosses the St. John River, midway between Frederic- ton and Woodstock. Fine sections are afforded by the river, which cuts directly through the belt, shewing well the intrusive character of the rock by the number and nature of the dykes, which are sent off in all directions into the adji^.ning slates, as well as by the distinct local metamorphism, due directly to the jiresence of the granitic mass. Crossing the River St. John, the granite subdivides into two portions, the more southerly of which terminates near the New Brunswick rail- way, while the northern band crosses that line and continues to a total distance of thirty miles from the river. North of this, to the Bay of Chaleurs, the granites occur in three distinct areas, of which the two central are of large extent, and are, for the most part, associated with pre-Cambrian rocks, though also penetrating strata of Cambro- Silurian age, on the Miramichi River. On this stream, the altera- tion along the contact, both of the slates and granite, is well seen, the latter, for several feet, becoming fine-grained and whitish in color, while the former are in places shattered and contain crystals of various kinds. The second area occupies a great breadth of country about the head waters of the South Branch of the Nipisiguit, and on the North-west Miramichi ; forming an exceedingly hilly and broken surface, containing the highest peaks of the province. The third area occurs on the lower part of the Nipisiguit near Bathurst, extending for some twelve miles up from its mouth, but concealed on the lower portion for three miles by Lower Carboniferous beds, the base of which is made up of granitic debris. From a consideration of the various points of contact, the intrusive character of these granites is very clearly established ; since, in no other way, can the peculiar ]ihenomena seen be accounted for. There is, however, a marked difference in the character of the metamorphism resulting from the granite, as compared with that produced by the intrusion of the dioritic or trappean masses. In the former, the alteration is more gradual, and extends over a much wider area, as though continuing for a considerable period, and probably NEW imuNswrcK geology, S¥ Umier great pressure. In the latter case, the rocks, in contact have frecjuently a baked or porcelaini/ed aspect, as though exposed to a fiuicker but not so prolonged a heat. This may, perhaps, be more clearly expressed by regarding the granites as intrusive rocks proper, which have not reached the surface at the time of their intru- sion, but cooled beneath the surface, and subsequently exposed by denudation, v/hile the latter may be held as rather extrusive, coming to the surface along direct fractures or lines of bedding, and cooling rapidly. Of the other kinds of intrusive rocks, many of the diorites and fe!sites doubtless are, as heretofore described, integral parts of the older formatiouH ; for while the metamorphosing action of the granite is seen in beds of Silurian age, it is evident that its intrusion must have been subsequent to that period ; while, as no pebbles or debris are found in any formation older than the Devonian, the age of these great masses must not be far from the beginning of that era. Many of the older volcanic rocks of the pre-Cambrian areas have an earlier date than the overlying Cambrian strata, since their debris enters largely into the composition of the basal beds of that system. The areas of serpentine in the province are too limited to form any particularly distinctive feature. Sufficient evidence, however, exists to indicate its connection with the igneous rocks, probably as a product of alteration, as seen in the scrpentinous diorites of western Charlotte county and in the pure serpentine dyke near Pisarinco. The trappean rocks, which are largely developed along the lower Restigouche, and along the upper part of the Bay ofChaleurs, are, like the granites, for the most part of Devonian age. In places, dykes of considerable size, cut directly through sandstones and shales of this age, or throw them upwards into low anticlinals, in the same way as the traps of the Bay of Fundy have affected the Triassic sandstone of that locality. In places, also, the conglomerates of the period, are largely made up of trappean debris. It would thus appear that at least two periods volcanic eruption occurred in this region, of which the earlier was probably the more extensive ; since by it the huge mountains of Dalhousie, Campbellton, and the range along the north shore of the Restigouche to Tracadigash, were brought into their present position, upon the flanks of which nearly horizontal beds of Devonian age have been deposited at various points. There yet remains to be considered the great masses of felsitic rock of various ages, both of the southern portion of the province f ^■illlMBi 58 NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. and of the great areas of the northern division. That the great bulk of these are true volcanic products is evident from their nature. Their character as amygdaloids, agglomerates and ashbeds, together with the existence of highly crystalline felspar porphyries, trachytes, rhyolites and similar rocks, clearly establishes their eruptive origin. That they are, however, of different ages, is plain, since while some of these are undoubtedly of pre-Cambrian age, and form what is known as the volcanic portion of the Huronian system, others are intimately associated with T^ower Carboniferous strata, either as great masses or as interbedded sheets. These latter are, however, as a rule more earthy than the older series, and their mode of occur- rence clearly indicates their later age. A large area of felsite occurs on the Tobique River, the age of which is somewhat doubtful. Much of it is highly crystalline and porphyritic, and resembles the old pre-Cambrian felsite of the inte- rior ; other portions are ashy. It is separated from the main area by a band of Cambro-Silurian slates, which may only occupy a basin shaped valley in the older rocks, but the impenetrable character of much of the country renders it at present almost impracticable to determine its true horizon, and it is possible that it may pertain to the Lower Carboniferous outlier of this locality, with the rocks of which it appears to be intimately connected. Other areas of epidotic and dioritic rocks of uncertain position occur in the vicinity of the St. John River, near Woodstock, which are associated with Cambro- Silurian strata. !'■ Prof. H. Y. Hind, Reimr I.' (xeolotfyot'N Brunswick, 1, lSti5. \l I Superficial dKOLofiY. The superficial geology of the province has, since the report of Prof. Hind (1865), been more particularly studied by Messrs. Mat- thew and Chalmers, whose reports embody not only their own ob- servations on the subject, but many of the notes collected by the other explorers in this field. That by Prof. Hind furnishes much valuable information concern- ivfing the origin of terraces, raised beaches and lake basins ; with a list of glacial striae and ice grooves from which he infers that the ice might have had a thickness of 2,000 feet, as indicated by the mark- ings found on the tops of some of the mountains. The varying courses of the striae are accounted for on the grounds that the direc- tion of the ice sheet was influenced, to some extent, by the direction of the valleys and other leading topographical features. This pecu- Mi. Niiw BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. SO iiarity of local glaciers has been discnsiied at greater length in recent reports by Mr. Chalmers. The various lake basins were held to be due to the ploughing out of the softer portions of the underlying rocks through the agency of these glaciers. The reports of Mr. Matthew go much more extensively into detail. Mr. ft.F. In these the superficial deposits are arranged under three heads, viz. : superficial ist. Boulder clay or till, unmodified glacial drift, constituting the southern Now , ^ , lirunswick. lowest member. Reg. Geoi. .'^ur. 2nd. Stratified sand and gravel, Syrtensian deposits, formed by "'" ' marine action, and representing the remains of old shoals and banks. Leda clay, estuarine deposits. Saxicava sand and raised beaches, littoral deposits. 3rd. Modern alluvium, shell marls, peat, etc. The peculiarity of the boulder clay is its unstratified arrangement and its intermingling of sand, clay and stones which are often striated. As a general rule, it was observed that the boulders were, for the most part, local, and only at rare intervals were stones found that had come from any considerable distance. VV here observed, in the southern part of the province, their course was generally from north to south or south- east, more especially in the south-western and <-entral portions, and good instances of upward transport were seen by their presence on the sides or tops of mountains, 500 feet or more above their starting point. The color of the boulder clay was found to be affected in great measure by the color of the rocks whence it was derived, as might naturally be supposed, more especially where these rocks are soft sandstones or calcareous shales, since the hard rocks resisted more effectually the degrading effects of the ice sheet. Wherever this clay is removed, the strata beneath are, as a rule, found to be rounded and scored, shewing that the deposit of the clay was subsequent to the smoothing of the rock. Two principal directions are visible in the strice. Thus to the west of St. John the prevailing course is to the south of east, while to the east of that city, it is south-westerly, following to a great extent the principal hill features. The beds of the second or Syrtensian group differ from the pre- ceding in their stratified character, though there arc, at certain points on the coast, indications of a gradual passage from the upper mem- bers of the boulder formation, into the lower part of the stratified group. The various beds of the latter are arranged by Mr. Matthew in four principal forms, viz. : — , NEW imUNSWICK CEOLOGY. I I I- 'I' ^t Mr. R. Chalnicvs. Superficial (Jeology. Rep. (ieol. 1S82-H3-84. The weather shoal, forming under the north side of the hill, or at the entrance to a valley. 'J'lie lee shoal, forniint; behind a hill, or at the outlet of a valley. Centre shoals, formed in o[)en si)ac.es or enlargements of valleys, or on the higher lands. Horsebacks and escars, formed of gravel and sand along valleys or ridges as connecting neighbouring hills, or opposing sloi)es of valleys. The Leda clay may be regarded as an upper portion of the prece- ding group, since, in the southern part of the province, the beds of the former graduate upward into the latter. It may, however, be properly restricted to dei)Osits of clay, which generally rest upon the gravels of the Syrtensian group, and are generally distinguished by the pre- sence of organic remains, in which, in addition to shells of various kinds, the remains of a P/ioca and a lie/usra have been found nea the coast of the Bay of l''undy. This deposit is well recognized, not only in the southern part of the province, but in the Jiay of Chaleurs area, both in New Ikunswick and along the Gaspe shore, from which a very considerable collection of fossil remains have been obtained. The deposit, however, changes its character in different places, from the admixture of sandy beds, and at times it is very difficult to dis- tinguish between the Syrtensian, the r,eda and the Saxicava, owing to their occasional similarity. To the latter or Saxicava sand arc attributed the up])er members of the modified drift only. It is generally devoid of organic remains, having in southern New lirunswick, produced only two species, a Mya and a Macoiiia. It was deposited in gradually shoaling water, as the land slowly rose from the sea, and, in this way, terraces of different heights were formed along the coast and river valleys. These terraces, more es})ecially as seen along the St. John and other rivers in northern New Brunswick, have been recently described in detail Sur. by Mr. Chalmers, whose papers on the surface geology of these por- tions of the province, are among the most important yet published on the subject. In many of these terraces, the three sub-divisions of the modified drift are seen, viz. : — the Syrtensian gravel and sand at the bottom, the Leda clay in the central part, and the Saxicava sand at the top. On the St. John River, a number of sections were made, particu- larly of the part between Woodstock and the St. Francis River, as well as along its tributaries, in some of which no less than seven dis- NEW BRUNSWICK flEOLOtiY. 61 tinct terraces were, ol)served, with a total elevation for the upper of not far from 200 feet above the present level of the stream. The highest terrai es are composed of stratified gravel and sand, with water-worn pebbles ; the lower contains the same materials as the upper, but are generally more water-worn, and have local beds of clay and silt. The materials of the kames or escars and terraces are the same, and undoubtedly, derived from the same source. Since it has been conclusively established that the valley of the St. John River is of pre-glacial age, the mode of occurrence of these deposits is an exceedingly interesting (|uestion, and as Mr. Chalmers has evidently given the subject much study, ami his views seem to satisfy most of the requirements of the case, more fully than any previously advanced, with the proviso that they ap|)ly equally well to other river valleys, they are here presented. " The river valleys, at the close of the glacial period, became very generally choked with drift, which, forming dams, would hold back the water, and constitute a series of lake basins along the river course. These dams, in some places, were from 150 to 200 feet above the present level, and the rivers would, therefore, begin to How at that height above tlieir present beds. The gradual re-excavation of the drift would, therefore, as it went on, by the transi)ortation to lower levels, result in the formation of the terraces which would thus mark different levels of the river by the deposition of the materials from higher levels along the border of the lake-like expansions, and along the sides and bottoms of the current, which flowed in and through them ; thus, by successive accumulation, forcing the channel from side to side as erosion and deposition went on. " The kames are comi)osed of similar sand and gravel as the ter- races, and may be the remains of these left by denudation of beds once surrounding them, and of which they formed a part. Their bases are often composed of till or boulder clay." The action of the glaciers, in following already det'ined depressions, is well seen at many points over the entire area of the province. Occasionally, two or more sets of striie occur, which often have courses at marked angles to each other. Of these, the newer will almost invariably be noticed to run in the direction of a valley or, when near the coast, the course of some tiord or estuary. Excellent examples of this are seen in the vicinity ofSackville and Amherst, where the ice grooves and striae follow directly the depression between Bay Verte and the head of the Bay / iir 62 NF.W RRUNSWirK OFOr.OOY. i'l: ol" Fuiuly, ;is also ;il Moinramcook aiul I )()ir,he.sliT, wliorc llicy aa- observed lo follow the principal llexurcs of the Memraincook River. This peculiarity of direction is, also noticed in both the adjoininj,' provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia. 'I'he older set of markings are however ol^served to keep a (piite uniform direction, regardless of opposing hills, as if in many cases, the propelling power of the glacier drove it resistlessly forward. If then we admit the existence of a universal ice sheet, which, in some parts of eastern Canada appears to be quite clearly established, we must also admit a second and possibly a third ice era, during which local glaciers were shed from the height of land in whichever direction the most favorable outlet was |)resented, the course of which was largely affected by local conditions of configuration. In the northern area, such evidences of local glaciers are visible in the stri;\3 which follow the outlin-.'s of the lower Restigouche and its tributaries. In Gaspe, also, local glaciers were undoubtedly shed in either direction from the tops of the Shickshock mountains, modified by the lower hill ranges which lie nearer the coast. In Nova Scotia, striiv; on the north side of the Cobecjuids point towards the shore of Northumberland Strait, while on the south side, they have a westward course in the line of the Minas Basin and Channel. The divergence of river beds is conclusively proved at several points, though whether these changes were all due to causes subse- ([uent to the glacial period, may be (questioned. Thus, at the Grand Falls of the St. John River, 225 miles from the mouth, thtf present channel below the ])itch forms a wonderful gorge, cut through the Silurian rocks for nearly a mile to a depth of over one hundred feet ; the old channel being blocked, at what is now the town of Grand Falls, by a great accumulation of clay and other drift material. So also, near its junction with the St. John, the old valley of the Tobique has been dammed and a new channel excavated through Silurian beds for nearly the same distance. The time necessary to produce a gorge of such a length in the comparatively hard rocks of these localities must have been considerable. Whether such was the cause of the present outlet of the St. John River has not been conclusively proved, but appears highly probable, since huge dams of drift block up what api^ears to be an old outlet of the river in the direction of Manawagonish Beach, a short distance west of its present mouth. The views of Prof, Hind ('see Report of 1865), as to the glacial ' i NF.W IIRUNSWICK C.KOt.Or.Y. 63 origin of many of tiic lake basins, do not. in ;ill cases, set-ni to I)c fully sustained i)y the later investigations of Mr. Cliahners. Thu latter gentleman finds tlie depressions of some of the larger lakes in the southwestern part of the province to he pre-glaeial in the same way as the valley of the St. |olm Rivei. The subsequent action of glaciers and glacial drift has, by heajiing u)) moraines, modified existing conditions very greatly, either by forming entirely new basins, or changing very considerably those existing prior to the ice •age. This ])eculiarity of morainic lake basins is well illustrated in many of the lakes of the St. I'roix chain, along the boundary betwec^i New Brunswick and Maine. Changes of level of the land are well shown by the presence of beds of marine or Leda clay at considerable elevations, reaching, in some places, several hundred feet above the present sea level. It is also proved by the presence of old sea beaches at intervals along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, and now removed several miles from the existing shore line. That such clianges of level have taken place in comparatively recent times is evidenced by the presence of tree stumps in the marshes about the upi)er part of this bay, now some twenty or thirty feet below high tide mark, which are found not only on the flats between Amherst and Sackville, along the shore, but in the several canals which have been cut for the purpose of improving the inner marsh. The partially submerged shell heaps on the coast of Charlotte county, which mark the sites of old Indian encampments, and presumably at one time removed beyond the action of the sea, also proves the gradual encroachment of the water, as well as the tact that these shell heaps are at a con- siderably lower level than when they were formed. On the other hi'.nd, it is supposed by Prof. Hind and others that the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are now gradually rising, as is evidenced by the shoaling of the waters in the harbors and estuaries of the eastern coast, at the entrance to the great Miramichi Harbor and the basin at Bathurst, since a marked difference in the depth of the water is now noted when compared with the observations recorded within the last eighty or one hundred years. Some of these appar- ent changes of level may, to a certain extent, be due to the filling up of channels by sediment brought down by the rivers and redistributed by the action of the tides. It might be supposed, by some persons, that the varied opinions expressed at different times concerning the true interpretation of the (I ( ! P 64 NEW BRUNSWICK GEOLOGY. gcologic;;il structure of the province would Ikivc a tendency to reflect soniewliat unfavorably upon the character of the work done by the several observers in this field. A moment's consideration of the subject will, however, serve to correct this impression ; since it must be remembered that, in the elucidation of the structure of any coun- try, the discovery of new facts, from time to time, must ever lead to changes in the interpretation of the various problems presented. The earliest workers had the misfortune also to labor at a time when the science of geology was, comparatively speaking, in its infiincy. With the increase of our scientific knowledge, enlarged views will be unfolded, while the peculiar bias pertaining to each individual must, of itself, ever give abundant cause for difference of opinion. In the study of any subject the object primarily to be attained should be the truth, sinking personal feeling for the general good. nn to reflect nc by the on of the ce it must any coun- ter lead to snted. at a time ing, in its ;, enlarged ig to each ifference of arily to be the general •?**