Another feature in which these red sandstones resemble those of the province of Nova Scotia, is to be found in their apparent relations to the associated trap. At Dark Harbor the first named rocks form a low terrace along and below the trappean bluffs, which here form an almost precipitous wall of over four hundred feet, and at their outer edge may be seen to dip towards the latter at an angle of about 20°. The direct superposition of the traps upon the arenaceous beds is not seen at this point, but I am told that further South the line of contact between the two is visible for some distance along the face of the shore-bluffs. *

In reference to the nature and composition of the trappean rocks in question, I have little to add to what has already been stated by Dr. Gesner and Prof. Verrill. The best view to be had of their structure is that furnished in the sea-cliffs which intervene between Whale Cove and Long Eddy Point, constituting what is known as the Northern Head of Grand Manan. Along the western of the first-named indentation, these cliffs, having a maximum elevation of about 240 feet, may be seen to consist of alternating beds, from five to ten in number and varying from ten to twenty feet in thickness, the thicker beds being composed of a hard grey and greenish compact trap, which is sometimes columnar, while the softer intervening beds are amygdaloidal. These amygdaloids vary a good deal in texture as well as in colour, being sometimes fine grained and sometimes coarse, and exhibiting various shades of grey, green, red or purple. Their contained minerals are calcite and the ordinary zeolites, frequently with a considerable admixture of deep green chloritic matter, and more rarely scales of black mica. Native copper is sometimes met with, and considerable masses of this mineral are said to have been found at different times in the superficial drift of the islands. The zeolites are less perfect and in less variety than those of Nova Scotia.

Between the head of Whale Cove and Eel Brook the trappean beds form a low synclinal, distinctly visible at a considerable distance from the shore. Northward of this brook, the stratifica

These red sandstones of Grand Manan in some parts contain considerable quantities of copper ores, which were examined and described by Prof. E. J. Chapman of Toronto in a report with a section, published in 1869. In this he refers the sandstones with their associated traps to the Triassic or New Red Sandstone period.-Eds. CAN. NAT.

tion is less evident, the high bluffs of the Northern Head (300 to 350 feet) consisting for the most part of columnar trap; but Westward of this Head the bedding is again seen along the shore from Long Eddy Point to Dark Harbor. In this last named indentation may be seen another fine display of the columnar structure, its northern side being almost entirely built up of well-marked prismatic blocks, from a few inches to a foot or more in diameter, at some points nearly vertical but at others standing out like needles at various inclinations and sometimes (though rarely) horizontal. From Dark Harbor to the Southern head of the island its Western shore has not been examined by me, but is described by Prof. Verrill as consisting of cliffs of trap. (From 200 to 300 feet. Admiralty survey).

The Eastern side of the great trappean plateau, though less regular and abrupt than that last described, is nevertheless well defined throughout the entire length of the island. From the Southern Head to Benson's Cove it fronts the shore, but just East of the latter, near the promontory of Red Head, it is met by the older stratified rocks, which thence form the remainder of the Eastern shore, the line of separation between the two describing a broad curve from Benson's Cove, just in rear of the settlements, to Whale Cove. The greatest breadth of the trappean mass is about the centre of the island, being between four and five miles.

The older rocks of Grand Manan present considerable diversity, and may belong to more than one series. They are everywhere highly disturbed, being thrown into innumerable folds and frequently broken by faults, which render the determination of their true succession somewhat difficult. My stay upon the island was not sufficiently long to enable me to ascertain this order satisfactorily, and I have accordingly, in the following observations, described their features nearly in the order in which they were examined.

Between Whale Cove and Flag's Cove, near the Northern extremity of the island, is a large peninsula, terminating in the promontories of Fish Head and the Swallow Tail. This peninsula (which is considerably more elevated than any other portion of the eastern metamorphic belt) exhibits, as seen in the shore, bluffs between the two headlands last named, features not elsewhere met with in the region under consideration. Towards the promontory of Fish Head these bluffs are composed of hard and very homogeneous compact rocks, of crystalline texture, in some

parts approaching a grey syenite and in others becoming greenish by an admixture of chlorite. No very distinct stratification is visible here, but further south, towards the Swallow Tail Light, this is more apparent, the beds becoming at the same time less crystalline and associated with considerable beds of fine grained indurated shales. These beds near the centre of the peninsula exhibit a series of low undulations, but as the last named headland is approached their inclination becomes greater and their dip (to the northward) more uniform. They are here associated with altered gray sandstones and some thin beds of impure limestone, and are traversed by veins of heavy spar, holding small quantities of galena and copper pyrites. Considerable masses of diorite are occasionally met with along this shore, and at one point broad lenticular sheets of fine-grained flesh-red felsite.

In the small indentation known as Spragg's or Pette's Cove, a somewhat abrupt transition in the character of the rocks may be seen, for while the Eastern side of this Cove, forming the promontory of the Swallow-Tail Light, has the uniform grey colour and other features alluded to in the preceding remarks, the Western exhibits a most marked contrast, being conspicuous, even for a considerable distance, from the almost chalky whiteness of its low cliffs. This appearance is due to the peculiar weathering of a thick mass of pale liver-grey micaceous slates, which here form the shore, dipping northward (N. 50° E.) at an angle of 50°. Between these slates and the grey rocks first alluded to, thinner beds of grey micaceous shales and impure pyritiferous dolomites are poorly exposed along the beach, and near its northern side fine-grained fissile black shales. The contact between these two sets of rocks is obscure, but so far as I could judge, they appear to be conformable and to be connected together by intermediate gradations. That those last enumerated form a single series is evident from their frequent alternation, as may be well seen on either shore of the promontory separating Spragg's or Pette's from Flag's Cove. The pale grey unctuous or nacreous slates and black slates are here associated with hard grey somewhat slaty sandstones (including thin layers of black slate) and coarse grey and purplish sandy shales, many of the beds being more or less filled with veins of brown spar or dolomite, and the whole several times repeated by faulting. On that side of the peninsula looking toward's Flag's Cove, some of the finer purplish beds are VOL. VI.

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ribbanded, and exhibit numerous and abrupt corrugations. Their general dip, however, is northward (N. 20° to 30° E.).

The section afforded by the peninsula above described between Whale Cove and Flag's Cove may be taken as affording a fair representation of the whole metamorphic belt of the Eastern shore of Grand Manan, strata similar in their general aspect to those alluded to being met with at various points along the latter as well as in the adjacent islands. With these, however, are some beds but imperfectly represented or altogether wanting in the area first alluded to.

Along the Western side of Flag's Cove the metamorphic belt is greatly reduced in breadth, being confined to a narrow strip along the shore and to a series of ledges mostly covered by the tide. The rocks exposed here are coarse greenish-grey somewhat chloritic sandstones, with strong slaty cleavage, having numerous imbedded nodules of mixed quartz and spar from a quarter of an inch to two inches in length, besides numerous little crystalline spots resembling spathic iron. Beds of precisely similar character may be seen on Big Duck Island several miles to the southward, being here associated with blueish-grey somewhat unctuous feld. spathic schists, and pale grey dolomites. There are also upon this island (beneath the first named beds) white-weathering nacreous slates with green and purple shales, the whole porphyritic as above with numerous little rhombohedral crystals, and more or less filled with sparry nodules. The white nacreous slate has been examined by Dr. Sterry Hunt, who finds it to consist of an admixture of silicious matter with a hydrous potash-mica, containing only traces of magnesia and iron. The imbedded crystalline spar is a triple carbonate, consisting of carbonate of iron 39.20, carbonate of magnesia 40.40, carbonate of lime 20.40 = 100.00. These beds have here a breadth of over 100 rods, and rest upon coarse purplish-grey quartzose grits, the general dip being westerly at an angle of about 60°. The whole series is evidently the same as that of Flag's Cove, with which these rocks are connected through those of Long Island.

Along the road connecting Flag's Cove with Woodward's Cove and Grand Harbour the rocks met with are chiefly grey lightweathering felsites and coarse grey feldspathic sandstones and slates, much broken and seamed with quartz, and sometimes becoming true quartzites. Similar rocks form Nantucket Island, near the entrance of the last named Cove, but here the quartzite of

a nearly pure white colour, rises into a conspicuous ridge, having a low westerly dip (W. 10° N. > 20°), and a breadth of over one-eighth of a mile.* It rests upon soft dark green shales, and with these extends through the length of the island, reappearing in Gull Rock and in Chalk Cove towards the northern end of Ross Island. This large island, as well as the shore from Woodward's Cove to Grand Harbour, I had not leisure to examine, but in passing around the shore of the last named haven, and thence along the beach to Red Head, was enabled to obtain a fair idea of the structure of the remaining portion of the metamorphic belt.

Along the western side of Grand Harbour the strata exposed to view, near its head, are greenish-grey chloritic and grey feldspathic schists, and grey feldspathic sandstones, with a strong slaty cleavage and variable dip; while nearer its entrance there are with these fine-grained greenish and purplish rocks, containing epidote, and more or less amygdaloidal. A few beds of finegrained grey felsite, or felsite with an admixture of quartz and chlorite, or talcoid mica, are intercalated with these. The dip here is N. 60 to 70 E. > 30° to 50°. Similar beds, but with a larger proportion of shales, sometimes purple and sometimes dark. green with films of chlorite, skirt the shore westward of the entrance of the harbour, forming the promontories of Mike's and Oxnard's Points. A long curving beach, broken at intervals by beds of yellowish-grey slaty felsite, separates this point from a line of low bluffs running out and terminating in the promontory of Red Head. The beds exposed in these bluffs bear much resemblance to some of those described above, as seen upon the shores of Flag's Cove, towards the head of the island. They are grey and bluish-grey (sometimes purple or black) fine-grained beds, conspicuously ribbon-banded and thrown into innumerable sharp corrugations. With these are grey feldspathic sandstones, coated with specular iron, and coarse green chloritic beds, similarly plicated, but having a general northerly dip at an angle of about 30°. Towards the head the finer beds predominate, becoming soft and rubly and conspicuously stained with red oxide.

The quartz rock is here associated with dark grey fissile shales and green chloritic schists, dipping S. 40 W. > 30. It has almost the aspect of a white quartz vein. Similar rocks form conspicuous cliffs on the western side of Whitehead Island but have not been visited by me.