Guide Book No. 9 Transcontinental Excursion

G UIDE BOOK No . 9

Transc ontinental Ex c ursio n C 2

T oronto to Vi ctoria and re turn via

C anad ian Pac iﬁ c , G rand Tru nk

Pac iﬁ c and Natio nal

Transcontinental

Rail ways

I S S UE D B Y THE GE OL OGI CAL S UR VE Y

OTTAWA G OVE R N M E NT P RI NTI NG B U R EAU 1 9 13

CONTE NTS .

PAGE . M B D B RY TO . S U U , ONTARIO , DUN ORE , AL ERTA

by W . H . Collins and Charles Camsell . D UNMO RE TO BU RM IS _

by D . B . Dowling . I ntroduction Annotated guide THE CORDILLERA l h ﬁ . by S . J . S c o e d Classiﬁcation Geological history : Glaciation Physiographic history BU RMI S T O E LKo

by W . W . Leach . I ntroduction Annotated guide Coal mine near Lille Annotated guide i n Geology of the reg on about Corbi . Annotated guide Geology i n the vicin i ty of Coal Creel! Annotated guide Bibliography E L Ko TO KOOTENAY LAKE

ﬁ l . . S ch o e d by S J . I ntroduction Tabular description of formations Description of formations Aldridge formation Creston formation Kitchener formation Siyeh formation Purcell lava Purcell sills Gateway formation Phillips formation Roosville formation Devonian Wardner formation Kootenay granite Plei—stocene deposits 3 642 5 1 % Regional structure Annotated guide

References . WEST KOOTENAY AND BOUNDARY D IS TRIC TS R by O . E . L e oy . Geology of the region between Proctor and M id way

I ntroduction . General geology Table o f formations Pre Cambrian Carboniferous

Slocan series . ’

Pend d Oreillegroup . Carboniferous and post Carboni ferous J urassic

Tertiary . Oligocene

Oligocene and M iocene . Q uaternary

Annotated guide , Proctor to Castlegar .

a . . Annotated guide , C stlegar to M idway Phoenix

Introduction .

General geology . Table of formations

Knob Hill group Attwood series

J urassic . Tertiary

Oligocene . M iocene

Glacial and Recent ” Ore deposits—. Knob Hill I ronsidesmi ne

M ethod of mining .

Annotated guide , Phoenix to M idway .

Annotated guide , Castlegar to Rossland . Rossland

I ntroduction .

General geology . T abl e o f Carboniferous Triassic J urassic M onzonite Diorite Porphyritic monzonite

Post - J urassic Tertiary Ore deposits Gangue Ore Lodes Ore shoots Origin Geology of the region between Castlegar and Revelstoke The Arrow lakes General geology Annotated guide

Slocan silver - lead district Annotated guide

Silver - lead and zinc deposits General geology Vei ns Ore shoots M ineral composition Origin

Annotated guide (continued) . References THE S IM IL KAM E E N D I STRICT

by Ch arles Camsell . I ntroduction

Annotated guide , M idway to Hedley Geology of the region about Hedley General desc ription Physiography Geology Particular descriptions

Roof contact of granod iorite batholith . I nterior plateau Nickel Plate mine I ndustrial notes References . Annotated guide (continued)

Ge ology of the regi on about Princeton . General description

Particular description .

I ndustrial notes ” References

Annotated guide (continued) .

Geology of the regi on about Tulameen.

General description ” Platinum placers

Diamonds . References Annotated guide (continued)

Geology of the region about Merritt .

General description .

Particular description .

I ndustrial notes . References Annotated guide (continued)

REV ELSTOKE To VICTORIA

VICTORIA T o CALGARY

To V IA R K CALGARY WINNIPEG , G AND TRUN PACIFIC RAILWAY

by D . B . Dowling .

Calgary to T o ﬁe ld .

Annotated guide . T ﬁ l o e d to Tete J aune . Annotated guide Rocky mountains Annotated guide (continued) T o ﬁeld to Winnipeg I ntroduction Annotated guide To V IA T RANS CON WINNIPEG COCHRANE , NATIONAL TI NE N A T L RAILWAY . I ntroduction

E . by W . H . Collins and M . Wilson Keewatin and Lower Huronian

Laure ntian . Keweenawan Ordovician Pleistocene Tabular resumé

Annotated guide , Winnipeg to Nipigon

by W . H . Collins

Annotated guide , Nipigon to I roquois Falls

by A . G . B urrows Bibliograph y 8

ILLUSTRATIONS .

M APS . PA GE Ro ute map b etween M edici ne Hat a nd L ethbridge L o cati o n of mi nes in L ethbridge di strict M ap to illu stra t e th e N o mencl at ure of part o f th e N orth Am erican C ordill era M a a nd se o n C r wsnest o n a n p cti , o m u t i Ro ute map b etwee n L e thbridge a nd Elko Ro ute map b e twee n E lko a nd Proctor Ro ute map b etween Proct or a nd M idway Ro ut e ma p b etwee n Arrow a nd Slo ca n la kes (in p o cket) n Ro ute map b etween M idwa y a nd Pri ncet o . ’ Ro ute m ap b e tween Pri ncet o n a nd Spe nc e s Bridge Ro ut e ma p b etween E dm ont on a nd E d so n Ro ut e map b etween E d so n a nd Tete J a u ne Ro ut e map b e tween M a la chi a nd W i nnipeg

Ro ut e map b etween Rech a n a nd M a lachi . h n Ro ute map b etween B ucke a nd Rec a .

Ro ut e ma p be tween Nipigon a nd Bucke .

Ro ute ma p b etween Grant a nd Nipigo n . Ro ute map b etween Kabinakagami river a nd Gra nt

Ro ute map between Al e xa ndra a nd Kabinakaga mi river . Ro ute map b etween La ke Abitibi a nd Alexandra

D RAW I N GS AND SE CTI ON S .

S ection in B e llevu e mine Phoenix structura l sectio ns

S e o n a oss ore o Knobhill - ons es ne cti cr b dy , Ir id mi N a tura l secti o n of Nickel Plat e mo u nta in

Se cti o n thro ugh Nicke l Plate mi ne .

Se cti o n thro ugh Olivi ne mo u ntai n . Di agra m s h owi ng geol ogica l re la ti ons hip s in t he regio n b e tween

L ake Nipigon and W innipe g .

T PH PHO O GRA S .

C rowsnes t m o u nta i n fro m near C o le ma n C rowsnest ass oo n eas a P , l ki g tw rd M o u nta i ns wes t o f El k river near Ferni e o n a ns e as of El k e S o n oa eas es nea M u t i t riv r , h wi g C l m ur r

M orri ssey . . l n he o o n a E k e an on nea E o . C . s o t Riv r c y r lk , B , h wi g h riz t l argilla ceo u s qu artzites of th e Roosville formati o n l E k e an on nea E o B . C . oo n so a s Riv r c y r lk , , l ki g uthw rd oo e na a e o o n a n en o o n eas a s at K t y v ll y ( R cky M u t i tr ch) , l ki g tw rd the abrup t western face of th e Rocky m o u nta i ns V e s o n W es arm o f oo ena a e th e o ns of i w h wi g t K t y l k , with t w N e son a nd a v e a nd th e e as of o o n o o a nd l F ir i w , d lt C tt w d

A n e so n ee s o a nee ea . a nd a e d r cr k , K k p k ft ) gl ci r in h n f t . ) t e di sta ce 9 PAG E

T a V e o f a o n a ns ee n o o in th e ypic l i w Midw y m u t i , with Gr w d foregro u nd a nd Ph oe nix in th e ba s i n a t th e h ea d o f Twin

o o n of o o e no a nd o ns es ne oe n P rti gl ry h l , K b H ill Ir id mi , Ph ix

- Th e tro ugh S ha pe d glacia ted va lley of Simil ka mee n river . Genera l V ie w o f I nteri or Pla tea u regio n i n Ge nera l view of I nterior Pla teau reg o at Tul a mee n . T n se o n of eriod ite s o n t h e o e n e of a o n s hi cti p , h wi g ccurr c di m d (withi n white circle s) associa te d with chro mite T n S e o o f o e se e a on in e o e s o n t h e hi cti n chr mit gr g ti p rid tit , h wi g o ccurrence of dia m ond s in ve i nl ets L ubec ker e a a o To ﬁ eld oa C o xc v t r , C l

Stea r Sh ovel D o e oa o a n . S n oa a t T o ﬁeld , b l C l C mp y trippi g c l , xl ta Fo ld s in Outer ra nge so uth of Ath aba ska river A a as a e a nd e a n e o o n a ns th b k riv r Out r r g , R cky m u t i as e a e A s e o a a a o e e e . . J p r l k , th b k riv r fr m R ch M i tt o n n nd o so o a o s ase e . M u t R b fr m Gr F rk , Fr r riv r n Relief map of the Grea t Pla i s .

I I

R R D M E ! S UD BU Y , ONTA I O , TO UN O R , ALBERTA .

A ND M . W . H . COLLINS CHARLES CA SELL From Sudbury westward to M urray mine the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway ascends among hills of a gr nite and highly folded Huronian greywacke , arkose , quartzite and greenstone to the Southern margin of the great boat - Shaped intrusive body with which the nickel deposits of this district are associated . The southern ri m i Az ild a of the intrusive is crossed between M urray m ne and , the gossan and dark basic rocks of the outer edge passing insensibly into flesh - coloured micropegmatite as the inner Az l edge j ust west of Azild a is approached . From i d a almost to Onaping the railway is within the elliptical area enclosed by the rim of the nickel eruptive and for practi cally all of this distance it traverses a fl at plain of stratified clay formed in a part of old Lake Algonquin . The sand stone member o f the Upper Huronian series which occupies the basin of the nickel eruptive and underlies this l ac us

C - trine lay , outcrops in low , dome shaped hills at Chelmsford and Larchwood . The hilly rim of the nickel eruptive is again crossed , from the acid to the basic edge , in the neighbourhood of Onaping and Windy lake and a great monotonous region of Laurentian granite - gneisses an d

Keewatin schists is entered , which continues for the next 45 0 miles (72 5 The granites and gneisses of this region are C haracterized on the whole by an abundance of lime - soda feldspars and range in composition from granite to granodiorite , less frequently to syenite or diorite . But between Peninsula and M iddleton the railway crosses a pl utonic mass of

- 1 2 . nepheline and other alkali syenites , 5 miles ( 4 km ) in diameter . This is the only known area of alkaline rocks in the region between Sudbury and Port Ar thur . I t is described in greater detail in the guide book of Excursion

C I . As seen along the railway the al kali syenite mass appears to possess a basic margin . I ts eastern edge consists of dark red augite syenite . This gives places more or less grada tio nally to pale feldspathic syenites in the centre of the area near Coldwell , and from Coldwell to M iddleton the

‘ Fo r a mo re d etail ed d escriptio n of this po rtio n of th e E x c u rsio n see Guid e Book N o . 8 P ar I . , t I 2

same transition occurs in reverse order , the western margin consisting of dark red syenites like those near Peninsula .

A great variety of rock types , ranging from nepheline syenite to olivine gabbro , is present but they are all evidently the result of one act of plutonic intrusion . The latest investigators regard the order of consolidation to have been in general from the most basic to the most acid type , followed by a ﬁnal intrusion of dykes of camp tonite and allied materials . The mass is intrusive into Keewatin schists and Lau

- rentian granite gneiss . Lake Superior is in sight at inte rvals from Peninsula to Nipigon The Keewatin and Laurentian rocks that reappear at M iddleton continue to Gurney where they become over lain by ﬂat - lying Keweenawan sediments and diabase

Sills intrusive into these sediments . The ﬁrst of these formations seen is a bright red sandy dolomite , which con tains disseminated patches of gypsum , and other evidences of arid climatic conditions at the time of its deposition .

The intrusive diabase sills appear near Kama , giving a ﬁrst impression of the precipitous mesa - like topography which they produce in greatest prefec tion near Fort

William . The shore deposits of old Lake Algonquin are also exposed in cuttings near Nipigon .

' Animikie Between Nipigon and Port Arthur , (Upper and Huronian) Lower Huronian rocks also appear . These as Well as the other Pre - Cambrian series are particularly well exposed near Loon . I n this locality which is described

- E C 1 more fully in the guide book of xcursion , the Keewatin volcanic rocks and Lower Huronian conglomerate , grey wacke and greenstone have been intruded by Laurentian granitic batholiths and so folded and altered to schists that a separation of the two groups is almost impossible . The

ﬁ at - lying and little metamorphosed Animikie sediments lie unconformably upon a greatly eroded surface of these

. to 1 older rocks They consist , from top bottom , of ( ) _ 2 black Slate , ( ) upper iron formation , (3) slate , (4)

- 6 thin bedded , impure limestone , (5 ) iron formation , and ( ) quartz conglomerate . The lower iron formation , is , perhaps , of greatest interest for it exhibits a variety of stages in the development of iron ore from the lean iron formation . Keweenawan conglomerate , sandstone and um impure limestone , all deposited in Shallow water , lie I 3

conformably upon the Animikie . These formations as

well as the older ones , are intruded by dykes and Sills of

diabase . The relations of these Sills to the Animikie sediments is

particularly well shown in Current River park , Port Arthur ,

where a ﬂood , caused by the bursting of a darn , has swept

the rock ﬂoor quite free of soil . This rock ﬂoor consists l argely of the upper surface of a diabase Sill upon which

vestiges of the original covering of black Slate still adhere . Slight contact metamorphic changes are observable in the a and Sl te , there are local anorthosite segregations a few feet in diameter in the diabase due to aggregation of

l abradorite phenocrysts . The Port Arthur district contains a number of Silver

mines , including the famous Silver I slet mine , which bear considerable resemblance to those at Cobalt . The deposits are ﬁssure veins carrying native Silver , native bismuth ,

- and various arsenides , antimonides , sulph arsenides , etc . , of silver , cobalt and nickel . Like the Cobalt deposits also , they are closely associated with the intrusive diabase sills . The Port Arthur district is described at greater length in

- E the guide book of xcursion C I . 1 8 Between Fort William and Summit , a distance of

- ﬂ t miles ( 2 9 0 km . ) the railway traverses a a delta pl ain but the characteristic ﬂat - topped hills of this locality appear in the distance to the south . These , of which M c Ka mount y is perhaps the best example , consist of

ﬂat - lying easily eroded Animikie sediments protectively capped by remnants of the intrusive diabase Sills . These formations thin out and ﬁnally disappear near Summit beyond which lies another great region of Lauren tion gneisses and Keewatin schists . This region , extending

0 . for 34 miles (547 km ) to Darwin , is more heavily drift covered than that along Lake Superior but is not essentially different from it structurally or lithologically . The gla ciated topography is more subdued and rocky lakes r are more numerous . Excellent views of Eagle lake a e obtained at Vermilion and of Lake of the Woods j ust

. E west of Kenora Gold is mined on agle lake , Lake of the Woods and at numerous other points in the Keewatin south of the railway . The stratiﬁed clay near D ryden , su which was probably deposited in a small glacial lake , p ports a scattered farming community and is used for brick making at Dryden . 1 4

Near Darwin the Pre - Cambrian shield disappears at a very low angle under the alluvial = p1ain representing the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz . Between this station and Winnipeg the old lake bed gradually changes from a slightly

rolling , heavily forested country to level , treeless prairie .

The Ordovician limestone of the interior plains regions ,

- which laps over the Pre Cambrian shield from the west , is hidden beneath the Lake Agassiz silts and clays except near Tyndall and Garson where quarries may be seen at some distance from the railway . Winnipeg is the gateway to the Great Plains of Western

Canada . I t is situated in the basin of glacial Lake

Agassiz , an extinct lake which drained southward to the

M ississippi , and deposited a thick sediment of silt and

clay on a bed rock of Paleozoic limestone . The bed of 2 In Lake Agassiz has an elevation of 800 feet ( 43 . ) above sea level and forms the ﬁrst prairie level of the Great

Plains . The western border of Lake Agassiz is the M anitoba escarpment which crosses the Canadian Paciﬁc railway O f about Austin , where the surface the pl ain rises to the

second prairie level . This line of escarpmen t is coincident with the eastern edge of a wide band of Cretaceous which rests on the Paleozoic rocks and extends westward to the

Rocky mountains . The second prairie level has an average elevation of about 1 600 feet above the sea and continues westward on the line of railway for about 2 80 miles (45 0 km . ) to a point a short distance beyond M o o sej aw . I t is underlain

ﬂ at - so by lying Cretaceous rocks which , however , are uniformly covered with a thick soil that outcrops of them

are rarely exposed except in the river valleys . The M issouri Coteau a few miles west of M oosej aw

rises somewhat abruptly for about 5 00 feet ( 1 5 2 m . ) from the second prairie level and forms the eastern boundary to the third prairie level which then stretches without any

notable breaks to the foot of the Rocky mountains . To the south of the railway line between M oosej aw and Dunmore

- irregular flat topped hills rise 1 000 feet (304 m . ) or more above the general level of the plain as remnants of a once

higher plain since largely destroyed by erosion . These hills con l o mer are built of undisturbed shales , sandstones and g ates o f Oligocene age deposited after the period of crustal disturbance in which the Rocky mountains were elevated . 1 5

At Dunmore the route of Excursion C 2 leaves the main line of the Canadian Paciﬁc railway to follow the branch line through the C ro wsne st coal ﬁelds and the metal mining

districts of Southern British Columbia , j oining the main

line again at Revelstoke , B ritish Columbia .

D UNM O RE TO BURM IS .

D . B . DOW LING .

I NTRODUCT ION .

The country traversed by the Canadian Paciﬁc railway between Dunmore and Burmis is underlain by Cretaceou s

and possibly Tertiary rocks (St . M ary River series) . The following are the geological formations in descending order :

St . M ary River series .

Pierre shales .

Belly River series . From Dunmore to a point a little east of Lethbridge the country is underlain by the Belly River formation arched in the form of a ﬂat anticline , the centre of which n is probably near Bow isla d . The formation consists of shales and sandstones of brackish water deposition referred to Upper Cretaceous .

Succeeding the Belly River are the marine Pierre shales , the latest purely marine sediments of the plains . The beds have a slight dip to the west , wh ich increases south t wards , and are faulted wi h small displacements showing that the effect of the Laramide revolution extended as far east as Lethbridge .

The St . M ary River sandstone marks the top of the Cre taceous and may possibly be Tertiary . The attitude is that of a synclinal fold , the eastern limb being approximately at the crossing of the railway over the Old M an river , while the western limb lies between Pincher and Cowley at the crossing of the south fork of the Old M an river . West wards from this point to Lundb rec k successively lower Lund b rec k beds are crossed , and at the rocks , which are of i fresh and brack sh water origin , are supposed to be the 1 6

equivalent of the Belly River series . The exposures occur along the banks of the C rowsnest river . Westwards the dips vary greatly in direction and degree B urmis and show evidence of folding in the strata . Near a great fault occurs with a down throw to the east which brings the beds of the Lower Cretaceous in contact with

‘ the higher members . Coal seams occur in the Belly

Rivers series .

E E ANNOTAT D GU I D . m — D un ore . 2 Altit ude ft . ( 7 9 Bor ing opera tions for gas at Dunmore J unction were successful in reaching a supply at about 1 2 00

feet . The upper p art of the section passed

through in boring , consisted of shales and sand

stones with lignitic seams , While the lower part consisted essential—ly of shales . S even Persons . Altitude ft . (754 To the south may be seen the extreme western end of the Cypress hills formed here of a low ’ platea u called the Bull s Head . The Slopes Show some of the light coloured clay characteristic of

the top of the Belly River formation . The top of the plateau is probably overlain by Pierre

shale .

- 1 . Bow Isl and . A titude ft (793 Between the railway and the South S askatch e wan river several borings for na tural gas have been made through the Belly River series to Dakota sandstone near the base of the C retace

ous . A plentiful supply was found at a depth of feet (609 The gas is conveyed to Lethbridge and Calgary through a pipe line 1 80 (2 88 the total—length of which is miles Tab er The Canada West Coal Company O perates a small mine situated to the west of

the town . The seam , which is horizontal and

- reached by a shaft about 1 00 feet (30 4 m . )

deep , is at about the same horizon in the Belly River series as the one at Redcliff near Medi

1 2 . cine Hat . I t h as a thickness of 4 feet ( m )

with a parting of 3 inches ( 7 5 cm . ) near the

- . sub top The coal is bituminous , approaching

I 7

nd as a is r bituminous in grade and of a better quality met es . than that of Redcliff . I t is used locally for

domestic purposes . Between Chin and Coaldale the railway e crosses irrigation ditches , which carry wat r a from one of the branches of the St . M ry river to the south—. 0 L e th brid ge Altitude ft . (9 9 The

= w s - top of the Belly River series is crossed before reaching Lethbridge and is succeeded by the

Pierre shales , sections of which Show in the ’ valley of Belly river . Near the water s edge

‘ j ust above the bridge , a coal seam outcrops wh ich is considered to occupy a position at the

top of the Belly River series . The valley of the Belly is spanned by a high bridge and from it n an excellent view may be had , Showi g the present stream meandering with gentle current and occasionally swinging into the valley walls n a d undercutting the softer rocks . The Lethbridge coal seam is mined in the vi ci ni h s ty of the city . I t a a slight dip to the northwest and an average thickness of 4% feet ( 1 0 3

O Four companies are perating at present , namely : the Alberta Railway and I rrigation 00 1 Company through a shaft 3 feet (9 m . ) deep ; the Lett idge Collieries with a Shaft 5 73 feet 1 ( 74 m . ) deep ; the Diamond Coal Company by a shaft and a drift tunnel from the river valley ; and the Chinook Coal Company

a 2 1 2 . through shaft 4 5 feet ( 9 m ) deep . Th e a a 00 annual ggregate output mounts to about 4 ,

000 tons . 1 m M l — . ac eod Altitude ft . (9 53 This k m . town owes its existence to having been originally an outpost of the Royal Northwest M ounted

Police . — Brock et The centre of the synclinal fold

in the rocks of the St . M ary River series is

crossed about a mile west of Brocket . At M ile 1 Post 73 between Pincher and Cowley , the

c r ss d . —western limb of the syncline is o se 3642 5 2 1 8 — 1 - B rm i 8 6 . u s 7 m Altitude ft . Near 1 mi 0 . Bur s a 3 km great fault , with a downthrow to the

east , brings the beds of Lower Cretaceous in

contact with the upper members .

THE RD C O I LLERA .

S . J . SCHOFIELD .

CLASSI FI CATI ON .

The North American Cordillera Occupies the western portion of North America from the Great Plains on the east to the Paciﬁc Ocean on the west .

The size of this Cordillera may be indicated by a com parison with the other great mountain chains of the world . The Himalayas cover about square miles sq . the Alps of Europe about square miles

sq . the Andes about square miles

sq . and the North American Cordillera over square miles sq . The subdivision of this vast orographic unit in Southern British Columbia and Alberta is based upon topographic features , the lines of delineation being the axes of the greater valleys and trenches in the mountain complex . AS can be readily conceived from the accompanying a illustration , in the easterly Alpine belt , the Rocky Mount i n trench , the Purcell trench , the Selkirk valley and th e Okanagan valley represent partial boundaries of the Rocky

Mountain , Purcell , Selkirk and Columbia Mountain systems . The Western Alpine belt includes the Coast and Cascade ranges , separated from the Vancouve r range and the Olympic mountains by the Strait of Georgia . Between these two Alpine belts lies the more subdued

Interior Plateau region .

S ur. an 1 1 . . C M n M N . 8 . a . eo an ab s rac r o r b R . A ai l y t t f o m e m i o 3 y D l y G l . , 9 3 I 9

Mn to ill us tr a te the paper an th e ome ncla tnre of a par t of the NORTH AMER IC AN C O R D ILL ERA By REC INALD A DALY

GEOLOG I CAL H ISTORY .

The geological history of the North American Cordillera can be clearly expressed with reference to two large geo synclinal s ; an eastern or Rocky M ountain geo syn clinal and a western or Paciﬁc geosynclinal . It can also be shown that previous to the M esozoic these two geo syn c linal s , as regards their relative periods of deposition and

erosion , bore reciprocal relations to each other . The Rocky M ountain geosynclinal lies between the

Great Plains and the Purcell trench . I t embraces sedi

ments from the base of the Belt (pre - Olenellus) terrane up to and including the M ississippian and is composed of a single group of co mfo rmabl e strata varying in composition and texture according to relative proximity to the ancient

shore lines which border such basins of sedimentation . The four type sections which illustrate this principle from

east to west are the Lewis Galton , Purcell and Summit series which have an average thickness of about feet . — 3642 5 2 % 2 0

During Triassic , J urassic and Cretaceous , sedimenta tion was continuous in the middle and eastern part of the Rocky Mountain geosyncline with a probable increase in the area of sedimentation of at least the Cretaceous beyond the Rocky M ountain geosyncline proper . This period of sedimentation wa s brought to a close by the E f Laramide Revolution ( ocene) , whose e fects are seen in the folding and overthrust faulting so characteristic of the structure of the Rocky Mountain system . Since that time , this belt has been subj ect to denudation , the detritus of which is seen in the Tertiary and superﬁcial deposits of the piedmont belt of the Great Plains .

Passing to the western or Paciﬁc geosynclinal , which lies between the Purcell Trench and Paciﬁc ocean , the earliest record is the important Pre - Cambrian (Archean) sedimentation , leading to the formation of the Shuswap limestones , schists and gneisses , the latter at least partly M ississi i n of igneous origin . From this time until the p a period , the western geosyncline was an area of erosion , which supplied the material for the formation of the Rocky

M ountain geosynclinal . At or near the close of the M issis si ian pp , the western geosyncline area was submerged and received a great load of Pennsylvanian sedimen ts and accompanying lava fl oods . The record for the Jurassic is sea meagre , indicating that an upheaval of the Triassic bottom had begun as an earl y preparation for the J urassic revol ution . This was closely followed by the in trusion of many large batholiths of granodiorite and related rocks . E rosion of these Jurassic mountains produced the material for the smaller Cretaceous geosynclinal s at various points in the M ain Paciﬁc Geosynclinal . Orogenic movements , t u called the Laramide Revolu ion , and batholithic intr sion followed .

During the Tertiary , erosion was dominant in this belt with accompanying deposition in isolated basins . Sedimentation was interrupted by local folding in la te m was M iocene and Oligocene . Vulcanis prevalent throughout the Tertiary while batholithic in tr usion was conﬁned to the M iocene .

GLAC IATI ON .

I n that portion of the North American Cordillera , which is embraced by Southern B ritish Columbia and

2 2

BURM IS E A T E K , ALB RT O L O , BR ITI SH M C OLU B IA .

W . W . LEACH .

I NTRODUCTI ON .

Burmis E The territory lying between , Alberta and lko , ﬁ eld s c o ntainin B ritish Columbia , includes all the coal , g high - grade bituminous coal of Kootenay age in the Crows a C row sne nest P ss , which are traversed by the st bran ch of the Canadian Paciﬁc railway .

These ﬁelds may be broadly divided into two groups , the most easterly lying in the province of Alberta and separated from the westerly or British Columbia group by the main range of the Rocky mountains . E ach of these groups consists of a number of separate areas of

- coal bearing beds . On the Alberta side of the mountains the various coal areas are divided by a series of great faults following indiv1 d ual closely the strike of the strata , while the areas have been subj ected to severe folding and some minor

. a faulting On the other hand , the British Columbi group is composed of a number of more or less regular h as basins , the most important of which a length of some

- 1 1 3 5 miles (5 6 3 km . ) with a maximum width of miles ( 1 7 - 7 The coal is contained in rocks of Kootenay age (Lower

Cretaceous) consisting of hard , grey sandstones , grey , and c arbonaceous black , shales with , towards the top , some hard siliceous conglomerate holding many C hert pebbles . I n the Alberta group the Kootenay rocks have a total thickness of not more than 700 feet (2 1 3 m . ) con taining from 5 to 6 seams of coal with an aggregate thickness

- of about 5 0 feet ( 1 5 2 rn . ) while a section measured near M orrissey , on the B ritish Columbia side of the Pass , 2 1 6 showed feet (975 m . ) of Kootenay rocks with

- 1 feet (62 7 m . ) of coal contained in seams of over foot

- 3 m . ) in thickness Similarly the Fernie shales , of e J urassic ag , underlying the Kootenay are very much thinner in Alberta than in British Columbia , in the former 2 3

having a thickness of about 65 0 feet ( 1 9 8 m . ) while near

Fernie , in B ritish Columbia , they attain a thickness of over feet (9 1 4 - 3

The main range of the Rocky mountains , which forms the boundary between Alberta and B ritish Columbia and intervenes between the two groups of coal ﬁelds , is composed almost entirely of massive limestone beds which

- have been determined to be of Devono Carboniferous age , there apparently having been no break between these tW ( formations . Towards the top , however , the strata become siliceous containing some thin - bedded quartzites and cal ca reo us sandstones . The total thickness of these rocks h as been estimated by G . M . Dawson to be about feet m . ) The following table shows in descending order the various formations in both groups of coal areas with their respective approximate thicknesses .

AL BE RTA A RE AS .

es o . Na m e of Format 1o n. D cripti n

- A so ee . S o o o e san lli n Cr k ft , light c l ur d d e e s o nes s a ( B lly Riv r t , with m ll

In . sea s nea o . ft . ( 5 79 ) coal m r t p

8 h ieﬁ a s a es a en o . 8 C d B t n , ft ( 3 y rk h l with few a s eo s sa n h rd , ilic u d

sto ne b ed s . C ro wsnest Vo a s lc nic ,

- 0 . f s n e as ft . (35 5 m ) Trachytic tu f a d br cci

Cretaceo u s . D a o a C hie ﬂ s a sand s o ne k t , y h ly t

8 . n ss ns . 8 a e o ft ( 3 m ) with pl t impr i ,

u s u a lly green in c ol o ur .

oo ena Sand s o es s a es a nd oa K t y t n , h l c l

- 00 . 1 2 6 ft ( 8 8 m . ) sea m s .

- e n e 0 . 2 2 8 6 ss D a s a es a few F r i , 75 ft ( J ura ic rk h l with thin

sand sto ne bed s .

es o ne Se es . Lim t ri , ft

m . ) D evono

- C arb o nifero u s . M assive light grey lime n sto e . 2 4

B RITISH C OL UMBI A ARE AS .

es o n. Na m e of F orma ti on. D cripti

d d Sa n s a es and s a Flathea b e s . dy h l h ly

sand sto nes . l k n o e a es on o e a es sand s ones E Co gl m r t , C gl m r t , t ,

- nne e d d . a nd so e se a i nclud ing Fla th a b e s Cretaceo u s . m mi c l

1 8 1 oa sea s . ft . ( 9 c l m

ena . Koot y , ft

- Sa n s o nes s a es a nd oa (562 9 m . ) d t , h l c l

sea m s .

1 . S es a eo s o a s n e . ass a a Fer i , ft (9 4 3 m ) Jur ic h l , c lc r u t w rd

base .

es one Se es Lim t ri ,

. e o no ft . m ) D v a o n e o s ass e e e C rb if r u M iv , light gr y lim

s tone .

C a mbrian Siliceo u s argillites .

There appears to be no great unconformity between the Palmozoic and M esozoic rocks on either side of the t mountains , but the contact between the limes one of the main range and the Allison Creek formation on the eastern a one slope of the mount ins is a faulted , a great overthrust having caused the limestone to override the Cretaceou s sandstone for a distance of several miles . To the east the is Burmis Kootenay formation last seen at station , where another fault of large dimensions with easterly downthrow has brought the Kootenay rocks and Upper Cretaceous strata into j uxtaposition . The coals throughout this district are all of a very Similar nature , with the exception of a number of small seams found near Fernie , overlying the main coal measures , which con

- tain coal of a semi cannel character . Nearly everywhere the coal cokes readily and is utilized to a large extent in the manufacture of that product ; it is generally rather friable , and often contains a somewhat ash large amount of , but it has been found to be eminently 2 5 adapted for steam raising purposes and is in much demand by the railways for locomotive use . The following prox i

- mate analyses , from air dried samples , give a general idea of the quality of the coal :

M o i s Vo l . Fixed A a . e . o . ar sh . Loc lity tur C mb Re m arks .

go n.

( I ) B ellevu e

0 - 2 2 - 6 - 8 1 - Run f n No . 1 o 7 5 5 5 5 mi e coal . ( 2 ) C o le ma n

- - 8 - 1 1 0 6 2 6 . 3 59 5 d o d o . (3) M ich el

- - 8 6 - 0 1 0 - 1 No . 8 sea . 1 1 2 oa s ee ne d a n m 3 5 C l , cr d e at n pick d mi e . (4) H os mer 1 - 3 2 7 - 6 63 - 7 7 - 4

- 8 sea . o a a n No . d m C l , h d picke at es n n t ti g pla t .

(5 ) C oa l Creek 1 - 2 6 - 0 6 - 8 8 - oa s n No . 2 ee ed n 3 3 9 C l , cr a d e I pick d at mi ne . 6 a e ee 2 - 1 0 - 1 0 - - 86 a nne oa s a e ( ) M rt n Cr k 5 7 7 3 33 9 C l c l , urf c s a mple .

Nos . 1 M Of the above analyses , to 5 were made at c Gil l University and have been condensed from the full analyses “ ” published in the report on Coals of Canada by J . B . Porter and R . J . Durley 1 1 0 l I n the year 9 a total of tons bs . )

a . of coal was produced in the district , of which mount Alberta t contribu ed tons , and B ritish Columbia tons , from which tons of coke were made in the former province and in the latter [Refs . 5 and 1 1 1 I n 9 the output was very much less , due to the fact that for eight months nearly all the mines were idle on account ’ of a miners strike . 2 6

AN NOTATE D GUI D E .

M es and — il m i - 6 Bur s Altitude ft . Kilo m e tres . (f romD unmore) Burml S station is almost exactly on the line

- 1 87 6 m . s of a great fault , the strike of which coincide

- 30 1 9 km . closely with that of the rocks and is nearly north a and south , the railway crossing it pproximately

at right angles . To the east of the station , on

the north side , can be seen a series of light

coloured , soft , crumbly , and in places sh aly ,

sandstones , the exact age of which has not been as yet d e ﬁnetely determined but is probably

well up in the Cretaceous . The fault with its easterly downthrow has brought these rocks against the Kootenay formation Showing a throw of at least feet

a A short way to the west of the st tion , Kootenay rocks are fairly well exposed on the

north Side of the track consisting of hard ,

- light coloured and dark grey sandstones , grey a and black sh les , and coal seams , the latter a being overlaid by massive bed of very hard ,

- light weathering , siliceous sandstone , in places

conglomeratic , which constitutes the top of the

K . h th e K ootenay The w ole of ooten ay , usually from 65 0 to 700 feet ( 1 9 8 to 2 1 3 ) in th ick

ness is not shown here , its base , together o ff with the Fernie shales , having been cut th e by the fault . I n the vicinity of fault r the Kootenay rocks are quite seve ely folded , good exposures illustrating this are to be seen near the Davenport Coal Company ’ s

tipple .

The Davenport Coal Company has developed six coal seams here , the several thicknesses of which are 3 4 feet ( 1 - 0 5 feet ( 1 - 5 4 - 6 feet ( 1 - 4 5 feet ( 1 - 5 6 feet ( 1 - 8 and 6 feet ( 1 - 8 The coal is mined by pillar and stall method and h auled to the tipple by endless rope ; the steel tipple is equipped with

- on- M arcus screens , built at Newcastle Tyne ,

and is capable of handling 1 2 0 tons per hour . 2 7

M iles a nd . r The whole equipment is electrically operated Kilo met es . Burmis After leaving , the railway follows C ro wsnest closely the north bank of the river , good exposures consisting of rocks of the Dakota formation which overlies the coal bearing Koote

a . nay , being seen for some dist nce The D a kota

is made up almost entirely of soft , crumbly ,

- dark coloured , shaly sandstone , and sandy

shales often showing obscure plant impressions ,

the prevailing tints being green , though some

very characteristic dark red beds are in evidence . The strata in this neighbourhood are quite

extensively folded , and about one mile west of Burmis an important fault occurs with the usual easterly downthrow of several hundred

feet . — Pol ic e Fl a t S id ing At Police Flat is situated ’ one of the Leitch Collieries plants . Th is point is on th e axis of a sharp anticline and is underlaid

by Dakota rocks , but about hal f a mile to the

north , where the mine is situated , erosion has

uncovered the underlying Kootenay beds .

Here ﬁve seams of coal have been proven ,

- - 8 . 1 . 2 6 6 . 1 ft . ft ( 5 ft ( 5 4 ft

- - 1 2 1 0 . 0 ( and ft (3 4 respectively ,

in thickness . The mine is worked by pillar and stall system and on account of the steep d ip the rooms are driven diagonally up the

pitch . The coal is hauled in the main gangway

and to the tipple by gasoline motor . The tipple

is of the Phillips cross - over type and is equipped and with shaking screens picking tables , and

has a capacity of 1 000 tons in two shifts . From the tipple the sl ack coal is elevated to the

washing plant , of Luhrig j ig type , with a capa

city of 5 00 tons washed coal i n ten hours .

After washing , the coal passes to bins holding 1 000 tons and thence by electric lorries to the 1 0 1 coke ovens , in number ; these ovens are a

- modiﬁed bee hive , rectangular in shape and are

mech anically levelled and pushed . They take

a charge of 1 0 tons of coal . M il es and Leaving Police Flat the railway crosses rocks Kilo metre s . ‘

- of Dakota age , showing several well marked Passbur s is e folds until g tation reached , wh re the Kootenay beds again appear on the Passb urg

or western limb of a sharp syncline . On the

- South side of the river , the Leitch Collieries have

- n . O 1 m. pened a small mi e on a 5 ft . ( 5 ) seam

From Pa ssb urg to Bellevue siding t h e railway t e follows the strike of h rocks , the noticeable

steep wall - like ledge f on the right - hand side being ‘ a massive sandstone immediately over

lying the coal measures . — B el l evu e sid ing At Bellevue the West im Canadian Collieries Ltd . are operating an

portant mine . Four seams intersected by a

— - - 2 1 . 2 . cross cut tunnel are 9 ft . ( 7 7 ft (5 m )

- - 1 1 . 4% ft . ( 4 and 5 ft (4 5 respectively ,

0 1 . in width , in a total thickness of 45 feet ( 3 7 m )

1 ~ 2 m of measures . Two other seams , one 4 ft . ( )

- 1 06 . the other 3 %ft . ( m ) in thickness are known

to occur below these . The coal is worked by

pillar and stall system , the rooms being driven

directly up the pitch . I n driving a crosscut from No 1 seam to intersect the lower seams

- from a point some two miles (3 2 km . ) from the

entry , a notable double fold was met with , 2 No . sea m h aving been cut in three places 1 while No . and 3 seams were entirely missed ;

the a ccompanying Sketch will make this clear .

- About one half mile 8 km . ) to the east of

Bellevue the M aple Leaf mine is situated . The

folding mentioned above is well seen here , the coal seams being repeated four times in a dis ance of about one half mile The M aple Leaf mine is one of the few places in this district where fossils have been found in the

Kootenay rocks , some good specimens of fossil

plants having been collected here .

Leaving Bellevue , the railway continues up C row snest the river to Hillcrest station , the intervening country being underlaid by Dakota

2 9

M il es and rocks , one well deﬁned anticline occurring near Kil o metres . Hillcrest station . At this station

- il l crest o ff 1 93 0 m . H a short Spur turns to the south

- 3 1 0 6 km . to Hillcrest town and mine . The mine is located on the western limb of a broad undulating syncline on the eastern limb of which

the Bellevue mine is situated . Three seams ,

- - - 2 8 . 2 . 2 . I 4 ft . (4 ft ( 4 and 9 ft ( 7 m )

in thickness , have been developed at t h i s point From Hillcrest station to near Frank the

Dakota rocks continue , the railway running

diagonally across the above mentioned syncline . A short distance west of Hillcrest station the

immense Turtle M ountain rock slide is entered . The great gash in the face of Turtle mountain on the south side of the track can be well seen

from Hillcrest station . The slide took place a 2 1 0 e rly in the morning of April 9 , 9 3 , and besides wiping out the surface works of the Frank mine and imprisoning some 1 9

miners , demolished a number of houses in the

town of Frank . The total loss of life has never

been deﬁnitely known , but it is believed to have

been in the neighbourhood of 70 . Two special reports have been written on the subj ec t of M c C o nnell this slide , the ﬁrst by M essrs . and 1 0 1 1 1 Brock in 9 3 and the second in 9 , by a commission appointed to investigate the condition of the mountain at th at time The total area covered by slide material is

1 - 0 estimated to be about 3 square miles , with an average thickness of 45 feet ( 1 3 - 7 I t is estimated that about tons of

rock were displaced . The limestone of the slide is now being utilized in the m—anufacture of lime . I 94 ' 9 m Frank J ust beyond the western edge of

1 - 3 3 7 km . the slide the town of Frank is entered . Here the Kootenay rocks are again met with on the western limb of the same syncl ine as that at

Hillcrest . The Kootenay beds here are nearly vertical or in places slightly overturned so that 8 the dip is 5 degrees to the west . Turtle moun tain to the south and B l uff mountain to the 3 0

M es and il north are composed of Devono - Carboniferous Kilo m etres . an n limestone , and are on the axis of overtur ed

and broken anticline , the contact of the lime stone and the Kootenay being a faulted one with t th e easterly downthrow , wi h result that the lower beds of the Kootenay and all of the Fernie ff o . shales are cut , and do not reach the surface The Canadian Coal Consolidated is operating two mines at Frank ; the ﬁrst is opened by a drift parallel to the face of Turtle mountain and

driven in a southerly direction . Three seams

have been proved but one only , the high est , is being worked ; this seam is from 1 2 to 1 5 feet

- - . is (3 6 to 4 5 m . ) thick The coal hauled along the main level and to the tipple by means of

gasoline locomotives . The daily output (J uly ,

1 9 1 2 ) amounts to about 3 00 tons .

2 - No . mine is Situated about one half mile 1 north of No . and is being operated by means

- of a shaft 33 0 feet ( 1 00 5 in depth . The

main level , driven from the bottom of the shaft , runs in a northerly direction towards Bluff

mountain . From this mine the daily output

is about 45 0 tons .

LI LLE COAL M I N E .

From Frank , the Frank and Grassy M ountain railway branches off to the north and follows

the valley of Gold creek for about 7 miles . About 5 miles up this line the town of Lille is situated where the West Canadian Collieries

are operating their Lille mine . A coal seam

- - 4 to 5 feet ( 1 2 to 1 5 m . ) in thickness has b een

worked here quite extensively . The mine is operated on the pillar and stall system with

compressed air haulage on the main levels , the tipple capacity being about tons in

two shifts . The company has also a coking plant at this point consisting of a washery for treating the slack coal and a battery of 5 0

Belgian ovens of the Bernard type . 3 1

E E ANNOTAT D GU I D . M iles a nd

Kilo m e tres . — I 94 ' 9 m Frank On leaving Frank the valley rapidly

1 . 3 3 7 km contracts , passing through a narrow gorge f between Turtle and Blu f mountains , locally

known as the Gap . At its eastern entrance a large brick building was built some years ago by the Canada Metals Company for the red uc tion of zinc ores from the Slocan district of

British Columbia . I t has never been operated .

A few hundred yards further west , near the

contact of the Kootenay and the limestone , a

strong sulphur spring occurs , which , although

cold , is largely used for medicinal purposes .

- - About one and one half miles ( 2 4 km . ) west of Frank the western contact between th e

M esozoic and the Pal aeozoic rocks is reached .

I n this case the contact is a normal one , the Fernie shales lying apparently conformably on

the limestone . This is the only outcrop of the Fernie east of the Rocky mountains on the line

of the railway , but , even here exposures are very infrequent owing to the soft and readily

weathering nature of the beds , which consist almost entirely of soft dark shales with a few a thin arenaceous beds and , towards the top ,

notable bed of dark green , very soft , crumbly

sandstone . The Kootenay follows the Fernie

in regular ascending order , a hard siliceous conglomerate forming its uppermost member which crosses the valley through the town of

Blairmore .

1 6 - l m g . B a 9 7 m ir ore Al titud e ft .

1 6 - 3 5 km . At this point the West Canadian Collieries are operating a mine on the south side of the t 00 railway , with an outpu from 7 to tons

a day . The coal seams have also been pros e p c ted for some distance north of the track .

At B lairmore , the Rocky M ountain Cement Company is utilizing the Carboniferous lime stone and the Fernie shales in the manufacture of cement ; both materials are quarried in open pits and transported to the plant by 3 2

M iles a nd r aerial trams , the proportion of materials used Kilo m et es . n bei g ﬁve parts limestone to one of shale . During 1 9 1 1 the output of cement from this

plant exceeded barrels of 3 50 lbs .

each , the daily capacity being about

barrels . This company also manufactures lime

in three kilns near the cement works , the t daily produc ion being about 3 0 tons . The Fernie shales are being u tilized also in the the manufacture of brick by the Keystone

Por tland Cement Company . Th e bricks made are of the dry press type and the capaci ty of

the plant is about bricks daily . The q uarries of these two companies afford the best exposures of the Fernie shales seen in the district and a number of fossils have been

collected from them .

For three - quarters of a mile west of Blairmore the railway crosses the strata in regular ascend

ing order when the Blairmore fault is reached , which brings the top of the Kootenay against

the upper beds of the Dakota . To the west of the fault the rocks are seen dipping regul arly

westward , the Dakota overlying the Kootenay C ro snest and being succeeded by the w volcanics ,

- and they by the Benton Niobrara formation . The volcanics consist of an important inter cal ation f of trachyte tu fs and flows , at this point

having a thickness of about 45 0 feet ( 1 37 m . )

but rapidly increasing in thickness to the west .

The Benton - Niobrara is composed very largely

of dark shales , holding marine fossils , with a few hard sandstone beds I t is here about

feet (83 8 m . ) in thickness . Owing to the soft nature of these shales they have yielded

readily to erosion , with the result that they are usually found O ccupying wide valleys and

depressions where exposures are infrequent .

At the eastern end of the town of Coleman ,

the Benton - Niobrara is succeeded by several w n hundred feet of soft , hitish sandsto e , con

stituting the base of the Allison sandstones , which is probably referable to the Belly River o ff formation . These beds are cut by the 33

M il e s and th e great Coleman fault , which crosses valley Kilo metres . near Coleman station . The fault follows the t strike of the stra a closely , and has the easterly

downthrow usually found in this district , bringing the Kootenay rocks again to the surface . — - C ol em an At 2 oo 3 m . Coleman two companies are

- 2 2 . t 3 3 km opera ing coal mines , one on each side of the

valley , The plant and mines of the I nterna tio nal Coal and Coke Company (Dennison Colliery) are situated to the south of th e

railway where ﬁve coal seams have been proved ,

- t . of which No . fee (4 5 and No 4 ,

- 6 feet ( 1 8 m . ) are at present being worked . Both seams are opened by means of level s

driven on the strike , the coal being won by pillar and stall method and the rooms driven

th e 2 . up pitch , which is here about 3 degrees The capacity of the mine and plant is about

tons daily . The coke plant consists of a Bradford breaker n 2 1 6 a d beehive ovens , the coal being delivered

to the ovens by elec tric lorry . The M c Gillivray Creek Coal and Coke Company ’ s mine is situated on the north side

of the valley about one - half mile from the 1 0 1 2 railway . One seam , from to feet (3 to

- 6 . . 2 3 m ) in thickness , the No of the series , has been developed by means of a mpe with

levels driven from its foot , the coal being

worked by pillar and stall system . From the top of the slope the mine cars are hauled by elec tric motor along a surface tram to the

- tipple , a distance of one and one hal f miles

2 - ( 4 The tipple , of steel construction , is equipped with screens and picking bel ts and is capable of handling about tons in two

shifts daily . I n the vicinity of Coleman good sections can be seen of the Kootenay formation on the railway j ust west of the town and in the bed é M c Gil livra of Nez Perc creek , near the y Com ’ an s t p y mine , while the Dako a rocks are exposed at frequent intervals for about a mile to the — 3 642 5 3 34

M il es a nd a . r west long the road and railway Overlying Kilo met e s . the Dakota rocks the C rowsnest volcanics can be well seen in a number of cuts along the rail way to the west of Coleman ; they here reach a thickness of feet (3 5 0 - 5 Specimens from this locality have been microscopically

and chemically examined by C . W . Knight

who distinguished four predominant rock types ,

: - viz . augite trachyte breccia , tinguaite , ande

f - site tu f , and analcite trachyte tuff From Coleman to the east end of C rowsnest

lake , the railway crosses the Cretaceous rocks

in regular ascending order , the dip of the strata

gradually ﬂattening to nearly horizontal . West

of Coleman the valley widens , is more open ,

- and shows well marked terraces , and good views can be obtained of the Rocky mountains C rowsnest and of mountain . This last named its peak , by reason of isolated position , forms a notable landmark for many miles ; it reaches f an elevation o feet m . ) or about _

feet m . ) above the valley . The upper part of the mountain is composed of t a almos horizontal beds of Pal eozoic limestone , which have overridden Cretaceous sandstones of th e Alliso n Creek formation along a great _

thrus t plane . The Pal aeozoic rocks to the east of C ro wsnest mountain have been removed

by “ denudation , the valley of Allison creek

forming a low depression , underlain by Creta c eous r sn rocks , between C ow est mountain and

the main range of the Rocky mountains .

) — N > » B S en t nel A 4 C i short distance beyond the o 0 » W5 r o 0 . C owsne st C east end of lake the contact of the C ret eo s a at u and Pal eozoic rocks is crossed . the Cretaceous beds dipping under the Devono Carboniferous limestone along the overthrust

- fault plane already mentioned . Half way up

- o n the lake , the north side , a remarkable spring ‘ issues from a l arge overhung grotto in the face

of a limestone cli ff , and constitutes the chief

feeder of the lake . All along the north shore of the lake as as a far the summit , the Pal eozoic rocks are well

3 6

l il es c . ' exposed They consist almost entirely of lime Kil o xngaés . ma ssw e stone , usually , and often cherty and crinoidal ; towards the top of the series a

considerable thickness of hard , wh itish , cal r s c a eo u sandstones occurs . The fossils collected from this neighbourhood are mostly character istic Devonian forms but some of the species represented are known to occur in the Carboni

ferous . While there is an apparent thickness

of nearly feet m . ) of these rocks , it is probable that there is a repetition due to

compressed and overturned folding , and that in reality the total thickness does not greatly

exceed feet m . ) [l ] .

n — 6 . Crows est 2 0 . 1 6 9 m Altitude ft ( ,35

33 7 3 km . The summit of the Rocky mountains i s reached C rowsne st at station at an elevation of 4 , 449

. sea feet m ) above level , being one of

the lowest passes in the Canadian Rockies . The western approach to the pass being much d steeper than the eastern , the railway escends to the valley of M ichel creek by a remarkable loop crossing the south fork of that stream at r sne M c Gillivray station . From C ow st to M c Gillivray the rocks seen belong al most entirely to the limestone series with two small

infolds of the dark - coloured J urassic Fernie

shales . M c il l ivra 2 1 6 3 m . G y

- 348 1 km .

GE OLOGY OF T HE RE GI ON AB OUT CORB I N .

From M c Gillivray the E astern British Columbia railway o ff branches , following up the south fork of M ichel creek for a distance of 1 6 miles ( 2 5 7 km . ) to the town of Corbin .

For most of the way it runs in a wide valley , und erlain by the Fernie shales , in which rock exposures are infrequent .

Tent mounta in and M ount Taylor , to the northeast and southwest of the line respectively , are composed of the coal measures overlying the Fernie shales , and occupy small synclinal basins to the east of the main C rowsne st basin .

3 8 — C orb in At Corbin a similar outlying remnant of the coal - measures is being exploited by the Corbin Coal and

Coke Company . This company is operating two mines ; 1 No . being opened near the valley level by means of a 2 tunnel along the strike of the seam , while No . mine is situated nearly feet (30 5 m . ) above the floor of the valley . The geological relationship of these two openings has not as yet been worked out , and it is possible that the 1 same seam is represented at both places . At No . mine the seam is nearly vertical and varies greatly in size , from a 1 minimum thickness of 0 feet (3 m . ) to a maximum of

- f nearly 2 5 0 feet (76 2 In . ) this great di ference may be due to compressed monoclinal folding . At the upper mine the coal has been stripped near the top of the hill , and Shows

1 1 - the coal in a synclinal basin about 3 70 feet ( 2 7 m . ) i n width ; the thickness o f the coal near the centre of the syncline having been proved by drilling to be over 1 00 feet (so s The upper mine is reached from the valley by means of a switch - back railway and the coal is worked in open cuts 1 1 1 0 . with a steam shovel . The output in 9 from No mine alone amounted to about tons .

E E . ANNOTAT D GU I D , ( Continued)

— M c G il l ivray M c Gillivra y station is situated C row sne st . near the eastern edge of the main

coal basin , the rocks having general westerly

dips . From the station to the j unction of the r North Fork with the main M ichel creek , whe e

the coal measures proper are entered , the railwav follows closely the strike of the Fernie

Shales . The C rowsnest basin has a total length along

- its maj or axis of about 3 5 miles ( 1 0 6 km . ) with a maximum width of 1 1 miles (3 - 3 and is estimated to cover an area of about 2 30

square miles (5 2 6 sq . I n a section 2 2 measured near M orrissey coal seams , of one

- foot (0 3 m . ) and over in thickness , were noted ,

- containing in the aggregate 2 1 6 feet (65 8 m . ) of coal in a total thickness of measures of about

feet (975 The greater part of the coal , 39

M es a nd il 1 8 60 - , t ( e r however consis ing of 9 feet 3 Kil o m t e s . occurs in a thickness of strata of feet

6 - t (5 2 9 m . ) Assuming the exten of

2 2 6 . the basin to be 3 0 square miles ( 5 sq km . ) and the average thickness of workable coal at 1 00 feet (30 - 4 the total available supply

of coal would be about tons .

The coal measures are overlain by a great

series of conglomerates , sandstones and shales

containing , towards the base , thin seams of

coal of a semi - cannel nature and reaching a maximum thickness of from 40 00 to 5 000 feet ( 1 2 1 9 to 1 5 2 4 I t is over compara tively

limited areas only , however , that such great

thicknesses of the overlying beds are to be found , denuda tion h aving removed them to a large

extent over the greater part of the basin . Where crossed by the railway i n the valley of

M ichel creek , the basin has narrowed to about

- four miles (6 4 km . ) i n width and the beds overl ying the coal measures have been entirely

removed by erosion . — - 8 . 1 1 A M ich el . Alt . 3 53 ft ( 74 3 t

km . M ichel , near the centre of the

atal . C ro wsne st N trough , the Pass Coal

km . Company is operating an exten — - S parwood . sive colliery and coke making

6 . . . t km . Alt 3 3 7 ft plan The company has devel

1 1 0 8 - o n ( 5 oped seven seams in all , four the south side of the valley and th ree on the north side ; of the former the seams designated

upper No . 3 , No . 3 , No . 4 and No . 5 , have the

- following respec tive wid th s : 1 0 to 1 2 ft . (3 to 3 6

- - 1 1 8 . 1 to 5 % ft . ( 3 to to ft ( 8

- - 6 8 . 1 8 2 to 2 4 m . ) and to ft ( to while 1 1 on the north side , No . 7 seam is about % feet

- 2 . (3 5 m . ) thick with a % foot 76 m ) parting ;

1 2 - - No . 8 is from 8 to 4 ( 4 to 4 2 m . ) and No . 9

is about 1 0 feet (3 m . ) thick . No . 9 seam has

not been worked for some years . All the mines

w . at M ichel , ith the exception of No 3 , are

worked by the pillar and stall method : in No . 40

M iles a nd f 86 3 the longwall system is in use . A total [o 4 Kil o m etres . beehive coke ovens have been built at M ichel . From M ichel the railway continues down the valley of M ichel creek in a northwesterly

direction , for a further distance of four miles

- (6 4 km . ) when the wide valley of the Elk river E is entered . lk river here ﬂows in a general southwesterly course and follows closely th e

strike of the rocks , consisting of the Fernie shales which he re reach a much greater thickness

than on the eastern side of the Pass . The

Fernie shales , of J urassic age , are composed

for the most part of dark Shales , often aren aceous , and passing towards the base into shaly limestone and calcareous sha les

- Owing to their soft , non resistant qualities , they have yielded to pressure more readily than the harder overlying rocks and in conse

q uence are often highly fl exed and broken . Good sections of these rocks are also difﬁcul t to obtain so that any estimate of their thickness a must be only approximate , but it is prob ble that it exceeds 3000 feet (9 1 4 From the mouth of M ichel creek to M orrissey 2 8 creek , a distance of about miles (45 Elk river follows the upturned edges of the

Fernie shales , the high mountains to the west Of the valley being built of Devono - Carbon iferous limestone , while the western edge of the Cretaceous rocks forms a ridge or escarp ment which runs parallel to El k river on the h east side of the valley . The eight of the 00 escarpment is fairly uniform , being 3 5 to

0 0 1 6 1 1 . 4 0 feet ( 0 7 to 2 9 m ) above the river , while the base of the coal measures outcrop at elevations of from 1 500 to 2 000 feet (45 7 6 0 . to 9 m ) above the valley , and dip to the

0 6 . east , at angles of from 3 to 5 degrees

m — 6 2 8 1 11 . . 1 0 0 3 7 H os er Alt . 3447 ft ( 5 At

82 - 3 7 km . Hosmer the colliery of the Department of Natural Resources of the Canadian Paciﬁc

railway is situated . A rock tunnel , across the 600 measures , has been driven at a point feet

hd s ’ ' Pass Coal Company ; from here the M orrissey , x iifrngigs Fernie and M ichel railway branches o ff and follows the valley of Coal creek up for a di stance

of ﬁve miles ( 8 km . ) to the Coal Creek colliery .

T H E E G EOLOGY I N E VI C I N ITY OF COAL C R K . f Elk Coal creek is a tributary o the river from the east , which occupies a comparatively deep valley cut th rough s f the Cretaceous rock , thus a fording a suitable railway grade to the point where the valley ﬂoor rises to meet the easterly dipping coal measures . Here the mines are

Situated . The coal seams strike approximately at right to angles the valley , thus enabling tunnels to be driven 0 11 the seams on each side of the creek , while , as this point is approaching the centre of the basin , the seams dip at much lower angles ( 1 2 to 1 8 degrees) than at their outcrop along E l k river escarpment . The company is working ﬁve seams here wh ile several others have been prospected to some extent . The seams being worked with their several thicknesses , are as follows

1 1 0 . No . Average thickness feet (3 m )

- 2 1 . No . 4% feet ( 3 7 m )

- - - 1 2 1 6 2 . No . 5 4 feet (3 to 4 m )

- 8 feet (2 4 m . )

- B 3 % feet ( 1 6 m . )

No s . 1 2 Seams , and 5 are the ones most extensively 1 worked ; Nos . and 5 being opened on the north side of

O . 2 the valley—, while th ree mines are being perated on No viz . Nos . 2 seam , No 9 mine on the north side and and 3 on the south side of the valley . The coal from all the seams 2 except No . is mined by the pillar and stall method , 2 whereas , in the mines on No . Seam , the longwall system

. is is in use I nside the mines , haulage by horses and air locomotives , wh ile all the coal from the various mines is hauled to the same tipple from the several entries by steam

t . 8 0 or elec ric motors The tipple , a steel structure 4 feet y in length , which bridges the valle , is of the Heyl and

Patterson revolving side dump pattern , and is capable of handling tons daily . I t i s electrically d riven and equipped with the necessary screening and picking a ppl i auces . The slack coal is stored in large bins at Fernie 2 and is utilized there in making coke , 45 beehive ovens being in operation . 44

ANNOTATE D GU I D E

M iles a nd i r K lo m et es .

m Ferni% Al titud e - ft . 4 From

- 1 3 95 km . Fernie to Morrissey the railway

2 8 - C okato 0 . Elk 4 m continues down river valley ,

- 1 3 99 km . — here wide and flat with few rock - i e 2 M orr ss . 54 0 m . y exposures At Morrissey another

- 0 8 8 . 4 km branch of the M orrissey , Fernie and M ichel railway leads up the nor th side of M orrissey creek to the Carbonado colliery of

the Crownest Pass Coal company . The Carbon a ado mines have been idle for some years , lthough at least nine seams have been worked a t different 2 0 times , and a large plant , including 4 coke

. a ovens , installed The extremely gaseous n ture u m of the coal at this point , res lting in a nu ber of ourbursts as serious of g , has caused it to be considered expedient to abandon this colliery

for the present .

On the south side of M orrissey creek and extending to the south branch of M ichel creek h on the eastern edge of t e coal basin , the Dominion Government holds in reserve a block

of acres of coal land , being part of a tota l

reserve of acres , the remaining

acres being situated to the northeast of Hosmer .

Shortly after crossing M orrissey creek the railway passes out of the basin of M esozoic r ocks and enters into a belt of Devono - Carboni t ferous limes ones . the valley becoming narrower a and rock exposures more frequent . The Pal eo

zoic rocks contin ue for about ﬁve miles (8 km . )

when their contact with an older series , con

sisting of siliceous argillites , possibly of Cambrian

age , is crossed . The contact is a faulted one . E These b—eds con tinue to lko near which place - - 6 . 2 1 11 . l . 3 7 E ko Alt . ft (9 39 4 m ) excellent

2 - 4 4 4 km . sections may be seen in a canyon in the valley Elk of river .

B I B LI OGRAPHY .

1 . . . . 1 Dawson , G Geol Surv Can . , Vol . , Part B , 1 885 . 2 M Evo a mes . . . . c . y , J Geol Surv Can . , Summary Re

t 1 00 . por , 9 M nn l c C o e l . . . 3 . , R G and Brock , R W . Great Land ” at slide Frank , Annual Report

. 1 0 . Dept of I nterior , Canada , 9 3

4 - . C . W f Knight , Analcite trachyte Tu fs and

Breccias from Southwest Alberta .

Canadian Record of Science , Vol .

I! . 1 0 . , No 5 , 9 5

5 . F . Robertson , W . . . Annual Report , M inister of M ines ,

1 1 0 . British Columbia , 9

6 . Province of Alberta , Annual Report , Dept . of Public

1 1 0 . Works , 9

7 . . A. . G . . S . . Daly , R , M iller , W , and Rice , G , Geol 2 1 1 1 Surv . , Can . , M emoir 7 , 9 .

8 . . R . . . . a e Leach , W Geol Surv Can , Summ ry

1 1 1 . port , 9

9 . . . B . . Porter , J , and Durley , R J Coals of Canada ,

Dept . of M ines , M ines B ranch ,

1 1 2 . Vol . I I , 9

E K T E A E L O O KO OT N Y LAK , A B R IT IS H C OLUM B I .

S . J . SCHOFIELD .

I NTRODUCTI ON .

t E t The Purcell range , which lies be ween lko and Koo enay

Lake . is made up of rocks which form the western part of the ancient group of sediments deposited in the Rocky

Mountain geosyncline . These sediments , called the

ﬁne - Purcell series , consist of a great thickness of grained quartzites , argillaceous quartzites , argillites , and lime

Kitchener - b edded d ark grey argill aceo us q u artzit es a nd lime

s es . T ness ton hick ft .

n n a eo s a . Cresto forma tio . . Light grey argill c u q u rtzite

and purer q u artzites . Thickness — ft . C a m A d e o . . n ea n n Pre l ridg forma ti n . Ru sty wea th eri g h vy a d thi s brian. b edd ed argillaceo u q u artzites n e o s s s of a d s la te s . Num r u ill

gabbro at vari o u s h orizo ns .

Thickness +ft .

E C D S RI PTI ON OF FORMATI ONS .

M ALDRIDGE FOR ATION .

The Aldridge formation is the oldest known sedimentary member of the Purcell series in the Purcell range . I t a consists of rgillaceous quartzites , purer quartzites , and a subsidiary amount of argillite . The beds have an average

6 1 - 2 thickness of inches ( 5 em . ) but vary from a few inches

2 - in the argillitic members to eight fee t ( 4 m . ) in the purer quartzites . The argillaceous quartzites are grey to almost bl ack in colour on fresh fracture . They weather to a rusty brown , and since the argillaceous quartzites are in greater abundance , they give the characteristic reddish brown colour to the formation as a whole . The thick bedded purer quartzites weather to a light grey colour . a Shallow w ter features , except some conglomerates on

Goat river , are not noticed in the Aldridge formation . I n

places , cubes of pyrite are abundant . A fact , worthy of is emphasis , is that in this region the Aldridge formation characterized by the presence of a relatively large number of th ick gabbro sills , called the Purcell sills . The succeeding a younger form tions contain only a few gabbro sills , and these are relatively thin and unimportant . The Aldridge formation contains the greatest number of economic

- a . E ore deposits , and in it are situ ted the St ugene , Society

- Girl , Aurora , North Star , and Sullivan ore deposits .

a - Also , the m j ority of the copper bearing veins occur in the gabbro sills which are intruded in to the Aldridge

formation . 4 9

O M CRESTON F R ATION .

The Creston formation rests conformably upon the Ald

00 1 2 - ridge formation . A transition zone , 5 feet ( 5 4 m . )

a t . in thickness , separates these two form ions The forma tion consists of a well bedded series of grey argillaceous

quartzites , purer quartzites and sandstones with thin inter

cal atio ns of argillite . The beds are often cemented together

so that they form steep cli ffs . I n the western part of the

range these strata resemble coarse sandstones in appearance , a while , in the eastern part , the qu rtzites are ﬁner grained

and more argillaceous . The general weathering colour of

the lower part of the Creston formation is whitish grey .

KITCHENER FORMATION .

The Kitchener formation consists of thin bedded cal careous argillites , calcareous quartzites , argillaceous quart zites , and limestones , having a th ickness of feet

These strata weather reddish brown . Ripple

marks and mud cracks occur in them at several horizons .

I ntruded into the formation are a few diorite sills , some reaching a thickness of 1 00 feet (30 - 5

M SIYEH FOR ATION .

Lying conformably on the Kitchener formation and

passing into it by gradual transition is the Siyeh formation , which consis ts of purple and grey siliceous argillites in

- - 1 2 2 . beds from inch to inches ( 5 4 to 5 0 8 cm ) thick . Some dolomites and limestones are present in the upper part of

the formation . The argillites are ch aracterized by the

presence of abundant mud cracks and ripple marks .

PURCELL LAVA .

The Siyeh epoch was brought to a close by the ou t

a a . pouring of basalt , c lled the Purcell lava This l ava consists almost entirely of amygdaloidal basalt with smal l amounts of rhyolite and breccia , and is the extrusive phase of Purcell Sills . — 3642 5 4 5 0

PURCELL SILLS .

The Pu r cell sills are not only of scientiﬁc interest but , economically , they contain smal l deposits of copper ores . The Sills occur as sheets of igneous material from — - 6 1 8 m . 60 . n to feet ( 9 m ) in thick ess , intruded between the bedding planes of the quartzites , and occa

n l - sio al y as very small pipes about 400 feet ( 1 2 1 6 m . ) in diameter . M ost of these sills are composed of gabbro , but a few Show grea t variations within the Same magmatic chamber . The same sill , although believed to be simple in character , is heterogeneous in composition , that is to say processes of differentia tion have evidently affected the magma of these sills before solidiﬁcation with the result that the material of some of the sills is stratiﬁed according to density . I n this case , a granite la y er appears at or near the upper contact of the sills , passing downwards into gabbro . The thickness of the granitic layer bears no relation to the thickness of the sill . The sills have probably been affected by all the movements which the t enclosing sedimen s have undergone , and hence occur

t . in all attitudes , from horizon al to vertical The sills have evidently reached their present stratigraphic position through ﬁssures , although very few dykes have b een found within the region examined . The age of these intrusives is probably Cambrian .

GATE \VAY FORMATION .

The lower part of the formation consists of al ternating bands of massive concretionary siliceous dolomite and f limestone , weathering bu f , and massive light grey quartzites. These are succeeded by thin bedded , sandy ,

- argillites and greenish grey , siliceous , argillites . The sandy argillites weather a light buff and are characterized by the presence of abundant casts of salt crystals .

PHILLIPS FORMATIO N .

The Gateway passes gradually into th e overlying

Ph illips formation which consists of dark , purplish , and meta r illites and red g , sandstones with thin laminae of greenish siliceous argillite intercalated at several horizons . 5 I

ROOSV ILLE FORMATION .

The Phillips is overlain conformably by the Roosville , d wh ich consists almost entirely of massive , laminate , — me tar ill ites w . green , siliceous , g eathering greenish grey

V DE ONIAN LI MESTONE .

In the Rocky M ountain system , the Devonian lime stone apparently rests conformably upon the underlying th e Cambrian series , while in Purcell range to the west , an apparent unco mfo rmity separates the Devonian lime stone from the Gateway formation . The staple rock of the Devonian is a massive , dark grey , limestone weather

- ing a whitish grey colour . The following fossils are found in the limestone

Atrypa reticularis .

Spirifer pinio nensis .

a r s r s . Orth o th e tes c h e mungensis var . cto t iatu

M VVARD NE R FOR ATION .

The dominant rock of the Wardner formation , which

- lies conformably upon the Devonian , is a whitish grey crystalline limestone , occurring in beds from a fraction

- 1 . of a foot to four feet ( 2 m . ) in thickness The following fossils are contained in the limestone C ama rOph o ria ex planata (M c C h e sney)

C a ma rotoech ia cf . C . metallica (White) Composita mad isonensis (Girty) ’ C leio th yrdina c rassicardinal is (W hite) n r na Spirifer cf . S . ce t o tus (Winchell) Prod uc te ll a co o pe rensis (Swallow)

The above fossils point to a M ississippian age , Lower

Carboniferous , for the Wardner limestone .

KOOTENAY GR ANITE .

- The Kootenay granite , occurring as small stock like E masses , cuts all the members of the Purcell series in ast

Kootenay . The peculi ar alignment of these bodies of granite along the lines of maj or faulting of the region cannot be a—ccidental . I t shows th at the intrusion of the 3642 5 4%

5 3 granite magma accompanied or followed the principal f orogenic movements which a fected the Purcell range . Cutting the granite itsel f as well as the s ediments in th e neighbourhood of the granite , are aplite , lamprophyre , and pegmatite dykes which record the last known igneous activity i n the Purcell range .

PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS .

Lying unconformably on the old eroded surface of all the bed rock formations is a partly consolidated stratified series of clays and sands , into which the streams have incised their beds , leaving well developed terraces at various elevations above their flood plains . I n the neigh r E b ou h oo d of the St . ugene mission two seams of lignite are found in the stratified clays of the Pleistocene .

RE GI ONAL STRUCTURE .

The Rocky M ountain geosyncline , which includes the greater part of the Selkirk , Purcell , and Rocky Moun

- a tain ranges , consists of Pre Cambrian , Pal eozoic , and

M esozoic sediments . Their western border passes through ’ o d Al ene C eur , Kootenay , and Shuswap lakes , along whose shores is exposed the old crystalline complex , from which part of the above sediments was derived . The Rocky mountains on the east are separated from the Purcell range on the west by the wide Kootenay r Columbia valley . This tOpog a phic feature which is of re IOn ﬁrst importance in the structure of the g , is called the Rocky M ountain trench . The rocks which form the greater part of the Purcell range are probably Pre - Cam f brian in age , and their structure is of an entirely di ferent character to t hat of the Rockies . The Purcel l sediments were ﬁrst folded into a series of northerly plunging anti clines and synclines . Later these folds were truncated by

- E . . normal faults which strike in a N . S VV direction and hence trend in a direction at right angles to those of the

Rocky mountains . I t is probable also that the fault system of the Rockies truncates that of the Purcells , for , a in the Rocky M ountain trench , block of M ississippian limestone is down - faulted in contact with the Pre - Cam

- E . N . W . S . brian quartzites , and this block trends in a direction . From the above facts it is probable that the E x c uRS IO N C 2 .

E l k R ver can o n nea r E ko B . C oo k n so wa r s . i y l , l i g uth d

5 7

M il es and Kilo metres .

M a ook— 111 . y The mountain on the left (to

- 47 1 5 km . the west) is composed of rocks of the Siyeh

formation , and shows outcrops of Purcell lava .

- 8 2 8 8 . E From Rampart ( 9 miles , 49 km ) to ager ,

. . 0 06 1 . (3 3 7 miles , 5 km ) the railway runs th rough

the I sadore canyon , in which are exposed the

Creston quartzites , and argillaceous quartzites .

At Eager the railway runs in a south - westerly direction to Cra—nbrook . - . 0 1 308 7 m Cranb ro ok Alt . ft . (9 Cran

- E . is 493 9 km brook the thriving capital of ast Kootenay ,

whose chief industries are mining , lumbering

and agriculture . From this point the railway

- pursues a south easterly course , crossing , near

Cranbrook , the unexposed conformable contact

of the Aldridge and Creston formations .

- - At a point 3 3 miles (5 2 km . ) west of Cranbrook is an exposure of the hornblende gabbro of the Purcell sills occurring in the

Aldridge formation . Beyond this the sill can be seen outcropping in the steep cli ffs on the

western Side of the railway .

1 - c 3 4 1 m . Lo o — - 00 . atts ur At 5 9 km W b g Wattsburg , in the hill on

- 1 6 8 m . 3 the east side of the railway , can be seen two

- 5 0 6 8 km . gabbro sills intruded into the Aldridge quart i z tes . , which lie approximately ﬂat Half way up the hill the quartzites are seen separating

the two sills . The valley which enters from

the west is the pre - glacial valley of M oyie

river , which at present occupies a narrow canyon

- behind the hill to the south west . From Watts

a - burg the railw y follows the pre glacial valley ,

which is eroded in the Aldridge formation . The numerous rock cuts along the railway expose the hornblende gabbro of the Purcell

2 - 8 sills . At the crossing of M oyie river ,

- miles (4 5 km . ) west of Wattsburg , the pre

- glacial and post glacial valleys can be Seen .

The trough - Shaped cross - section of the pre glacial channel here stands out in contrast 5 8

M es a nd il with the V - shaped cross - section of the post K ilo m etres . glacial channel . At this point the river enters

its pre - glacial valley and ﬂows southwards

into Upper M oyie lake , where the unexposed fault between the Aldridge and Kitchener

formations is crossed .

- m Al . . ero % 1 1 3 2 2 9 m J t ft . (9 J ust before

- 5 1 6 6 km . reaching Jerome the train passes through a tunnel driven through the dark grey argillaceou s

quartzites of the Kitchener formation , which is also exposed in the numerous rock cuts

- along the shore of the lake . At a point 2 3

- miles (3 6 km . ) west of J erome the transition rocks between the Aldridge and Creston form

ations are exposed .

- 2 m 0 8 . t 3 5 7 Half a mile ( km ) farther wes , the rocks

- 5 2 1 1 km . Show numerous ripple marks and mud cracks .

Here also , the railway swings around the nose of the northerly plunging anticline in which

M oyie valley has been eroded . The axial part of the anticline is composed of the argilla ous ce quartzites of the Aldridge formation , while the radial portion is made up of Creston

quartzites .

i l . . 1 1 3 2 8 6 m . M oy % A t ft (9 From this

5 2 5 7 km . point the plunging contact between the under

lying reddish - brown weathering argillaceous

quartzites of the Aldridge formation , and the

greyish quartzites of the Creston , can be seen

on the mountain side to the west . This contact

is the same one noted on Upper M oyie lake . On the hill to the east is situated the famous

E - St . ugene silver lead deposit , the value of 1 1 1 whose products , up to 9 , amounted to From M oyie to Yahk the bed rock consists of the argillaceous quartzites of the Aldridge formation which are exposed

in the many rock cuts along the railway . — 82 - 3 49 6 m Yah k Alt . ft . ( 5 9 At a point

- - 2 1 . 5 59 km . 9 miles (3 km ) west of Yah k the unexposed conformable contact of the Aldridge and

Creston formations is crossed . This is the same contact which was crossed on Upper

Moyie lake . 5 9

M il es and r s K lo et e . i m — - 8 - . 68 3 54 6 m G oa tf el l Alt . ft ( 5 I n thi s

- 5 67 3 km . vicinity the railway again enters an area of

Aldridge argillaceous quartzites , belonging to the same block which was examined at Watts

burg . — - - Kitch ener . . 2 3 64 1 111 . Alt ft ( 7 7 4 At a

- 82 . 1 1 0 . 5 5 km point feet ( 7 m ) west of Kitchener , a di fferentiated gabbro sill is exposed in the

rock cut . The hornblende gabbro , which

occupies the unexposed base of the sill , passes

ﬁ ne - by gradual transition into grained granite ,

which forms the interior of the sill . The upper portion of the sill is composed of horn

blende gabbro .

- M cNel l i% At 0 8 . 3 7 m the crossing of Goat river ,

- - km 1 1 . M c Ne ll ie 5 93 3 about half a mile ( km ) west of ,

the Aldridge argillaceous quartzites , which

are approximately horizontal , are exposed in

the canyon . At this point the river leaves

the hanging valley of its upper course , and enters Kootenay river at grade about six miles

( 1 0 km . ) to the west . — - - Creston . . 0 3 76 2 m . Alt ft (5 9 3 At

- 60 1 9 km . Creston the delta of Kootenay river is seen . This is the same river which was crossed at

Wardner where it pursued a southerly course . r I t tu ns in a semicircle in the State of Idaho , and ﬂows north into Kootenay lake

at Kootenay Landing . From Creston the railway runs in a north westerly direction along the western edge of

. a Kootenay Lake valley , ( Purcell Trench) At

- - n - point 8 7 miles ( 1 3 9 km . ) orth west of Cres

ton , the ﬁrst granite intrusion is met with , and occurs cutting the argillaceous quartzites of the

Aldridge formation . As the train proceeds , the amoun t of granite exposed becomes greater

until at Sirdar , the southwestern edge of the ’ W est Kootenay granite batholith is reached . — S ird ar From Sirdar the railway crosses the delta of the Kootenay and arrives at Kootenay

Landing . 6 0

M iles and

Kilo m e tres .

Koo tena and in — 39 1 7 m . y L g Altitude ft .

- 2 62 6 7 km . (5 4 From here a ﬁne view of the delta

to the south can be obtained . This valley th e separates the Purcell range on the east , from

Selkirk system on the west . — Koo tenay Lak e Kootenay lake occupies the Purcell trench which marks the boundary between the Purcell mountains to the east and is the Sel kirk system to the west . The lake

about 65 miles ( 1 04 km . ) long with an average width of about two miles (3 The eleva

tion above sea level is about feet (5 2 3 m . ) and the greatest known depth is 45 0 feet

( 1 37 m) . The total area is approximately

2 2 0 square miles hectares) . The lake is almost straight with a general

trend a few degrees west of north . The outlet

is through the west arm about 3 0 miles (48 km . )

north of Kootenay Landing . The lake i s closely bordered by rugged mountains which slope more or less steeply from the Shore and

f . in many, cases are fronted with cli fs The

e 1 82 8 . crest lin s average over feet; ( , m )

‘ “ with o Ccasoinal peaks ranging up to feet

m ) . Sandy and gravelly beaches and deltas are found opposite the mouths of the entering

- streams ; elsewhere the shore is rock bound .

The southern 3 0 miles (48 km . ) of the lake is for the most part eroded in the granitic rocks of the Nelson batholith with the exception of a portion of the east shore between Columbia point and Crawford bay which is underlain by sediments of the Selkirk series striking with the trend of the shore line and showing subor

dimate strike ridges . Also on the west shore at Proctor and continuing south for 1 0 miles

1 6 . ( km ) the Shuswap series is developed , the

beds striking northeast and dipping northwest . At Proctor the Shuswap series outcrops on both

sides of the lake .

62 a more subdued type characterized b y rounded ridges and

- dome shaped summits , the average elevation rarely exceed 2 I . ing feet ( , 5 4 m) The principal valleys constitute

‘ a well marked longitudinal and transverse syste m whic h serves as boundaries of subdivisions on mountain groups . The most striking features of the Selkirk system a re the Purcell trench occupied by Kootenay lake and the Selkirk valley occupied by Columbia river , and the connecting transverse valley occupied by the West arm of Kootenay lake and its westward extension , Kootenay river .

GE N E RAL GE OLOGY . The main geological divisions are briefly classiﬁed in the following table of formations . The smaller geological units , however , have been omitted on the route maps owing the scale of public atIOn .

TA BL E OF F O RMATIO NS .

n r a a a nd e e n . Q u a ter a y . Gl ci l R c t

a o a n o . Tertiary . M idw y v lc ic gr up e e e o a o n oss a nd K ttl riv r f rm ti , R l a a a n e a nd s e n e Val lk li gr it y it ,

h a ll a gra nite .

n a o . . ss N e so M esozo ic . Jura ic l b th lith ( Rocks ra nge fro m gra nite t o

gabbro ) .

M onzo nite . C arb o nifero u s a nd

- s n . P ost C a rb o n1 ferous . . . Ro s la d gro up

Rocks l argely o f igne ou s origi n. It i nclud es th e Bro o kly n a nd Raw hid e formati o ns a nd th e K nob Hill gro up at Ph oe nix ; th e M o u nt Robert s formatio n a nd Palmoz o ic . th e a ugite porphyrite series at

Rossla nd . ' m r C arbo nifero u s Pend d O re ill e group . (M eta o

ph osed se dime nts in grea t part) .

S o a n se es . S a e s a a eo s l c ri ( l t , rgill c u

lime sto ne s a nd q u artzites ) .

a mb ia n Se lkirk series . — C r e a a n S s a se es . S s s o o Pr C mbri hu w p ri ( chi t , rth ne sses g i ,

- P RE CAMB RIAN . The Shuswap series is the oldest known terrane in

B ritish Columbia . I t consists of a series of gneisses , 63

crystalline schists , quartzites , crystalline limestones and

dolomites with intercalated sills of quartz porphyry ,

. granite , diorite , etc , which are also more or less foliated . According to Dawson and Daly the present condition of the rock series has been e ffected by static regional

metamorphism , the stress directing the crystallization

being induced by deep burial and dead weight .

In the vicini - y of Proctor on the north side of the west arm the strike of the series is approximately parallel

to the shore of Kootenay lake , the prevailing dip being

to the west . The west Shore of Kootenay lake is the only point in the area where the Shuswap rocks are in

direct contact with the immediately succeeding series .

CAM B RIAN — S el kirk series The formations grouped under the

Selkirk series , which has been tentatively referred to the f Cambrian , have not been studied in su ﬁcient detai l to admit of the series being deﬁnitely placed in the geo l o i cal . i g scale I t is probable , however , that part of the ser es

- is Pre Cambrian . The rocks consist of mica chlorite

and other schists , bedded quartzites , dolomites and

conglomerates , and schistose rocks of distinctly igneous

origin . Stocks and masses of diorite , and serpentine , dykes and sheets of acid and basic intrusives and variou s

types of pyroclastic rocks are also included . The structure is distinct in the areas where sedimentaries predominate but much obscured where the rocks are more massive

and of igneous origin . I n this area the series overlies the Shuswap and forms a narrow band paralleling the latter along the west shore

of Kootenay lake .

CARB ONIFEROUS — Sl ocan series The Slocan series is tentatively

referred to the Carboniferous . I t consists of a thick

series of argillaceous quartzite , sandstones , argillites more or less carbonaceous , and argillaceous limestones .

The rocks are folded and probably much faulted . This can only be inferred from the frequent crush zones as the rocks usually are too uniform in composition to Show

pronounced contrasts on each side of a fault plane . Along 64 the margins of batholithic and stock—like intrusions the rocks have been altered to hornstone , andalusite schist ,

- crystalline limestone and lime silicate rocks rich in garnet . The contact with the Selkirk series is marked by a close fold or fault . Small infolds of the Slocan rocks are of common occurrence in the Selkirk series near the contact . The Slocan series is noted chiefl y for the system of ﬁssure veins which contain the important deposits of si ver - lead and zinc ores ( see p . ’ — ’ Pend d Oreil l e grou p The Pend d Oreill e group consists of andalusite , quartz and biotite schists , quartzites and crystalline limestones . Though not deﬁnitely corre lated wi th the Slocan series the similarity in lithological ’ character would favour the view that the Pend d Oreill e group is a more metamorphosed phase of the Slocan

serIeS .

- CARB ONIFEROUS AND POST CARB ONIFEROUS . — Rossl and grou p The Rossland group i s a complex composed largely of rocks of igneous origin with a minor development of sedimentaries . The igneous rocks are a l omer represented by porphyrites , andesites , diabases , gg ates and tuffs with their schistose equivalents while the sedimentary rocks are mainly slates and limestones , the latter holding obscure Carboniferous fossils . Along the I nternational Boundary there is an apparent uncon ’ r ill formity between this group and the Pend d O e e group . The group originally included the M ount Roberts formation 8 and the augite porphyrite series at Rossland (p . 5 ) and the Rawhide and B rooklyn formations and Knob Hill group at Ph—oenix (p . M onz onite The monzonites are dark grey to

- greenish grey porphyritic or granular mottled rocks , their period of intrusion ranging from M esozoic to early

Tertiary . The intrusions have the form of plugs , dykes n and irregular masses approaching batholiths in importa ce .

J URASSIC — N el son bath ol ith The Nelson granodiorite b atholith has a very extensive development in West Kootenay district and also extends into East Kootenay and the

Boundary district . The granodiorite is intrusive in all 6S

the older formations from Shuswap to the Rossland group . The main mass centres in the vici nity of Nelson while in the outlying areas the batholith is represented by smaller masses and cupola stocks . The contact phenomena are very pronounced for varying widths along the border of intruded rocks , while in the granodiorite the ﬁeld evidence at many points is excellent i n illustration of f overhead stoping , di ferentiation , and absorption of roof and wall rock . The rocks composing i t vary from light grey granite to dark grey quartz diorite and even more f b asic types . A typical and widespread di ferentiate is a granite porphyry consisting of stout phenocrysts of

- feldspar 1 to 2 inches ( 2 5 to 5 cm . ) in length in a rather coarse grained base . An analysis of a specimen from Kokanee mountain by Dr . F . Dittrich of Heidelberg showed the following composition

o 66 - 6 TIO o - 2 A1 0 1 - Fe 0 1 - 68 Sl g 4 , z 7 , 2 3 5 34 , 2 3 ,

FeO 1 - 8 C aO - M O 1 - 1 1 o - 86 K 0 - 8 3 , 3 43—, g , Nag 4 , 2 4 5 , H o - 2 P 0 o - o8 1 2 0 9 , 2 5 Tota The Valhall a granite is closely associated with the rocks composing the Nelson batholith and occurs as large and small intrusive masses within the area underlain by the Nelson batholith . I t is probably early Terti ary in age . The rock is a quartzose medium grained light coloured hornblende or biotite granite with local grano d iorite facies .

TERTIARY . — Rossl and al k al i granitic rocks In this group are included several varieties of intrusive rocks ranging in x composition from alkali granite to esse ite , the most common type being pulaskite . These intrusives range in importance from dykes and sills to bodies of batholithic proportions , the latter type being well developed along

Lower Arrow lake south of Edgewood (see p .

OLIGOCENE . — Kettl e River f orm a tion The Kettle River formation was laid down during the Oligocene period probabl y in a broad syncline prepared in early Tertiary . Th e formation is now represented west of Christina lake by 3642 5 66 a series of isolated and somewhat widely separated erosion remnants (see map of Boundary district) , the individual units being two small to permit of their delineation on the route map . The rocks composing the formation consists of conglomerates , sandstones and shales with some intercalated tuffs which were laid down in lake and river basins bottomed in most cases by rocks of

Pal aeozoic age . Some of the shales are carbonaceous and contain plant remains and in a few instances thin seams of lignite .

OLIGOCENE AND MIOCENE . — M id way Vol canic group [3] The M idway Volcanic group consists of a series of lava ﬂows of two distinct volcanic epochs in the Boundary district . The lavas naturally arrange themselves in three groups , the oldest consisting of olivine basalt and augite andesite , the middle a group composed of variety of andesites , and the youngest represented by alkaline trachyte . The oldest and middle groups are referred by Daly to the Oligocene , and the youngest possibly to the M iocene or at any rate after the Kettle River sediments have suffered deformation and ero

Si on . The lava groups have corresponding intrusive equi val ents ranging from augite gabbro to pulaskite porphyry

as . which cut them dykes , sills and stocks These volcanics occur in small isolated areas in the eastern part of the t th e Boundary district west of Chris ina lake , I n vicinity of M idway however , the lavas are extensively developed both to the north and west . Subsequent warping accompanied by faulting has affected both the M idway Volcanic group and the Kettle

River formation .

Q UATERNARY .

The Cordilleran Ice sheet covered the whole of sou thern British Columbia with the exception of some of the higher peaks . I n this area the general trend of ice movement ° was S . 3 0 E . The ridges were smoothed into rounded and ﬂowing forms , the main valleys were deepened with consequent truncation of spurs and the development of hanging valleys . With the breaking up of the ice sheet 67 into valley glaciers th-e smooth and ro unded contour of ridg e and hill was destroyed by the roughening eff ect of the l atter glaciers which has given the present characteristic alpine topography i n areas above the level of the foot

. t m . ) contour I n the vicini y of Nelson well marked ’ glacial striae and gro ovings have been noted at an eleva tion of feet m . ) and erratics at feet 1 r m . ) above sea level . The s 0 pes a e covered with a mantle of varying thickness of drift more or less modiﬁed “ ” and of wash . The main valleys are usually ﬂanked by a series of terraces .

AN NOTATE D GU I D E .

(PROCTOR To CASTLEGAR) .

1 1 Proc tor— At 125531 2335 the entrance to the west arm of Kootenay lake and for about three mi les

- 8 . (4 km ) to the west , the valley is eroded in

and . rocks of the Slocan , Selkirk Shuswap series Westward to and beyond Nelson the valley lies within the area underlain by the granitic r rocks of the Nelson batholith . The west a m

preserves its lake - like characteristics as far as Nelson though a t several points moderate currents have developed due to the encroach

ment of delta deposits . J ust west of Nelson the arm is blocked by boulder drift and a smal l is rapid developed , marking the continu ation

of Kootenay river . The rocky bed of the river is but little below the presen t level of erosion in contradistinction to the bed of the west arm which for the most part has a depth comparable to the ma—in part of Kootenay l ake . 0 . el son . m N Altitude , ft (5 39 The

0 km . city of Nelson is situated on the delta of Cotton wood creek which ﬂows into the west arm about

- 2 2 miles (35 4 km . ) west of the main body of

Kootenay lake . The city owes its existence primarily to the mining activity in the later ’ 8 o s and for some y ears its growth depended

wholly on the mining industry . At present , min a ing , lumbering , manufacturing and fruit r nch ing are the chief industries and the city is also the — 3642 5 sé

1 4 3 a is - 123131223 8 Sloc n district , which noted for its silver lead

and zinc deposits . (See p . tl e ar— C as Al . 2 t . g , ft (43 m) From a South Slocan the railw y runs west of south ,

following the right bank of Kootenay river . Castlegar marks the j unction of the Columbia

and Kootenay rivers which after uniting , ﬂow

southwards as the Columbia . The Columbia rises in Upper Columbia lake

and ﬂows north . The Kootenay , rising j ust east

of the westernmost outer range of the Rockies , enters the same valley nearly abreast of the

above lake , the distance between the two being

2 - about one and a half miles ( 4 km) . The Columbia ﬂows north for about 1 70 miles 2 ( 74 km . ) to the great bend , then southwards through Upper and Lower Arrow lakes to

Castlegar , where it is j oined by the Kootenay .

The latter , after leaving the source of the Colum

bia , ﬂows southwards into the United States

for about 1 30 miles ( 2 09 km) . I t then takes a westward course turning to the north and

empties into Kootenay lake , emerging again as a river j ust west of Nelson and j oining the

Columbia at Castlegar .

AN NOTATE D GU I D E (Castlegar to M idway) .

At Castlegar the railway crosses the Columbi a and follows the south shore of the river and

Lower Arrow lake . The rock types exposed are nearly all members of the Nelson batholith with inclu—sions of the Rossland group . 2 2 . 6 1 Sh iel d s Alt . 0 5 ft ( 7 The railway gradually a scends in order to reach the divide separating Lower Arrow lake and Christina

l ake . Shields approximately marks the contact between the rocks of the Nelson batholith

and the Rossland alkali - granitic rocks intrusive

into the former . From the spur j ust west of Shields an excellent view is obtained of that portion of the Columbia valley between Robson

and Deer Park .

7 1 M iles and r Kilo met es . — 2 0 . Tunnel Alt . 3 8 ft (978 The main ridge is tunnelled through near the western contact of the Rossland alkali granitic intrusion

and that of the Nelson batholith . The tunnel

- - is about 0 4 miles (0 6 km . ) in length . Its

east portal is marked by stratiﬁed clays .

- Four miles (6 4 km . ) south of the tunnel is

the Big Turtle ﬁlled by hydraulicking . — 1 2 1 r Farr on Alt . 39 85 ft . ( 4 F om

- about a mile ( I 6 km . ) southwest of the tunnel

- to a point about three miles (4 8 km . ) north

of Coryell , the railway traverses the granitic

rocks of the Nelson batholith . The cuts Show many inclusions of the igneous rocks of the Rossland group and of crystalline lime

stones . Southwards to the crossing of Kettle river the rocks of the Rossland group are

almost continuously developed , associated with r minor int usions of monzonite . The limestone

- member is well developed in lens like masses . i L l 1 8 . 60 F f C A t . 9 7 ft ( 3 Near Fife the limestone is quarried and shipped to

Trail smelter where it is used for ﬂux . To the north and sou th of Fife an excellent view is obtained of the trench occupied by 2 Christina lake (elevation 1 45 0 ft . or 44 m . )

and Kettle river . From Kettle river crossing

to Grand Forks , the railway follows the river

valley , which is underlain by foliated rocks

tentatively referred to the Shuswap series . n k — ra d or s . 1 2 G F Alt 746 ft . (53 Grand Forks [5 ] is Situated at the j unction of Kettle

river and its main tributary , the North Fork .

The valley is bordered by a series of terraces , and the river meanders in broad curves through

the relatively wide bottom . The smelter of the Granby Consolidated Smelting and Power Company is Situated

- on the North Fork about one mile ( 1 6 km . ) th e from centre of the city . Eh — l t . o Alt 3096 ft . (944 From Grand Forks the railway follows the west side of the valley of the North Fork and an excellent 72

“ il ‘‘ is U- ﬂ at- ﬂoo red fn view obtained of the shaped é lg gtfes o

valley . The area traversed between Grand via E Forks and Phoenix , holt , is u nderlain

by several members of the Rossland group ,

including limestone . E holt is the j unction

point from which a branch line goes to Phoenix .

- About three miles (4 8 km . ) south of E holt the railway crosses the copper and magnetite D eno ro E deposits of the Oro and mma mines ,

the origin of which is similar to those at Phoenix .

PHOE N I!

I NTRODUCTION .

The production of the Boundary district (including the Osoyoos M ining Division) from 1 896 to the end of 1 1 2 8 9 amounts to 33 tons of ore , containing ounces of gold , ounces of silver , and pounds of copper , having a gross value of Approximately 60 per cent of the tonnage was furnished by the mines at Phoenix .

The copper - bearing portion of the Boundary district

2 2 . occupies an area of about 5 square miles (6 sq . km ) and includes the important centres of Phoenix , Greenwood

. 1 8 1 (Deadwood) and Summit I t was in 9 , following the discoveries at Rossland , that prospecting was actively carried on in the three above named camps . I n that year most of the ground subsequently proved to be produc tive was staked . The low grade character of the ore proved a great disappointment which was partially offset by the discovery that the ore was almost self ﬂuxing .

- fi eld The , however , was open only to large companies with financial resources beyond those of the average n i dividual . The two companies at present operating were early in the field ; the Granby Consolidated M ining , Smelting and Power Company confining its attention ( 0 Phoenix , and the B ritish Columbia Copper Company operating at Deadwood and Summit . The smelter of th e former was built at Grand Forks and the first furnace 1 blown in in 9 00 . I ts capacity has been increased from

1 2 00 tons to between 4000 and 45 00 tons per day . The latter company commenced smelting at Greenwood in 1 its 2 600 9 0 1 . The present capacity of furnaces is about tons per day .

is 1 1 8 - 1 The city of Phoenix 5 miles ( 90 km . ) distant is 1 02 by rail from Nelson , and feet ( 4 m . ) above

sea . level The city lies well within the M idway mountains , a subordinate group of the Columbia system characterized by comparatively low summits which show a uniformity of crest line and they are below the limits of intense alpine erosion . A GENER L GEOLOGY .

The oldest rocks are of Pal aeozoic age and correspond u largely to the Rossland gro p , a complex of igneous rocks with minor developments of sedimentary types . The structure is very complicated and there is an entire absence of broad or continuous folds . The Mesozoic batholithic intrusives and the consequent crustal dis turb ances have added to the obscurity of formationa l relationships . After the Laramide revolution the early Tertiary was characterized by disorganized drainage and vigorous erosion with sedimentation (Oligocene) in the broader basins and with contemporaneous volcanic activity accompanied by later warping and faulting . The later

Oligocene and M iocene lava ﬂows were widespread . They were followed by a period of erosion which developed a mature topography with local base levelling followed by uplift . The whole area was further modiﬁed by the

Cordilleran ice sheet .

T abl e of Formations .

a e na . a a a nd e e n . nd a sa a e . Q u t r ry Gl ci l R c t Cl y , , gr v l

Te a o e ne as e o A e or rti ry M i c Pul kit p rphyry , ugit p h rite a o a n o p y , M idw y v lc ic gr up re prese nted at Ph oe nix by ﬂ ows f o tra chyt e .

o ene e e e o a on C o n Olig c K ttl riv r f rm ti ,

o e a e sa n s one s a e . gl m r t , d t , h l

eso o ass a o n s o n e ese n e M z ic Jur ic B th lithic i tru i , r pr t d at Ph o enix by a ugite sye nite a nd s n d ye it e p orphyry ykes .

a aeo o n P l z ic C arb o ifero u s P Attwood series .

Rawhide f ormation.

Broo klyn formati o n.

K nob Hill gro up .

The zone of lime - silicates is of contact metamorphic origin and consists essentially of garnet and epidote with

calcite , quartz and chlorite and triﬂing amounts of actino

lite and zoisite . I rregular lenses and masses of crystalline limestone are also included in the zone and represent

unreplaced portions of the original calcareous formation .

The zone or rather zones occupy basin - like depressions as e r id s in the j p o . They are for the most part economically important and contain the large bodies of low grade copper ore which have been deposited in certain favourable

areas usually along the edge or base of the contact zone .

J urassic

The granodiorite batholith so extensively developed throughout the Boundary district and which probably

underlies Phoenix at no great depth , is represented at Phoenix by a small stock of augite syenite and two dykes

of syenite porphyry which cut the Brooklyn formation .

Tertia ry. — Ol igocene . Kettle River formation An isolated area of this formation occurs at Phoenix overlying unco n

formably the B rooklyn formation and Knob Hill group .

- The exposure is about one mile ( 1 6 km . ) long and from 40

2 60 80 . . to 9 60 feet ( 1 2 to 2 9 2 m . ) wide and feet ( m ) thick a The formation here consists of conglomerate , co rse and

ﬁne feldspathic sandstone , and cherty carbonaceous

shales and light grey indurated silts . The strike is nor th erl y and the dips are prevailingly eastward at angles f varying from 1 0 to 60 degrees . The formation has su fered

from warping , tilting and erosion before being covered

by the M iocene lavas ( see section p . —An M iocene . M idway Volcanic group erosion rem nant of one of the younger lava members of the M idway Vol camic group overlies the Kettle River formation and Knob Hil l

- 1 6 . group . The exposure is a little over a mile ( km ) long

and from to feet (335 to 609 m . ) wide . The 00 thickness varies from a few inches (cm . ) to about 3 feet

1 . (9 m) The rock , though varying in texture from por h ritic p y to amygdaloidal , is an augite trachyte composed

- of ph enocrysts of orthoclase , soda orthoclase , andesine , augite and biotite in a base of the same minerals with 77 additional magnetite and apatite and secondary chlorite and calcite . An analysis by—M . F . Connor of the M ines foll owin z 0 2 - 6 A1 0 2 0 - 6 Branch gave the g Si 2 5 4 , 2 3 9 ,

Fe 0 2 - Fe O 1 - 82 M O 1 - 6 1 C aO - 0 - 8 2 3 54 , , g , 3 93 , Na2 4 4

K - H 0 2 - 2 H O o - 2 8 C 0 o - o o - 6 zO 5 99 , 2 + 3 , Q , 2 75 , Ti g 4 ,

M nO o - o rO o - 2 I Ba o - 6 = - 2 1 S O o . P2 0 5 0 4 , 7 , , 99 5 According to the quantitative classiﬁcation the rock e rsal ane i zz n r falls in class p , order russare , rang v e e a e ,

su ran rocenose . b g , p The augite trachyte lava and all the older rocks are cut by sills , dykes and stocks of augite porphyrite and pulaskite porphyry , the l atter being the younger . The augite porphyrite is dark grey i n colour with a porphyritic texture approaching granitoid . I t consists of dark grey

L — tabular phenocrysts of orthoclase and pl agio cl a sc the a — latter being between andesine and labr dorite augite , brown hornblende and biotite in a base which is largely feldspathic . Apatite and magnetite are also present as wel l as a small amount of quartz .

The pulaskite porphyry i s light grey , weathering to

- pink or pale red , with characteristic rosette like clusters

n - of white feldspars in a ﬁ e grained highly feldspathic base .

- The phenocrysts are soda orthoclase , oligoclase and a cid andesine . The larger individuals are surrounded t by a zonal crust of clear orthoclase . The augite and bio ite individuals are largely altered to granular carbonates

w . ith chlorite and magnetite Hornblende , quartz , apatite n and mag etite are present as accessories . Analyses of the augite porphyrite and pulaskite

M . . porphyry were made by F Connor of the M ines Branch .

The former is under Column I the latter under I I .

SIO2

A12 0,

P8 2 03 FeO 78

0 9 0 0 - 8 8 o - 46 0 - 5 1 0 - 0 8 0 - 0 9 0 - 09 o - o 6 o - 2 4

9 9 - 36 99 - 88

l rmanar and ase . d osa ane e e I Class , order g , rang , sub rang sh osh ono se . d osal ane e rmana re m onz onase I I . Class , order g , rang , sub rang mo nz ono se .

Gl acial and Recent.

The area about Phoen i x i s free from any thick or con tinuous mantle of drift . Cuttings in the valley of Twin

r . c eek Show rudely stratiﬁed sands , clays and gravels The i surround ng ridges are glaciated to their crests , the striae ° 2 6 E h aving a direction of S . .

O RE DEPOSITS

The copper deposits occur at intervals along the edges o f contact of zones _ metamorphism and also at the base _the _ o f the zone - o r in some non - outcropping intermediate _ position . The zone in which the principal deposits occur is

- horseshoe Shaped . The west limb is feet (9 75 m . )

0 . long and feet (3 4 m ) wide , while the east limb is 1 0 feet (686 m . ) long and from 3 5 0 to feet ( 7 to 3 04 m . ) wide . The thickness va ries from one foot

- o r so 0 (3 0 cm . ) to 35 The ﬂoor is j asperoid or i n places the siliceous . rocks of the Knob Hill group . — Knob Hill - I ronsides mine The ore body of the above mine owned by the Granby Consolidated , is the largest and most typical of the camp . The ore body is com posite in character and consis ts of two lenses which coalesce about their central portions . Along the outcrop these appear as distinct ore bodies separated by a varying thickness of the lime - silicate gangue rock (see section) . The western lens is at least feet

62 . 0 00 1 1 (7 m ) long , from 3 7 to over 9 feet ( 3

2 . 0 1 2 e 1 2 8 to 74 m ) wide , and from 4 to 5 f et ( to 3 m . )

thick . The eastern lens is apparently shorter but approaches the magnitude of the other in width and thick °

. 1 ness The general strike along the outcrop is about N . 0

E . 60 with dips to the east ranging from 45 to degrees . The dip ﬂattens with depth and on the lower levels averages

from 1 5 to 3 0 degrees . The general pitch of the ore bodies 1 8 is about degrees to the north east . The vertical range from the south end of the main glory hole to the lowest working levels is 675 feet ( 2 06 The structural foot is wall the j asperoid zone of the B rooklyn formation , and

in places , the siliceous rocks of the Knob Hill group . The hanging wall is a purely commerci al one and the ore either grades insensibly into barren gangue or termina tes sharply

- against a gouge fill ed fi ssure . The ore bodies and adj acent rocks are traversed by an intricate system of fissures

which run in all directions and dip at all angles . They h ave had a most important inﬂuence on ore deposition

a s they formed channels for the ore - bearing solutions which permitted a uni form distribution of their metallic

contents . I n many cases the ore adj acent to these ﬁssures

is of noticeably higher grade . Some of the ﬁssures have

been subsequently ﬁlled with banded quartz , calcite and

chalcopyrite . The only displacement noted is along one of the maj or ﬁssures which faulted the o re body with a throw varying

from zero to 1 2 0 feet (3 6 m . ) along a dip of 5 5 degrees to the west . (See section) .

The ore is mainly massive with local banded areas .

I t consists of chalcopyrite , which with pyrite and hematite is ﬁnely and uniformly distributed through a gangue composed almost exclusively of garnet , epidote , quartz , calcite and chlorite . The pyrite occurs in grains , crystals s ecul arite and streaks , while the hematite ( p ) occurs in platy aggregates . M agnetite occurs in masses and irre gular lenses at intervals through the ore bodies but it is relatively unimportant . The average content of the ore is : copper 1 - 2 5 per cent ; gold 0 - 04 ounces and silver 0 - 3 ounce per ton . Along the outcrop the ore has been leached out in part but has produced no noticeable second ary enrichment at lower levels . The zone of contact metamorphism and the develop ment of lime - silicates is believed to have been the result of metasomatic replacement of limestone by solution s

8 1

u above the critical temperature carrying ferric iron , al mina and silica and consisting mainly of water gas strongly ionized . Epidote and garnet , etc . , were formed , and the magnetite was probably formed contemporaneously with them . When the formation of the above was well advanced the character of the solutions changed somewhat and chalcopyrite , pyrite and hematite were deposited in and along the numerous minute ﬁssures and cavities

- in the lime silicates . Calcite and quartz were the last to deposit and completely ﬁlled the remaining minute spaces . an as I n the absence of y direct evidence , there are no large bodies o f igneous plutonic rock in contact with or a adj acent to the zone of contact met morphism at present , it is suggested that these zones were overlain by more or less irregular and thick sheets of granitic rock and that these were the cause of the metamorphism of the limestone and the source of the mineral bearing solutions . The circulation would thus be descending and laterally and would account for the ore bodies terminating abruptly at comparatively shallow depths either against j asperoid is or crystalline limestone . The age of the deposit referred to post - J urassic or the period immediately following the intrusions of the granodiorite batholith of the Boundary f district . The ore bodies su fered from erosion in the early Tertiary and are overlain unconformably by Oligocene sediments . — IMethod of M ining The ore bodies are mined along “ ” their outcrops by large open qu arries or glory holes and underground by a system of tunnels and shafts . Stoping by the pillar and room method is used entirely below the level of the “ glory holes The development work is based on the information gained by extensive prospecting with diamond drills .

ANNOTATE D GU I D E (Phoenix to M idway . )

M il es a nd l Ki o m etres . — 1 1 . n d ree 2 6 . 1 7 m G woo Alt . 4 4 ft (75 Green 1 88 km . wood i s situated in the valley of Boundary

creek about four miles (6 4 km . ) west of Phoenix . The valley at this point is deeply eroded in granodiorite which underlies and surrounds — 3642 5 6 82

M il es and o e res Kil m t .

the town . The British Columbi a Copper Company ’ s smelter is situated at Anaconda

which j oins Greenwood to the south . The M other Lode mine of the same company is

at 2 - n Deadwood about 5 miles (4 km . ) orthwest

of Greenwood . The copper deposits at Dead

wood are Similar to those at Phoenix . M id l — wa . 0 y Alt ft . (5 8 M idway lies well within an area underlain by the lavas

of the M idway Volcanic group . The town is situ ated in the broad bottom lands of the Ri a Kettle ver valley , ﬂ nked by terraces and backed by low rounded and conical hills of

lava . Boundary creek ﬂows on bed rock t an be ween Greenwood and M idway , d near

the j unction with the Kettle , it has trenched itsel f

in a box canyon with walls of lava .

ANNOTATE D GUI D E (Castlegar to Rossland . )

— C astl egar Between Castlegar and Smel ter the bed rock is mainly the granodiorite of the Nelson batholith with the exception of an area of gneisses and schists (Shuswap series) between

B lueberry and Sullivan creeks . Along this ex tens portion of Columbia valley , the rock is

ively covered by a system of well - deﬁned terraces composed of horizontally bedded sands

and sandy cl ays . To the south of Castlegar , the valley is relatively broad and the bottom lands and terraces support a ﬂourishing fruit

industry .

m l — 6 S e ter Alt . ft . (4 7 The smelter and lead reﬁnery of the Consolid ated M ining

and Smelting Company is situated at Smelter . I t is the most important metallurgical centre

- in B ritish Columbia . The gold copper ores

of Rossland and the silver - lead ores of the Slocan

are treated here , and in the case of the latter ,

the ﬁnal product is reﬁned silver and lead .

The geology of Rossland centres around a m ass of monzonite which is rudely oval in form with the east 8 and west axis about ﬁve miles ( km . ) in length . The mass is intrusive into the rocks of the Rossland group , which has been subdivided into a sedimentary and igneous seri es .

Tabl rma ti n e of Fo o s .

a e n a a a nd e e n . Q u rt r ary . Gl ci l R c t

Tertiary Pulaskite .

s - ss d P o t Jura ic La mpro phyric ykes . n Serpe tine . N el so n gra nodiorite a nd gra nite po rphyry assi n M eso zo ic J ur c P orphyritic mo zo nite . D o e i rit porphyrite . n M o zo nite . P Triassic Vo lca nic a ggl o merate . o nifer us A o ugite porphyrite .

ss o n o e s n. Palaeozoic (Ro land gro up) . M u t R b rt formatio

Carbonif erous .

Mount Roberts formation—The M ount Roberts a form tion is developed chieﬂy in two bands , the broader a one lying on the western Slopes of Red mount in , while n a the arrower one lies further to the west , separ ted by a band of igneous rocks . The formation consists of a and bl ck slates , in part carbonaceous , with arenaceous calcareous varieties interbedded with lighter coloured a interb andin types . There is frequent g of darker varieties with lighter coloured and more siliceous types some of which are probably of tufaceous origin . Fossils have been collected in one locality and though poorly preserved have been identiﬁed as Carboniferous types . The strike of the formation is northerly with a general dip to the west which steepens on going westward . I n a the western b nd the beds are vertical , which is probably due to a fault . The sediments are extensively faulted in an east and west direction with throws varying from a fraction of an inch to several feet . Brecci as are common along the contact of the sediments with the granodiorite and porphyri te . 85 — Augite porphyrite The augite porphyrite series forms a large par t of the area originally mapped as the

Rossland volcanic group . I t occupies four main areas on the map sheet and is intrusive in the M ount Roberts formation . The structures and textural characteristics of the rock shows that it probably occurred as surface

ﬂows and sills . I n places the rock is interbanded with

- ﬁne grained beds which are probably tuffs . I n other places i t presents an agglomerate phase of two eruptions .

The typical rock is dark grey to greenish black , studded with stout prisms of pyroxene and hornblende imbedded in a dark ground - mass composed chieﬂy of small laths and grains of labradorite and hornblende . The rock is both massive and sheared and in places is highly altered . An analysis of a type from the War Eagle is as follows

Slo 0 - 8 o o - 80 A1 0 I - oo F6 0 o - g 5 9 , Ti g , 2 3 7 , 2 3 9 7 ,

FeO - 6o M nO o - I M O - 1 C a 0 - 82 K 0 1 - I 7 , 4 , g 5 4 , 9 , 2 3 ,

N3 0 ' H O o - o6 H 0 I ' I P 0 o - 1 o - 2 3 35 , g , 2 + 4 , 2 5 9 , S 43 ,

o - 2 8 = - C02 Total 9 9 39 .

Triassic

The Volcanic agglomerate of probably Triassic age overlies the M ount Roberts formation , apparently conform ably . The outcrop is lenticular in form and coincides in strike and vertical dip with the underlying slates . The formation suffered with the Carboniferous in the crustal disturbances of the J urassic revolution . The agglomerate is composed of fragmental material including quartz , Slate and altered volcanic rocks . The formation also includes some tufaceous beds . There a i is rough assortment of the mater al in certain beds , in which cases the longer axis of the fragments coincide w ith the general strike of the formation .

J urassic — M onzonite . The monzonite intrusions , in the forms and of masses dykes , are composed of a number of closely related varieties of slightly diff erent ages which underlie

- about one half of the Rossland map area . The intrusive masses have an east and west trend and have possibly followed a profound structural break . The structural relations Show that the intrusion was subsequent to the 86 crustal disturbances which tilted and folded the Carbon iferous rocks . The main intrusions may at points have originally reached the surface through the Carboniferous sediments and appeared as a volcano or a series of volcanoes .

The three principal types in order of age , commencing a n with the oldest , are monzonite , diorite porphyrite d

m . porphyritic onzonite I n general , the coarser types are

ﬁne - younger than the grained ones , and the more felds pathic younger than the basic types . The normal monzonite shows considerable variation in different parts of the same mass . The rock varies from grey to black in colour , and from granitoid to semi porphyritic in texture . The coarser types consist of black n prisms of pyroxe e or secondary hornblende , ﬂakes of brown biotite and a light coloured plagioclase feldspar which is often labradorite . The microscope discloses in addition some alkali feldspar , magnetite and apatite . At times local variations Show an almost total disappearance of the feldspar , in which case the bulk of the rock is made

a . up of ugite and hornblende I n the ﬁner grained varieties , the granular white feldspathic groundmass is peppered with tiny grains and small prismatic individuals of the dark constituents which gives a ch aracterisitic mottled aspect to the rock . The following analysis of the monzonite from the

700 - foot level of the Le Roi mine was made by the M ines

Branch .

o - o o - o A1 0 » 1 6 - 1 Fe 0 2 - Sl g 54 49 , Ti g 7 , 2 , 5 , 2 3 79

e O - 2 0 M nO o - 1 0 M O - C a - o6 K - 6 F 5 , , g 3 5 5 , O 7 , 2 0 4 3 ,

' Na O - 0 H 0 H 0 1 - 1 8 P 0 o - 2 o 0 - 2 z 3 5 , 2 2 + , 2 5 , S 3 ,

- C 0 o 2 . 2 4 — Diorite porphyr ite The diorite porphyrite occurs fi - a forms x andin . in ov l , dyke like e p g into larger masses I t is probably younger than the normal monzonite but s field evidence is not clear on this point . I t i cut by dykes of porphyritic monzonite . M ineralogically the rock might be regarded as a phase of the monzonite . I t varies from light grey to greenish black . The texture ranges from porphyritic to fine granitoid . The rock consists of phenocrysts of pl agiocl ase feldsp ar ( andesine to acid n labradorite) , pyroxene a d hornblende lying in a ground a mass of feldspar , quartz and hornblende , the rel tive amounts of these constituents fluctuating widely .

88 every 2 5 feet (7 5 The principal varieties are typical vo esites od onites minettes , kersantites , g and with many intermediate forms Aplitic dykes also occur which may be complementary to the more basic types .

Tertia ry. — Pulaskite The pulaskite or alkali syenite occurs in

- irregular , elliptical and dyke like masses intrusive in all the older rocks . Some of the present outcropping masses may represent deeply eroded conduits of ancient volcanoes . r The normal ock is coarse in grain and pale pink in colour . I t is composed essentially of long rectangular feldspars (intergrowths of orthoclase and albite) with biotite and hornblende , though neither of the two latter are abundant .

a . . An nalysis by Dr F Dittrich , Heidelberg , gave the following

0 62 - TI0 0 - A1 0 1 - 2 Fe 1 - 1 FeO Si 2 59 , 2 54 , 2 3 7 3 , 2 03 5 ,

- - - ’ - 2 02 M nO tr . M O 1 0 C aO 1 K 0 6 Na O 0 , , g 3 , 99 , 2 74 , z 5 5 ,

- - = - 1 r l r . . 8 . P 0 o 1 H 0 o o C0 t . C t 5 0 2 5 , 2 3 , 2 , , 3 tr 99 3 The rock is closely related in every respect to similar intrusions at Phoenix and elsewhere in the Boundary district which are of M iocene age .

RE O DEPOSITS .

There are two mineralized belts in the Rossland camp known as the North and South belts respec tively . The

North belt is by far the most important . All the rocks a except perhaps the later dykes are more or less miner lized , but the l arge ore bodies are conﬁned mainly to the Car b oniferous augite porphyrites and the monzonite , and lie l along the northwest border of the arge area of monzonite , and near or on the contact of the porphyrites and M ount a Roberts form tion with the monzonite , granodiorite or granite porphyry . The South belt is underlain mainly by the porphyrites and sediments of Carboniferous age .

I n the North belt , the ore deposits occur (a) in ﬁssure veins with or without replacement of the country rock ; ﬁ ssurin a (b) as lodes in zones of g or shearing , the ore miner l s forming a network of veinlets impregnating or replacing in whole or in part the intervening masses of country rock ;

indicated under (a) and (b) . On the basis of mineral con as tent , the ores may be classiﬁed follows

1 . M assive pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite ores with a a some pyrite , occasionally little rsenopyrite and more rarely magnetite and molybdenite . Galena and blende

a . h ave been found in a couple of inst nces Free gold occurs , but is rarely visible though the proportion runs from 1 0 to

5 0 per cent . of the total gold content . a 2 . M assive co rse grained pyrrhotite with but little copper and gold .

3 . Pyrite and marcasite with arsenopyrite in veins with possibly some galena and blende . This type is more and characteristic of the South belt , Silver may form an important part of the values .

4 . Arsenopyrite , pyrrhotite , pyrite , molybdenite , a little chalcopyrite , bismuthinite , and free gold , as impregnations particularly in and around pegmatitic and aplitic dykes of alkali syenite .

5 . Gold bearing quartz veins .

Gangue. The gangue is chieﬂy more or less altered country rock with some quartz and locally a little calcite . The country rock may be altered to quartz associated with secondary biotite in bands . Hornblende and chlorite are extensively developed in places . M uscovite , tourmaline , garnet , wollastonite and epidote also occur , and zeolites chieﬂy anthophyllite and chabazite , are frequently found .

Ore . The typical ore consists of more or less altered rock matter with reticulating veins and irregular masses of a pyrrhotite , and varying mounts of chalcopyrite with 0 perhaps a l ittle quartz , the sulphides forming from 5 to

65 per cent . of the mass . There are all transitions from the solid sulphides forming massive shoots of ore on the one hand to rock matter or gangue on the other with little

. a apparent mineralization I n c ses , however , lightly miner a lize d gangue may carry high gold values . The values are largely gold with some copper and a little silver , The gold values do not appear to be dependent on the presence of any one mineral , though in many cases ore rich in chalcopyrite is rich in gold . The pyrrh otite , though gold bearing in some instances , is as a rule very 90

low grade . An average analysis of the ore from the large — - - 0 . 0 . producers gives gold 5 oz per ton , silver 3 oz per to n 0 2 2 , copper 9 per cent , iron per cent , silica 3 7 per

1 0 - 8 - 2 a cent , sulphur per cent , lime 4 per cent , alumin

- 1 4 9 per cent . The ore from near the surface yielded the

higher values , but the proportion of free gold does not appear to decrease with depth and high grade ore bodies ‘

are still encountered at the lowest developed levels . Oxidation extends downwards only a few feet from the

surface . Secondary enrichment is a minor feature but is

found at several points well below the zone of weathering .

L odes .

The chief lodes or veins h ave a general easterly trend and northerly dip with an associated faul t system

L e Roi- trending north and south . The Centre Star main °

6 E . and south lodes and the J osie lode strike abou t N . 0 LeRo i V E The north ein , the War agle vein , and the C entre °

. 0 W . o ff Star north veins strike N 7 , and appear to be

shoots o f the main lodes . The dips are to the north ranging ° ° from 60 0 with local ﬂattenings . to 7 — The main L eRo i Centre Star lode is at least feet

m . ) long , with a thickness varying from a mere

crack to over 1 30 feet (39 5 m . ) The maximum thickness cannot in many instances be determined owing to the lack

of sharply deﬁned walls . Between ore shoots it is some f to times very di ﬁcult trace the lode , particularly where

the continui ty is broken by faults and dykes .

Ore Shoots .

o re The shoots vary greatly in size and shape , len ticul ar bodies b eing the more common . Some are very irregul ar at one termination especially when

forming against a dyke or faul t . I n such cases the shoot either develops an enormously increased thickness or an

L - shaped body is formed by the ore turning sharply and

following the plane of the fault or dyke . The pitch varies from vertical to a pronounced easterly or westerly direction dependent upon purely local conditions . I n size the shoots

- 1 0 . vary from a foot (30 cm . ) to 3 feet (39 5 m ) in thickness 0 0 1 1 2 and from 5 to 5 0 feet ( 5 to 5 m . ) in length . One of

9 2 by veinlets of chalcopyrite though in m any ca ses the two a minerals ppear to have been contemporaneous . so a The values far have not greatly decre sed with depth , though this is not apparent in the production since more lower grade ore can now be mined than formerly because of reduced smelting ch arges . The evidence though not conclusive , is strongly in favour of almost the entire deposition being due to ascending solutions , though possibly at two or more periods . I n the ﬁrst period , the dyking and faulting phenomen a accompanying the formation of the lodes formed barriers which aff orded favourable condi tions for the precipitation of copper and gold . A favourable area for deposition appears to be the underside of dykes . f I n the second period , ascending solutions of di ferent com position may h ave deposited new minerals in the ores or concentrated at successively higher levels , the values of the ore minerals formerly deposited . a I f zone of true secondary enrichment ever existed , it a was swept away during the he vy erosion . accomplished by the Cordilleran ice sheets . The success that has attended the vigorous development

‘ th e o eratin a policy of p g companies , gives no indication th t a the productivity of the lodes is ne r the end , nor even on a but the w ne , on the other hand , gives every encouragement to the view “ that ore bodies will be found at much greater depths than the levels now being exploited .

G EOLO G Y OF THE REG I ON BETWEEN E A D CASTL G R AN REVELSTO KE .

E THE ARROW LAK S .

Between West Robson and Arrowhead there are two pronounced expansions of the Columbia river known as

Upper and Lower Arrow lakes , which with the river 1 1 connections have a total length of about 0 7 miles ( 72 km . ) The j unction of Lower Arrow lake and the Columbia river is about 1 0 miles ( 1 6 km . ) west of Castlegar . The a a lake , whose shape is th t of slightly bent bow with the 1 convex side to the west , has a length of about 5 miles

- 1 . (82 km . ) with an average width of about one mile ( 6 km ) tapering at both ends . The low water level is about 93

sea feet (42 0 m . ) above level and a sounding taken about the central part of the lake gives a depth of 5 3 7 feet ( 1 63 The river connection between the lakes is

2 . 1 1 1 . about 2 0 miles (3 km ) long , the lower miles ( 7 km ) a a following a valley par llel to Upper Arrow l ke , while the upper nine miles ( 1 4 km . ) lies in a transverse valley which cuts across the axis of a mountain ranges trending north west . Upper Arrow lake h as a northerly trend and is about 36 1 miles (5 8 km . ) long with a prominent northeast arm 0 miles ( 1 6 km . ) long . The lake has an average width of

- two miles (3 2 km . ) and the low water level is feet

2 sea . 1 2 m (4 2 m . ) above the level Two soundings one iles

1 . ( 9 km ) north of the lower end of the lake , and another

- 6 . 0 2 0 four miles ( 4 km ) north of Halcyon , give 49 and 7 + 1 2 1 m feet ( 49 and 9 + . ) respectively . From Arrowhead to Revelstoke Columbia river trends °

. a N 3 5 W . and is a n vigable stream for shallow draught steamers . The river meanders with blind channels

a 1 1 - 1 2 - through ﬂat bottom l nd from to 5 miles ( 6 to 4 km . )

- six . wide . For miles (9 6 km ) above Arrowhead low ﬂats border both sides of the river . Above that point they lie alternately on one side of the river or the other . Below

Revelstoke the river closely hugs the rocky western shore . The valley is continuously bordered on both sides by mountain ranges and is in th at respect analogous to the valleys of the lakes to the south . The shore line of these l akes is steep with numerous rocky bluffs ; occasionally portions are fringed by narrow beaches and locally by more widely expanded delta deposits at the mouth s of entering streams . The bordering mountain ranges are lofty and rugged and attain elevations from feet m . ) to over feet m . ) a sea bove level . Their axial lines are narrow and lie from

6 - - four to six miles ( 4 to 9 6 km . ) inland from the valley trench . I n pl aces the steeper Slopes are scarred by land slides , the most recent one having occurred early in 1 9 03 on the north side of the valley of the northeast arm a little to a h the e st of Arrow ead . The usual types of ﬁ ord topography are in evidence throughout the length of the two lakes , illustrating varied ff V examples of cli walls , truncated spurs , hanging and shaped lateral valleys , terraces , alluvial cones and fans and continuous evidence of heavy gl aci al scoring and under i cutt ng . 94

The river connecting the two lakes is rather more than a

1 - 6 mile ( km . ) in width , bordered by ﬂat bottom lands and low terraces . This portion of the valley must represent an ancien t and deep hollow ﬁlled in by glacial drift and later deposits . At present considerable sedimentation is being effected by the material carried down by the tributary streams .

GE N E RAL GE OLOGY

The geology of the valley sides and neighbouring mountain ranges h as not been worked up in any detail and at present only permits of a very generalized description . From Castlegar to a point about south of Saddle peak the valley is eroded in rocks of two batholithic intrusions , the earlier a P and being the Nelson granodiorite of J ur ssic ( ) age , the later the Rossland alkali granitic rocks tentatively referred to early Tertiary . The former extends from Castlegar to near Deer Park and then again from a point three miles

(4 8 km . ) south of the Needles to the bend in the Columbia river . The latter extends from Shields to a point three

- miles (4 8 km . ) south of the Needles and occupies for the most part both shores of the lake . Of irregular lenticular form the batholith is 3 8 miles (6 1 km . ) in length along its north axis with a maximu m width of 1 7 miles (2 7 Lying in these batholiths are a few remnants of the Rossland group with some associated limestone developed along the lower portions of Lower Arrow lake particularly in the vicinity of Deer Park . South of Saddle peak a band of schists and gneisses presumably of the Shuswap series crosses the valley with a trend a little west of north . Little is deﬁnitely known of the shores of Upper Arrow lake as far as Halcyon . The rocks are schists , gneisses , slates and crystalline limestones intruded by dykes , sills and stocks of late granites , etc . They may be referred to the Shuswap and Selkirk series together with highly metamorphosed phases of the Slocan series . They are much disturbed and faulted requiring detailed work to elucidate their structure . From Halcyon to Arrowhead the Shuswap terrane is developed except at Thumb bay where the continuity is broken by an intr usion of granite some ﬁve miles (8 km . ) wide which crosses the lake with a northwest trend .

96 the culminating peak M ount Begbie has an elevation of feet — m . ) above the sea . Arro wh ead On approching Arrowhead a good view is obtained of the peaks and snow ﬁelds at the head of the

n 1 0 . ortheast arm , and of the scar left by the landside of 9 3 On the face of the hill directly behind the town two heavy s ills of granite are intruded in the Shuswap schists . The upper sill ha—s a marked vertical j ointing . W igwam At Wigwam rock terraces mark the ﬂoor o f Akolkol ex the more ancient valley . The river entering a f a a from the e st , a fords a striking example of h nging valley . — Revel stoke The city is on the main line of the Can adian a a P ciﬁc railway , situated at the j unction of the Columbi a nd Ill ecill e e wa t rivers .

— SLOCAN S I LVE R LEAD D ISTRI CT .

ANNOTATED GUIDE .

(South Slocan to New Denver) . — l l 1 6 . . S outh S ocan A t . 3 7 ft (499 m ) is is 1 2 miles ( 1 9 km . ) west of Nelson and the j unction point of the railway branch running north to Slocan lake and the silver - lead and

zinc mines of the Slocan district . The railway closely follows the Slocan river which in places h as cut down to bed rock though along mos t of its course it ﬂows in a channel eroded in the

heavy deposits of stratiﬁed sand , sandy clay and gravels which have ﬁlled the rather broad

U- Shaped valley to a considerable depth . The bed rock is mainly the granodiorite and

associated types of the Nelson batholith . Between Koch and W inl aw there is an area of gneisses and schists lying in the granodiorite which are refer—red to the Shuswap series . 1 . Sl ocan C ity Alt . ft . (54 m ) lies at the foot of the lake of the same name and is the point of departure to the silver mines lying are at the east in the granitic rocks . The ores a mainly dry , that is the silver values usu lly 9 7

M il e s a nd predominate over the lead and the gangue is Kil o m etres . essentially quartz . Slocan lake is of the same

type as Kootenay and the Arrow lakes . The

several features , however , of mountain peak , glacier and delta give it a beauty peculiarly its own and by many is Considered the most beauti ful lake from a scenic view point in southern

B ritish Columbia . The lower hal f of the lake is eroded in the

granitic rocks of the Nelson batholith , the main part of the upper half lies on the contact of

those rocks with those of the Slocan slates . The

form of the lake is bow - like with the convex 2 side to the east . I t has a length of about 5

miles (40 km . ) and an average width of one

- mile ( 1 6 km . ) with a low water elevation of

feet (53 7 m) . Two soundings , one near the south end and one opposite Roseberry give respective depths of 9 2 5 and 765 feet ( 2 82 and 2 33 S il verton i s situated on the delta of Four

mile creek . I t is the distributing point for

- t several silver lead mines , the more i mpor ant

being the Standard , Hewitt and Van Roi , and

- the L H gold mine . New D enver is situated on the delta of Carpenter creek and is within easy distance of

the maj ority of the most important silver - lead

and zinc mines of the Slocan district , the prin ci a l M c G ui an p centres being Silverton , Sandon , g

and \Vh itewater .

S IL v R— E LEAD AND ZINC DE POSITS .

The district in wh ich productive ore bodies have been found comprises the Ainsworth , Slocan and Slocan City

M ining divisions . The district lies within the Selkirk system of the Cordillera and is characterized by strong relief showing all the more prominen t features of alpine w topography . The maximum vertical range bet een mount ain peak and valley is over 6000 feet ( 1 82 8 m) . M ost of the veins occu r well up on the mo untain slopes and consequently the mines are invariably developed by series of tunnels . — 3645 7 9 8

Although the lead deposits in the vicinity of Ainsworth ’ 8o s on Kootenay lake were being worked in the later , it was not until 1 89 1 that the richer and more impor tant ore deposits were staked inland from Kootenay lake and further to the west . I n the early years the transportation f so t 1 8 di ﬁculties were great , hat it was not until 95 that important shipments were made . The total production from 1 895 to the end of 1 9 1 1 in round numbers amounts s to tons of ore , containing ounce of 2 8 0 silver , 9 ounces of gold , pounds of lead with a total value of nearl y The zinc returns from 1 0 7 to 1 1 1 are valued at nearly 9 9 — G eneral G eol o gy The deposits occur in the granitic works of the Nelson batholith but particularly in the sedi mentary rocks of the Slocan series The granitic rocks range from true granite to quartz diorite . They are almost prevailingly of a light grey colour and the texture ranges from medium to coarse grain . Outside of the main area of the batholith the rocks appear in the

n . sedime taries as dykes , stocks and irregular masses The Slocan series consists of interbedded argillaceous and and a quartzites limestones , sl tes or argillites which are more or less carbonaceous . They form an undoub tedly thick series , but the folding , faulting and lithological similarity prevent any section being made that would give even an approximation to the actual thickness . The series is extensively dyked by quartz porphyry and lamp rOphyres which are older than the ﬁssure system containing the ore bodies . — Veins The veins are nearly all of the ﬁssure type and are much more numerous in the Slocan series . There they t a almost invariably cut across the s rike of the form tion , if they coincide in strike they cut across the dip and termin ate usually by either turning suddenly and following a bedding plane or by feathering out in the broader bands of the softer slates . The veins vary in length from a few hundred feet to over 4000 feet ( 1 2 1 9 m . ) and in thickness from a few inches (cm) to over 5 0 feet ( 1 8 I n ex cep tional cases the vein may attain a thickness of 1 5 0 feet

(45 m) . The widest portions of the veins are generally filled with crushed and broken country rock with but relatively small amounts of the gangue minerals . In certain definite areas the fissures form a widely parallel system ; the dips

I OO — Origin No definite law holds with regard to the order of the formation of the several minerals . I n many instances however , siderite was formed first , fol lowed by zinc blende which replaced a portion of the siderite . Galena succeeded the blende , and freibergite followed , filling in fractures in the galena and to a certain extent in the blende . The ore appears in great part to be primary and to have been introduced by ascending solutions which deposited their mineral content in the wider portions of the veins at favourable horizons , where the action was aided by decrease f o pressure , lower temperature and by the reducing action of the carbon in the crushed rock which forms an important percentage of the vein filling . The ore was p robably derived from some horizon of the g ranitic rocks of the batholith which underlies the whole area and is perhaps closely connected with the basic l am pro phyric dykes . In several instances it was noted that veins followed the same fissures as the dykes , in which cases the ore lay on and along the dyke . Many of the ore shoots so far stoped have been com ar tivel p a y shallow , but more recent development work has shown ore at greater depths , in one case feet

(3 8 7 m . ) below the outcrop . The development of the last two years has encouraged the belief that the ore shoots are not merely surface deposits but that they will be found to h ave a much greater vertical range than was formerly believed .

ANNOTATED GUIDE (Continued) . M iles and Kilo m etres . Roseb erry is situated on the delta of Wilson

creek at an elevation of feet (547 m . )

above the sea . J ust north of the station the railway crosses an apophysis of the grano

diorite intruded in the Slocan slates . Slocan

lake terminates north of Hills , but the valley

trench continues through to Nakusp , the railway following closely the contact between the Slocan

series and the granodiorite . About a mile

1 - ( 6 km . ) north of Hills the abandoned valley n of the creek draini g Summit lake is exposed , the present creek ﬂowing in a valley a little

further to the west . I O I

M 1 18 5 a nd At the summit the elevation is feet Kil o m etres . (762 and from there the railway descend s to Nakusp passing across the upper terraces and delta deposits of Kuska nax and Nakusp creeks and ﬁnally arriving on the present delta by

means of a long switch back . k Na u sp.

REFEREN CES .

1 . Geological Survey of Canada . Geological maps of West

Kootenay and Boundary districts .

a . D ly , R Nomenclature of the North Amer ican Cordillera between the 47th

and 5 3 rd parallel s of latitude . The 2 Geographical J ournal , Vol . 7 ,

- 6 . 1 9 06 ; pp . 5 86 60

3 . . Daly , R Geology of the North American

Cordillera at the Fo rty- ninth Par

. . . C an . . . allel Geol Surv , M em No

3 8 (in press . )

4 o - Le R . E . . y , O Geology of the Nelson M ap area

Summary Repo rt . Geol . Surv . of

1 1 1 . Can . , 9

5 . . Brock , R Preliminary Report on the Bound t ary District . Summary Repor ,

. 1 02 . Geol . Surv . of Can , 9 , pp

- 9 2 1 38A.

6 . C . . . Campbell , Granby M ining Methods J our

C an . . . . 1 1 1 0 8 M in I nst , Vol , 9 ,

2 - 06 pp . 39 4

Le Ro . E i y , O The Geology and Ore Depos ts of

Phoenix . Geol . Surv . of Can . ,

2 1 1 1 2 . Memoir , 9

7 . . r B rock , R Preliminary Repo t on the Ross

land M ining District , Geol . Surv .

1 0 6 . of Can . , No . 9 39 , 9

B rock , R . W . and Young , G . A . Special Map of Ross

. 1 002 . land , No Rossland M ining

1 00 . Camp , No . 4

8 . Dawson , G . M Report on a Portion of the West

Kootenay Distri ct , Geol . Surv . of

1 8 0 . Can . , Vol . IV , Part B , 9 1 02

nn ll M c C o e . . . . , R Summary Report , Surv of _ Geol

- . 1 8 2 A 1 8 Can , 94 , pp 3 35 ; 95 .

2 - pp . 2 3 2 . Report of Commission appointed to investigate the Zinc

Resources of British Columbia .

M ines Branch , Dept . of I nterior ,

1 0 6 . Can . , 9

L R . e o 0 . y , Summary Report , Geol Surv . of

- . 1 1 0 . 1 2 1 2 8 . Can , 9 , pp 3

THE S IM IL KAM EEN DISTRICT .

i ’ i M d wa y to Sp enc e s Br d ge .

CHA RL ES CAM SELL .

I NTRODUCTI ON .

The Similkam een excursion leaves the route of Excursion C 2 at M idway , and after proceeding westward along the valley of Simil kamee n river turns northward at Tul ameen ’ towards Nicola river , and at Spence s B ridge , where this a stre m enters Thompson river , it again j oin s the route of

E xcursion C 2 . This route of this excursion lies almost entirely in the

I nterior Plateau region of British Columbia , and an excel l ent opportunity is afforded o f viewing what is one of t h e main physiographic features of the province of B ritish

C olumbia . The characteristic features of mature topo g raphic outline in this region are believed to have been

produced by sub - aerial erosion ac ting throughout Eocene t sub imes , though they have been somewhat modiﬁed by s a equent events which includ e regional elevation , vulc nism a n is d glaciation . The region underlain by sedimentary a nd volcanic rocks ranging in age from Carboniferous to

M iocene , the older of which have been intruded by batho

l ithic igneous rocks . The chief points of scientiﬁc and economic interest which it is the obj ect of this excursion to visit are : the gold

b earing arsenopyrite deposits of the Nickel Plate mine ,

1 04

4 1 5 1441 3 3 2 I t follows the south slope of Rock creek valley 2 6 1 . westward through a small area of Tertiary volcanic rocks and on leaving it to ascend the a valley of Baker creek , it again enters Pal eozoic

rocks , exposures of which can be seen in the

railway cuts . Brid esvil l e — Alt . ft . Near the head of Baker creek the railway crosses the International Boundary line at a point two

miles east of M olson , and from this pont west Similka me n ward to Chopaka on the e river ,

the route lies in the State of Washington . M l n — o so A1t . ft . M olson is situated on the divide between Kettle river

and Okanagan river , in a region characterized

by rounded , grassy hills , on which there are

few exposures of the solid rocks . From here an imperfect view can be obtained to the north and west of a part of the great I nterior Pal ateau

of British Columbia , noteworthy features of

which are the evenness of its skyline , and the

maturity of its tOpogra phic forms . From

M olson a descent of feet (82 5 m . ) is made down a grassy open slope to the bottom of

Okanagan valley to Oroville , which is distan t 2 5 miles (40 - 2 C ircl c l t . 8 ft . (7 3 The old a Pal eozoic rocks , through which the railway has B rid esville run from , are overlapped at Circle

by Tertiary rocks consisting of sandstones ,

shales , and lavas , which cover the Slope of Okanagan —valley virtually to Oroville . l l - rovi e . 1 2 86 8 O Alt 94 ft . ( Oroville ,

a town of about one thousand inhabitants , is situated in Okanagan valley at the south end of Osoyoos lake and at the entrance of the Similk

ameen river . Geologically it lies in one of the

interior lake basins of Oligocene age , the rocks

of which consist of conglomerates , sandstones ,

and shale associated with some volcanic ﬂows . h as Okanagan valley , which been cut through

this basin , is one of the main north and south

valleys of the Cordilleran region , and during the Glacial period was occupied by the southward 1 05

M il es and . E i r moving Okanagan glacier vidences of its K lo m et es . occupation by this glacier are still preserved

in the shape of the valley , i n numerous glacial

striae , and accumulations of glacial material . The width and climate of the valley make it excellent for fruit growing which is the principal

industry of the district . The railway crosses Okanagan valley at righ t angles at Oroville and enters the valley of Simil kam een river , which it follows as far as 8 0 the town of Princeton , a distance of miles ( 1 2 8 - 7 The Similkameen river belongs to the Colum

bia drainage system . I t rises on the eastern slope of the western ranges of the Cascade

mountain system , and , ﬂowing at ﬁrst in a r northerly direction and afte wards westward , cuts at right angles through the axis of the

Okanagan . range in the neighbourhood of

Keremeos . Its valley is antecedent to the a formation of the Okanagan r nge , which i s believed to have been elevated in Pliocene

times . During the Glacial period it was occupied

by a great valley glacier moving south - eastward

to j oin the Okanagan glacier . The truncated

U- spurs and characteristic shape , which it has

near the International Boundary line , are

evidences of that occupation .

1 2 1 - For miles ( 9 3 km . ) above Oroville the Similkameen river has an easterly trend , and as this direction is approximately at right angles

to the movement of glacial ice , its valley has not been greatly modiﬁed and is still narrow and

- in places canyon like . A bed of hard Tertiary conglomerate makes a barrier across the river 0 0 and causes a fall of 2 3 feet ( 7 m . ) at which 5 electrical horse power is developed to supply

neighbouring towns . i h — N g th a wk Al t . ft . (344 The Tertiary rocks of this part of the valley rest directly on Pal aeozoic schists and limestones of

Carboniferous age , and wherever they are exposed some prospecting and mining develop ment has been carried out principally on gold

1 0 7

M il es and . a o ores The Pal eozoic rocks are intruded by Kil m e tres .

granodiorite , probably Tertiary in age , the

- contact crossing the valley 3 miles (4 83 km . )

east of Nighthawk . — - . 0 Ch opak a Alt . ft (35 5 Beyond 1 2 enters a b road 4 km . Nighthawk , the railway glaciated

valley , running almost north and south , and turning sharply to the north within a few miles crosses the I nternational Boundary line into

Canada at Chop aka . From here northward to Keremeos the river and railway follow the

eastern foot of the Okanagan mountains , the

extreme eastern range of the Cascade system , which rises abruptly from the valley bottom to

an elevation of feet m . ) above sea S imilkameen level . Crossing the river 4 miles

6 - ( 4 km . ) north o f the boundary line , where the Pal aeozoic rocks are again in contact with the

granodiorite , the railway keeps the eastern side

of the stream for several miles . These Pal aeo zoic rocks form both sides of the valley almost

up to Hedley , except where they are capped by almost horizontally Tertiary volcanic rocks on

the east side of the valley below Keremeos .

m K m — 0 - 94 ere eos Alt ft . (4 5 4 Kere

1 1 - 2 5 km . meos , situated at the mouth of Keremeos creek , and formerly one of the oldest Hudsons Bay ’ Company s fur trading posts in the district , is

now the centre of a good fru t farming country . Gold - copper deposits in the mountains to the north make it important from a mining point of V i ew . Above Keremeos Similkameen river cuts a

broad but steep - sided valley through the axis is of the Okanagan range , which here built out

of Pal aeozoic sediments and volcanics . A series a of t lus slopes , remarkable for their great size and length are developed on the north side of the

valley . — - 1 0 1 . A h n l s o a . 2 2 m Alt . ft (43 Seven

- 1 62 - . 1 1 2 Ashn l 5 km miles ( 6 km . ) above Keremeos o a a river , a swift turbulent stre m , draining the high mountai nous region about the I nternation al

Boundary line , enters from the south . The 1 08

LI s a l l c but Kil railway is here on the south Side of the river , frii efrtas .

soon crosses back to the north , and after passing h Bradshaw , reaches the town of Hedley at t e

mouth of Twentymile creek . h Brad s a w .

l — ed e . 02 H y Alt ft . (5

E E RE G OLO GY OF TH G I ON AB OUT HEDLEY .

GENERAL DESCRIPTION .

Ph i r h h ys og ap y . The Hedley district lies in t e I nterior Plateau region of southern B ritish Columbia on the western ﬂank of the Okanagan range of mountains , which is an elongation of the Cascade M ountain system . The plateau occupies the whole of the central part of

B ritish Columbia , and is characterized in its upper level s by wide ﬂaring valleys separating broadly rounded or almost ﬂat topped summits which merge together in a n almost level sky line , having an elevation in this part of about feet m . ) above sea level . I nto the surface of the plateau the master streams have entrenched

60 . themselves to a depth of feet ( 9 m ) or more , and now occupy steep sided valleys , which have been modiﬁed by valley glaciation to produce the characteristic

U- imil k m en shape typical of S a e valley . To the long erosion period following the Laramide up lift is due the uniformity of level of the upper surfaces of the region , while the entrenchment of the streams in the deep valleys is attributed to the period following the uplift of the Interior Plateau and Cascade mountains in late Plio cene times . A topographic break , occurring about the

foot m . ) contour in the grade of the small streams and proj ecting spurs entering the Similkamee n valley , is used as evidence in support of the idea that the degree of uplift in this region during Pliocene times was at least feet (762 The effects of both continental and valley glaciation are apparent throughout the region . On the upper levels continental glaciation has accentuated the maturity of

I I O

stituent a , ssociated with arsenopyrite in a gangue of quartz ,

a - calcite , epidote , g rnet , diopside , and other lime silicate minerals . The ore bodies are of irregular sh ape and with out cle arly deﬁned boundaries . They occur in altered siliciﬁed limestone beds of Car b oniferous age at the contact of intrusive sheets and dykes a of a light coloured gabbro , which appear to have eman ted from a central stock of the same material . They appear to be genetically connected with the gabbro , and to have been formed at the time of intrusion of that rock into the limestone . The ore bodies being worked contain gold to the a value of bout to the ton , and the mines are the biggest producers of gold alone of any mines in B ritish

Columbia . 1 8 n 1 0 The deposits were discovered in 94 a d in 9 4 , actual milling of the ores began and has since continued without interruption .

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTIONS .

The chief points of geological interest at Hedley , which it is the obj ect of the excursion to visit are the following : 1 ( ) Roof contact of a granodiorite batholith , exposed near the stamp mill of the Hedley Gold M ining company . 2 ( ) The Interior Plateau , to be seen from the top of

Nickel Plate mountain .

(3) The Nickel Plate mine .

i Roof contac t of G ranod iorite bath ol th .

An excellent section , showing the roof contact of a grano diorite b atholith with tilted Carboniferous sedimentary is ex os ed Similkameen strata , p on the northern side of valley ' east of the town of Hedley , and can be seen in a large way from the railway station . The contact illustrates a case of differenti ation i n a a slowly cooling , igneous m gma by the rising of the lighter constituents , quartz and feldspar , to the upper surface of and the batholith , the ﬁlling of pockets and fractures in ' the sedimentary roof by these lighter constituents , where they form aplite and quartz porphyry dykes and even quartz veins . I t also illustrates in certain features the theory of batholithic intrusion by stoping ; there is little structural disturbance in the intruded rocks ; the contact line in

1 1 2

- be indeterminable . The contact is a sharp , clean cut line and showing no blending of the two rocks , above is a '

- coarse grained crystalline limestone . Apophyses from the granodiorite into the roof are of the same character as the contact zone . They are very a silicious quartz porphyries , which , few hundred feet from the contact , become quartz veins .

i Pl e I n ter or at au . From the upper terminal of the Hedley Gold M ining ’ Company s gravity tramway , at an elevation of feet

m . ) above sea level , an excellent view of the I nterior

Plateau is obtained looking west . The plateau seen from e this point is merely a bay at the southern end , lying b tween the Okanagan range on the east and the Hozameen range on the west , with the Princeton depression in its central part . The main extent of the plateau is towards n the orth , in which direction it stretches , with a width of about 1 0 0 miles ( 1 60 km . ) far into the northern interior of

B ritish Columbia . doubt still exists relative to the history and _ Considerable d evelopment of the characteristic features o f the Interior

Plateau region . A maturity of relief and an evenness of s k y line , probably not amounting to actual peneplanation , are believed to have been produced by subaerial erosion

E . acting throughout ocene times To some extent , at least , these features have been preserved in the present topography of the region ; and although much of the region has undergone considerable disturbance by mountain building forces and vulcanism , in the succeeding periods , local irregularities of the s urface produced at such periods were again reduced by erosi on in the quiescent periods following them , especially in early Pliocene . Since , there fore , the I nterior Plateau region has been subj ect to erosive its action throughout the whole of Tertiary times , present physiographic characteris tics should be considered as the cumulative result of that long period of time , rather than of any single period of the Tertiary . There is no doubt that at a time immediately preceding the Pliocene uplift the vertical relief in the region must have been fairly low and the maturity of form much more pronounced than at the present time . The Pliocene uplift is estim ated to have elevated this region about feet (762 m . ) higher above s - - ea level than its pre Pliocene level , and the deep trough

1 1 4 — o f Simil kameen like valleys , which the valley is a typical example—are the result of stream erosion following that uplift . These valleys have , however , since been modiﬁed

- by glaciation to their present U shape . Glaciation has also , to some extent , been responsible for smoothing out the irregularities of the surface and reducing the summit levels of the region .

i k Pl i N c el ate M ne . The Nickel Plate mine is situated on the eastern slope of Nickel Pl ate mountain at an elevation of about feet m . ) above sea level . The ore deposits in it are of contact metamorphic origin and occur at the contact of dykes and Sheets of gabbro in limestones which have been altered by the gab—bro . They are irregular in outline and have usually a well d e ﬁned boundary only on the side of the gabbro . The gangue of the ore bodies contains minerals formed by the alteration of limestone , including garnet , epidote , diopside , amphibole , quartz , calcite , and axinite .

The principal ore mineral is arsenopyrite , with which a occur chalcopyrite , pyrrhotite , zinc blende , pyrite , n tive gold , and someti mes tetradymite . These minerals are distributed through the gangue in crystallized individuals , or ﬁll minute fractures in it . The valuable content of the ore is gold alone , which in that now being mined , averages about to the ton . These deposits afford an excellent illustration of contact metamorphism induced by the intrusion of igneous bodies into calcareous rocks , and show the resulting altera tion of th e original carbonates to silicates . They illustrate also the formation of ore bodies by the transfer of ore material from the igneous rock to the sedimentary , under such conditions of temperature and pressure , that the constituents introduced , and those originally present and as recrystallized , are intergrown together a result of contemporaneous crystallization . I n the a ssociation of gold with arsenopyrite in deposits of this origin the Nickel Plate ore deposits are unique and have no known counterpart on the continent . I n the classiﬁcation of ore deposits , they are therefore placed in a “ division by themselves , and are called the Arsenopyrite ” type of contact metamorphic deposits .

I 1 5

INDUSTRIAL NOTES .

At the present time the chief industry of Hedley i s mining , and the activity of the district depends on the O peration of the mines and the reduction works of the and Hedley Gold M ining Company , and to prospecting development work on mining claims in the surrounding region . The Hedley Gold M ining Company employs about 60 men in the Nickel Plate and Sunnyside mines on the top O of Nickel Plate mountain , and perates a system of electric and gravity tramways which carry th e ore from th e mines to the mill . The electric tramway is about a mile i n length , while the gravity tramway is feet

. a . m ) in length , and drops ne rly feet m) The mill is situated at the town of Hedley and treats an 0 average of 1 60 tons of ore per day . I t is equipped with 4 O stamps , two tube mills , and cyanide tanks , and is perated

. r either by water power o steam . The ore being treated h as an average value of about $1 to the ton from which 1 1 an extraction of 9 5 per cent of gold is made . Up to 9 3 a total of about in gold h as been recovered from

Nickel Pl ate ores mined .

RE FERENCES .

1 . . . Dawson , G M Report on the Kamloops M ap sheet ,

8 . S . C . . 1 G . Vol VI I , 94

2 . . . 2 . . Camsell , Charles M emoir No Geol Survey of

1 1 0 . Canada , 9

E E AN NOTAT D GU I D .

M il es a nd r Kil o m et es . — m l - Bro ey For four miles (6 4 km . ) beyond Hedley the rocks along the railway l l ison a A are Pal eozoic slates , limestones ,

and schists , good exposures of which can be seen in the bluffs which face the river at several

. a points Shortly fter crossing Sterling creek , the railway enters a batholithic body of — 3642 5 8 % 1 1 6

d i s l ﬁilfrngigs granodiorite , which extends up the valley for

1 0 1 6 . about miles ( km ) to Five M ile creek . I n the granodiorite the valley is narrower and

- more steep sided , and the solid rocks are exposed f in many of the cli fs . After passing Five M ile creek the granodiorite is again replaced by Pal aeooz ic slates and limestones , the contact zone of which is marked by a number of reddish dykes of granite porphyry cutting the sedi

mentary rocks . From this point onward to Princeton the hills bordering the valley become

lower and more open , and soon after passing Allison the railway crosses the Similkam een river and enter—s the town of Princeton . in e ton 6 6 - 1 Pr c Altitude ft . ( 4 5

G EOLO GY OF THE REG I ON ARO UND PR IN CETON .

GENE RAL DESCRIPTION .

Princeton is Situated at the j unction of the Similkameen and Tulameen rivers , in a shallow depression in the

I nterior Plateau region , which was formerly an Oligocene lake basin . The region is characterized by comparatively moderate relief , gently rounded h ills and broad , open valleys . I t is sparsely forested , and in portions quite f open and grassy , so that it a fords good grazing for horses and cattle . The principal rocks of the region are ﬂat lying sediments a of Oligocene age , resting on a basement of tilted Pal eozoic rocks . They include sandstones , clays , shales , con e glomerat , and coal seams , and contain a variety of fossil

ﬁ sh . plants , insects , and remains These rocks are overlaid by volcanic ﬂows of andesite , basalt and fragmental materials . a The Pal eozoic rocks , to the south of the town of

Princeton , at Copper M ountain , contain low grade copper deposits of considerable magnitude , which are now being vigorously prospected . They carry chalcopyrite as the principal copper mineral , and are either in the form of contact metamorphic deposits situated in altered sedi mentary rocks at the contact of irruptive igneous bodies , or

1 1 8

I NDUSTRIAL NOTE S .

Coal mining is the principal industr—y carried on in th e neighbourhood of Princeton . The coal bearing rocks cover 0 an area of about 4 square miles ( 1 0 3 sq . km . ) and virtually the whole of this area is taken up in coal claims . Prospect ing and development work are being carried on at a number o f points in the basin , but shipment of coal is being made o nly from the collieries of the Princeton Coal and Land a Simil kam een Comp ny , situated on the east side of river , near Princeton . The coal is mined by an entry driven on is the dip of the seam . The method employed pillar and room , with the use of coal cutting machines .

- 02 . Two and a half miles (4 km ) southeast of Princeton , cement works have been erected , which are capable of manufacturing barrels of cement daily . The raw materials for the cement are all obtained from a thick bed of Oligocene age , and the lime from a bed of pure crystalline limestone in the Pal aeozoic rocks underlying the Oligocene .

- 1 2 1 . On Copper M ountain , miles ( 9 3 km ) south of Princeton large bodies of low grade copper—gold ore are being actively prospected by the British Columbi a Copper

Company , and it is expected that actual mining will soon be under way .

REFERENCES .

a l . a . . . C msell , Charles Preliminary Report on P rt of the

Similkameen No .

86 1 06 . 9 , 9

ANNOTATE D GU I D E (Continued) . M il es and r Kilo m et es .

P — 6 6 - 1 rinc e ton Alt . ( 4 5 On leaving Princeton the railway follows the valley imilkam n of the S ee river for a short distance , and then enters a tunnel which cuts through a n arrow neck separating the Simil kam een from

Tulameen valley . From this point westward to Tulameen the l ine lies in Tulameen valley passing from one side of the river to the other

as is found necessary . 1 1 9

M es and il The famous Vermilion cli ffs are situated on the r s Kil o m et e . north bank of Tul ameen river about 2 mi les

- (3 2 km . ) beyond Princeton . The colour of the

cli ffs i s due to the combustion of a coal seam , a ignited , prob bly , by the lava which overlies

it immediately to the west . The river takes its f “ ” name from the cli fs , Tulameen being a local

I ndian name meaning red earth . The rocks of

Vermilion cliffs contain many fossil p l ants . The sedimentary Oligocene rocks are overlaid a short distance west of Vermilion cli ffs by

volcanic ﬂows , and for the next three miles (4 - 8 exposures of the two formations can be seen in the cli ffs bordering the river and

in the railway cuttings . Turning a sharp bend are in the valley , the Tertiary rocks replaced

by Triassic rocks , consisting largely of volcanic onl a materials with y few sedimentary beds , and

these persist almost all the way to Tulameen .

These rocks are unfossiliferous , but from litho logical characteristics are correlated with Daw ’ son s Nicola series . Placer mining for gold and platinum was at one time carried on in Tulameen valley from

Princeton up to Champion creek , a distance of 2 8 miles (45 Some of the placers were 1 860 worked as early as , but it was not until the discovery of coarse gold in Granite creek 1 8 i n 85 that much interest was taken in them .

Granite creek , which enters Tulameen river

one mile below Coalmont , was the most pro d uctive stream , and the whole district at one time was the biggest producer of platinum on

the continent . Some payable ground still remains on the main river and on a few of i ts

southern tributaries , but the more easily worked depos—it s have long been exhausted . l m - oa on . 6 C t Alt ft . (74 7 Coal mont is a new town that has sprung u p within the last two years as the result of the develop ment of a coal basin on the southern side of

the river at that point . The b asin is of Oligo

cene age covering about 5 square miles , and contains a considerable quantity of coal much of 1 2 0

is which bituminous in character . The out crop of the coal seams lies at an elevation of

- 2 about feet (396 m . ) above Tu lameen

- river . The coal bearing rocks dip into the mountain side and rest on a ﬂoor of tilted

Triassic rocks . They are unconformably covered

in part by a ﬂow of olivine basalt . A tunnel

- has been driven feet (548 6—m . ) through Triassic rocks , and cuts the coal bearing rocks 00 2 1 at a depth of 7 feet ( 3 -3 m . ) below the

outcrop . — l m n - Tu a ee Alt . ft . (777 2 Four

- and a half miles (7 2 4 km . ) west of Coalmon t is the town of Tulameen situated at the j unction

of Otter and Tulameen valleys . From this point a subordinate excursion is made up Tulameen valley for the purpose of seeing

- some of the platinum bearing placers , and the original locality from which diamonds were ﬁrst

found in place in Canada .

G EOLO GY OF THE REG I ON AROUND TULAM EEN .

GENE RAL DESCRIPTION .

The Tulameen district is situated on the western border of the I nterior Plateau of B ritish Columbia , and a few is a miles east of the Hope M ountain range , which a p rt of the Cascade system . The district has , in the main , the general characteristics of plateau topography with a slightly greater el evation and vertical relief owing to its proximity to the Cascade mountains . The oldest rocks of the district consist of highly inclined green schists , andesites , limestones and argillites . These rocks are called the Tulameen series and are correlated ’ with Dawson s Nicola series which is Triassic in age . The Tulameen series is intruded by batholithic bodies of granite and granodiorite , as well as by a stock like mass made u p of peridotite , pyroxenite , and gabbro , which are transitional into each other . These rocks are all of Jurassic age . Overlying them unconformably are slightly inclined Oligocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks ,

1 2 2

which are themselves intruded by a body of Tertiary

- granite . The youngest rock in the district is a ﬂat lying

ﬂow of ol ivine basalt , covering a limited area to the south

east of Tulameen . The history of the region a s recorded in the rocks may be broadly summarized as follows : 1 ( ) Deposition of Triassic sediments and volcanics . ( 2 ) M ountain building and folding of the Tri assic

rocks .

( 3) B atholithic intrusion of granite , peridotite and

pyroxenite , and granodiorite in J urassic period .

(4) Laramide revolution .

(5 ) E ocene erosion period . 6 E ( ) xtrusion of lavas , followed by deposition of coal

bearing sediments in the Oligocene period .

(7 Batholithic intrusion of granite in M iocene period .

(8) E rosion period .

(9) Extrusion of olivine basalt . ( 1 0 ) Uplift of Cascade mount ains and I nterior Plateau

in Pliocene times , followed by deepening of valleys .

( 1 1 Glacial period .

1 2 - ( ) Post Glacial uplift , and deepening of upper portion f o Tulameen val ley .

A variety of mineral deposits are found in the rocks of the d istrict . The Triassic rocks contain veins and replacement

deposits of gold and copper . Segregations of magnetite n a d ch romite occur in pyroxenite and peridotite . The

peridotite also contains both platinum and diamonds ,

usually associated with the chromite segregations . Coals a re found in the sedimentary rocks of Oligocene age , and he placers of the district have yielded gold and pl atinum

in considerable amount .

M PLATINU PLACERS .

The principal streams in the district on which platinum bearing gravels have been found are : Tulameen river below Champion creek ; Slate creek ; Granite creek ;

- Newton creek . The gravels are post glacial in origin , a nd are found in the stream beds and on the Sides of the

- 2 valleys at elevations not greater than 2 5 0 feet (76 m . ) E above the streams . xcept in Tulameen river below Slate creek they are not of very great extent . All the payable

1 2 4

Chromite occurs i n the peridotite in short irregular

veins and in bunches , which are clearly segregations

developed in the magma during cooling . Analyses made

. A. . A. by M r . R J ohnston of the Geological Survey of some

of these chromite segregations , taken from the north slope

of Olivine mountain , yielded both platinum and diamonds

in variable amount . I n making the original analysis the

chromite was separated into two parts , a magnetic and

- - a non magnetic part . The non magnetic part yielded

. six three per cent of diamond , and the magnetic part per

cent .

The diamond product obtained disintegrated to a

powder Shortly after being released from the rock , and the disintegrated particles were found on examination under the microscope to be individual crystals . Studied in thin

sections , the diamonds were found to occupy small veinlets

traversing the chromite .

Since the discovery of diamonds in the solid rocks the gravels of Tulameen river have been carefully examined . Gravel taken from the river in the neighbourhood of Eagle creek was panned , and a large number of small diamonds obtained along with the black sand . Small rubies were al so found to be present .

Some prospecting for diamonds of commercial size is being carried on in the valley of Tulameen river , but up to the present the results have not been satisfactory

Some diamonds have been obtained , but the largest is ’ not bigger than a pin s head .

REFE RENCE S .

1 1 02 . Kemp , J . Bulletin No . 93 , 9

. S . C . 1 0 . s . . G Camsell , Charle Summary Report , 9 9 Platinum M ining in the Tulameen 1 District , Can . M in . I nst . Vol . 3 ,

1 9 1 0 . A new Diamond locality in the

E . Tulameen District . con . Geol

6 . 6 1 1 1 . Vol . , No , 9

1 2 6

ANNOTATE D GUI D E M il es and i e re K lo m t s . — ul am e - en . . T A—l t . ft (777 2 O tter Val l ey Between Tulameen on th e reat Northern railway and M erritt on the

n a 8 - Ca adian Paciﬁc , a dist nce of 53 miles ( 5 3 there is at present no railway connection and this portion of the route has to be made by

carriage . On leaving Tulameen the road runs northward i up Otter valley , sk rting the western shore of

Otter lake for a distance of three miles (4 8 km . ) in the course of which numerous exposures of a i Tertiary gran te are seen . Otter valley for

1 8 - 2 8 . miles ( 9 km ) or as far as the forks , is a

ﬂat - fairly broad , bottomed valley , showing evidence in its shape of having been occupied

by a valley glacier moving southward . I t i s

typical of a number of deep trench - like valleys that have been developed in the I nterior Plateau

region . The rocks , besides the granite already

mentioned , consist of Triassic schists , green

stones , and limestones extending as far as

Thynne creek , beyond which younger Tertiary

lava ﬂows overlie them . an on ou se—At C y H the forks of the valley , where the Canyon House is situated the valley

appears to end abruptly , but the road turns sharply to the east following a narrow gorge

for a few miles . I n this gorge narrow beds of

Tertiary sediments , which may be correlated ’ with Dawson s Tranquille beds , rest on top of f lavas and tu fs , and are covered conformably

by a thick ﬂow of columnar basalt . Leaving Otter creek the road mounts the western Slope of the valley to an elevation of

feet 3 m . ) where it is virtually at the

general level of the Interior Plateau . The main characteristics of the plateau are here well .

- 2 0 2 . seen , and for the next 5 miles (4 km ) the road continues across the upper levels of the O plateau running through an pen , rolling , park

like country , which in springtime is one of the

1 2 7

most beautiful parts of British Columbia . The O country is pen and grassy , or sparsely forested with large pines and dotted here and there with lakes and ponds : it is one of the best c attle raising districts in the Province . — - Asp en Grove Alt . ft . (9 75 3 a f Near Aspen Grove , ranch and post o ﬁce ,

- 2 0 2 . 5 miles (4 km ) from Merritt , the road again descends to Otter creek , which now a occupies a broad , sh llow trough , incised through Tertiary lavas into Triassic rocks which underlie them . On the east side of the valley are some native copper deposits , which occur as narrow

ﬁssure ﬁllings in the Tertiary lavas . Some mining has been done on these deposits , and a slab of native copper weighing 600 pounds is stated to have been obtained from one of th e mineral claims .

icol a al l e — N V y The highest point of the road , feet 8 above sea level is reached

- at an old lime kiln about nine miles ( 1 4 5 km . )

- 8 . from M erritt , three miles (4 km ) beyond which the road suddenly emerges from the forested country on to the O pen slope of Nicola valley . Here a most delightful view is obtain is ed , and one well rewarded by a stop of a few minutes to enj oy it . The bottom of the valley lies feet (45 7 2 m . ) below and several miles of its length can be seen from this point . Around and behind the shoulder of the hill to the north east lies the town of Nicola , situated at the west end of Nicola lake , and directly west where the valley of Coldwater river j oins that of Nicola river , can be seen the coal mines of

M iddlesboro and the town of Merritt , distant seven miles ( I I - 2 — er itt - r . 1 M Alt feet . (5 79 1 2 8

E THE RE AB ERR G OLO GY OF G I ON OUT M I TT .

GENE RAL DESCRI PTION .

The town of M erritt is situated in Nicola valley at the j unction of Coldwater river With the Nicola . The district lies in the I nterior Plateau region into which Nicola river has cut one of those deep , wide valleys , characteristic of the region . The bottom of the valley is about feet

. sea (5 79 m ) above level , while the surrounding country stands feet (45 7 higher . The country is open or only sparsely timbered , and the slopes , though often

m . steep , are generally covered by a thick antle of drift

re The oldest rocks of the district a of Triassic age , and belong to the Nicola series . They consist of folded and metamorphosed volcanic ﬂows , and some limestone and

- argillite . Unconformably above them are the coal bearing

Oligocene rocks which consist of sandstone , conglomerate , shale , and coal . These again are overlaid in places by more recent basaltic ﬂows .

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION .

The importance of the district about M erritt depends pri mari ly on the presence of Oligocene rocks containing bituminous coals . Like other Oligocene areas in B ritish Columbia the rocks about M erritt are believed to have been deposited in a lake basin and since elevated to their present position . The basin covers a superﬁcial area of about 40 square miles

1 0 s . ( 3 q . km ) all of which , however , does not appear to be underlaid by coal . The rocks consist of sandstones , shales , 1 0 and conglomerates , which dip at angles varying from to 40 degrees . I n places the strata have been folded into anticlines , and in others faulted and considerably displaced . They contain a variety of fossil plants from which their age has been determined . The best natural section of these rocks is that exposed was in Coal gully west of the town of M iddlesboro . This measured by G . M . Dawson of the Geological Survey of

1 8 - 8 1 Canada , and in his report of 77 7 [ ] he gives the follow ing section i n descending order

1 30

R EFERENCES .

1 . - . . . . 1 8 Dawson G M Geol Surv of Canada , 77 78 .

- . . a a . Geol Surv of C n da Vol . 7 , part

1 8 . B . 94

2 . E R . W . . a 1 . lls , Geol Surv of Canad , Vol . 6 p .

2 - 4 A. 1 904 .

3 . a Porter and Durley , Coals of Can da , Dept of M ines , 1 1 2 9 .

AN NOTATE D GU I D E M il es and r Kilo met es . — - M erritt Alt . ft . (5 79 1 Leaving Merritt on a branch of the Canadian Paciﬁc railway which connects with the main line at ’ Spence s Bridge , the course followed is west

ﬂ at - ward down he broad , bottomed valley of Nicol a rive—r . C ou tl ee The railway crosses Nicol a river about a mile beyond Merritt and C oyl e; passes through the small villages of C outl ee and Coyle , both of which

are situated on the Oligocene coal - bearing rocks

of the Coldwater series . Coyle is situated at the

mouth of Guichon creek , up whose valley to the northward the same rocks extend for

several miles . — C anf ord From this point downward to the Thompson river the prevailing rocks are lava

ﬂows of Tertiary age , with which , however , are associ ated narrow beds of coarse conglomerate ’ and sandstone belonging to Dawson s Tranquille

beds . Do t Below Dot the valley narrows and

Cl apperton its grade steepens . Cliffs of l white glacial silt and grave ,

weathering into fantastic shapes , are frequentl y ’ seen down as far as Spence s Bridge , where the

Nicola river j oins the Thompson . ’ 2 1 - 6 60 . Spenc e s Brid g% A1t . 7 ft ( 3 From Spence ’ s Bridge to Victoria Excu rsion

2 1 . . C , follows the route of C (See Part I I ,

Guide Book No . 1 3 1

KE A REVELSTO TO VI CTO R I .

From Revelstoke to Vancouver the route coi ncides with that of Excursion C 1 and a description of th i s

. 8 section is given in Guide book No , Part I I . The subordinate excursion to the Nanaimo coal ﬁeld , which diverges at Vancouver and rej oins the main excursion at

. 8 Victoria is also described i n Guide book No , Part

I I I .

VI CTOR IA , B RITI S H C OLUM B IA TO CAL GARY , E ALB RTA .

The east bound portion of C 2 Excursion follows as far as Calgary the same route as that taken in the west ward j ourney o f C 1 the guide to which is given in Part

I I of Guide Book No . 8 .

A E N CALG RY , ALB RTA , TO W I N I PE G , MAN ITOBA A A D VI GR N TRUNK PAC I FI C RAI LWAY .

D . B . DOW L ING .

CALGARY TO TOFI E LD .

ANNOTATED GUIDE .

1 12 al ar — 5 C g y Altitude ft . From 1 1531 2315 . c rossm i Calgary to the g of Red Deer r ver , the country i s underlain by sandstones of the Paska oo i p ser es of early Tertiary age . At

the crossing of the Red Deer , the outcrops show the basal beds of the Pa skapo o and the coal seams (measures) that mark the top of the E dmonton (Cretaceous) . This horizon is mark ed by a very persistent coal seam which is mined at interval s east of the railway along the Rose Kneehill Th reehill h o s in bud , , and G tp e creeks . a From Red Deer river ne rly to Battle river , — 3642 5 9 % 1 3 2

the same horizon is followed but the area is 125531 2318 . r drift covered and outc ops are rare . The valley of Battle river is eroded in the E shales and sandstones of the dmonton series . As Camrose is approached coal seams are again

in evidence , several of which underlie the

town . The country between Camrose and T o ﬁ eld is rolling and partly wooded . The coal seams

in this area are being mined in a small way , r where th—e ove burden of drift is thin . Toﬁ el d . 2 2 8 6 m Altitude 9 ft . ( 9 7 ) .

E E E E E TOFI LD , ALB RTA , TO T T JAUN ,

B RITISH COLUM B IA .

ANNOTATED GUIDE .

The area traversed by the railway be twee n T oﬁeld and Parkgate is u nderlain by the rock s E of the dmonton formation , with possibly a band of overlying Paskapoo which extends north wards and may cross the railway between J u n

kins and Leaman . Westwards , between Hinton t a th e and Parkga e , Cretaceous rocks lower th n

Edmonton may be found to outcrop . Through out this whole belt the strata in the eastern are t half but sligh ly inclined to the west , while in the western half they are practically

ho rizontal . The Edmonton formation consists of a series a of shales and s ndstones , often merely clays and

sands , deposited during the period of brackish water which succeeded the marine invasion of the central part of the continent during early and

- t mid Cretaceous times . The forma ion is very rich in coal seams denoting periods of abundant

- vegetation . The coal bearing beds o f the Edmonton formation are exposed over an area

of square miles . — m 6 . Toﬁ el d Altitude ft . ( 9 7 ) To the east and south of the j unction of the Calgary

E ! C R U S IO N C 2 .

L ub k r x av r l d a ec e e c a o T o ﬁ e C o . t , l Co

ea o ve o b e C oa C o . St m Sh l , D l l

r n a T o ﬁ e l d a . S t i ppi g c o l a t , A l t 1 35

M iles and tinue with slight westerly dip to the city itsel f . Kilo m etres . The seam has an average thickness of a lit tle over 5 feet ( 1 - 5 Between 1 5 and 2 0 feet

(4 5 to 6 m . ) below this seam there are evidences

- of another seam from 4 to 7 feet ( 1 2 to 2 I m . ) thick which may be distinct from that at

sub - Clover Bar . The coal is bituminous , and is suitable for domestic and power purposes

but requires care i n shipment and storage . Alluvial gold has for many years been washed a from the bars in the Saskatchewan , both bove

and below Edmonton . Gravel dredged from the bed of the river is used extensively in road u making . I n the washing and cr shing oper

ations a small amount of gold i s recovered daily . m — 2 W ab a un Altitude ft . (7 5 Westward to W ab amun the surface is gently rolling with an absence of outcrops of the under m n . W ab a un a d lying rocks Between Fallis , on W abamun the north shore of lake , the upper E part of the dmonton formation is exposed , th e outcropping shale including a seam of sub bituminous coal being reported to be from 1 8 to

- 2 2 feet (5 4 to 6 6 m . ) thick with a small parting

in the centre of the seam .

a inf rd— 2 G o Altitude ft . (74 The coal seam outcropping on W ab amun lake dips to the west and is mined a t Gainford at a depth of 1 38 feet (42 m) at which point it was found to have a thickness of 1 0 feet (3 - 04 En twistl eh Al i f 2 t tud e t. (78 The

valley of Pembina river , which is crossed at

is 1 00 0 In . this point , about feet (3 ) deep . A 1 0 foot (3 m . ) seam of coal outcrops near the u E n bottom of the valley , while pstream from t wistle several other exposures Show much 2 thicker seams , one of which is stated to be 6

- n feet ( 7 8 m . ) thick . These seams belo g to the E upper horizon of the dmonton , in which coal is found in almost continuous beds from this

point to Crowfoot , on the main line of the a 2 Canadian Paciﬁc railway , a dist nce of 45 miles (39 0 1 3 6 M il es and r Kil o m et es .

ickerd ike— B Al titude ft . (948 A branch railway from this point runs south to the headwaters of E mbarras and Little Pembina th e rivers , wh ere coal seams of the Edmomto n formation are brought to the surface in the

outer foothills . M ines are there in opera tion and are the forerunners of others to be opened

later on the very rich measures of the B razeau ,

which occur nearer the mountains . This ﬁeld and its extension northward contains a very

large reserve of both coking and steam coal . Other industries dependent on the transpor tation facilities afforded by the railway include a 8 cement factory , situated at M arlborough ,

- 1 2 . miles ( 8 km ) west of Bickerdike . The material s used are marl from a lake basin and

cl ay from a nearby sedimentary deposit . d— Obe Altitude ft . Surface deposits of this vicinity Show erratics derived from the moun tains to the west and possibly

also from an eastern source , the latter , perhaps , having been transported westward by the Kee

watin glacier . The elevation of the railway at

this point is only 2 00 feet (6 1 m . ) below that

of the divide in the pass across the mountains . i — H nton Altitude ft . the north can be seen the valley of Athabaska river

ﬂ anked by terraces , on one of which the railway E has been built . The rocks of the dmonton a a t series , which to the e st of this point dip low

angles , or lie nearly ﬂat , here have an easterly

dip . Westward this dip increases and the strata become folded and faulted to such an extent that the region has been termed the “ disturbed

belt of the foothills .

— - Brul é l ak e For about six miles (9 6 km . ) the railway follows the eastern shore of Brul é a lake , which is a sh llow basin gradually being silted up by the detritus carried down from the

mountains by the Athabaska river . Inside the mountains other portions of the valley show the completion of this process of silting u p and

the incision of a channel across the b asins .

I S7

‘es and The ﬁrst or outer range of the Rocky moun $o metres . tai ns stands out promi nently on the western u side of B r l e lake , and the structure there dis played is that o f an overthrust block of Devonian

limestone superposed on Lower Cretaceous .

K M ROC Y OUNTAINS .

The fault block system of mountain building observed in the southern sections of the Rocky mountains is modiﬁed in this section by the substitution of sharp folding for minor t faulting , and the blocks between the maj or faul s show

complex folds in the beds and are much wider . Two large

blocks , whose elevated eastern edges form Roche M iette t and Bulrush moun ain , exhibit this folding , while the valley depression between the two is underlain by Lower Cre

taceo us rocks containing coal . M ines are being established

on both sides of the valley . The lowest rocks outcropping here are of Cambrian age and underlie a series of sediments capped by fossiliferous Devonian limestone , which is exposed in the cliff of Roche M iette . The Cambrian rocks are disposed in a yellow band near the fa ul t line which separates th e lower rocks from the Cretaceous . The ucceedin u t g fa lt blocks are til ed , but not folded , and in that respect resemble the mountains to the south . The stru ctural section of the mountains on the Athabaska shows a modiﬁcation in the outer ranges of the fault

block system exhibited on the southern passes . The outer blocks have been deformed by sharp folds , which when traced southward develop into faults , and separate the block into several smaller blocks . Two of the blocks

showing this contortion are seen from Pocahontas station . The eastern one of these has its uplifted edge fronting to the Brulé : east on lake the second forms Roche M iette , the depressed edge being beneath the valley of Rocky and

Stony rivers . Cretaceous beds are found at the back of the ﬁrst block ; some of these beds may also remain on the second , but they are masked by the great deposit of detrital matter in the two valleys mentioned . The rocks forming these blocks include a series of sedi ments ranging in age from Lower Cretaceous downward to

Upper Cambrian , all in apparent conformity . The lowest sediments are at the base of the second block . The character of these beds is outlined below

1 40

ANNOTATED GUIDE . (Continued ) M iles a nd r Kilo met es .

cah on — Po ta s Al titude ft . This station is Opposite the Cretaceous portion a of the outer f ult block mentioned above .

The Cretaceous beds , however , are not wel l n exposed . A co glomerate band is easily traced r is on the opposite bank of the iver , where it

seen in the fold which traverses the coal ﬁeld . The coal seams here are above the conglomerate band and are mined in the western trough at

this station . The mine entry is on the strike

1 - of a 0 foot (3 m . ) seam . — Fitzh u h Th e g Al ti tude ft . mountains between Rocky and S noring rivers are of the block type and are built of Devoni an of and Carboniferous limestone . The line fault separating the younger ranges from a wide block which has evidently suffered a much u n greater pthrust , is passed before reachi g a Fitzhugh , new town on the site of an old trading post established by the Northwest Trading Company in 1 88 1 but long since

abandoned . The throw of this fault is measured t s in housands of feet , Since the highest bed remaining in this block were beneath the lime f to stone o the outer ranges . The structure the west is somewhat similar to that at th e

summit on the Kicking Hors e pass to the south . The valley of M iette river is denuded on th e

line of a local sharp fold or break .

el l h e — f Y o w ad Altitude t. The rocks exposed along th e M ie tte river

are a coarse quar tzite and ﬁne - grained c ongl omer

ates , which have been in places squeezed out

to show schistose structure . Interbedded with n a these are gree ish grey slates , and beneath , few small exposures show dark argillites and

- thin bedded calcareous sandstones .

Yellowhead mountain to the north shows , above the conglomera tes and quartzites of the

1 42

34 0 a t 5 31 lower s pes , a series of yellowish we hering 14 5 2325 . 1 crystall i ne dolom i tes wh i ch probably represent the Castle mountain series of the Laggan

section to the south . Fraser river is incised in the rocks of the low er

part of these Cambrian sediments , and the mountains to the west seem to have li ttle of th e upper series on their summi ts . The structure of the mountains at the watershed is that of a shallow syncline of the coarse grained siliceous t m 1 de rital atter , their lower s 0 pes showing ﬁner t R grained deposi s of the Bow iver series , While their summits preserve the dolomites of the

Cas tle M ountain series . ount Ro son station—A M b ltitude ft .

(947 Mount Robson , viewed from the

Fraser valley , towers high above the neighbour I s n ing mountains . t beds are ﬂat lying a d show

a section of nearly feet of stra ta . These strata form the subj ect of a special enquiry

t . by C . D . Walco—t of the Smithsonian I nstitution n 1 - Tete J au e Altitude ft . (73 5

E E TOFI LD TO WI NN I P G .

I NTRODUCTION .

2 T o ﬁeld is 75 miles km . ) west of Winnipeg and stands at an elevation of feet (69 7 m . ) above sea level .

' Between T o ﬁe ld and Winnipeg the railway traverse s a rolling or level prairie country underlain by horizontal or gen tly inclined Cretaceous and Pal aeozoic rocks . The following are the formations represented :

Edmonton series .

Cretaceous Belly River series .

Pierre sh ales .

Devonian .

Silurian .

Ordovician . The country generally is so cove red b y a veneer of glacial drift that accurate boundaries between geologica l E t r series can rarely be laid down . The dmon on se ies ex

1 44

as . tends as far east Ryley From this point to Oban , the country is underlain by the Belly River series . The Eagle vi crni t hills in the y of Oban , may be topped by a slight thickness of Terti ary rocks . The Pierre shales extend from

Oban to east of Caye . They are subdivided into the a upper or Odan h and the lower or M illwood shales , the latter being very fossiliferous in the vicinity of Uno .

From Caye station eastward to Winnipeg and beyond , re the Devonian , Silurian and Ordovician rocks a buried under the silts forming the bottom of glacial Lake Agassiz . Between the east border of the E agle hills and Young station , the railway traverses the bottom of glacial Lake

a . Saskatchewan , a probable contempor ry of Lake Agassiz

The lake was comparatively short lived , as evidenced by the absence of well marked terraces or beaches .

ANNOTATED GUIDE . M iles and i K lom etres . l — ﬁ e d . 6 To Altitude ft ( 9 7 m ) . The Edmonton series of clays dips to the west and

may extend east to Ryley . Beyond Ryley the surface is covered by drift containing consider able sand derived from the Belly River series

probably exposed east of Bruce . l — 6 Ph i l ips Altitude ft . ( 95 Just east of Phillips the cuttings in the drift indicate

the underlying sandy deposits . From here to i a Kinsella , boulder clay predom n tes , and the

surface of the country is irregularly hilly . — 6 Ha wkins Alti tude ft . ( 47 Several heavy cuts on the north side of Grattan creek show a section in the Belly River series

consisting , in descending series , of light yellow sandstones With occasional brown streaks con taining plant remains accompanied in some

places by thin seams of lignite , greyish green

shaly sands with brown ironstone nodules . I n a the valley of Battle river , harder sandstone outcrops at a lower horizon and forms a slight

bench on both sides of the valley . — 6 W ain wrigh t Altitude ft . ( 73 The underlying rocks are mostly of a sandy

nature similar to those at Ba ttle River crossing .

1 46

M il es and The surface drift is consequently sandy in char Kil o m etres . and u acter , tr e sections are not seen until

Manitou lake is reached . South of the track at Wainwrigh t the Canadi an government has reserved nearly 1 44 square miles hectares) for the maintenance of a herd of bison ( 1 9 1 2 )

commonly known as buff alo . The experiment appears to be successful and the herd is increas 2 2 0 1 1 ing ; calves are reported for 9 2 . 6 1 Z m — 8 . u ro m b Altitude ft . (62 5 994 - 4 km Between Zumbro and Yonker the railway

follows the south shore of M anitou lake . The cut banks seen in the distance consist of the light coloured sands of the upper portion of

the Belly River series . The basin is par t of a former drainage channel into which severa l

minor channels converge . i — 8 . n t 6 6 5 5 m U y Altitude ft . ( 3 From 1 a 94 km . Vera to Unity the railw y traverses an old

channel leading to M anitou lake , narrowing to

Unity , where the general prairie level is gained . The plateau marks the approximate top of the i Belly R ver series , the terrace lying to the north

being probably underl ain by Pierre shales . From Unity the railway runs along the foot of a slight escarpment which marks the

northern edge of the Belly River rocks , that occasional cuts Show to consist mostly of yellow s—ands . 6 1 11 . 660 5 9 S co tt Altitude ft . ( ) South

1 - 9 5 5 km . of Scott an old drainage channel marks the extreme end of the E agle Hill creek drainage E basin . astwards between Reford and Cob lentz the cuttings show heavy deposits of boulder

clay . — 6 6 Oban Altitude ft . ( 4 Two

- 2 k miles (3 km . ) west of Oban dar shales outcrop and probably lie above the Belly

River . From Oban eastwards to M ead , the country is rolling and constitutes the Eagle

Hill belt , possibly underlain by Tertiary rocks . East of M ead the surface is very uniform and is underlain by sandy shales which suggest a 1 47

M il es and light veneer of lower Tertiary continuing for Kil o m etre s . some distance to the east . This plain is sup

posed to have been a glacial lake basin , known

as Lake Saskatchewan , occupying part of the valleys of the North and South Saska tchewan and blocked or dammed to the northeast by

the retreating Keewatin ice sheet . The exist

ence of this lake , as inferred from the silts a covering the surface , was not of long dur tion ,

since no strongly marked beaches are apparent . Mi lepost 478 marks the western edge of the ﬂat country west of the Saskatchewan valley and may also mark the western limit of the glacial lake a—t its lowest stage in this latitude . S aska toon . 0 467 m . Altitude ft (5 7

- 75 1 4 km . Saskatoon is situated on both sides of the E Saskatchewan valley . astwards to Young , the country is ﬂat with little evidence to show

the ch aracter of the underlying rocks . The few cuttings Show sandy clay with very few

boulders . n — 2 o u . 2 4 2 2 m . Y g Altitude ft (5 Near t a a 6 79 km . the s ation there ppe rs to be a possible outlet valley to the southeast for the glacial Lake

Saskatchewan . This valley appears to j oin the

deep valley occ upied by Lost M ountain lake , ’ l e which is a tributary of the Q u Appel . The difference in elevation between Young and

1 - Lost M ountain lake is 1 8 feet (35 8 m . ) and if the drainage was southwards at any time it was of short duration otherwise it would be expected th at the valley of Lost M ountain would have deepened itself further to the

north . The deep valley of the trib utary of the ’ Q u Appell e lying west of the foo t of Lost M ountain lake and extending to the el bow of

the South Saskatchewan , marks the old main channel of the latter river when it ﬂowed east ’ wards through the length o f the present Q u Ap pelle valley .— 0 8 . atrous 8 1 . 4 m W Altitude I , 7 ft (543 The 6 6 5 km . position of the front of the Keewatin ice sheet during a pause or a series of advances and — 3642 5 I o% 1 48

1 ’ betweenYoun a nd W r retreats is indicated g at ouS , 12553 313 . a distance of 1 4 miles (2 2 - 4 by a series

of morainic hills o f boulder clay of drumlin - like

form with a trend to the northeast . — em ans 62 S Altitude ft . (5 At Semans the bare pl ains are left behind and hilly

country is entered which is fairly well wooded . The surface veneer is more or less of boulder clay

and is rather thin . At Punnich y 2 0 miles

2 . (3 km ) to the east , the exposures appear to be the top of the Pierre Sh ales or the Foxhill from the yellow sandy clays which outcrop near

Touchwood station . Just west of Touchwood , the railway follows a series of lake basins th at a appear to be in n old and abandoned valley .

The country is fairly open to M elville . l — ron . Wa d Alt ft . (530 Waldron lies near the edge of the wooded country which the railway enters i n part and in part follows

the sou thern edge . Welby is the last sta tion in Saskatchewan and is situated on the plateau ’ l above the Q u Appe l e . From here the line des cend s along the side of the valley to the bottom land of the Assiniboine river passing Lazare

at the conﬂuence of the two streams . — 2 Uno Altitude ft . (4 7 One mile

- 1 6 . t ( km ) east of Uno sta ion , the M illwood shales outcrop along the side of the Assiniboine valley and continue east to the crossing of

. are B irdtail creek The shales dark . grey in colour with ironstone nodules referred to the “ lower part of the Pierre .

The fossiliferous beds contain Baculites com a s P teria lin ui ormis I noceramus tenuili press , g f , n tu I noceramus sa ensis Nucula L ucina ea s, g , , ntali E utalis au ercul a S ca hites nodo occide s, p p , p sus H l obiites cretaceus 1 , y and some 5 species of

Radiol aria . — Arro w River A short distance east of the s ta tion several cuttings S how a l ight grey sh a le

which is probably the Od anah .

f n l 8 - 1 2 1 E a e B rv C a . Vo . V 1 0 . . rr . . eo . . o Ty ll , J , G l Su , , 9 9 , p 3

1 5 0

KE EWATIN AND L OW E R HURONI AN

This oldest group is a highly metamorphosed complex consisting of a variety of acid and basic eruptives and minor amounts of banded iron formation (Keewatin) ; and a t younger sedimentary series of conglomera e , greywacke , slate with local iron formation phases , and associated h eruptives (Lower Huronian) . These av z endu red a t least one orogenic disturbance which folded them and con verted them into highly inclined schists . Granite batho liths , which were intruded at probably the same period , h ave further metamorphosed them near their contacts to c t rystalline , hornblende gneisses , amphibolites , mica schis s ,

e tc . But , away from the batholithic contacts , where m h as t etamorphism been less in ense , the ellipsoidal , a r mygdaloidal , and other st uctures of the Keewatin volcanics and the stratifica tion of the Huronian sediments r a e still sometimes recognizable . An unconformity exists u so between the Keewatin and Lower H ronian , but pro foundly has it been modified by these me tamorphic ch anges that its importance can not be satisfactorily es timated ; i n fact it is usually difficult to recognize . I n la ter Pre

Cambrian time , protracted erosion unroofed the granite batholi ths and removed all excep t the synclinal portions of this folded Keewa tin - Lower Huronian group leaving i t d istributed much as it is today [7 and

L AURE NTIAN .

This term is applied broadly to all granites and gneisses

n . t n i the region As indica ed in th e diagram , the Keewati th e Lower Huronian areas form a rude meshwork , inter re t s paces of which a occupied by more or less dis inct , oval r a eas of gneiss and granite , that probably represent indi vidual batholithic domes . These rocks are dominantl y o g ranodiorites , though granites and syenites are als a present . A gneissic texture is more common than gra nitic . one , particularly in granodiorite facies Also , near

- c ontacts with the Keewatin Lower Huronian complex , the gneiss contains a varying quan tity of these older m aterials wh ich have been stoped off and ﬂoated out into t h e granite magma while th e latter was still plastic . The d is tribution and character of these inclusions would imply t hat the gneissic structure of the enclosing rock also was

l i t- Gu n ‘ ﬁ ﬂ d a v

O r v - _ v

! ﬁ s h !“ I a n

u s e! a “ t m

t. c M b m u l a w In !” . 1

c u r-( J a r h i it

“ I f a n arc h - n i nth h

0 | vh l l h l a l l 0 6 a l s o and ( h

o n ml c a n can

‘C ‘O m l b KC! a

Ga n-l ; h o l l Cm t )

i n t m ain't - u ni

ta l a ' i t to l In h ter Pre in ﬁ l ! to m ain . a d c u n ma r 31: f a N ti l l i m !m i ! portions of

N “a l l Km : o l

d a t hum !mo t h a

VTM S .

neisse u i. fem n appl u i v to all granites and g s m the ! g um An n- 1 :

I n“ Nunmia n a rr . l

q u a ul n hh h an i u

a re .“ i f g m “ a n d g m ! dua l l u l hoh th ic dc r

' u md mn t a ho l r r g r . i ug g l s M . A gne is ic u m nitic o ne . pa rticula rl y n a t t rac t s with the Km: the gne iss c onta ins a va r ma te ria ls whic h h a ve l e n the g ra nite ma g ma wh f th d t ‘ ' is rib utio n a nd c ha rac t. 0 th a t th e g ne iss ic s truc t te r

1 5 1

in l developed du ring a s ta te of plas ticity . Som e of the c u

sions re tain their angular shapes , some are rounded , and others have been drawn out in to thin ribbons by magmatic

movements . They are always notably crystalline , being i n a . chieﬂy hor blende gneiss , mphibolite , or biotite gne ss The “ transition zone ” thus developed i n the Laurentian near its contacts with the older rocks varies in width from

a few yards to ﬁve miles ( 8 km . ) and merges by reduction

of the inclusions into ordinary Laurentian gneiss .

KE VVE E NAW AN .

Near Lake Nipigon th e greatly dissected Keewatin Lower Huronian and Laurentian su rface is uncon formably overlain by a sedimentary series consisting of a th in b asal a u conglomerate , s ndstone , and impure ferr gi nous dolomite . Th e dolomite is usually brigh t red in colour and contains

disseminated gypsum and traces of salt crystal casts . a e These formations , which are Keweenawan in g , are

- almost ﬂat laying and little metamorphosed . They have been intruded by somewha t later dykes and thick sills

o f diabase simil ar to the ore - bearing diabases of Cobalt district and the south shore of Lake Superior [7

ORD OV ICIAN .

The eroded Laurentian surface of the western part of the region is also unconformably overlain by undisturbed sandstone and impure limestone of Ordovician age

PLEI STOCENE .

All of the preceding solid rocks are glaci ated and are a overlain by thin mantle of unconsolidated gravel , sand , u d boulders and bo l er clay , materials which were laid down a in associ tion _ with the Pleistocene continental glaciers . These gl acial and ﬂuvio - glacial deposits are in turn over lain , by stratiﬁed clay , sand and gravel deposited in the a n previously mentioned gl cial lakes , Agassiz , Warren a d

Oj ibway . All three of these lakes are believed to have n bee dammed on the north by the waning ice sheet . Lake Agassiz was a vast body of water which extended throughout nearly the whole of southern M anitoba as well as the adj acent portion of M innesota , North D akota , 1 5 2

a M anitob and Saskatchewan . The total area covered by the l ake during the various stages of its existence has been estimated to have been not less than squa re miles sq . The deposits laid down in the deeper parts of the lake consist of a thin layer of clayey a silt but along the shore , gr vel and sand were built up to — — a thickness o f in some of the deltas 5 0 to 2 00 feet 2 ( 1 5 to 60 m . ) [ 0;

The post - glacial deposits around Lake Nipigon

were laid down in Lake Warren , the largest of th e lakes which occupied the upper part of the S t . L aw rence basin h r following t e retreat of the Lab adorean ice shee t . A northern bay of this lake covered a wide area of country in i i on t the vicinity of Lake N pg . The deposi s from this bay of Lake Warren are found along the ra ilway between Wagam Ombabika 0 8 ing and bay , a distance of 3 miles (4 They consist of stratiﬁed sand underlain by clay and have a

thickness of approximately 1 00 feet (30 m . ) (6) (1 4)

The third area of lacustrine deposits traversed by the a a railw y , were laid down from lake which lay for the most p art in th e southern part of the J ames Bay basin but a lso

- extended across the St . Lawrence Hudson Bay divide

into the Ottawa basin , for , in northwestern Q uebec , the lacustrine cl ays have been traced continuously from Lake

Timiskaming to points north of the divide . For this body of water the name Lake Oj ibway has been suggested by no t AP . Coleman . The areal extent of its deposits have yet been precisely ascertained bu t they are known to occur throughout an area of a t least square miles

sq . They occur almost continuously along the National Transcontinental railway from the crossing of the Kenogami river to Cochrane a distance of 3 2 0 miles (5 1 5 and to the ea—stward of Coch rane for a distance of 2 1 0 miles (35 0 a total extent from east to west along the railway of 5 30 miles ( 85 3 km) They consist largely of unifo rmily stratiﬁed clays or clay and sand and for that reason the region throughout which they “ ” occur is known generally as the clay belt . Their thick ness is nowhere very great the maximum recorded in th e cuts along the National Transcontinental railway being only 2 6 2 3 1 0 1 1 1 3 26 feet [r, , , 5 , , , , ,

1 5 4

M es and il - (3 to 1 2 m . ) of black vegetable mould over Kil o m etre s . lyi poorly assorted , boulder clay or yellow mung Red river is crossed at the outskirts of Winnipeg . — ranscona 2 1 - 1 T Altitude 75 8 ft . ( 3 Th e workshops and terminal yards of th e Grand a Trunk Pa—ciﬁc railw y are situated at Transcona . - ivian - - 1 o . 8 1 2 1 3 m V Altitude 9 5 ft . ( 7 8 Th e

- 49 6 km . monotonous ﬂatness of the prairie is broken

ﬂat - j ust west of Vivian by a low , topped ridge th rough wh ich th e railway h as made a cut

- 1 2 . 1 0 feet (3 9 m ) deep and 5 feet (45 m . ) long . The gravel and sand composing th is ridge are

- cross bedded , and th e larger pebbles h ave the a the ﬂ ttened shapes of beach shingle . Wh ile it h as not been more carefully investigated and its extent north and south of the railway is uh

known , th is ridge is though t to be an old Lake

Agassiz beach . — - m - . 2 80 5 6 2 m El a Altitude 9 2 1 ft . ( 9 The

- 89 9 km . ﬁrst outcrop of Laurentian gneiss is seen j ust

6 . west of m—ilepost 5 - m . 6 5 3 H octor Altitude 999 ft . (3 04 7 Between

- 6 1 04 5 km . milepost 0 and Hoctor the ﬂat alluvial lake

bottom gives place to th e rocky Pre - Cambrian

region . Low masses of rock protrude more and more frequently through the ﬂat swamps

and muskegs , and occasional lakes , so charac

te ristic - a feature of th e Pre Cambrian region ,

appear . The rocks exposed h ere and for the

the next 1 65 miles ( 2 74 km . ) are all Laurentian gneisses or “ transition zone ” mixtures of

Laurentian gneiss and Keewatin inclusions . The Canadian Paciﬁc railway is crossed at

- - 6 . 65 miles ( 1 0 km . ) east of milepost 9

' 9 9 3 m M al ach i ft . (330 Between White

8 - 1 . 5 9 km and M alach i , the gneiss contains a large pro portion of Keewatin inclusions ranging in

form from angu lar blocks to slender ribbons . From milepost 80 to milepost 84 the proportion of Keewatin material (hornblende gneiss) in creases to 75 per cent and is traversed only by dykes and stringers of Laurentian granite and

1 5 5

M il es and pegmatite . The various stages in magmatic Kilo m etres . stoping are well illustrated in th is interval . — - - 6 inaki . 1 1 1 5 2 m . M Al titude ft (3 9 Win

- i e 1 84 3 km . n p g river , the largest stream crossed by th i s a t section of the r ilway , is crossed j ust eas of milepost 1 —1 5 . - - B ed d itt . 2 6 6 e 1 2 9 4 m . R Altitude ft (3 1 1 2 2 0 7 km . tween milepost 49 and 5 th e gneiss h as been sliced into thin parallel plates from an inch

- 2 . 1 . ( 5 cm ) to several feet ( m ) in th ickness , apparently as—a result of yielding to stresses . - - M c Intosh . 1 68 9 m . Altitude ft (3 74 5

- 1 1 6 2 7 1 9 km . From milepost 54 to milepost 9 the railway C a ﬁ o a follows th e south shore of n lake , typical example of the rocky lakes ch aracteristic of th e

- is Pre Cambrian region . Th e country here unusually rugged and a number of short tun nels occur—on th e railway . ' i l l - 2 u e . I 77 4 m . Q b Altitude ft (35 9 Dur

- i 2 83 8 km . ing Glacial time portions of Wabigoon R ver valley were probably ponded and received de posits o f stratiﬁed clay similar to those laid

down in the larger glacial lakes . This lacustrine deposit ﬁrst appears on the ra ilway near mile 1 2 post 7 , where the boulder clay changes in

somewh at transitional manner to stratiﬁed clay . From th is point to milepost 1 85 th e ﬁnely laminated clay i s almost continuous ; between mile posts 1 75 and 1 8 1 it forms a comparatively

level plain , resembling , on a small scale , the prairie reg—ion of th e west . 6 - 1 11 i h - 2 0 . c n 1 4 R a Altitude ft . (39 9 L au

- 2 3 30 km . rentian gneiss is again abundantly exposed from the eastern edge of this clay deposit to milepost 2 2 4 , where it becomes obscured by glacial ma

terial s .

- - 2 At 4 mile 6 km . ) e ast of milepost 2 3 a deep cut h as been made in a hill of imperfectly

stratiﬁed sand and gravel .

- - 2 1 . W e s er 6 3 7 m b t ft . (37 3 Between

0 - 4 7 7 km . mileposts 2 1 7 and 2 34 the route skirts the northern margin of a terminal moraine and

outwash deposit which extends southward . The country north of the railway is scantily clad 1 5 6

M il e s and with soil . As the train approaches milepost 2 32 Kilo m etres . a good view is obtained of an esker - like ridge laid down apparently by a southward ﬂowing

englacial stream . The forest in this vicinity

ﬁ re - has been swept , and the sinuous course of the ridge may be easily observed for nearly a

mile to the north . Farthest away it is a low

ridge of coarse boulders , but , approaching th e

railway , it grades successively into gravel and

sand , becoming higher and broader at the same

time . Where the railway cuts th rough it to a depth of 40 feet ( 1 2 - 2 it consists of con

vex l and - y bedded cross bedded sands , through r wh ich a e scattered occasional large boulders . South of the track it merges into the terminal

moraine already mentioned . The course of this glacial stream was evidently independent

a - of th e topogr phy of th e ice covered country , for the deposi t wh ich marks it winds up a steep t a slope to the railway . A small ke tle l ke on the south side of the railway can be seen from

the same point .

Sch is ts of the Keewatin - Lower Huroni an 2 group are seen ﬁrst near milepost 2 36 . For 9

- 6 . miles (4 4 km ) eastward from this point , the railway runs near the no rthern margin of a large u area of these rocks , crossing at irreg lar inter a are vals tongues of L urentian , wh ich intrusive

into it from the north . But , for most of th is

re . distance , th e rocks a poorly exposed Intrusive dykes and tongues of granite are especially common between mileposts 2 36 and 2 n 5 0 . Ordinarily the Laurentian is stro gly

gneissic at its contacts wi th the Keewatin , and includes a large propor tion of fragments of the

older formation . Less frequently the magma seems to have been more ﬂuid and c rystallized

as massive granite , nearly free from xenolith s . Th e contacts in this vicinity are of the latter

- - 2 . type . At 5 mile 4 km ) east of mile 2 post 49 , for example , granite is in sharp con

tact with an overarch ing ch loritic sch ist . The grani te in th is and similar cases approximates more or less closely in composition to a true

I S7

M e nd il s a granite ; a granodioritic composition appears to Kilo m etre s . be more characteris tic of gneissic ph ases of the

Laurentian , wh ich contain partly assimilated

Keewatin inclusions . The spur leading southward from the main line near Pelican connects with a mine on

Vermilion lake , where a large vein of pyrite is being develo—ped . - - G rah am . 62 6 2 5 2 111 . Altitude 4 ft (3

- 2 403 km . Between Graham and Superior the schists are covered by stratiﬁed clay similiar to that seen in Wabigoon valley and probably laid down in

a former expansion of S turgeon river . The rocky banks farther upstream Show numerous large potholes from 1 0 to 1 5 fee t (3 5 metres) th e above the present level of river , indicating its former volume to have been much l arger

than the present one . A narrow belt of closely folded Lower Huronian conglomera te and grey

wacke follows th e course of Sturgeon river , but is t h idden beneath the s ratiﬁed clay , where the railway cros—ses the river j us t west of Superior . - - 2 8 . 62 5 4 m S up erior Altitude ft . (3 9

1 - 4 3 4 km . Keewatin sch ists give place to the Laurentian

gneiss near Ro snel . Keewatin rocks are once — more traver - - 2 6 1 1 1 . Ro n l s m . s e . ed 7 9 Alt ft . (359 9 ) in th e

- 4 2 8 6 km . next 5 1 miles (8 1 - 6 but there is little of geologica l in terest to be seen i n this distance . At the

a - - - Laurenti n Keewatin contact , 3 7 miles (5 9

km . ) east of Staunton , the schists are derived from acid eru ptives and exh ibit much less con tact metamorph ic effects th an is the case with basic materials where so close to th e Laurentian u intr sives .

- 1 The greatest elevation ft . 444 on the railway between Winnipeg and Lake

- Nipigon is attained 3 miles (4 8 km . ) east of

Bucke .

- L 1 2 B k - - . 2 3 4 m uc e Altitude ft . (4 7 3 The

- 499 8 km . ﬁrst erosion remnant of Keweenawan diabase

- 2 a . is passed miles (3 2 km . ) east of H rvey Such vestiges of diabase sills become larger and 1 5 8

M iles and more numerous as the main Keweenawan area Kilo m etres .

around Lake Nipigon is approached . They have a pronounced columnar and parallel

j ointing , which gives rise in them to a much more precipitous relief than is seen in th e

Laurentian . 111 l l en a ter— t . A W Al itude ft .

- 8 . ri 5 35 km Between Kawa and Allen Water ver , th e gneiss contains numerous angular and ribbon

like inclusions of hornblende gneiss , derived

from the Keewatin .

2 - About a mile and a half ( 4 km . ) west of a m a Kawa , Keweenawan di base y be seen lying U A . t directly pon Laurentian gneiss this point , a f of on the north side of the railway , cli f diabase rises abruptly from a compara tively r ﬂat Laurentian ﬂoo . — - ki - 2 o ft . 88 2 3 6 4 m . Og Altitude (3 From

- t h h 8 . as t e 5 79 km Cameo to Ogoki the fores been burned , t th gneiss is almos completely bare of soil , and e

- i Country is excessively bleak look ng . Between

Kawa and J acobs , however , a number of con S picuous gravel h ills rise directly from this bare

rock surface . The precipitous topography ch aracteristi c of the Keweenawan sills is exempliﬁed between th e J acobs and Ogoki , where railway skirts a

small but rugged canyon carved in this formation . — m n - Ar stro f . 3 9 1 m . g Altitude t (339 4

2 - 6 a t 6 5 km . Th e Laurentian gneiss disappe rs under a man le

- of boulder clay four miles (6 4 km . ) east of

Armstrong and , from this point to Lake

Nipigon , solid rocks are infrequently exposed .

Low sand h ills and muskegs , intersected by

sluggish creeks , take the place of the hummocky

- rock surface and rock bound lakes . Near W agaming the boulder clay merges into a comparatively ﬂat plain underlain by th e

stra tiﬁed sand and clay of glacial Lake Warren . There are few excavations a long the railway in wh ich these lacustrine deposits are favourably

exposed , but natural sections are exposed by

the streams ﬂowing toward Lake Nipigon , wh ich are rapidly deepening their channels

I S9

M es and il toward the underlying Pre - Cambrian rock Kilo m etres .

surfaces . J ust west of Willet , Mud river .

- 0 ft . 2 h as cu t 60 altitude 9 4 , ( 75 5 m a channel

- feet ( 1 7 8 m . ) deep in stratiﬁed silt and clay .

— - 2 8 . Ferl and 0 . 42 1 m . Altitude 9 7 ft ( 9 5 m ) Th e

- 673 6 km . only important rock exposure in th is vicinity i s a a mon dnock like hill of Keweenawan diabase ,

known as Haystack mountain , wh ich proj ects

th rough the lacustrine deposits near Willet .

AN NOTATE D GUI D E—(Continued )

A . G . B URROWS .

Between Lake Nipigon and I roquoi s Falls th e underlying bed rock is largely covered by glacial

- and post glacial deposits . The number of

outcrops , however , h ave been considerably increased by excavations made during the con

struction of the railways . The solid rocks outcropping between Lake Nipigon and I roquois Falls consist chieﬂy of

biotite and hornblende granite , granodiorite

and diorite . These are all more or less foliated and frequently intruded by numerous dykes of

pegmatite and aplite . They belong to the pre

Cambrian granite - diorite complex generally

called Laurentian . — ki i - 1 6 . Pi t u h i ri er 4 m g s v Altitude 89 8 4 f t.

- 660 km . (2 72 4 Two miles eas t of the crossing

- of Pikitigushi (M ud) river there is a N . S . 1 2 5 m . trending ridge of Keweenawan diabase wh ich 6 34 km . continues southward to form a very prominent i i on peninsula on the north shore of Lake N pg , i known as North Omb ab ka .

Th e mil es and kil om etres given u nd er di stri cts refer to th e di sta nce f rom th e ea sterl y limit of th e sud V iSio ns i nto w hic h th e cou ntry a l ong th e N a ti ona l T ransc onti nenta l w a s v e for e n in r n r o s C oc ran 1 03 w . of th e ea s te rn di id d g ee i g pu p ses . Thu h e li es mil es est 1 mit of s r c Di t i t D . 1 60 M il es and Kilo m etres . — S t . a r enc e 0 . Hud son a i i 47 5 m L w B y d v d e. Alti

62 . f t . 1 e 6 7 km tude (34 Forty mil s ( 4 km . ) to the District east of Omb abika the railway crosses th e height of land between Lake Superior and Hudson

1 66 - 5 m . bay . The rivers to the east of this watershed

2 6 . and 7 km all ﬂow into the Albany M oose , two large ' o a rivers , wh ich have their outlet int J mes bay ,

the southern extremity of Hudson b ay . The bed rocks in the vicinity of the height of

land belong to the Keewatin complex . The t Pleistocene deposits are largely stra iﬁed sand ,

clays and gravel .

After crossing the heigh t of land the railway enters upon the region underlain by the post glacial lacustrine deposits of Lake Oj ibway which is now generally known as th e clay belt are of northern Ontario and Q uebec . There many million acres of these lacustrine cl ays wh ich afford an excellent soil for the grow th of whea t and other cereals and a colonization

movement to the region has begun . The provincial governments are a ssisting this move ment by building numerous trunk roads to em

0 a . 5 7 5 m . ble the settlers to gain access to their farms h — 6 2 Pa wac uan river 8 ft . 1 9 5 km . g Altitude 5 7 ( 7 District West of the Pagw ach uan river there are several

- E . n n n outcrops of dark , ba ded , hor ble de biotite

60 - 111 a 5 . gneiss cont ining phenocrysts of red feldspar

- 9 7 3 km . up to two inches in lengt—h . k m i i - 62 Kab ina a a r ver 8 . 6 m . g Altitude 7 7 3 ft 2 a Kabinaka ami km . ( 39 Th e railw y crosses g District river at a rapid formed by a barrier of Lau

rentian gneiss . Similar gneiss can also be seen Na am 6 . and a i m at the crossing of White , Skunk g g 1 0 km . rivers . — - 6 Hearst . 2 2 43 5 m . Altitude 795 ft ( 4 Hearst , t km . situated two miles wes of the crossing of M wish ia a a District atta qu river , is division l point on

0 the Transcontinental railway and the j unction

- 2 2 a . 3 5 m . point with the Algom Central railway The t 347 km . town lies in the mids of a wide area of country possessing an excellen t soil for th e grow th of agri

cultural products .

1 62

h ran% l itu 2 6 C oc A t d e 9 1 5 ft . ( 78 From Cochrane southward as far as mileage 2 2 9

(368 km . ) there is a rather ﬂat area of country which is underlain by clay and sand covered with

a layer of peat . ro uois al l s— 2 88 I q F Altitude 945 ft . ( North of Iroquois Falls there are ridges of stratiﬁed sand and gravel with many clear

water kettle lakes . — I roquois Falls is the j unction point of th e main line of the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario

railway and the Porcupine branch . For a description of the route from I roquois Falls to Porcupine and Toronto and the ore deposits of this region see guide to Excursion A3

6 . in Guide Book No .

B I B L I OGRAPHY .

M atta ami B . . Baker , M . I ron and Lignite in the g 2 Valley ; oth Ann . Rep . , Bureau of

1 1 1 . M ines , Ont . 9 E M . . Bell , J . conomic Resources of the M oose

1 . . River Basin ; 3th Ann Rep , Bureau

1 0 . of M ines , Ont . , 9 4 Bell Report on th e Country between Lake Superior and the Albany River :

- 1 8 1 2 . Ann . Rep . , 7 7 : 2 Burrows , A . . The Porcupine Gold Area oth and

2 1 5 . . t Ann Rep , Bureau of M ines ,

1 1 1 1 1 2 . Ont . , 9 , 9 t P . . Coleman , A . Lake Oj ibway , Last of the Grea

: 1 8th . . Glacial Lakes Ann Rep , 1 0 Bureau of M ines , Ont . , 9 9 .

P . C o leman A. , and E : E . . . . S . M oore , I ron Ranges ast of Lake Nipigon 1 1 6th and 7th Ann . Rep . , Bureau

. 1 0 1 08 . of M ines , Ont , 9 7 , 9 1 63

H. . 7 . . Collins , W A Geological Reconnaissance bet ween Lake Nipigon and Clay Lake :

G . S . Branch , Dept . of M ines ,

. 1 0 . Can , 9 9 Region lying north of Lake Superior between the Pic and Nipigon Rivers :

G . S . Branch , Dept . of M ines ,

. 1 0 . Can , 9 9 l B . o e o . G 9 . Dowling , D . . . Report on the gy of the west shore and I slands of Lake Winnipeg :

I . . ! ar Ann . Rep . , Vol , P t F

1 . . Kay , G . F . The Abitibi Region ; 3th Ann Rep ,

1 0 . B ureau of M ines , Ont . , 9 4 E a a mi a L . M tt a Kerr , H . . xploration in g V lley ; 1 5 th Ann . Rep . , Bureau of M ines ,

6 . . 1 0 Ont , 9

- . C . 1 02 . M c Innes W . . . . . , Summary Report , G S , 9 3

l E 1 . M acM i lan . G . , J xploration in Abitibi ; 4th Ann

1 0 . Rep . , Bureau of M ines , Ont . , 9 5

E . . . . S . M oore , I ron ranges north of Round Lake ,

1 8th . . a : Ann Rep , Bure u of M ines 1 0 Ont . , 9 9 . : . . Vermilion Lake Pyrite Deposits 2 oth Ann . Rep . , Bureau of M ines , 1 1 1 Ont . , 9 .

. A. . Parks , W The Nipissing Algoma Boundary ,

8 . th . Rep , Bureau of M ines , Ont , 1 899 . ’ N iven s Base Line ; 9 th Rep . Bureau

. 1 00 . of M ines , Ont , 9

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o - . a . . C . 1 0 1 Summ ry Reports , G S 9 , 1 2 9 0 .

a L . . . . Ge Ba P rsons , A ology of the Thunder y Algoma 1 Line ; 7th Ann . Rep . , Bureau of

. 1 0 8 . M ines , Ont , 9

W . . E . . a Upham , xplor tion of the Glacial Lake

a : . Ag ssiz in M anitoba Ann . Rep ,

! I 1 - . V 88 . Vol , 8 89

. . a a a . . . . Gl cial L ke Ag ssiz , U S G S

Mon . ! ! V .

. . . a . . C . 1 0 1 Wilson , A W G Summ ry Reports , G S , 9 ,

1 9 02 .

o o o o o o o o o o o o o . : . Geology of Nipigon Basin M emoir 1 No . , G . S . Branch , Dept . of M ines ,

1 0 1 . C an . 9 1 64

a . . C . 1 . . . 01 Wilson , W J Summ ry Reports , G S , 9

Report on a Portion of Algom a and

Thunder Bay Districts , G . S . Branch ,

. C a . 1 0 . Dept of M ines , n , 9 9

' Wilson M . Summary Report G . S . Branch

. . 1 1 0 1 1 1 . Dept of M ines , Can , 9 , 9 The Kewagama Lake M ap Area :

G . S . Branch , Dept of M ines , Can . , 1 1 9 3 .

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