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TRANSACTIONS OP OTTAWA NATURAL IIISTOUV 
 
 fciOCIKTV. 
 
 SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY 
 
 UF THK 
 
 VALLEY OF THE OTTAWA, 
 
 AND THE WAKEFIELD CAVE. 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES A. GRANT, M.D., M.P., F.G.S., 
 
 FBLLOVr OF THE HOTAL COLLEGE OF SUROEONS, KDINBDROU; CORRESPONDINQ 
 
 MEMBER OF THE ACADEHr OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA; 
 
 PRSai -SMT OF THB MEDICAL COVNOIL OF ONTARIO, KTC. 
 
 1 
 
 OTTAWA: 
 HUNTER, ROSE & COMPANY. 
 
 1869. 
 
SITPEltFIClAI. (lEOLOr.Y 
 
 OP TIIK 
 
 V A L L E V OF T HE T T A AV A 
 
 AND TIIK 
 
 W A K E F I E L 1) C A \ E . 
 
 ■♦ #♦■ 
 
 To-NKiiiT I purpose occupy inpj your attention for a short time by 
 a consideration— lirst, ol' the superticial {geology of thiji locality, 
 and secondly, of the Wakefield Cave. 
 
 Few parts of the Dominion of Canada are more interesting and 
 attractive, in a geological point, than the surrounding country, 
 taking a view from any tower of the present Parliament Buildings. 
 Here, Upper and Lower Canada of old are seen at once — merely 
 separated by the Ottawa River in its course to the St. Lawrence. 
 On the Hull aide, the beautiful Laurentiau Hills grace the scene, 
 and in almost every other direction the country presents a level 
 appearance, only occasionally interrupted by moderate and gentle 
 undulations. 
 
 So far as the physical history of this country is concerned, it has 
 been erroneously denominated the New World. I5y Agassiz, it is 
 termed, " tirst-born among the continents, though so much later in 
 culture and civilization than some of more recent birth, 
 was the first dry land lifted out of the waters, hers the 
 washed by the ocean that enveloped all the earth beside ; 
 
 u 
 
StrPEUFICIAL GEOLOGY OF THE 
 
 Europe was represeDted only by islands rising here and there above 
 the sea, America already strotched an unbroken line of laad from 
 Nova Scotia to the Far West." 
 
 There are some subjects on which the philosopher is obliged to 
 exercise as much license as the poet. Such is exemplified in the 
 study of geology, a science the direct object of which is to uufuld 
 the solid crust of the earth and explain, as far as possible, the 
 a"-encies at work in the formation and compilation of the Great 
 Stone Book of Nature. The records of this Stone Book can only 
 be perfectly understood by patient and careful observation, and a 
 moderate acquaintance with the most prolific of all languages, the 
 language of nature. In the study of geology, every thing has been 
 photographed and preserved for use and reference, in a manner far 
 exceeding in interest the records even of the historian. Each year 
 that passes, brings to light new discoveries in this department of 
 science, and the material yet unknown is so great that it will afford 
 ample opportunity for the development of the intellectual power of 
 man for many years to come. 
 
 Nature offers many of her books for our perusal. Every depart- 
 ment of such knowledge may be considered a volume. Astronomy 
 supplies not a few, Chemistry many, Zoology and Botany a more than 
 ordinary share. Notwithstanding the attractions of geology, the 
 history of the earth, what it is and how it became so, having as it 
 were wrapped up in its crust the remains of many strange animals 
 and plants, still how few comparatively study this interesting 
 department of science. To understand anything of rocks, we must 
 learn how they have been formed, and to thoroughly master this 
 we must observe the nearest approach to such formations at the 
 present day. Such, also, is the case with fossils ; for in order to 
 understand them, we require to familiarise ourselves with the plants 
 and animals now living. In all cases where the book of nature is 
 to be studied it matters little where or how that study begins. In 
 every locality there is enough, yes, more than enough, to amuse, 
 suggest thought, interest and instruct. 
 
 
 
VALLEY OF THE OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 5 
 
 of 
 
 The limestone foundations now being ereavated at the Chaudi^re, 
 the strangely water-worn formations in almost every direction about 
 the same locality, the pits formed on Sandy Hill, the remains of 
 life exposed to view by the microscope and the naked eye ; these 
 are a few of the points of immediate interest, and the various 
 appearances form a part of that hieroglyphic language in which so 
 great a part of nature's stone book is written. There are certain 
 appearances so familiar to every person that they are seldom made 
 the subject of enquiry. By searching out the meaning and object 
 of small and seemingly unimportant changes, the result of the 
 ordinary action of familiar causes and known modes of operation, 
 such as the nature of a deposit of mud, the conversion of mud into 
 stone, the change of ston j into some other substance, we learn a 
 history, which forms a key to the history of ages long past. Of 
 the familiar causes of change in the physical appearance of country, 
 moving water and changes of temperature, without doubt, bring 
 about the greatest. Some are occasional, but these are unceasing, 
 operating at all times and in all phces. Like influences have pro- 
 duced wonderful changes in our midst, and such as cannot fail to 
 interest and instruct even the most ardent admirer of nature's 
 works. There is, perhaps, no part of the world where the earlier 
 geological records can be studied with greater ease than in both 
 Canada and the United States. On their northern borders are to 
 be seen the low line of hills known as the Laurentian, which rise 
 nowhere more than fifteen hundred or two thousand feet above the 
 level of the sea, and these are the first mountains that broke the 
 uniform plain of the earth's surface, and elevated their heads above 
 the waters. Their low stature, compared with other lofty mountain 
 ranges, is in accordance with the invariable rule by which the age 
 of mountains is estimated. The oldest mountains are the lowest, 
 while those of more recent date are of more gigantic dimensions, 
 and usually present greater indications of force in their formation, 
 such as fractures and dislocations. 
 
 Plutonic action has strangely transformed many parts of the 
 
6 
 
 SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY OF THE 
 
 : 
 
 earth's crust. In studying that crust we must free our mindg from 
 the idea that it is a solid steadfast foundation. It is constantly 
 heaving and falling, but the oscillations being less reguhr than the 
 tides of the sea, escape our observation. The ocean is tossed into 
 great billows by the storms, but what are these compared with the 
 forces sufl&cient to raise such vigorous giants as the Alps, the Him- 
 alayas and the Rocky Mountains. Think of mountain ranges rolling 
 up 20,000 feet, lasting monuments of the force by which they were 
 elevated. Such formations are the result of upheavals and the 
 violence of the outbreak is invariably in proportion to the strength 
 of the resistance. Thus are we enabled to account for the moun- 
 tain elevations — great and small, on the face of nature. The rocks 
 which compose the crust of the earth are, in general terms, divided 
 into the stratified and unstratified. The former occur in layers or 
 strata parallel to each other, and the latter are devoid of layers , 
 only presenting a massive appearance. These two classes of rocks 
 evidently had a diflferent origin, or in moderate terms, have under- 
 gone different influences, the stratified rocks being doubtless of 
 aqueous origin, and the unstratified which present a melted appear- 
 ance, of igneous origin. The latter may be sub-divided into rocks 
 melted and unstratified at first and rocks changed from the stratified 
 to the unstratified by the re-melting of aqueous rocks, frequently 
 much changed by crystalization, and termed metamorphic rocks. 
 The rocks which compose the Laurentian Mountains were shown 
 by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1846, to be a series of 
 metamorphic sedimentary strata, highly crystaline, and underlying 
 the fossil-bearing rocks of this Province. 
 
 The rock formations occurring within the limits of Canada, and 
 defined by Sir William Logan, comprise representatives of the 
 Azoic, Lower Palaeozoic and Post-tertiary series. The rocks of 
 the Azoic series are supposed to be formed as sedimentary matters 
 deposited in ancient seas prior to the creation of organic types and 
 subsequently rendered crystaline by metamorphic forces. Thc3e 
 have been divided into the Laurentian and Huronian. The Lau- 
 
 'J>. 
 
VALLEY OF THE OTTAWA, ETC. 7 
 
 rentian rocks consist chiefly of highly crystaline beds of micaceous 
 and hornblendic gneiss, hornblende rock ; dolomite and cryitalin^ 
 lime stone, oxidized iron ores ; quartzite and anorthosites, or rocks, 
 as defined by Br. Hunt, as being largely composed of lime and soda 
 feldspar. In an economic point of view, this formation is chiefly 
 characterized by its extensive beds of iron ore, magnetic and specu- 
 lar, and extensive formations of graphite or plumbago, such as seen 
 in various parts of Hull. The Laurentian formation is of great 
 thickness, over many thousands of feet, and covers an area of over 
 200,000 square miles, from Labrador northwards. The Huronian 
 formation is chiefly developed along the shore of Lake Huron, and 
 is the higher division of the Azoic series. In it are to be observed 
 chiefly slate conglomerates of a green and greyish color, interstrati- 
 fied with green stone masses, and traversed by numerous trap dykes. 
 It contains quartz veins, holding copper pyrites, and recently 
 extensive discoveries of silver ore have been made near Thunder 
 Bay, now being worked by the Montreal Mining Company. 
 The total thickness of the Huronian formation is considered about 
 20,000 feet. 
 
 Within a short period of time a considerable degree of fresh 
 light has been thrown upon our knowledge of the formations pre- 
 viously considered Azoic, tending very materially to subvert our 
 preconceived ideas of matters and things in general, as to the 
 Laurentian system of rocks. Sir William Logan, with that untir- 
 ing zeal which has ever characterized his labors in connection with 
 the Geological Survey of Canada, travelled over hill and dale in 
 order to confirm his geological diagnosis, of a new formation, of great 
 thickness and lying below those rocks previously described. Ho 
 has now traced over a tract of country larger than France, a form- 
 ation consisting of rocks of a highly crystaline character, which, in 
 times past, would have been set down as the Jirst crust of this earth, 
 as it parted with its heat, in the transition from plutonic fluidity to 
 its present crystaline state. This formation has so far been defined, 
 as constituting two distinct divisions, the one lying upon the up- 
 
!«' I 
 
 8 
 
 SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY OF THE 
 
 turned edges of the other and of vast thickness. It is considered a 
 great stratified belt, shaped out of the waste of rocks formed in a 
 previously undreamt of age. In this crystaline limestone, Sir 
 William Login discovered the remains of the fossil, designated by 
 Dr.' Dawson as the " Eozoon Canadense." This opinion is also 
 confirmed by the highest British authority on the microscope, Dr. 
 Carpenter. So far as known, this peculiar fossil is supposed to 
 have grown in masses like the coral reefs of the present day, and is 
 it not a subject of wonder and astonishment when we reflect that 
 the great Laurentian formation of metamorphic mountain magni- 
 tude rests on a quasi coral reef of unparalleled extent and intense 
 interest ? Thus have we great reason to feel gratified with the 
 result of the combined labors of the able chief of the Dominion 
 Geological Survey and his worthy staff, and more particularly, in 
 so new a country as Canada. The stratified formations, as hereto- 
 fore known and described, are as follows, from below upwards ; — 
 Potsdam Sandstone; Calciferous Sand Bock; Birdseye, Black 
 Biver and Chazy formations ; Trenton Limestone ; Utica Slate and 
 the drift formation. 
 
 Potsdam Sandstone is a term given by the New York geolo- 
 gists to a formation which is well developed at Potsdam, in northern 
 New York, and is there considered as forming the base of the 
 palaDozoic series of rocks. Sir William Logan considers this forma- 
 tion as a member of the Potsdam Group. It crosses from St. 
 Lawrence County, New York, into Canada ; the greatest develop- 
 ment on this side being at the County of Beauharnois. It is said 
 to fill up the inequalities of the underlying Laurentian series* 
 This formation is met witL to the eastward, between Lake Chau- 
 di^re and a spur of Laurentian rocks, from three to five miles 
 removed from the right bank of the Lac des Chats, to Nepean, a 
 distance of fully thirty miles. In Nepean the rock dips north- 
 ward, and thus sinks beneath the calciferous formation. By means 
 of a dislocation, the south side of the band, after leaving the gneissj 
 
 I 
 
 \ i 
 
VALLEV OP THE OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 is brougkt against the Chazy and Trenton formations. The con- 
 tinuation of the dislocation on the soutii side of the Laurentian 
 spur, accounts for the absence of Potsdam sandstone in that par 
 ticular position. In the ^' Geology of Canada" it is here stated as 
 constituting the south side of a synclinal form, on the north side 
 of which it rises in Hull, from beneath the higher members of the 
 Lower Siluvian series. Tn Hull it is observed about live miles 
 north of tlio Ottawa, and about two miles east of the Gatineau, 
 where it is also brought into view by a dislocation which branches 
 in Osgoode and Gloucester, IVom the one previously mentioned, 
 and, passing in a direction somewhat west oi' north, crosses the 
 Ottawa at the Little Chaudi^rc Falls, and shows a downward throw 
 on the east side. According to Professsor Dana, during the first 
 half of the Lower Silurian err, the whole east and west were alike 
 in being covered with the sea, and that in the first or Potsdam 
 period, this continent was just beneath or at the surface. After- 
 wards, in the Trenton period, the depth became greater, and 
 afforded pure waters for the very abundant marine life. 
 
 pure 
 
 Caloiferous Sand-Hock succeeds Potsdam sandstone, and 
 the characteristic portion of this formation, in Canada, is a granu- 
 lar magnesian limestone or dolomite, of a dark bluish-gray color, 
 crystaline, strongly coherent, weathering yellowish brown, and 
 frequently containing small geodes, filled either with calcareous 
 spar, quartz crystals, sulphate of barytes, sulphate of strontia, or 
 sulphate of lime. Its fossils are very imperfect, and in most 
 cases only moulds of these are to be found. In some places the 
 upper part of this formation is of a bluish-gray calcareous argilite. 
 When exposed to the air, it turns yellow or brewn, and frequently 
 develops a bituminous odor. The calcareous beds in many districts 
 yield a poor description of lime, and hence the term bastard lime- 
 stones is applied to them by settlers and others. Calciferous Sand- 
 rock forms part of the great series of strata called the Quebec Group. 
 It is seen along the south shore of the Ottawa in many localities 
 
10 
 
 SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY OF THE 
 
 from Carillon to the Chats. At Alymer it occurs on both sides of 
 the river, and from the Alumette Island extends south to Prescott, 
 at which point it crosses the St. Lawrence into the United States. 
 A little below Prescott, on the spot where the battle of the Wind- 
 mill was fought, gentle undulations arc tu ba observed in the strata 
 of this formation, but more particularly on descending the river 
 from Maitland to this point. According to Sir William Logan, the 
 total thickness of this formation is about 800 feet. 
 
 1 
 
 'I, 
 
 !J 
 
 CiiAZY Limestone overlies the Calciferous formation, and 
 derives its name from Chazy, in the State of New York, west of 
 hake Champlain, where it was first described by the New York 
 geologists. In Canada it is associated with sandstones and shale, 
 , and is here described as Chazy formation. It is exposed in the 
 ( cutting of the Grenville canal, and there crosses the Ottawa to 
 j Ilawkesbury. In its geographical distribution, it forms a zone 
 around the geological depression between the Ottawa and the St. 
 Lawrence. It forms two patches on the calciferous outlier of the 
 Lac des Chats, also of the lowest outlier of the Alumette Islands. 
 The arenaceous part of the Chazy is seen at Alymer, in Hull, and 
 in the eleventh range of Eardley, on the north side of the Ottawa. 
 It is also found in the Townships of Huntly and Ramsay. The 
 great mass of limestone which overlies the Chazy formation is 
 divided into three portions by the New York geologists. The 
 divisions are supposed to have been characterised by peculiar fossils. 
 However, in Canada, a separation of this kind cannot be definitely 
 carried out, o'>ving to the circumstance that the Birdseye and Black 
 1 River formations become very indistinct j they are, in consequence, 
 grouped together. Not only are the strata blended together, but 
 the fossils characteristic of the one are also found in the other ; 
 thus the difficulty of division. According to Sir William Logan, the 
 Birdseye, Black River, and Trenton formations constitute one of 
 the most persistent and conspicnously marked series of the strata 
 of the Lower Silurian period of North America. 
 
.s of 
 
 !Ott, 
 
 itcs. 
 ind- 
 trata 
 river 
 I, the 
 
 and 
 
 jst of 
 York 
 shale, 
 n the 
 iwa to 
 I zone 
 16 St. 
 f the 
 ands. 
 and 
 )ttawa. 
 The 
 tiou is 
 The 
 ■ossils. 
 finitely 
 Black 
 uence, 
 er, but 
 other ; 
 an, the 
 one of 
 e strata 
 
 VALLEY OP THE OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 11 
 
 , The limestone of the Trenton group is found extensively in 
 / (yanada East and West, and particularly between the Ottawa and 
 \ the St. Ijawrcncc, but more especially ai^)und the capital of 
 ( Canada, — Ottawa. The limestones of this locality are aflfeetcd by 
 two parallel dislocations between five hundred and six hundred 
 yards apart, west of the Ilideau. " One of these dislocations comes 
 to the Ottawa a little below the exit of the canal, in a small up- 
 throw to the south j and the other about six hundred yards above 
 it, beyond the Ikrraek Hill, is a downthrow of seventy feet in the 
 same direction." Farther west this series of limestones come up 
 against the Gloucester and Hull fault, extending from the west 
 side of the junction gore of Gloucester across the Ottawa to the 
 front of the sixth lot of the fifth range of Hull. Owing to these 
 various faults it has been found difiicult for the Geological Survey 
 to estimate the thickness of the series in this neighborhood. It is, 
 however, compufcd that the total volume of the limestones of this 
 locality will not lull short of six hundred feet. 
 
 Utica Slate (so termed from lltica in the State of New 
 York). — It comprises a series of dark-brown, bituminous shales, 
 intcrstratificd here and there with a few beds of dark limestone. It 
 is found in considerable quantity near this city, and is seen cropping 
 I out directly across the Ilideau Bridge, near the General Protestant 
 Hospital. In the Townships of Collingwood and Whitby this shale 
 is sufficiently bituminous to produce mineral oil in considerable 
 quantity. 
 
 The Drift or Boulder Formation, of which wc have ample 
 evidence in this locality, comes under the Post-pliocene or Post 
 tertiary period. The clay, sand, and gravel of the valleys of the 
 Ottawa and St. Lawrence, containing sca-shclls or the skeletons of 
 marine fish^ are also referred to it. Owing to the manner in which 
 drift is supposed to have been formed (that is, transported by ancient 
 
12 
 
 mUPERFIfllAL nT-:OLOGY OF THE 
 
 glaciers), it is termed Glacial Drift. '^ The greatest devcloprasnt 
 and extension of these glaciers is said to have been during the in- 
 terval between the close of tko Cainozoic period andthocommenoo- 
 ment of the existing epoch, properly so called." Ft forms the sur- 
 face of country over a great part of the triangular area included by 
 the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers. Stratified clays and s^iul fill 
 up depressions of great extent over this surface, and erratic boul- 
 ders of great size are to be observed, in localities the most 
 unexpected. A granitic boulder of considerable magnitude is to bo 
 seen just above, and to the right of the Suspension Bridge, on the 
 table of rock lying below; and one on the island immediately above 
 the Chaudi^re Talis, of much greater size. Dana states that nothing 
 but moving ice co dd have transported the drift, with its immense 
 boulders. In the glacial regions of the Alps, ice is performing this 
 work at present. In that locality there are evidences of stones of 
 great size, which have, in former times, been borne, by a slow 
 moving glacier from the vicinity of Mont Blanc across the lowlands 
 of Switzerland to the slopes of the Jura Mountains, and left there, 
 a height of 2,203 feet above the present level of Lake Geneva. 
 The channel of the Ottawa River is contracted at various parts by 
 ridges of glacial drift, of boulders running north and south. The 
 nearest of these is to be seen above the mouth of Green's Creek, 
 between seven and eight miles below this city. In this locality a 
 well-marked line of boulders runs quite across the river, and forms 
 a considerable obstruction to navigation during low water, such as 
 we have had this season particularly. Professor Dawson divides 
 the eastern post-glacial beds into two series, the lower a deep-sea 
 deposit, named the Leda Clay, from one of its characteristic shells; 
 and the upper, for a similar reason, the Saxicava sand, formed in 
 shallow waters. On the south bank of the Ottawa Biver, from this 
 city to Hawkesbury, the lower clay formation of Dr. Dawson is to 
 be seen in banks from twenty to forty feet high. " The overlying 
 sand generally approaches the river and conceals the clay except 
 
VALLEY or THE OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 18 
 
 1' 
 
 ulong the streams." Wherever these clay formations exist ulonj^ 
 the river the shells JSaxtcava rv</osa and TcUina Granlandica are 
 to be found, and in a bed of elay at (Ireen's Creek nodular masses 
 exist in eonsiderablo abundance. The most common fossil embed- 
 ded in these, is the Malloliu vilhsus or capeling of the Lower St. 
 Lawrence. This capeling is also found in nodules, in clay, on the 
 Chaudit;re Lake, " ^3 feet ; on the Madawai^ka at 206 feet ; and at 
 Fort Coulonge Lake, at UGf) feet above the sea. This formation 
 contains also various other fossils. On the north side of the 
 Ottawa, from Hull to Isle Jesus, this clay formation covers a con- 
 siderable breadth between the Laurentian Hills and the river. It 
 can also be traced in considerable abundance along the banks of 
 the Gatineau and Hiver Rouge, hi the former locality it is well 
 known to the lumberers, who ia wot weather describe it as the 
 sticking clay of the Gatineau. A well-detiued hill of clay exists 
 on the front and to the left of the General J^rotest&nt Hospital, 
 facing the Jlideau River, and to the rear an extensive mound of 
 sand, both of which arc drift forniatious. The boulder formation 
 or glacial drift, both in the British Isles and North America, is 
 referred by Lyell to the age of the newer pliocene, of which it 
 marks its close; while the stratitied deposits which overlie it, con- 
 sisting partly of boulder formation re-arranged by water, are 
 placed among Post-tertiary strata. The records of the drift or 
 boulder period extend over North America, north of parallel 40°, 
 as well as over all th^ northern counties of Europe, and the vari- 
 ous boulders have been r.iovcd from the norih towards tli3 south. 
 Throughout the regions occupied by the drift, the rocks in place 
 are more or less polished, stritited, or grooved. These marks are 
 observed on the consolidated formations that appear at the surface, 
 and constitute a very essential part of the records of this period. 
 These sedimentary rocks, the result of aqueous action, are deter- 
 mined by occurring in hcJs or strata, by exhibiting a sedimentary 
 structure and containing the remains of animal organization. — (See 
 Plate.) 
 
14 
 
 BUPnuFiciAii oEOLoay of the 
 
 Cave. — Cave or cavern is the term adopted to aignify a hollow 
 place under ground or rock, and j^encrally having an opening either 
 on the surface or in the brow of a hill or rock, as the case may bo. 
 They are usually divided inf.o two classes, the artificial aud the 
 natural. Caverns are most usually observed along the courses of 
 rivers and on the coast line of the sea. Such is not unlikely, par- 
 ticularly as the whole stratified system of rocks results from the 
 same denuding and wearing away by water and subsequent harden- 
 ing of the materials tiirough time. Moving water, carrying with 
 it sand and gravel through rock crevices, by the very attrition, may 
 gradually transform even a sraall fissure into a cavern. Limestone 
 is the great centre for such excavations, and the largest so far 
 described are the CavcriiA of Adihhcr<j in Carintliia^ on the road 
 i'rom Vienna to Ti'leste, and the Mammoth Caveof Kentuchj. As 
 objects of curiosity, these two caverns particularly are visited from 
 all parts. Hocks of purely igneous origin fre({uently contain 
 caverns. An example of such is the picturesque Cave of Fingal, 
 in StatTa, formed in basalt. In South America and in Iceland 
 large caverns have been formed in modern lava. In Canada, such 
 curiosities of nature have not so far attracted any particular atten- 
 tion beyond the brief descriptions of the Geological Survey, and 
 the paper published by Sir Duncan Gibb in 18G1, on Canadian 
 Caverns. These number thirty, and are arranged as follows : — 
 
 " One in the sandstone of Magdalen Islands ; two in the carbon- 
 iferous formations at Gasp6 and Biy of Chaleur; two in the 
 Devonian, Gasp6 Bay and Bass Island, Lake Superior ; seven in 
 the limestones of the Upper, Middle and Lower Silurian formations. 
 
 " Upper Silurian : — 
 
 Perforations and Caverns of Michilimacinae. 
 
 The Old Woman, Cape Gasp6. 
 
 i''lo\ver Pot Island, Lake Huron. 
 
 Mono Cavern. 
 
 Eramosa Cavern. 
 
 Niagara Caverns. 
 
 Subterranean Passages, Manitoulin Island- 
 
VALLEY OF TltK OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 15 
 
 ten- 
 and 
 
 bon- 
 
 the 
 
 n ia 
 
 ions. 
 
 " Middle ISi'urian :— 
 
 I'illar Sandstone, North Connt of (luspO. 
 Higsby's Cavern, Murray l!iiv. 
 
 *' Ijitwer Silurian : 
 
 (libl)'s Cavern, Montreal. 
 
 rr()I)al)l(> Caverns at Kia,G;ston. 
 
 MiMTiiy'.s Caverns, 
 
 Arebed and FU)\ver l\)t Rocks, Mingaii. 
 
 Probable Caverns at Chatham. 
 
 Tho Pictured Hocks, Lake Superior, 
 
 " Ifuronian Knrks : 
 
 St. Ii^natius' Carerns, Lake Superior. 
 
 Pilasters of Mammellos, Lake Superior. 
 
 Thunder Mountain and Pie Island Pilasters, Loke Superior. 
 
 " Laurentian Rocks : 
 
 The Steinhavor Cavern, Labrador. 
 
 IJasaltic Caverns of Henley Island. 
 
 I'iUipty Ikisaltic Dykes of Mecattina, 
 
 Houcbelte's Cavern, Kildarc. 
 
 Colquhoun'a Cavern, Lanark. 
 
 Quartz Cavern, Leeds. 
 
 Probable Caverns, iron Island, Lake Nipissing." 
 
 To this list may now be added the Wak>ifield Cave, forming tho 
 eighth in Laurentian Rocks, and by far tlic most interesting and 
 attractive so far explored; being, in fact, the largest cavern in the 
 entire Dominion of Canada. 
 
 North from Ottawa, in an almost direct line, vi'd the Portland 
 Road, distant eighteen miles, on the farm of 31r. Pellessier, is the 
 '' Wakefield Cave.'' It is situated on the side of one of the Lau- 
 rentian Mountains and faces t\e north. The mouth of tho cave is 
 fully eighteen feet in diameter, of an oval shape, beautifully arched 
 and having overhanging it pine and cedar trees of considerable 
 size. The entire height of the mountain is about 300 feet, and the 
 entrance to the cave is about 100 feet from the summit. At the 
 
16 
 
 •SUPERFICIAL OEOLOGV OF TlIK 
 
 ba.io of the mountain is n fiinall lake, which discharges into tho 
 (jatincau Kivcr throuj^li u mouutiiiu gor^^o of exquisite beauty. 
 Lookiug inwurdH from Ihc mouth of tho cavo it Ih funnel .shaped, 
 directed obli(iucly forwards and downwards a distance of 74 feet, 
 at which point it is contracted to a height of live feet and width 
 of fifteen feet. Tiiis contraction forms tho entrance to tho first 
 *' Grand C/uvnUr" 8li feet in length, -1 feet across and !) feet in 
 height throughout. At tho posterior part of this chamber, in an 
 oblique direction to tho left, is an opening live feet in height, form- 
 ing the entrance to the third chamber, which is about 18 feet in 
 diameter and 5 feet high. Tho floor, however, is covered with 
 cdfcarrous breccia to a depth of three feet or more. Looking out- 
 wardti, two openings arc to be seen to the left of the first chamber, 
 one anterior, broad and elevated, and one posterior, contracted and 
 shallow, pa.ssing obliijuely upwards and backwards, a distance of 
 fully -5 feet. This chamber is entirely encrusted with carbonate 
 of lime of a cheesy consistence, and in the centre a perfectly white 
 column reaches from tho floor to the ceiling, :ibout six inches in 
 diameter, formed by the union of a stalactite and stalagmite. The 
 antcro-lateral chamber passes in an oblique direction upwards, a 
 distance of oO feet, at which point the ceiling is fully 50 fbcthii;h, 
 of a gotliic shape and beautifully ornamented with stalactites and 
 fringed like encrustations of carbonate of lime. About GO feet from 
 the mouth of the cave to the right, is a narrow passage, rough, 
 uneven, and forming the entrance to a chamber the floor of wliich 
 ascends obliquely upwards a distance of 30 feet, the height of this 
 point being about 50 foot. On the way up a beautiful arch is to 
 be seen, above and beneath which this chamber communicates with 
 the one entered by the antero-lateral opening from the " Grand 
 CVmmber," and the light reflected from a lamp through the opening 
 below this arch illuminates the entire ceiling of the adjoining cham- 
 ber and presents a rich appearance as seen through the opening above 
 the arch. To the right of the oblique floor of the antero-lateral 
 
V\r,IJ'V nK Tlin OTTAWA, KTC 
 
 17 
 
 da, a 
 
 and 
 
 from 
 
 ough, 
 
 hi oil 
 
 ' this 
 
 is to 
 
 with 
 
 rand 
 
 jning 
 
 jham- 
 
 above 
 
 ateral 
 
 cavity, is an oponin;;, horscshoo . shaped, ficallope<l, a))()ut livo feet in 
 di!iniotor,an(l eori^idoraMy dbscurt'd by tliooverhaiif^injL'; rociv. Krorii 
 tiio body of tho cave thi.! passaj^o Icadin;^' from tiiis opctnng takes a 
 diifction at an ant^'lc of about -b'^ to tho ri^'bt. Its entire length 
 is about 1270 feet, height bctweoD \ and 5 feet, and width tho same. 
 The floor is rough and eovered with Hinall fragments of rock of 
 various sizes and from the ceiling hang many Hn;ali stalactites. At 
 thti inner terminus of this passage is an opening more or less cir- 
 cular, about 20 feet in diameter and tho rod; over it is concave, 
 and fully 15 feet in height. Stones tlirown into this well or cavity 
 rive rise to a loud, rumi)ling noise. Its depth is '17 feet, and the 
 bottom measured 1> feet by VA) feet, on either sido of which are 
 two openings, one 5 feet by 12 feet, 22 feet in depth, the other 2 
 feet by o feet and 15 feet in ddpth. The floors of these lower 
 cavities arc eovered with fine sand and on every sido arc to bo seen 
 beautiful .stalactites. (Mi the right and left of the main passage of 
 this well aro to be observed several smaller passages which, from 
 their narrowness, arc entered with diflieulty. Tho entire cavern 
 presents a water-worn appearance more or less smooth on the sur- 
 faces, of a light gray color, and considerably excavated at intervals. 
 Hero and there in each chamber, particularly from the ceilings, aro 
 to be seen rough projecting portions of rock of various shapes and 
 composed chiefly of quartzitc, pyroxene, serpentine, iron pyrites, 
 and various mineral ingredients peculiar to the Crystalinc Lauren- 
 tian limestone formations. In many parts of the cave, the walls, 
 particularly those to the right of each chamber entered, were 
 covered with moderately uniform sheets of carbonate of lime. The 
 cavern is entered by descending on talus or broken rock ; this is 
 succeeded by a floor partly flat, smooth and presenting also a water- 
 worn appearance. Generally p'oeaking, the floor is uneven and 
 strewed with fragments of rock of various sizes, more or less mixed 
 up with broken stalactites and shelved portions of carbonate of 
 lime. The entire cave, excepting the entrance, is perfectly devoid 
 
18 
 
 SUPEEFICIAL GEOLOGY OF THE 
 
 of light; the atmosphere moist, but exceedingly pure, even to the 
 extent of our explorations, and a uniform temperature of about 45° 
 Fahrenheit. The only organic remai ns so far discovered were those 
 of the Vulpes Vulgaris or common fox, Castor I'iber (Lin) or 
 IJcaver, Lutra Vulgaris (Lin) or Ottor, and a few drift shells. 
 L'rouv the purity of atmospiioro in the entire cave, the opinion 
 formed from that fact is, tha any accumulating carbonic acid is 
 absorbed by water in some part of the unexplored portion of the 
 cave, and it is not unlikely that parts already visited are only an 
 entrance to vast labyrinths yet to bo explored. 
 
 In the consideration of this cave, two points of enquiry are sug- 
 gested ; first, what proofs have we of subsidence and elevation of 
 great portions of the earth's surface, and secondly, what facts can 
 be adduced to substantiate the eroding action of water. In the 
 formation of this British North American Continent there is noth- 
 ing particular in cither of these respects, nothing more in fact than 
 nas been observed in the shaping of continents of transatlantic 
 notoricfij. Stratified rocks were uudcubtedly deposited originally 
 as sediments under water, and owing to the organic remains which 
 they contain the inference drawn is that they wore deposited at 
 the sea bottom. 8uch was exactly the case with the very strata on 
 which this city rests and when that foundation was formed the 
 '•Groat Silurian Au;e" flourished. Marvellous then must have been 
 the condition of life, when there w^cre few mountain tops elevated 
 above the level of the vast ocean which covered this continent. As 
 wo gather shells, barnacles, starfishes and such like at the seashore 
 in our summer rambles, so we examine for the remains of molusks, 
 radiates, crinoids, &e., &c., which flourished in the Silurian period 
 of the world's history, in the strata of this neighborhood. From a 
 consideration of these facts one of two things must have taken 
 place, either the land must have gone up o • the sea must have gone 
 down. Of the latter we have so far no well defined instance, 
 wherej s of the former ample and wide-spread evidence exists, such 
 as observed on the Pacific coast of South America, where, within 
 
VALLEY OF THE OTTAWA, ETC. 
 
 19 
 
 the present century considerable portions of country have been 
 elevated above the sea. So with the northern parts of Sweden and 
 Finland a slow rising is constantly going on, and at the same time 
 the Scandinavian Peninsula towards the south-east shore is sinking. 
 The west coast of Greenland is also gradually sinking, and these 
 changes are brought about without any apparent earthquakes. lu 
 Canada there are many fossil-bearing strata hundreds of feet above 
 the present sea level, as seen in our own imiiediate neighborhood. 
 
 After the formation of our stratified rocks it is supposed that 
 this continent, being exposed for an unknown length of time, was 
 again dipped beneath the great oceanic waves, when the present 
 mantle of clays, sand and boulders (termed drift) vvras thrown over 
 our firm rock foundations. Austed, of Cambridge, has written, 
 "water is the life of the earth, as blood is the life of man j" and 
 certainly there is ample proof of its extensive operations in the 
 formation of the earth's crust. It i=!, in fact, the great agent in 
 bringing about the vast circle of changes which form the subject 
 of geological investigation. Judging of what has taken place in 
 our midst, viz., the manner in which the great bed of rock at the 
 ChmuUh'c has been cut or channeled out by water ; also at Niagara, 
 where the river has cut a channel through the solid rock, 200 feet 
 deep, 1,200 to 2,000 feet wide and fully seven miles long. It is 
 evident that the waters are thus carrying both land and rocks in 
 their course, and the amount yearly transported is truly wonderful. 
 On a small scale we can observe this same action exemplified at 
 the " Gatineau Point," where the land is rapidly being removed. 
 At the mouths of the Mississippi, the Amazon and the Nile, im. 
 mense deposits of material thus carried, are to be observed as the 
 result of the abading actior of water. 
 
 Of the Ganges, Sir Charles Lyell says, "that if a fleet of eighty 
 vessels, each freighted with 1,100 tons weight of mud, were to sail 
 down that river every hour of every day and night for four months 
 continuously, it wouU only transport from the higher regions to 
 
 3 
 
20 
 
 .SUPERFICIAL GEOLOGY. 
 
 the sea, a quantity of matter equal to that carried by the Ganges 
 in the four months of the flood season." In this same manner 
 many changes have been brought about in the Ottawa and its 
 tributaries. Thus alluvium, drift, and even the solid rock founda- 
 tions, give way under the eroding action of water. In thig same 
 manner water flowing rapidly through the fissured " Laurentian 
 Muuntaiii Limestone' has produced the Wakefield Cave. 
 
 In such formations have wo a history pregnant with facts des- 
 tined to throw light on the Geological liecords of this continent. 
 In considering the various fiicts we arc carried back for ages to a 
 time when rocks were fearfully disturbed by volcanic action ; when 
 the crust of the earth was folded as paper in the child's hands. 
 Out of the mighty deep rose our Laurentian Hills, and on their 
 foundation was slowly deposited the vast layers of rocks entombing 
 in their very substance the remains of organic life. Thus has a 
 history been handed down, which cannot fail to be an inex- 
 haustible source of enquiry ; and, at the same time, tix more 
 indelibly on our minds tho accuracy of the sentiment, '' iSerjnons 
 ill stones, books in rumiiiif/ brooks, and </ooi! in eueri/ tliinijJ^ 
 
 /•^ -v v ^-»-. 
 
II. 
 
 ",n::mt-''".'f/r:'mh~>^j\-M\\->^i:.<»«^t. ■'*■•' 
 
 ]\ 
 
 !(•'