Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Volume III, 1863-1867

Chapter XIII: Part III (3)

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The middle member of the Triassic series consists of
quartzites, or metamorphic sandstones; these are both coarse
and fine grained, and sometimes brecciated. They vary in color,
from white to red, and are often much altered in the vicinity
of the metalliferous veins. The upper member of the series,
as seen in the Cañada de la Tinta, is made up of rounded
pebbles of black jasper and gray quartzite; in the Cañada
de los Mimbres, below Los Bronces pebbles of specular iron
are included in the mass. The dip of the formation is very
irregular, both in direction and amount.

At San Antonio de la Huerta, Tecoripa, and San Marcial,
argentiferous veins of various ages occur in the lower and
middle members of the Trias. At San Marcial, marine (?)
shells are found in the clay slates, near the silver mines;
[but those which have been obtained, are too imperfect for
recognition; they were referred to Mr. Meek for examination. J.
D. W.]

At San Marcos, between San Antonio de la Huerta and the Real
Viejo, metamorphic jaspery slates occur in connection with the
carboniferous limestones; they are probably of Triassic age.
Gold is found in the gulches between the quartzite ridges, as
in the Cañada de la Higuera, near Los Bronces in the Cañada
de la Iglesia, between the latter place and San Antonio de la
Huerta, and generally where the quartzites occur.

JURASSIC (?) ROCKS.

In the eastern part of the Magdalena and Altar districts, are
valleys with low hills and ridges of auriferous clay slates,
with interstratified beds of porphyry and diorite. Localities
of these rocks are Cerros de la Barajita, between Querobabi and
Santa Ana; Cerritos de la Tierra Colorada, where the formation
contains beds of variously colored limestones, entirely made
up of fossils, South of La Magdalena this formation rests on
metamorphic sandstones and shales. [The reasons for referring
these rocks, with doubt, to the Jurassic formation, have been
already given; see page 246.]

CRETACEOUS ROCKS.

In the Sahuaripa Valley, four miles east of Arivechi, and
seventy-two leagues northeast of Guaymas, is a locality of
Cretaceous Fossils of great interest. The hill in which they
occur is called “Cerro de las Conchas,” or “Shell Mountain.”
The rocks exposed are unfossiliferous strata of coarse-grained
sandstone at the base, overlain by clay shales and argillaceous
limestone filled with fossils. The exposure is very limited in
extent: the shales are a few hundred feet thick, and they dip
to the east, as do also the beds of carboniferous limestone on
which the Cretaceous deposits rest. Masses of porphyry crop
out from under the shales, without there being any peculiar
indication of metamorphism or disturbance in their vicinity.
Other patches of shelly rock are said to occur in the valley
on the eastern side, at the foot of the sierra. [A small
lot of fossils collected here by M. Rémond were referred to
Mr. Gabb for examination; and since that, a considerable
number of additional specimens have been received, but have
not yet been investigated. Several species were identified
as already described from Texas, and figured by Roemer in
“Die Kreidebildungen von Texas;” these are, _Ammonites
pedernalis_, von Buch; _Natica pedernalis_, Roem.; _Turritella
seriatim-granulata_, Roem.; _Gryphæa navis_, Hall; _Cyphosoma
Texanum_, Roem.; _Eulima Texana_, Roem. Besides these, two
other species are identified, namely; _Cardium multistriatum_,
Shum., and _Turbinolia Texana_, Con.

There is a considerable number of new species among the
specimens from this locality, among which the following genera
are represented: _Turritella_, _Chemnitzia_, _Avellana_,
_Cardium_, _Trigonia_, _Panopæa_, _Pinna_, _Cucullæa_, etc.
These will be described and figured by Mr. Gabb, who also
remarks that the character of the fossils indicates a closer
relationship of the formation to the eastern Cretaceous than to
that of California.—J. D. W.]

VOLCANIC ROCKS.

Stratified volcanic deposits cover a broad area of the surface
between San Ignacio and San Dimas (Sinaloa and Durango); they
dip to the west. On the other side of Durango they dip in the
opposite direction. The serrated edges of the strata may be
seen from a great distance, and are extremely picturesque,
towering up like old ruins, their peculiar forms being due to
erosion. They are well seen in the Cerro de los Frayles, near
Guarisamey, in Durango; visible from Mazatlan. These belong to
the second series of volcanic rocks. In Sonora there are three
different series of volcanic deposits which form serrated,
picturesque, parallel ridges, running north from Guaymas as far
as La Magdalena, or over eighty leagues in a straight line.
The three main ridges, enumerated from west to east, are, 1,
Las Tetas de Cabra; 2, Guaymas de Zaragosa; 3, Range north of
the mouth of the Yaqui River. The description of the various
volcanic deposits of Northern Mexico may be reserved for a
separate memoir, as the number of them is very great.

MINES.

The richest and widest veins are those northeast of Mazatlan,
near San Dimas, Guarisamey, etc., in Durango. These veins cut
all the rocks older than the Cretaceous, whether igneous or
sedimentary. The mines of Sinaloa are richer than those of
Sonora. In the former State the ore-bearing portion of the
veins is from a few feet to several yards in width: in the
latter, generally from one to two feet. In Durango and Sinaloa
gold, native silver, and sulphuret of silver occur associated
with galena, yellow blende, and iron pyrites. In Sonora the
principal ores are argentiferous gray copper, with galena,
black blende, copper pyrites, arsenical pyrites, carbonate of
lead, ruby silver, arsenical silver, and gold. Each mining
district is characterized by a peculiar system of veins; in
all as many as twenty different systems have been observed.
The most abundant vein stones are quartz, either chalcedonic,
crystalline, or massive; brown spar; heavy spar; oxide of
iron. The veins occurring in the metamorphic Triassic rocks,
are usually parallel with the stratification, so that they
lie nearly horizontal where the formation has been but little
disturbed. As to the yield of the silver ores, it varies
extremely, and it would be necessary to enter into a full
description of all the different districts to give an idea of
it. It may be noticed, however, that the arsenical pyrites,
which is auriferous in the Sierra Nevada, becomes argentiferous
in the Sierra Madre. The veins vary in their direction from
a little east to a little west of north; the richest ores
near San Dimas run northeast and southwest. There are but few
rich mines in Sonora, a state of which the mineral wealth has
been much exaggerated. There are, however, some deposits of
variegated copper, and veins of magnetic and specular iron.

The annexed tabular statement will give the principal facts
obtained with regard to the mines examined in Northern Mexico.

TABULAR STATEMENT, SHOWING THE POSITION AND CHARACTER OF THE
PRINCIPAL MINES OF NORTHERN MEXICO.

BY A. RÉMOND.—1863-1865.

[21] The best map of Northern Mexico is that of M. de Fleury,
published in San Francisco, in 1864; but this makes little
pretense to a delineation of the topography; the courses of
the principal streams and the position of the larger mining
towns are often very far from being correct, as must be
expected on a map constructed without a basis of instrumental
surveys. J. D. W.

[22] See Emory, in Mexican Boundary Report, vol. 1, page 41.

[23] Only a few specimens of the Carboniferous fossils
collected by M. Rémond have ever been received, owing to
circumstances connected with the present political condition
of Mexico. It is hoped, however, that they are not lost, and
that they may yet be recovered. Among the few specimens
received is a coral, not to be distinguished from the
_Lithostrotion_ (_L. mamillare_) found near Bass’s Ranch,
in Shasta County, California. J. D. W.

REGULAR MEETING, MARCH 19TH, 1866.

President in the Chair.

Twelve members present.

Donations to the Cabinet: Sections of the _Sequoia gigantea_ and a roll showing the annual growth of the “Old Maid,” one of the trees in the Calaveras grove of Big Trees; from Mr. Henry Hentsch.

Mr. Dall stated that Dr. Cooper had discovered, in the vicinity of Santa Cruz, _Helix redemita_, _H. Vancouverensis_, _H. Columbiana_, and _H. arrosa_; also, in the small rivulets near the town, _Margaritana falcata_, besides several univalves, and also an undetermined _Helix_, which may prove to be new. Mr. Dall also remarked that Rev. J. Rowell had obtained at Hayward’s, Alameda County, a number of specimens of _Helix Cronkhitei_, which is a new locality for that species.

Mr. Dall remarked that in dissecting a specimen of _Trochiscus Norrissii_, the position of which has for some time been doubtful, sufficient evidence was obtained to decide that it did not belong with the Proboscidians, to which group it had been doubtfully referred by several naturalists.

REGULAR MEETING, APRIL 2D, 1866.

Mr. Stearns in the Chair.

Five members present.

Mr. Bloomer presented some Diatoms, from the coast of California, supposed to belong to the genera _Melissa_ and _Meridion_; they were both found growing upon calcareous sea weeds. The genus _Meridion_ has not heretofore been recorded as occurring in California.

Mr. Dall presented, in the name of Dr. Cooper, the following paper:

Description of a new California Helix, with notes on others already described.

BY J. G. COOPER, M.D.

HELIX (Arianta) SEQUOICOLA, Cooper.

Sp. ch. _H. testa_ rotundata, umbilicata, spira depressa, anfr.
ult. nonnunquam subangulata; anfr. vi ad vii et dimidium,
perist. obliqua superne parum deflecta; labio tenui, reflexo,
infra crassiore, acuta. Colore atrobrunnea, vel olivacea, zona
nigra, lata, inter duabus ochraceis sita, in spira semicelata,
labio albo; intus læte purpureo, zonis duabus albis. Epidermide
nitente, infra polita, striis incrementis læve perspicuis,
interdum tenuissime malleata, rugis spiralibus; supra punctis
piliferis creberrime induta; pilis brevissimis junioris
deciduis.

_Animal_ schisto-colore; corpore cylindraceo rugosa, tentaculis
longis, pede postice elongata, cuneata.

_Testæ_ lat., major, 0.93 ad 1.20; minor 0.76 ad 0.96; alt.
0.42 ad 0.54 poll. Angl.

_Hab._ Santa Cruz, California, in ligno carioso, locis
humidissimis.

_Specific characters._ Shell rounded, umbilicate, spire
depressed, last whorl sometimes subangulate, whorls 6 to
6½, peristome oblique, little deflected above; labium
thin, reflexed, thickest below; acute. Color dark brown or
olivaceous, with a broad black band between two yellow ones,
half hidden on the spire, lips white; within a fine purple with
two white bands. Epidermis shining, polished below, the lines
of growth faintly visible, sometimes very lightly malleated,
and with spiral ridges; above with crowded scars bearing very
short bristles in the young shell which fall off in the adult.

_Animal_ slate colored, body cylindrical, rugose, tentacles
moderate; foot elongated, behind wedge-shaped.

_Shell_—large diameter 0.96 to 1.20; smaller diameter 0.76 to
0.96; height 0.42 to 0.54 hundredths of an inch.

_Hab._ Santa Cruz, Cal., among decayed trees in the dampest
places.

This beautiful species is quite rare, only three adult and
twelve young specimens having been found after long searching.
It will probably occur more commonly in some part of the
redwood forests which I have been unable to explore. It
approaches nearest to _H. Dupetithouarsi_ and _H. fidelis_,
being between them in form and size as well as colors, but
the pilosity at once distinguishes it. Its distinct bands
and rounded whorls separate it from _H. infumata_ and
_Hillebrandii_, the latter when perfect having also much
longer hairs. The animal is lighter colored than those of _H.
arrosa_, _Nickliniana_, _redimita_, _ramentosa_, _tudiculata_,
(which are all very similar) but much darker than that
of _Dupetithouarsi_, and I believe also of _fidelis_ and
_infumata_. The form of the shell is a link connecting these
with _Mormonum_.

In the tabular arrangement adopted in my State Survey Report,
it would come in as the pilose analogue of _H. Dupetithouarsi_,
and _H. exarata_, which are also its nearest geographical
neighbors, as follows:

Judging from the form of _H. Mormonum_, it is possible that the
young will be found to be hirsute.

The table referred to includes twelve other banded species of
California, arranged under the same headings. It is interesting
to observe that the § A 1 and B 1 groups inhabit coniferous
forests, and probably feed chiefly on fungi found in decaying
wood while § C, including also H. _Nickliniana_, _Bridgesii_,
_redimita_, _ramentosa_, _tudiculata_, _Californiensis_ (and
_Carpenteri_?) are found in woods of oak, etc. Another group
which I place in § A (as not being rugose) are found in dry,
treeless localities where they seem to represent those last
mentioned, the size, form, and number of whorls furnishing
parallels, but being usually less in size, as might be expected
of species from arid regions, and often with the band single
or obscured; these are H. _Tryoni_[25], _rufocincta_,
_Kellettii_, _crebristriata_, _Gabbii_, _facta_.[25]

The bandless species, of which there are few on this coast,
present analogous sections as to surface characters, and
exhibit much greater varieties in the form of their apertures,
by which they can be arranged in groups, having a greater
development of species in the Atlantic States and more
distinguishable by form than by surface.

_H. Townsendiana_ alone approaches § C in its rugose sculpture,
but otherwise differs greatly from the usual types of
California.

From the shells alone, five subgenera may be established out of
the banded group, which I will describe in a future article.

NOTE.—There is a single specimen of Helix in the State
Collection, supposed to have been obtained in the Mount Diablo
range by Prof. Brewer, which closely resembles the small form
of _H. Sequoicola_ in shape, but being nearly bleached is
too imperfect to describe minutely, though very likely a new
species.

It is remarkable for having seven whorls, while the former
and _H. Mormonum_ of the same size have but six; it is also
less compressed than the latter, and the umbilicus is less
covered. The color where remaining is shining gamboge yellow
(faded?) with a _single_ very narrow band _above_ the middle,
not showing the pale band on each side of it that is so marked
in others of the group. The sculpture seems to have been very
_slightly_ malleated, and with the faint lines of growth
cut by smooth depressed waved grooves transversely, and thus
obliquely to the sutures (while those of _H. Traskii_ are
parallel).

Diam. maj. 0.95; alt. 0.40 inch.

A region so near San Francisco ought to furnish more and better
specimens.

There is a form referred to _H. fidelis_, from Humboldt Bay,
which may also prove a new species. It is entirely purplish
black, _without bands_, the lips white inside, and differs from
_infumata_ chiefly in great elevation and thicker lips, having
even the subcarinate body whorl of the latter, and the same
number of whorls (6½). There is, however, no trace of bristle
marks, and some specimens appear to connect it with _fidelis_,
suggesting a possibility of its being a hybrid.

The State Collection contains one specimen, obtained from the
late Dr. Frick.

Diam. maj. 1.24; min. 1.09; alt. 0.70 inch.

[24] In this the band seems obscured in the general blackness
of the shell; occasional varieties of several others are found
without the band, as if from disease, as in _H. anachoreta_.

[25] These species have parallel spiral grooves, not _rugæ_.

REGULAR MEETING, APRIL 16TH, 1866.

President in the chair.

Five members present.

Mr. Horace F. Cutter was elected a Resident Member.

The Committee on rooms reported that two rooms had been hired for the Academy on the southeast corner of Montgomery and Sacramento streets.

REGULAR MEETING, MAY 7TH, 1866.

President in the chair.

Eight members present.

Mr. Harford presented some ivory nuts from Panama.

Dr. Gibbons made some remarks explanatory of a series of tables which he exhibited, showing the variations of rain fall at San Francisco, and their relation to the phases of the moon. He showed that the greatest amount of rain fell immediately before the time of full moon, and that, following the day of the full, the diminution in quantity was very rapid. The series of observations from which the tables were prepared extended over a period of fifteen years.

Dr. Gibbons remarked that he proposed continuing the investigation of the subject of the connection of the moon’s phases with the fall of rain, and that he would prepare a paper on the subject.

Considerable discussion followed on the subject of the weather of this coast, in which nearly all the members present took part.

REGULAR MEETING, MAY 21ST, 1866.

Mr. Stearns in the chair.

The Academy met for the first time in its new rooms on the corner of Montgomery and Sacramento streets; twelve members were present.

Donations to the cabinet: Two boxes of shells, from the Smithsonian Institution.

Donations to the Library: Bulletins de l’Académie Royale des Sciences de Belgique (2) XVIII, XIX, 1864-5. Annuaire de l’Académie Royale de Belgique, 1865; 31me Année. Sitzungsberichte der königl. bayer. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München, 1864, II, 3, 4; 1865, I, 1-4; II, 1-4. Annalen der königlichen Sternwarte bei München, Band XIV. Entstehung und Begriff der naturhistorischen Art, von Dr. Carl Nägeli, 2te auflage; München, 1865, 8vo. pamphlet. Induction and Deduction, von Justus von Liebig; München, 1865, 8vo. pamphlet. Vorträge über die Florenreiche, von Dr. C. F. Ph. von Martius; München, 1865, 8vo pamphlet. Elfter Bericht der Oberhessischen Gesellschaft für Natur-und Heilkunde; Giessen, 1865. Verslagen en Mededeelingen der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen; Afdeeling Naturkunde, 17de Deel; Amsterdam, 1865: same; Afdeeling Letterkunde, 8ste Deel, 1865: same; Iarboek, 1863, 1864. Musee Vrolik, Catalogue de la Collection d’ Anatomie, etc. de M. M. Ger. et W. Vrolik; 1 vol. 8vo. Amsterdam, 1865. Meteorologische Waarnemingen, 1864; 1 vol. long 4to Utrecht, 1865. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar; Ny Följd, 5te Bandet, 1sta Häftet, 1863. Ofversigt of Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar, 21sta Argangen; 1 vol. 8vo. Stockholm, 1865. Meteorologiska Jaktagelser i Sverige, utgifna af Kongl. Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens: 5te Bandet, 1863. Meteorologiske Jagttagelser paa Christiania Observatorium, 1864; Christiania, 1865. Meteorologische Beobachtungen, aufgezeichnet auf Christiania Observatorium; 1, Band, Letzte Lieferung, 1837-63, Christiania, 1865. Oversigt af Norges Echinodermer ved Dr. Michel Sars; 1 vol. 8vo Christiania, 1861. Zologisk-Botaniske Observationer fra Gudbrandsdalen og Dovre, af R. Collett; 8vo. pamphlet, Christiania, 1865. Beretning om en botanisk Reise i Valders, foretagen i Sommeren 1864, af H. C. Printz; 8vo. pamphlet, Christiana, 1865. Oversigt af Christiania Omegns ornithologiske Fauna, af R. Collett; 8vo. pamphlet, Christiania, 1864. Norges Ferskvandskrebsdyr: Förste afsnit, Branchiopoda, 1, Cladocera ctenopoda, af G. O. Sars; 4to pamphlet, Christiania, 1865. Hestiæ Planetæ Minoris XLVI, Elementa Nova, deduxit F. M. Karlinski, Cracoviæ, 1865. Jahrbücher des Vereins für Naturkunde im Herzogthum Nassau, 17tes and 18tes Heft, 1 vol. 8vo. Wiesbaden, 1862-3. Jahrbuch der k. k. geologischen Gesellschaft, 1865, Band XV 1, 2, 3. Der Zoologische Garten; VI Jahrgang, Nos. 1-12, 8vo. Frankfort a. m., 1865. Flora, oder allgemeine botanische Zeitung; Neue Reihe, XXIII Jahrgang, 8vo. Regensburg, 1865. Sitzungs-Berichte der naturw. Gesellschaft Isis zu Dresden; Jahrgang, 1864, 8vo. Dresden, 1865. Verhandlungen des naturhistorischen Vereins der preuss. Rheinlande und Westphalens; 21ter Jahrgang, 1 volume in two parts, 8vo. Bonn, 1864. Verhandlungen der k. k. zool-bot. Gesellschaft in Wien; XIV Band, 8vo. Wien, 1864. Mémoires de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg; Tome V, 1, VII 1-7 (complete), VIII, 1-16 (complete), 4to, St. Petersburg, 1864-5. Bulletin de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg; Tome VII, Feuilles 12-36, VIII 1-36. Royal Horticultural Society’s Proceedings; vol. IV, No. 10, vol. V, Nos. 4-9, 8vo. London, 1865. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society; new series, vol. 1, part 1., 8vo. London, 1866. Defense des Colonies, III, par Joachim Barrande; 8vo. Prague, 1865. Fragmenta Phytographiæ Australiæ, F. Müller; vol. IV. 8vo, Melbourne, 1863-4. Vegetation of Chatham Islands, F. Müller, 8vo. Melbourne, 1864. Analytical drawings of Australian Mosses, edited by F. Müller, 1 Fascicle, 8vo. Melbourne, 1864. Plants indigenous to the Colony of Victoria, Lithograms, by F. Müller, 4to, 1864-5. Review of American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, by S. F. Baird; Part 1, Middle and North America, 8vo. Washington. Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, No. II, North American Acalephæ, by A. Agassiz; 4to, Cambridge, 1865.

All of the above publications were presented by the authors or the Societies publishing the same; those published in Europe were forwarded and received through the medium of the Smithsonian Institution.

Mr. Dall presented the following paper:

On a New Subfamily of Fluviatile Mollusca.

BY W. H. DALL, ACTING DIRECTOR SCI. CORPS, W. U. T. EX.

A paper was read by Dr. Isaac Lea, before the Philadelphia
Academy of Natural Sciences, April 1st, 1856, in which he
described a new genus (_Pompholyx_) and species (_P. effusa_,
Lea) of fluviatile mollusca, from California. He placed it in
the _Family_ LYMNÆANA without remark.

In the “_Genera of Recent mollusca_,” by H. & A. Adams, it
is referred to (Vol. II, p. 645, Pl. CXXXVIII, fig. 11) as
the only species of the genus and is placed in the _Family_
LIMNÆIDÆ.

It is not mentioned by Chenu, in the “_Manuel de
Conchyliologie_.”

In the “_Supplementary Report to the British Association_,” by
Dr. P. P. Carpenter (page 674), are given the views of Mr. W.
G. Binney, one of the most eminent of American conchologists
and particularly devoted to the Pulmonates. He places the
mollusk in question, between the genera _Limnæa_ and _Physa_,
in the _Subfamily_ LIMNÆINÆ, of the _Family_ LIMNÆIDÆ.

Investigations as to the animal, however, suggest the propriety
of separating it, if not (as a _Family Pompholidæ_) entirely
from the _Family_ LIMNÆIDÆ, at least in a subfamily by itself.

In the few specimens which I have been able to examine with
regard to the dentition, the dried animal has not yielded very
satisfactory results, and I do not, therefore, feel justified
in entirely separating it until more is known.

In the following table, a West Coast species is given as a type
of each genus:

CLASS PULMONATA.

_Family_ LIMNÆIDÆ, H. & A. Ads.

_Subfamily_ LIMNÆINÆ, H. & A. Ads.

West Coast Genera:

=Limnæa=, Lam.

Subgenera:
_Limnæa_, Type _L. stagnalis_, Lin.
_Limnophysa_, Fitz., Type _L. palustris_, Müll.

=Physa=, Drap.

Subgenera:
_Physa_, Type _P. heterostropha_, Say.
_Bulinus_, H. & A. Ads., Type _B. hypnorum_, Lin.

_Subfamily_ PLANORBINÆ.

W. C. Genera:

=Planorbis=, Guett.

Subgenera:
_Planorbis_, Type _P. subcrenatus_, Cpr.
_Helisoma_, Sw., Type _H. ammon_, Gld.
_Menetus_, H. & A. Ads., Type _M. opercularis_, Gld.

=Carinifex=, W. G. Binney.
Type _C. Newberryi_, Lea.

_Subfamily_ ANCYLINÆ.

W. C. Genera:

=Ancylus=, Geoffr.
Type _A. Newberryi_, Lea.

=Acroloxus=, Beck.
Type _A. Nuttallii_, Lea.

=Gundlachia=, Pfr.
Type G. _Californica_, Rowell.

_Subfamily_ POMPHOLINÆ, Dall.

_Testa depressa, paucis spiralis, anf. ult. maxima. Columella
recta, sine plica._

_Animalis tentaculis longis, oculiferis, et alius par oculorum,
in bases interiores tentaculorum._

Characters, _Shell_; depressed, few whorled, last whorl the
largest, without fold on the columella. Inoperculate.

_Soft parts_; foot rounded, tentacles long, bearing eyes;
another pair of eyes situated on the inner bases of the
tentacles. Fluviatile, phytophagous.

Genus =Pompholyx=, Lea.

Proc. Phil. Acad., Ap. 1st, 1856.

Type P. effusa Lea, sp. unica. [FIG. 28.]

_Shell_; small, swollen, with three whorls, the last much
the largest. Above, rounded planulate, suture deep but not
channelled. Below, not umbilicated, rounded convex. Aperture
large, effuse, internally shining. Columella flattened, not
folded; externally, in fresh specimens, greenish horn color;
dead ones nearly white or waxy brown. Alt. 0.14 in., major
diam. 0.2, min. diam. 0.16 in.

_Soft parts._ Foot rounded truncate; short, bluish-ash color,
darker on the margin. Lips broad, semilunar. Tentacles long,
eyebearing; tips pale yellow, eyes black; a second pair sessile
on the inner bases of the tentacles. Body delicate brownish
olive green; a light streak just behind and outside of base of
each tentacle.

Localities: Sacramento River (Trask), Lea; Eagle Lake, Horn;
Klamath Valley and Frazer Spring, Gabb.

I am indebted to Mr. Wm. M. Gabb, of the State Geological
Survey, for notes and drawings, confirmatory of previous doubts
in regard to this rare and interesting mollusk. They were
taken from the living animal, and coming from a distinguished
Palæontologist may be relied on as correct.

[N.B.—Through inadvertence in drawing, the shell is represented
as reversed in the figure.]

Professor Whitney made some remarks on the geology of the State of Nevada, of which the following is an abstract.

Having recently received a small but very interesting
collection of fossils, made in Nevada by Mr. J. E. Clayton, the
examination of which has added considerably to our scanty stock
of information in regard to the geology of an extensive region
comprised between the meridians of 115° and 120°, and the
parallels of 38° and 41°, I take this occasion to set forth, in
a very concise manner, the information which I have collected,
up to the present time, in regard to the age of the sedimentary
formations of the regions in question.

The State of Nevada occupies a portion of the continent which,
during the last few years, has received a large share of
attention from the public and excited the greatest interest
among scientific men; but where, up to the present time,
detailed geological work has been impossible, owing to the
absence of any geographical map of the State approaching even
to accuracy.

The U. S. Pacific Railroad Surveys furnished no geological
information whatever in regard to the territory embraced
within the present area of the State of Nevada. The route
from Salt Lake to Humboldt River, at Lassen’s Meadows, was
hastily explored by Captain Beckwith, in May, 1854, and he was
accompanied by Mr. Schiel as Geologist; but no information
of any value is given in regard to the geological structure
of the region traversed by the party, nor were any fossils
discovered, although portions of the rocks along their route
have since been proved to be prolific in organic remains.

On all the geological maps of the whole territory of the United
States which have been published up to the present time, the
region west of the Rocky Mountains has been so misrepresented
that it is quite impossible to trace any approximation,
or first hinting, at either the age or the outline of the
principal formations. On these maps the region lying between
the Salt Lake and the Sierra Nevada is usually left uncolored,
or vaguely designated as “metamorphic” with patches of
“volcanic” and “desert quaternary” scattered through it at
random.[26]

The first paper or publication issued, in which any
definite information in regard to the geology of Nevada was
given, was that of Messrs. Meek and Engelmann, published
in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural
Sciences, for April, 1860. This paper gives the results of
the examination by Mr. Meek, of the fossils obtained by
Mr. H. Engelmann, who accompanied Capt. J. H. Simpson on
his explorations of 1858-59, or what is generally known as
“Simpson’s Wagon Road Expedition.” As the full report of
this expedition has never been published, we have no other
information in regard to the geology of the region traversed
by Capt. Simpson’s party than that given in the paper above
alluded to. The route followed on this survey was one near
the present Overland Stage Road, passing through a region
then entirely uninhabited by white men, but now dotted with
mining camps and even towns of considerable size—a region which
has been proved to contain a large number of argentiferous
veins, and where mining operations have been carried on most
energetically and extensively during the last two or three
years.

The localities of fossils mentioned by Messrs. Meek and
Engelmann, and included within the limits of Nevada, are
as follows: Long. 114° 45´, Lat 39° 45´, near what is now
called Egan Cañon, fragments of Trilobites, either of Upper
Silurian or Devonian Age, and “closely resembling Hamilton
Group Forms:”—Long. 115° 58´, Lat. 39° 33´, and Long. 115°
36´, Lat. 39° 30´; at these two localities, situated in what
are now the Eureka and White Pine Mining Districts, a “group
of fossils of decided Devonian type” was found. This group
consisted of _Atrypa reticularis_, _A. aspera_, or a closely
allied species, a small _Productus_, and three new species of
_Spirifer_. This is the most westerly point, on our territory,
at which any fossils belonging to formations older than the
Carboniferous have, up to the present time, been discovered,
so far at least as any published record shows. Between Lon.
115° and 115° 30´ and Lat. 40° 10´ and 39° 20´, is a group or
series of hills, trending nearly north and south, and made
up “of light yellowish gray, more or less argillaceous and
arenaceous subcrystalline limestones and slates.” From these
hills fossils were collected which are referred by Mr. Meek
to the Upper Carboniferous series. Most of the species were
new; among them were three species of _Productus_, two new
species of _Spirifer_, and another apparently identical with
_S. cameratus_; also, _Athyris subtilita_ and a new species
of _Chonetes_ closely allied to _C. Verneuiliana_; these
localities are near what is now known as Ruby Valley and Fort
Ruby.

The above are all the localities of fossils, in Nevada, known
to have been published up to this time, excepting those
which have been described or noticed in the publications
of the Geological Survey of California. Messrs. Meek and
Engelmann state, at the end of their paper, that igneous rocks
predominate west of the 116th degree of longitude as far as
the Sierra Nevada, and that only a few traces of stratified
rock were found in that district in none of which any organic
remains were observed. The exploration of this region, supposed
to be destitute of fossiliferous rocks, has proved, however,
that it contains immense ranges of stratified beds which, in a
considerable number of localities at least, are highly prolific
in well preserved fossils.

As soon as the Humboldt mining region began to be resorted to
by miners, which was in 1861 and 1862, fossils were discovered
by several persons, who about the same time furnished us
with collections of value and interest. The most important
of these collections were those of Mr. Gorham Blake and of
Mr. R. Homfray. The specimens obtained by these gentlemen, as
well as others of the same age obtained by the Survey, near
Dayton, Nevada, and also in Genesee Valley, California, were
figured and described by Mr. Gabb in the first volume of the
Palæontology of California, forming a part of the series of
publications of the Geological Survey. The geological age
of the formation is that of the Hallstadt Limestone of the
Austrian Alps, or the Upper Trias, there being several species
at the above cited localities which are identical with European
species from this geological position, as determined by Mr.
Gabb, and confirmed by Von Hauer, the eminent palæontologist of
the Austrian Geological Survey.[27]

Since the publication of the Palæontology of California, Vol.
I, our stock of information with regard to the range and extent
of the Upper Trias, in Nevada, has been considerably increased
by the explorations of members of the Survey, and other persons
who have furnished us with specimens from their collections, or
given us information as to the character of the rocks noticed
by them on their lines of travel. We now know that the Triassic
rocks occupy a broad belt of country extending from the 117th
meridian west to the line dividing the States of Nevada and
California, and lying between the parallels of 38° and 40°.
Within the area thus designated, Triassic fossils have been
found at several localities, some of which are remarkable
for the number and good state of preservation of the various
species. Among these localities that of the Volcano District
is remarkable for the size and beauty of the Ammonites found
there. This is about thirty miles east of the south end of
Walker’s Lake. New Pass District, twenty miles west of Austin,
is also a rich locality of Triassic fossils At two or three
points within this Triassic area there are indications of the
existence of fossiliferous rocks occupying a higher position
than the Trias, and perhaps of Liassic Age; but the collections
have not yet been sufficiently studied to justify a positive
opinion on this point.

The sedimentary strata in this region are much broken up and
metamorphosed by intrusive rocks, of which there is a great
variety, granite being one of the most abundant. In the
southern portion of the area designated above as including
stratified rocks of Triassic age, a very large part of the
surface is occupied by volcanic materials, apparently a
continuation of the very recent volcanic masses near Mono Lake.
Lava is said to be the predominating rock over the region to
the southeast of Walker’s Lake, and as far in that direction
as the State line between Nevada and Arizona. The same is true
of the region to the north and northwest of Humboldt River,
where granitic and volcanic rocks are reported as occurring,
and where, so far as known, no fossils have yet been obtained.
This, however, is a region as yet but little explored, on
account of the number and warlike disposition of the Indians.

Between the 116th and 117th meridians is a region of granitic
and volcanic rocks, including two principal north and south
ranges, and many spurs and side ranges. The Toiyabe range,
in which are the mines of Austin, or the Reese River mines,
and which is a little east of the 117th meridian, is mostly
granitic. Stratified but highly metamorphosed rocks are said
by Mr. Blatchley to occur on its east flank, a few miles south
of Austin; these rocks contain fossils, which, however, are
nearly obliterated by metamorphism. A box of these, forwarded
some time since, has never been received, so that no positive
statement can be made as to the age of the formation. From Mr.
Blatchley’s description of the forms observed by him, it would
appear that we may have here rocks older than the Carboniferous.

East of the 116th meridian, our collections indicate the
existence of a broad area covered chiefly by rocks of
Carboniferous age, which seem to occupy most of the space
between the 115th and 116th meridians. The most western
locality of Carboniferous fossils known to us is that on the
west side of Diamond Valley, about 70 miles east of Austin, and
in lon. 116°. Here, in a dark, crystalline limestone, a variety
of species have been obtained by Mr. Clayton, all in a poor
state of preservation, but of which the Carboniferous age may
be without difficulty made out. Among the genera represented
at this locality are _Productus_—two species, one of which
is _P. semireticulatus_—_Spirifer_, and _Fusulina_, probably
_F. gracilis_, besides some indistinctly marked corals. The
indications are that these beds are of Lower Carboniferous age.
On the east side of Diamond Valley some imperfectly preserved
corals have been found, probably Devonian, or possibly
belonging to a still older group. The collections from the
region included between the 115th and 116th meridians indicate
the association of rocks of both Devonian and Carboniferous
age in the outcrops. Here our collections do not enable us to
do anything more than to corroborate the previously published
statements of Messrs. Meek and Engelmann in regard to the age
of the formations.

From the Silver Peak District, near lon. 117° 20´, and lat.
38°, an interesting collection of fossils has been brought
by Mr. Clayton. The specimens are unfortunately in a very
imperfect and fragmentary condition, but they contain the first
trilobites which have been brought to our office from any of
the Pacific States or Territories. The rock in which they occur
is a dark yellowish brown limestone, with intercalated layers
of light grey argillaceous shales. Some of them appear to
belong to the genus _Dalmania_, and, if so, the formation is
probably of Upper Silurian age, although possibly Devonian. The
careful examination of the corals which have been obtained in
this district by Mr. Clayton, and also by Mr. Blatchley, will
probably throw some additional light on the geological position
of these rocks.

[26] On Professor Hall’s Map “illustrating the general
geological features of the country west of the Mississippi
River,” which accompanied Emory’s Mexican Boundary Report,
and was published in 1857, all of a broad central strip
running along the parallel of 40° through the center of
Nevada, is colored as “lava and other igneous rocks,” while
the western portion of the State has several broad belts of
“Upper Carboniferous Limestone,” running north and south
across it from Walker’s Lake to Goose Lake. So far as I know,
no Carboniferous fossils have yet been found in that part of
Nevada.

[27] See Jahrbuch der K. K. Geologischen Reichsanstalt, 1865,
page 233 of the Proceedings.

REGULAR MEETING, JUNE 4TH, 1866.

President in the chair.

Eleven members were present.

The following named persons were elected Resident Members: C. R. King, Frederick Gutzkow, Theodore Blake, W. A. Goodyear, Charles Bonner, C. W. Lightner, Hugo Hochholzer, James T. Gardner.

Donations to the Cabinet: Copper Ore, from Yarrow mine, near Lexington, Santa Clara county, and Molybdenite, from Coloma, El Dorado county, from Mr. Hanks. Land, river, and marine shells collected in Central and South America by the late Thomas Bridges; presented by Mrs. Bridges. Two birds from Mr. Lorquin. A collection of Australian plants, from Dr. Ferdinand Müller. Lichens from Plover Bay, collected and presented by Mr. Dall.

Donations to the Library: Verhandlungen der kaiserlich en Leopoldino-Carolinischen deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher, Band XXXII, 1ste Abtheilung; 4to Dresden, 1865. Amtlicher Bericht über die 39te Versammlung Deutscher Naturforscher und Aerzte in Giessen im September, 1864; 4to, Giessen, 1865. Jahrbuch der k. k. geolgischen Reichsanstalt; 1865, Band XV. No. 4, roy. 8vo. Wien. Nachrichten von der k. Gesellschaft und der Georg-Augusts-Universität, aus dem Jahre 1865; 12mo. Göttingen.

The above were presented by the different Societies named, and forwarded through the Smithsonian Institution.

Mr. Dall made some remarks on the shells which have been collected by various naturalists at and near Monterey.

He remarked that he himself had collected in two weeks no less
than two hundred and nineteen species, which number, added to
forty-four which have been previously reported as occurring
there, but which he did not obtain, gives two hundred and
sixty-three as the whole number of species of shells now known
to have been found at Monterey.

Of these were previously obtained only to the south of
Monterey, twenty-four; previously obtained only to the north
of Monterey, forty-two; previously obtained to north and
south, but not at Monterey, twenty-nine; previously obtained
at Monterey, one hundred and one; not obtained by Mr. Dall,
forty-four; new, or not reported, twenty-three.

Collections of shells are greatly needed from points between
San Francisco and the mouth of the Columbia river, and also
from points between San Diego and Cape St. Lucas, in order to
determine questions of geographical distribution.

A curious fact was noticed in _Chiton scabra_, of Reeve, which,
although belonging to a class of strictly marine animals,
was observed clinging to the rocks beyond the reach, except
in storms, of the highest spray. That it does not migrate is
proved by the fact that, living in nooks and crevices of the
rocks, it grows into the very form of the hole in which it
lives.

Mr. Dall also mentioned that, having visited and thoroughly
searched the original locality for _Helix Californiensis_, a
small island off Point Cypress, accessible only at low tide,
this species was found to be nearly exterminated. A letter
received from Dr. Canfield of Monterey since the visit of Mr.
Dall, confirms the fact of the extinction. This has been caused
apparently by a large millipede, which exists in great numbers,
and is extremely voracious.

Several of the shells found commonly at Monterey, are identical
with others collected during the past season on the coast of
Russian North America.

Professor Whitney made some remarks on the absence of the Northern Drift formation from the western coast of North America and from the interior of the continent, throughout the region to the southwest of the Missouri River.

The term “Northern Drift” is understood to include the masses
of unstratified detrital materials and boulders which have been
transported and distributed by some general cause independent,
in a great degree, of the present conformation of the surface
and of the direction of the existing river courses. The
investigations of geologists have shown that the surface of
Canada, New England, and the States north of the Ohio and
north of the parallel of 39°, as far west as the Mississippi,
and even for some distance beyond it in that direction, are
covered by detrital materials which have been carried from the
North towards the South, and often for a great distance and in
immense masses.

The explorations of the Geological Survey of California have
demonstrated however, that there is no true Northern Drift
within the limits of this State. Our detrital materials,
which often form deposits of great extent and thickness, are
invariably found to have been dependent for their origin and
present position on causes similar to those now in action, and
to have been deposited on the flanks and at the bases of the
nearest mountain ranges by currents of water rushing down their
slopes. While we have abundant evidence of the former existence
of extensive glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, there is no reason
to suppose that this ice was to any extent an effective agent
in the transportation of the superficial detritus now resting
on the flanks of the mountains. The glaciers were confined
to the most elevated portions of the mountains, and although
the moraines which they have left as evidences of their
former extension are often large and conspicuous, they are
insignificant in comparison with the detrital masses formed
by aqueous erosion. There is nothing anywhere in California
which indicates a general glacial epoch during which ice
covered the whole country and moved bodies of detritus over the
surface, independently of its present configuration, as is seen
throughout the Northeastern States.

The same condition of things prevails in Nevada and through
Oregon, as far as explored by the members of the Survey. The
detritus seems always to be accumulated at the base of the
mountains—gravel, boulders, and sand lying below and not far
distant from the beds of rock of which these materials once
formed a part, and from which they appear to have been detached
by weathering and aqueous erosion.

From the observations of Messrs. Ashburner and Dall, it would
appear that no evidences of Northern Drift have yet been
detected on this Coast, even as far north as British Columbia
or Russian America. Neither of these gentlemen has observed
any indication of a transportation of drift materials from the
north towards the south, or of any condition of things similar
to that which must have existed in the Eastern States during
the diluvial epoch.

On examining the published records of explorers in the central
portion of the Continent, it will be noticed that there is
strong reason to believe that the absence of the Northern drift
formation is not peculiar to the States along the Pacific
Coast; but that the whole region west of the Rocky Mountains is
also destitute of any indications of a detrital formation moved
over the surface in one direction by any great general cause.
Judging from our present stock of evidence, I am inclined to
draw the line which limits the Northern Drift formation on the
south and west approximately from the mouth of the Ohio to the
headwaters of the Saskatchewan River.

It is evident that these facts should be taken into account
in theorizing on the origin and cause of the drift. If, as
stated above, the transporting agent has been limited in its
field of action to the eastern and northeastern portion of our
Continent, the phenomenon is seen at once to have become, in a
measure, a local one—at least much more local than has hitherto
been usually assumed by those geologists who have adopted the
glacier theory of the drift.

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Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Volume III, 1863-1867Chapter XIII: Part III (3)

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