Summary
July16. 1842.— When I went on board the Caledonia at Boston, I could hardly believe that it was as large as the Acadia, in which we had crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool, so familiar had I now become with the greater dimensions of the steamers which navigate the Hudson and other large American rivers.
We soon reached Halifax, and I determined to devote a month to the geology of Nova Scotia. About three miles south of Halifax, near “ the Tower,” I saw a smooth surface of rock, formed of the edges of curved and highly inclined strata of clay-slate. This surface was crossed by furrows about a quarter of an inch deep, having a north and south direction, and preserving their parallelism throughout a space 100 yards in breadth. Similar phenomena are observed in other parts of this peninsula, on ther emoval of the drift, which occurs both stratified and unstratified, and much resembles that of Scotland. I may mention here, that afterwards near Pictou (at Dixon's quarry), I observed polished a surface of quartzose grit of the coal measures, with distinct furrows running nearly E. and W. or E. 15° N., magnetic; while in some other places I saw them having nearly the same direction as at Halifax. Nova Scotia is usually known to strangers by its least favourable side, — its foggy southern coast, which has, nevertheless, the merit of affording some of the best harbours in the world.
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- Travels in North AmericaWith Geological Observations on the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, pp. 162 - 175Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1845