Canadian Economic Geology 1

Abstract

THE White River District of Yukon extends east from the Alaskan-Canadian boundary, and its geology continues that of country well known by the work of the American geologists. Some Carboniferous rocks, resting on an Archean foundation, are followed by thick Mesozoic sediments which contain a few Cretaceous fossils. The Cainozoic is represented by land and fresh-water beds containing lignites. As in Alaska, there are two volcanic series, one of which was, erupted during the world-wide disturbances between the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and the other is Upper Cainozoic and continued until very recent though pre-Glacial times. In the early Pliocene the country was uplifted and greatly fractured, the evidence of which is most distinct on the coast. The chief ores of the White River District are of gold and copper. The discovery of the placer deposits at Chisana in 1913 occasioned the greatest “stampede” or mining rush since that to Klondyke in 1897–98. The copper ores have long been worked by the Indians, and in 1891 the exaggerated reports of their quantity led to the first prospecting of the country. Mr. Cairnes's memoir is illustrated by some excellent maps and photographs.