CHAPTER XII.

THE PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS.

Study of a geological map of the world will shew that extensive regions, such as parts of Scandinavia, many tracts of Central Europe, a large area in Canada, and a considerable portion of Brazil and the adjoining countries are occupied by crystalline schists, which underlie the oldest known sedimentary strata in those places. These crystalline schists form the floor upon which the sediments constituting the bulk of the geological column rest, and it is necessary that we should know something of the character of this floor. Other rocks which can be definitely proved to be of Precambrian age are often found associated with the crystalline schists, and these associated rocks have often undergone more or less alteration subsequently to their formation. The difference between the coarser types of crystalline schists and these associated rocks is sometimes so marked that geologists have necessarily paid attention to it, and separated the two groups of rocks; the term Archæan has been used by some geologists to include the crystalline schists, and Eparchæan for the associated rocks of known Precambrian age, but though this separation may sometimes be effected, there are cases when it is impossible to draw any sharp line of demarcation between 'Archæan' and 'Eparchæan' types.

In the present state of our knowledge, a chronological classification of the Precambrian rocks when applied to wide and distant regions is destined to break down, and it will be convenient if we consider at some length the features of the Precambrian rocks of a particular region, and apply the knowledge thus gained to a study of Precambrian rocks of other areas, and to a consideration of our knowledge of the Precambrian rocks as a whole. In doing so, the term 'crystalline schists' will be used somewhat vaguely with reference to a complex of schistose rocks of which the mode of origin cannot be fully determined. We may take our own country as a region where a good development of the Precambrian rocks occurs.

A few explanatory remarks concerning the mode of detection of Precambrian rocks may not be amiss. If any true organisms have been hitherto discovered amongst the rocks formed before Cambrian times they are valueless as a means of correlating rocks, and accordingly lithological characters only are available in attempting to correlate the rocks of one area with those of another. Those who have read the preceding chapters will have gathered that comparisons founded on similarity of lithological character are not so valuable as those made after careful scrutiny of the fossils of strata, but they are by no means valueless, and when the rocks of two areas which are not far distant from one another present close lithological resemblances, their general contemporaneity may be inferred with some degree of certainty.

It is only when we get the lowest Cambrian strata overlying earlier rocks that we have absolute proof of the Precambrian age of the latter, and it is necessary, therefore, that we should have some definite lower limit to the rocks of the Cambrian system. It is now generally agreed that that limit shall be drawn at the base of a group of rocks containing what is known as the Olenellus-fauna, which will be considered at greater length in the next chapter, and it will be well, if the term Cambrian be not in future applied to any rocks beneath the ones containing the relics of this fauna, for otherwise there is danger of the indefinite downward extension of the Cambrian system. We need not be surprised to find great thicknesses of rock below the rocks containing the Olenellus-fauna, and passing upwards with complete conformity into those rocks; nevertheless, if it can be shewn that the Olenellus-fauna had not appeared during the deposition of the underlying group, the rocks of that group should be termed Precambrian. A case of this nature has not yet been detected in our area, and all the rocks which have been proved to be Precambrian in Britain are separated from the overlying Cambrian rocks by a physical break, though that break is not necessarily very large, and in some districts is probably of little importance. Hitherto the Olenellus-fauna has been detected in Ross, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and probably in Pembrokeshire, and the rocks underlying the Olenellus-beds in those counties can be proved to be Precambrian (i.e. if the Olenellus-age of the Pembrokeshire rocks be ultimately established, and the researches of Dr Hicks tend to prove that it will almost certainly be done). It will be convenient if we take the instances where the age of the rocks can be proved with certainty or with a considerable degree of probability first, and then consider the examples of rocks which are found below Cambrian strata, though these have not hitherto yielded the Olenellus-fauna, concluding with a notice of rocks which have been claimed to be of Precambrian age on account of their lithological characters, though they are not now seen to be immediately succeeded by strata appertaining to the Cambrian system.

Commencing with the region where we have the greatest development of the known Precambrian rocks, namely Ross, Sutherland and the Hebrides, we may explain the general relationship of the rocks by means of a generalised section (Fig. 15).

The crystalline schists consist of rocks of very varied lithological characters, some with gneissose, and others with schistose structure, and they vary in degree of acidity from ultrabasic rocks to those of acid composition. Most of them exhibit parallel structures, which in many cases can be shewn to have been impressed on the rocks subsequently to their consolidation, though this need not have occurred and probably did not occur with some of them, especially the granitoid gneisses. The researches of the members of H. M. Geological Survey have shewn that many of these rocks were originally intrusive igneous rocks, though it is not yet known into what rocks those which were first consolidated were injected, and the origin of the bulk of the schists still remains to be elucidated. Subsequently to their consolidation and before the deposition of the earliest Torridonian rocks they were subjected to more than one set of earth-movements, which folded them and impressed a series of parallel structures upon many of them; and accordingly we find that the pebbles of the crystalline schists which are found amongst the basal conglomerates of the Torridonian rocks consist of fragments which had undergone the alteration caused by these earth-movements before they were denuded from their parent-rocks[48].

The Torridonian system is composed of rocks which are largely of arenaceous character, the most prominent beds being formed of red sandstones, and the bulk of the fragments in them have clearly been derived by denudation from the crystalline schists, many of the beds being composed of arkose, where the quartz is mixed with a large proportion of felspar and often of ferro-magnesian minerals. The deposits are clearly sedimentary, and are as little altered as many strata of much more recent origin, only possessing structures produced by metamorphic action under exceptional circumstances. The detailed researches of the geological surveyors prove that the rocks of this system have a much greater thickness and are of more varied lithological characters than was previously supposed. The total thickness of the strata is over 10,000 feet, and the sandstones are associated with deposits of a muddy character, and with occasional bands of limestone; in these circumstances the discovery of fossils would excite no surprise, and in 1891 Sir A. Geikie announced the detection of "traces of annelids and some more obscure remains of other organisms in these strata," which have not yet been described[49]. These Torridonian strata furnish us with the most satisfactory group of Precambrian sediments yet detected in Britain[50].

In the south-east Highlands is a great mass of crystalline schists of a less gneissose character than that of the north-west, to which Sir A. Geikie has applied the name Dalradian. Many of these schists will be found by examination of the geological map of Scotland to be separable into divisions, which by means of their lithological characters can be traced long distances across the country, and they present all the characters of sedimentary rocks, though they are associated with intrusive igneous rocks, and have undergone great metamorphic changes since their formation. Cambrian rocks have not yet been discovered immediately above them, though they are clearly older than Ordovician times, but the existence of rocks associated with them along their north-west borders, which in lithological characters closely resemble some of the rocks of the crystalline schists of the north-west Highlands, indicates the probability of their general Precambrian age. In some instances, the extreme types of metamorphism which they exhibit are the result of the kind of action usually termed pyrometamorphic as has been shewn by Mr G. Barrow[51].

In England and Wales the rocks which have been shewn or inferred to be Precambrian, when not intrusive, are largely of volcanic origin. The most satisfactory example of the occurrence of the Olenellus-fauna is that of the Cambrian Comley sandstone of Shropshire, which rests unconformably upon a set of rocks termed by Dr Callaway the Uriconian rocks; the latter are essentially volcanic, and strongly resemble Precambrian rocks of other British areas. There is also strong reason to suppose that the sediments to which the name Longmyndian has been applied, which have been described by the Rev. J. F. Blake, are of Precambrian age, for, as Professor Lapworth has pointed out, the three great subdivisions of the Cambrian system are present in the area under consideration, and the rocks of each are entirely different from those of the adjoining Longmynd area. In Shropshire therefore we meet with one set of volcanic rocks, and another set consisting of sedimentary rocks, of which the former is certainly, the latter almost certainly of Precambrian age, and as the Longmyndian rocks are in a comparatively unaltered condition, consisting of normal sediments, we may well expect the discovery of fossils in them also[52]. The Olenellus-fauna has been found near Nuneaton in Warwickshire in beds which unconformably succeed volcanic rocks, the Caldecote series of Prof. Lapworth, and the latter are therefore of Precambrian age[53]. A few fossils belonging to the Olenellus-fauna have occurred in the oldest Cambrian rocks of the Malvern district, and these rocks rest unconformably upon those of an old ridge which is therefore composed of Precambrian rocks. The rocks of this ridge are largely of intrusive igneous origin, though parallel structures have been impressed upon them as the result of subsequent deformation, but some of the rocks are almost certainly of contemporaneous volcanic origin[54]. In the Wrekin ridge, igneous and pyroclastic rocks are found succeeded unconformably by Cambrian rocks which resemble those of the Malvern and Nuneaton districts, and probably belong to the period of existence of the Olenellus-fauna, and these igneous and pyroclastic rocks are presumably of Precambrian age, and the contemporaneous rocks constitute Dr Callaway's typical Uriconian group. Volcanic ashes and breccias are accompanied by devitrified pitchstones and intruded granitic rocks, which may or may not be all of the same general age[55]. The rocks which have been claimed as Precambrian in Pembrokeshire and in Caernarvonshire have the same general characters as those of the Wrekin ridge. Pyroclastic rocks underlie the oldest Cambrian rocks, with discordance between the two, and associated with these pyroclastic rocks are quartz felsites which according to some are of contemporaneous nature whilst others maintain their intrusive origin. In each county granites are found which are now generally recognised to be intrusive, though there seems to be no doubt as to their being of the same general age as the rocks with which they are associated, and therefore presumably Precambrian. The Pembrokeshire rocks are marked by the occurrence of a certain amount of metamorphism, probably of more than one kind, which has converted pyroclastic volcanic rocks into sericitic-schists and quartz-felsites into hälleflintas[56]. The term Pebidian given by Dr Hicks to the contemporaneous volcanic fragmental rocks should be retained, and if these rocks be eventually shewn to be contemporaneous with similar volcanic rocks of other districts, may be applied generally, as it has priority over other terms as Uriconian and Caldecote series. The term Dimetian was applied to rocks known to be intrusive, and must be dropped as a chronological term, whilst the existence of an Arvonian system separate from the Pebidian system is not fully proved.

In Caernarvonshire two ridges are found, the one running from Bangor to Caernarvon, and the other through Llanberis lake. The rocks of these are generally similar to those of St Davids, and as the lowest Cambrian rocks of the area closely resemble those of St Davids, the Precambrian age of the rocks of these ridges is rendered highly probable, though until the discovery of the Olenellus-fauna in the area, it cannot be regarded as proved[57].

The actual position of the similar rocks of Anglesey has not been so clearly fixed, as the rocks associated with them are of Ordovician age, but their resemblance to the rocks of the adjoining regions renders their Precambrian age highly probable. It is interesting to find in association with the rocks which resemble those of Caernarvonshire, others which Sir A. Geikie recognises as quite similar to some existing amongst the crystalline schists of the north-west Highlands of Scotland, and when these ancient rocks of Anglesey have been mapped in detail, they will probably be found to present greater variety than is afforded by any Precambrian rocks of Great Britain occurring S. of the Scotch border[58].

Of rocks whose age is more uncertain, but which are probably of Precambrian age, those of Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire may first be noticed. They are largely of pyroclastic origin, and from their likeness to similar rocks of proved Precambrian age, they are very probably of this age, as suggested by Messrs Hill and Bonney[59]. A group of crystalline schists is found in the south of Cornwall, especially near the Lizard, and similar rocks are found in the Channel Isles. As their relationship to newer rocks is not clear, little can be said about them, which has not already been noticed in mentioning the crystalline schists of other regions[60].

The Precambrian rocks of the European continent consist largely of crystalline schists which in their general aspects recall those of the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Important masses are found in Bavaria, Bohemia, France, Spain, Scandinavia and Russia. The Scandinavian and Russian rocks of Archæan type are in places succeeded by the Olenellus-bearing beds of the Cambrian rocks, and rocks of Eparchæan character are not extensively developed, though certain Norwegian rocks may be the equivalents of the Torridonian rocks of Scotland, and other rocks of this type are found in places in Sweden. In Bohemia and in Brittany Precambrian strata of Eparchæan type have been discovered, and this type probably occurs elsewhere in Europe.

The North American rocks require some notice, for it was in Canada that the existence of Precambrian rocks was first recognised, and the term Laurentian, originally applied to an Archæan type of Precambrian rocks in Canada, was subsequently adopted in speaking of many Precambrian rocks elsewhere, though it is now wisely restricted to the type of rock in the original area to which the name was first given. These Laurentian rocks acquired a special, interest on account of the occurrence in their limestones of a supposed reef-building foraminifer, Eozoon canadense, but detailed study of its structure and mode of occurrence has convinced most geologists that the structure is inorganic.

The Laurentian rocks of the typical Laurentide region are largely crystalline schists associated with massive crystalline rocks. The attempt to separate them chronologically into a Lower and Upper division was premature, as shewn by the fact that many of them, upon detailed study, prove to be intrusive igneous rocks. In the neighbourhood of Lake Huron, a set of sedimentary rocks overlying the Archæan rocks is of Eparchæan type, consisting to a great extent of volcanic rocks, clay-slates and schists with intrusive igneous rocks; it has been termed the Huronian System, and this term has also been extensively applied to other Eparchæan types found elsewhere, but should be restricted to the rocks of the Huron district. A number of other rocks of Eparchæan type have been discovered in various parts of North America, and have been grouped together under the title of Algonkian, a name proposed for them by Dr C. D. Walcott, and an attempt has been made to arrange them in chronological order, though in the absence of fossils, the rocks of different districts can only be so arranged by reference to lithological characters; nevertheless a detailed study of the Eparchæan and some of the more finely crystalline schistose rocks points to the existence of a number of divisions of sedimentary rocks of Precambrian age, some of which may attain to the dignity of forming separate systems[61]. By far the most instructive development of American Precambrian rocks has been found in the Rainy Lake region of Canada, and it is the subject of a special memoir by Dr A. C. Lawson[62]. The Archæan rocks of the region are divided into a lower Laurentian and an upper division, which is further subdivided into the Coutchiching series below and the Keewatin series above, though the rocks of the Keewatin series are largely of Eparchæan character. The Laurentian rocks of this region resemble those of the Laurentide area, and consist of highly crystalline schistose and gneissose rocks associated with compact rocks. The Coutchiching series consists of mica schists and grey laminated gneisses, which appear to have been of sedimentary origin, altered by subsequent metamorphic action, while the Keewatin series, which reposes sometimes upon the rocks of the Coutchiching series (when the junction is an unconformable one), sometimes upon the Laurentian rocks, is formed of pyroclastic rocks and lava flows with intercalated sedimentary rocks; some of the Keewatin rocks are highly metamorphosed but others have undergone little or no metamorphic change. The most important point in connexion with these rocks of the Rainy Lake Region has reference to the relationship between the Laurentian rocks and those of the Coutchiching and Keewatin series. Lawson demonstrates the igneous nature of the Laurentian rocks, and brings forward evidence of various kinds that they were formed "by the fusion of the basement or floor upon which the formations of the upper division of the Archæan were originally deposited. With the fusion of this floor it seems probable that portions of the superincumbent strata, which once formed integral parts of either the Coutchiching series or the Keewatin, have also been absorbed into the general magma, and reappeared on crystallization as Laurentian gneiss. This fusion, however, only extended up to a certain uneven surface, which surface constitutes the demarcation between the present upper and lower Archæan. Above this surface, or upper limit of fusion, the formation of the Coutchiching and Keewatin series retained their stratiform or bedded disposition, and rested as a crust of hard and brittle rocks upon the magma, subject to its metamorphosing influences[63]."

We may now pass briefly in review the evidence which has been so far obtained as to the mode of formation of the various Precambrian rocks. The existence of a very varied fauna amongst the earliest Cambrian strata has been commented upon by many geologists, and according to accepted explanations of the origin of that fauna, an enormous period of time elapsed before the deposition of the earliest Cambrian strata. During portions of that long period, the undoubtedly clastic rocks of Eparchæan type were deposited, and probably many others which are now so altered by metamorphism, like some of the Coutchiching rocks of Canada, that their original clastic origin can only be inferred and not directly proved. Volcanic activity was very rife during the deposition of some of these Eparchæan rocks, though perhaps not more so than during the formation of some of the Lower Palæozoic Rocks. All attempts to prove the occurrence of organisms in Precambrian strata have hitherto failed, for no undoubted fossil has been described which is unhesitatingly accepted as of Precambrian age, notwithstanding the many asserted occurrences of such fossils. That fossils will eventually be discovered is more than probable, and their non-detection at the present time is in no way very surprising, when we remember the long time that elapsed after the existence of stratified rocks below the Upper Palæozoic rocks had been recognised, before definite faunas were discovered in them. The determination of the Precambrian age of stratified rocks is recent, and now that this determination has been made, the search for fossils will be more eager, and is likely to be rewarded by their discovery. Furthermore, experience shows that when fossils are discovered in rocks of unknown age, there is a tendency to refer those rocks to some known period, and consequently we may actually possess Precambrian fossils, out of beds which have been erroneously referred to the Cambrian or a later period.

Another important question is that of the metamorphism of a large number of Precambrian rocks, and here again recent research tends to show that the metamorphism is not of a kind different from that which occurred after the end of Precambrian times; the discovery of crystalline schists in Norway, Kirkcudbrightshire and Westmorland amongst Lower Palæozoic rocks, which resemble those of Archæan masses in all respects except in the extent of area which they cover, shows that similar processes to those which occurred in Precambrian times went on during later periods, though perhaps not on so large a scale. The great extent of these metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age can hardly be due in any great degree to the longer time during which they have been subjected to metamorphic influence, for there is evidence that much of the change took place in Precambrian times, far more than has occurred since, and it is a significant fact that these old rocks are more extensively penetrated by intrusive igneous masses than those of later periods; here again we find that much of the intrusion actually occurred in Precambrian times. The greater extent of intrusion and metamorphism amongst these Precambrian rocks than amongst later sediments indicates some differences of conditions in the case of Precambrian and later times. If besides intrusion, actual fusion of floors of Precambrian rocks occurred, we may well suppose that the earlier records of the rocks are for ever lost to us, the earliest sediments having been fused, but that the history of life upon our earth is to be revealed to us first in so late a stage as that of Cambrian times is highly improbable, and we may look forward with confidence to laying bare the records of the rocks composing the geological column some way below the Cambrian portion of the column.

Upon this foundation of igneous rock, sediment and volcanic material, formed in Precambrian times, whose history we have only begun to study, was laid down the great mass of sediment which the geologist has more completely studied, where abundant traces of life are preserved, and concerning whose history we can gain a greater insight than is permitted us in the case of the old Foundation Stones.

CHAPTER XIII.

CYCLES OF CHANGE IN THE BRITISH AREA.

Before studying in further detail the strata of the geological column, it will be convenient to deal with the great physical changes which have occurred in the British area from Precambrian times to the present day, as this will clear the way for a right appreciation of the main variations in the characters and distribution of the strata.

At the end of Precambrian times there was a general upheaval of the British area, and this we may speak of as the First Continental Period. It was followed by depression and extensive sedimentation, proceeding more or less continuously though with local interruptions through Lower Palæozoic times, so that so far as Britain is concerned we may speak of Lower Palæozoic times as constituting the First Marine Period. Extensive upheaval gave rise to continental tracts and mountain chains, and deposits of abnormal character (as compared with ordinary marine deposits) at the end of Lower Palæozoic times;—the Devonian period was one of elevation and denudation, and we may therefore refer to it as the Second Continental Period. This was followed by depression and sedimentation in Carboniferous times, and these Carboniferous times constitute the Second Marine Period. Elevation gave rise to continental tracts and mountain chains at the end of Carboniferous times, and here again we find proofs of extensive denudation and the formation of abnormal deposits:—the Permo-Triassic period is the Third Continental Period. Depression set in during early Jurassic times and continued throughout the Mesozoic and the early part of Tertiary times, which form the Third Marine Period. Disturbances culminating in Miocene times once more produced terrestrial conditions. In this, the Fourth Continental Period, we are still living.

From what has been previously written it will be seen that each of the marine periods should be marked by an early and late shallow-water phase, separated by an intervening marine phase, and the importance of the phases will depend upon the length of time during which they existed, and will differ markedly in different cases, whilst the distinctness of the middle phase from the upper and lower, will depend upon the magnitude of the maximum submergence.

During the first marine period submergence was comparatively rapid, and the shallow-water phase only lasted through very early Cambrian times in most regions, whilst the deep-water phase, complicated by many minor upheavals, extended through the main part of Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian times, and was replaced by the later shallow-water phase at the end of Silurian times.

The second marine period again was ushered in by rapid submergence, so that the shallow-water phase was brief, and the main mass of the Lower Carboniferous strata was deposited in deep water; but, unlike the first marine period, the second was characterised by the occurrence of a long interval of time marking the later shallow-water phase, during which the whole of the Upper Carboniferous strata were deposited. The Carboniferous Marine Period is the simplest of the three with which we have to deal, as the local oscillations occurring on a fairly large scale for such movements were less frequent than was the case during the first and third marine periods.

The third marine period had a long shallow-water phase at the commencement, with many minor oscillations, causing great variation in the character of the deposits and frequent minor unconformities. This shallow-water phase existed throughout Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous times. The deep-water phase existed during the deposition of the Upper Cretaceous deposits, and was succeeded by the second shallow-water phase, when the early Tertiary strata were accumulated.

The difference between the elevations which accompanied the Continental Periods and those which have been alluded to as minor elevations is no doubt one of degree, but in considering the British strata only no confusion is likely to arise on this account, as the difference was here very great.

The events which occurred during the continental periods are of extreme importance to the geologist. Every great upheaval was accompanied by crumpling and stiffening of portions of the earth's crust, and a definite trend was given to the strata as the result of these movements. It is to the earth-movements of the four great continental periods that the present structure of the British Isles is largely due, and in any attempt to restore the physical history of our islands considerable attention must be paid to the changes which were produced in the stratified rocks during these periods of earth-movement.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE CAMBRIAN SYSTEM.

Classification. The rocks of the Cambrian system when found reposing on Precambrian rocks in Britain are always separated from the latter by an unconformity. The typical development of the rocks of the system, as the name implies, is in the hilly region of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire in North Wales, and they are also well represented in South Wales, the border counties between England and Wales, and the North-West Highlands of Scotland. Two distinct classifications of the Cambrian rocks of Britain are in use, the original one founded on variations of lithological character, whilst the second depends upon faunistic differences, but the original lithological classification has been to some extent modified to make it locally correspond with the classification based upon palæontological grounds. The following table will shew the differences:—

The original lithological classification was essentially the result of Prof. Sedgwick's work in North Wales, while the classification according to faunas is the outcome of the researches of Dr Hicks in South Wales.

Description of the Strata. The Cambrian rocks of North Wales occur in two complex anticlines, separated by an intermediate syncline of Ordovician strata occupying the Snowdonian hills. The southerly or Harlech anticline forms a part of Merionethshire to the east of Harlech, whilst the northern one is developed around Bangor and Llanberis. The South Welsh Cambrian rocks are chiefly found on either side of the Pembrokeshire axis of Precambrian rocks which runs through St David's. As the corresponding rocks of the two regions were deposited in bathymetrical zones of much the same depth, it will be convenient to give a general account of the rocks of the two regions at the same time, leaving the student to acquire information of the detailed variations in the larger text-books and in special memoirs[65].

The strata of the Caerfai and Solva groups show the prevalence of the shallow-water phase almost uninterruptedly through the whole of the time occupied by their accumulation in the Welsh areas. They consist chiefly of basal conglomerates, succeeded by alternations of grits and shales, though the latter are often converted into slates, owing to the subsequent production of cleavage. The basal conglomerates of the Caerfai beds are frequently marked by the existence of enormous pebbles, composed of fragments of the rocks of the underlying Precambrian groups, and the possibility of the occurrence of glacial action during their accumulation as advocated by Dr Hicks must be taken into account. Above these beds are various coloured grits, with alternations of muddy sediments often coloured red[66]. The Solva group consists of massive grits, of various colours, also with alternations of mud, which have prevalent purple and green hues. The great thickness of the strata of the Caerfai and Solva Series, which sometimes exceeds 10,000 feet, must also be noted.