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PEACE RIVER DISTRICT.","@language":"en"}],"CatalogueRecord":[{"@value":"http:\/\/resolve.library.ubc.ca\/cgi-bin\/catsearch?bid=1198198","@language":"en"}],"Collection":[{"@value":"Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia","@language":"en"}],"Creator":[{"@value":"British Columbia. Legislative Assembly","@language":"en"}],"DateAvailable":[{"@value":"2016-02-17","@language":"en"}],"DateIssued":[{"@value":"[1921]","@language":"en"}],"DigitalResourceOriginalRecord":[{"@value":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/collections\/bcsessional\/items\/1.0226009\/source.json","@language":"en"}],"Extent":[{"@value":"Foldout Map: Reconnaissance Map showing Geology & Structure of a portion of PEACE RIVER DISTRICT BRITISH COLUMBIA to accompany report by Edmund M. Spieker 1920 -- p. K 29","@language":"en"}],"FileFormat":[{"@value":"application\/pdf","@language":"en"}],"FullText":[{"@value":" PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA\nDEPARTMENT OF LANDS\nHon. T. D. PATTULLO\nMinister of Lands\nEeport of Oil Surveys\nPeace River District\n1920\nBY\nJOHN A. DRESSER and EDMUND M. SPIEKER\nPRINTED BY\nAUTHORITY  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY.\nVICTORIA,  B.C. :\nPrinted by William H.  Cttllin,  Printer to  tbe King's  Most Excellent Majesty.\n1921. .;\u2022    j; VictoeiA;, B.C., January 14th, 1921.\nTo His Honour Walter Cameron Nichol,\nLieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia.\nMay it please Yodb Honour:\nHerewith I beg respectfully to submit the Reports of Oil Surveys in the Peace\nRiver District of British Columbia in 1920 by John A. Dresser and Edmund M.\nSpieker.\nT. D. PATTULLO,\nMinister of Lands.  .\nOil Survey in the Peace River District,\nBritish Columbia.\nBy John A. Dressed.\nThe following is a summary report of progress for the season of 1920 in the investigation\nof the oil and gas resources of the Peace River District in British Columbia which is being\ncarried on by the authority of the Minister of\" Lands and under the direction of the Comptroller\nof Water Rights. The area considered in this report lies north of the Peace River, west of\nPeace River Block, north-east of the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, and south of Graham,\nor the South-west Branch of the Halfway House. A larger part of the district including this\narea was made the subject of a reconnaissance examination and report during the season of\n1919 by the late Professor Gwillim. In his report Professor Gwilliin recommended certain areas\nfor detailed examination, of which the field here considered is one.\nThe work of the past season was begun as nearly as possible at July 1st and continued to\nSeptember 15th. In this work the writer had the valued aid as field assistant of Professor\nAlexander Maclean, of the University of Toronto, who had already had several years' experience\nin geological investigation in the Cretaceous basin of the great plains in the service of the\nGeological Survey of Canada. The object of the examination was to define as closely as possible\nthe most promising localities for possible operation within the area recommended in Professor\nGwillim's report of last year.\nSummary and Conclusions.\nThe area as already defined forms a triangle approximately 40 miles from south to north,\nand 10 or 12 miles wide at the north, the sides practically converging to a point at the Peace\nRiver near Hudson Hope. The surface is deeply covered by soil and rock. Exposures are few,\nwhich necessitates much work outside of the immediate field. The principal evidences of geologic\nstructure are found along the Peace River in the vicinity of Red River, 20 miles north of Hudson\nHope, near the crossing of the trails leading to the Halfway River, and along the South-west\nHalfway or Graham River.\nThe underlying rocks of known character are shales and sandstones of Cretaceous age, whose\ngeologic equivalent in some other parts of Western Canada are oil-bearing. The upper portions\nof these rocks, known as the St. John formation, consist of shales with a less amount of sandstones ; a lower part, the Bullhead Mountain formation, is composed of sandstones with a minor\namount of shale. These formations are further distinguished by other differences of fossil\ncontent, mode of origin, and condition of preservation which it is not necessary to describe for\npresent purposes. Beneath both of these formations rocks of Triassic age probably occur, and\nthough possibly oil-bearing, they are likely to be found only at depths too great to be profitably\nexplored.\nThe character of the St. John shales strongly suggests that they are oil-bearing, but\naccumulations of commercial value can only be expected in the porous sandstone-beds within\nthe shales or in the upper parts of the Bullhead sandstones immediately beneath them. Such\naccumulations are most likely to occur in folds of the rocks, principally in anticlinal or upward\nfolds. Along the Peace River one such fold appears near Hudson Hope and another at the\n\" Gates \" of the Peace, 7 miles lower down the river. Other folds, probably related to these,\nwere also found on the Red River near the trail to the South-west Halfway, on Lynx Creek\nnear the trail leading to the forks of the Halfway, and on the South-west Halfway near the trail\nleading to Hudson Hope. These are the most promising localities for the discovery of oil yet\nfound in the area.\nIn view of the unlikelihood of finding better structures and of the limited amount of other\ninformation likely to 'be obtained in the area by further field examination alone, it seems\nadvisable that the next step in the search for oil should be made by exploratory drilling. The\nobject of such drilling would be to prove the character of the formation at depth, to ascertain K 6\nSurvey.\n1921\nif there is any accumulation of oil in the porous members, and to better define the structures\nin which accumulation may occur; in short, the drilling would be done for information rather\nthan for the immediate production of oil. With this object in view certain places were selected\nwhile in the field as suitable drilling-sites. Their positions are shown on the accompanying plan\nand are also marked on the ground by nunfbered posts. In exploratory drilling especially great\ncare should be taken in collecting, interpreting, and preserving drilling records.\n|B01?J\u00bbA  R\nQ\nH\u00bb-u. U Am^hCH I\n\u25a0Jt:d\n1 hi\n:<o:\nI I\n\\\\\\\nM\n*$& P\nGeneral Description.\nSurface Features.\u2014The area examined is a rolling plain bordering the foot-hills of the\nRocky Mountains. Its general altitude is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet above sea-level and only\nexceeds or falls below these limits at rare intervals. The foot-hills which form the south-west\nboundary rise quite abruptly and have a well-defined north-westerly course. 11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 7\nIn places low broad ridges run more or less continuously in direction parallel to the front\nof the foot-hills. They are very largely soil-covered and it is not clear how far, if at all, they\nexpress the structure of the underlying rocks. In places they appear to do so, as is indicated\nby their parallelism to the foot-hills, but in other instances' they seem to be due to pre-glacial\nerosion or irregular deposits of glacial material. The highest of these is about 300 feet above\nthe prairie-level.\nFrom the Peace River northwards the general surface rises somewhat uniformly for 25 miles\nand then appears to decline slightly towards the South-west Halfway. From west to east there\nis a general decline in altitude as shown by the drainage; Lynx Creek, Red River, Kobes Creek,\nand their branches are all swift-flowing streams with uniform steep gradients.\nThe most pronounced topographic features, however, are erosional. Near the trail to\nHudson Hope the South-west Halfway flows in a broad erosion valley quite 500 feet below\nthe ridge separating it from Kobes Creek. Kobes Valley, which appears to be influenced by\nthe jutting-out of a spur of the foot-hills, is slightly above the South-west Halfway in altitude.\nThe three branches of Red River and Lynx Creek in its two branches are cut mainly in\nunconsolidated clays and sands and in most places run in a narrow V-shaped trench. For\ninstance, at the trail from Hudson Hope to the South-west Halfway, Lynch Creek is 100 feet\ndeep and 800 feet wide between prairie-level on either side without exposing bed-rock. Near its\nmouth, however, the underlying shales and sandstones are cut by the stream in steep-walled\ngorges to a depth of 40 or 50 feet, often in courses following the joints of the rock. The same is\ntrue of the Red River, the Middle Branch of which is entrenched in sandstones and shales near\nthe Halfway trails.\nThe descent from prairie-level to the Peace River is made on the Halfway trail over an\nescarpment of 350 feet at a'bout 2 miles from Hudson Hope, followed by a second bench of 100\nfeet at the north side of the village, and thence by a further descent of 100 feet down the actual\nbank of the river to the boat-landing.\nGeology.\nGeneral.\u2014The great plains in the latitude of the area under discussion are underlain by\nsedimentary rocks which were deposited in Cretaceous time. They extend from the vicinity of\nthe Rocky Mountain Divide easterly to the Lower Athabaska River, and have a still greater\nextent in a north-westerly and south-easterly direction. Towards the eastern margin they rest\non strata of Devonian age and near their western border on Triassic measures. The Cretaceous\nrocks of the region are shales and sandstones. East of the foot-hills of the Rockies they form\na broad synclinal basin within which there are minor undulations or small folds.\nLocal.\u2014The district represented on the accompanying map lies in the western part of the\nCretaceous basin, and the rocks, other than surface deposits, belong to the lower part of that\nsystem. Two formations must be considered, although only one is actually exposed within the\narea.\nFormations.\nAge.*\nFormation.\nCharacter.\nOrigin.\nSt. John   \t\nBullhead\t\nCretaceous -1 (Coloradoan)\nTerrestrial.\n* McLearn, I\\ H.:   Geological Survey of Canada,  Summary Report,  1917.\nCharacter and Extent of Formations.\nThe Bullhead formation is exposed only in the uplifted strata of the foot-hills which form\nthe western 'boundary of the area. It is a grey compact sandstone considerably indurated where\nfolded. In places it contains seams of coal. It is a thick formation possibly several thousand\nfeet in depth.\nThe St. John formation underlies the entire area. It consists of shales and sandstones in\nplaces somewhat calcareous. No fossils were found in either. The St. John shales vary in colour\nfrom dark grey to rusty red, and at a short distance commonly present a purplish hue. They are\nsoft and very fissile, easily splitting into thin laniime.   A lump crushed and rolled in the hand K 8\nOil Survey.\n1921\nGeographic Branch, B.C. 11 Geo. 5 Peace Biver District. K 9\nfrequently gives a petroleum odour. The St. John sandstone is a grey friable rock of rather fine\neven grain. In places the cementing material appears to be calcareous in the thinner beds.\nBeds vary in thickness from 20 or 30 feet to 1 or 2 inches. The shales form much the greater\npart of the formation, but in some horizons, apparently in the lower part of the formation, the\nsandstone approximates the shale in amount.\nF. H. McLearn, of the Geological Survey of Canada, from an extensive study of the series,\nestimates the thickness of the formation to be upwards of 2,200 feet, consisting of an upper shale\nof 1,300 feet and lower of 800 feet separated by some 50 to SO feet of sandstone. (Summary\nReport, 1917, Geological Survey of Canada.) .\nStructure.\nIn the foot-hills which form the west boundary of the area the rocks are folded, in places\nsharply, into north-westerly running ridges which frequently rise as much as 1,000 feet above\nthe adjacent plain on the east. In this disturbed belt the St. John formation, where not removed\nby erosion, wraps closely over the underlying Bullhead, apparently in comformable succession.\nThis is well shown on the south end of Portage Mountain.\nEast of the disturbed belt or foot-hills the dip is towards the north-east, generally at low\nangles, except where reversed by occasional folds. Two broad anticlines appear in the banks\nof the Peace River in the first 15 miles east of the foot-hills. The first is near Hudson Hope\nand the second at the \" Gates\" of the Peace, a rock-enclosed narrows some 7 miles east of\nHudson Hope. In these the dip, which elsewhere is commonly less than 5\u00b0, rises very perceptibly on both limbs of the folds. In both there are strong beds of sandstone, indicating the\nmiddle horizon of the St. John formation.\nAlong the river-bank the rocks are largely concealed between these folds. The localities\nwhere they are exposed on the Peace River are both within the Peace River Block, about 2 and\n9 miles from its west boundary. They trend towards the north-west and doubtless extend beyond\nthis boundary into the soil-covered area.\nOn Lynx Creek, about a mile from its junction with the Peace, there is a sharp fold giving\na south-westerly dip of 45\u00b0. Shales predominate here, but sandstone is also present. The\n, exposure is small and the fold may be local.    This, too, is within the Peace River Block.\nIn going northward from the Peace River west of the Block, shale-beds appear in the banks\nof Lynx Creek a mile or more east of the trail leading to the South-west Halfway. The exposure\nis small and the altitude of the beds cannot be safely determined.\nBetween the first and second Red Rivers some 20 miles north of Hudson Hope there are\nseveral exposures (see plan). From the crossing of the east trail to.the South-west Halfway\nan escarpment about 100 feet high borders the river for a distance of a quarter of a mile westward. The rocks are largely sandstone, but there are a few minor beds of shale and the whole\nappears to rest on shale at the base. The dip is quite uniformly N. 20\u00b0 to 25\u00b0 E. (magnetic) at\nan angle of 10\u00b0. A mile west of this locality shale in a low exposure on the river has a dip\nof 45\u00b0 in direction N. 20\u00b0 E. (magnetic). Some 1,800 feet westerly are several exposures in\nthe vicinity of the crossing of the west trail and the second Red River. In these the rocks are\nthin-bedded sandstone and shale in about equal amounts. They are nearly horizontal, though\nthere is usually a slight dip towards the north-east.\nNorthwards from this locality no rock was found, except a small exposure a mile south of\nGraveyard Prairie on the north-east side of the third Red River, and on a spur of the foot-hills\nnear Kobes Creek, until the South-west Halfway is reached, at a distance of some 20 miles. On\nthis river, for several miles above its junction with the main Halfway, sandstones and shales in\nrather thick beds dip uniformly down the stream at a low angle of 4\u00b0 or 5\u00b0. Near the crossing\nof the trail from Hudson Hope the rocks are concealed by soil along the river-banks, but appear\nin hillsides on the north side of the river. Crossing a break of a mile in this escarpment the\nrocks reappear on the west, dipping in the opposite direction towards the foot-hills, at about the\nsame angle. There thus appears to be a broad anticline here having its axis in the vicinity of\nthe trail from Hudson Hope to Cypress Creek and northward. This may be a continuation or\nrepetition of one of the folds found on the Peace River, but, of course, the broad concealed\ninterval between the localities makes any definite determination quite impossible. The lithological\ncharacter of the formation in having sandstone nearly or quite equal in amount to shale suggests\nthat the three localities\u2014viz., South-west Halfway, Red River, and Peace River\u2014may be about\nthe horizon of the middle sandstone defined by McLearn.-   But in the absence of fossils and the K 10\nOil Survey.\n1921\nscarcity of other evidences this conclusion, though quite possible, is as yet little more than\nconjectural. Small fractures are found in one or two folds, but only such as would be naturally\nsealed by the compression of the shales.\nOil-seepages are reported in several localities. All such indications were examined that\nwere reported as visible at the time of our examination, but were found to be due to other\nmaterials.\nEconomic Considerations.\nIn composition, and, as far as can be learned by surface examination, in structure also, the\nSt. John formation is favourable for the occurrence of oil and gas. It has large and slightly\ndisturhed beds of marine shales, and these are interbedded with considerable bodies of porous\nsandstone. Such folds as are known are not accompanied by great faults or dislocations. Other\nsimilarly favourable structures are liable to occur beneath the great mantle of drift that conceals\nso much of the area.\nAlso, the entire area examined may be regarded as only a small sample of the wide region\noccupied by this formation. It therefore seems advisable that this area should next be tested,\nby drilling, as to the actual occurrence of oil within the sandstones at depth. These are the\nnatural places for accumulations of oil to take place, whether in the sandstones of the St. John\nformation or, possibly,' in favourable portions of the immediately underlying Bullhead.\nSuch drilling, with its results carefully scrutinized and recorded, would be highly valuable,\nnot only in giving information as to the presence of oil in the sandstone actually drilled, but\nalso in disclosing the nature, depth, and all contents of value in the formations concerned. Such\ndata are of greater importance in view of the large extent of this formation in the region.\nTimber.\nThe country is generally wooded, though patches of open prairie of a mile or two in extent\nare common. Poplar, Cottonwood, white birch, spruce, and jack-pine are the common trees.\nThese grow to sizes suitable for fuel, lumber, small building, or drilling operations. A sawmill\nis badly needed in the district. Prairie-grass grows abundantly in the open spaces, generally\naffording ample feed for horses on the trail.\nLabour and Supplies.\nFor operations requiring any considerable amount of labour men must be brought from\noutside. A few pack-trains and outfits for .wagon or sleigh transport, with good packers,\nmay be engaged at Hudson Hope, also several good guides. But the population is small and\nthere are few unemployed men. Ordinary living supplies and common implements can be\npurchased at Hudson Hope.\nTransportation.\nExcept for a wagon-road across the Rocky Mountain Portage and for a few miles along the\nPeace, the only means of overland transport in the district in summer is by pack-trains over\nsaddle-trails. This is of necessity slow and expensive. The nearest railway communication is\nreached at Peace River Crossing, or Spirit River, on the Edmonton, Dunvegan & British Columbia\nRailway, or at Prince George on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The last route is little used\nexcept the district in summer, when advantage is taken of the down-stream course of nearly\n300 miles on the Peace and the Parsnip and its tributaries. The most common route in summer\nis by way of the Peace River, either to Peace River, 240 miles by boat, or to Dunvegan, 170 miles\nby boat, and some 15 miles by road to Spirit River Station. Automobiles and auto-trucks are\nused on this road. In winter there is travel by sleigh on the river to the same points and also\nby an overland route via Pouee Coupe to Spirit River. In summer this route is still impossible\nfor wagons between Moberly Lake and Pouce Coupe for a distance of 100 miles or more.\nThe Peace is a strong swift-flowing river with frequently changing bars and a wide range\nin the depth of water. Consequently, it is difficult to get draught for boats of sufficient power\nto stem the currents. A rate of $4.50 per 100 lb. is quoted by freighters between Spirit River\nand Hudson Hope for winter trafiic, and $3 per hundredweight by boats in summer. All shipments, at least in winter, must be arranged for by specific order. Mail from Hudson Hope is\nconveyed by boat or trail to Fort St. John, and thence overland to Pouce Coupe, twenty-five times\nper year. There is also a Government telegraph-office at Hudson Hope which greatly facilitates\noutside communication. 11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 11\nThe Geology and Oil Resources of the Foot-hills South of\nPeace River in North-eastern British Columbia.\nBy Edmund M. Spieker.\nIntroduction.\nThe attention of those interested in the development of-the world's oil resources has in recent\nyears been turned with some keenness of anticipation towards the region of moderately folded\nrocks between the foot-hills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the plains. In the effort to\nascertain the promise of the area at least two prominent oil companies have had parts of it\nexamined in geologic reconnaissance. That part of the belt which lies in British Columbia has\nappeared worthy of study. In his report to the Department of Lands, Professor J. C. Gwillim*\nrecommended the furtherance of geologic work to determine more exactly the possibilities of the\narea, and the work on which this report is based was done in fulfilment of that recommendation.\nThe object of the writer's work was to determine as completely as possible in the time\navailable the degree of promise as a possible oilfield offered by the region in British Columbia\nfronting the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains between the Peace River in the general longitude\nof Hudson Hope and the Murray (East Pine) River in the latitude of Flat Creek. (See map\nfor location of area.) This it was planned to accomplish through a general geologic reconnaissance, supplemented by detailed work in localities which the general examination showed\nworthy of further attention.\nThe field-work was done by the writer, assisted by W. R. Smith, during the summer of 1920.\nUnprecedented weather conditions delayed progress materially, cutting in half the amount of\ntime in which observations could be made, and it was not possible to complete all of the work\nplanned; however, a reconnaissance map of the entire area was made, and such detailed work\nas extremes of unfavourable weather would allow was done on the Pine River at Boulder Creek\nand about Hudson Hope.\nAcknowledgments.\nThe writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation of the assistance given by many with\nwhom he came into contact during the progress of the work. Acknowledgment is due Dr. F. H.\nMcLearn, of the Geological Survey of Canada, for advice and criticism given in the field and\noffice; to Professor Edward W. Berry, of the Johns Hopkins University, for the determination\nof fossil plants and for general criticism; to Dr. T. W. Stanton, of the United States Geological\nSurvey, for advice concerning the invertebrates collected; to the Geological Department of Johns\nHopkins University for facilities accorded during the preparation of the report; and to A. R.\nBarrow, B.C.L.S., for the loan of instruments in the field to replace some of those spoiled in an\naccident. Special acknowledgment of the perfect service given by H. C. Garbitt, packer, and\nBert Meikle, cook, of the writer's party, is due; without the efficiency and willingness of these\nmen much of the work could not have been done. The generosity of many of the residents of\nHudson Hope, and in particular Charles Paquette, facilitated work materially. And as a word\nof final acknowledgment the writer desires to express full appreciation of the cordiality and\ngoodwill with which every convenience for carrying on the work was accorded by the Department\nof Lands.\nThe Map.\nBeyond those areas directly adjacent to surveyed land-lines no mapping of much worth has\nbeen done in the region, and in order to locate approximately such natural features as are important to a geologic study a pace traverse was carried along all of the routes taken by the writer's\nparty. In the area north of the twentieth base-line the traverse was checked as frequently as\npossible on land corners, whereas to the south of the Pine River, in the region with no accurately\n\u2666Gwillim, J. C.:   Report Oil Survey, Peace River District, B.C. Dept. Lands, Victoria, 1919. K 12 Oil Survey. 1921\nlocated surveys, the writer's traverse was carried in loop form, and was checke'd on the land\nsurvey from which it started.\nNumerous difficulties attend the making of an accurate map in rough and forested country.\nHowever, the experience of explorers has shown that corrections to pace traverses intelligently\nmade fall well within an -allowable percentage of error, and for the purpose of this work the\nmethod was chosen in preference to the making of astronomic determination of position, which\ninvolves the disadvantage of having to carry delicate chronometers by pack-travel, and offers\nlittle, if any, advantage in accuracy in the form available to geologic workers.\nThe accompanying map was prepared by the addition of the writer's traverses to those maps\nof the area which existed prior to this work.\nLocation and General Character of the Region.\nAs the accompanying map shows, the region described in this report lies to the south of\nthe Peace River, extending as a belt 10 to 40 miles wide from Hudson Hope south-easterly to\nthe Murray River at the mouth of Hat Creek. This area forms physiographically a transition\nzone between the more abrupt footjhills and the gently rolling plains; the topography is varied,\nand in places sharply sloped hills break the rolling nature of the terrane, although as a whole\nthe marked roughness of surface of the true foot-hills is absent.\nThe region is drained by the Peace River and its tributaries. The portion drained more or\nless directly by the Peace is small, extending from Hudson Hope to the divide north of Moberly\nLake. Adjoining this to the south is a belt occupied by the Moberly River and its tributaries;\nthis, too, is small, being about 10 miles wide and extending the width of the belt in an east-west\ndirection. The major portion of the area is drained by the Pine River system, the three main\nbranches of which have cut deep valleys across it.\nThe Peace River occupies a valley about 800 feet deep, which in the vicinity of Hudson Hope\nis from 2 to 3 miles wide. The upper levels of land adjacent to the valley are more or less flat-\nlying, but 7 miles to the south hills break the evenness of the plateau, and from the general\nneighbourhood of Moberly Lake south-eastward along the entire area the topography is broken\nby hills and the dissection of the Pine River drainage.\nThe valley of Moberly River, which is occupied south of Hudson Hope by Moberly Lake,\nvaries from 1 to 2% miles in width. In the region studied its valley is U-shaped, with many\nflats and a meandering stream-bed. It offers no serious difficulty to travel; roads might be cut\nalong it at a minimum of expense.\nThe Pine River flows from Falls Creek to the mouth of Wabi Creek in a deep, U-shaped\nvalley which was undoubtedly the pre-glacial course of the stream. Below Wabi Creek the\npresent bed of the river is post-glacial, the extensive morainic deposits thereabout having\ndeflected its waters south-eastward to cut the existing V-shaped gorge through the St. John\nshales. The old course of the Pine is now occupied by Wabi Creek; it is a broad valley filled\nwith glacial material, in which are many kettles and lakes of glacial origin, and it is clearly\ndiscernible from the hills west of Wabi Creek as the course formerly followed by the Pine\ndirectly north-eastward to the Peace. At the Middle Forks the Pine enters the pre-glacial\ncourse of the Sukunka River.\nThe Sukunka River is the central member of the Pine River system. Locally it is known as\nthe \" Middle Pine \" River, the name \" Sukunka \" not having been adopted by the few residents\nof the region, but for purposes of clearness it will be referred to in this report as the Sukunka\nRiver. It is somewhat larger in volume of water than the Pine River. Its valley varies in\nwidth from 1 to 3 miles in its lower part and does not narrow materially as far as can be\nseen from the hills at the mouth of Burnt River. For a distance of about 22 miles from its\nmouth the valley is heavily forested with poplar, willow, and spruce. Above this stretch the\ntimber has been burned, leaving the country bare and open as far as the bend above the mouth\nof Burnt River.\nThe Murray (East Pine) River is the easternmost and largest of the three main branches of\nPine River. The matter of its nomenclature is similar to that of the Sukunka; the inhabitants\nof the region know it as the \" East Pine \" or \" East Fork,\" and reference among them to the\nMurray River conveys no intelligence. However, to avoid the confusion attendant upon the\nmodification of the word \" Pine\" to refer to distinct streams, the writer will use the name\n\" Murray.\" ; 11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 13\nH\nThe valley of the Murray differs somewhat from those of the Sukunka and Pine.\nPhysiographic-ally it is infantile, having long stretches of V-shaped channel, with almost\ncontinuous cut-banks of shale and sandstone forming its sides, and in places the stream flows\nin a true box canyon. The Murray presents a profusion of rock-exposures at the river's edge\nthroughout its length in the area, whereas the other rivers named, occupying more mature\nvalleys, show few cut-banks and expose the more resistant beds only in the upper reaches of\ntheir valley-sides. The Murray Valley is heavily timbered, but there, as in most other parts\nof the area, the timber is small and has accordingly no present commercial value.\nThe two larger lakes in the area, Moberly Lake and Rocky Mountain Lake, are of common\norigin, each having been formed through the damming of its parent stream by glacial material.\nIn each case the localization of the morainic material was undoubtedly determined by the\npresence at the surface of the resistant sandstones of the Dunvegan formation. The main\nbodies of these two lakes, and of Moose Lake as well, occupy beds cut in the St. John shales,\nbut at the east ends of the lakes the overlying Dunvegan formation is brought to water-level\nby east dips, and its presence there undoubtedly determined the placing of the dams which\ncaused the lakes. It is interesting that the geologic conditions surrounding these lakes are\nidentical.\nThe entire area is generally well forested with young spruce, pine, poplar, willow, and alder.\nLocalities which are not largely forest are rare. As a rule the northern banks of the rivers\nhave less vegetation, particularly of the forest type, than the southern banks. This is due to\nthe closeness of balance between precipitation and dissipation of moisture; the greater amount\nof sunshine which reaches the northern valley-sides is sufficient to carry away just the amount\nof water needed to make up the minimum for forest-growth, and since the shaded southern\nexposures retain this amount they support trees, whereas in many cases the northern banks\nare bare.\nWith the exception of a few localities on the Pine River, there is little or no timber of\ncommercial value in the area. Above Peavine Flat on the Pine River are flats on which spruce\nas large as 30 inches in diameter is growing. Elsewhere, with the possible exception of a small\narea on the divide between Marten Creek and Rocky Mountain Lake, the writer observed no\ntimber of commercial value.\nStratigraphy.\nThe formations exposed in the region fronting the Rocky Mountains of Northern British\nColumbia embrace a series of sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Triassic to Upper\nCretaceous.    A general review of the entire series is given in the following table of formations:\u2014\nTable of Formations.\nSystem.\nGroup\nFormation.\nCharacter.\nThickness\n(in Feet).\nMontana\nSubaerial sandstones,  massive, cross-bedded,\nwith shales and lignite\n900 +\n(top not exposed).\nDark,   friable  shales,   marine, with median\nsandstone member\nColorado\n800\nUpper\nCretaceous\nSukunka\nmember\nCoarse subaerial sandstones, hardened continental muds, green shales, lignite\n1,000 +\nMassive to thin-bedded sandstones,  varying\nin origin from littoral to subaerial, with\nsome shale and few thin seams of lignite\n1,000 +\nSt. John...     \t\nBlack marine shales, usually arenaceous, with\nintercalated  sandstone-bands and  marine\nsandstone locally\n1,400-2,200 K 14\nOil Survey.\n1921\nTable of Formations\u2014Continued.\nSystem.\nGroup.\nFormation.\nCharacter.\nThickness\n(in Feet).\nLower Cretaceous (?)\n(?)\nBullhead Mountain\nHard green-grey conglomerates, coarsegrained, massive sandstones, and shales\nwith many seams of high-grade coal\n1,500-3,000\nJurassic (?)\nBlue-black marine shales with intercalated\nlimestones and some sandstone\n300 +\n(base not exposed).\nPurple limestones and fine-grained sandstones ; limestones vesicular near top\nAs yet unknown.\nThe Wapiti and Smoky River formations are not recognizable in. the area described in this\nreport; they are found in the broad syncline of the plains to the east, and may occupy the upper\nhillsides just east of the Murray River, at the eastern edge of the area. Since their importance\nfor the purposes of this work is small discussion of them will be omitted.\nThe preliminary results of work on the development of this section on the Peace and Smoky\nRivers by Dr. F. H. McLearn will be found in Part C of the Summary Reports of the Geological\nSurvey of Canada for 1917 and 1918.\nTriassie.\u2014Rocks of Triassic age do not outcrop in the area here described, but inasmuch as\nthey would probably be penetrated by a borehole on the Pine River anticline, some mention of\nsuch information as exists concerning them is pertinent.\nOn .the Peace River, above the Rocky Mountain Portage, McLearn* has found the Triassic\nseries to consist of dark-purple limestones and hardened, fine-grained sandstones with Pseudo-\nmonotis subcireularis Gabb, and many ammonites. These beds are probably all of marine origin.\nThe series is thick; at the time of submitting this report a definite figure is not available, but\nit is known to be measurable in thousands of feet. The sandstones of the Peace River section\nare firmly cemented with calcium carbonate, and their general appearance does not indicate that\nthey might make good reservoir rock. However, in the area here considered the series has\nundergone less metamorphism than on the Peace, and in addition there is the chance that the\nsandstones majr be more open.\nThe limestones of the Peace River section are vesicular in the upper part of the formation,\nthe cavities having a length of from 1 to 3 inches and being spaced about a foot apart. It is\nnot known at the time of writing whether the vesicularity is the result of dolomitization or not,\nbut its presence on the Peace hints at the possibility of cavernous structure elsewhere, and\nalthough the observed data make possible no predictions as far as the area here considered is\ninvolved, they leave more open the possibility of reservoir rock beneath the Pine River anticline.\nPine River Formation.\u2014This formation is the lowest of the series exposed within the area\nexamined. It occurs at the surface on the crest of the Pine River anticline, being exposed in\nthe narrow valley of Pass Creek for a distance of about 4 miles above its mouth. It consists\nchiefly of firm blue-black clay shales, the lowest observable beds of which are remarkably pure,\nbeing almost entirely free from sand and presenting the appearance of a hardened, uncon-\ntaminated black clay. In this respect it differs from most other marine black shales of the\ngeneral region, which are almost uniformly sandy. Interspersed with the shales are bands of\nlimestone and sandstone in thicknesses from a few inches up to 20 feet or more; the limestone\nis very compact and hard, steel-grey on fresh fracture, and, varying with changes in purity,\nweathers into shapes ranging from angular to gnarled or rounded in outline. The colour of its\nweathered surface is a greyish-yellow. No fossils were found in the limestone at any of the\nexposures visited by the writer.\n* McLearn,  F. H. :   Personal communication. 11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 15\nThe section of the Pine River formation exposed iu Pass Creek is as follows, beginning at\nthe top:\u2014\nThickness\n(in Feet).\n200\n20-30\n10 \u00b1\n65\n20 +\n40 \u00b1\n3\n3\n3\n5\/6\n2 3\/4\n5\n100 \u00b1\nCharacter of Beds.\nSandstones of Bullhead Mountain formation.\nConcealed (shale ?).\nLimestone, hard, grey, siliceous.\nShale, blue-black, marine, pure, in which are intercalated bands of limestone 8 inches to a foot\nthick separated uniformly by about 4 feet of shale.\nLimestone, massive, hard, blue-grey on fracture, weathers dirty yellow, forms cliff.\nShale, black, hard, hackly in large proportion, marine.\nLimestone, weathers into gnarled shapes, blue-grey on fracture.\nSandstone and limestone alternating, layers prominent, weathers into flat surface.\nShale of same composition as others, but breaking to angular fragments with more or less plane\nsurfaces.\nLimestone, very siliceous, hard, weathers into angular surface of yellow-giey colour ; is steel-\ngrey on fresh fracture.\nShale, black, hard, hackly.\nLimestone, with 6-inch median parting of shale ; hard, steel-grey on fresh fracture, appears\npure, weathers yellowish-grey.\nShale, blue-black, firm, pure, hackly in large proportion, contains very few fossils.\nSince the upper part only of the formation is exposed an estimate of its thickness is\nimpossible. It was planned to examine the upper valley of the Moberly River in a search\nfor more extensive exposures which might yeld a section more nearly complete, but field-\nwork was stopped by unusual weather before this could be begun. Information concerning\nthe downward extent of these shales, therefore, and their relation to the Triassic limestones\nis not available.\nPrior to the writer's work the existence of the Pine River formation was unknown. Its\nage is not certain; since in Pass Creek it contains very few fossils, a statement concerning its\ntime position cannot bear much weight. However, three fossil forms, a species each of Pinna,\nPeeten (?), and Lima (?), which were found after considerable search, indicate, according to\nDr. T. W. Stanton and Dr. J. B. Reeside, Jr., of the Lnited States Geological Survey, the broad\npossibility that the beds are Jurassic in age. Further study of these beds will prove of great\ninterest in the matter of their relationship to the prominent development of the Jurassic in\nAlaska and to the Fernie shales farther south in British Columhia.\nBullhead, Mountain Formation.\u2014The section west of Hudson Hope on the Peace River\ndiscloses beneath the St. John shales a thick series of coarse sandstones and shales of continental origin which have been described by McLearn* as the Bullhead Mountain formation.\nOn the Peace River the upper part of the formation consists of sandstones and shales, with'many\nseams of high-grade coal, and the lower part consists of massive, coarse-grained, cross-bedded\nsandstones.    The total thickness there is about 3,000 feet.\nThe formation is exposed in the area here considered on Pine River east of Pass Creek, where\nthe upturning series brings it high into the valley-sides on the east flank of the Pine River\nanticline, and at the mouth of Boulder Creek, where the contact with the overlying St. John\nshales is approximately 300 feet above the level of Pine River on the crest of the Boulder\nCreek fold. At the latter locality the upper 200 feet of the formation are well exposed in the\ncanyon of Boulder Creek.\nThe upper member of the Bullhead Mountain formation has been called by the writer, for\npurposes of reference, the Boulder Creek conglomerate. It is well exposed in the canyon below\nthe falls in Boulder Creek. There it consists of about 130 feet of extremely hard, resistant\nconglomerate, the pebbles of which are almost uniformly % to % inch in diameter, and which\nconsist of flint, chert, and quartz. -They are firmly bound by a silica cement. A green chert,\nwhich appears to have been stained by glauconite, is prominent as a rule, and inasmuch as it\ndoes not exist in any of the clastic rocks above the Bullhead Mountain, it is interesting as a\nmeans of identification of the rock, as well as an index to changes in the continental mass to\nthe west as a result of whose disintegration the Cretaceous clastic rocks were formed.\nMcLearn, F. H.:   Peace River Section, Geol. Surv. Can., Surnm. Rept, 1917, Pt. C, p. 16. K 16\nOil Survey.\n1921\nThe pebbles are as a rule well rounded and have been well sorted into a very compact mass,\nwhich with the firm silica cement forms a rock more resistant than any other known to the\nwriter in North-west Canada. It forms cliffs, the weathering of which, having been much\nslower then that of the surrounding rocks, stand out prominently wherever the bed is exposed.\nThe cliffs have disintegrated into huge boulders, the striking array of which in the canyon of\nBoulder Creek suggested the name of the stream.\nThe conglomerate is characteristic in appearance, its distinct mineral content and habit\nmaking it lithologically the most easily recognized of any of the Cretaceous series of the region.\nPebbles and small boulders of it are found in all of the larger stream-beds of the area, and\nalthough it is clear in some places that they have been transported there by glacial agents, their\nwidespread occurrence gives evidence of the great lateral extent of the formation.\nBelow the Boulder Creek conglomerate are sandstones which decrease gradually in hardness\nfor a vertical distance of 600 feet. Below these sandstones is another massive bed which was\nseen at a distance in the Upper Pine Valley; this may also be conglomerate. Below that bed\nless massive sandstones and possibly shales with coal occupy the remaining 600 feet to the top\nof the Pine River formation. The entire thickness of the formation is contained in the hill east\nof Pass Creek and north of the Pine River, but none of it is exposed save the massive members\nmentioned, the remainder being covered by the soil and the dense' sub-arctic vegetation. Information given by H. C. Garbitt, who was the writer's packer, indicates the presence of coals in the\ncreek whose headwaters abut on those of Pass Creek, and an inference drawn from the disposition\nof the beds in the general region suggests that the coals are probably in the middle or lower part\nof the Bullhead Mountain formation.\nSt. John Formation.\u2014The Bullhead Mountain series is followed in upward succession by\nthe St. John formation, which embodies 1,400 to 2,200 feet of blue-black to grey shales with\nintercalated sandstone members. On the Peace the formation is divisible into three members\u2014\nan upper shale member 1,300 feet thick, a sandstone 80 feet thick, and a lower shale member\n800 feet thick. The upper member consists of typical marine black shales, with little or no\nsandstone, but the lower member contains many small thicknesses of sandstone. The Peace\nRiver section has been described by Dr. F. H. McLearn.*\nThe St. John shales are distributed in outcrop over the entire area. They form the valley-\nsides of the Peace River in the vicinity of Hudson Hope. To the south, in the hills north of\nMoberly Lake, the overlying Dunvegan sandstones form the surface, but in the valley of Moberly\nRiver the shales reappear. They outcrop in the valleys of the Pine River, the Sukunka (above\nMarten Creek), and the Murray River; on Tyskoola and Table Mountains; and in the area\nsouth-west of Rocky Mountain Lake, the shales forming the lower valley-sides as a rule, and\nthe Dunvegan sandstones capping the ridges. In the area south of the Peace River the lower\npart of the formation contains many irregular sandstone members, and the differentiation of\nthe middle member of the Peace section is not clear.\nAll known exposures which reveal the contact between the St. John shales and the Dunvegan\nformation show a gradual transition from beds of distinctly marine origin to continental sandstones and shales with lignite and plant impressions. In Paquette Creek, on the north shore of\nMoberly Lake, the following section was measured at the tdp of the St. John formation:\u2014\nFormation.\nDunvegan.\nTransition zone\nSt. John\nCharacter.\nSandstone, fine-grained at bottom, increasing in coarseness of grain\nto top\t\nSandstone and shale, predominantly sandstone  \t\nShale and sandstone, predominantly shale\t\nShale, black, sandy, with concretions of sandstone and ironstone .. .\nSandstone, massive, fine-grained, grey \t\nShale as above .*\t\nSandstone, platy, with shale intercalations\t\nShale, black, sandy in places, with limestone concretions and bits of\ncomminuted plant remains\t\nCreek-bottom.\nThickness\n(in Feet).\n200\n22\n16\n18\n1\n20\n1\n80\n: McLearn, F. H. :   Peace River Section, Geol. Surv. Can., Summ. Rept, 1917, Pt. C. \t\n11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 17\nA. transition similar to this was noted wherever the contact between the two formations was\nobserved. The upper part of the formation is exposed, in the vicinity of Moberly Lake, in the\nnarrow valleys of the creeks tributary to the lake, and in the lower valley of Miller Creek.\nThere it consists of marine shales, arenaceous as a rule, varying in character from fissile to\nhackly, and locally calcareous. On the Pine River the upper shales are not frequently exposed,\nthe hillsides being covered with vegetation, but such occurrences as were noted revealed at least\n500 feet of shale with no important sandstone members. In the area south-east of the Middle\nPork the upper shales of the formation are entirely similar.\nThe lower part of the formation consists of a series of alternating shales and sandstones at\nall exposures seen by the writer. A typical section of this part of the formation is exposed in\nthe valley of Boulder Creek above the falls.    It is as follows:\u2014\nFormation.\nSt. John\nBullhead\nMountain\nCharacter.\nSandstone, massive, yellow-grey\t\nShale, black, marine, thin-bedded, arenaceous, with even lines of ironstone concretions and thin bands of sandstone\t\nSandstone, massive, medium-grained    \t\nSandstone, soft, friable, with carbonaceous matter\t\nShale, black, sandy\t\nLignite-seam  \t\nShale, sandy, with bands of carbonaceous matter approaching lignite in composition.\nSandstone, continental in origin, soft, friable, containing carbonaceous matter and\nleaf impressions    \t\nConglomerates of Bullhead Mountain formation    \t\nThickness\n(in Feet).\n70\u00b1\n550 \u00b1\n25\n2\n3\n1\n35\n20\n130\nOn the northern escarpment of Tuskoola Mountain is exposed a series of shales and\nsandstones which have been determined tentatively, chiefly on the basis of fossil evidence, as\nthe upper part of the St. John formation. The areal relationship of these beds to the Dunvegan-\nSukunka series on the Sukunka River is not entirely clear, and will remain an open question\nuntil the region between Elephant Mountain and the Sukunka River has been examined in\nsome detail. Circumstances prevented such an examination during the course of this work.\nSomething of the nature of a distinct downfold or fault must exist in this area to carry the\nDunvegan from its elevation of about 4,500 feet on Tuskoola Mountain to the elevation of about\n2,000 feet on the Sukunka River, at which the St. John-Dunvegan contact is dipping beneath\nthe surface, and inasmuch as such structure is- not at all evident in any exposures seen, the\nrelationships on the Sukunka suggesting rather that the Dunvegan series were dipping under\nthe shales of Tuskoola Mountain, it was thought at first that the series on Tuskoola Mountain\nmust represent higher horizons. But fossils collected indicate in general facies that the shales\nof Tuskoola Mountain are probably of the same age as the St. John formation, and until further\nareal evidence is obtained they must be regarded as such. The shales in Table Mountain, which\nis separated from Tuskoola Mountain by the broad valley of Lone Prairie, are undoubtedly St.\nJohn in age, but the extreme paucity of exposures on Lone Prairie makes their correlation with\nthe Tuskoola Mountain beds a matter of question. However, despite the fact that they might\ndip under Tuskoola Mountain, and thus place the shales there as an upper series, it is much\nmore rational to suppose them to continue their nearly horizontal attitude and to occupy the\nsame general horizon as the beds in Tuskoola Mountain. \t\nK 18\nOil Survey.\n1921\nThe  section   exposed  in  Tuskoola  Mountain,   beginning  with  the  uppermost  beds,   is   as\nfollows:\u2014\u25a0\nSection on Tuskoola Mountain.\n(\nDunvegan   \"I\nSt. Joh\nn     \\\nSandstones, forming the peak of Tuskoola Mountain ; very thin-bedded at top, more\nmassive below ; ripple-marked, with rootlet markings\t\nSandstone, shaly, hard, apparently somewhat calcareous, with ironstone concretions\nand band of pure sandstone ; poorly exposed \t\nSofter sandstones, not visible in detail\t\nSandstone, hard, massive, forms sharp cliff; grades laterally to softer, pillow-\nweathering sandstone. Forms top of main mass of east end of mountain. Contains oysters at top and beds of stream-laid conglomerate, 2 to 5 feet thick,\npebbles up to \\ inch : -\t\nSofter sandstones, concealed for the most part, with intermittently massive ledge\nin middle\t\nSandstone, massive\t\nSofter sandstones, fine-grained, grey to yellow, with ferruginous lentils containing\nmany pelecypods, gastropods, and few ammonites....   \t\nShale, dark, hackly to irregular, with ferruginous concretions and bands of argillaceous grey sandstone    ....\nSandstone, massive, fine-grained, grey\t\nSandstone, as preceding, but softer\t\nSandstone, massive to platy, grey\t\nSandstone, non-marine, concretionary, with sandstone nodules 3 feet in diameter\nmerging into another with no bedding-planes, very irregular, grey, fine-grained.\nMarine sandstone similar to those above   \t\nShale, grey, sandy, rectangular fracture-planes\t\nSandstone, hard, dark grey\t\nDark marine shales with limestone concretion bands, most concretions flat\t\nSandstone, massive, hard, yellow-grey    ....\nShale, dark marine\t\nHarder shale, very arenaceous, with irregular bedding-planes, grades to pure sandstone below\t\nDark marine shales, base not exposed\t\nThickness\n(in Feet).\n100\n25\n110 +\n50\n240 +\n50 \u00b1\n330 \u00b1\n25\n12\n5\n70\n7\n10\n10\n6\n175\n30\n20\n40\n400 +\nFossils collected in the vicinity of the mouth of Fish Creek on the Murray River support the\nareal determination that the shales there are coeval with the Tuskoola Mountain shales. In the\ncanyon of Gordon Creek there are no marine sandstones at the top of the St. John, the conglomerate and oyster-beds of the Tuskoola Mountain section being followed directly in downward\nsuccession by pure marine shale. The shales of Gordon Creek are traceable along the valleys\nof Murray River and Fish Creek to Rocky Mountain Lake, and thence to the south-easternmost\npart of the area, on Flat Creek. The essential characteristics of the formation are constant over\nthis area.\nThe thickness of the St. John formation is about 1,400 feet on the Pine River. In the valley\nof the Murray River between the crest of the Canyon anticline and the mouth of the Wolverine\nRiver, where the only other nearly complete section of the formation is exposed, 1,500 feet were\nmeasured without reaching the base of the shales. There is thus a decrease in thickness from\nthe Peace southward and westward; this is without doubt due to a westward replacement of\nthe upper shale horizons by the continental beds of the Dunvegan formation.\nDunvegan Formation.\u2014Directly overlying the marine shales of the St. John formation is\na series of sandstones and continental shales named by Dawson the Dunvegan formation and\nstudied recently by McLearn.* These beds, which for the most part are moderately resistant\nto weathering agencies, form the main body of most of the hills in the area, extending in surface\noutcrop along the belt of moderate folding for the entire length of the region under consideration,\nand forming the upper reaches of all the prominent hills save those at the edge of the disturbed\nbelt, where the older formations have been brought up by the folding.\nIn the vicinity of Moberly Lake the lower beds of the Dunvegan formation form the upper\nreaches of the range of hills extending south-easterly from Hudson Hope to the Pine River.\n* McLearn,  F.   H. :   Peace  River  Section,  Geol.   Surv.   Can.,   Summ.  Rept,   1917,  Pt.   C.  p.   18.    Also\nMcLearn, F. H. :   Cretaceous, Lower Smoky River, Geol. Surv. Can.,  Summ. Rept., 1918, Pt. C. 11 Geo. 5 Peace River District. K 19\nThese beds are more or less heterogeneous in composition and origin. At the contact with the\nunderlying St. John formation there is a true gradation between marine shale and continental\nsandstone, the marine beds below passing conformably into brackish- and fresh-water argillaceous\nsandstones, with fresh-water limestone in places. On the south shore of Moberly Lake two thin\nseams of lignite occur 45 and 65 feet above the base of the formation. Occasional lentils of hard\nlimestone, as well as some sandy layers, contain a few fresh-water gastropods and pelecypods.\nThese beds are succeeded above by subaerial sandstones, for the most part coarse-grained,\nmassive, and cross-bedded, containing leaf fragments whose disposition gives clear evidence of\nnon-aqueous distribution of the materials.\nThis series of sandstones, with irregular lateral variation from continental to shore facies,\nextends in the higher elevations from Moberly Lake to the Middle Forks, where its base is\napproximately 150 feet above river-level, and a thickness of 600 feet, more or less, is irregularly\nexposed in the hill north of the fork. From this point south, in the valley of the Sukunka, the\nsouth-west dip carries the series under, and at 7-Mile Creek, where the base of the formation\nis estimated to be at least 1,000 feet beneath the surface, the facies changes from the sandstones\ntypical of the Dunvegan as developed to the north to a series of continental green shales, hardened calcareous muds, and grey, platy, cross-bedded, lenticular sandstones with flat nodules of\nblack shales and occasional shaly layers. These beds are undoubtedly continental in origin.\nThey contain seams of carbonaceous material and some low-grade coal.\nThe complete change in lithologic characteristics presented by these beds affords reason for\ntheir consideration as a separate unit, and to meet the needs of his field terminology the writer\ncalled them the Sukunka beds. At present they may perhaps be included with the Dunvegan\nas an upper member of that formation, but future detailed work may reveal the necessity for\ntheir adoption as a separate formational unit. They may represent the westward phase of\nthe Lower Smoky River formation.\nThe thickness of the Sukunka beds is not known, their upper reaches not having been seen\nin detail by the writer, but their apparent continuation up the Sukunka River from 7-Mile Creek\nto the synclinal axis beyond Marten Creek shows a thickness estimated at 1,000 feet or more.\nThe valley-sides here are well clothed with soil and grassy vegetation, and since the harder,\ncliff-making members of the series are the only ones which appear a detailed examination of the\nbeds was not possible.\nThe Sukunka beds appear also in the canyon of a small creek at the south-west corner of\nRocky Mountain Lake. Here they consist of massive sandstone layers 5 feet thick, granular\ngrey-brown shales 2 to 4 feet thick, thin layers of micaceous grey sandstone breaking to feather-\nshaped fragments, hard, green-grey shales weathering brown, hackly to fissile, paper-thin black\nshales in thicknesses up to 2 feet, and thin-bedded sandstones. The beds at this locality are\nestimated to extend possibly 100 feet higher stratigraphically than the section examined in\n7-Mile Creek.\nAt this locality, as well as in 7-Mile Creek, five species of fossil plants were found. These\nhave been determined by Professor Edward W. Berry, of the Johns Hopkins University, as\nfollows: Anemia fremonti Knowlton; Dryopteris coloradoensis Knowlton; Populus cf. elegans\nLesquereux;  Pteroph-yllum sp. nov.;  Podozmnites sp.\nOf these the Anemia and Dryopteris are common in the Frontier formation of the western\ninterior of the United States; the Populus is a typical Dakota species, and the other two are\nolder types, the Pteroph-yllum not being known elsewhere in beds above the basal Upper Cretaceous, and the Podoeamttes being an older form which survived in limited numbers as late\nas the Senonian (Montana group of western interior). The forms thus present two things which\nare of interest in the development of stratigraphic knowledge in the Canadian North-west: First,\nevidence additional to that afforded by invertebrate faunas from the Peace River area which\npoints more clearly at each new discovery to the Colorado age of the series; and, second, further\nevidence of an interesting vertical persistence in North-western North America of certain floras\nwhich to the south and elsewhere occur at earlier horizons, and representatives of which are\nfound in Alaska in beds as young as Tertiary in age.\nThe Dunvegan proper\u2014i.e., the series underlying the Sukunka beds.\u2014yielded the following\nplant species: Protophyllum lecontianum Lesquereux; Platanus latior subintigrefolia (Lesq.)\nKnowlton; Menispermites reniformis Dawson (?); Aspidophyllum trilobatum Lesquereux;\nCycadites unjiga Dawson; Platanus sp.;  Taocodium sp. \t\nK 20\nOil Survey.\n1921\nThe general aspect of this assemblage is Dakota rather than Colorado, and its occurrence in\nthe Dunvegan formation, which has been shown rather definitely to be Colorado in age, presents\nmore evidence of the persistence of many Dakota forms. The Menispermites and the Cyeadites\nare typical Dunvegan species, the former having been collected by the writer and others in\nprevious work, and the latter having been found By Dawson in his exploration of the Peace\nRiver district in 1879.* The Aspidophyllum is identical with the form described as Protophyllum\nby Dawson.\nThe Dunvegan series increases materially in thickness south of the Peace in the region\nbetween Hudson Hope and Moose Lake; the change from 530 feet at Cache Creek to upwards\nof 2,000 feet on the Sukunka (including the Sukunka series) is marked. If the whole series is\nfound to be more or less coeval with the Dunvegan of Peace River, there was a basin in which\ndeposition of sediments was much more rapid than to the north. However, further work may\nshow parts of the thick series to represent overlapping of either the St. John or Smoky River-\nperiods, or both, by the Dunvegan type of sedimentation, and it is not improbable that the\nSukunka beds may represent the westward extension of the deposits laid down in early Smoky\nRiver time.\nGeology as applied to Oil and Gas.\nThe geologic conditions which control the accumulation in commercial quantity of oil and\ngas have been presented in reports similar to this so often of late that no stress need be laid on\ntheir discussion here. For the purposes of application to the data under reyiew they may be\ngrouped into four general heads:\u2014\n(1.)  The occurrence of rocks in which petroleum could have originated.\n(2.)  The presence near the \" mother-rock \" of a porous rock which might act as a reservoir.\n(3.) The presence of a relatively impervious cover or \"cap-rock.\"\n(4.) The disposition of such a series in structural form which would trap the oil, effecting\nits accumulation.\nThe first three of these concern the rocks themselves in their sequence, and, applying their\nprinciple to the foregoing stratigraphic data, three general parts of the column are seen to fulfil\nthe requirements. In consideration of these, however, it must be understood that actual evidence\nof petroleum has not been found in any part of the series within the area, and that all consideration of the promise offered by the formations discussed is made with the lack of this sort of\nprima facie evidence in mind.\nThe Triassic limestones and sandstones offer a possibility. They are not distinctly petroliferous at any of the exposures thus far known, but they may well have yielded petroleum in\nplaces, and inasmuch as they probably lie within reach of a drill on the Pine River anticline\nthey must be mentioned as a possible source of oil.\nThe Pine River shales may be oil-bearing. In exposure they give no evidence of petroleum,\nbut they are of the sedimentary type which gives most promise, and inasmuch as such oil might\nhave been formed in them could have found reservoirs in the neighbouring sandstones, or, possibly, the limestones of the section, they are worthy of a test if it is decided to prove the\nresources of the area.\nThe St. John shales offer the most nearly ideal conditions that could exist in the absence\nof definite evidence of petroleum itself. A series of from 1,400 to 2,000 feet of shales with\nintercalated sandstone members from a foot or so to 80 or 100 feet in thickness, they present\na fulfilment of stratigraphic conditions for the origin and accumulation of petroleum perhaps\nmore complete than that of any other member of the series, and in those places wherein structural disposition of the shales has afforded opportunity for petroleum to collect they are worthy\nof consideration.\nStructure.\nThe fourth consideration named above concerns the structure. The geologic structure of\nthe belt fronting the foot-hills of North-west Canada consists of a series of moderate undulations\nof the strata, the crests of the folds lying in the main parallel to the axis of the Rocky Mountain\nchain, and the continuity of many single structures being remarkable. The folds are nearly all\nopen\u2014i.e., the beds have not been compressed to the extreme\u2014and many of them are of dimensions and conformation ideal to the retention of any oil and gas which might have existed in\nthe rocks they embrace beneath the surface.\n* Dawson, G. M.:   Geol. Surv. Canada, Report for 1879, p. 120b. 11 Geo. 5 Peace River District.\nThe region between the western limit of -the area and the mountains proper is known\ngeologically as the Disturbed Belt. Within its confines the rocks have been folded and faulted\nto high degree, the forces which built up the Rocky Mountains having reacted on them with\ngreat intensity on account of their proximity to the region of great thrusting. To the east and\nsouth-east the effect of these huge forces was absorbed gradually until in the region which now\nforms the plains the strata underwent no displacement from their natural horizontal position.\nThe belt considered in this report lies between these two extreme areas, and there, although the\nfull strength of the forces had been partially dissipated, enough pressure due to the thrusting\npenetrated the local rocks to cause ordinarily unbroken flexures of comparatively gentle slope.\nThe structures occur along two to three principal lines of folding, and although it is not possible\nto trace the continuity of more than one of the anticlines in the area over great length, those\nwhich exist are seen to lie along definite lines. The sharpness of the folding decreases regularly\nfrom west to east.\nIn the region under consideration the structures are not as well defined along the lines of\nfolding as are those to the south-east in the Alberta foot-hills. In the region between the\nBrazeau River and the Wapiti River the open, unbroken folds that characterize the belt are\ntraceable as distinct entities for considerable distances along the general strike of the belt;\nthere is but slight deviation from the direction of the lines of structural weakness, which are\nparallel with remarkable consistency to the strike of the Rocky Mountain chain. In the area\nhere reported on some differences occur.\nSome continuity of structural lines is observable in the southern half of the area; the\nfolds between Flat Creek and Rocky Mountain Lake are apparently more or less true to the\nmountain-front type existing in Alberta, but from the general region of the Sukunka anticline\nnorth-westward marked variations from the north-westerly strike of the rocks occur with some\nfrequency. These irregularities are probably due to adjustment between the forces acting along\nlines of tectonic weakness which differ in direction to the north and south. Clear evidence of\nthis change is seen in the abrupt bending to the north of the eastern limit of the Disturbed Belt\nin the region between Pine River and the Peace.\nAnticlines that may contain Oil and Gas.\nA determination of the possibilities for oil and gas requires for its completion in the large\na consideration of those points at which the stratigraphically hopeful formations mentioned\nabove lie within drilling depth on the anticlines of the area, and In. the interest of conciseness\nit may be best to incorporate such evidence into the description of the structures.\nThe major anticlines of\" the area, in the order of their distance from Hudson Hope, are as\nfollows: Hudson Hope anticline; Moberly Lake anticline; Miller Creek anticlines; Pine River\nanticline; Boulder Creek dome; Table Mountain anticline; Sukunka anticline; Rocky Mountain\nLake-Moose Lake-Flat Creek anticline;   Canyon anticline;   Bullmoose Creek anticline.\nHudson Hope Anticline.\u2014The Hudson Hope fold occurs entirely within the Peace River\nBlock; that consideration, in addition to the fact that it is hardly pronounced enough to afford\nan ideal reservoir, prompts the omission here of its detailed discussion.\nMoberly Lake Anticline.\u2014The Moberly Lake structure, too, occurs within the Peace River\nBlock at all points conveniently accessible to drilling equipment, and although it presents\ngeologically favourable conditions its discussion would lack point in this report.\nMiller Creek Anticlines.\u2014The Miller Creek anticlines are the most easily accessible of all\nthe structures. The northernmost major fold crosses Miller Creek 4 miles from its mouth, and\nis about 30 miles by trail from Hudson Hope. On its east flank the dips are moderate, ranging\nfrom 2\u00b0 to 8\u00b0, but the west flank plunges sharply, having a maximum observed dip of 62\u00b0, and\nflexing upward again in a rather acute syncline whose axis is not farther than one-quarter mile\nfrom the crest of the fold. The St. John shales outcrop at the axis of this anticline, and the\nsandstones in the lower part of that formation are estimated to be from 1,000 to 1,200 feet\nbelow the surface on Miller Creek. This anticline is followed by one to the south which is\nnot so steeply folded, the dips of its flanks averaging about 8\u00b0. Beyond are several minor\nundulations which are not of sufficient prominence to warrant their consideration here.\nThe conformation of the first anticline mentioned forbids its consideration as an ideal\nstructure, and inasmuch as others of the region excel it in most essential characteristics, it may\nbe dismissed with the statement that although it may offer promise in the future,' in face of K 22\nOil Survey.\n1921\nbetter economic conditions, its present consideration must be limited in view of the great\ndifficulties that will attend exploratory drilling in the region. The second structure is better\nformed than the first, and if the locality is to be tested it will merit the first attempt; however,\nit is apparently local in nature and the area of its flanks is too small.\nThe Pine River Anticline.\u2014The Pine River anticline, as reference to the map will show, is\na pronounced structure of soine magnitude. On its east flank the dips attain a maximum of 25\u00b0\nin the hills east of Pass Creek, and decrease gradually in steepness to Peavine Flat, where the beds\nare horizontally disposed. On the west flank dips as high as 60\u00b0 occur. The fold is thus distinctly asymmetric, the west flank being the steeper. Its degree of sharpness is somewhat\nhigher than that of an ideal mountain-front oil structure, but the large areal extent of its flanks\nand their apparent freedom from sharp changes in degree of dip place it among those structures\nwhich are to be classed as hopeful. A difficulty which as yet clouds the way to entirely intelligent prospecting lies in the lack of information concerning the section beneath it; inasmuch\nas the lowest beds seen by the writer outcrop on its crest in Pass Creek, nothing is known as\nto the thickness and type of the beds which a drill on it would penetrate. The apparent absence\nof the Pine River shales in the Peace River section observed by McLearn* makes it difficult to\npresume what might be expected to underlie the fold, but it is probable that the upper limits\nof the Triassic limestones lie within 1,000 feet of the surface, and if future work should show\nthis to be the case the structure will afford a very good opportunity to test the Triassic as well\nas the unknown lower part of the Pine River formation.\nThe Boulder Greek Dome.\u2014The Boulder Creek dome occurs along the same general line of\nfolding as that found on Miller Creek. Its outlines are exposed'in the rude crosscut into the\nrocks by the Pine River, Boulder Creek, and Goodrich Creek, and inspection of the outcrops\npresented there shows the fold to have a roughly elliptical form, the long axis extending in\na direction a few degrees west of north, and the dips being steeper on the north side. The\nexistence of the structure has undoubtedly determined the location of Boulder and Goodrich\nCreeks;  hence its almost perfect quadrisection by the three drainage-channels.\nThe top of the Bullhead Mountain formation is about 300 feet above the level of the Pine\nRiver at the apex of the fold, and the underlying section consists accordingly of approximately\n1,200 feet of the sandstones, shales, and coals of the Bullhead formation, with the Pine River\nshales and limestones below. The possibility of oil-bearing horizons below the Bullhead Mountain formation, coupled with the dome-like shape of the structure, presents a geologically\nattractive situation as far as oil and gas are concerned, and inasmuch as no other locality\nof the area appeared as promising as did this, the writer planned to study the structure in\ndetail for the purpose of making a drilling location. Such work as was possible in the weather\nof September was done and a location was made.\nThe Boulder Creek structure promises most of all the folds in the area for the following\nreasons:\u2014\u25a0\n(1.)  Its dome-like shape makes it almost perfect as a reservoir structure.\n(2.) It is underlain within 1,300 feet of the surface by the lower sandstones of the Bullhead\nMountain formation and the upper shales and limestones of the Pine River formation, a series\nof at least 300 feet in thickness, and probably more, which may contain petroleum.\n(3.) The extremely hard Boulder Creek member of the Bullhead Mountain formation has\nbeen cut away by erosion at the apex of the dome; the amount of hard rock to be penetrated\nin order to reach the lower section is less than it would be elsewhere.\nThe Table Mountain Anticline.\u2014This fold occurs on a structural line which is probably the\nextension of that on which the Moberly Lake anticline lies, and which is apparently the outermost\nof the axes of distinct plication. Its crest appears to have the usual north-west and south-east\ndirection and it crosses the Pine River near the eastern end of Table Mountain. It is not a\npronounced structure; the dips on the east flank are at most 3\u00b0, and on the west flank the\naverage dip is approximately the same, although on a structural terrace visible in the eastern\nend of the hill north of the Middle Forks west dips as high as 10\u00b0 are measurable over a short\ndistance.\nThe Table Mountain anticline is in conformation well worthy of consideration as a possible\nreservoir of oil, but it has the disadvantage of embracing beneath the surface and within reach\nof a drill too limited a section of possibly petroliferous rocks.   The St. John shales outcrop at\nMcLearn, F.  H.:   Personal communication. 11 Geo. 5 Peace River District. K 23\nits crest. In the Pine River Valley, where a drilling location would be most advisable in the\ninterest of accessibility, depth of worth-while drilling, and general economy of prospecting, the\ntop of the St. John shales is at least 1,000 feet above river-level. The total thickness of the St.\nJohn shales is not known exactly in this locality, but it is not likely to be much different from\nthe 1,400 feet measured on the Pine at Boulder Creek, and' a simple subtraction shows at once\nthat the thickness of hopeful strata below the surface is probably not more than 400 feet. Below\nthat lies the 1,500 feet or more of the Bullhead Mountain formation, in the main body of which\nno oil need be expected. A prediction concerning the possibilities in beds below these is not\nentirely safe; the Pine River shales may be present at a depth of from; 1,900 to 2,200 feet, but\nsince nothing is known as to their lateral persistence to the east it is not possible to make a\nvaluable estimate of the chances in deep drilling on the Table Mountain fold. A borehole on\nthe Boulder Creek dome would yield information which might throw considerable light on this\nquestion, and, at all events, if it is desired to test the Pine River formation the Boulder Creek\nlocality far excels any other in point of drilling depth, amount of hard rock to be penetrated,\nand degree of sureness of the presence of the formation underground.\nThe Table Mountain anticline should, in view of these limitations, be held in abeyance as a\npossibility whose investigation will be well worth while if oil is discovered elsewhere in either\nthe Lower St. John shales or the Pine River formation.\nRemaining Folds in Southern Part of Area.\u2014The folds south of the Pine River are at present\nso difficult of access that their consideration may in the interest of space be brief:\nThe structure along the Sukunka Valley is synclinal for about 10 miles above its mouth.\nThe first major anticline observable occurs near the mouth of Brush Creek; it is mapped as the\nSukunka anticline. Its relation to the other structures of the area is not entirely clear. Its\ncrest probably follows the north-westerly trend of the belt, but this is by no means certain.\nExtreme irregularities of strike on its flanks make it impossible to define its contour without\ndetailed work involving far more time than that available to the writer, and its inaccessibility\ndiscouraged giving it more attention than that possible in reconnaissance. It may form the rim\nof the wide synclinal basin south of the Pine River, and as such may be continuous with the\nBoulder Creek-Miller Creek fold-line to the north and the Rocky Mountain Lake fold-line to the\nsouth, but its local irregularities reduce such a consideration to the status of an assumption.\nAs a possible oil-container the Sukunka anticline may be worthy of attention if other parts\nof the region prove productive; its conformation is good, dips on the east flank ranging from 5\u00b0\nto 10\u00b0 in the vicinity of the crest and on the west flank from 15\u00b0 to 40\u00b0, and tile strata consisting\nof St. John shale and sandstone to a probable depth of 800 feet. However, a well-location on\nthis fold should not be made except after a study in great detail of the general locality, for its\nobvious irregularity of contour suggests strongly the presence of structural conditions which must\nbe known as well as possible if the location is to be wisely placed.\nThe longest apparently continuous fold in the area occurs between Rocky Mountain Lake\nand Flat Creek. Its presence has been observed by the writer at the forks of Flat Creek, 18 miles\nfrom the Murray River; at the mouth of Flat Creek; on Bullmoose Creek near its mouth and\n2 miles up-stream; at the west end of Moose Lake and at the west end of Rocky Mountain Lake.\nAlthough nothing is known of its presence between these localities, their alignment indicates the\nstrong possibility of its continuity. This long fold, which for clearness may be called the Flat\nCreek anticline, is flexed moderately at most of the points which have been observed, and. is\naccordingly worthy of consideration as a possible reservoir structure.\nAt its exposures in the valleys of Flat Creek, the Murray River, and Bullmoose Creek, the\nfold embraces beneath the surface a limited thickness of the St. John shales and the full thickness\nof the Bullhead Mountain formation. It brings to the surface at its crest the lowest beds known\nin this part of the area, and in consequence an accurate estimate of the strata which would be\npenetrated by a drill is not feasible; however, it is likely that the top of the Bullhead Mountain\nformation is not far beneath the surface in the general vicinity of the Murray River, and that\naccordingly the value of the structure in terms of present knowledge is questionable.\nThe most favourable localities, geologically considered, on this fold are those at the western\nends of Rocky Mountain and Moose Lakes, where the underlying strata consist of nearly the\nentire thickness of the St. John shales. Of these the Moose Lake locality is possibly the better\non account of its lack of structural irregularity. K 24 Oil Survey. 1921\nIt was planned to determine approximately the amount and direction of plunge of structures\nsuch as this, but the accidental destruction of the writer's instrumental equipment made it\nimpossible to obtain the elevations necessary to derive such data. However, results of visual\nobservation, despite the fact that they are often misleading, indicate that the Flat Creek fold\nprobably plunges to the south-east from Moose Lake to Flat Creek forks, and that to the northwest from Moose Lake there is probably little variation in the elevation of the crest, the plunge,\nif any, being to the north-west.\nThe extreme inaccessibility of this structure places it in the class of those which will be\nworthy of attention if the region is shown elsewhere to be productive.\nAbout 6 miles below the mouth of Flat Creek a fold which has been called the Canyon\nanticline crosses the valley of the Murray River. In degree of flexure it is less pronounced than\nthe Flat Creek fold, which succeeds it to the south-west, but it is clearly defined, the dips on the\neast flank being in the general neighbourhood of 9\u00b0 and on the west flank between 7\u00b0 and 15\u00b0.\nIt probably dies out to the north-west, and to the south-west its extension is not certain, although\na fold which may be integral with it occurs in the valley of the East Fork of Flat Creek about\n3 miles above the forks of the creek. Its contour on the Murray River is favourable to the\nstoring of oil, and inasmuch as the major portion of the St. John shales probably underlies the\nsurface at its crest, it is worthy of note geologically, but it is at present too difficult of access\nto be considered on economic grounds.\nA pronounced fold of almost symmetrical proportion occurs in the hills west of Bullmoose\nCreek in the vicinity of the trail from Moose Lake to the Wolverine River. It is indicated on\nthe map as the Bullmoose Creek anticline. North-west and south-east of this locality the structure along the line of the fold is much broken up and really forms the outer edge of the Disturbed\nBelt, but at the locality mentioned a somewhat hurried examination revealed no extreme contortion of the strata. At some point along the crest of the fold and in the general vicinity of the\ntrail mentioned a test would be advisable in the existence of some sort of transportation facility,\nbut the great cost of exploratory drilling at so great a distance from existing lines of freight-\ntravel precludes active interest in the structure for some time to come. It is probable that at\nleast half of the St. John formation underlies the surface at the apex of the fold.\nMinor Folds.\u2014The flanks of the major structures mentioned above are, in some places where\nthe dip is low, flexed slightly into minor folds of local extent. These smaller structures should\nnot be considered as places for preliminary tests of the region, but inasmuch as certain of them\ninclude beneath the surface the most attractive formations of the series, they may well be\nconsidered briefly in view of their possible importance should oil be discovered in commercial\nquantities on one of the larger folds.\nSeveral minor undulations occur in the valley of Miller Creek. Their location and degree\nof flexure are indicated on the map. One north of the main Miller Creek folds includes the\nmajor part of the St. John shales beneath its crest, and those to the south include the entire\nthickness of these shales with part of the overlying Dunvegan formation.\nReversals of dip, indicating a small local \" roll\" in the structure, occurs in 7-Mile Creek,\nin the Sukunka drainage area. This fold embraces in sub-surface formation the lower half\nof the Dunvegan formation and the underlying St. John shales, and consequently may merit\nattention if these formations are found to contain oil.\nAnother minor fold exists in the narrow valley of Fish Creek near its mouth. This is\nperhaps the most interesting of the minor folds observed, since its flanks are steep enough to\ngive it a pronounced character, and the section underlying it embodies the most promising part\nof the St. John shales.    The dips on its flanks near the crest vary from 4\u00b0 to 6\u00b0.\nClose examination of the smaller stream-courses will probably reveal the presence of other\nsuch structures in regions where the attitude of the beds is nearly horizontal. However, consideration of these minor folds must be tempered by a weighing of the probability of their\npersistence in depth. It is frequently true that smaller warpings of strata such as these die\nout in depth, and locations on them, should any prove advisable, should be made with allowance\nfor that fact in mind. The persistence of the structures above noted may be assumed with\nsafety to be sufficient to ensure a reservoir within shallow depths, but, depending on the character\nof the underlying formations, it is not policy to expect results from drilling on local upwarps.\nIf the surface strata are harder than those in which oil is sought the structure may well continue -  \u25a0 '\u25a0\u25a0''-.-^ V-;>';=\"' ;-\\, .\"'\u25a0\u25a0-\u25a0' \u25a0 - -\u25a0 '-;\n11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 25\nto some depth, and may even grow more pronounced; but if the rocks below are harder they\nmay not have yielded to the pressure which folded the softer strata, and the anticline may not\nexist below.\nIndications of Petroleum and Gas. \u00bb\nNo unquestionable seepages of petroleum were observed by the writer, and none have been\nnoticed by any of a number of residents who were questioned.\nThe only well-established seepages known in this part of British Columbia occur about 45\nmiles east of the eastern limit of the area examined. One of these, for whose existence the\nwriter can vouch, occurs on the Pouce Coupe River east of Rolla, B.C., and the other, whose\ngeneral location was made known to the writer by E. Mast, of Rolla, in 1919, exists on Moose\nCreek about 4 miles north of its mouth on the Peace. These seepages occur at a horizon which\nis probably at the top of the Dunvegan sandstone. They offer no direct encouragement to\nprospective development In the area covered by this report, but they indicate that petroleum does\nexist at places in the series.\nThe writer observed a thin film of oil on the surface of water in an old well east of Hudson\nHope on the homestead of Joseph Lemieux, to whom thanks are due for calling attention to the\noccurrence. The well penetrates the St. John shales to a distance of about 15 feet. It was not\npossible to collect any of the oil, and proof of its composition is hence not offerable.\nThin films of some sort of oil were noticed on the water of the Pine River east of Pass Creek.\nThe film did not have the brilliant iridescence peculiar to petroleum, and inasmuch as the\nquantities were much too small to permit the collection of a sample the value of its evidence is\nsmall; furthermore, the point at which the oil was noticed is so far from the nearest outcrop\nof country-rock that its source is at best very inexactly determinable.\nA seepage of gas was found on the west flank of\" the Boulder Creek dome, at the base of the\ncliff of Boulder Creek conglomerate, and- north-west of the drilling location. The gas bubbles\nup intermittently through water in a hole at the base of a tree. The roots of the tree have\nundoubtedly afforded a channel through which the gas may escape from the underlying sandstone to the surface. The gas is highly inflammable and contains a considerable percentage of\nhydrogen sulphide.    When it is burned the odour of sulphur dioxide is strong.\nTransportation.\ni\nAt present the region is accessible via three routes of travel, one from the west and two from\nthe east. The western route, from Fort George via the Giscome Portage, Crooked River, and the\nParsnip River to the peace, is a water route, and is preferred by some prospectors, travellers,\nand engineers for comparatively light travel. It is not a good route for the transportation of '\nheavy equipment. The routes from the east leave the end of steel on the Edmonton, Dunvegan\n& British Columbia Railway at Peace River Crossing and Spirit River or Grande Prairie respectively. The first of these is the most used and is the best for the transportation of all classes\nof freight; it makes use of the Peace River, which is navigable by vessels of light draught\nbetween Fort Vermilion and Hudson Hope. The season for navigation on the stretch between\nPeace River Crossing and Hudson Hope embraces the months of June, July, and August as a\nrule, and in some years the large steamer makes the trip in September. Smaller craft ply the\nriver as late as the first formation of ice.\nThe third route mentioned is a land route. From the railway points of Spirit River and\nGrande Prairie wagon-trails lead to Pouce Coupe, whence a more or less passable wagon-trail\nleads to the Pine River at the mouth of the Murray, at the eastern edge of the area in question.\nThe trail from Spirit River to Pouce Coupe is not used in summer on account of muskeg: it is a\nwinter trail, and is used chiefly by the farmers of the Pouce Coupe Prairie for the haulage of\ntheir grain to the railroad. The road from Grande Prairie to Pouce Coupe is by far the better;\nit is passable to automobiles in dry weather and is extensively used for freighting into the Pouce\nCoupe District.\nWest of the Pine River at the mouth of the Murray travel by wagon would involve much\nroad-cutting. A road is supposed to exist as far as Hudson Hope, but it is not used by teams,\nand it is not likely that a wagon could make the trip without much road-building work.\nWithin the area travel  is nearly all by pack-train in summer and by sleigh in winter.\nWagon-roads exist about Hudson Hope and on Lone Prairie, but they are of local importance\nonly, and most of them would*not suffice in their present state for the haulage of heavy freight.\n3 K 26\nOil Survey.\n1921\nThe transportation of equipment from the end of steel to any of the localities at which\ndrilling might be contemplated would involve the cutting and grading of road if the materials\nwere to be hauled in summer. In winter the frozen rivers offer roadways to sleighs when the\nice Is favourable, and the problem of present-day transportation of drilling materials to the\nregion must not be considered without examining the possibilities of winter travel.\nGeneral Considerations.\nWith the main facts concerning the stratigraphy, structure, and economic features of the\nregion in hand, a brief summation of their application in general concerning the prospects for\noil may be worth while. A conclusion regarding the advisability of attempting exploration\nwith the drill must naturally be based on a balancing against one another of the favourable\nand unfavourable facts (not opinions) which have been gathered. Without attempt at the\ndifferentiation of geologic from economic data, these facts may be summed up as follows:\u2014\nUnfavourable Factors.\n(1.) Absence of evidence through seepage or other appearance of the presence of petroleum\nin the rocks.\n(2.)  The great cost of transporting drilling equipment to any of the advisable locations.\n(3.) In corollary to the preceding, the expense attached to the disposal of such petroleum as\nmight be found.\nFavourable Factors.\n(1.) The presence of a number of formations in which oil could occur.\n(2.) The presence of anticlines which dispose the possibly oil-bearing strata favourably to\nthe retention of petroleum.\n(3.)  The comparatively reasonable depth within which the beds to be tested may be reached.\nA balance of these facts against one another is not easy. No matter with what accuracy\nthe information concerning their details is obtained, the\" measure of probabilities inevitably to\nbe drawn in makes an unqualified conclusion difficult to reach. However, as far as the geologic\nfactors are concerned, it is possible to arrive at a conclusion as to the advisability of further\nexploration, and although the dictates of such evidence must be qualified by the consideration of\neconomic problems incident to development, a review of all the factors will tend to make the\nsituation clearer.\nt Of the unfavourable factors, the first may or may not tell the whole story. Vast oilfields,\nto-day yielding millions of dollars in petroleum, exist without a single surface indication within\ntheir limits. Oil-seepages would offer in their presence a decidedly encouraging circumstance,\nbut their absence need not be entirely unfavourable if other features of the rocks involved\ncontribute no negative evidence.    And this condition exists in the area considered.\nThe second and third of the unfavourable factors, those involving expense, are difficult of\ncalculation through lack of precedent. Inasmuch as there is no freight traffic to those points\nat which drilling equipment would be necessary, no transportation rates exist. They might be\napproximated roughly, however, if drilling were considered, from rates existing elsewhere in\nthe north.\nAll three of the favourable factors indicate possibilities. They offer positive evidence only\nin so far as they do not deny the possibility of an oilfield within the area. But the facts that\noil could have originated in the rocks considered, and that it could have accumulated at the\npoints mentioned as favourable, point toward a possibility, the degree of whose suggestion would\ncertainly be strong enough to have attracted investment in drilling operations long ago if transportation were less difficult and cheaper. If the oil resources of North-west Canada are to be\nproven, these factors show clearly that the area must not be slighted.\nIf, then, the presence of oil there is to be ascertained, the data given in this report will\nserve as a guide to exploratory drilling. Transportation difficulties, which at present are the\nchief obstacles to unqualified recommendation of the area, might well be solved, and if oil were\nfound a railroad, long in contemplation, might be called into active existence before the time\nwhich would normally see its presence. \u2022 11 Geo. 5\nPeace River District.\nK 27\nAs a whole the region may be classed on the basis of geologic evidence as a fair prospect.\nIf transportation of materials can be arranged satisfactorily to the interests of drilling operations, tests should be made on the structures which can best be reached. Proof of the evidence\nof petroleum in commercial quantity must rest on the results of intelligently placed drilling; the\nvalue of geologic evidence in the case lies in its statement of either the presence of petroleum or\nthe likelihood of its presence, and of the points at which such petroleum might have accumulated.\nIn the region examined the likelihood cannot be denied (although the actual presence of oil is\nnot proven) and the structures are known.    All else depends upon the drill.\nVICTORIA,  B.C. :\nPrinted by William H.  Cullin,  Printer to the King's  Most Excellent  Majesly.\n1921. '   I \" \u25a0'\u25a0\"\"'\" 121\" 30\"\n 121*00'\t\nReconnaissance   Map\nshowing\nGeology ^ Structure\nof  a   portion    of\\\nPEACE     RIVER\nDISTRICT\nBRITISH   COLUMBIA\nfco   accompany    report    by\nEdmund   M. Spieker\nI920\n*3*,V\u00a3\nLEGEND\nGeologic   Formation, \t\nDunvegan. It~t    T~,i\nSt. John. Ill^-l'l\nBullhead Mtn. fr&VlV'l\nPine Plver. l^'foM\nStructure.\nAnticlinal   Axes. \u2014 ..\u00a3. \u2014 .\u2014\nSynclinat \u00ab      . \u2014\u25a0\u2666i-.^L...\nStrike and   Dip. -n*\"V\nDip only, _\u00a71^\nTrails, \t\nGeology of areas  not   shown  hachured\nin   moderately folded   belt,not known.   -\nSurveyed    land, lines    solid  \u00bb\nFormation   boundaries  approximate\n<*>>\nr-i-  -   5 D- > '  Kit*       *i  \u00abf  r .  '  I   i\n;c^^\n\\t\n\"^   \"-^\"\/.\".\"\".Burn^il'   _\n\u20221\\ \u201e      _    and      _ *\"   '\nk I       >J-..     _   Myskeg\"\n-     -       -     ^J     N&WghHiU\n\\_ ' _\u2022\u25a0 * -^\n^ Mtfa.ke9_andX_\n>Ji      \\Spruce  Forest .\n- \u00ab& \"\"Nf,\u00bb Rock exposi\nV-   '^acKpine    _     _\n\\\\    \\small   meadows.      * ^_ ,-....      ^*\ni W^a \u2022covered ^^!     i\nw\\tVv WlndFaU\n^\n^ Upland T\u00bbmbered^.,>-*\n<^ small Jad*p;\n<J* and Spruce\n'\u2022if\nI \u2022\n\\\n\\\n121*00\nGeographic Division, B-C","@language":"en"}],"Genre":[{"@value":"Legislative proceedings","@language":"en"}],"Identifier":[{"@value":"J110.L5 S7","@language":"en"},{"@value":"1921_V02_03_K1_K29","@language":"en"}],"IsShownAt":[{"@value":"10.14288\/1.0226009","@language":"en"}],"Language":[{"@value":"English","@language":"en"}],"Provider":[{"@value":"Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library","@language":"en"}],"Publisher":[{"@value":"Victoria, BC : Government Printer","@language":"en"}],"Rights":[{"@value":"Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy or otherwise distribute these images please contact the Legislative Library of British Columbia","@language":"en"}],"SortDate":[{"@value":"1921-12-31 AD","@language":"en"},{"@value":"1921-12-31 AD","@language":"en"}],"Source":[{"@value":"Original Format: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Library. Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia","@language":"en"}],"Title":[{"@value":"PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF LANDS HON. T. D. PATTULLO Minister of Lands REPORT OF OIL SURVEYS IN THE PEACE RIVER DISTRICT 1920 BY JOHN A. DRESSER AND EDMUND M. SPIEKER","@language":"en"}],"Type":[{"@value":"Text","@language":"en"}],"Translation":[{"@value":"","@language":"en"}],"@id":"doi:10.14288\/1.0226009"}