LOWER CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS CALIFORNIA AND OREGON

60 LOWER CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS IN CALIFORNIA. AND OREGON
t&ined by W. W. Wells of Ashland, Oregon, includes Aucella crassicollis,
A. crasm, Phylloceras spiedenenee, and Dichctomites, near Dichotomies
tehamaensia nov., from the Paskenta beds on the Wilcox ranch, Tehama
County, California.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
lower Cretaceous deposits comparable to the Shasta series have been
described from many places on the mainland (Harrison lake, Tatlayoco
Lake, and Jackass Mountain) and also from some of the offshore islands
("Vancouver Island and Admiralty Island) (Wright, 1906). From the
district of Harrison Lake, Criekmay (1930) has described Mesozoic deposits
with many species of Aucella, which he regards as Lower Cretaceous
in age. Many of the Aucellan forms illustrated by him bear close resemblance
to species found in the Paskenta group in western Tehama County,
California. Some of them appear to belong to the groups of Aucella
inflata Tottla, A. keyserlingi Lahusen, and A. crassa Pavlow. From
Qaatsino Sound, Whiteaves (18S3, p. 81-83) has described "Olcostephanua"
quatsinoensis, which seems to belong to Polyptychites, a genus well represented
in tbe Paskenta group in California. From the same area be has
also figured Inoceramus quaisin&eims, a species similar to, if not identical
with, Ineceramus ellioti Gabb, here recognized as a Lower Cretaceous
fossil apparently belonging to the group of Inoceramus omtus Stanton,
found in the Paskenta group in its type district and in the Cottonwood
district in Shasta County.
ALASKA
Many references to Lower Cretaceous deposits in Alaska are found in
the geological literature of tbe Territory, not all of which can bo noted
here. Many of tbe accounts that have been found leave much to be
desired as to their major features, age determinations, relationships, and
their distinctness from other formations. Still there is undeniable evidence
that equivalents of both Paskenta and Horsetown groups occur in
many of its areas. The general distribution of Lower Cretaceous rocks
in Alaska has been briefly stated by Martin (1926, p. 288) as follows:
"Tbe rocks that have been referred to tho Lower CretaeeoiiB iacluds the Stftniukovich.
shale and tbe Herendeen limestone of the Alaska Peninsula; conglomerate
tuff and aikose and the overlying Nclchinit limestone of the Upper Matanuska Valley;
the ahale, sandstone, and conglomerate of the Keimicott formation of the Chitina
Valley; some of the AuceiJa-Eearing shale and gtaywaeke of Chiaana and White
rivera; some of the Aucclta-bearing slate and associated rocks of southeastern Alaska;
the jiucef Jo-bearing shale and sandstone of the Upper Yukon and Rampart-Tanana
district; the limestone, chert, and arkose of the 'Oklune series' of tho region north
of Bristol Bay; the limestone, shale, and sandstone of the Koyukuk group of the
Koyukuk Valley; and the sandstone and conglomerate of tho Anaktuvuk group of
northern Alaska."
La the later discussion of these areas the faunal characteristics of the
various formations referred to the Lower Cretaceous are probably not