Greinar (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.01.1935, Side 82

80
Fig. 2.
Elliðaái-vogur, looking NNW, Háubakkar to the left. The arrow
indicates the position of the fossiliferous layer. In the foreground
are alluvial deposits on the eastern side of Elliðaárvogur.
ar). The stream joins the sea at the northern end of Háu-
bakkar, a little to the south of Gelgjutangi. In October
1933 I noticed that the layer beneath the doleritic basalt
in the bed of this stream was different in colour from
the corresponding strata in the cliff to the south, and
a closer examination revealed that this stratum con-
tained a good deal of organic matter and attained a con-
siderable hardness when dried (Figs. 2 & 3). I could
detect various remains of plants in this stratum and
among them some fossil seeds. There were also remains
of insects, Agabus solieri (water beetle) being especi-
ally prominent. It seemed obvious that this was a lacus-
trine formation, probably formed in a small tarn or stag-
nant pond. The upper part of this stratum is dark co-
loured, especially on the western side, and consists of
many thin layers, and is composed almost entirely of