ABITIBI LAKE

        Abitibi Lake, northeastern Canada, lies across the interprovincial

boundary between Ontario and Quebec, with the grater part of its extend

in Ontario. It has an area of 350 square miles, of which 295 miles are

in Ontario and 55 square miles are in Quebec; and it is divided into

two principal sections by promontories projecting from the north and

south shores, leaving only a narrow channel between. With an elevation

of 868 feet above sea level, its axis lies west-northwest and east-southeast.

Its most northerly point is in latitude 48° 56′ N.; its easterly limit is

in longitude 79° 15′ W. (the boundary cut it at longitude 79° 31′ W.); its

most southerly point is in latitude 48° 35′ N.; and its most westerly point

is in longitude 80° 13′ W. Its greatest length in a direct line is about

44 miles, and its greatest width, 18 miles. Its shoreline is very irregular,

with a number of long promontories projecting into the lake, in addition to

the two which almost bisect it. The southern promontory is seven miles long,

and very narrow, while the one extending southward from the north shore is

about 12 miles long and averages about 10 miles wide. Both sections of the

lake are filled with islands. The eastern portion is more thickly dotted

with islands than the western portion, and the largest has an area of about

six square miles.

        The shores of Abitibi Lake are generally rocky, with little sand

or gravel and not much swamp. The land immediately to the north is rela–

tively low, rising some distance back from the shore to hills with an

elevation of over 2,000 feet. The south shore is higher, with hills near

the lake reaching heights of from 1,000 to 1,300 feet. Many streams flow

into Abitibi Lake, most of which are short because the drainage area is

hemmed on the north by a range of hills, and to the south by the height

of land separating the St. Lawrence River watershed from that of James Bay.

One of the largest inflowing streams is the Duparquet River, which enters

from the south near the eastern end of the lake, its course being entirely

within the Province of Quebec. Other rivers flowing in from the south are

the Ghost, Lightning, and Mattawasaga. The principal rivers flowing in from

the north are La Reine, Aylen, and Lowbush.

        Abitibi Lake is drained by the Abitibi River, which flows westward out

of its southwestern angel, its waters ultimately reaching James Bay by way

of Moose River. The Canadian National Railway line from Quebec City to

Winnipeg (National Transcontinental) touches the north shore of the western

section of Abitibi Lake at two points, in Northeast Bay and in Northwest Bay,

at Mace and Lowbush Stations, respectively. The Hudson's Bay Company has

maintained a trading post on Abitibi Lake since 1755.

        The lake was first surveyed in 1900, when parties employed by the

Ontario Government were engaged to explore portions of Ontario's northern

hinterland, till then, except by traders and trappers, an unknown land.

        Reference:

ABITIBI RIVER

        The Abitibi River, one of the principal tributaries of Moose River

(q.v.), drains an area of 11,300 square miles in the northeastern part

of Ontario, Dominion of Canada. It rises in Abitibi Lake (q.v.), in

latitude 48° 47′ N., longitude 81° 11′ W.; and, after an initial westerly

course of about 50 miles, holds a generally northwesterly course to its

junction with Moose River, a short distance above the latter's mouth.

It drains the eastern portion of the Moose River watershed; its basin is

narrow, because it is hemmed on the west by the watershed of the Mattagami

River, another important tributary of the Moose, and, on the east, by

various streams draining into James Bay through the Province of Quebec.

        The Abitibi River flows through two physiographic provinces. In its

upper reaches, its course lies across territory underlain by the Pre e c ambrian

rocks of the Canadian Shield, where it is interrupted by numerous rapids

and falls, resulting in many excellent power sites, some of which are

already developed. In its lower reaches, it traverses the Hudson (James) Bay

lowland, where the underlying rocks are of Palaeozoic age, and the stream

flows through low-lying land consisting mainly of peat bogs and muskeg. Its

upper reaches are in well-wooded territory, where black and white spruce,

Banksian pine, birch, balsam, poplar and tamarack are the principal trees.

Most of the timber is small, however, and fit chiefly for pulpwood. At two

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different point pulp and paper mills have already been established. For

a large part of its length its valley is occupied by the line of the

Ontario Northland Railway (q.v.), which connects transcontinental lines

at North Bay and Cochrane with James Bay at Moosonee. The line crosses

the river in two places, remaining, however, for most of its distance on

the western side.

        Leaving Lake Abitibi at its southeastern angle, in the large bay

formed by a long promontory, the Abitibi River flows southeastward, swing–

ing soon to a generally westerly direction. It is at this point a broad,

shallow stream, with many arms and bays extending on both sides so that it

is difficult to determine the direction of the main stream. Twenty miles

below the outlet of the lake, the Abitibi receives the Mistogo River from

the north. The channel of this stream is similar in its characteristics

to that of the Abitibi in this section. Shortly below the mouth of the

Mistogo River, the Abitibi swings to the southwestward and narrows to

one-third of its width as it pours over the Twin Falls, where the drop is

60 feet. Here the Abitibi Power and Paper Company Limited has developed

30,000 horse power of electrical energy for use in its pulp and paper plant

at Iroquois Falls. Continuing a southwesterly course for about seven miles,

it receives Black River from the south, and immediately swings to the north-

northwest for eight miles to Iroquois Falls, which is the site of the Abitibi

Power and Paper Company Limited's immense mill and townsite.

        At Iroquois Falls, the company develops 28,000 horse power for us in its

plant. Continuing northwestward, the river is crossed by the line of the

Canadian National Railways between Brower and Abitibi stations. At about

25 miles north of the railway crossing, the river makes an abrupt turn to

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the west, flowing in that direction for 10 miles to the junction with

Frederick House River, which comes in from the south. Immediately below

the junction, the Abitibi resumes its general north-northwesterly course,

and, 12 miles below the mouth of Frederick House River, is crossed for

the second time by the Ontario Northland Railway. Three miles beyond the

railway crossing, the Abitibi flows over Island Falls, where a dam has

been built providing a head of 66 feet. Here the Abitibi Power and Paper

Company limited has a plant at which 60,000 horse power is generated. This

power is conveyed to the mill at Iroquois Falls over a transmission line of

81.5 miles. Between the mouth of Frederick House River and Island Falls,

the river is about 200 yards wide, with many bays and arms. Its banks are

from 75 to 100 feet high, cut through glacial drift.

        The Abitibi River contracts again below Island Falls, continuing thus

for 30 miles, when it once more widens into a lake-expansion before entering

the Abitibi Canyon, where a drop of 237 feet occurs. This is the beginning

of the river's plunge from the level of the Pre c -C ambrian plain to that of the

lowland. At Abitibi Canyon, the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission

develops 275,000 horse power of electricity. Construction of this huge

plant was begun by the Abitibi Power and Paper Company Limited. Before

the project was completed, however, the company went into a receivership.

In the settlement, the power development was taken over by the Ontario

Hydro-Electric Power Commission, and the enterprise is now part of its

system.

        Swinging in a gradual curve to the north from Abitibi Canyon, the

river drops over another fall to about 10 miles beyond the canyon. Con–

tinuing then in a general north-northwesterly direction for about 30 miles,

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it narrows, and, at Otter Rapids and Falls, runs for two miles through a

canyon which, in places, is not more than 50 feet wide, where the descent

is 57 feet. The Sextant Rapids, two and a half miles below the canyon,

have a fall of 16 feet. Beyond this point, the river swings to the north–

west for about a mile, and then turns slightly east of north for two miles,

flowing over the Coral Rapids, with a drop of 18 feet. Coral Rapids are so

named because the river at that point outs through a cliff composed almost

entirely of fossilized ferns, fish and marine invertebrates. The stream

now trends north-northeasterly, and five miles below Coral Rapids enters

the Long Rapids, which continue for five miles with a total drop of 77 feet.

The river has now reac hed the level of the Hudson (James) Bay Lowlands.

        After a sharp bend to the east, and about five miles below the lower

end of the Long Rapids, the Little Abitibi River flows in from the southeast.

Ten miles farther north the Blacksmith Rapids occur, where there is a drop

of five feet. This is followed by rapids with drops of three and four feet,

respectively, after which the Onakawana River comes in from the southwest.

Here the Ontario Northland Railway, hitherto following the west bank of the

Abitibi River, crosses the intervening territory to the Moose River valley,

a short distance to the westward. Another rapid with a drop of four feet

occurs at the point where the Big Cedar Creek comes in on the east side.

The Abitibi now follows a generally southeasterly course, which it holds

until it joins the Moose. Several rapids, including Sand Rapids, with a

three-foot drop, and the Sugar Rapids, with a four-foot drop, occur in the

final stretch. Midway between these is another rapid, unnamed, with a drop

of three feet. In its lower reaches, the Abitibi expands considerably and

contains many islands, having a width at its mouth of about three-quarters

of a mile.

        The Abitibi River traverses a territory which has unusual economic

possibilities. The region through which it runs in its upper reaches is

fairly well covered with black and white spruce and other trees common to

the region. Some of this timber is of merchantable size, but the greater

part of it is fit only for pulpwood, of which there is a considerable quan–

tity. The supply would have been much greater if large sections of the

country had not, in recent years, been repeatedly ravaged by fire.

        Since, for the greater part of its course, the river traverses the

Precambrian plain, underlain by rocks which elsewhere are highly mineralized,

it is likely that, as the country becomes more fully prospected, valuable

mineral occurences will be located. The rich gold mines of Kirkland Lake

(q.v.) are but a few miles to the south of its source. The equally famous

gold mines of Porcupine (q.v.) are about the same distance to the westward.

Both have been producing steadily since the second decade of the twentieth

century.

        As already mentioned, the pulpwood resources of the territory are being

utilized by the Abitibi Power and Paper Company Limited at Iroquois Falls.

Mention has also been made of the development by this company of a total of

98,000 horse power at its three sites, and the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power

Commission's 275,000 horsepower plant at the Abitibi Canyon. A number of

other sites remain where large quantities of additional power could be

developed.

        The upper reaches of the river cut through the famous Clay Belt (q.v.),

in which the land, though timber-covered, is very fertile. When the timber

is removed and the land cleared, this region could provide farm homes for a

large community. As has already been said, it has railway connection with

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Cochrane, on the transcontinental, and with tidewater at James Bay.

        The Lowlands section, while at present a dreary waste of muskeg, could

be converted into productive farm land by proper draining. It consists of

a layer of water-soaked moss and decayed vegetable matter superimposed upon

a clay subsoil. The moss prevents evaporation; the clay prevents drainage

of the water. This water, only slightly warmer than ice-water, serves to

keep the land in perpetual cold storage. If the land were drained, however,

the temperature at ground-level would certainly rise, and the rich soil, level

and free from stones, would undoubtedly prove of value for agricultural purposes.

        The Lowland section is capable, also, of industrial development. Large

deposits of excellent china clay have been discovered in a number of places,

as well as immense deposits of gypsum. Cheap electrical power is close at

hand and, in addition, widespread deposits of lignite coal exist, which, while

not of sufficient quality to justify transport for any distance, could be used

to advantage locally.

        The Abitibi River has provided a highway to James and Hudson Bays since

the seventeenth century. French fur traders from Montreal followed it to the

Moose and thence to the Bay as early as 1662. It has been a favorite canoe

route of traders, missionaries and explorers ever since. The railway now

makes canoe travel unnecessary, except for recreation. In this region, how–

ever, it is likely that it will long continue to attract those who enjoy the

thrill of canoeing in white water.

        References:

ALBANY RIVER

        The Albany River, in northern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, drains

an area of 59,800 square miles southwest of James Bay, and is 610 miles

in length to the head of its farthest tributary. It is one of the most

important rivers in Ontario, although yet very little known. Its drain–

age basin extends from latitude 48° 45′ N. to latitude 52° 30′ N; and

from longitude 81° 30′ W. to longitude 92° W. The greater part of this

area lies south of the main stream, drained by the Ogoki and Kenogami

rivers, with their network of tributaries.

        For many years the Albany formed the northwestern boundary of Ontario,

separating that province from the District of Keewatin, then part of the

Northwest Territories administered by the Government of Canada. A new

boun [ ?] ry was established in 1912, when the province of Ontario and Manitoba

were extended to Hudson Bay and that portion of the District of Keewatin

lying south of latitude 60° N., and north of the Albany River, was divided

between them.

        The Albany River proper rises in St. Joseph Lake, which lies in a

general east-west direction practically along the 51st parallel of north

latitude, between 90° W. and 91° 30′ W. longitude, but its headwaters are

generally taken to be the source of Cat River, which flows through Cat Lake

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and a series of other lakes into the western end of St. Joseph Lake. This

chain of lakes lies in a direction slightly west of north between latitudes

51° and 52° N., and between longitudes 91° 30′ and 92° W.

        St. Joseph Lake is a splendid sheet of water, about 80 miles in length,

with an elevation of 1,218 feet above sea level. Since it is entirely within

the region of Precambrian rocks, its shoreline is extremely irregular, as is

characteristic of lakes in that region, and consists of long bays and inden–

tations, and the lake is studded with innumerable islands. The surrounding

country here, and for the greater part of the Albany's course across the

Canadian Shield, consists of an undulating upland plain of low relief, occa–

sional or ro cky hills or knobs rising from 50 to 200 feet above the general

level. The shores and islands of the lakes and rivers are well wooded with

large spruce, both black and white, tamarack, aspen and balsam poplar, with

some Banksian pine, cedar and white birch.

        Like many other lakes in the Canadian Shield section of northern Canada,

St. Joseph Lake has two outlets — at its eastern extremity, where the end

of the lake is formed by an island, five and a half miles north and south

by about three miles at its greatest width. The outlets, one at each end

of the island, discharge into Osnaburgh Lake, a crescent-shaped, island-

studded lake about 12 miles long and a mile and a half wide at its widest,

lying approximately north and south. Both channels, near their entry into

Osnaburgh Lake, drop over ledges with a fall of 10 feet. The Albany River

flows eastward out of the southern end of Osnaburgh Lake in a channel filled

with islands and broken by many rapids. Four miles below Osnaburgh Lake, it

enters Atikokiwam Lake, three miles long by two miles wide. The river divides

into two channels as it flows out of Atikokiwam Lake, and the two come together

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ten miles below, having encompassed Kagami Island in their course. The

descent between Atikokiwam Lake and the point where the channels reunite

is about 100 feet. In the northern channel, the first fall occurs five

miles below Atikokiwam Lake, where the drop is 34 feet; at the Kagami Falls

four miles farther downstream, the fall is also 34 feet; and three-quarters

of a mile below the latter another fall, of 14 feet, occurs. The drop in

the southern channel is more continuous.

        Beginning a short distance below the foot of Kagami Island, the Albany

River enters an arm of Achapai (Elbow) Lake, which is about four miles long

and not more than a mile wide and lies in a northeasterly direction. At the

end of this four-mile reach, the arm bends sharply to the southeast, and a

mile farther joins the main part of the lake, which is about six and a half

miles long, lying south of and parallel to the arm just mentioned. The river

flows out of Achapai Lake at its northeastern extremity, not far from the

point at which it enters, and flows northward for a mile and then swings to

the northeast, holding that course in a well-marked channel, free from ob–

structions, until a short rapid leads to a lake-expansion five miles long

and less than a mile wide. This lake-expansion terminates in a rapid with

a four-foot descent, after which the river makes an abrupt turn to the east–

ward, and with many twists and turns drops 55 feet in the next six miles of

rapids. At the end of this stretch, the Misehkow River comes in from the

southwest. Swinging to slightly east of north, immediately below the mouth

of the Misehkow, the Albany widens and for the next eight miles continues

wide with a slack current, bending abruptly to the east at the end of this

stretch, and expanding about a number of islands as the Etowamami River comes

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in from the northwest. This easterly course is about four miles in length,

and, at the end of it, is another island-filled expansion. Here, in a region

of morainic hills, from 200 to 300 feet high, the river makes a sharp bend to

the south for five miles in the course of which it is interrupted by many

rapids. This southward stretch terminates in a lake-like expansion pendant

to the main river; the Shabuskwia River flows into this expansion from the

south.

        Making a hairpin bend to the northeast, the Albany River, in the next

eight miles, drops over Upper Eskawa Falls, with a descent of 22 feet, Eskawa

Falls, with a descent of 23 feet, and Snake Falls, with a descent of nine

feet. Below the last mentioned falls, the river widens, and for four miles

flows in a direction slightly east of north. It then swings to the east,

still wide and with a slack current, and flows into Miminiska Lake, dividing

into two channels just above its entrance. Miminiska Lake has a total length

of 12 miles and a width of about six, but a considerable portion of its area

is occupied by what appears to be an island about five and a half miles long

by five miles wide, but which, in reality, is a promontory attached to the

north shore of the lake by a short, narrow ridge of rock. Miminiska Lake

lies in a northeasterly direction, but the Albany River flows out of its

[ ?] s outheasterly angle. Continuing in a southeasterly direction for two and

a half miles, in which the descent is 32 feet, the river enters Petawanga

Lake, 15 miles long and less than two miles at its greatest width, lying

mainly in an east-and-west direction. After leaving Petawanga Lake, the

Albany flows in a general easterly direction through a number of lake-ex–

tensions, receiving from the north the discharge from Kabemet Lake, where

a Hudson's Bay Company's post is established. The river now swings to the

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River

southeast, continuing in that direction for about four miles to Makokibatan

Lake. In the six miles between Petawanga and Makikobatan lakes, the river

has a total descent of 68 feet.

        Makokibatan Lake is about 18 miles long, by less than two miles wide,

and lies in a direction slightly north of east. The river leaves the lake

by two channels, one at the southeastern, and the other at the northeastern

angle. These two channels proceed on a roughtly parallel northeasterly

course, and unite about 15 miles below the lake. The northern channel flows

into and out of the southern side of Washi Lake, a double lake about 10 miles

long, while the southern channel flows through a number of small expansions.

In the stretch between Makokibatan and Washi lakes, the river has a drop of

33 feet in three principal rapids that are separated by short sections of

quiet water.

        After the junction of the two channels, the river flows slightly north

of east through many expansions, separated usually by rapids. It then swings

to a northerly course for four miles, still expanding into lake-like stretches.

Three miles from the bend, it drops over Kagaimi Falls, which, including the

rapids above, have a total descent of 44 feet. The river continues its

northerly course for another mile below Kagiami Falls, and then bends to the

northeast, holding that course for 10 miles to Martin Falls, where it drops

25 feet. In the stretch between Kagiami and Martin falls, the river drops

40 feet in three rapids of 14, 12 and 14 feet, respectively. Below Martin

Falls, the course continues generally northeasterly for a further eight

miles in which the current, while swift, is uninterrupted. Beyond this, the

river swings to the north, continuing on that course for four miles, at the

end of which a slight bend to the east occurs and after two miles is interrupted

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by the final rapid on the river (except for two slight ones in its lower

reaches), where there is a drop of six feet.

        From this point the river swings to the northeast in a gradual curve,

maintaining this course for about eight miles to the south of the Wabassi

River, flowing in from the west. Below the mouth of the Wabassi, the Albany

turns to the east and then swings to the southeast. Beginning about two

miles above the mouth of the Wabassi, the river widens with many islands,

and after the turn to the east, it separates twice into two channels, in

each case enclosing an island about a mile and a half long. Where the river

changes from the eastward to the southeastward course, it flows in several

parallel channels which enclose islands; and below that point, while confined

to one channel, it occupies a wide trough and runs with a slack current. The

Albany has now reached the lowland section, and from here to the coast its

nature undergoes a radical change. Its course consists of relatively straight

stretches, with steep banks cut through the till. For a hundred miles the

channel is cut through boulder clay which has washed away, leaving a bed and

banks of boulders. Nearer the sea, where the flat-lying limestones are

closer to the surface, the stream has cut down into the bedrock, in places

as deep as 30 or 40 feet.

        At the end of the southeastern stretch, the Ogoki River joins the Albany,

coming from the southwest, after which the latter runs eastward for 25 miles,

again swinging to the southeast for a further 60 miles. The many expansions

of the upper reaches are now absent, but a shallow expansion occurs opposite

the mouth of the Kenogami as it comes in from the southwest at the end of the

80-mile stretch just mentioned. Immediately b e low the mouth of the Kenogami,

the Albany resumes its northeasterly course, which it holds until it reaches

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James Bay in latitude 51° 20′ N., longitude 80° 20′ W. In the final 150

miles, it maintains a wide channel, with clay and gravel banks from 60 to

80 feet high, dividing in many places to enclose low sand and gravel islands

of considerable size, and averaging from a quarter of a miles to over a mile

in width. The surrounding country consists mainly of muskeg, in which the

principal trees are black spruce and tamarack of small dimensions. The river

is bordered on each side by a narrow strip of green timber in which the trees

are sometimes of considerable size, but both size and numbers diminish within

a short distance from the river's edge.

        The Albany, by means of its tributary, the Kenogami, and the latter's

tributary, the Pagwachuan, provides an uninterrupted water way from the

Canadian National Railways line at Pagwa station to James Bay. The Pagwa–

chuan is shallower than the Kenogami, but in high water is navigable for

river boats of sufficient size. Revillon Freres and the Hudson's Bay Company

transport goods down these rivers to their trading posts, using 15-ton scows

propelled by power boats. Although the Albany has two rapids below the

junction with the Kenogami, neither offers any serious obstruction to navigation.

        The Albany River has been familiar to officers of the Hudson's Bay Company

for more than two centuries. The first scientific exploration of any part of

the area was not undertaken until 1870, when Dr. Robert Bell, of the Geological

and Natural History Survey of the Department of the Interior of Canada, ex–

plored part of its watershed. Robert Bell made a further exploration of the

territory about St. Joseph Lake in 1887, crossing the divide to the Attawapis–

kat, which he descended to the sea. Following the James Bay coast to the mouth

of the Albany, he ascended that river to the mouth of the Kenogami, ascen [ ?] ing

the latter to its source in Long Lake.

        In 1920, Dr. M. Y. Williams, of the Geological Survey of Canada, descended

the Pagwachuan from Pagwa to the junction with the Kenogami, and descended

the latter and the Albany River to James Bay, examining the country with a

view to its possibilities for petroleum.

        The first activity, and the only one for many years, in the Albany River

region was the fur trade, conducted at first exclusively by the Hudson's Bay

Company, and in later years also by Revillon Freres. The region through which

the river runs in its upper reaches is underlain, as has been said, by the

Pre c -C ambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, in which rich mineral occurrences

have been found in various parts of the country. The geological indications

in the area surrounding its headwaters, and through which it flows until it

drops down to the lowland level, are favorable in different places for gold,

silver, lead, copper, nickle, cobalt and vanadium; while in certain places

formations exist in which iron ore deposits are a possibility.

        The economic resources of the lowland section cannot yet be guaged

with any certainty, owing to the heavy overburden of glacial drift with

which the underlying formations are covered. The limestones and dolomites

of the region are similar to those which elsewhere are productive of oil,

but wherever they have been examined their flat-lying position seems to pre–

clude the possibility of any great concentration of oil but the amount of

actual prospecting that has so far been done is negligible and too slight to

admit of a definite answer to the question as to whether oil exists.

        In the Moose River basin, farther to the southeast, extensive deposits

of high-grade fireclays exist, as well as widely-distributed deposits of

gypsum. It is possible that similar deposits exist in the Albany River region,

but, as with oil, the amount of prospecting so far done is too slight to

admit of any definite answer to that question. A similar situation exists

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exists with respect to the possible existence of lignite coal, of which

large deposits exist in the Moose River basin.

        In the Canadian Shield section of the Albany River drainage area,

especially in the southern part, large quantities of pulpwood are available,

but stands of merchantable timber are not very extensive.

        One of the most important resources of the region is the amount of

potential hydro-electric energy. While the power is too far from the present

industrial sections of Ontario to be of use in those parts of the province,

its availability in the development of the mineral resources of the region

renders such development much more likely. The geological indications added

to nearby waterpower go far to assure an important industrial development

some day in the territory drained by the Albany River.

        References:

        Williams, M.Y. Palaeozoic Stratigraphy of the Pagwachuan, Lower Kenogami,

and Lower Albany Rivers, Ontario. Geological Survey of

Canada, Summary Report, 1920, Part D.

ARTILLERY LAKE

        Artillery Lake, in Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, is the

largest in the series of lakes forming part of the Lockhart River system,

which extends for 300 miles from MacKay Lake in latitude 64° N., longitude

111° 30′ W., to the eastern end of Great Slave Lake. Artillery Lake is

about 55 miles long and about seven miles at its widest, lying in a northeast–

southwest direction, the lower end of which terminates in a long narrow bay,

less than half a mile wide. It has an area of 190 square miles, and has an

elevation of 1,190 feet, which is 695 feet above the level of Great Slave

Lake, only 25 miles distant by way of the lower section of Lockhart River.

Its shores are bold and high, in some places 200 feet above the lake.

        At the south end of the lake the country is very rough and appears to

have been heavily glaciated. The hills show the characteristic rounded tops

and the valleys have numerous furrows and troughs resulting from ice action.

The glacia [ ?] l drift here is very light, usually in the form of scattered

boulders. The underlying rock is granite and gneiss of a dull red to pink

color and of medium grain. Northward along the lake the glacial deposits

become thicker and the country becomes more gently rolling.

        About 20 miles north of the southern end of the lake a new series of

rocks appears. These extend across the lake, and all the islands from this

point northward to the top of the lake show outcrops of the same rocks which

consist of dolomite limestone of massive form, varying from a light cream to

a dark grey. The largest of these islands, Crystal Island, about five miles

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Artillery Lake

long by about half a mile wide, lies toward the east shore, about half way

up the lake. Innumerable white quartz stringers occur throughout the forma–

tion and in them are found clusters of small, clear quartz crystals, hence

the island's name.

        At the north end of the lake are many well-defined moraines with an

east-and-west axis causing swift water or rapids in Lockhart River between

Ptarmigan and Artillery Lakes. A feature of this district is the sand ridges

that extend for many miles across the country, also with east and west axes.

In some cases the sand is formed into distinct ridges up to 60 or 70 feet

high, with their tops horizontal, evidently glacial deposits and old lake

beaches.

        The timber-line is about half-way up Artillery Lake; on the west, the

slopes back from the shore are fairly well timbered with small spruce for

about 10 miles from the south end; beyond this point trees, although thinly

scattered, continue northward for a further 20 miles, about eight miles

farther north than on the eastern shore.

        The resources of Artillery Lake and vicinity, outside of any mineral

wealth it may possess, lie chiefly in its fish, furs and meat supplies.

The deep cold waters abound with the finest lake trout as well as whitefish,

pike and carp. Caribou are numerous and are the chief source of meat supply

for the natives, although muskoxen have been found at no great distance to

the northeast. The area, however, is in the Thelon Sanctuary and as such its

game resources are not for general use.

        Artillery Lake, with those in the Lockhart River system above, was first

explored by Sir George Back in 1833, who named it as well as others. In 1900,

J. W. Tyrrell, making a survey for the Geological Survey of Canada, proceeded

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Artillery Lake

up the lake on his way to the Thelon River, and since then other surveys

have been made.

        References:

        Tyrrell, J.W. Annual Report ; Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.

ASHUANIPI RIVER

        The Ashuanipi River is the larger of two principal tributaries form–

ing the Hamilton River, in the Labrador portion of the Province of Newfound–

land, Canada. It rises at the southwestern angle of the Hamilton River

drainage basin, in the height of land separating the Hamilton watershed

from that of the St. Lawrence, on the south, of rivers draining into James

Bay, on the west, and of rivers flowing northward into Ungava Bay. The

height of land here consists of much swampy country and of innumerable lakes

connected by short stretches of stream, all apparently flowing on the surface,

without any perceptible river valley. The slope of the country occupied by

the network of streams and lakes which constitutes the Ashuanipi River, is

mainly northwestward to the northwestern extremity of the Hamilton River

drainage area, and then eastward, where the main drainage is carried by the

Hamilton River to the Atlantic Ocean.

        The Ashuanipi drainage basin is long and narrow. On the west it is

limited by the nearness of the watershed between the Hudson Bay and Atlantic

drainage areas; while, on the east, it is limited by the proximity of the

Attikonak River, which follows a roughly parallel course to join the Ashuanipi

in Sandgirt Lake.

        Ashuanipi River has its source in the lake of the same name, which is

upwards of 50 miles long and generally very narrow, irregular in outline, filled

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with islands, and in every way typical of most of the lakes found through–

out the Canadian Shield. As the river flows out of the lake, it is wide

and shallow, but contracts to about 75 yards, except where it spreads into

frequent lake-expansions of various sizes. The stream, like most others

in the Shield, is broken by many rapids, the ones here filled with boulders.

The banks are generally low, consisting chiefly of glacial till. In the

stretches of quieter water, the current is about four miles an hour.

        About 50 miles below the outlet of Ashuanipi Lake, the river passes

through a series of three lakes known as the Menihek Lakes, separated by

short stretches of river. The first lake is about 10 miles long and about

two miles wide, very shallow, and filled with islands. This lake is joined

to the next by a stretch of river three miles long, which, for the greater

part of the distance, is about half a mile in width. The river here has a

moderate current, flowing in a shallow channel between banks which, on the

east side, are terraced for about 60 feet above the water. The middle lake

is 23 miles long, and averages about two miles in width. At a point about

11 miles from its head, a large stream comes in from the west through a deep

out in the hills, flowing over a heavy rapid as it enters. The lowest of

the three lakes is about 15 miles in length, and varies in width from one

to two miles.

        As the stream leaves the third Menihek lake, it passes over a wide,

shallow rapid, and follows a northeasterly course in a very irregular channel,

frequently spreading to enclose large islands, and, at one point, filling a

depression that extends for some miles to the northwest, and at right-angles

to its own course. After flowing thus for six miles, in which several rapids

occur, the river makes an abrupt turn to the southeast and flows in this

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Ashuanipi River

direction for another six miles, still in a shallow channel, which, in

places, is over half a mile wide, between low, swampy shores. Many sandy

shoals obstruct the channel and huge boulders are scattered about. The

river next flows into Marble Lake, lying in a northwest-southeast direction,

entering its southeastern end, at that point not more than a mile in width,

but expending within a mile to three miles, continuing at that width for a

further four miles. The shores are low, often consisting of white limestone

ledges; the surrounding country is also low, much of it swampy, and generally

well wooded with small black spruce and tamarack, with an occasional white

birch.

        The river leaves Marble Lake by two channels, which continue apart to

the next lake — Astray Lake, — which they enter several miles from each

other. Astray Lake is over 30 miles in length, but not more than four miles

at its widest. Its shore is indented by many deep bays, which are separated

by high ridges which also extend into the lake. Two of these form chains of

rocky islands down the center of the widest part of the lake. From Astray

Lake, the river continues on a northeasterly course for less than a mile,

and then flows into the south side of Dyke Lake, lying in a northwest-

southeast direction. This is a lake of considerable size, almost severed

in places by rocky points, spreading into deep bays, the longest of which

follow the general trend of the country, and filled with islands, some of

which are quite large. No accurate map of this lake is available, but it

is probably more than 20 miles in length and in places is about 12 miles

wide. At the northwestern end, a stream flows in from Lake Petitsikapau

(Q.V.), about 25 miles long, beyond which is Lake Attikamagen, of about the

same size, which occupy the northwestern extension of the valley in which

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Dyke Lake itself lies, and along which the Ashuanipi continues after it

leaves Dyke Lake.

        From the head of Lake Ashuanipi, through the streams and lakes already

described, to the head of Lake Attikamagen, a straightline distance of

about 200 miles, the country represents the summit of watersheds draining

southward into the St. Lawrence (Moisie River), northward into Ungava Bay

(George and Koksosk rivers), west into James Bay (Eastmain and Fort George

rivers) and eastward into the Atlantic (Hamilton River). From the head of

Ashuanipi Lake to Dyke Lake, the trend has been northwesterly, but from the

head of Attikamagen Lake, through Dyke Lake, to the Hamilton River, the

slope is eastward.

        Shortly after issuing from Dyke Lake, the river divides into two

channels, each of which is often subdivided by islands. The current in

these channels is swift and broken by numerous rapids during the whole of

the 12 miles to Birch Lake. The latter is about 10 miles long, its shores,

like other lakes in this region, indented by long bays, and, also like other

lakes, containing many rocky islands. These, with its many deep bays and

projecting rocky points, make its outline difficult to determine. In its

final 30-mile stretch to Sandgirt Lake, the Ashuanipi follows a southeasterly

course. It spreads into the usual lake-expansions, separated by rapids.

The river is also, in this part, divided into different channels in places,

which enclose islands of all sizes. Where it flows in a single channel, it

is usually from 100 to 500 yards in width, with banks from 10 to 60 feet in

height, out in glacial drift. The country, generally, is well wooded, with

white and black spruce, tamarack, balsam fir, white birch, and some pop u lar.

Occa tional white spruce in this section may measure in 15 inches in diameter.

        The Ashuanipi River flows into the western side of Sandgirt Lake,

which, like those above is very irregular and filled with rocky islands.

Into it also flows the Attikonak River (q.v.); and these, with other streams

discharging into Sandgirt Lake, provide the source of the Hamilton River

(q.v.). Ashuanipi River was fir s t explored in 1894, when Dr. A. P. Low, of

the Geological Survey of Canada, made an exploratory survey of the Hamilton

River and its two principal tributaries. Since then, only an occasional

trapper has traversed it. In recent years, serial surveys have been [ ?]

conducted in connection with the search for iron ore, but reports of such

surveys are not available.

        Reference:

ATHABASKA LAKE

        Athabaska Lake, northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, is the third

largest lake wholly within the borders of the Cominion of Canada. It

is exceeded in size only by its northern neighbors, Great Slave Lake

and Great Bear Lake, and by Lake Winnipeg; and on the North American

continent only by these and the five Great Lakes in the St. Lawrence

waterway system. Athabaska Lake has an area of 3,058 square miles, of

which 893 square miles are in Alberta and 2,165 square miles in Saskat–

chewan. It lies at an elevation of 699 feet above sea level, has a shore–

line of 520 miles, is 195 miles long at its greatest length, and 35 miles

wide at its width. Like the other lakes in the series extending northwest–

ward from Lake of the Woods to Great Bear Lake, it lies across the contact

between the crystalline Pre c -C ambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield and the

sedimentary Palaeozoic rocks to the westward. It lies between latitudes

58° 37′ N. and 59° 39′ N., and longitudes 106° W. and 111° 14′ W., with

its axis in an east-northeasterly direction. Its shoreline is irregularly

bow-shaped, with its southern shore constituting the string. The chief

source of its waters is the Athabaska River, which rises in the Rocky

Mountains far to the southwestward, and which cuts a deep gash across the

intervening Alberta Plateau, and thus brings a rich alluvium with which to

build a delta that practically fills the western end of the lake. In fact,

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it has cut off a section of what was once the western end of Athabaska

Lake which now contains a number of lakes of various sizes, the largest

of which are Lake Claire and Lake Mamawi. Almost opposite the mouth of

Athabaska River, the Slave River flows out, car r ying its quota of water

northward to constitute the great Mackenzie River.

        The height of land separating the Athabaska Lake drainage area from

that of Great Slave Lake lies only a few miles north of Athabaska Lake, at

its nearest point coming to within three miles of the shore of the lake.

For this reason, all the streams flowing into Athabaska Lake from the north

are short, rapid and unavailable. While the height of land to the south,

separating the Athabaska and Hudson Bay drainage areas si somewhat farther

removed from the shoreline of Athabaska Lake, the rivers flowing in from

that direction — with the exception of the Athabaska River itself — are

likewise short. Toward the eastern end of the lake, these rivers descend

from a relatively high tableland and consequently are to a great extent inter–

rupted by rapids and falls. Fond du Lac River, draining an area of the

Canadian Shield to the eastward, flows into the lake at its extreme eastern

end.

        On the north shore of Athabaska Lake, near its western end, the fur

trading post of Chipewyan has stood for over a century, having been moved

from its first location on the opposite side of the lake. It is still an

important center. The shore back of Chipewyan to the eastward consists of

evenly rounded rocky hills, sparsely wooded with small black spruce. The

rocks, which are thinly covered with soil, consist generally of a dark red

banded hornblendic gneiss. From Chipewyan, the north shore of the lake runs

northeastward for 12 miles to Shelter Point along the foot of a rather high

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ridge of hills consisting of the banded gneiss already referred to. Bustard

Island lies off Shelter Point.

        The shore now swings due north for seven miles, after which it curves

to the northeast, culminating in a projecting ridge of sandstone called

Sand Point, beyond which the trend is again northeasterly for 15 miles,

where the shore consists of cliffs rising from 100 to 200 feet. Turning

directly eastward at the end of this stretch, the shore runs in this direc–

tion for about five miles to Fidler Point, and then resumes its northeasterly

course. A shore distance beyond Fidler Point, Fishing River flows in; it is

a small stream draining a swamp a few miles back from the lake shore. The

shore continues northeastward from Fishing River, past Cypress Point, to

Greywillow Point. The shore along this stretch is low and sandy, with a

sand plain lying back from it and stretching toward a ridge of granite hills

running parallel with the shore, a few miles to the north.

        A mile and three-quarters beyond Greywillow Point, Singed Dog Island

lies a short distance off the shore. About this point, the boundary (110° W.)

between the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan cuts across. From Singed

Dog Island, the coast swings to the northwestward to enclose a shallow bay

about seven miles across from Fair Point to Maurice Point. The shore of this

bay is low and sandy, with the exception of a sandstone point about midway.

The granite ridge here recedes from sight and the sandy plain, evidently

laid down when the lake level was higher than it is now, extends westward

as far as the eye can reach. The shore at this point is trending irregu–

larly northward, and for a straight-line distance of about 20 miles consists

of Athabaska sandstone, mostly broken down and weathered.

        Beyond Maurice Point, which with Fair Point marks the southern limit

of the sandstone formation, the coast again recedes into an irregular bay

bounded on the northeast by Spring Point. From the latter, the coast

bends back to the westward, enclosing a wide bight eight miles across to

Lobstick Island, which lies off the northern limit of the sandstone stretch.

Beyond this point, the shore becomes more rugged, trending northeasterly

to Cypress River, flowing in from the northwest. From this point the coast

runs almost due east, and constitutes the most northerly part of Athabaska

Lake. A narrow bay extending northeasterly separates a narrow, rocky point

from the mouth of Charlot River, flowing in from the northeast. From the

mouth of Charlot River the shore runs southeasterly to a blunt promontory.

The coast here is high, rocky, and slopes steeply to the water. Beyond the

promontory, the shore swings to the northeastward, forming the northwestern

portal of Black Bay, about seven miles across at its mouth and extending

northeastward for about 10 miles. Crackingstone River, draining Beaverlodge

Lake, flows into the head of Black Bay. The southeastern shore of Black Bay

is formed by a wedge-shaped promontory which terminates in Crackinstone

Point, which constitutes the southwestern portal of Black Bay. Beaverlodge

Lake, at the base of this promontory, almost severs it from the mainland.

Many islands, all narrow and lying in the same general direction as the

promontory, consisting in the main of quartzite, lie off its end.

        From Crackinstone Point, the shoreline continues eastward for about

seven miles, swinging northeastward again to complete the southeastern

shore of the promontory. This shore is also composed of hard white quart–

zite. Lodge Bay occupies the angle at the base of the promontory, and is

partly enclosed on the east by a shorter, very irregular promontory extending

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake

southward from the main shore of Athabaska Lake, which here trends easterly.

A mile and a half southwest of this promontory, Beaverlodge Island, a high,

rounded dome of quartzite, is a conspicuous landmark. The townsite of

Goldfields is located at the base of the promontory, on a deeply indented

bay which separates the promontory from the mainland to the northwest. Be–

yond here, the main shore of the lake is backed by the Beaver Hills, mainly

of gneiss, which rise 500 or 600 feet above the level of the water. The

shoreline, generally high and rocky, and lined by many small islands, in

which Oldman and Beaver rivers flow in from the north, trends generally

eastward for the next 36 miles. At Fond du Lac, which has been the site

of a trading post for upwards of a century, the lake is only two miles

wide. Beyond Fond du Lac, the shore continues eastward for a distance of

about 40 miles and is high and rocky. Here the lake's greatest width is

not more than five miles, most of it less than two miles, with a minimum

width in places of about a mile. The contrast between the geological

formation on the north and that on the south shore is striking. Along

the north shore, the rocks consist of highly glaciated gneiss; while the

south shore presents an escarpment of horizontal sandstone, rising to

heights of 400 and 500 feet.

        A hill, morainic in composition, marks the eastern end of the lake,

into which Fond du Lac River flows. Westward from the mouth of Fond du

Lac River, the south shore of Athabaska Lake runs irregularly slightly

north of west and consists of the sandstone escarpment already mentioned,

which follows the line of the coast until within about 15 miles of Fund du

Lac post, when it recedes and lies back of a low, boulder-covered coastal

strip. Poplar Point marks the transition from the narrow, eastern portion

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake

of the lake to the wider western portion, the width here being not more

than five miles. From Poplar Point, the shore bears off to the south for

about 10 miles, and then continues irregularly in a direction slightly

south of west to William Point, a projection caused by the delta of William

River. The Fish Mountains parallel this stretch of coast, lying about five

miles to the south. From William Point, the coast, low and marshy, trends

southwesterly, terminating in Moose Point, partly enclosing Old Fort Bay,

into which Old Fort River empties. From the southern angle of Old Fort Bay,

the coast continues slightly north of west to Old Fort Point, between which

and Big Point, five miles farther west, a wide bay is enclosed. A short

distance beyond Big Point, the delta of the Athabaska River begins, extend–

ing westward for about 13 miles, through which several channels wind their

way. Beyond the delta the shore swings to the northwestward to enclose a

bay west and north of the promontory upon which Fort Chipewyan is situated.

Out of the northern end of this bay, Rocher River flows, to become the

Slave River 30 miles northward; while at the extreme northwestern angle

of Athabaska Lake proper, the Quatra Fourches channel extends northwest–

ward across the delta of Peace River through which, at certain stages,

water flows from Athabaska Lake into Peace River, and at other times flows

into Athabaska Lake from Peace River.

        Since Athabaska Lake lies along the contact of the Precambrian and

Palaeozoic rocks, it has been considered a likely spot for the deposition

of metallic minerals of economic value, and a considerable amount of pros–

pecting has been done along its shores. At one time, what seemed to be a

thriving mining community was established at Goldfields, about 112 miles

east of Fort Chipewyan. Early prospecting in the district showed indications

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake

of iron, nickel, silver and copper, the first claims in connection with

which were staked as early as 1921, although no immediate development

resulted. In 1934, after considerable investigation, The Consolidated

Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited, subsidiary of the Canadian

Pacific Railway Company, began development work on its Goldfields proper–

ties. Production started in 1939 with a 1,000-ton mill, which was increased

to 1,300 tons in 1940. In addition a hydro-electric plant was erected at

Wellington Lake, 20 miles west of Goldfields. Operation of the property

known as the Box mine was continued until production was suspended in 1942

because of conditions due to the war. As a result, the town of Goldfields,

with a pre-war population of about 500 people, gradually melted away and has

since become a typical ghost town. With the more promising field at Yellow–

knife, 350 miles farther north, both development companies and prospectors

have preferred to devote their time and money to an area where the chances

of return seem greater. The That Athabaska Lake is still a promising spot for

mineral exploitation is still generally conceded, but it is probably that

its large deposits of relatively low-grade ore will have to await the lower

operating costs which better transportation facilities will some day make

possible.

        A considerable area about the western end of Athabaska Lake has agri–

cultural possibilities of greater or less extent, but farther east they

are practically negligible. Such timber as exists is also found to the

west and south of the lake, and many good stands of spruce, pine, poplar,

birch and tamarack are to be found along the valleys of the rivers and in

the low, wet areas of that section of the country.

        The first person of European descent to see Lake Athabaska was undoubtedly

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Peter Pond of the Northwest Company who, in 1778, established a trading

post on the shore of Athabaska River, about 30 miles from its mouth. In

1787, he was succeeded by Alexander Mackenzie, also a partner in the

Northwest Company who, after establishing Fort Chipewyan on the south

shore of Athabaska Lake, then called the Lake of the Hills by the fur

traders, proceeded to the exploration of the river which now bears his

name. Fort Chipewyan was for many years the most important center of the

fur trade west of Hudson Bay. Philip Turner, a surveyor, was sent out by

the British Government in 1790 to ascertain the nearness of Athabaska Lake

to the Pacific. In the following year, he made a survey of the north shore

of Athabaska Lake eastward from Fort Chipewyan fo the mouth of Fond du Lac

River, and may perhaps have also surveyed the south shore.

        He was followed in 1796 by David Thompson who, coming westward from

the Churchill River by way of Wollaston Lake and Fond du Lac River, sur–

veyed the north shore of the lake as far west as lobstock which had been

cut by Turner five years before. In 1881, A. S. Cochrane, then a topographi–

cal assistant on the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada, followed

Thompson's track and surveyed the north shore of Athabaska Lake from the

mouth of Fond du Lac River to Chipewyan.

        In 1892-93, Dr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Geological Survey of Canada,

assisted by D. B. Dowling, of the Survey, in 1892, and by his brother

James W., in 1893, surveyed both sides of the lake. Since that time various

members of the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada and other department [ ?]

of the Canadian government have explored or surveyed sections of its shores,

of which the most extensive work is probably that done by F. J. Alcock (Q.V.)

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which was begun in 1914 and 1916 and continued in 1935.

        References:

        Alcock, F. J. Geology of Lake Athabaska Region . Geological Survey of

Canada, Memoir No. 196, 1936.

ATHABASKA RIVER

        The Athabaska River is the most southerly of the great rivers that

go to make up the Mackenzie, which drains a great part of northwestern

Canada into the Arctic Ocean. It was known to the early fur traders as

the Elk and for more than a century was an important link in the route by

which they reached Lake Athabaska, Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River.

It rises in the Rocky Mountains in about latitude 52° 20′ N. among that

plexus of high mountain peaks and glaciers which is also the source of the

North Saskatchewan, whose waters go eastward into Hudson Bay, and the

Columbia, which empties into the Pacific. Mountains rising to 10,000 and

11,000 feet tower above its place of origin. Flowing at first northward,

the Athabaska continues in a generally northeasterly direction across the

Alberta Plateau, in which it has carved a deep, picturesque valley, and

after a course of 765 miles, discharges into Lake Athabaska. In many places

rocks resist it s progress, resulting in rapids; but despite this it is navig–

able for river steamers of 3-foot draft from the mouth of the McLeod River,

178 miles below its source, to the Grand Rapids, a distance of 325 miles.

From the Grand Rapids, where the river drops 50 feet in half a mile, to

McMurray, 87 miles below, it is suitable only for scows and canoes, and then

is navigated with difficulty; but from McMurray to the lake,175 miles, it is

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navigable for good-sized boats.

        The Athabaska River drains an area of 58,000 square miles, and in a

sense connects the settled with the unsettled portions of Canada. For

example, it shares Yellowhead Pass with the main line of the Canadian

National Railways, and at one point flows within 100 miles of the city of

Edmonton; yet for long stretches its course is till through a virtual

wilderness. Although its drainage basin extends in places across six degrees

of latitude — from 52° 20′ N. to 58° 30′ N. — and almost eleven degrees

of longitude — from 118° 30′ W. to 107° 45′ W. — its drainage basin is

mainly a narrow one, hemmed as it is between the North Saskatchewan and the

Peace. With the exception of that contributed by the Clearwater, which flows

in from the east and gathers the run-off p from a portion of the Canadian

Shield, the Athabaska's waters come almost entirely from the Rocky Mountains

and the Alberta Plateau, which it traverses in its course f r om the mountains

to the lake. It receives innumerable tributaries, most of which are short,

owing to the narrowness of its drainage basin, but two, the McLeod and the

Pembina, both coming in from the southwest, are important rivers in their

own right.

        After leaving its source in the Rocky Mountains, the river flows north–

ward till it reaches Yellowhead Pass. While it is flowing through the moun–

tain valleys and defiles on this northward course, it is swift and tumultuous;

but when it comes to Yellowhead Pass its channel has been eroded down to an

easy grade and it has expanded into two lakes, Brule and Jasper. Near Jasper

Station, on the main line of the Canadian National Railways, it turns north–

eastward and holds that general course till it reaches latitude 54° 20′ N.,

longitude 116° 15′ W. At the end of this stretch, it turns slightly south

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of east, running thus for about 35 miles to Whitecourt, at the mouth of

the McLeod River, where it turns to the east, continuing in that direction

for 15 miles. Swinging again to the northeast, it keeps that course until

near the mouth of the Pembina, its largest tributary, which drains an

immense territory extending southward to within a few miles of the North

Saskatchewan Valley and westward to the foothills of the Rockies. From

the mouth of the Pembina, the river swings to the north-northeast, follow–

ing that course to the mouth of Lesser Slave Lake River, draining the lake

of the same name lying off to the northwestward. Beyond the mouth of Lesser

Slave Lake River, the Athabaska, now a large stream, flows northeastward

for 15 miles and then, making a sharp bend to the southward, follows a

generally southerly course for 30 miles, after which it bends sharply to

the east, continuing in that direction for 10 miles to Athabaska, long known

as Athabaska Landing. Here, in times past, since it was less than 100 miles

north of Edmonton by wagon road, travelers going to the Athabaska and

Mackenzie country took snow or steamer for points down river.

        The river runs northward for five miles below Athabaska, completing a

horseshoe bend with the town of Athabaska at its lowest point, and again

takes a turn to the northeastward. This course is continued for 25 miles;

and after a sharp bend to the north and another to the west, the river

straightens out for a run of 120 miles, almost directly northward. It

then strikes a range of hills which deflect it northeastward on a course

which it continues for 75 miles, and in which it drops about 400 feet in

a succession of rapids, the most serious of which is Grand Rapids. Below

this, at McMurray, it receives the Clearwater, and from here to Lake Atha–

baska, 175 miles, its course is practically northward. It enters the lake

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through t a delta which begins about 35 miles above. Between Athabaska and

the Grand Rapids the river varies in width from 250 to 400 yards and its

valley is from 300 to 400 feet deep. Below the Grand Rapids, however, the

Athabaska Valley becomes more gorge-like, with banks rising from 500 to

600 feet above the water. Below McMurray, the channel widens, the current

slackens, and the banks become lower.

        Although the Athabaska is navigable for river steamers below the mouth

of the McLeod River, Athabaska Landing was for all practical purposes the

head of navigation before the advent of the railways. From there steamers

made regular runs to the Grand Rapids, a distance of 165 miles, where freight

from steamers above was portaged across an island in the stream to scows

below for the final 87 miles to McMurray. At the latter point, other steamers

were available to carry passengers and freight to Fitzgerald, or Smith's

Landing, as it was then called, at the head of the only other serious

obstruction on the Mackenzie system. When the Alberta and Great Waterways

Railway reached Waterways, 304 miles northeast of Edmonton and seven miles

east of McMurray, in 1921, Waterways became the head of navigation, and the

section of the Athabaska above McMurray was thereafter relegated mainly to

local traffic.

        From 1884, when the Hudson's Bay Company placed the steamer Grahame

in commission between McMurray and Smith's Landing, and the Wrigley , two

years later, below the rapids, that corporation has been in the transpor–

tation business on the Mackenzie system, Northern Transportation Company,

subsidiary of Eldorado Mining and Smelting, Limited, has since 1936 also

been engaged in transportation between Waterways and Great Bear Lake. Its

steel vessel, the Radium Queen, operates between Waterways and Fitzgerald,

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and its consort, the Radium King , on the lower river. Since the discovery

of gold at Yellowknife, on Great Slave Lake, traffic on the river has in–

creased enormously, requiring the existing companies to add to their facili–

ties, and several other concerns have entered into the transportation

business. The lower Athabaskan has since been a very busy traffic artery

during the summer time.

        The Athabaska River is tapped in four places by railways, in addition

to its contact with the Canadian National Railways in Yellowhead Pass.

Besides the Edmonton-Waterways line referred to above, another originally

called the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, first strikes

the Athabaska Valley near the mouth of the Pembina River and follows it to

the junction of Lesser Slave Lake River, crossing there and continuing up

the valley of the latter to the Peace River country. Both of these are now

operated jointly by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways.

The Canadian National Railways operate a line from Edmonton to Athabaska,

97 miles, and another to Whitecourt, 110 miles.

        The Athabaska country is also well served by air. For many years the

Peace, Athabaska and Mackenzie valleys were served from Edmonton by two

principal companies, Canadian Airways and Mackenzie Air Service, Limited,

both of which at first operated on a charter basis, but after about 1936

began regular flights. In 1937, Yukon Southern Air Transport, Limited, at

first under another name, began scheduled flights between Edmonton and

Whitehorse, Y. T., with stops at intermediate points in Alberta, British

Columbia, and Yukon Territory. These three services were taken over in

1942 by Canadian Pacific Air lines, Limited, a subsidiary of the Canadian

Pacific Railway, which, because of the growth in traffic, has greatly

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increased the services inaugurated by its predecessors.

        The first white man to reach the Athabaska River was the fur trader,

Peter Pond, a partner in the Northwest Company. Crossing the since-famous

Methye Portage from the headwaters of the Churchill River, in 1778, he pad–

dled down the Clearwater to its confluence with the Athabaska and down the

latter to a point 30 miles above its mouth, where he built a trading post,

known later as the Old Establishment. He was succeeded in charge of the

Athabaska district by Alexander Mackenzie, who was shortly to discover the

river that now bears his name. Mackenzie built a new post on the south shore ?

of Lake Athabaska and called it Fort Chipewyan, Resolution? which soon became an important

trading center. The Athabaska River, too, became an important link in the

transcontinental transportation route of the fur traders over which supplies

were brought in and furs taken out. In the spring of 1799, David Thompson,

astronomer and fur trader, in the employ of the Northwest Company, crossed

with horses from Fort Augustus on the North Saskatchewan River to the Pembina

River, which he descended by canoe, surveying it to its mouth and then pro–

ceeded down the Athabaska to the mouth of the Lesser Slave Lake River.

Turning up the latter, he surveyed it to its source; and returning to the

Athabaska, continued his survey down to the mouth of the Clearwater, after

which he traveled eastward by way of Methye Portage.

        Thompson returned to the Athabaska five years later and surveyed the

river from its mouth to the mouth of the Clearwater. Again, in 1810, he

was on the Athabaska, this time in search of a pass through the Rockies.

Traveling northwestward from the North Saskatchewan, he crossed the Pembina

River, continuing till, on December 1, he reached the Athabaska, which he

ascended to latitude 53° 44′ 15″ N., where he built a small cabin and set

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his men to hunting for meat to provide food for the continuance of his

journey. Setting out from this camp on December 29, he had reached the

headwaters of the Whirlpool River, one of the farthest tributaries of the

Athabaska, by January 8, 1811, and three days later had begun the descent

of the western slope. Although Athabaska Pass had previously been found

by independent traders, Thompson may be considered its discoverer since he

was the first person to traverse it who was capable of fixing its location.

        The Athabaska Valley contains considerable quantities of timber, great

sections of which, however, have been burned over. Nevertheless, there

still remains sufficient, both of pulpwood size and merchantable timber,

to provide a lumber industry of more than local importance. The valley

has also extensive agricultural possibilities, but settlement is slow and

confined to the vicinity of the railways.

        For a considerable distance along the banks of the Athabaska near

McMurray, extensive outcroppings of bituminous sands, generally referred to

as tar sands, can be seen. Although these sands contain one of the world's

greatest concentrations of petroleum, variously estimated at from 100 to 250

billion barrels, they have not yet been developed commercially. Even before

the beginning of the present century, efforts had been made to devise a

profitable method of extraction; and during World War II it seemed likely

that this hope might be realized. With the end of the war, however, interest

in the project slackened, although in many quarters the demand continues for

some way to utilize this enormous potential resource. In addition to the

tar sands, oil seepages have been found as well as natural gas, while coal

measures are exposed in many places along the Athabaska and a number of its

tributaries. At the Grand Rapids and at other places where obstructions occur,

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considerable amounts of hydro-electric power could be developed. All this

would seem to suggest that the Athabaska Valley contains definite possibili–

ties for future industrial activity. So far — aside from transportation —

the principal industry is the salt works near Waterways, where at the end of

World War II 50 men were employed. The salt beds are 250 feet in thickness

and provide salt for a large portion of western Canada.

        Like the Peace, a few miles farther north, whose course it closely

parallels, the Athabaska flows through a country in every respect well sup–

plied with the resources to provide homes for millions of people. Dr. Griffith

Taylor (q.v.) has predicted that the day will come when Alberta will be the

most populous province in Canada; and this great tributary of the far greater

Mackenzie, lyin g wholly within the Province of Alberta, will undoubtedly

provide one of its most important centers of concentration.

        References:

        Mackenzie, Alexander. Voyages from Montreal on the river St. Lawrence through

the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific

Oceans in the years 1789 and 1793 with a preliminary

account of the rise, progress, and present state of

The Fur Trade of that country . London, 1810 1801.

        Camsell, Charles, and Malcolm Wyatt. The Mackenzie River Basin . The Geological

Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 108; 1919.

        Burpee, Lawrence J. The Search for the Western Sea . Toronto, 1935.

        Dawson, C. A. The Great North-West . Toronto, 1947.

ATTAWAPISKAT RIVER

        The Attawapiskat River, in northern Ontario, Dominion of Canada,

drains an area of 18,700 square miles into the western side of James Bay.

Its watershed lies between that of the Ekwan on the north and the Albany

on the south. Its general course is northeasterly and its total length,

465 miles. Like the other rivers flowing into Hudson or James bays on the

west side, it rises in the Canadian Shield, the great region underlain

principally by Pre-Cambrain rocks which comprises the major part of northern

Canada. At the headwaters of the Attawapisket, the Shield has a maximum

elevation of about 1,500 feet, sloping north and east toward Hudson and

James bays with an average grade of about 3.4 feet per mile. Between the

Shield and the Bay is a zone underlain by Paleozoic rocks, chiefly lime–

stones and dolomites, much lower in elevation than the former. In its

course across the Canadian Sh ei ie ld, and in the descent to the James Bay low–

land, the Attawapiskat is interrupted by many rapids and falls, but after

it reaches the lowland section its flow is practically uninterrupted.

        The country, both in the Canadian Shield and lowland sections, is

covered generally with a layer, varyi n g in thickness, of glacial till,

superimposed, in the intermediate region, upon strata of boulder clay. These

glacial deposits, owing to their impervious nature, result in extensive

tracts of muskeg-like territory, especially toward the Bay. These sections

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are carpeted with a thick mantle of sphagnum moss in which grow only

stunted black spruce and tamarack. The higher ground is forested fairly

thickly with both white and black spruce, Banksian pine, white birch, bal–

sam and poplar, which grow to a good size immediately along the banks of

the river, but diminish in size and density of growth a short distance from

the river's edge.

        The farthest branch of the Attawapiskat River originates in a series

of small lakes lying on the height of land separating the Albany and Atta–

wapiskat river watersheds, a short distance east of Cat Lake, in latitude

51° 45′ N., longitude 91° 40′ W. The stream here is called the Otoskwin

River. In its upper reaches, it flows in a generally easterly direction,

widening into frequent lake-expansion, which are separated by short stretches

of stream in which many rapids and falls occur. It flows through a region

of low, granite hills, interspersed with considerable areas of muskeg.

Still following a generally easterly course, but with many deviations to the

south and the north, the Otoskwin River flows through five lakes of varying

sizes in addition to numerous expansions before it enters the western side

of Badesdawn Lake, 20 miles long and less than a mile wide, lying in a north–

east-southwest direction.

        At the southwestern extremity of this lake, the Kawinogane (or Crow)

River enters. This river is also one of the sources of the Attawapiskat

River. It has its origin in a series of lakes in latitude 51° 30′ N., longi–

tude 91° W., in the angle formed by Cat River and St. Joseph Lake. The

Kawinogans River flows in a generally northeasterly direction into Badesdawa

Lake, passing in its course through many other lakes, some of them, such as

Kawinogans Lake, of considerable size. A few miles below its entry into

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Badesdawa Lake, near the confluence of a stream draining Pickle Lake, two

important gold mines are located, operated, respectively, by Central Pat–

ricia Gold Mines Limited and Pickle Crow Gold Mines Limited. They can only

be reached from outside by air or, in winter, by tractor train.

        The Kawinogans River ends at Badesdawa Lake, but the Otoskwin River

continues beyond the lake, flowing in a northeasterly direction, over several

rapids, and expending, about 11 miles below Badesdawa Lake, into a narrow,

shallow lake about 10 miles in length, from the northwestern extremity of

this lake, the Otoskwin proceeds, still in a generally northeasterly direction,

to Ozhiski Lake, which is about 22 miles in le n g th and about two miles at its

widest. This lake lies athwart the 52nd parallel of north latitude, to the

eastward of longitude 88° 30′ W., and occupies an east-west position, with

a broad arm leading off to the northeast.

        The country for 50 miles or so above Ozhiski Lake is overlain by heavy

deposits of glacial drift, often from 50 to 60 feet in thickness. In places

it forms ridges rising from 70 to 100 feet above the general level, with

areas of muskeg and low, sand-covered flats occupying the intervening valleys.

The principal forest trees here are black spruce, tamarack and occasional

groves of white spruce, as well as balsam and aspen poplar, with Benksian

pine and white birch on some of the ridges.

        Flowing from the north side of Ozhiski Lake, the river, now properly

called the Attawapiskat, continues northerly for 15 miles, with many heavy

rapids and a high average rate of flow, to a sharp bend, where its course

[ ?] anges to the east. At the bend, the river takes in a tributary from the

north which almost doubles its volume. Twenty miles east of the bend, the

river enters the western end of Kabania Lake, 11 miles long and with a maximum

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width of two miles. Two miles east of Kabania Lake, the river enters

Attawapiskat Lake, the largest expanse of water in its course. This lake

is about 30 miles long by about 10 miles wide at its greatest width. Its

axis lies almost east and west, but it is deeply indented with long bays

extending in all directions. Its surface is broken by many islands, some

well wooded with fairly large trees.

        Attawapiskat Lake has two outlets, one at what may be called its

eastern end and the other at the extremity of a bay extending to the north–

east. The streams from these outlets run in a generally easterly direction

for about 30 miles before uniting, after which the combined stream bears off

slightly north of east for about 50 miles, and then makes an abrupt bend to

the north. Cutting across the angle, somewhat like the string of a bow, is

a small channel which expands into a shallow lake about midway. Continuing

in a direction slightly east of north for about 125 miles, and after passing

through another shallow lake-expansion, the river bends to a course slightly

south of east for 50 miles, in which it divides twice to encompass islands,

four and eight miles in length, respectively. Immediately below the second

islands, the river, now wide and flowing with a slack current, makes a sharp

turn to the north-northeast, continuing in that direction for about 12 miles,

in the course of which it expands about another island a mile in length. At

the end of this nor [ ?] hly stretch, the river swings to the east-northeast for

about 40 miles, and then flows almost eastward for another 40 miles, the

final 20 of which consists of an expansion in places about two miles wide.

Beyond this expansion, the stream separates into two branches, one of which —

the more northerly — contains much less water than the other. half. It

follows a somewhat southeasterly course to James Bay, a distance of about

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50 miles, entering the Bay through a broad estuary. The main channel

follows a parallel course, entering the Bay about 10 miles southeast of

the other.

        The Attawapiskat River was first explored by Dr. Robert Bell, of the

Geological and Natural History Survey of the Department of the Interior of

Canada, in 1887, when he crossed from the headwaters of the Albany River to

the headwaters of the Kawinogans River, followed it to its mouth in Badesdawa

Lake, continued down the Otoskwin to Ozhiski Lake, and descended the Attawa–

piskat to its mouth. In 1903-04-05, William McInnes, of the Geological Sur–

vey of Canada, explored the region about the headwaters of the Winisk and

Attawapiskat rivers, descending the former to Hudson Bay. In the interval,

certain sections of the river, especially in its upper reaches, have been

explored geologically by various engineers in the employ of the Ontario

Department of Mines.

        As has been mentioned earlier, two important gold mines are in opera–

tion on the Kawinogans branch of the river, and, since the general type of

country in which the gold occurrences in these mines is found extends

indefinitely along the Attawapiskat in its course across the Canadian

Shield, it would not be strange if other mines were some day to be dis–

covered in the area. The section of the river traversing the James Bay

lowlands is not so well known as that farther up; and because of its heavy

overburden of glacial drift, and fewer exposed sections owing to the smaller

number of tributary streams, the difficulty of prospecting is much greater.

Furthermore, economic minerals that might be found in the limestones and

dolomites of the lowland region are not such as can profitably be worked

far from market. While similar strata in other parts of the country are

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petroliferous, it has not been possible in this region to undertake suffi–

cient prospecting to determine whether such a possibility exists there.

What prospecting has been done, however, has not been favorable to the

prospect of oil, since the strata, where observed, appear to be too flat-

lying to permit of the concentration of oil.

        Selwyn, A.R.C. Summary Report of the Operations of the Geological and

Natural History Survey to 31st December, 1887, being

Part III of the Annual Report of the Department of the

Interior. Ottawa, 1887.

        McInnes, Wm. Report on a Part of the North West Territories Drained

by the Winisk and Attawapiskat Rivers. Ottawa,

Government Printing Bureau, 1910.

LAKE ATTIKAMAGEN

        Lake Attikamagen constitutes the northwestern extremity of the

Hamilton River watershed in the Labrador section of the Province of

Newfoundland, Canada. The height of land separating the Atlantic, Hudson

Strait (Ungava Bay), and Hudson and James bays watersheds, loops round

the northern end of this lake, and for that reason very few streams of

any length flow into it, although a considerable volume of water is dis–

charged into L [ ake ?] Petitsikapau through the outlet at its southeastern

extremity, Lake Petitiskapau, in turn, discharges into Dyke Lake, through

which the Ashuanipi River runs in its course to Sandgirt Lake, where it

joins the Attikonak River to form the main Hamilton River, flowing eastward

to the Atlantic.

        Lake Attikamagen, which lies in latitude 55° N., longitude 66° 30′ W.,

is about 25 miles at its greatest length, and about nine miles at its great–

est width. Like all other lakes in this region, it consists of a series of

long , narrow bays, separated by rocky ridges which lie in a northwest-southeast

direction, in conformity with the trend of the country. Its water has a

brownish tinge, and it is quite shallow, filled with low, rocky islets, mostly

of limestone and shale, with occasional islands of glacial till. The shores,

except where they are formed by rocky ridges, are low and swampy. Toward the

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north, it is bordered by high, rocky hills, lying some distance back,

which form the edge of the watershed, beyond which are the headwaters of

the Koksoak (Kaniapiskau) and George rivers, flowing northward into Ungava

Bay.

        The country about Lake Attikamagen is wooded in the hollows between

the ridges, but the trees are confined chiefly to small black spruce and

tamarack. Most of the ridges are bare, but where there is sufficient soil,

are generally well covered with shrubs and mosses. This lake is on the route

of Hudson's Bay traders when travelling overland from Fort Chimo, near Ungava

Bay, to Fort Nascaupee, on Lake Petitskapau, until it was abandoned about 1873,

and to posts on the lower Hamilton. Dr. A. P. Low, on his exploratory survey

in 1894, did not continue beyond Lake Petitsikapau; he believed this lake to

discharge northward into the George River; and in the interval few but trappers

have seen it until recently, when the surrounding country has been surveyed

by air in the search for iron ore deposits, results of which are not yet

available.

        Reference:

ATTIKONAK RIVER

        The Attikonak River, in the Labrador section of the Province of

Newfoundland, Canada, is one of the principal tributaries of Hamilton

River (q.v.). It rises in the plateau forming the height of land between

the Hamilton and St. Lawrence watersheds, east of the watershed of the

Ashuanipi River (q.v.), in a region consisting chiefly of lakes, large

and small, connected by short stretches of rapid-filled streams. The

country here has a generally northward slope, in which direction the Atti–

konak flows for the greater part of its course to Sendgirt Lake (q.v.),

where it joins the Ashuanipi to constitute the Hamilton. The territory

through which it runs is probably much in appearance today as it was after

the glaciers retreated. It is part of the Canadian Shield, which extends

westward across Canada almost to the Mackenzie Valley, consisting mainly of

rocks of Pre-Cambrian age. The softer rocks were gouged out by ice action

and now constitute sprawling, rugged basins of coutless lakes which cover

the land. Ridges consisting of some of the harder rocks, with axes conform–

ing to the general trend of the country, are a characteristic feature of the

landscape, but many individual hummocks, drumlins, or buttes are also to be

seen. The country bears a mantle of glacial till, thinly covering the under–

lying rocks in many places, but in others to a depth of more than 100 feet.

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Frequent sand ridges are seen in some parts, in others, sand flats indicate

the existence at one time of lakes caused by water impounded at the foot

of the retreating glaciers.

        The Attikonak River rises in the lake of the same name at the southern

edge of the plateau, not far from the headwaters of the Romaine River, flow–

ing southward into the St. Lawrence. This lake, which has a length of about

40 miles, and is about 20 miles at its widest, is a typical Canadian Shield

lake, arms extending in all directions, the deepest however, in the direction

of the general trend of country, and dotted by innumerable rocky islets. The

shores about its southern end are bold and rocky and wooded with small black

spruce and ta [ ?] rack; toward the northern end, the shores become lower and

are lost in a swampy border.

        As the river leaves Lake Attikonak, it flows over a wide, shallow rapid,

such as is often the case, and then over another within a short distance.

About two miles below the outlet of the lake, the river expands to a width

of nearly a m o i le, continuing at this width, with a slack current, for about

four miles, and then descends a narrow chute over a rocky ledge for a drop

of about four feet. Below the chute, the river continues northward, flowing

in a shallow channel from 200 to 600 yards wide, obstructed all along by

rocky islets, sometimes separated by rapids. At the end of this stretch,

which occupies about 16 miles, the river turns abruptly to the east, flowing

in that direction for a mile and then discharging into the western side of

Lake Panachiamitkats, about 12 miles long, its main axis in a north-south

direction. The river enters the lake about seven miles from its upper end,

and the southern end lies parallel to the river, separated from it only by a

narrow ridge. The outlet of Lake Panachiamitkats is on the same side as the

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entrance, but about five miles farther north. After leaving this lake, the

river flows northward for eight miles in a wide, shallow channel, entering

Lake Ossokmanuan on its southwest side, about 10 miles from its southeastern

end. Lake Ossokmanuan is about 40 miles long, and its general trend is

northwest-southeast. It has two principal outlets, one called Valley River,

flowing out of the northeastern side of the lake, which, after passing through

a succession of lakes in a wide valley that appears to have been the ancient

valley of the Hamilton, joins the latter above Bowdoin Canyon. It has yet

to be explored.

        Ossokmanuan Lake varies in width from two to four miles; in its upper

34 miles, its direction is generally northwest-southeast; in but in its lower

six miles its main axis is more nearly north and south. Long, narrow bays

extend from its shores in all directions, one of these stretching for more

than 20 miles to the northwest. The Attikonak River issues from the lake's

northwestern angle, and flows for a mile through a narrow, rocky channel,

after which it expands into Gabbro Lake, seven miles long, with a deep bay

extending farther to the southeastward. Below Gabbro Lake, the river flows

slightly west of north, passing through a series of small lakes, after which

it swings directly to the east, running in that direction with a swift current

for five miles in a narrow, irregular channel filled with rocky islets. It

again turns to the northwest and spreads into a lake-expansion three miles

long, which is separated by a stretch of rapids a mile long from another

lake-expansion of the same length. Below the last expansion, it flows into

Sandgirt Lake, which it enters on its south side. This lake also receives

the discharge from the Ashuanipi, and is therefore considered to be the

source of the Hamilton, which drains its waters into the Atlantic Ocean.

        Attikonak River was first explored in 1894 by Dr. A. P. Low, of the

Geological Survey of Canada, when he explored the Hamilton River to the

headwaters of both it and the Ashuanipi, and few but the trappers have

visited it since. In recent years, because of the existence, a short dis–

tance to the westward, of extensive iron ore deposits, the country has been

covered by aerial survey, but details of such explorations have not yet

been published.

        Reference:

AYLMER LAKE

        Aylmer Lake, District of Mackenzie, northwestern Canada, is one of

that chain of lakes which go to make up the Lockhart River system. The

Lockhart River rises in MacKay Lake to the west of Aylmer Lake, and follow–

ing a circuitous course of 300 miles through a succession of lakes, empties

into the eastern end of Great Slave Lake. Between MacKay Lake and Aylmer

Lake, the Lockhart expands into a number of long narrow lakes called the

Outram Lakes, connected by short stretches of river in which falls and

rapids occur. In the 30 miles between the outlet of MacKay Lake and the

head of Aylmer Lake, the river drops 185 feet. Aylmer Lake has an area of

340 square miles and is shaped like an irregular letter L, facing in the

opposite direction. Its base lies as much north of the 64th degree of

latitude as the main part of MacKay Lake lies to the south of it. A s t its

southeastern angle, Aylmer Lake discharges almost directly into Clinton–

Colden Lake, extending southeasterly from Aylmer Lake, and separated from

it by the Thanakoie Narrows.

        A few miles south of the first large bay at the eastern end of Aylmer

Lake, a high rugged ridge of granite appears and extends westward. It comes

to the water's edge at the foot of the second large bay and then continues

westward parallel to the lake but about a mile distant until it again strikes

the lake at the west end, and crossing, forms a high rugged ridge along the

north shore of Lockhart River.

        Aylmer Lake was first explored and was named by George (later Sir

George) Black, who, in 1833-35, conducted a search for the lost British

Arctic expedition commanded by Sir James Ross, who was never in any of the

regions visited by Black, and who reached England before Black himself

returned. Other explorers and travelers have visited the spot, notably

Warburton Pike in 1890 and Ernest Thompson Seton in 1907, while various

Canadian government survey parties have from time to time been in the district.

        Economic possibilities of the district are associated almost entirely

with minerals; and since the region is underlain by rocks of the Pre-Cambrian

formations in which valuable minerals have been found elsewhere, the prospects

are favorable for the discovery of minerals of value if and when the district

is more fully prospected. Whenever that should occur, the hydro-electric

power that could be made available would prove to be an important factor in

its exploitation. Timber is a n [ ?] gligible factor, and agricultural possibili–

ties are practically nil. Aylmer Lake, like the others in that section of

the country, is well stock ed with fish, which would be important if for any

reason a settlement should be established in the vicinity, but such fisheries

would scarcely be on a commercial scale.

        References:

        Back, George. Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the

Great Fish River, and Along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean

in the Years 1833, 1834 and 1835. London, 1836.

        Seton, E.T. The Arctic Prairies . New York, (revised ed.) 1835 1943.

BACK RIVER

        Back River, Northwest Territories of Canada, drains the northeastern

part of the District of Mackenzie and the northwestern part of the District

of Keewatin into the Arctic Ocean Sea . It rises in Sussex Lake, in latitude

64° 30′ N., longitude, 108° 20′ W., just north of the low divide separating

the Great Slave Lake and Arctic watersheds. After flowing 605 miles through

a number of fairly large lakes and numerous lake expansions, and holding a

generally northeasterly course, it empties into Chantrey Inlet, in latitude

67° 07′ N., and longitude 96° 40′ W.

        Back River's drainage basin comprises 47,500 square miles, extending,

north and south, from latitude 64° 30′ N. to 67° 07′ N.; and, east and west,

from longitude 95° W. to 108° 50′ W. Characteristic of rivers traversing

the Canadian Shield, it is not fed by mountain snowfields, like rivers in

many other parts of the world, but depends upon the precipitation caught by

the myriads of lakes, large and small, which cover the country.

        Sussex Lake lies no more than a mile north of the northern extension of

Lake Aylmer, which, by means of Lockhart River, drains into Great Slave Lake.

The height of land between the two is only a few feet above the level of the

two lakes. A few miles east of Sussex Lake is Lac de Gras, which is drained

by the Coppermine. Thus there are in this small area the headwaters of three

drainage systems — the Lockhart, which eventually reaches the Arctic by way

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of the Mackenzie; the Coppermine, running almost directly to the Arctic

Ocean; and the Back, which empties into the Arctic farther east. While

not far to the southeast, are the headwaters of Thelon River, whose waters

eventually flow into Hudson Bay.

        In its upper reaches Back River flows through a poorly defined valley,

which would suggest that it has but recently cut its channel, the old one

probably being still filled with glacial debris; but in its lower reaches

the valley becomes more definitely marked and is obviously much more ancient.

In this lower stretch, lake expansions are fewer, since the river's well-

defined banks confine it more completely and prevent its straying so widely

as is the case farther up.

        From its source in Sussex Lake, the river flows northeast for about

80 miles to the northwestern end of Lake Beechey, which lies in a southeast-

northwest direction. The stream thus diverted, holds the latter course

until just east of the junction with Baillie River, when it turns abruptly

to the northeast, flowing in that direction for about 100 miles to and through the

west arm of Lake Pelly, which is shaped like an inverted V. At the lake's

northern extremity, it bends southeast, continuing thus for about 40 miles,

the river flowing out of its eastern end; and thence for 70 or 80 miles the

latter follows a tortuous but generally easterly course through Lakes Garry

and Macdougall. The river's generaly northeasterly direction is again followed

after Wolf Fall, continuing to salt water at Chantrey Inlet.

        Back River emerges from Sussex Lake through a narrow channel and two

miles downstream enters another lake, below which occurs a crooked rapid.

The country is broken into low hills, the whole covered with glacial debris.

Flowing through two small lakes, which are separated by rapids, the Back

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receives Icy River, a considerable stream coming from the west, which

enters through two channels caused by an island at its mouth. The lake

expansion into which Icy River flows narrows down before Musk Ox Lake is

reached. The latter, six miles long, is surrounded by steep hills, and

below, a series of rapids, known as Musk Ox Rapids, extends for about four

miles. Beyond Musk Ox Lake, the river cuts through two ranges of hills,

the second of which is called the Heywood Range, where the current is swift

and broken by frequent rapids. The stream is wide, however, in most places

averaging from 200 yards to a quarter of a mile, and spreading into frequent

small lakes.

        In the 50 miles from the northern slopes of the Heywood Range to the

northwestern end of Lake Beechey, the river continues its general northeasterly

course, expanding into small lakes, breaking over rapids, and taking in

innumerable short tributaries on both sides. Lake Beechey, about 30 miles

long, lies in a southeast-northwest direction, and averages not more [ E ?] t han a

mile in width. From its northwestern extremity, where Back River enters, the

distance is only about 70 miles northward to the head of Bathurst Inlet. A

range of low mountains extends along the northeastern bank of the lake,

probably continuous with the ranges to the east of Bathurst Inlet. It is

this barrier that turns the river from its previous northeasterly course to

the southeast at Lake Beechey. The latter discharges in a series of rapids

nearly two miles in length where a total drop of about 60 feet occurs. The

country still consists of rocky hills, set in low, wet stretches of tundra-like

land. c C ontinuing on a southeasterly course, the river takes a sudden bend

northward; and after a short distance turns abruptly and runs east for a few

miles, when it as suddenly bends southward between cliffs in a contracted

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channel which leads into a long line of rapids. The river now becomes more

tortuous, passing through mounds of sand left by the retreating glaciers.

Hills of gneiss still appear from time to time, but the country to the east–

ward flattens out as the sand plains are approached.

        Below Baillie River, which comes in from the southeast, sandbanks and

islands of sand appear, and the river is lake - like, bordered by a low, sandy

region, still, however, studded with low rocky hills, mostly detached and a

mile or two from each other. These soon disappear, giving place to the sand

plains, so flat as scarcely to rise beyond the general horizontal line of the

country.

        Passing the mouth of Warren River, which enters from the northwest, the

low land is diversified by occasional mounds, and the banks become higher,

sometimes rising to cliffs, but still of a dry, sandy character. The river

swings slightly to eastward to the mouth of the Jervoise, a tributary from

the east, after which a sharp turn to the northwest is followed by a defile

filled with rapids continuing the northeast course in which the rocks on the

east bank are high and perpendicular, while the opposite side is broken and

overhanging, towering in stratified and many-colored masses far above the

stream.

        Below this point, known as Hawk Rapids, the current is not less than six

miles an hour, with whirlpools and eddies. Continuing northeastward, Back

River receives the McKinley River, nearly as broad as itself, which winds its

way through the low country to the east and enters around a small sandy bluff.

The land now becomes more uneven, but soon changes into hills, partly composed

of bare [ ?] ocks. Buchanan River next enters from the east, below which, Back River,

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making a bend to the north, varies in width from a quarter of a mile to a

mile and a half. The country now becomes decidedly hilly, with an odd mix–

ture of gullies, conical sandhills with black, mossy tops, and isolated rocks

which dot the landscape to the westward.

        A short distance below the mouth of Buchanan River, the Back flows into

the [ ?] astern of two forks constituting the southwestern extremity of Lake Pelly.

This lake also assumes the shape of an inverted V, the western arm of which

is about 25 miles long and the wider, eastern arm from 35 to 40 miles in

length. The outline of both arms is extremely irregular. Bullen River

enters from the west near the western extremity, and, just after the lake

makes its bend, the boundary between Mackenzie and Keewatin districts cuts

across.

        Back River emerges from Lake Pelly about 25 miles beyond the bend, and

is connected with Lake Garry by a rapid. Lake Garry, which has an east-west

length of about 50 miles, presents a very jagged outline on its northern and

southern shores and is filled with islands, resembling a chain of parallel

north-and-south-lying lakes, rather than a single one. From Lake Garry a

short stretch of rapid-filled river flows northeastward into Lake Macdougall,

which it enters at the lake's southwestern margin. This lake at its longest

north-south extent is about 35 miles long, irregularly shaped, containing many

islands, with deep bays extending north and south. Lakes Pelly, Garry and

Macdougall, a series of closely-connected lakes, extend in a generally easterly

direction from longitude 96° W. to beyond 102° W., and lie mainly along the

66th degree of north latitude.

        Back River leaves the southern end of Macdougall Lake by the usual

series of rapids, flowing in a southeasterly direction through several rapids.

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As it flows in a narrow channel between two gneiss rocks from 500 to 800

feet high, it again breaks into a series of rapids, followed by an expansion

about 400 yards wide in the center of which a rock rises about 300 feet high.

It is now nearly a mile wide, full of small, rocky islands, wi h t h falls between.

them The next reach turns northward and becomes lake-like in its width. For

a few miles it continues nearly in the same course, gradually contracting

until it is broken by Escape Rapids, extending for a mile of extremely rough

water. About two miles downstream, with the current still strong, the river

turns eastward through a range of precipitous sandhills. The current rushes

on faster and soon becomes a line of heavy rapids, followed by another series;

and a short distance below, Wolf Rapids terminates in a fall of five feet.

        Proceeding northward, the river spreads into a considerable lake expan–

sion, although both sides are hemmed by high hills, covered as usual with

boulders and unassorted glacial debris. Below a bold point at the band of

the river, Mount Meadowbank is seen. The latter is a picturesque and command–

ing butte with sloping sides on the southwest, and a precipitous face toward

the north. After a course of six miles to the southeast, the river again

veers northerly, running with great velocity among boulders. To the west–

ward, the rocky shores, rugged and barren, attain considerable altitude. To

the eastward, however, the country is more open and rolling. Here, Montressor

River enters from the west.

        Below this point, granitic mountains make their appearance, holding the

river in a northerly course, with a breadth varying from three-quarters of a

mile to a mile. At one spot a rapid causes it to deviate a little to the

westward. Near this, the rocks become steeper and are distinguished from

those farther south by their precipitous sides and cliffs facing to the west

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and northwest. Continuing downstream, what appears to be an island is found

to be a rocky hill on the eastern shore. Its base, an enormous mass of round,

grey rock, is surmounted by a large cone resembling the crater of a volcano,

even to its blackness.

        A rapid exists at the foot of this hill, below which the stream widens

and a vertical line of rocks again borders each side, the western being the

more open, with undulating prairies. At the end of six miles, a sandy bluff

on the west side seems to bar the river, but it actually marks the beginning

of a rapid, from the foot of which the river expands into Lake Franklin,

stretching to a north-northwest direction. The river leaves the lake by a

rapid, followed by another which is broken by islands where the descent is

about 20 feet. Three miles beyond a fine open reach, the river again is con–

fined between rocky walls that almost meet, causing a rapid and a fall.

        The sand cliffs now become broken and dwindle in the east, while in the

west they subside into low flats relieved by a few sandy knolls. Several

channels break off to the westward, but they are shallow and not navigable.

The country on both sides is swampy, but gradually sloping upward to the

west toward the Chantrey Hills in the distance, as Back River empties into

Cockburn Bay, at the head of Chantrey Inlet.

        Back River, formerly called Great Fish River, was first explored in

1834 by Captain (afterwards Sir) George Back, after whom it is named. He

was the commander of an expedition that had set off from England the previous

year to search for Captain (later Sir) John Ross, who had disappeared into

the Arctic in 1829. Late in 1833, Back discovered a small lake which he

called Sussex Lake which proved to be the source of the river he hoped to

follow to the Arctic coast. He descended the river draining Sussex Lake as

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far as a lake he called Musk Ox Lake, but since the season was too well

advanced for him to reach his objective before winter set in, Back returned

to the eastern end of Great Slave Lake where he built Fort Reliance and

spent the winter. Although word was received of the safe return of Captain

Rose, back decided to continue his geographical explorations, and in June

and July, 1834, accompanied by Richard King, surgeon and naturalist of the

expedition, and a party of Indian guides, descended the river to its mouth

and explored the Arctic coast as far east as Ogle Point, the northeastern

extremity of Adelaide Peninsula. In August and September of the same year

he retraced his course to spend another winter at Fort Reliance.

        In July, 1855, James Anderson and James Stewart, officers of the

Hudson's Bay Company, commissioned by their company to search for traces of

Sir John Franklin's party, descended the river, finding on Montreal Island,

near its mouth, remains and relics of some of Franklin's men. The follow–

ing month, Anderson and Stewart returned the way they had come. In 1879,

Frederick Schwatka, U.S.A., ascended the river for a short distance from

Chantrey Inlet; in 1890, Warburton Pike d D escended it from its headwaters

to Lake Beechey; and in April, 1902, David T. Hanbury descended the Buchanan

River, one of its tributaries, by sledge, and proceeded thence to Lake Pelly,

which he crossed on his way northward to the coast. In the interval its

course has been followed by airplane many times.

        Economically, the region through which Back River flows is not yet of

much consequence. The extensive prairie areas tributary to its course which

once supported immense herds of caribou and musk oxen, could be utilized for

the grazing of reindeer and domesticated musk oxen, if such an industry were

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ever undertaken. Aside from this, the only other possibility is in the

direction of mining. The upper reaches of Back River are not far from the

Yellowknife area now being developed north of Great Slave Lake and the

region is fairly accessible from that direction, while the underlying

geological [ ng ?] structure is considered favorable. To the north, on Bathurst

Inlet, it is known that copper-bearing rocks exist, but whether they extend

as far south as the valley of Back River is a matter of conjecture. Any

other mineral possibilities are equally problematical and must wait until

the territory is more fully explored. Since, however, the whole region is

underlain by Pre-Cambrian rocks, and since it is in rocks of similar type

that rich mineral deposits have been found elsewhere in the Canadian north,

the possibility of mineral wealth must, until ruled out by more intensive

examination, continue to be more than a possibility.

        References:

        Back, George. Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Great Fish

River, and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the

years 1833, 1834 and 1835. London, 1836.

        Anderson, J., and Stewart J. Proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company

Expedition to Investigate the Fate of Sir John Franklin

and Party. Select Committee on Arctic Expeditions, 1855.

BATHURST INLET

        Bathurst Inlet, District of Mackenzie, is one of the most prominent

indentations on the north coast of the mainland of the Dominion of Canada.

It extends slightly east of southward from near the eastern end of Corona–

tion Gulf. Authorities differ as to the point at which the indentation may

first be termed Bathurst Inlet; some give the entrance as lying between

Cape Barrow, in latitude 68° 04′ N., longitude, 110° 54′ W., and Cape Flinders,

in latitude 68° 13′ N., longitude, 109° 15′ W., thus extending inland for

about 125 miles. Others assume the entrance to be the line between Everitt

Point, in latitude 67° 42′ N., longitude, 108° 42′ W., and Wollaston Point,

about 17 miles west-southwestward; and the distance from the line between

these two points to the southern end of Bathurst Inlet is about 85 miles.

The expanse of water to the north of this line, averaging about 40 miles,

north and south as well as east and west, bears no separate name, but is

referred to as the entrance to Bathurst Inlet. Here, the inlet is considered

as extending southward only from the Wollaston- Everitt line and will be des–

cribed accordingly.

        The entrance to Bathurst Inlet, north of the Wollaston-Everitt line,

is filled with islands, many of which are unnamed, and the main portion of

the inlet is likewise filled with islands. Southward of Everitt and Wollas–

ton points, the inlet is from 17 to 20 miles wide, continuing so for a distance

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of about 20 miles. This portion is largely occupied by the Barry Islands,

of which Goulbourn Island is the largest. South of the Barry Islands, the

inlet narrows to from five to six miles, gradually diminishing in width

until no more than two or three miles over the final 30 miles of its length.

        Although the coast of Coronation Gulf from which Bathurst Inlet extends

southward is fairly low, the shores of the entrance to the inlet are bold

and rugged; steep hills rise abruptly from the water on both sides. The

islands, too, are mainly rocky. The eastern shore, while underlain by

similar rock formation, is more generally covered with overburden and sup–

ports a considerable growth of vegetation, while on the western side the

shores are rocky and much more barren in appearance.

        The eastern side of Arctic Sound, at the northwestern portal of

Bathurst Inlet, consists of a long, narrow promontory, extending in a north-

and-south direction, terminating in Wollaston Point. From Wollaston Point,

the shore curves gently to the south-southeast, without any indentations of

consequence, to the bottom of Bathurst Inlet. Burnside River flows in from

the west about 30 miles north of the inlet's lower extremity. At its southern–

most tip, Bathurst Inlet receives the Western River from the south southeast,

which drains a narrow strip of territory north of the Back River watershed.

        The eastern side of Ba [ ?] hurst inlet is much more indented than the west

side. From Everitt Point, the coast trends south southeasterly for about

27 miles to Fowler Bay, which is about two miles deep and a mile and a quarter

across its mouth, partly blocked by a long, narrow island. About eight

miles farther south, Gordon Bay, about eight miles wide and 12 miles deep,

divided into two sections by a long, rocky point, extends southeastward.

Beyond Gordon Bay, the shore trends southward for eight or ten miles and then

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swings to the south-southeast, continuing in that direction without much

indentation to the lower end of the inlet.

        Bathurst Inlet was first explored in 1821 by Captain (later Sir) John

Franklin, whose party traveled along the north coast of Canada from the

mouth of the Coppermine River to Point Turnsgain, a short distance to the

eastward of Bathurst Inlet. They penetrated the inlet to its bottom, giving

it the name it bears and naming most of its principal features. The inlet

was called after the Earl of Bathurst, a member of the British Government

under whose auspices Franklin's expedition was organized. On the return

from Cape Turnagain, the Franklin party ascended Hood River (named after a

member of the party who was soon to die) and crossed overland to their base

at Fort Enterprise, northeast of Great Slave Lake, encountering great hard–

ship on the way.

        Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease, on an exploratory expedition for

the Hudson's Bay Company, further explored Bathurst Inlet in the years 1838

and 1839. The work of these explorers was simplified and corrected in many

particulars by members of the Canadian Arctic (Stefansson) Expedition, 1913-

1918, who spent a considerable amount of time in the vicinity of Coronation

Gulf.

        References:

        Franklin, John. Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in

the Years 1819-20-21-22. London, 1823.

        Simpson, Thomas. Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America

During the Years 1836-39. London, 1843.

        O'Neill, J.J. The Geology of the Arctic Coast of Canada, West of the Kent

Peninsula . Report, Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1918,

Vol. II.

BEAVER RIVER

        Beaver River, in Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, drains a

narrow strip of territory lying between the head of the Mackenzie River

proper and the Cameron Hills, which lie approximately on the 60th parallel

of north latitude. Beaver River is shown on the map as only that section

which drains Kakisa Lake, about 10 miles long, which lies in a southeaste

northwest direction, and is connected with Tathlina Lake by the Kakisa

River, about seven or eight miles in length in which there is a drop of

85 feet. Tathlina Lake, is pear-shaped and about 12 miles long by eight

miles at its widest. The Beaver River proper is interrupted by the Lady

Evelyn Falls, 48 feet high, where the river drops over the escarpment of

the Alberta Plateau, where there runs parallel to the Mackenziee River.

        Two principal short branching streams draining the northern slopes of

the Cameron Hills and the muskegs which lie along their base, enter Tathlina

Lake, one at the southwestern and the other at the southeastern angle. The

outlet is at the northernmost extremity. Several small tributaries enter

the connecting stream from the west. The latter enters Kakisa Lake near

its southeastern angle, and the Beaver leaves at the northeastern angle,

emptying into the expanded section of the Mackenzie River about eight miles

below its point of commencement.

        The country through which the Beaver River flows consists of the

Alberta Plateau section which is relieved by the Cameron Hills on the

southern edge of its watershed and by Eagle Mountain on the east. The

plateau is forested with spruce and pine, with tamarack in the swamps.

Between the foot of the escarpment on the Mackenzie, the spruce forest is

interspersed with considerable stretches of muskeg. Between the edge of

the main escarpment and the foot of the Cameron Hills, a second step in

the plateau, which accounts for the drop in elevation between Tathlina and

Kakisa lakes.

        The territory does not contain much land of agricultural value and its

timber is not of commercial grade. It is, however, underlain by Palaeozoic

rocks such as, in other places, are favorable for the production of petro–

leum, and it is possible that when the area has been more fully examined

for that purpose the results might justify the final test of the drill.

        The first exploration of the region was made by R. G. McConnell of the

Geological Survey of Canada in 1888, who made a traverse from Providence,

on the Mackenzie River, southward to Lake Bistcho. He did not touch the

Beaver River valley, but followed a course to the west of it. A. E. Cameron

of the Survey explored its lower reaches in 1917, but did not continue above

the falls.

        References:

        McConnell, R. G. Report on an Exploration in the Yukon and Mackenzie Basins,

1887-88 . Geological Survey of Canada, 1888.

        Cameron, A. E. Summary Report. Geological Survey of Canada, 1917.

BIG SALMON RIVER

        The Big Salmon River is a tributary of the Lewes River, one of the

principal branches of the Yukon. It rises in Quiet Lake, 19 miles long

and a maximum of two and a half miles wide, lying approximately north-and-

south, at an elevation of 2,580 feet above sea level, just west of the 133rd

meridian, in the angle where it is intersected by the 61st degree of north

latitude. Immediately below the outlet of Quiet Lake, extending for nine

miles, it is a series of small lakes, joined by short stretches of river.

In its upper reaches, the Big Salmon is bordered by mountains from 3,000 to

4,000 feet in height, which constrict its valley, but farther down the moun–

tains are not so high and the valley broadens considerably. In its final

45 miles, it occupies a wide, wooded valley bordered by rounded hills.

        The Big Salmon varies in width from 30 to 100 yards, and although there

are stretches where the current is smooth, for the greater part of its course

the river is shallow and rapid, interrupted by many sandbars and occasional

rapids. It is not navigable, except for canoes, and that with difficulty.

About 25 miles above its mouth, the Big Salmon takes in the North fork, and

20 miles farther up, the South fork enters. Its course is generally north–

westerly, and it is about 142 miles in length from the foot of the chain of

lakes in which it rises. It flows into the Lewes about 60 miles below the

outlet of Lake Laberge.

BLACK LAKE

        Black Lake, in northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, is a long,

narrow body of water lying in a general northeast-southwest direction. Its

greatest length is 49 miles, its greatest width about nine, and its area

about 200 square miles; it lies at an elevation of 1,000 feet above sea

level. It is the largest lake in the course of the Fond du Lac River, which

originates in Wollaston Lake and empties into Lake Athabaska, and is thus

part of the great Mackenzie drainage system. Black Lake is shaped like a

club, wi t h a long, narrow, curved handle-like section extending southwestward

from the wider part of the lake, which lies more nearly east and west and is

roughly diamond-shaped. The eastern end of the lake is in longitude 105 W.;

its western end is in 105° 55′ W.; its southernmost point is in 58° 45′ N.;

and its northernmost point is in latitude 59° 18′ N.

        Black Lake, like Lake Athabaska to the West, and Wollaston and Reindeer

lakes to the east, is on the line of contact between the Pre-Cambrian rocks

lying generally to the eastward and the Paleozoic rocks lying to the south–

westward. Consequently the southern shore of Black Lake is chiefly composed

of stratified sandstone, or of boulders with an escarpment of sandstone lying

farther back; while the northern shore consist chiefly of granites and gneisses.

The boundary between the two rock formations is marked at either end of the

lake by the Fund du Lac River. Beginning at the outlet of the lake, on its

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northwestern shore, the gneissic rocks continue in a northeasterly direction

for 15 miles, the lake shore following the foot of a ridge from 200 to 400

feet in height. Fir Island, with an area of 12 square miles, lies off this

shore, just north of the outlet. The island is underlain mainly by Atha–

baska sandstone. Chipman River, a rapid stream about 50 feet wide at its

mouth, flows into the lake from the north at the point where the lake shore

diverges from the northeasterly-trending ridge, and turns eastward. The

north shore continues almost due east for about 13 miles, the shores con–

sisting mainly of gran i tic rocks, rising in places to about 100 feet above

the lake. From the northeastern angle of the lake, the shore swings south–

westward for about 12 miles, receiving about midway the upper Fond du [ ?] ac

River, which enters by two months. The shores of the lake, on all sides,'

are wooded with black spruce, occasional white spruce, birch and tamarack,

with black spruce and birch predominating. The growth is heavier on the southern

and southeastern shore , s , where the underlying rocks are mostly sandstone.

Cree River flows into the southernmost extremity of the lake from the

southwest.

        Black Lake was first explored in 1796 by David Thompson of the North–

west Company, who gave it its name. In that year he ascended the Churchill

River to the mouth of Reindeer River, and the latter to Reindeer Lake, pro–

ceeding from that lake by way of Swan River and connecting portages and

lakes to Wollaston Lake, which he traversed to its northwest angle, and

then descended Fond du Lac River (previously called Stone River) to Black

Lake, and thence to Lake Athaba [ ?] ka.

        In 1881, A. S. Cochrane, of the Geological Survey of Canada, followed

Thompson's course as far as Reindeer Lake, but left that lake by the river

now named after him, which rises in Wollaston Lake. From the latter, Coch–

rane continued along Thompson's course to Lake Athabaska. In 1892,

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Black Lake

J. B. Tyrrell and D. B. Dowling, also of the Geological Survey, reached

Black Lake from the south, by way of the Cree River, and surveyed its

shores, making a geological examination of its rocks.

        Reference:

BLACK RIVER

        Black River, northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is a tributary

of the Abitibi River (q.v.), whose waters flow into the southern end of

James Bay by way of Moose River (q.v.). Black River rises in a group of

small lakes on the height of land in latitude 48° 15′ N., longitude 80° W.

These lakes, which lie at an elevation of about 1,150 feet above sea level,

are connected by short stretches of rapid streams, which join to form Black

River. In its initial stages, Black River runs in a northwesterly direction.

Like most rivers traversing the Canadian Shield, it flows through a shallow

valley, with many twists and turns. The Ontario Northland Railway (q.v.)

enters its valley a short distance south of Yorketon Station, where the

railway follows the west bank of the river. Railway and river run almost

side by side for about 16 miles, when, near Matheson Station, the railway

veers slightly to the west, and the river continues to its junction with

the Abitibi at the big bend between Twin Falls and Iroquois Falls.

        From Matheson to its mouth, Black River is wide and sluggish, with many

lake-like stretches. While in its upper reaches, it is interrupted by numerous

rapids and falls, its lower course is uninterrupted. It traverses a country

well forested with white and black spruce, Banksian pine, balsam, white birch,

tamarack and poplar. Large areas have been burned over, but much good timber

still remains. The greater part of the timber, however, is better suited to

002      |      Vol_XIII-0083                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais. Canada - Black River

pulpwood than to saw logs, although some stands of merchantable timber are

also found in the area. Black River has a total length of about 60 miles

and drains an area of about 1,000 square miles.

        Reference:

BRITISH COLUMBIA: SUB - ARCTIC SECTION

        British Columbia, the third largest of the Canadian provinces, lies

between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, extending north and south

from the 49th to the 60th parallel of north latitude. The Rocky Mountains

do not, however, constitute its entire eastern boundary: from the point near

latitude 53° 45′, where the crest of the mountains cuts the 120th meridian of

west longitude northward to the 60th parallel, the boundary follows the meri–

dian. Consequently, in its northern part, British Columbia comprises a

considerable area that lies east of the mountain barrier. The province has

a total area of 366,255 square miles, of which approximately 109,000 square

miles, that is to say, that section north of latitude 57°, can be considered

as sub - arctic.

        Because the Rocky Mountains run northwest and southeast — while the

eastern boundary of the sub - arctic section runs due north and south, that

section of British Columbia contains a larger percentage of territory on

the eastern side of the mountains than any other part of the province. This,

in some respects, makes for a greater diversity of terrain and climate. On

the other hand, since all of this region is bordered by the Alaskan Panhandle,

it has absolutely no coast line, and only a small part of it is subject to the

climatic conditions peculiar to the Pacific coast.

        Like most of British Columbia, and despite the large relatively level

section east of the mountains, sub - arctic British Columbia is predominantly

mountainous. In the first place, unlike most of southern British Columbia,

both the western and the eastern slopes of the continuation of the Rocky

Mountains, known as the Mackenzie Mountains, are within its boundaries.

The highest mountain peaks in Canada, and some of the highest on the con–

tinent are in that section, including such giants as Mount Fairweather,

15,287, and Mount Root, 12,860 feet in height.

        It is a region of few lakes, the principal ones being in the northwestern

corner of the province, where a group of remarkably beautiful lakes lying

across the boundary between British Columbia and Yukon Territory are drained

northward into the Yukon River system. This lack of lakes is characteristic

of the region which, in this respect, differs considerably from other sections

of the province, especially the one next to the south.

        Although well watered, it is also a region of few rivers. Two principal

river systems, whose valleys are almost continuous, one flowing into the

Pacific and the other a tributary of the Mackenzie, which empties into the

Arctic, drain almost the entire section, except for a narrow strip in the

northwestern corner.

        Aside from a small area of prairie in the extreme southeastern corner,

the section is well forested. Along its western boundary, bordering the

Alaskan Panhandle, red cedar and hemlock are found, with amabilis fir and

yellow cypress as subsidiaries. Farther east, the predominating trees are

typical of the sub-arctic regions of Canada elsewhere. The river-valleys

are lined with poplars, chiefly cottonwoods, while in wet and marshy areas the

eastern larch, or tamarack, is commonly seen; in the fall its yellow needles

003      |      Vol_XIII-0086                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Sub-Arctic

match in color [ ?] the golden hues of the cottonwoods.

        The section has a wide variety of climate. Along the western border

the high mountains comb the moisture out of the westerly winds, which falls

as rain or snow upon the western slopes of the mountains. This causes what

are known on the prairies as Chinooks. As the winds proceed eastward they

pick up further moisture, which again is precipitated on the western slope

of the next high range of mountains, repeating the Chinook conditions. The

result is a succession of longitudinal dry and moist zones, lying one parallel

to the other.

        During the summer the strong winds blow inland through such gaps as the

Stikine valley and the passes leading from the head of Lynn Canal, such as

the Chilkat, the Chilkoot and the White; while, in winter, during most of

the time, the process is reversed: the winds, as a rule, blow outwards from

the interior plateaus. The exceptions are when Chinooks occur, as described

above.

        It is a sparsely populated region. According to the 1941 census, the

population of British Columbia was 817,861, which during the war was con–

siderably augmented. The bulk of this population, however, resides in the

extreme southwestern corner of the province, in the cities of Vancouver, New

Westminster and Victoria, although of late years a number of thriving com–

munities have grown up in other parts of the southern section of the province.

The war helped to depopulate rather than increase the population of subarctic

British Columbia. Only two towns exist within the whole area, and neither

can boast of more than a fraction of the population it once had. Even the

Indians, never very numerous, have lost ground. It is doubtful if, including

the Indians, the population of the whole subarctic section exceeds 1,500

persons.

        The first white men in subarctic British Columbia were undoubtedly

traders of the Hudson's Bay Company who, coming up the Liard from the

Mackenzie, established Fort Halkett, beyond the western foothills of the

mountains. In 1834, John McLeod, Chief Trader of the Hudson's Bay Company,

went up the Liard from Fort Halkett to the mouth of the Dease, which he

named after a fellow officer of the Company, went up the lake in which the

river had its source, which he also named, and crossed the divide to the

Stikine, with the intention of establishing a post there. This attempt failed

because of the opposition of Russian traders at the mouth of the Stikine, and

McLeod returned to the Liard. Four years later, another Hudson's Bay Company

trader, Robert Campbell, succeeded in establishing a post on Dease Lake,

which, after a winter of hardship, he abandoned. The next visitors were

prospectors, in the 1860's, and the country was kinder to them than it had

been to the fur traders.

        Following the failure of the attempt to lay the Atlantic cable in 1858,

the Western Union or Collins Overland Telegraph Company proposed to build

a telegraph line overland through British Columbia, Yukon Territory and

Alaska to Bering Strait, where a short cable would connect with a line to

be built through Siberia to Europe. The route through British Columbia had

been located as far north as Telegraph Creek — which thereby gained its name —

when, in 1867, the cable was successfully laid, and the overland project

abandoned.

        After gold was discovered in the Klondike, the Dominion Government

built a telegraph line from Ashcroft, on the main line of the Canadian

Pacific Railway, to the boundary between Yukon Territory and Alaska, and an

office was opened at Telegraph Creek. The line leaving Hazelton, followed

005      |      Vol_XIII-0088                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

the Skeena River northward to its eastern bend, then crossed to the headwaters

of the Nass, thence along the north fork of the Iskut River to the First South

Fork of the Stikine, and thus to Telegraph Creek. From Telegraph Creek, the

line ran somewhat irregularly northward to Atlin, and followed the east shore

of Atlin Lake till it crossed into Yukon Territory. Cabins were built at

intervals of about fifty miles, at each of which a telegraph operator and a

lineman were stationed whose chief duty was to keep the line in operation.

        The coast ranges consist mainly of granitoid rocks, which form a belt

about sixty-five miles wide where they are cut by the Stikine River, and

probably averaging fifty miles along the western border up to latitude 60°.

This mountain upthrust is simply a continuation of the great orthographic

axis extending northward from almost the southern boundary of British Columbia.

        To the eastward of the Coast Ranges, the great interior is mainly under–

lain by a complex structure of sedimentary rocks of diverse ages, and volcanic

rocks chiefly of Mesozoic age. These rocks are broken by the Cassiar-Omenica

mountains which constitute a granitic axis maintaining a general alignment

northward into Yukon Territory. It is along the contact of this axis that

most of the placer gold discoveries have been made.

        The Mackenzie Mountains consist chiefly, as do the Rockies, of sedimentary

rocks of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age. So far, few minerals of economic value

have been found in them, although coal is more than a possibility, in view of

findings farther south.

        The area east of the Mountains is part of the Great Plains region, and is

underlain by sedimentary rocks, chiefly of Mesozoic age, in which evidence of

coal and petroleum have been noted.

        About two-thirds of subarctic British Columbia drains into the Arcti [ ?] ,

006      |      Vol_XIII-0089                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

chiefly through the Liard and its many branches; but a small portion is also

drained into the Arctic through the Peace by way of the Finlay, which makes

a great bend north of latitude 57°, although its actual headwaters lie south

of that latitude. The Liard, however, is the principal channel through which

most of the water from subarctic British Columbia is drained. It rises in

Yukon Territory, almost as far west as the 132nd p meridian, and crosses the

British Columbia - Yukon border between the 128th and 129th meridians, and,

shortly after, receives from the southwest the Dease River, 180 miles long,

which rises in the lake of the same name. It follows a generally southeasterly

course until it dashes against the northern escarpment of the Rocky Mountains,

which come to an end between the 59th and 60th parallels of north latitude.

The mountains deflect the river sharply northward until it reaches the low–

lands beyond the eastern foothills, when it sets an almost northeasterly

course for its destination in the Mackenzie River. The Liard leaves British

Columbia at the point where the boundary separating the District of Mackenzie

and Yukon Territory joins the northern boundary of British Columbia. Just

before crossing the border, the Liard receives the Fort Nelson, a considerable

stream, 260 miles in length, coming in from the southeast. The Fort Nelson

drains a large area in the northeastern corner of the province, and the most

important agricultural portion of subarctic British Columbia.

        The next most important river in this section is the Stikine, which

drains an area of 20,300 n square miles in the southwestern portion. It is

335 miles in length, rises on the western flank of the Cassiar-Omenica moun–

tains between latitudes 57° and 58°, and, after describing a great arc, breaks

through the coast ranges to the pacific in latitude 56° 34′. Its final lap

traverses the coastal strip that is part of the Alaskan Panhandle.

        Next along the coast to the north is the Taku River, which drains a

belt of territory comprising about 7,600 square miles, lying south of Atlin

and north of the Stikine watershed. It flows into Taku Inlet, not far from

the Alaskan city of Juneau. The Chilkat, Tatshenshini and Alsek drain the

comparatively narrow area between the western limits of the Yukon watershed

and the Alaskan coastal strip northwest of Lynn Canal, which is flanked by

the St. Elias Range. The chief of these is the Alsek, 260 miles long, which

has a drinage area of 11,200 square miles.

        When Charles II of England, in 1670, granted sundry lands to the Hudson's

Bay Company, the territory now known as British Columbia was not included,

probably because that freehanded monarch had no idea such a country existed.

The Hudson's Bay Company, however, when the time came, secured the right to

trade there and became virtual masters of the region. It was the discovery

of gold in the sand bars of the lower Fraser River in 1858 that was the be–

ginning of the end for Hudson's Bay Company rule west of the Rocky Mountains.

The fate of a few thousand Indians could well be left to the despotic sway of

a fur-trading organization; but when the country became infested with miners,

many of whom were from the United States and had quite unorthodox ideas about

the sanctity of the fur trade, some other arrangement became necessary for the

control of the country. It was created a Crown colony in 1858 and in 1871

joined the newly-formed Dominion of Canada.

        The sand bars of the lower Fraser soon became exhausted, leaving thousands

of eager goldseekers at loose ends. Many of them returned to California from

whence they had come, but others pushed on up the canons of the Fraser, pros–

pecting every tributary, sometimes penetrating far afield. On many of these

streams gold was found, not in great quantity, but enough to keep the prospectors

008      |      Vol_XIII-0091                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

pushing onward. Eventually, in 1862, among the mountains sixty miles inland

from the Fraser, on a small stream running into a tributary of the Fraser,

an enterprising prospector found heavy gold in the gravels of the creek bed.

        Then began one of the three or four great gold booms in history, to be

compared only to the Klondike rush a generation later. The scene of the

strike was five hundred miles inland through one of the most rugged regions

on the continent. But that did not seriously retard gold seekers sustained

by the knowledge that gold in chunks could be washed from the gravels of

Williams Creek, Lightning Creek and a rapidly growing list of other creeks

in what became known as the Cariboo.

        Within a short while a pack trail had been slashed through the wilderness;

before five years had passed a well-graded wagon road had replaced it, a feat

which, considering the circumstances, deserves to be ranked with other great

engineering feats of the century. Within two years more people were in the

Cariboo than in all the rest of British Columbia. Barkerville, center of

the field, was the largest town in Canada west of Toronto; and nothing but

San Francisco could touch it to the southward. Placer camps, however, are

notoriously short-lived; within a short while after the first strike was

made, the richest ground, which was usually the shallowest and easiest worked,

had become largely exhausted. Placer mining has never ceased in Cariboo; the

total value of gold taken from its creeks since 1862 is estimated at

$51,000,000, but if it were not for the subsequent discovery of rich gold

quartz mines, its once booming camps would now be ghost towns, typical of

all worked-out placer diggings.

        Long before the Cariboo diggings were worked out, however, all the

available ground had been staked, and, as usual, hundred were disappointed.

009      |      Vol_XIII-0092                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

Some dejectedly tramped back to the coast; but others pushed on to find gold

on new creeks farther north. Most of these creeks were on the western flank

of that great depression known as the Rocky Mountain Trench, which, for 800

miles, parallels the Rocky Mountains, and in which most of the great rivers

of British Columbia, including the Peace, have their source. In 1868, gold

was discovered on the Omenica and Ingenica rivers and on Manson Creek, all

of which flow into the Finlay, northern tributary of the Peace.

        As before, the available ground was not enough to go round, and some

again ranged farther inland, panning the sand bars on streams yet unnamed,

getting some gold here and there, but never succeeding in striking anything

to compare with the fabulous Cariboo. Others entered the interior valleys

by way of the coast, up the Stikine River; while still others came in from

the Mackenzie valley, up the Liard and its tributaries.

        The first gold discovered in what later became known as Cassiar District

was, in fact, discovered before gold had been found in the Cariboo, when two

prospectors, Choquette and Carpenter, first panned gold dust out of the sand

bars of the Stikine River. By the end of that year a considerable number of

men were working there. The section of the river in which the pay was rich

enough to justify working was short, and was soon worked out, although some

prospectors kept on for a number of years after the height of the boom.

Placer camps nearly all follow the same life-cycle. As a rule, the coarsest

gold is found in that part of the stream nearest its headwaters, but this

does not always apply. In most cases, however, the richest ground, consider–

ing both quantity and coarseness, is fairly shallow, requiring very little

digging or excavating to reach the bedrock, upon which most of the gold is

usually found. Although the greatest concentration is generally on bedrock,

010      |      Vol_XIII-0093                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

some gold may be distributed throughout the entire gravel bed, or at least

in a certain portion of the lower gravels.

        If the gravel bed, from surface to bedrock, is shallow, the prospector

may work it by sluicing, in which case he will construct sluice boxes, or

flumes, about three feet wide and eighteen inches deep, of one or one-and-

a-half inch lumber, the bottom of which will be paved with wooden blocks to

prevent the bottom from wearing out. Each sluice box may be from twelve to

sixteen feet long, added end to end as the ground ahead is washed away.

Sufficient water almost to come to the top of the sluice boxes is now diverted

to run through, and gravel is thus washed through with the water. In addition,

gravel is shoveled into the boxes from the sides, depending upon how many

men are engaged in the operation. Such gold as there is in the gravel, no

matter how fine it may be, will lodge in the interstices between the paving

blocks and will rarely be found to have moved farther down the flume than a

few feet from where it entered.

        Where the gravel is too deep and where most of the gold lies on or near

the bedrock, such ground can best be worked by sinking a shaft to bedrock and

then taking out the gold-bearing gravel by means of a drive or tunnel driven

upstream along the gutter of the channel. The gravel is hoisted to the

surface by a windlass and there run through sluice boxes as described above.

When ground is worked in this manner, it will be necessary to pump the water

that will otherwise accumulate in the workings. In such case, pumps may be

of local construction and operated by water wheels. Shafts and drives must

be timbered to prevent caving, all of which adds to the expense and labor

of the operation, and, of course, requiring richer ground.

        Sometimes, where the extent of gravel is large and the gold widely dis-

011      |      Vol_XIII-0094                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdas: British Columbia: Subarctic

tributed through it, the mine is worked by hydraulic method. In this

process, water is brought by ditch to a point near the proposed workings

at a level that will allow of the maximum pressure. The water is then fed

through a penstock into an iron pipeline, ranging in size from four to six

inches to two or three feet in diameter, depending upon the scale of the

operation. At the end of the pipeline, a long nozzle, or monitor, is

connected by a swivel joint. This monitor compresses the water into a tight,

compact stream, which, according to the pressure, will tear down and wash

away a bank of gravel. From then on the process is somewhat like sluicing,

except that much more gravel is handled.

        The hydraulic process, like the use of dredges, usually comes with a

later stage in the life of a mining camp. At present these methods are

almost the only ones employed in Cariboo and the Klondike; but they were not

used to any great extent in Cassiar. The mining methods used there were

mostly confined to sluicing, shoveling in, and drifting. When the white man

finds the going too unprofitable for him, he is usually succeeded by Chinese,

who work over ground already mined, or undertake new operations in ground not

considered rich enough to tempt the white man.

        Sometimes their operations are conducted on such a small scale that all

the gravel they handle is washed in a rocker, a contrivance somewhat like a

baby's rocker'cradle. Its principal feature is a wooden riffle-frame resemb–

ling a washboard, which is placed in an inclined position within the rocker.

Over this riffle-frame a piece of blanket is spread. Water is brought from a

nearby stream in a small flume or pipe which empties into the rocker where it

can spill over the blanketed riffle-frame. Gravel is then poured onto the

riffle-frame so that, as the contrivance is rocked from side to side, the gravel,

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EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: British Columbia: Subarctic

with the aid of the running water, moves down the incline, leaving the

gold in the meshes of the blanket. At intervals the blanket is replaced

by another and the one removed is then burned and its ashes panned to

secure the gold.

        Ca A ssiar's second gold strike was in 1872, when Henri Thibert, a French–

Canadian, and his partner, McCulloch, a Scotsman, advancing from the MacKen–

zie and prospecting up the Liard and Dease rivers, reached Dease Lake.

Hearing that miners were still working on the Stikine, they crossed the

height of land and for a time tried their luck on that river, but without

much success. On their way back to the Liard, the following spring, they

discovered gold on a creek flowing into the western side of Dease Lake, near

its northern end, which they called Thibert Creek. Other prospectors joined

them, and soon gold was discovered on Dease Creek, another stream flowing

into the west side of Dease Lake, a few miles south of Tibert Creek. At the

mouth of Dease Creek, a small settlement grew up called Laketon. On several

tributaries of Dease River, gold was also discovered, and one of these McDame

Creek, was for a time relatively rich. In fact, to McDame Creek goes the

record for the largest all-gold nugget ever produced in British Columbia,

when in 1877 a lump of gold was taken out which weighed 72 ounces and was

valued at $1,300.

        While no figures are obtainable showing actual production in Cassiar

District during the period of greatest activity — because it is easy for

gold in the form of nuggests and dust to be taken out of the country without

any record being kept — the British Columbia Department of Mines estimates

that the total production in 1874 was about $1,000,000, which may be somewhat

high. The estimate for the following year is $830,000 which, by 1876, had

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

dropped to $556,474. Value of production dropped by gradual degrees until

by 1885 the annual output of the whole region was estimated at only slightly

more than $50,000. Some gold still comes g from Cassiar, but the amount is

negligible, and total production to date since 1873 is placed at about

$4,500,000.

        On the other hand, the geological structure of the country — and experi–

ence in Cariboo — suggests that profitable lode mines might be looked for

in the district, but so far very little systematic prospecting for minerals

has been done. Lode mining lacks the attraction for prospectors that placer

mining holds. In most cases the placer miner needs only a few sluice boxes

for which he himself can saw the lumber from timber growing nearby. Within

a short time he can get his hands on the gold itself; and with it he can buy

whatever further equipment he needs. In a word, he is independent of anyone

else.

        The lode miner, on the other hand, after locating a promising deposit,

must interest a broker or capitalist to secure the money necessary for pros–

pecting at depth by means of diamond drilling, or geophysical examination,

either of which requires a considerable amount of money. Quite often, the

prospector fails to interest a broker or capitalist; accustomed to the hills,

he does not often know the ways of cities. It may be that the scene of his

discovery is too remote to attract capital, or perhaps the prospect of

eventual success does not appear sufficiently alluring to tempt the investor.

Supposing, however, that the prospector does succeed in interesting someone

with money, and assuming that further exploitation confirms the prospector's

belief that he has a possible mine, there is still the question of transpor–

tation and the availability of an adequate labor supply. Many a prospector

with a good mine has been compelled to wait indefinitely till the general

014      |      Vol_XIII-0097                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

advancement of the country has made possible the development of his property.

Such, at present, is the situation in Cassiar.

        One other part of the section we are discussing has passed through a

mining boom and is now awaiting the general development of the country to

make t possible the adequate exploitation of its lode mines, although it

has made greater progress in that regard than Cassiar. In 1898, when the

Klondike boom was at its height, placer gold was discovered in the Atlin

district, in the northwestern corner of the province, within less than fifty

miles of the British Columbia-Yukon boundary.

        The first gold was discovered by Fritz Miller and his companions, who

staked Discovery Claim on Pine Creek, a small stream, eleven miles long,

which flows into Atlin Lake, about halfway up its east shore. Since nearly

all the other productive creeks flowed into Pine Creek, it was the center of

the Atlin diggings, an area roughly about fifteen miles north and south, by

twenty miles east and west. The gold, fairly coarse and described as about

the size of flax seed, was found in layers of gravel on or near the bedrock.

Some of it was much heavier than that mentioned above. One nugget, found on

Spruce Creek, composed partly of quartz, weighed 85 ounces, valued at $800;

while another, found on Birch Creek, weighed 73 ounces and was valued at

$1,200. Some gold was obtained from a few creeks outside the Pine Creek

radius, but the productive area was not extensive, and eventually became

worked out, as in other placer camps. The total production of the Atlin

placer diggings to date is estimated at about $12,000,000.

        Atlin City, located on the eastern shore of Atlin Lake, about halfway

up the lake, a mile north of the mouth of Pine Creek, was the metropolis of

the gold fields. During the first year or two after the strike there were

015      |      Vol_XIII-0098                                                                                                                  
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

between 1,500 and 2,000 men working on the various creeks and prospecting

nearby. During its heyday, Atlin was a booming community, but for a long

time now it has settled down to patient waiting for what the future holds.

And that future seems reasonably certain. Unlike Cassiar, many promising

mineral properties have already been discovered, and while few of them have

yet been developed to any extent, there is much to show that when transpor–

tation and markets are available, Atlin will take its place as one of the

principal mining areas of the province.

        In one sense, however, Atlin is not as inaccessible as might appear.

It is only 140 miles away from Skagway, Alaska, on tidewater at the head

of Lynn Canal with which it is connected partly by rail and partly by water;

but the barrier of an international boundary, while theoretically not an

obstacle, nevertheless does act as a bar to easy commercial intercourse.

The hope of the Atlin country, as with every other part of the section of

the province being treated here, lies in the joint development of the

northern part of the province and Yukon Territory in conjunction with that

of regions to the south and to the east. Extensions of the Alaska Highway

to tap the Stikine and Atlin regions would seem to be the logical develop–

ments of the near future, although this is not to be considered as a propheay!

        Except for pulpwood in a great many places throughout the section, there

is little merchantable timber concentrated in such a manner as to constitute

an export lumber industry, but almost everywhere there is more than enough

timber to provide for whatever local needs may reasonably be expected for

any conceivable length of time. The area about Atlin is perhaps typical of

much of the territory west of the Mackenzie Mountains, and east of the Coast

Ranges. There the valleys are generally well forested, the timber often

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic

extending up the slopes of hills or mountains to a height of from 1,500 to

2,000 feet above the level of the valley. The chief species are white

spruce (Picea alba), black spruce (Picea nigra), Balsam fir (Populus tremul–

oides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), willows, dwarf birch (Betula

glandulosa) and a species of alder.

        Black and white spruce, about equally prominent, are the most abundant

and often are found in valley bottoms running from two to three feet on the

stump. Balsam fir usually climbs higher up the slopes than most other

species and even when quite near the timber line sometimes measures from

twelve to eighteen inches on the stump. The black pine is less plentiful,

and its dimensions do not usually reach the size of either the spruces or

the balsam fir.

        In the Stikine valley, east of the Coast Ranges, where the climate is

of the "dry belt" variety, the principal trees are black pine and aspen

poplar, with occasionally white birch along the benches and lower slopes

of the mountains; while in the valley-bottoms are alder and willow.

        Farther east, along the Dease and Liard, to these are added the

larch, or tamarac (Larix Americana). Farther east still, beyond the moun–

tains, in the region drained by the Fort Nelson River, where considerable

muskeg exists, the trees are poplar, tamarack and black pine. Some parts

of this region are quite heavily timbered, but the timber is of a size

only suited for pulpwood. Generally, along the river bottoms, the chief

trees are cottonwoods, often reaching large size. It is these that gave

the Liard its name.

        As might be expected when such a vast extent of territory is being

considered, the climate varies considerably with the location, but certain

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characteristics are to be expected. In the first place, since none of it

touches the sea, the climate over the greater part of the area is of the

continental type, and, because of the high latitudes, with long days in

summer and correspondingly short days in winter. Summer temperatures run

high, but without humidity; while winter temperatures at times drop extremely

low. Over most of the region, the precipitation is light, requiring in some

places irrigation for the growing of crops. Only on the western slopes of

the mountains is the precipitation more than average. The dryest territory,

on the other hand, is that which lies on the eastern side of the Coast Ranges;

and this condition is reproduced, although to a lesser degree, in the lee of

the Cassiar-Omenica mountains. In the Atlin district and along the Stikine,

placer mining operations are usually able to get underway realy in May and

continue (if water is available) till the first of November.

        Except in part of the plains area, agriculture, as such, does not exist.

In most of the valleys, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage can be grown

without much difficulty. In some places coarse grains will ripen, and in

occasional spots even wheat. At Telegraph Creek and in its vicinity on the

Stikine, east of the Coast Ranges, between latitudes 57° and 58°, wheat,

barley, oats, potatoes, and other vegetables, have been grown since the

early mining days, but irrigation is necessary. On the coastward side of

the mountains, however, most of these crops cannot be grown successfully. In

the triangle, east of the Mackenzie Mountains, particularly in its southern

part, there are considerable areas which, after being cleared, would be

suited to agriculture; and some of this area is already being farmed. There

are few places, outside of this same area, where wild hay can be cut, and

not many where any considerable quantity of hay could be cultivated. For

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this reason, although there are some spots in the sheltered valleys east

of the mountain ranges where horses and cattle could be wintered out,

stock raising is not possible. A year of exceptional snow, with no reserve

of hay, would be fatal.

        The whole section produces great quantities of wild berries, chief of

which are blueberries, saskatoons, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries,

bearberries, cranberries, both high and low bush, and several varieties of

wild cherries.

        The most profitable commodity which the section now produces is undoubtedly

fur, as has been the case since the earliest days. The marten is perhaps the

most common of the fur-bearing animals, and next the mink and lynx, but their

incidence varies with the locality. It is generally a good area for foxes,

cross, black, silver and red. Wolverines and weasels are also plentiful. At

one time the beaver was the principal fur animal, but its mode of living rendered

it too easy a prey to the hunter and, while the country in places still abounds

in beaver, the number caught each year has dropped considerably from its one-

time high level. Wolves are to be found all over, but they are not specially

plentiful.

        Perhaps the most common game animal is the moose, which is found prac–

tically everywhere from east of the Coast Ranges to east of the Mackenzie

Mountains. It and the caribou, which is almost as ubiquitous, provides the

bulk of the food requirements of the Indians. Mountain goats and mountain

sheep (both Ovis dalli and Ovis Fanninii) are to be found on all the mountain

ranges, including the Coast Ranges and the Mackenzie Mountains, but they do not

contribute much toward providing the natives with food. The small black-tailed

deer (Cariacus Columbianus) is occasionally seen in some of the valleys of the

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Coast Ranges, but never to the eastward of them. Black, brown and grizzly

bears are common throughout.

        Next to commercial trapping, the area seems to offer possibilities for

fur farming; but like many other industries of the future, it must await

better transportation facilities.

        In view of the widespread incidence of caribou, large parts of the

section would appear to be ideally suited for reindeer. But this is not an

industry that can spring up spontaneously; and unless the initiative is

taken at the governmental level it is not likely ever to become established,

no matter how logical it may seem to be.

        At present, except for the Alaska Highway, cutting across the northeast–

ern portion of the section; the Stikine River, navigable for river steamers

as far as Telegraph Creek, 138 miles from the coast; and access to the far

northwestern corner from Skagway or Haines, Alaska, the section is almost

inaccessible. It is a country of magnificent scenery, and — as soon as

there is a way for them to get into the country — should attract its share

of tourists. The line of airports paralleling the Alaska Highway, known as

the Northwest Staging Route, will ultimately offer an opportunity for tourists

to reach that part of the country through which it runs; and it would not

be a difficult matter to open up other areas with the aid of additional airports;

but up to the time of writing there is no indication that either the British

Columbia or the Federal Government has any such idea in mind.

        The British Columbia Government owns a railway which for thirty years has

ended at Quesnal, on the 53rd parallel, in Cariboo District. During World War II,

it was decided to extend the road to Alaska. Plans to that end had been adopted

when the Japanese were driven from the Aleutians and the necessity for such a

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railway become much less urgent. Since then, the British Columbia Government

has announced its intention to extend the railway through Pine Pass to the

Peaca River area east of the Rocky Mountains. Many persons in Alaska and

the United States who are interested in Alaskan affairs would like to see an

extension of this line from the nearest point west of the Rockies through to

Alaska. If they get their wish, such an extension would traverse the section

of British Columbia with which we are here concerned, and thus provide a means

for tourists and others to enter the country. If and when this occurs, the

big-game hunter will find a country that for some time to come will continue

to be the resort of the mountain sheep and goat and the grizzly bear, all of

which are bagged only by hunters equipped with patience and skill. Further–

more, the country is a fisherman's paradise.

        For the mountain climber, the territory offers climbs to suit every

taste, from peaks that an amateur might attempt with impunity, to some of

the most formidable to be found anywhere. At present, none within the section

is sufficiently accessible to tempt amny climbers; but as peaks more easily

reached succumb to the skill and endurance of alpinists, these giant northern

British Columbia peaks will undoubtedly find challengers.

        It is conceivable that some day the remarkable group of lakes, some of

them interconnected, in the northwestern corner of the province will become

one of the choice playgrounds of North America. While there are a number of

smaller lakes in the immediate district, three larger ones constitute the

chief features of this group. Tagish Lake, comprising 139 square miles,

lying like a strip of cobalt between lofty mountains, spread out into many arms

and inlets, is the westernmost. It is connected with the Yukon River system,

which means that with but one three and a half mile interruption north of

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White Horse, it is at the head of a navigable waterway 2,500 miles long,

culminating in Bering Sea. Next on the east, and connected with Lake Tagih

by a river two and a half miles long, is Atlin Lake, 60 miles in length and

342 square miles in area, a gem of rare beauty lying at the feet of its

bordering mountains; and, finally, lying farther east, Lake Teslin, 246

square miles in extent. All three are cut by the British Columbia — Yukon

boundary. Teslin is divided exactly evenly, but Atlin and Tagish are both

mostly in British Columbia.

        Some of the great glaciers in North America are to be found in this

section of British Columbia, chiefly in the valleys of the Coast Ranges,

within easy reach of both Telegraph Creek and Atlin, and they will doubtless

one day attract their share of enthusiasts.

        Except for an occasional trading post, and now the airports along the

Northwest Staging Route, there are only two places that can be considered as

communities. The first of these, Telegraph Creek, has been established since

the early 60's of last century. It has gone through various vicissitudes,

but its most exciting period was undoubtedly during the gold mining era on

the Stikine River, when it was in the middle of the gold-bearing stretch of

the river. According to the 1941 census, its total population, including

the adjacent district, was only 218 persons, of whom only 50 were in the town.

        The other community of consequence is Atlin. It, too, as described

above, has seen its days of excitement and once was a busy and thriving

town. Although, in 1947, its population consisted of only 518 persons, it

is still the metropolis for a large extent of country. It is a well-built,

modern community, despite its remoteness from outside contacts; and since

its hopes for the future are founded on lode mining, rather than the effemeral

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glories of placer mining, its future should be reasonably well assured.

        The native peoples who inhabit subarctic British Columbia belong to

the Athapaskan or Dene tribe, made up of two principal groups, the Tahltan,

who live along and north of the Stikine River, and the Kaska, who live far–

ther east. The Tahltans' territory adjoins on the south that of the Tshim–

shian Indians, who live in the area comprised by the Nass and Skeena water–

sheds. Likewise, the Kaskas adjoin the territory of the Sekanis, who live

immediately to the south of them.

        Probably because of their isolation, these Indians are more primitive

than most others in British Columbia. Those living near the coast are cut

off from the sea by the high mountains of the Coast Ranges; few deep inden–

tations, such as characterize the coast farther south, are to be found there;

and the rivers are also few with drainage areas that do not extend very far

from the coast.

        Physically, these people are inferior to most others in the province.

Tahltan men attain a maximum stature of about five feet, seven and a half

inches, and are small of bone. The Kaskas are even smaller people, and are

described as timid, under-sized and of poor physique. Dawson and McConnell,

of the Geological Survey of Canada, traveling through their territory in

1887, found them lazy and untrustworthy.

        They count kinship through the mother; the father is not even considered

a blood relative. They are divided into two castes, the Birds and the Bears;

a man who is a Bird must marry a Bear; but his children belong to the Birds,

although his mother's people inherit his effects.

        Before the whites arrived, polygamy was practised, but not many had more

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than one wife. Divorce was easy, although not particularly common. A

killing must be avenged by the relativesofthe person who was killed.

They had no particular religion, but, like many other Indians, were bound

pretty rigorously by the edicts of their medicine men.

        Unlike the Haidas and other coast Indians, these interior Indians

had developed very little art. They did not have totem poles like their

neighbors along the coast farther to the south. Occasionally, one of them

might make a mask, obviously copied from their neighbors. They made birch

bark baskets, which were used for cooking pots before the advent of trade

goods; and they wove blankets and rugs from the hair of the mountain goat,

which they decorated with bright colors.

        Since there was no agriculture, they lived almost entirely by hunting

and fishing. Their habitat was one of the best game countries on the con–

tinent; add the streams and lakes were well stocked with fish, especially

the rivers flowing into the Pacific where each season salmon came up from

the sea to spawn.

        Until they became possessed of metal tools, their canoes were made of

spruce bark, although some living nearer the eastern border of the section

learned to make canoes of birch bark. After tools were secured, they made

dugouts out of cottonwood logs, burning and cutting out the wood. The

gunwales were flared by wedges inserted across the top, the length being

increased as the canoe spread, the final set remaining as thwarts.

        Like other Indians farther south, they used sweat houses. These were

usually made of willow or other pliable rods pushed into the ground at each

end and fastened across each other with withes to form a hemispherical structure,

which was then covered with skins. Into a hole in the ground just inside the

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entrance red-hot stones were cast, upon which water was then thrown. When

the bathers were soaked with sweat, they would often rush out and plunge

into a pool of cold water. These steam baths were not always indulged in

for remedial or hygienic purposes; more often they had a much deeper meaning.

In some cases they were intended to invoke the good offices of spirits on

behalf of a hunting or trapping expedition; in others, the bath was an

expression of atonement for some transgression against another person or

for some breach of a tribal custom.

        Never very numerous, the natives have dwindled since the first contact

with the white man; and while, even before that, they seemed to have degene–

rated to a point far lower then most of the Indians of Canada, contact with

whites has not tended to improve them, any more than it has with other native

peoples.

        While this section cannot compare with the one next to the south in

variety of resources, such as wide and fertile valleys, broad rolling plains

and foothills and a lake-studded landscape, nevertheless this northern section

has its points. Its potential mineral resources are probably greater; while,

in the area lying to the east of the Mackenzie Mountains the possibilities

for coal and petroleum are probably as great as those in the corresponding

area farther south.

        Since, from present indications, it would seem that its future economy

is likely to be centered about the production of minerals and subsidiary

industries associated therewith, the frequent rapids and waterfalls which

interrupt practically every stream will make available an adequate supply

of power whenever it shall be required.

        Consequently, despite the fact that it is shut off from the sea; that

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that it consists mainly of a succession of mountain masses; and that it

possesses relatively few lakes, it can be said that this subarctic section

of British Columbia, at present practically unpopulated, could some day

provide homes and the means of livelihood for many hundreds of thousands

of people. But before that is possible, it will need to be consolidated

with the regions adjoining, south, north and east of it, so that it may

develop, not as an isolated outpost, but as an integral part of a larger,

self-contained entity.

        References:

        Bulletin No. 21, British Columbia Department of Mines, Victoria, B.C., 1946.

        George M. Dawson. Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N.W.T.

and adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887,

Geological Survey of Canada, 1898.

        Summary Report on the Operations of the Geological Survey

for the Year 1899, by the Director, 1900.

        Summary Report on the Geological Survey Branch of the

Department of Mines for the Calendar Year 1910, Ottawa,

1911.

        Canada Year Book, 1946.

        Alice Ravenhill. The Native Tribes of British Columbia, 1938.

BRITISH MOUNTAINS

        The British Mountains, northwestern Canada, are the eastern extension

of the mountains of northern Alaska known as the Brooks Range. Commencing

at about latitude 68° 20′ N., longitude 138° 50′ W., they continue north–

westward for about 80 miles to the boundary between Alaska and Yukon Terri–

tories, where they attain their maximum width of about 45 miles. The area

in Canada is triangular in shape, with the apex of the triangle toward the

southeast.

        The British Mountains are said to consist chiefly of sedimentary rocks,

and are probably similar in structure to the Richardson (q.v.) and Mackenzie

Mountains (q.v.), but they differ in that they also contain some intrusive

rocks. They are flanked on the north, east, and southeast by the Arctic

Plateau, and on the south by the Porcupine Plateau. The British Mountains

attain their highest elevations near the International Boundary, where they

reach heights of about 6,000 feet. Most of their ridges trend nortwestward,

with the general line of the mountains, but those at the southeast bend next

southward as though to parallel the ridges of the Richardson Mountains. The

Firth River has cut a wide valley through the British Mountains from southwest

to northeast, on its way to the Arctic Ocean. Several small rivers, of which

the Babbage is the chief, have their rise in the British Mountains and flow into

the Arctic Ocean; while on the southwestern side of the watershed, the Old Crow

River, which flows into the Porcupine River (q.v.), is the principal stream.

        Reference:

BROADBACK RIVER

        Broadback River, in northwestern Quebee province, Dominion of Canada,

drains an area lying between the watersheds of the Rupert River (on the

north) and the Nottaway River (on the south), and flows in to the same

estuary in the southwestern angle of James Bay as do the two above-mentioned

rivers. Its source is in Asinika Lake, a sprawling complex of arms and bays,

the northern shores of which are in latitude 50° 30′ N., its eastern portion

cut by longitude 75° W. Issuing from the northwest angle of Asinika Lake,

the Broadback flows irregularly westerly and northerly, receiving a number

of tributaries, chief of which drains a string of connected lakes south of

its general course, consisting of Lady Beatrix Lake, an irregular aggrega–

tion of bays and arms, which connects by a short, rapid-filling stream with

Kenoniska Lake, long and narrow, which empties into the Broadback through

several outlets. Beyond the Kenonisk [ ?] outlets, the Broadback flows westward

for 25 miles into the eastern side of Lake Evans, the largest lake in its

course, like all others in the region, composed of long, narrow bays and

arms. It has a length in its longest part of 30 miles and a maximum width

of 18 miles. The Broadback leaves Lake Evans at its northwestern extremity,

flowing shortly into Sandy Lake, which has a length of about nine miles.

From the outlet of the latter, the river flows slightly north of west to its

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mouth, a distance of about 100 miles, through a well-defined valley. No

figures are available concerning its total length, but the Canada Year

Book gives its drainage area as 9,800 square miles.

        It traverses a country underlain by Pre-Cambrian rocks in which hills

rise in places from 400 to 800 feet above the general level, but mainly the

country consists of an elevated plain, dropping by a series of terraces

gradually to the level of James Bay, In cutting its channel from one level

to the next, it flows over many falls and cataracts in the process. The

country is in general heavily timbered with white and black spruce, poplars,

tamarack and Jack pine, suitable mainly for pulp, but some stands of merchant–

able timber are to be found here and there.

        While no important mineral occurrences have yet been discovered along

its course, the geological structure is favorable for the deposition of gold,

copper and other valuable ores.

        References:

BUFFALO RIVER

        Buffalo River, in southern Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada,

flows into the western end of Great Slave Lake, about midway between the

mouths of Hay and Little Buffalo rivers. It rises in the maze of small

lakes and muskegs bordering the foothills of the Caribou Mountains,

slightly south of latitude 60° N., and runs in a generally northwesterly

direction to Buffalo Lake, 35 miles long by about 10 at its widest. Issuing

again from the northeastern angle of Buffalo Lake, Buffalo River flows mainly

northeasterly to Great Slave Lake, a distance of 75 miles. Its drainage area

is limited because it is closely paralleled on the west by Hay River and on

the east by the Little Buffalo River, with whose headwaters it interlocks.

The proximity of the Caribou Mountains on the south is also a limiting factor.

        Buffalo river and lake were explored and mapped in 1917 by Dr. A. E.

Cameron of the Geological Survey of Canada; and since it is not on any

traffic route, it has not been very much traveled in the interval. Considerable

sections of the surrounding country have agricultural possibilities, but since

most of it is in the Wood Buffalo Park, there is not mcuh likelihood that it

will be available for settlement, even after much more desirable sections,

such as the Hay River Valley, have been occupied. Its underlying geological

formations are such as might be favorable for petroleum.

        Reference:

BURNTWOOD RIVER

        Burntwood River rises in Burntwood Brutnwood Lake and flows in a generally

easterly direction to Split Lake, an expansion of the Nelson River, about

250 miles in length. Burntwood Lake is a sprawling expanse of bays and

inlets in latitude 56° 30′ N. and longitude 100° 15′ W., a short distance

south of the height of land which divides the Saskatchewan-Nelson watershed

from that of the Churchill. A shallow, rapid stream in its upper reaches,

it is broken by many rapids; and although winding about considerably, it

maintains a generally northeasterly course until it empties into Threepoint

Lake, which in its main section, is about four miles each way, with a long,

narrow arm hanging from its northeast corner. From the lower extremity of

this arm, the river again continues, now on a southeastward course. In the

twenty miles between Threepoint Lake and Wuskwatin Lake, only one rapid is

encountered.

        The latter lake, eight miles long by four wide, with a long bay-like

extension running off to the west from its southern end, abounds in whitefish

and small sturgeon. It is also the center of a considerable area of clay land

well suited to agriculture. Below the lake are the Wuskwatin Falls; and a

few miles beyond, the river widens into Opegano Lake. Shortly below are

the Kepuche Falls, in a stretch of river in which the current is strong.

        The next ten miles to Manazo Falls consists of a long, narrow lake-like

expanse, bordered by rocky walls. At Mazano Falls, the river tumbles over a

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ledge of rock; and then, for the next twenty-eight miles the river continues

through another narrow, rock-bound stretch, from half a mile to a mile in

width, more like-like than suggestive of a river.

        From immediately below the Kepuche Falls, the river has followed a generally

northeasterly course, which direction it continues to its mouth, except that,

about eight miles from its destination it makes an abrupt turn, almost at

right angles, and for two miles runs directly westward. At the point of

this westward turn, the Odei River flows in from the west, after having run

a parallel course with the Burntwood for a considerable distance, at one

point coming to within a mile, and separated by a ridge of rock from a hun–

dred to a hundred and fifty feet high.

        The Burntwood flows generally through a forested country, but one that

has been repeatedly burned over, and in which very little timber of commercial

grade can now be found. It is a country if low elevation; and although it is

generally underlain by Pre-Cambrian rocks, it is thickly covered by a clay

deposit left by the ancient glacial lake that once occupied a large section

of what is now northwestern Manitoba.

        References:

        McInnes, William. Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report , 1906.

        ----. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 30, 1913.

BURWASH LANDING

        Burwash Landing is situated near the north end of Kluane Lake about

186 miles west of Whitehorse. It is served by the Alaska Highway and is

also on the route of air lines operating from Whitehorse to Fairbanks.

The settlement contains a trading post and an emergency landing field,

and is an outfitting centre for big game hunting parties. Kluane Lake,

situated in southwestern Yukon, is one of the largest and most beautiful

bodies of water in the Territory. The lake lies northeast of the St. Elias

Mountains, whose snowy summits and glistening glaciers may be seen from

points along the Alaska Highway. Discoveries of gold on a number of

streams entering the lake caused a small gold rush in 1903-04. There

are small Indian settlements at Kluane, situated at the southeastern end

of the lake, and at Burwash Landing.

From: Nor' West Miner

March, April 1950

CAMSELL RIVER

        Camsell River, in MacKenzie District, northwestern Canada, drains a

considerable area south of Great Bear Lake, flowing into the latter. It

rises in Sarah Lake, in latitude 63° 40′ N., longitude 117° 10′ W., and

flows through a series of lakes connected by short stretches of river in

a direction slightly west of north. In its course, the extent of lake,

which is estimated at approximately 6,000 square miles, far exceeds the

amount of river (on the basis of lineal measurement), but the Camsell River

holds a common name throughout the whole distance, even though the river

sections in most cases are extremely short.

        Sarah Lake lies at an elevation of 760 feet above sea level and is

about eight miles long, lying in a north-south direction. Its outlet is

from a bay at its northeastern angle, the river passing over a succession

of rapids just below the lake, soon flowing into Faber Lake, which is only

seven feet lower than Sarah Lake. It is about 20 miles long, by about 10

miles wide, and has an area of 163 square miles. A short stretch of river

and then Rae Lake expands, island-studded and spreading into innumerable

bays and inlets, the river entering at the extreme southern end. From Rae

Lake, Camsell River drops into Lac Ste Croix. These lakes, typical of their

kind in the Canadian Shield, with long bays extending in all directions from

a narrow central — if such a term can be used — section, are hard to describe

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since it is so hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. The

Camsell River, so-called, after flowing through the lakes enumerated and

several others, reaches Hardisty Lake, at an elevation of 699 feet, having

made a descent of 61 feet from its source in Sarah Lake in an airline dis–

tance of approximately 55 miles. The principal lake in this series is

Hottah Lake, about 40 miles long by about 10 in width, with an area of 377

square miles. It is a magnificent sheet of clear water, studded with high

rocky islands, but it does not spread in all directions like most of the

lakes in this series. Tapering to a point at its southern end, it is

broadest at its northern extremity. The Camsell River flows in at the

southern end and flows out at the eastern side about five miles south of

the northern end. After a short rapid course the river expands into Grou–

ard Lake, about 16 miles in length by about three miles wide and spreading

into a number of arms, rendering it difficult to discover the outlet. Clut

Lake, six miles long, with a large island in its center, comes next, after

which the river, now flowing swiftly, drops over a steep rapid, 10 feet high —

the first stage in the drop to the level of Great Bear Lake. Thred miles

farther northwest, the river cascades for almost a quarter of a mile over

a series of syenite rocks, known as White Eagle Falls, for a total drop of

54 feet, where it is estimated that hydro-electric power of 22,000 horse–

power could be generated.

        Two more drops, of five and four feet, respectively, occur in the short

stretch of river leading to Rainy Lake, six miles long, through which the

river now passes, and half a mile below enters Conjuror Bay, the southern–

most extremity of McTavish Arm of Great Bear Lake. At its mouth, the Camsell

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River has a width of about 75 yards.

        Camsell River was first explored in 1900 by Dr. J. Mackintosh Bell of

the Geological Survey of Canada, who was accompanied by Charles Camsell,

who was later to become a noted geologist and was from 1920 till his re–

tirement in 1946 Dep u ty Minister of Mines for Canada. Bell named the river

after his young assistant. Since then various parties of the Geological

Survey of Canada and prospectors for various mining companies have been over

the ground, but it is still largely a terra incognita . The area drained by

the river in underlain entirely by Pre-Cambrian rocks, and since such rocks

elsewhere contain minerals of economic importance, it is more than likely

that the region will some day become much more than the wilderness it now

is. This the juxtaposition of hydr o -electric power and possible mineral

resources would seem to indicate.

        Reference:

CANADA, DOMINION OF (ARCTIC AND SUBARCTIC REGIONS)

        Since practically all of Canada lies north of the 45th parallel, it

is distinctly a northern country; and since more than two-thirds of its

area drains into arctic waters, it might with equal propriety be described

as preponderantly subarctic. The total area of Canada, including newly-

acquired Newfoundland, is approximately 3,843,144 square miles, while the

area that drains into arctic waters (including Bering Sea) totals 2,453,538

square miles. Canada is one of the few countries whose exact land area is not

definitely known; as late as the autumn of 1948, two islands were discovered

in Hudson Bay which added approximately 5,000 square miles to the Dominion's

area; and it is possible that still other islands in different parts of the

Canadian North remain to be discovered, which will further increase the pro–

portion that lies within the arctic and subarctic regions.

        Although the arctic watershed extends as far south as the headwaters of

Red River, in the Dakotas and Minnesota, and reaches to within a few miles of

the north shore of Lake Superior, the region considered here as constituting

arctic and subarctic Canada does not go so far south. Generally speaking, the

line of permafrost is looked upon as the southern boundary of the subarctic

regions; but for the purpose of this article the line has been extended to

include geographical features that, while south of the permafrost line, defi–

nitely form an integral part of the area to the north of them, such, for

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

instance, as Nelson River, which cuts across the line of permafrost. Further–

more, while permafrost serves a useful purpose in indicating the general

boundary, the exact location of the permafrost line over the greater part of

the region is not definitely known, and, owing to a h variety of factors, is

subject to considerable fluctuation.

        Consequently, for the purpose of this Encyclopedia, the area considered

as constituting the arctic and subarctic regions of Canada consists of that

part of the Province of British Columbia lying generally north of latitude

57° N., which includes the watersheds of the Stikine and Liard rivers; all

of Yukon Territory; and Mac K enzie, Keewatin, and Franklin Districts; the part

of the Province of Alberta which includes most of the watersheds of the Atha–

baska and Peace rivers; that part of the Province of Saskatchewan which

includes the watershed of the Churchill River; that part of the Province of

Manitoba including the watersheds of the rivers emptying into Hudson Bay,

excluding rivers that flow into Lake Winnipeg; that part of the Province of

Ontario that includes the watersheds of rivers flowing into Hudson and James

bays; that part of the Province of Quebec that drains into Hudson and James

bays or Hudson Strait; and that part of Newfoundland-Labrador beyond latitude

57° N.

        The outstanding characteristic of this vast region is undoubtedly the

great Canadian Shield consisting mainly of Pre-Cambrian rocks, which encloses

Hudson Bay as in a horseshoe, extending from the Atlantic on the east to the

Mac K enzie Valley on the west; and from the southern boundary of the region as

above described to and including many of the islands of the Arctic Archipelago,

wholly or in part. The second characteristic of the region is the Arctic

Archipelago itself, which contains some of the largest islands in the world.

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

Hudson Bay, bringing the ocean almost to the heard of the continent, is

also worthy of mention as an outstanding characteristic of the region; while

by no means of lesser importance may be mentioned such great rivers as the

Yukon and the Mackenzie, which are entirely within the arctic and subarctic

regions. Furthermore, the myriads of lakes of all sizes and shapes which

cover most of the area, and which include such giants as Great Bear, Great

Slave, and Athabaska lakes, constitute an additional remarkable characteristic.

        Climatically, the region is subject to every variation of northern tem–

perature, from cool, chilly summers to hot, dry ones; and from relatively

mild winters to extremelycold ones. In some of the valleys of northern

British Columbia, [ and ?] in the lee of the high Coast Range, the winters are

so mild that horses commonly winter out of doors, and similar conditions

extend into southern Yukon Territory. The Rocky Mountains provide a like

service for sections of northern Alberta, resulting in relatively mild winters;

while the July isotherm of 59° F. extends down the Mackenzie Valley as far

as latitude 64° N. The great Pre-cambrian area to the eastward — between

the Mackenzie Valley and Hudson Bay — is subject to a typical continental

climate; hot summers and cold winters, except in the vicinity of Hudson Bay,

where the presence of such a great expanse of water affects extremes both in

summer and in winter. Subarctic Quebec is caught between the waters of the

Atlantic and of Hudson and James bays, and consequently the climate over most

of that area, while subject neither to extremes of hot nor cold, is generally

cool (except inland in the southern section) and is more subject to violent

wind storms than other parts of the region under consideration.

        Agriculturally, the region varies, but, generally speaking, with the

exception of one or two areas, agricultural possibilities are not extensive.

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

The most important agricultural area is in northern Alberta, along the

valleys of the Athabaska and Peace rivers and in the Mackenzie River Valley,

which are extensions of the central plains section of North America. When

better transportation facilities are provided, and when the adjacent mineral

and petroleum resources are more fully developed, the area drained by the

Mackenzie River and its tributaries will undoubtedly provide homes for a

considerable agricultural population. With respect to the production of

livestook, the region, while generally beyond the northern limit of lands

suited to cattle, contains one of the world's greatest reserves of grazing

lands eminently suited to the production of reindeer and musk oxen — if the

latter should ever be domesticated.

        The greatest possibilities of the region, however, lie in its mineral

resources. In northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory, most of the

mineral wealth so far recovered has been in the form of placer gold, and

possibly the richest of these deposits have already been exhausted. Neverthe–

less, these sections contain important lode-mining possibilities, although

transportation and other costs have so far prevented exploitation, except in

a few favored localities. The rocks of the Canadian Shield provide the great–

est storehouse of mineral wealth. On the western edge of the Shield, north

of Great Slave Lake, the development of a great gold-mining region is in

progress with Yellowknife as the center. South of Great Slave Lake, extensive

deposits of zinc and lead ores are known to exist, the development of which

awaits only the provision of adequate transportation. At Flinflon and Sherridon,

in northwestern Manitoba, immense deposits of copper sulphide ores are being

mined on a large scale. In northern Ontario, extending into Quebec, is one

of the greatest mining areas of the world. The mines along this zone are

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

principally gold producers, but silver, nickel, copper and other metals

are also being produced in quantity. In the Ungava section of northern

Quebec and in Newfoundland-Labrador deposits of iron ore extending over

wide areas are being developed which it is expected will take the place

in the North American iron and steel industry of the fast-diminishing

deposits in Minnesota and Michigan. During World War II, an oil field was

brought into production in the lower Mackenzie Valley, not far from the

Arctic Circle, while surveys show that geological formations over a large

portion of the Mackenzie Valley and some of its tributaries are favorable

to the concentration of petroleum. In the same regions and in parts of

northern British Columbia, in Yukon Territory, and on many of the islands

of the Arctic Archipelago extensive coal measures exist. Especially in the

Canadian Shield sections, where the streams are generally obstructed by

rapids and waterfalls, numerous waterpower sites exist.

        Practically all the streams and lakes in the region contain large

quantities of excellent fish, the chief of which are whitefish and lake

trout, while arctic trout, sturgeon, salmon, both Pacific and Atlantic,

and many others are also found in quantit i y . Fisheries on some of the more

southerly lakes have for some time been supplying fish for the large North

American cities, the fish, in many cases, making the first lap of the

journey by air.

        The fur trade brought the earliest Europeans to this great region and

the fur trade is still important, although with the spread of settlement

wild life — and with it the trapper — withdraws farther into the wilder–

ness. Large areas, however, are suited to the breeding of fur-bearing

animals in captivity, and it is likely that this industry will continue

and expand.

        The greater part of continental arctic and subarctic Canada is

forested, the density varying with the locality, depending upon such factors

as shelter, soil water, etc. The uniformity of the boreal cover is perhaps

its most striking characteristic. The same species are found over practi–

cally the entire region, differing only in size and density of distribution.

Considering the size of the region and the extent of the forested area, the

amount of merchantable timber is relatively small, but vast areas exist that

are capable of providing large quantities of pulpwood; and over the greater

part of the region timber sufficient for local construction requirements is

available.

        Except in a number of localities where mining development has produced

quickly-growing towns and cities, much as Yellowknife, Flinflon, Timmins and

Kirkland Lake, it is a region practically destitute of people. The northern

coast and some of the islands of the Arctic Archipelago are thinly populated

by Eskimos, south of which a few Indians endeavor to follow their traditional

pursuits in the face of advancing white settlement. According to figures

derived from the Canada Census, 1941, the total population of the whole

region, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Coast Range, and from the southern

boundary of the subarctic region to the Arctic Ocean and the islands that

lie within it, is probably not more than 85,000, of whom 37,557 are Indians

and 7,205 are Eskimos. Most of the people other than Indians and Eskimos

live in the cities and towns that have been built around the mines along

the southern edge. Churchill may yet prove an exception if its importance

as a seaport should ever become sufficiently recognized.

        Aside from the Cordilleran section of the West, the mainland part of

the region is a land of low relief. The Cordilleran section, however,

constitutes a mountainous zone about 600 miles in width. The Mackenzie

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and Richardson mountains form the boundary between the District of Mackenzie

and Yukon Territory; the Cassiar and other smaller chains rise above the

inland plateau; the granitic Coast Range, fringing the Pacific, contains the

highest mountains in Canada and some of the highest on the continent.

        The portion of British Columbia here considered as subarctic comprises

about 109,000 square miles. Unlike that part of the province farther south,

its eastern boundary is not formed by the Rocky Mountains, but by the 120th

meridian of west longitude, which constitutes the boundary north of the point

where it intersects the crest of the mountains, as far as latitude 60° N.

Consequently, British Columbia, at this point, possesses territory east of the

mountains as well as west of them; and it is in this section that the most

extensive agricultural possibilities in subarctic British Columbia are to be

found, for this area belongs to the great central plains section of Canada.

        Subarctic British Columbia, as here defined, is drained principally by

two rivers which, together, practically extend in an east-west direction from

the Pacific Coast to the eastern border of the province. The Stikine River,

335 miles in length, rises between latitudes 57° and 58° N., and, after a big

bend to the north, turns southwestward and flows into the Pacific Ocean. Since

this part of the province is fronted by the Alaska Panhandle, the Stikine

passes out of British Columbia about 35 miles from the coast to cross this

strip before discharging into the sea. Near the big bend of the Stikine, the

Dease River has its rise in the lake of the same name and flows northeasterly

for 180 miles to its junction with the Liard, which occurs a short distance

below where the latter crosses the boundary between British Columbia and Yukon

Territory. The Liard continues its course southwesterly and then northeasterly

until it again crosses the 60th parallel at about the point where the boundary

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

between Yukon and Mackenzie territories impinges upon the 60th parallel. In

the southern corner of the area, the Finlay River has its rise, the most

distant tributary of the great Peace River; its waters eventually mingle with

those of the Liard after both have become part of the mighty Mackenzie roll–

ing on its way to the Arctic Ocean.

        Aside from a few small lakes like Dease Lake, already mentioned, the area

has relatively few lakes, but in its northwestern corner, lying partly in

British Columbia and partly in Yukon Territory, are a group of lakes of con–

siderable size of which Tagish, Atlin, and Teslin are the largest. They lie

roughly parallel to each other and consist of long narrow arms winding between

high mountains and they are of wuch beauty that their loveliness cannot forever

remain hidden.

        Telegraph Creek, once the center of extensive placer-mining operations,

and the head of river transportation on the Stikine, and Atlin, on the lake

of the same name, also once an important placer-mining center, are the only

communities of any size within the area, and they are both small places.

According to the 1941 Census, the district including Telegraph Creek had a

total population of 218 persons of whom but 50 lived in the town. Atlin, in

1947, had a population of 518 persons. The Alaska Highway (q.v.), cutting

across the northeastern corner of the province, may result in other more

populous communities if it should also make possible the development of the

resources of the area.

        Yukon Territory lies north of British Columbia, extending westward to

the 141st meridian, which constitutes the boundary between Yukon and Alaska

territories, and north to the Arctic Ocean. The crests of the Mackenzie

and Richardson mountains form its eastern boundary. Since the mountains lie

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in a northwest-southeast direction, Yukon Territory has but a short strip

of arctic coastline. Yukon Territory occupies the extreme northwestern

corner of the Dominion of Canada, comprising 207,076 square miles.

        Yukon Territory consists of three parallel physiographic provinces,

running northwest and southeast. The most easterly one consists of the

Mackenzie and Richardson mountains; next, to the west, is the Yukon, or

Interior, Plateau, a region of upland cut into masses of hills or low

mountains by the streams o that feed the great river which forms its axis;

farther west, the Coast Range provides the third physiographic province, con–

sisting of high, granitic mountains bordering the Pacific Ocean. This section

does not continue along the western boundary of Yukon Territory, but fades

into the Yukon Plateau section and occupies only the extreme southwestern

angle of the Territory.

        The Yukon River, rising near the boundary between Yukon Territory and

British Columbia, runs northwesterly through the Yukon Plateau and crosses

the boundary into Alasla Territory, in which both river and physiographic

province are continued westward to the sea. Yukon River, fifth largest

on the North American continent, is navigable for the greater part of its

length, and provides a highway which, with its navigable tributaries, renders

the greater part of both Yukon and Alaska territories accessible.

        Yukon Territory first came into prominence in the late nineties of the

nineteenth century when placer gold was discovered in the gravels of certain

tributaries of the Yukon River in the area that soon became world famous as

the Kondike (q.v.). Within a few years, millions of dollars in gold were

washed from the Klondike gravels, after which the thousands of gold seekers

and the other thousands who live on the results of the miners' efforts drifted

away; former booming cities and towns became ghost towns, consisting largely

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of empty shacks occupied by the few whose hope never expires, and others

in the employ of huge corporations engaged in re-working the old diggings

by means of giant dredgers. Previous to and following World War I, lode

mining was begun in the Mayo district, in the Stewart River valley, where

rice silver-lead ores were discovered. For a time high hopes were enter–

tained that a new lease of life had been gained for Yukon Territory. The

high-grade ore was shipped to smelters in the United States and development

largely ceased when this ore became exhausted. From time to time copper

properties have been operated near Whitehorse, but ore reserves sufficient

to justify the building of a smelter have never been accumulated, and with–

out a smelter the existing ores cannot be mined at a profit.

        Along the Yukon River, north of Whitehorse, deposits of excellent

bituminous coal exist in almost unlimited quantities; but without a market

it is of little value. Geological conditions are favorable for other coal

measures in both the Interior Plateau and Mountain sections, but without

any prospect of market for the coal, prospectors are not interested in

searching for further deposits.

        According to the Census of 1941, Yukon Territory had a population of

4,914 persons, of whom 1,508 were Indians, yet in the days of the Klondike

boom the Census of 1901 registered 27,219 persons, most of whom were in

and about Dawson and Whitehorse. With the slackening of the boom, the

population of both places dwindled until Dawson had less than 1,000 and

Whitehorse about 600. During World War II, Whitehorse became an important

point, with a greatly augmented population. Since the end of the war,

however, it has returned to its previous condition as a frontier community

too far from markets for the development of its resources, but hopefully

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awaiting the day when transportation facilities and other requirements

shall be available.

        The Yukon River provided the first highway when, in gold-rush days,

numerous steamers of all sorts and sizes plied from St. Michael, on Bering

Sea, to Dawson and Whitehorse. Also during the first years of the gold

rush, a narrow-guage railway was built from tidewater at Skagway, Alaska,

northward to Whitehorse, the head of transportation on the Yukon River, a

distance of 111 miles. The railway — the White Pass and Yukon — is still

being operated. The Northwest Staging Route, consisting of a line of air–

ports maintained by the Government of Canada, crosses the Territory to con–

nect with airlines in Alaska. Regular mail and passenger services are main–

tained by Canadian Pacific Airlines from Edmonton and Vancouver to White–

horse and Dawson. The Alaska Highway, which connects Dawson Creek, B.C.

with Fairbanks, Alaska, also crosses Yukon Territory.

        Yukon Territory has a typical continental climate, hot in summer and

cold in winter. Although the precipitation is light, the presence of

permafrost ensures an adequate supply of moisture at the roots of plants.

While horses winter on the range in southern Yukon, the Territory is not

suited to ordinary stock-raising, but large areas are suited to reindeer

grazing. Field crops can be successfully grown in some of the valleys in

southern Yukon; wheat planted on a farm in the Yukon River valley has been

harvested in 87 days. Forest growth is typical of other parts of subarctic

Canada, thinning out toward the Arctic Circle, and absent on the coasta l

plain.

        The District of Mackenzie, comprising an area of 6 527,490 square miles,

adjoins Yukon Territory on the east, and, like it, extends from the 60th

parallel to the Arctic Ocean. Its eastern boundary is formed by the 102nd

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meridian, which also constitutes the boundary between Saskatchewan and

Manitoba, to the south. Like Yukon Territory, it consists of three dis–

tinct physiographic provinces; a strip of the Canadian Shield from about

350 miles to 500 miles wide and about 630 miles long; the Mackenzie Lowland

section, about 300 miles wide at the 60 parallel and tapering to the north,

providing a background for the great river from which it receives its name;

and the Cordilleran physiographic province, made up of the Mackenzie Mountains

extending to about 66° N., when they merge into the Richardson Mountains, both

extensions of the great Rocky Mountain chain, but differing from it in some

respects.

        The Mackenzie River, with its system of lakes, constitutes the predomi–

nating features of Mackenzie District. The Athabaska and Peace rivers, which

contribute most to its volume, have their rise far to the southwest, beyond

the southern border of Mackenzie District. Lake Athabaska is also south of

the border, but the two largest lakes, Great Slave and Great Bear, are wholly

within the district, East of these lakes lies across the contact between the

Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield and the Palaeozoic rocks which pre–

dominate to the westward; and it is along this contact that the most important

mineral occurrences have been found, and along which the prospect of other

discoveries seems most promising.

        The Mackenzie River proper flows out of the western end of Great Slave

Lake in latitude 61° N., longitude, 117° W., and follows a generally north–

westerly course for slightly over 1,000 miles, discharging into the Arctic

Ocean through an extensive delta in latitude 69° N., longitude, 134-136° W.

Its southern tributary, the Athabaska, rising in the Rocky Mountains south

of latitude 53° N., empties into Athabaska Lake, which is drained into Great

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Slave Lake by Slave River, 300 miles in length. Had the Mackenzie name been

extended to apply to the latter, it would not have been inconsistent with

the practice elsewhere throughout the region, e.g .the Churchill, Thelon, Back,

etc. The Slave, about 30 miles below its source, takes in the Peace River

after its course across the Alberta Plateau from the gap in the Rocky Mountains

through which it flows from its sources on the western flank of that great

mountain chain. Liard River, also rising far to the west of the mountain

barrier through which it likewise cuts a path, joins the Mackenzie about 200

miles below the outlet of Great Slave Lake. Many tributaries flow into the

Mackenzie from both sides, but most of them are short because of the proximity,

on the east, of the height of land not far from the western edge of the Cana–

dian Shield, and of the mountains on the west. One of these, short, but not

inconsequential, is Bear River, flowing in from the east with the drainage from

Great Bear Lake. Peel River, which like the Liard, cuts through the mountains

from its sources in Yukon Territory, enters the Mackenzie below the beginning

of the Mackenzie Delta, and is an important stream.

        Since such a large part of Mackenzie District is comprised within the

Canadian Sh ie ei ld, it contains myriads of the type of lakes which occupy de–

pressions gouged out of the rocks by the glaciers during the Ice Age. These

are connected by short, rapids- and falls-filled streams, the whole forming

a maze-like network covering the country. In a class by themselves are Great

Slave (11,170 sq. mi.) and Great Bear (11,660 sq. mi.) lakes. They differ

from the lakes in the Canadian Shield because they occupy basins partly

gouged out of the softer Palaeozoic rocks, and also because they provide

great reservoirs for the waters of the Mackenzie system. This is more par–

ticularly true of Great Slave Lake, through whose basin pour the waters from

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great rivers entering from the southwest, as well as other smaller streams

flowing in from every side. Great Bear Lake, on the other hand, although

larger than Great Slave, is fed only by the drainage from a relatively small

area surrounding its shores.

        Like other parts of northern Canada, Mackenzie District first attracted

the attention of early fur traders, and although the areas which drain into

the Arctic Ocean were not included in the great trading preserve granted to

the Hudson's Bay Company in 1760 by King Charles Ii of England, it was an

officer of that company, Samuel Hearne, who was the first European to visit

what later became Mackenzie District when, in 1770-72, he made his historic

visit to the Coppermine River. In 1778, Peter Pond, an officer of the

Northwest Company, competitor of the Hudson's Bay Company, reached Lake

Athabaska, and subsequently Great Slave Lake. He was followed in 1788 by

Alexander Mackenzie who, the following year, descended the Mackenzie River

to its mouth. Thenceforth the river was an important artery of the fur trade,

and the principal establishments along its course were built by fur traders

and, even now, most of them are devoted principally to the fur trade.

        The first attempt at commercial development on any considerable scale

was made in 1920, when Imperial Oil Limited, through a subsidiary company,

drilled a number of oil wells in the Mackenzie River valley at Norman Wells,

50 mils below the mouth of Bear River. Although oil in commercial quantities

was discovered, no market for it existed at that time, and the wells were

capped to await the advent of a market. This field was greatly extended

during World War II, when, under the Canol Project (q.v.), oil was secured

from Norman Wells for transmission by pipe line to a refinery built at

Whitehorse for use on the Alaska Highway and the Northwest Staging Route.

        In the meantime, a limited local market had been established. In 1930,

Gilbert LaBine (q.v.) had flown to Great Bear Lake from Edmonton and had

located, on the southeastern shore of Great Bear Lake, veins containing silver

and pitchblends, the ore from which radium and uranium are extracted. This

subsequently became the Eldorado mine at Port Radium, operated by a private

company until 198 1944 when, because of the importance of uranium as a source

of atomic energy, the mine and the whole undertaking of the company were expro–

priated by the Government of Canada. As a source of power for mining operations,

oil from the Norman Wells field greatly facilitated the development of the

Eldorado mine, and to meet this need Imperial Oil Limited set up a small re–

finery at Norman Wells in 1931, which was enlarged in 1939.

        About 1934, gold was discovered in considerable quantities in the vicinity

of Yellowknife River, which flows into the bay of the same name on the east

side of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake. In succeeding years other dis–

coveries were made in the area and within a short while several mines were

in operation, resulting in the establishment of a considerable community.

Because of shortage of manpower and equipment, the mines were largely shut

down during World War II, but since the cessation of hostilities, and es–

pecially after machinery and other necessary materials have become more

available, development of the area has advanced rapidly. The town of

Yellowknife is an important center; and the field which it serves has been

extended northwestward for more than 200 miles, promising eventually to

become one of the greatest mining regions on the continent.

        The greater part of Mackenzie District is forested. The northern limit

of trees crosses the eastern boundary of the district almost due east of

Great Slave Lake and runs slightly north of west until northwest of the

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eastern end of that lake, continuing then in a northwesterly direction to

within a few miles of the western end of Coronation Gulf, thence, a few

miles inland, parallel to the Arctic Coast across the Mackenzie Delta west–

ward into Alaska. The area west and south of that line is more or less

heavily forested, depending upon such factors as soil, water, shelter,

altitude, etc. The principal varieties consist of eight, five conifers and

three deciuous trees. Of the former, white spruce is the most important;

it can be found as far north as trees grow, and also shoots tongues eastward

along the valleys of streams into the tundra lands of the Canadian Shield.

It grows best in the river valleys, and even in the Mackenzie Delta trees

measuring 18 inches and over on the stump and 100 feet high are not uncommon.

Black spruce is usually found wherever the white variety grows, but never

reaches the dimensions of the latter. In some sections of the district it

is sufficiently plentiful to provide ample supplies of pulpwood, if and when

transportation conditions make its manufacture commercially feasible. Bank–

sian pine, growing on sandy or gravelly ridges, is found generally throughout

the Mackenzie Lowland. Balsam fir grows chiefly in the valleys of the

mountain section and on the lower slopes of the mountains. Balsam poplar,

aspen, and white birch are found over most of the forested area, depending

upon the nature of the land.

        In moist spots and along the borders of lakes and streams, dense growths

of alders and willows are widely distributed within the forested area; and

these, dwarfed considerably, are found pretty generally throughout the tundra

region as well. Associated with them, both in the forest and tundra regions,

are Labrador tea, bog rosemary, mountain cranberry and other shrubs. Berry-

producing shrubs other than those mentioned above are common all over the

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district. Grasses and sedges grow profusely in places where sufficient

soil has accumulated; while the rockiest land is carpeted with ma n y species

of mosses.

        The vegetation of the Arctic regions, both within the forested area

and on the tundra, provides an immense grazing area capable of supporting

an extensive reindeer industry. Once vast herds of caribou roamed the

greater part of Mackenzie District, and wherever they found sustenance

reindeer can also thrive. In 1935, the Canadian Government took delivery of

a herd of 2,370 Alaskan reindeer that had been driven overland from Alaska,

and they were settled in a selected area on the eastern side of the Macken–

zie Valley, not far south of the arctic coast. By the summer of 1948, they

had increased to 6,500 head, and could easily, if properly cared for, become

the means of stocking the tundra lands throughout the Canadian North.

        Large areas of good agricultural land can be found in the southern

and southwestern parts of Mackenzie District, especially along the river

valleys. The agricultural possibilities of the Mackenzie Valley itself are

considerable, and as far north as the Arctic Circle, and even considerably

beyond, vegetables and forage crops have for a great many years been raised

successfully.

        Until the coming of the airplane, the principal artery of communication

into and through Mackenzie District was the Mackenzie waterway system, which,

in summer, provides an uninterrupted course for river steamers of over 1,300

miles from Fort Smith, below the cataracts on Slave River, 100 miles north

of Lake Athabaska, to the Arctic Ocean. Above the rapids, where a 16-mile

portage is necessary, Slave River, Lake Athabaska and the Athabaska River

provide an additional 300 miles of good river navigation from the end of steel

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at Waterways. Above that point, with the exception of 90 miles suited only

to navigation by small boats, the Athabaska River is navigable for small

steamers to Athabaska Landing (now the town of Athabaska) and beyond.

Athabaska, 100 miles north of Edmonton, was connected with the latter by

road in 1885 and by rail in 1912. The railway again tapped the Athabaska

River in 1921 when it reached Waterways, on Clearwater River, a tributary

which enters the Athabaska at Fort McMurray, a few miles to the west.

This largely put an end to heavy river traffic from Athabaska Landing.

        The first highway to reach any part of Mackenzie District from out–

side points was completed between Grimshaw, Alberta, on the Northern Alberta

Railway, and Hay River, at the mouth of the river of the same name, near

the outlet of Great Slave Lake, in 1948. It was used before then as a

winter road for tractor trains carrying supplies to the mining region at

Yellowknife; but the Federal and Alberta governments have cooperated to

convert it into an all-year road.

        Mackenzie District abounds in waterpowers. The cataracts on Slave

River, with an estimated capacity of 500,000 h.p., are just south of the

boundary line, but the power developed there would naturally be available

within the district. Perhaps the most suitable stream for for power

development is the Lockhart River, which, between Artillery Lake and the

eastern end of Great Slave Lake, a distance of 25 miles, has a drop of

700 feet. A succession of lakes above Artillery Lake would provide

reservoirs for water storage. Hay River, which enters Great Slave Lake

near its western end, is interrupted by two falls, of 140 and 52 feet,

respectively, between 40 and 50 miles above its mouth. Taltson River,

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

entering Great Slave Lake from the south, a few miles east of the mouth

of Slave River, drops over a series of falls, at one point providing a

head of about 130 feet. Snowdrift River, which also flows into the south

side of Great Slave Lake, has a fall of about 500 feet in about six miles.

Bear River, Coppermine River and Camsell River are potential sources of

waterpower in the northern portion of the district, while in the southwest

corner of the district, the South Nehanni River, at Virginia Falls, pro–

vides a head of 315 feet. The first hydro-electric power actually developed

within the district was for the purpose of supplying mines and other con–

sumers at Yellowknife when 4,700 h.p. was generated on the Yellowknife River

between Bluefish and Prosperous lakes, about 20 miles northeast of the town.

This was subsequently augmented by a power installation on Snare River,

about 90 miles northwest of Yellowknife. The Prosperous Lake project was

built by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited,

but the Snare River installation was financed by the Federal Government.

        According to the Census of 1941, the population of Mackenzie District

was 5,360, of whom 4,090 were Indians belonging to the various subdivisions

of the Athapaskan nation, and 379 were Eskimos, inhabiting the northern

coastline. Since 1941, however, the population of the district has largely

increased owing to the development of mines in the Yellowknife field, as well

as through increased activity at Port Radium and Norman Wells.

        Mackenzie District is administered by the Government of Canada as part

of the Northwest Territories. The administrative body, made up of senior

civil wervants at Ottawa, consists of a commissioner, a deputy commissioner,

five council members, and a secretary. Although administrative offices are

maintained at Fort Smith, just within the southern boundary of the district,

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and at Yellowknife, the coundil sits at Ottawa. For purposes of parliamentary

representation, the district is merged with Yukon Territory, the two being

represented in the House of Commons at Ottawa by a single member.

        The airplane has been an important factor in the development of Macken–

zie District since its use was initiated by Imperial Oil Limited in 1920-21.

The principal commercial service is now maintained by Canadian Pacific Air–

lines, which provides a daily service from Edmonton to the principal centers,

with less frequent services to other points as far north as the Arctic Ocean.

All mail is now carried by air, with daily service to the more important

points and others less frequently depending upon the need.

        The District of Keewatin, comprising 228,160 square miles, occupies the

territory north of the 60th parallel of north latitude, extending to the

Arctic Coast, between the 102nd meridian of west longitude and the west

shore of Hudson Bay. It also includes three islands in Hudson Bay, but

excludes Boothia and Melville peninsulas, which are included in Franklin

District. It consists mainly of a rolling plateau, sloping eastward to

Hudson Bay and northward to the Arctic; north of latitude 65° N. the drain–

age is toward the Arctic, while south of that line it is eastward to Hudson

Bay. The principal river in the Arctic watershed is the Back River, 605 miles

long, which rises west of the boundary between Keewatin and Mackenzie districts,

and, like most rivers within the Canadian Shield, forms the connection between

a series of lakes in its course to the ocean, which it enters at Chantrey

Inlet, in latitude 67° 07′ N., longitude, 96° 40′ W.

        The principal river in the Hudson Bay drainage system is the Thelon,

which, with its tributary the Dubawnt, cuts across the whole width of the

district, discharging into Baker Lake, at the head of Chesterfield Inlet.

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It is navigable for the greater part of its length and provides a means of

access into the heart of the Canadian Shield. Farther east, the Kazan River

flows into Baker Lake from the southwest, draining an area to the south and

east of the Thelon-Dubawnt watershed.

        Keewatin District is covered by a maze of lakes, connected in charac–

teristic Canadian Shield fashion by rapid streams. The largest of these is

Dubawnt Lake, 1,600 square miles in extent, which is both fed and drained by

the Dubawnt River; Garry Lake, 980 square miles, is one of the many lakes

in the Back River system; and Yathkyed Lake, 860 square miles in extent, is

the largest of many in the Kazan system. All are wll stocked with excellent

fish, of which the chief are lake trout, whitefish, and salmon trout, although

many others also abound.

        The climate over the greater part of Keewatin District is continental,

with hot summer days and extremely cold weather in winter. Agricultural

possibilities are negligible, limited to the growing of hardy vegetables

in more favored spots. The greater part of the district is north of the

tree line, which cuts the coast of Hudson Bay south of its border. Some

distance inland from the coast, the line curves northward to about 62° 32′ N.,

and then bears off to the westward into Mackenzie District. Spruce, both

white and black, and tamarack are the principal trees found in the Keewatin

forest. The tundra area is covered with the usual carpet of grasses and

sedges, where the ground is not covered with mosses. Owing to the prevalence

of the latter, Keewatin District is particularly well suited to the reindeer

industry, if and when it becomes established.

        The chief possibility for commercial development in the district lies

in its Pre-Cambrian rocks, which underlie practically the whole area. So far,

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very little of value has been discovered, but lack of transportation which

makes prospecting difficult will doubtless postpone any large-scale develop–

ment until other more accessible and more favorable areas have been exploited.

Formations favorable to mineral occurrences have been discovered over a con–

siderable area along the coast of Hudson Bay, south of Chesterfield Inlet,

and it is possible that development will begin in that quarter since it is

readily accessible from the sea.

        While the subarctic region cannot be considered as including any very

considerable portion of the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,

their northern parts more definitely belong to the territory lying to the

northward of them than to that farther south. Lake Athabaska, for instance,

is part of the arctic watershed; and while its agricultural lands and mineral

and oil resources will undoubtedly be developed in connection with the more

southerly portions of the Province of Alberta, they will also contribute in

considerable measure to the development of the areas farther [ ?] north.

They will also provide justification for an extension of transportation and

other facilities still farther north.

        Historically, the Athabaska country has always been considered as part

of the Mackenzie system. In the days of the fur trade, the canoe route to

the Mackenzie crossed Methye Portage from the headwaters of Churchill River

to the Athabaska River by means of Clearwater River. The Churchill River,

which rises near the western boundary of the Province of Saskatchewan and

flows in a generally easterly direction across the northern parts of Sas–

katchewan and Manitoba, discharges into Hudson Bay at the port of Churchill

in latitude 58° 47′ N. This river, about 1,000 miles in length, is charac–

teristic of those in the Canadian Shield, connecting as it does numerous lakes

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by short stretched of river filled with rapids and waterfalls. The Churchill

in its course receives many tributaries on both sides which, like the master

stream, consist of short bits of river obstructed by rapids and falls drain–

ing series of lakes.

        Considerable areas of good agricultural land, varying in accordance

with the depth of soil, moisture and other factors, exist south of the

Churchill River, especially in northwestern Saskatchewan; while in its lower

stretches, in the Province of Manitoba, extensive tundra areas suggest the

possibility at some future day of fairly large-scale reindeer grazing. The

chief resource of the area, however, is likely to be its minerals; and while

little mining activity has yet occurred along the Churchill River, extensive

deposits of copper sulphides have been [ ?] discovered a short distance to

the south, at Flinflon and Sherridon, just east of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba

boundary; and at Wekusko (Herb) Lake, farther east, gold mines are in opera–

tion. Power for the operation of the mines at Flinflon and Sherridon comes

from installations on the Churchill River. Farther east still, in the Knee

Lake, God's Lake and Snow Lake areas of Manitoba, a number of producing gold

mines are in operation, while many other prospects await the provision of

cheaper transportation facilities.

        The building of the Hudson Bay Railway, finished in 1929, from The Pas,

near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, to Churchill, a distance of 400 miles,

has helped considerably to open up the region lying west of Hudson Bay, but

lack of connecting railways or highways still leaves a huge area without

the transportation facilities required for proper development.

        While the Saskatchewan River, whose waters ultimately discharge into

Hudson Bay, is in that sense part of the subarctic region, it is almost

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entirely linked to the prairie section of Canada and cannot therefore be

included in this account; but the Nelson River, which drains Lake Winnipeg

and carries the waters of the Saskatchewan and many other rivers that dr a in

the prairie sections into Hudson Bay, may definitely be included.

        The northern and northwestern parts of the Province of Ontario, since

they drain into Hudson and James bays, may also be included in the subarctic

regions of Canada. This area consists of a fringe of territory extending

from the Manitoba-Ontario boundary southward along the shores of Hudson

and James bays to the Ontario-Quebec boundary. A lowland belt from 200 to

250 miles wide extends along the shores of Hudson and James bays which is

underlain by Palaeozoic rocks. Part of this south and west of James Bay,

consisting of about 16,000,000 acres, is known as the Clay Belt, and is

considered to be good [ ?] arable land. A large part of it is fairly heavily

timbered, containing large tracts of pulpwood. To the west and south of

the Clay Belt, the country is part of the Canadian Shield, covered with

lakes and the usual network of small streams broken by rapids and waterfalls.

Most of the rivers flowing into Hudson and James bays rise within the Cana–

dian Shield, descending an abrupt escarpment, dropping in some places as

much as 500 feet within a few miles, in order to attain the lowland level.

The principal rivers flowing into Hudson Bay are the Severn and the Winisk,

while the Albany and Moose (with the latter's important tributary the Abitibi)

flow into James Bay.

        Commencing in 1903, the Government of the Province of Ontario began the

building of a railway, the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario (since known as

the Ontario Northland), northward from North Bay on Lake Nipissing, to tap

the Clay Belt and eventually James Bay. Built by stages, the railway reached

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James Bay at Moosonee, at the mouth of Moose River, in 1932. While it

had been projected mainly to open up an agricultural region, the first

fruits of its building were the discovery of valuable silver deposits at

Cobalt, little more than 100 miles from North Bay, and later the discovery

of the extremely rich Porcupine and Kirkland Lake goldfields. The National

Transcontinental line of the Canadian National Railways from Quebec City

to Winnipeg connects with the Ontario Northland at Cochrane, which is

within the Clay Belt. The National Transcontinental, built largely through

Canadian Shield territory, in northern Ontario, traverses the southern edge

of the Clay Belt before again reaching the Canadian Shield to cross an

area in which a number of producing gold mines have been developed. This

section of northern Ontario produces large quantities of pulpwood and impor–

tant mills are located at Iroquois Falls and at Kapuskasing, both of which

are within the limits of the Clay Belt.

        Subarctic Quebec consists of an area of about 343,259 square miles

comprising the territory north of the height of land which separates the

St. Lawrence watershed from that of Hudson and James bays and Hudson Strait,

usually referred to as the Ungava Peninsula. It consists of an elevated

tableland which attains its greatest elevation along its eastern border and

slopes northward to Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay and westward to Hudson and

James bays. The descent occurs in a succession of steps and the many rivers

fall over rocky escarpments, resulting in much potential waterpower.

        Ungava, with Newfoundland-Labrador, forms the northeastern angle of the

Canadian Shield. In many places it is known to be highly mineralized, but

lack of transportation has until recently prevented development. Gold is

found at widely separated places, as well as copper and lead; but the mineral

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that is bringing about the development of the country is iron, extensive

deposits of which are being opened up by large corporations operating

under concessions from the Quebec and Newfoundland governments. Properly

to exploit these iron deposits, a railway is being built northward a dis–

tance of 360 miles from the St. Lawrence River, and will make possible the

development of other nearby mineral areas.

        The principal rivers flow westward into James and Hudson bays. Because

of the many falls along their courses many portages are required, and they

are navigable only for canoes. The Koksoak, the chief river flowing northward,

which, with its tributary the Kaniapiskau, is 535 miles in length, discharging

into the southern end of Ungava Bay, is deep enough to accommodate ocean-

going boats for some distance above its mouth.

        Typical of Pre-Cambrian country, Ungava is a land of sprawling, irregular,

island-studded lakes, ranging in size from mere ponds to Lake Mistassini,

840 square miles in extent. Nearly always, they occupy rocky depressions

and rarely have sand or gravel beaches, with very little weeds or swamp.

        The southern part of the area, northward to latitude 54° N., is heavily

forested; but, except in isolated spots, the trees thin out beyond that line;

and a short distance south of Ungava Bay the grass- and moss-covered tundra

begins. The principal trees, as elsewhere in subarctic Canada, are white

and black spruce, balsam fir, tamarack, Banksian pine and balsam and aspen

poplar. In the southern sections, considerable stands of merchantable timber

exist, but distance from market prohibits its use. Vast areas of pulpwood

also exist, which are likewise still beyond the range of marketability. The

railway referred to above will open up some of these timber areas.

        Except in the southern section and along the southeastern coast of James

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Bay, the possibilities for agriculture are negligible. The tundra regions,

which once grazed huge herds of caribou, may some day provide pasturage for

reindeer, but that day is probably far in the future considering the extent

of grazing lands in other parts of the Canadian North much more accessible

to market.

        The lakes and rivers abound in fish, lake trout and whitefish being

perhaps the most common, while salmon, brook and arctic trout and sturgeon

are found in many of the rivers. Codfish are abundant along the coast of

Hudson and James bays, while the white whale, a species of porpoise, is also

common there.

        The first trading post established by the Hudson's Bay Company was

built at the mouth of Rupert's River, which flows into the southeastern

angle of James Bay, and it has been in continuous operation since 1668. The

fur trade has been the principal occupation of the people of Ungava for

almost three centuries and is still their chief business. Excessive trapping

and forest fires in recent years have greatly reduced the numbers of fur bearing

animals, but it is likely that, in certain parts of the country, the fur

trade will continue for a considerable time to be an important industry.

        The chief geographical feature of the peninsula is undoubtedly Ungava

Bay which, like a miniature Hudson Bay, extends for about 140 miles southward

from the south shore of Hudson Strait and is about the same distance wide at

its mouth. A number of important rivers, including the Koksoak, discharge

into the bay, which contains many islands.

        The only part of the Province of Newfoundland which may be included in

subarctic Canada is that portion of the eastern mainland of Canada lying

between the watershed dividing the Hudson Bay and Atlantic drainage basins,

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northward to about latitude 57° N., to the northern tip of Labrador at Cape

Chidley, in latitude 60° 30′ N. This stip of coast is rugged and high,

mountains which rise abruptly from the sea attaining in places altitudes

up to 5,000 feet.

        The District of Franklin comprises the islands of the Arctic Archipelago

lying north of the northeastern part of the Canadian mainland as well as

Melville (24,156 square miles) and Boothia (12,960 square miles) peninsulas,

having atotal area of 549,243 square miles. The Arctic Archipelago occupies

a huge triangular area with its apex at the top of Ellesmere Island in lati–

tude 83° 05′ N., its base extending east and west from longitude 61° W. to

125° W. It contains 17 islands each with an area of more than 1,000 square

miles; about 40 with areas of over 100 square miles each; and many smaller

ones. The largest, Baffin Island, with an area of 197,754 square miles, is

the easternmost of the group, extending from longitude 61° W. to 90° W., and

lying in a northwesterly direction. Its extent north and south is from 61°

61° N. latitude to 74° N. [ ?] Next in size are Victoria Island, with 80,340

square miles, and Ellesmore Island, with 77,392 square miles. Immediately

north of Baffin Island, separated from it by Lancaster Sound, is Devon Island

(21,606 square miles), and north of the latter is Ellesmere, separated from

Greenland on the east by a narrow channel.

        The Arctic Archipelago is divided into two general groups by the line of

Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Viscount Melville Sound and McClure Strait.

Somerset Island (9,594 square miles) lies west of the northern end of Baffin

Island, immediately north of Boothia Peninsula, with Prince of Wales Island

(13,736 square miles) to the west of Somerset Island. Victoria Island,

extending from longitude 100° 30′ W. to 126° 30′ W., lies west of Prince of

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

Wales Island, with Banks Island (25,675 square miles) still farther west.

These islands are all in the southern group. North of the Lancaster Sound -

McClure Strait line, Axel Heiberg Island (13,583 square miles) lies immediately

west of Ellesmere Island, while Bathurst and Melville islands ( islands 16,503 square

miles) lie directly west of Devon Island, with Prince Patrick Island to the

northwest of Melville Island.

        From a geological standpoint, the Arctic Archipelago is largely part of

the Canadian Shield, but Palaeozoic rocks and some of later age from a belt

through the central islands and include most of the western and far northern

islands. Along the east coast of Baffin Island, from Cumberland Sound on the

south to Lancaster Sound on the north, a rugged mountain range of Pre-Cambrian

rocks rises in places to altitudes of 10,000 feet, with an average from 5,000

to 7,000 feet. Mountains similarly high are also found in Ellesmere Island.

The northwestern part of Baffin Island as well as most of Somerset Island

consists of sedimentary rocks. Devon and Ellesmere islands are underlain by

granitic rocks along their eastern coasts, but these dip below sedimentary

formations toward the west, where the coasts are low.

        Much or all of the Arctic Archipelago was covered with ice during the

last Ice Age, and areas of permanent ice caps, glaciers or snowfields still

cover large sections of Ellesmere Island, much of Devon and parts of north–

eastern Baffin Island.

        While very little search has yet been made for economic minerals; native

copper has been found on Baffin Island, and coal has been found on a number of

the islands in the regions underlain by Palaeozoic rocks. In the same regions,

the prospects for oil are considered good.

        Outside of a few trading posts and government stations no settlements

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of

yet exist in Franklin District. The population consequently consists almost

entirely of Eskimos. Each summer the Government of Canada dispatches in

supplies, and providing passage for personnel going to and from the different

stations as well as for a few others having some reason to visit the North.

        During World War II, an air base was established under the joint aus–

pices of Canada and the United States of Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, which

is linked with other similarly established bases on islands in Hudson Bay

and on the Canadian mainland; but no commercial air bases have yet been

established. Also under joint auspices, meteorological stations, connected

with the outside world by radio, have been set up on a number of islands in

the Arctic Archipelago, the most northerly being one on Ellesmere Island.

        The discovery and exploration of the Arctic and subarctic regions of

Canada were due largely to the search for the Northwest Passage; and conse–

quently sections of the map devoted to those regions were fairly well filled

in while immense areas farther south still remained blank. In this respect,

it is perhaps significant that the arctic coast had been reached overland

before the Pacific was likewise reached. The shores of Hudson Bay were well

known before the Great Lakes had properly taken their place on the map.

Even after all hope of finding the Northwest Passage in that quarter had

been abandoned, Hudson Bay still remained the gateway to the heart of the

continent. All the great rivers of the interior ran toward the Bay, while

a 13-mile portage connected the Hudson Bay and arctic watersheds. Chipewyan,

on Lake Athabaska, was an important center long before many of the great

cities of southern Canada were even thought of. The railway has seemed for

a time to set at nought the importance of geographical factors; but it is

possible that the airplane is about to restore the balance. Certainly, since

the airplane's advent the worth of Canada's arctic regions has greatly in–

creased in the scale of world values.

        References:

        Back, George. Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the

Great Fish River, and along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in

the years 1835 1833, 1934 and 1835 . London, 1836.

        Bethune, W.C. Canada's Western Northland: Its History, Resources, Popula-

tion and Administration. Ottawa , 1937.

        Burpee, L.J. The Search for the Western Sea: The Story of the Exploration

of North Western America. Toronto, 1908. Revised edition:

Toronto, 1936.

        Camsell, Charles and Malcolm, W. The Mackenzie River Basin. Geological

Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 108; 1921.

        Dawson, C.A. The New North-West. Toronto; 1947.

        Dawson, George M. Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District and Adjacent

Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887 . Geological Survey

of Canada, 1898.

        Franklin, John. Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in the

years 1825, 1826 and 1827. London, 1828.

        ----. Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Polar Sea in the years

1825, 1826 and 1827. London, 1828.

        Low, A.P. Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the East–

main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manikaugan, Portions of Other Rivers

in 1892-93-94-95. Geological Survey of Canada, 1895.

        MacKay, Douglas. The Honorable Company: A History of the Hudson's Bay Company .

Toronto, 1938.

        Mackenzie, Alexander. Voyages from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence Through

the Continent of North America to the Frozen Ocean and the Pacific

in the years 1789 and 1793. London, 1801.

        Morice, A.G. The History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia (formerly

New Caledonia) 1660-1880. Toronto, 1904.

        Ogilvie, William. Early Days on the Yukon. Toronto, 1908.

        Robinson, J.L. An Outline of the Canadian Eastern Arctic, its Geography, Peoples

and Problems . Ottawa, 1944.

        Stefansson, V. My Life with the Eskimo . New York, 1913.

        ----. The Friendly Arctic . New York, 1921.

        Tyrrell, J.W. Across the Sub-Arctic of Canada. Toronto, 1908.

CANADIAN CORDILLERA

        The Canadian Cordillera is an extension of the mountain systems that

border the west coast of North and South America. In Canada, it forms a

northwesterly-trending belt varying from 350 to 400 miles in width, occupy–

ing the territory between the Great Plains, on the east, and the Pacific Ocean

and Alaska boundary, on the west. It constitutes the watershed between the

Pacific Ocean, on the west, and the Arctic Ocean, on the northeast. The

southern limit of the arctic and subarctic section is taken as approximately

the 60th parallel of north latitude, which is also the boundary between Yukon

Territory and the Province of British Columbia.

        The Canadian Cordillera falls into three general systems: an Eastern System,

presenting a mountainous barrier to the Great Plains; and even more formidable

western mountain wall along the Pacific and the Alaskan boundary; and inter–

mediate Interior Section, consisting of less continuous mountain ranges and

plateaux.

        The term system is here used to designate more than one range of mountains,

or mountain area, as well as adjacent plateau and plain sections. The term

area is here used to designate a constituent part of a system, and includes

plateaux and plains regions, as well as more than one mountain range.

        The three systems differ considerably in their geological structure, as

well as their topographical character. The Eastern System consists almost

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canadian Cordillera

entirely of sedimentary strata; the Interior System comprises a mixture of

volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks invaded by numerous intrusive

bodies; while the Western System, although similar in a general way to the

Interior System, consists chiefly of great bodies of intrusive rocks.

        In the Arctic and Subarctic Section, the Eastern System is made up of

the Mackenzie Mountain (q.v.) and Arctic Mountain (q.v.) areas. While it

is frequently thought that the Rocky Mountains, as such, continue northwest–

ward to the Arctic Ocean, they actually end at Liard River (q.v.), south of

latitude 60° N. Neither are the Mackenzie Moutains, which succeed the Rockies,

an extension of the latter. The Mackenzie Mountains lie about 80 miles east

of a line projected northwestward from the northern extremity of the Rocky

Mountains. The Mackenzie Mountain area curves in a great arc from Liard River

to Peel River (q.v.), near latitude 66° N. From that point, the Arctic

Mountain area extends north, and then west, to the 141st Meridian. The

Arctic Mountain area includes the Richardson Mountains (q.v.) and the British

Mountains (q.v.), as well as plateaux and plains regions.

        The Eastern System is out lengthwise by the Mackenzie River. A section

along the 64th parallel would show, from west to east, the Mackenzie Mountains,

with a width of about 140 miles, the Mackenzie Plain, 40 miles wide, and the

Franklin Mountains (q.v.), east of the Mackenzie River, about 30 miles wide.

The Mackenzie River enters the system near the mouth of the North Nahanni

River, and flows out of it again a short distance south of the Ramparts.

The Liard, Peel, and Arctic Plateaux are included in the Eastern System.

        The Interior System, north of the 60th parallel, consists of a major

mountain and a major plateau area as well as several minor ones. What once

passed for the western part of the Mackenzie Mountains is now called the Selwyn

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EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canadian Cordillera

Mountains (q.v.), and is included in the Interior System. The reason is that

it is considered advisable to separate mountains formed wholly of sedimentary

rocks, such as the Mackenzie Mountains, from those, such as Selwyn Mountains,

which consist of metamorphic and intrusive rocks. The Selwyn Mountains and

the adjoining Yukon Plateau constitude the chief features of the System, north

of which are the Ogilvie Mountains (q.v.), with Porcupine Plateau and Plain

farther to the north. The Pelly Mountains (q.v.), consisting of various lo [ c ?] al

ranges, in the south-central portion of the Yukon Plateau, are composed mainly

of intrusive rocks. Some peaks in the Pelly Mountains reach a height of about

8,000 feet.

        The Western System of the Canadian Cordillers, in its arctic and subarctic

section, includes a belt of mountainous country with an average width of 100 miles

lying to the southwest of the Interior System. In British Columbia, to the

south, this system is much more complex; but in Yukon it consists merely of

the northern stub of the Coast Mountains, which terminate in latitude 60° 25′

W., and the St. Elias Mountains (q.v.), extending from the vicinity of Mount

Fairweather to the 141st Meridian. These mountains, which are mainly granitic

in structure, contain some of the highest peaks on the continent.

        References:

        Camsell, C. Report on the Peel River and Tributaries, Yukon and Mackenzie .

Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report, Vol. XVI, 1906.

        Keele, J. A Reconnaissance Across the Mackenzie Mountains on the Pelly

Ross, and Gravel Rivers, Yukon and Northwest Territories .

Geological Survey of Canada, Publication No. 1097, 1910.

        Bostock, H.S. Physiography of the Canadian Cordillers, with Special Reference

to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel. Geological

Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247, 1948.

CARCROSS

        Carcross, at the northern end of Bennett, is the first town reached

on entering Yukon Territory by the White Pass and Yukon Railway. It has

a landing field, suitable water area for a seaplane base, Church of

England and Roman Catholic churches, a post office, a day school, and an

Indian residential school. Connection may be made at Carcross during the

summer months with a steamer that operates on Taglish Lake and Taku Arm.

"Carcross" is a contraction of the name "Caribou Crossing", so called on

account of the great number of caribou that once crossed the narrows

between Lakes Bennet and Nares. Carcross is connected with Whitehorse and

the Alaska Highway by motor road. Lake Bennettlies astride the British

Columbia-Yukon Boundary and is one of the beautiful lakes in the Territory.

The eastern shore is skirted by the White Pass and Yukon Railway line, from

which may be observed the remarkable colouring of the mountains which, capped

with snow, rise along each side. Lake Bennett and its companion body of

water to the south, Lake Lindeman, were points of embarkation for thousands

of gold-seekers who crossed the Chilcoot Pass and launched rough boats for

their perilous voyage down the Lewes and Yukon Rivers to the gold-fields in

1897-98.