Various Geographical Items: Encyclopedia Arctica 13: Canada, Geography and General
Various Geographical Items
Abitibi Lake
EA-Geography: Canada
(D. M. Lebourdais)
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Abitibi Lake
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:
<bibl>
Government of Ontario.
Report of the Survey and Exploration of Northern
Ontario, 1900
. Toronto. The King's Printer, 1901.
</bibl>Abitibi River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
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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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Abitibi River
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
EA-Geog. LaBourdais: Canada-Abitibi River
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
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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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canadai-Abitibi River
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Abitibi
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Abitibi River
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:
<bibl>
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin
. Report of
the Bureau of Mines, 1904. Toronto, The King's Printer,
1904.
</bibl>
<bibl>
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland Ontario
. Toronto, The Ryerson Press, 1946.
</bibl>Albany River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
[:
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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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
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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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
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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
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
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low the mouth of the Kenogami,
the Albany resumes its northeasterly course, which it holds until it reaches
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
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ing
the latter to its source in Long Lake.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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
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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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Albany River
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:
<bibl>
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, 1887. Ottawa, 1888.
</bibl>
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
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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
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
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:
<bibl>
Back, George.
Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of
of Great Fish River and Along the Shores of the Arctic
Ocean in the Years 1833, 1934 and 1935; London, 1836.
</bibl>
Tyrrell, J.W.
Annual Report
; Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.
Ashuanipi River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Ashuanipi River
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
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Ashuanipi River
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Ashuanipi River
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:
<bibl>
Low, A.P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the
East Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan, and Portions of
Other Rivers in 1892-93-94-95
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. VIII, pp. IL-387L, 1895.
</bibl>Athabaska Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake
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
EA-Geog. Lebourdais: Canada: - Athabaska Lake
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake
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
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
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
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake
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.)
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska Lake
which was begun in 1914 and 1916 and continued in 1935.
References:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River.
Geological Survey of Canada. Annual Report, Vol. VIII,
1896.
</bibl>
Alcock, F. J.
Geology of Lake Athabaska Region
. Geological Survey of
Canada, Memoir No. 196, 1936.
Athabaska River
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Athabaska River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Athabaska River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Athabaska River
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Athabaska River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Athabaska River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais e : Canada - Athabaska River
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Athabaska River
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdaise)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Attawapiskat River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Attawapiskat River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Attawapiskat River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Attawapiskat River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Attawapiskat River
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Lake Attikamagen
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:
<bibl>
Low, A.P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula, along the
East Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan, and Portions of
other rivers in 1892-93-94-95
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. VIII, pp. lL-387L, 1895.
</bibl>Attikonak River
E [: ] -Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Attikonak River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Attikonak River
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Attikonak River
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:
<bibl>
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the
East Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan and Portions of
other rivers in 1892-93-94-95
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. VIII, pp. IL-387L, 1895.
</bibl>Aylmer Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Aylmer Lake
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Black River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Black River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - B l ack River
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Back River
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Back River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Back River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Back River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Back River
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Bathurst Inlet
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Bathurst Inlet
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Beaver Lake
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Black Lake
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,
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:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and
Churchill River
. Geological Survey of Canada.
Annual Report, Vol. VIII, 1896.
</bibl>Black River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
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:
<bibl>
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland: Ontario.
Toronto. The Ryerson Press,
1946.
</bibl>British Columbia: Subarctic Section
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: SubArctic
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
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
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
[:
]
,
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
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.
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,
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-
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,
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
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
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
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
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EG-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: British Columbia: Subarctic
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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:
<bibl>
Bostock, H.S.
Physiography of the Canadian Corcillera, With Special Reference
to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel
; Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247, 1948.
</bibl>Broadback River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Broadback River
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:
<bibl>
Geological Survey of Canada. Various reports and maps.
</bibl>Buffalo River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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:
<bibl>
Cameron, A.E.
Summary Report
. Geological Survey of Canada, 1917.
</bibl>Burntwood River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Burntwood River
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
EA-Geography – Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Camsell River
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Camsell River
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:
<bibl>
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Annual Report
, Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.
</bibl>Canada, Dominion of (Arctic and Subarctic Regions)
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
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.
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.
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
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdas: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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,
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dom ^ in ^ ion of
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
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Domion of
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
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
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.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Dominion of
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
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
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
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
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
EA-Geography Canada
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.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Carmacks
EA-Geography: Canada
CARMACKS
Carmacks, on the west bank of the Lewes River about 110 miles north
of Whitehorse, is an Indian settlement containing a post office, a trading
post, and an emergency landing field. It is also the first junction of the
water and overland routes north from Whitehorse. In the vicinity are large
deposits of coal which were worked for a number of years. A few miles
downstream on the Lewes River are the famous Five Fingers Rapids, which
provide a thrilling experience for river steamer passengers.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Champagne
EA-Geography: Canada
CHAMPAGNE
Champagne, situated about 56 miles west of Whitehorse on the Alaska
Highway, is an Indian village and contains a trading post. About 42 miles
west is the junction of the road from Haines, Alaska.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Chandalar River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CHANDALAR RIVER
The Chandalar River is a tributary of the Yukon River, entering that
stream about 20 miles below Fort Yukon, in Alaska. The name is derived
from a corruption of the term,
gens de large
, applied by Hudson's Bay Company
traders to the Indians who lived within its watershed because the Indians
seemed to have no permanent place of abode. Since the Chandalar flows into
the Yukon at almost its most northerly point, and since it flows almost
directly from the Endicott Range, at no great distance to the north, its
course is one of the shortest of any of the Yukon's tributaries having any
considerable volume. For this reason, it is swift and practically unnavigable.
At one time river boats, with great difficulty, worked their way for about
100 miles up its tortuous and shifting course, but in recent years there has
been no necessity for such effort and no boats now attempt to stem its current.
The main stream flows at first southeastward and then southward and then
^
south-
^
ward,
swinging again to the southeastward, continuing thus to its junction with the
Yukon. All its principal tributaries flow directly southward from different
passes in the Endicott Range; but since the lower reaches of the Chandalar
are separated from the Yukon by only a short distance, practically all of
which lies within the Yukon Flats region, where the drainage is all into the
Yukon itself, no tributaries flow into the Chandalar from the south.
The Chandalar drainage basin, in a north and south direction, is narrow,
EA-Geog [: ] . LeBourdais: Canada, Chandalar River
and is not very extensive in the opposite direction. Since it joins the Yukon from the northwest at an acute angle, its drainage, except for that brought in by the Christian, entering its mouth from slightly east of north, is all farther west than its mouth; and since its headwaters interlock with those of the Koyukuk, which reach far to the eastward, the Chandalar's drain– age area is limited in that direction also.
The main stream of the Chandalar rises among the high peaks of the
Endicott Range, considerably north of latitude 68° N., and for its first
few miles is a rugged mountain torrent. This leads, however, to a wide
valley where for 30 miles the river meanders through extensive gravel flats,
flowing then into Chandalar Lake, narrow and eight or nine miles long, between
mountain ranges. Swinging slightly to the southeast for a distance of about
25 miles, it receives Big Creek, and ten miles farther down, the West Fork,
a short tirbutary from the west, comes in. Ten miles farther on, it receives
the Middle Fork, flowing down from the Endicott Range, roughly parallel with
the main stream, but separated from it by high mountains.
Ten miles below the mouth of the Middle Fork is the site of the one-
flourishing town of Caro, the center of the Chandalar gold fields, Eighteen
miles below Caro is another abandoned place where once all was activity,
known as Chandalar Station, where the Northern Commercial Company had its
depot and store to accommodate the miners who thronged the sand bars and
terraces above this point. Twenty miles below the abandoned Caro, the East
Fork comes in. This stream might, by reason of its size, have been considered
the main branch of the Chandalar, but, probably because of the discovery of
gold on the other forks, it has been largely overlooked, and in consequence
has been little traveled and is relatively unknown. The Chandalar emerges
from the mountains
which
into the Yukon Flats region through a narrow gap
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Chandalar River
in the mountains which seem otherwise to present an unbroken front. After debouching into the Yukon Flats, the Chandalar turns more directly to the southeast and for the final 100 miles of its course meanders through a dreary waste of gravel, driftwood and scrub timber landmarks or other dis– tinguishing features. Shortly before it discharges into the Yukon, it re– ceives its last tributary, the Christian River, flowing in from a direction slightly east of north. The Christian, like the other branches or forks of the Chandalar, rises in the Endicott Range and flows at first through a mountainous region and then breaks through into the Yukon Flats for its final lap.
The Chandalar River came into prominence in the winter of 1906-7 and
the following summer when gold was struck on a tributary of the Middle Fork,
and a stampede occurred. Alaska and Yukon Territory were still full of
miners who had failed to "strike it rich" in the Klondike, at
H
^
N
^
ome or at
Fairbanks, and consequently the stage was set for a feverish gold rush.
Soon the river was lined with prospectors, and a town grew up below the
Middle Fork which was called Caro. By 1910, however, the placer diggings
had declined to such an extent that Chandalar could be listed with other
abandoned placer camps, when a revival occurred, causing hopes again to soar
at the prospect of riches through lode mining; but these hopes, too, were
soon doomed to disappointment. One result of this second boom was the build–
ing by the Alaska Road Commission of a road 80 miles in length, from "Beaver
City," on the Yukon, almost directly north of Caro.
Whether, when reduced transportation costs lower
[:
ed
]
the costs of mining
operations, it will be possible to revive hopes based on mining prosperity,
cannot now be determined; and in the meantime the Chandalar River finds a
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada, Chandalar River
place among that considerable number of placer creeks where sufficient gold has been found to awaken hopes, but which eventually proved insuffi– cient to provide the basis of a permanent community. It may be that those who termed its first dwellers, gens de large , had a truer insight than perhaps they realized.
Reference:
<bibl>
Stuck, Hudson.
Voyages on the Yukon and Its Tributaries.
New York, 1917.
</bibl>Chibougamau Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CHIBOUGAMAU LAKE
Chibougamau Lake, northern Quebec, Dominion of Canada, is one of
the sources of the Nottaway River, which empties into the lower end of
the eastern side of James Bay. It lies almost at the height of land
separating the Hudson and James bays drainage basin at an elevation of
1,230 feet above sea level. Its greatest length is 16 miles and it is
about six and a half miles at its width, with a total area of 138 square
miles. It lies in a northeast-southwest direction, roughly rectangular
in shape, its northwestern and southeastern sides fairly regular in outline,
but its northeastern and southwestern ends are indented by many inlets and
bays. Its southernmost point is in latitude 49° 44′ N.; its northernmost
point in latitude 49° 59′ N.; its easternmost point is in longitude 74° W.;
and its westernmost point is in 74° 24′ W. Lying parallel to it, on its
northwestern side is Lake Dore
^
é
^
, 12 miles long by about two miles wide
at its widest, from which it is separated by a narrow ridge of granitic
rock, called Gouin Peninsula, and an apparent extension of the penin
c
^
s
^
ula
called Ile du Portage, three miles long by about two miles in width.
Gouin Peninsula extends in a northeasterly direction for about 11 miles
and, with Ile du Portage, provides most of the western shore of Chibougamau
Lake. At its southernmost end, a short distance from its base, Gouin
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Chibougamau Lake
Peninsula is only a quarter of a mile wide, expanding to about a mile and a half at its widest, with an average of about half a mile. It is separated from Ile du Portage by a narrow passage, about 200 yards long, in which the drop is 12 feet. Ile du Portage, except for a bay between it and the mainland north of Chibougamau occupies the northwestern angle of the main portion of the latter and forms as well the north shore of Lake Dore ^ é ^ it is separated from the mainland on the west by a narrow channel, and from the north end of the main part of Chibougamau Lake by Portage Bay, about a mile wide at its entrance. Both Gouin Peninsula and Ile du Portage con– tain several small lakes. Part of Ile du Portage is covered with glacial drift, but otherwise both Gouin Peninsula and Ile du Portage consist chiefly of granitic rocks. Gouin Peninsula is low in elevation, but Ile du Portage, at its highest, rises to about 250 feet in a bare rocky hill, called Paint Mountain, from the rusty color of the rocks.
The southern end of Chibougamau Lake is divided into three bays by
two narrow points, the longer of which, called Devlin Peninsula, is three
and a half miles long. A high rocky promontory, about four and a half miles
wide at its base, projects 7 miles into the lake from the northern end,
dividing that portion of the lake into two bays, of which the eastern, called
Islands Bay, is the larger, being about six miles deep and about one and
a half miles wide. The western indentation extends seven miles northeastward
from the northeastern end of the main part of the lake to which it is
connected by Valiquette Narrows, which expand into Contact Lake, contract–
ing again to the McKenzie Narrows which expand into Gunn Bay, extending
eastward for about a mile and a half, then into McKenzie Bay, extending three
miles to the westward, narrowing again into Rapid Bay, one and a half miles
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Chibougamau Lake
deep from the entrance to McKenzie Bay. This indentation, extending north– eastward from the northwestern angle of the lake, is surrounded by high rocky hills, arranged in sharp ridges parallel to the direction of the lake. The highest of these are the Sorcerer and Juggler mountains. The former is situated toward the southern end of the northern promontory, and is situated to rise to a height of 500 feet above the water; the latter lies a short distance north of Rapid Bay; it ends in a sharp cone, having per– pendicular sides 50 feet high. From its resemblance to the tents used by the Indian conjurors, it has been called the "juggler's house," and is supposed to be the dwelling place of evil spirits. The outline of the hills in this locality is sharply serrated, in marked contrast to the rounded outline usually seen in Laurentian hills.
Chibougamau Lake is studded with numerous islands, most of which are
low and rocky, especially those along its eastern side and in the northeast
bay; a few are also scattered along the western shore. The shores of the
lake are generally low, formed either of solid rock or of large rounded
boulders, often found piled up in low walls by the action of the lake ice,
The land rises gently from the eastern side to the height of land.
The country about the lake is well timbered, with black spruce pre–
dominating, but white spruce i
[:
]
also found in considerable quantities.
Balsam fir, tamarack and Banksian pine also occur, together with medium–
sized birch, aspen and a few cedars. Unfortunately, much of the country
has been burnt over, and reference to timber must be made with a reserva–
tion concerning the likelihood of fire.
Chibougamau Lake, like the others in the same territory, is well
stocked with fish, chief of which are lake trout and whitefish, although
pike, pickerel, brock trout and suckers also abound. The region has produced
EA-Geog. LeBourdaise: Canada - Chibougamau Lake
excellent furs for over a century and is still productive, but the fur– bearing animals have been greatly reduced in numbers by excessive trapping. The Hudson's Bay Company has maintained a post on Gouin Peninsula for many years.
It is likely, however, that mineral production will eventually become
the principal resource of the region. Gold-bearing copper sulphide and
gold-quartz deposits occur at different points in the area. Some of these
deposits and also small amounts of asbestos and low-grade iron ore were
discovered as early as 1903, but distance from the railway and other factors
have hampered systematic exploration. Nevertheless, a considerable amount
of exploratory work has been done by a number of different mining companies;
and while nothing sensational has been discovered, enough has been disclosed
to indicate that when better transportation facilities are available, the
Chibougamau area will prove to be an important mining center. Until these
facilities are available, most of the companies holding properties in the
district are marking time. With railway transportation now b
w
^
e
^
ing provided
for the exploitation of iron deposits in the Ungava Peninsula, northeast of
the Chibougamau area, that time may not be so far off.
Chibougamau Lake has been known to fur traders, missionaries and
explorers seeking a route from Lake St. John to James Bay for over 150 years,
but no great interest was taken in the area until the early years of the
present century when Peter McKenzie, in 1903, discovered
t
^
w
^
hat were believed
to be valuable deposits of asbestos, copper and gold. These discoveries led
to a wider interest in the area and the Quebec Government was pressed to
provide railway transportation. Before undertaking to supply this, however,
the Chibougamau Commission, consisting of Dr. A. E. Barlow, Special Lecturer
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Chibougamau Lake
in Economic Geology at McGill University, Montreal, as Chairman, E. R. Fairbault, of the Geological Survey of Canada, and J. C. Gwillim, Professor of Mining at Queen's University, Kingston, was appointed by the Government to make an authoritative report on the mineral possibilities of the district. The report, published in 1911, stated that no asbestos deposits of economic importance existed, and that although the country gave promise of reward to the prospector, none of the gold or copper deposits so far found was commer– cially valuable, even with railway facilities. This report dampened interest in the region for many years.
This was before the great discoveries were made at Porcupine and Kirkland
Lake, in northern Ontario, and at Noranda and other points in northern Quebec,
which directed fresh attention to the possibilities of the Pre-Cambrian rocks
of northern Canada. Further prospecting in Chibougamau uncovered other mineral
occurrences and there is now little doubt in the minds of Canadian mining men
that the Chibougamau district will one day take its place among the important
mining regions of Canada.
The area early attracted the attention of the Geological Survey of Canada,
and the first of many investigations by members of the Survey staff was made
by James Richardson in 1870. Between 1884 and 1905, Dr. A. P. Low did his
great work in Ungava, which includes surveys of the region about Chibougamau
Lake. J. B. Mewdaley began detailed geological work in the region in 1927,
which was continued in 1930, and this was followed by further mapping in 1934
by G. W. R. Norman. J. A. Retty, in 1929, also did geological work in the
area for the Quebec Bureau of Mines. In addition to that done by various
surveyors in the employ of the Quebec Department of Survey, topographic
work was conducted for the Geological Survey of Canada by A. C. Tuttle in 1929;
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Chibougamau Lake
and serial photographic work was carried out in 193 e ^ 4 ^ by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
References:
Low, A. P.
Report of Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula Along the East
Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan and Portions of Other Rivers
in 1892-93-94-95.
Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report,
Vol. VIII; 1895.
Maudsley, J.B., and Norman, G.W.H.
Chibougamau Lake Map-area, Quebec
.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 185; 1935.
Churchill Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CHURCHILL LAKE
Churchill Lake, northwestern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, is
one of a number of lakes forming the source of the Churchill River, which
flows into Hudson Bay, 1,000 miles farther east. It is about 24 miles
long by about 12 miles at its widest, with an area of 213 square miles, and
lies at an altitude of 1,381 feet above sea level. Its southernmost point
is in latitude 55° 48′ N., and its northernmost point is in latitude 56° 11′
N.; its easternmost point is in longitude 108° 05′ W., and its westernmost
point is in longitude 108° 30′ W. It is connected to Peter Pond Lake at its
southwestern angle by a short passage in which no current exists, and it
might have been consi
[:
]
^
d
^
ered as part of the latter, or
vice versa
. It drains
Frobisher and Turnor lakes, to the north, through Simond's channel, bu
[:
]
otherwise it receives no tributaries of consequence. It is drained at its
southern extremity by Churchill River.
Churchill Lake, unlike its companion-lake, Peter Pond, is characteristic
of lakes in the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, in that its shores
contain many indentations and it has many islands. It occupies a transitional
position between Frobisher Lake, to the north, with its long arms and bays and
many rocky projections and islands, which exhibits the extreme type of Pre-
Cambrian lake, and Peter Pond Lake, to the west, whose low, swampy shores
hafe few indentations, and which contains almost no islands.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill Lake
Churchill Lake is set in a region
^
^
of low relief; to the westward the
terrain consists mainly of sand interspersed with boulders; but to the
northward and eastward rounded knobs of granitic rocks rise irregularly
above the general level. The country on both sides is sparsely timbered
with small black spruce, Banksian pine, white birch, and occasional stands
of tamarack in swampy spots.
The first person other than an Indian to see Churchill Lake was Peter
Pond, a fur trader and partner in the Northwest Company who, in 1778, under–
took an expedition from the farthest point hitherto reached by fur traders
along the Churchill River to the headwaters of the latter, thence across
Methye Portage to the Athabaska. His course was soon followed by others,
and it rapidly became the regular canoe route between the Saskatchewan and
Athabaska-Mackenzie districts. Thereafter, until steamboats on the Saskat–
chewan in 1875 and the railway in 1891 put an end to the long canoe route
s
,
all trade goods for the Athabaska-Mackenzie region were taken in by that route
and all the fur went out the same way. It is still the local highway for the
fur traders and prospectors.
Reference:
<bibl>
Innis, H.A.
Peter Pond Fur Trader and Adventurer.
Toronto, 1930.
</bibl>Churchill River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CHURCHILL RIVER
Churchill River, 1,000 miles in length, runs approximately eastward
from the eastern border of the Province of Alberta, across the province of
Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and empties into Hudson Bay. It drains an area
of 115,500 square miles, comprised in a long, rather narrow, strip of
territory lying to the north of the Saskatchewan-Nelson drainage basin and
south of the region drained by several other streams flowing in Hudson Bay.
Before present-day highways across the continent were thought of,
Churchill River was on the main traffic route between the eastern portions
of Canada and the far northwest. It was by way of the Churchill, sometimes
called the English River, that Alexander Mackenzie traveled to the Athabaska
and eventually reached the Arctic and Pacific oceans. For many years there–
after the Churchill was an important link
^
in
^
that chain of streams and lakes —
to say nothing of portages! — by which supplies for the distant Mackenzie
posts — some even as far away as the Yukon — reached their destination;
and by which the furs received in exchange were taken out.
The voyageurs who first located the traffic routes across the continent
were dependant upon the lakes and streams for their highway, and they could
not afford to run against the contour of the country; they could go upstream
and they could go downstream; but they could not go very far across the lines
of drainage. It was left to the railways to do this; and for half a century
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
trans-Canada traffic has largely ignored the principle to which the voyageurs were forced to adhere. Now, with an ocean port at its mouth that shortens the distance from the heart of Canada to the principal overseas markets by 1,000 miles, it is possible that the Churchill may once again become an impor– tant part of a traffic route across the continent. Although the port of Churchill is already a railway terminus, it is quite probable that some day a transcontinental railway will traverse the Churchill valley as part of what would be the shortest rail - and-water route between Europe and the Far East.
The Churchill's entire course, except for about 150 miles near its mouth,
which is underlain by Palaeozoic rocks, is within the great Canadian (Laurentian)
Shield, comprising the oldest exposed rocks on the globe. The surface of this
area, almost lacking in relief, gouged and pitted by the relentless force of
the icecap, is studded with lakes, irregular and sprawling, from the size of
mere ponds to those several hundred square miles in extent, connected by streams
most of which, in their devious courses, flow down rapids or else fall over
cliffs of varying heights.
The Churchill wends its winding way through such a country, forming the
thread upon which lake after lake is strung; and where it does not itself form
the thread for certain lakes, they hang pendant to it by connecting streams.
It is there
[:
]
ore almost as navigable in one direction as in the other; the lakes,
of course, have no current, and considerable stretches occur in which the
current is not strong. On the other hand, numerous rapids and falls exist.
In many cases the rapids can be safely run, and can be surmounted on the
upstream course by tracking or poling. In other cases, going either upstream
or downstream, portaging is necessary; some of the portages are short, but
others extend up to a mile or more. As rivers go, the Churchill provides a
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
very suitable course for canoe and boat travel; it is not suited to any– thing larger.
The Churchill rises in latitude 57° N., longitude 110° W., in La Loche
Lake, within a few miles of the height of land separating the Hudson Bay
drainage basin from that of the Mackenzie. Flowing southeasterly out of
Lake La Loche, after twenty-four moles of a shallow and turtuous course,
the river enters Buffalo, or Peter Pond Lake, thence to Clear Lake and, by
a connecting stream, into Ile a La Crosse Lake, the first considerable
expansion of the Churchill. Ile a La Crosse, about 35 miles long, is shaped
like a pot-hook and lies roughly north and south. Beaver River flows into
its southern extremity, bearing, from the south, the outflow from Lac La Plonge.
Debouching from the northern end of Ile a La Crosse Lake, the Churchill starts
on a southeasterly course through a succession of lakes and river-extentions,
including Knee, Sandy and Snake lakes, till it makes another major expansion
in Black Bear Island Lake, made up of narrow channels, deep bays and many
islands. From the head of Black Bear Island Lake to the outlet at Birch
Portage, which circumvents rapids with an eight-foot fall, is thirty-six miles.
A mile below the foot of Birch Portage, another expansion called Trout Lake
begins and continues for ten miles, terminating in another fall. About a
mile and a half below Trout Fall the river divides into two channels which
come together some seven miles farther on in an expansion known as Dead Lake.
Below Dead Lake a series of rapids is encountered known as the Devil's
Rapids and Big Devil's Portage. The former, although dangerous because of
boulders, can be run, but the latter must be portaged, a distance of about
1,400 yards. At the foot of the rapids the river spreads into Devil's Lake,
from which it again proceeds by dropping twenty feet to the level of Otter Lake,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
where a [: ] portage of about 700 yards is necessary. Otter L ^ a ^ ke is about thirteen miles in length, following which an island-studded contraction of the stream is reached where short portages known as Mountain and Stony Mountain lead to Rock Lake, at the southeastern end of which is Stanley Mission, maintained by the Church of England, and a Hudson's Bay Company's post that was established during the early days of the fur trade. Thirteen miles farther east, Rapid River, dropping over a fall of about thirty feet, brings in the drainage from Lac La Ronge, lying a few miles to the south. The country about Lac La Ronge has excellent agricultural possibilities and should one day be a populous part of the province.
Pine Rapid follows, requiring a portage of sixty-five yards, and leads
to Drinking Lake, beyond which is another portage, this time two hundred and
twenty yards long, before Keg Lake is reached. Keg Lake is eight miles long
and is divided into several narrow channels divided by equally narrow islands.
Two miles farther on, in the course of which there are two rapids requiring
portages of sixty-five and five hundred and seventy yards, respectively,
island-dotted Trade Lake, thirteen miles long and averaging a mile and a
half in width, is reached. At the lower end of Trade Lake is Frog Portage,
[:
]
terminus of the route from the Saskatchewan established during fur-trading
days. Several other routes led between the Saskatchewan and the Churchill,
but this was the principal one.
The route runs northwesterly from the Saskatchewan River across
[:
]
umberland
Lake and its northern extension, Namew Lake, into the Sturgeon-weir River,
which leads to Amisk Lake. Crossing this lake to where the upper reaches of
the Sturgeon-weir River enters, that stream is followed to Mirond and Pelican
lakes. Several portages are required on this part of the route, but none of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
of any great length. Three more portages are encountered before Woody Lake is reached. Frog Portage, two hundred and eighty five yards in length, connect t ^ s ^ Woody Lake with the Churchill.
At Frog Portage, the Churchill, hitherto following a southeasterly
course, turns sharply northward and then northeastward through a number of
expansions until a drop of seventeen feet occurs at Kettle Falls, where a
portage of about ninety yards is required. This leads to the expansion into
which Reindeer River empties. Reindeer River drains Reindeer Lake, 2444
square miles in extent, lying about 75 miles north of the Churchill valley.
The expansion which receives the waters of Reindeer River is terminated
by a fall of fifteen feet at Attik Rapid. From this point for about sixty
miles there is much rough water which includes Wintego Rapids and a number
of others, requiring several portages, the longest of which is about a mile
and a half in length. Just west of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba line, the
Nemei River comes in from the south. Also before the Saskatchewan-Manitoba
line is reached, the Churchill provides 90,000 h.p. of hydro-electric energy
at the Island Falls installation of the Churchill River Power Company Limited
to supply power for the great Flin Flon mine about 75 miles to the south.
For the next 120 miles, the river flows through a succession of lakes
requiring only four portages, none of which is very long. Cut by the Saskat–
chewan-Manitoba boundary, at the angle where the river ends its northward
stretch and once more turns eastward, is Sisipuk Lake, a sprawling extension
of the river, bending back parallel to the river's course, somewhat like the
chord of an arc. Leaving Sisipuk Lake, the river tumbles down Bloodstone
Rapids, a few miles before Pukkatawagan Lake is reached. From here on, to
about longitude 100° 30′ the river continues its easterly course; but at this
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
point, in latitude 55° 45′, it turns northward, flowing in that direction for some distance and then inclining in a northeasterly direction until, at the outlet of Southern Indian Lake, in latitude 57° 25′ and longitude 98° 30′, it again continues it a flow eastward.
In its northerly stretch, the river flows through some of the largest
lakes in its course. Granville Lake as a length of fifty miles, while
Southern Indian Lake is a huge, sprawling complex of channels and bays,
extending in all directions from the river's line of flow, if such a stream
can be said to have a 'line of flow.' Its greatest length is ninety miles,
and its extreme width about fifteen. William McInnes, of the Canadian
Geological Survey, who surveyed it
in
in 1908, estimates that it has a length
of shoreline, disregarding bays and points of less extent than half a mile,
exceeding 700 miles. He charted the approximate
[:
]
positions of eight hundred
islands, varying in area from twenty-five square miles to quite small.
The portages in this stretch are few and insignificant, except for one
above Granville Lake, where the descent is twenty-five feet in a vertical drop,
and the Missi Fall, at the outlet of Southern Indian Lake, which has a drop
of twenty feet. Below Missi Fall, the river continues in a generally easterly
direction to the mouth of the Little Churchill, coming in from the southwest,
about 105 miles in a direct line from the bay. In this stretch it expands
into Northern Indian Lake, which has a length of about twenty miles and an
average width of about ten miles, and, like most of these lakes, is studded
with islands. Following a U-shaped bend to the north, Churchill Lake, about
seven miles in length, and Billiard Lake, four miles long, are the last of the
river's many expansions. From a short distance below here, it flows through
more definitely defined banks, averaging about one-third of a mile in width.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
Beyond the mouth of the Little Churchill, it winds about considerably, running generally in a northerly direction. Then, turning northeastward, and running fairly straight, when about forty-five miles from the sea, it turns directly north and flows without deviation into the bay. From the mouth of the Little Churchill the average width has been about half a mile, with no expansions of consequence and few islands, except in the last twenty-five or thirty miles, when it widens to two miles or more and contains many islands. The tide extends upwards for about seven or eight miles, beyond which the final rapid on the river prevents its flow. The banks along a considerable portion of the river below the Little Churchill are covered with ice until quite late in the season, and for this reason, coupled with the swiftness of the current, the Indians usually avoid this stretch, preferring to take one of a number of portages across to the Nelson.
The river narrows near its outlet, where it flows through banks of solid
rock. The western shore extends farther into the bay than its opposite, and
is called Eskimo Point. Here was the original location of the Hudson's Bay
Company's post, the Mission, and the headquarters of the local detachment
of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Nearby are the ruins of Fort Prince
of Wales. The townsite of Churchill, the Hudson Bay Railway terminals, the
docks, warehouses and terminal elevator are all on the eastern bank.
Until the tundra, which extends some distance back from the bay, is
reached, the Churchill flows through a generally well-wooded region in which
the principal trees are white and black spruce, white birch, poplar, tamarack
and jack pine. In some sections, where conditions are favorable, trees of
considerable size can be found, but as a rule most of the timber is not of
merchantable dimensions. Unfortunately, large areas have been burned over
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Churchill River
during comparatively recent times, and the second growth, while heavy, is not of sufficient size to provide either merchantable timber, nor, in ma ^ n ^ y cases, even pulpwood.
References:
Mackenzie, Alexander. Voyage from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence through
the continent of North America to the Frozen and
Pacific Oceans in the years 1789-97; with a preliminary
account of the use, progress and present state of the fur
[:
]
trade of the country. 1801.
Bell, Robert. Geological Survey of Canada; Report of Progress, 1875-76.
McInnis, William. Geological Survey of Canada; Summary Report, 1908.
----. Geological Survey of Canada; Memoir No. 30, 1913.
Alcock, F. J. Geological Survey of Canada; Summary Report, 1915.
Claire Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CLAIRE LAKE
Claire Lake, in northeastern Alberta, with an area of 545 square miles,
in post-glacial times, part of Athabaska Lake, but has since been cut off
by silt brought down by the Athabaska River, and also probably by Peace
River. Its easternmost point is now 10 miles west of the westernmost point
of Athabaska Lake, into which it drains. The intervening land is, of course,
low and contains many small lakes. Claire Lake itself is very shallow and
its banks on all sides are low and swampy. While its level is no longer
influenced by the vagaries of Athabaska River, it receives, in addition to
several smaller ones, three large streams from the west and southwest, each
of which contributes its share of alluvium to reduce further its inconsider–
able depth. It lies between latitude 58° 16′ N. and 58° 52′ N., and longi–
tude 111° 40′ W. and 112° 30′ W.
Birch River, which flows in from the west, drains an area as far west
as longitude 114° W., receiving in its course four large creeks, all from
the south, is building up a considerable delta at its mouth. Steepbank and
McIvor rivers, both of which enter Claire Lake at its southern end, are
smaller, but they both carry a considerable volume.
Clay Belt
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CLAY BELT
The Clay Belt of northern Ontario-Quebec, Dominion of Canada, is the
most extensive unsettled area within the arctic watershed of North America
capable of supporting a large population. Centered as it is upon the 49th
parallel of north latitude, it is also the most southerly, since its southern
edge lies farther south than the northern boundary of such states as Minnesota,
North Dakota, Montana, and Washington. Yet this region is drained by rivers
which flow into James Bay, and is definitely part of the arctic drainage
system.
The main part of the area known as the Clay Belt extends from slightly
east of Lake Abitibi, on the east, to near Lake Nipigon, on the west, reaching
as far south in places as latitude 48° N., and northward beyond latitude
50° N. The Clay Belt is underlain by the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian
Shield, but, unlike most other parts of the Shield, rock is only occasionally
exposed. Above bedrock lies a thick mantle of glacial deposit, which, in the
southern part, consists chiefly of glacial till, while farther north, the
covering consists of marine clays.
The region has a general elevation of about 1,000 feet above sea level,
rising in the vicinity of Lake Abitibi to about 1,200 feet, with a maximum
altitude of about 1,400 feet farther west. The higher spots, however, usuaoly
consist of rocky upshoots through the general overburden. The country slopes
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
gently northward and eastward toward James Bay, the Clay Belt ending, however, along a line from 75 to 150 miles distant from the Bay, where the Pre-Cambrian rocks dip steeply beneath overlying Palaeozoic rocks of the Hudson (James) Bay lowland. Atk At the point of contact between these two physiographic provinces, the elevation is about 300 feet, which slopes gradually to tidewater, continuing at about the same gradient as the bottom of James Bay, which is consequently very shallow.
The Clay Belt is the result of lake formation during the post-glacial
period, when lakes, very extensive in area, formed in front of the retreating
icesheet, and the immense quantities of glacial detritus, gath
r
^
e
^
red by the ice
in planing down the face of the country, were deposited in the lake bottoms.
With the final retreat of the ice, the lakes, which occupied no rock-bound
basins, were drained by the stream-system that eventually developed. Subse–
quent rising of the land brought the present lowland region above the sea, and
the Clay Belt to its present elevation.
Existence of this great potential agricultural region was little more than
suspected until about the turn of the present century when the Ross Government,
then in power in Ontario, decided to investigate its possibilities. In 1901,
ten survey parties were put into the field, consisting of land surveyors,
soil experts, timber cruisers, and geologists. The results of their explora–
tions put the Clay Belt on the map, and for a time caused great expectations
in the way of settlement.
Shortly afterward, however, the settlement of the western plains began
in earnest, and intending homesteaders were diverted to that area. The
prairies seemed to have an average over northern Ontario because no clearing
was necessary; over large sections of the region, the plough could be put
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
immediately into the soil and land could be seeded and harvested the first season. The Clay Belt of northern Ontario was, for the most part, heavily timbered; no market existed for the timber, which, from the standpoint of settlement, was considered a liability. On the other hand, railway building was at its peak on the prairies, and the homesteader, in the intervals of farming, could earn the money that in most cases was needed to eke out the income that could be expected from farming.
The Ontario Government also began to build a railway. In 1902, a line
was proposed which would run northward from North Bay, on Lake Nipissing,
on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and eventually reach James
Bay. Tidewater on the Bay was eventually reached in 1932, but in the interval
the emphasis had shifted somewhat from agriculture to mining. The Temiskaming
and Northern Ontario Railway, now the Ontario North
[:
]
and Railway (q.v.), had
scarcely passed its 100th mile post when rich silver ore was discovered at
Cobalt, which for the next 30 years was one of the world's greatest silver
producers.
The Cobalt discovery encouraged prospectors to explore the country farther
north, west and east, with the result that in the next few years the great gold
mines of Porcupine and Kirkland Lake had been discovered. Such settlers as
had been content to remain on the farm found the mining communities a good
market for their produce, but the great agricultural communities that had
been envisaged at the beginning of the century did not materialize.
While the Ontario Northland Railway was finding profitable traffic in
supplying the mining regions, and the pulp and paper communities which had
also been established, another railway was built which runs through the entire
length of the Clay Belt from east to west. In the early years of the century,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
the Government of Canada, then headed by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, decided that a second transcontinental line was needed. In consequence of this, an agreement was concluded with the Grand Trunk Railway Company, whose lines up to that time were confined to eastern Canada (except for some in the United States), under which the Government of Canada was to build [: ] from Moncton, New Brunswick, to Quebec City, thence westward through virgin territory to Winnipeg, where it would connect with a line which the Grand Trunk, by means of a subsidiary, would build a new port that would be established on the North Pacific. These railways were built, but, in the process, the Grand Trunk Railway became so heavily involved financially that the Government of Canada finally acquired all its lines, which now form part of the Canadian National Railways System.
The line between Quebec
^
^
City and Winnipeg, then known as the National
Transcontinental, first enters the arctic watershed when it crosse
d
^
s
^
the
height of land at the headwaters of the Nottaway River, in northwestern
Quebec Province. The line continues slightly north of west from that point
to Winnipeg, practically all of which is within the arctic watershed. The
line is the longest railway wholly within the arctic drainage basin in
North America,
The line connects with the Ontario Northland Railway at Cochrane,
Ontario, which, at present, is the center of the principal settlement within
the Clay Belt proper. Larger settlements exist farther south, on
[:
]
southerly
extensions of the belt, where railway connections have been available for a
longer period, and where better markets are available. Two communities, in
particular, farther west than Cochrane, have attained some size. Kapuskasing,
about 70 miles from Rochrane, has a large pulp and paper mill as well as an
agricultural experimental station maintained by the Dominion of Canada.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
Hearst, 60 miles farther west, is a smaller place, but it is the present northern terminus of the Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway, whose southern terminus is at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
The Clay Belt is drained mainly by the Moose River system of streams,
and the Harricanaw, which flows for the greater part of its course through
the northwestern part of the Province of Quebec. The Moose River system
comprises the French, Little Abitibi, Abitibi, Mattagami, and Missinaibi,
with their numerous branches, whose waters are discharged into James Bay
through Mo
[:
]
se River (q.v.), whose entire length of 165 miles lies within
the Hudson (James) Bay lowland, and consequently beyond the northern limits
of the Clay Belt. The latter contains no large lakes, and such lakes as do
exist are generally shallow. Its rivers, flowing over the rugged contours
presented by the underlying Pre-Cambrian rocks, are swift, and broken by
many rapids and falls. Where they expand into lakes, the latter are usually
long and narrow, following the general slope of the country.
Generally speaking, the Clay Belt is heavily timbered. In its southern
parts, many stands of merchantable timber may be found, but the great bulk
of its timber is more suited to pulpwood, much of it already being devoted
to that purpose. At Iroquois Falls, on the Abitibi River, are the large
mills of the Abitibi Power and Paper Company Limited; while at Kapuskasing
the mills of the Spruce River Pulp and Paper Company are located. As the
territory is opened up farther north, especially of transportation is pro–
vided, other mills will undoubtedly be established at various points.
Although the territory is, as has been said, underlain by Pre-Cambrian
rocks, and these are similar to those which, in other places, contain
valluable mineral occurrences, except for the mines at Porcupine and Kirkland
Lake, on its southern border, no mines of consequence have yet been located
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
in Clay Belt territory. This, however, is probably due more to the great amount of overburden which covers the bedrock than to any difference in the mineral content of the rocks. Undoubtedly, as geophysical and other forms of scientific prospecting become more generally used, the rocks that now lie below the covering left by the glaciers will give up their secrets as they have done elsewhere in the great Canadian Shield.
As is to be expected in an area which covers such a wide expense of
territory, the land varies in different localities in its fertility and
general suitability for agriculture. Samples that have been analyzed by
the Ontario Government indicate that on the whole the soil is fertile and
suited to a wide variety of crops. In the southern part of the region, both
the soil and the climate seem for some reason to be suited to seed production;
considerable acreages have been sown to clover and an important clover-seed
industry has already developed. A by-product of clo
b
^
v
^
er-growing is bee-culture,
which has proven to be another field particularly well suited to the Clay Belt.
While the average production of honey for all Ontario is 75.7 pounds per colony,
the production in the Clay Belt is 170.3 pounds per colony.
Since wild berries grow profusely throughout the area, it is perhaps
natural that cultivated berries should also do well. Strawberries up to
three and a half inches in diameter have been grown in the area, while other
berries do proportionately well. Vegetables of all sorts grow very well, and
the country in the vicinity of Cochrane is particularly well suited to the
growing of potatoes. At the experimental farm at Kapuskasing, timothy hay
grows to a height of four feet, and oats, barley, and alfalfa produce heavy
crops.
With such a profusion of forage crops, it is but natural that livestock
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clay Belt
should thrive, and the portions of the Clay Belt already settled are producing many fine herds of dairy and beef cattle. Dairying is another industry which seems destined to expand as additional and better facilities are provided.
The climate is of the continental type, in which hot summers and cold
winters prevail. At Kirkland Lake, and at other points along its southern
border, some of the lowest winter temperatures in Canada have been recorded,
but the real criterion is the amount of sunshine. The Clay Belt has an
annual average of about 263 days of sunshine, with an average frost-free
period of 119 days. The Clay Belt can therefore produce as wide a variety
of crops as most lands in the North Temperate Zone, and, in amount of yield,
surpass most of them.
Here is a land which is estimated as capable of providing homes for
upward of 1,000,000 people. That it may be along time before this objective
is attained, is perhaps evidenced by the slowness with which settlement has
been effected during the half-century since the attempt began. Undoubtedly,
the Clay Belt of northern Ontario-Quebec is the largest area within the
arctic drainage basin in North America that is capable of such extensive
settlement.
References:
Ross, George W.
Getting into Parliament and After
. Toronto, William Briggs,
1913.
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin.
Report of
the Bureau of Mines, 1904. Toronto, The King's Printer,
1904.
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland Ontario
. Toronto. the Ryerson Press, 1946.
Clearwater Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CLEARWATER LAKE
Clearwater Lake, in Ungava District, now known as the New Quebec
section of the province of Quebec, lies in the angle formed by latitude 56°
and longitude 75° at an elevation of 750 feet above sea level. Its great–
est length is 45 miles and its greatest width 20 miles, with an area of
410 square miles. It is the source of Clearwater River which flows west–
ward into Hudson Bay. The lake lies in a northwest-southeast direction,
and is separated into two sections by a rocky point that juts out from its
northeastern shore, off which are a number of large islands. Its shoreline
is irregular, cut by many indentations; its surface is broken by innumerable
islands, most of which are grouped near its center.
No stream of importance enters the lake, the largest of which is the
Noonish, flowing into the northeast corner, nevertheless, the voluem of
water that discharges through the Clearwater River is considerable. The
lake lies in a region of rounded Laurential hills that rise from 200 to
500 feet above the water. The highest hills are around the western and
southern portions of the lake, the land becoming lower and flatter to the
north and east, especially about the southeastern end, where the country
is low and swampy.
Clearwater Lake was explored in 1896 by Dr. A. P. Low of the Geological
Survey of Canada; but in the interval no further exploration of which any
record exists has been undertaken. With the possible development of the
mineral resources in the vicinity of Richmond Gulf, however, this condition may
soon be changed.
Reference:
<bibl>
Department of Mines, Quebec.
Extracts from Reports on the District of Ungava
or New Qu
[:
]
bec,
1929.
</bibl>Clearwater River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CLEARWATER RIVER
Clearwater River, in Ungava Peninsula, District of New Quebec, in the
Canadian Province of Quebec, is a large stream despite its short course.
It rises in Clearwater Lake, about 45 miles long at its greatest length,
and about 20 miles wide, lying in the angle formed by latitude 56° N. and
longitude 75° W., at an elevation of 750 feet. Clearwater River issues from
the northwestern end of the lake by three different outlets, and flows in
a westerly direction into Richmond Gulf. The three streams combine about
two or three miles below the lake, continuing as a sluggish stream for two
miles and breaking over a heavy rapid into a lake about seven miles long
by about half a mile wide, called Stillwater Lake. Below this, rapids are
continuous as the stream cuts its way down to the level of Hudson Bay.
The country between Clearwater Lake and Richmond Gulf consists of a
plateau about 750 feet above the level of the sea, its surface broken by
rounded ridges of granitic hills that rise from 100 to 400 feet above the
general level. Between the ridges, the valleys are filled with long, narrow
lakes, connected by short stretches of rapids. In its upper reaches, the
Clearwater, like most other streams in the area, flows almost on the surface,
but in its final 50 miles it descends by a series of falls to sea level. The
country is thinly forested, such timber as exists being confined to the
margins of lakes and the lower portions of the valleys. The greater part
of the timber consists of black spruce, with a few tamaracks scattered among them.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clearwater River
Clearwater River, in its lower reaches, cuts across an area of late
Pre-Ca
l
^
m
^
brian rocks similar to those exposed in the Ungava Depression in
which valuable mineral occurrences have been discovered. If similar
values are discovered along the Clearwater, it is possible that the region
might one day be of considerable economic importance, especially in view
of the close proximity of almost unlimited potential power owing to the
fact that all the streams flowing into Richmond Gulf drop over falls of
varying heights.
Reference:
<bibl>
Dept. of Mines, Quebec.
Extracts From Reports on the District of Ungava
or New Quebec
. 1929.
</bibl>Clinton-Colden Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CLINTON-COLDEN LAKE
Clinton-Colden Lake, in the District of Mackenzie, northwestern
Canada, is one of the series of lakes comprising the Lockhart River system.
The Lockhart River rises in Mackay Lake to the west and after flowing
through a series of connecting lakes passes through Aylmer Lake, which
empties into Clinton-Colden Lake by means of a short stretch of the river at
Thanakoie Narrows. The Lockhart emerging from the southeastern extrimity
of Clinton-Colden Lake, enters Ptarmigan Lake and then Artillery Lake and
finally reaches Great Slave Lake after a circuitous course of 300 miles,
entering at its eastern end.
Clinton-Colden Lake, with an area of 253 square miles, has an elevation
of 1,226 feet, just four feet lower than that of Aylmer Lake, which it re–
sembles with respect to the nature of its surrounding country. Rocky ridges
showing up as hills along its borders ex
x
^
t
^
end into the lake as points and
islands, separating long winding bays. The timber on its shores is small,
and the great extent of rock outcrop precludes any agricultural possibilities.
Any future economic importance that the surrounding country may have will
very likely be in the field of mining, since the country is underlain by
the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, which in other places have
proven productive. However, very little prospecting has yet been done in
the vicinity owing to its relative inaccessibility and the greater appeal
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Clinton-Colden Lake
of areas of equal promise nearer to the necessary transportation facilities.
Clinton-Colden Lake was named and first explored by George (later Sir
George) Back, who, in 1833-35, headed an expedition searching for the lost
British explorer, Sir James Ross, who turned up in England a considerable
length of time before Back himself returned. In 1900, J. W. Tyrrell, on
an expedition to explore the Thelon River for the Geological Survey of
Canada, passed up the lake and portaged across the divide from its northeast
angle.
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
[:
]
n the Years 1833, 1834 and 1835
; London, 1836.
Tyrrell, J. W.
Annual Report
; Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.
Cochrane River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
COCHRANE RIVER
Cochrane River, northeastern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba,
Dominion of Danada, drains Wollaston Lake, which lies wholly in the Province
of Saskatchewan, into Reindeer Lake, which lies on the boundary between that
province and Manitoba. It flows out of the norther
n extremity of Wollaston
Lake, in latitude 58° 30′ N., longitude 103° W., and flows by a circuitous
course of about 200 miles into Reindeer Lake, which it enters in latitude 57° 55′
N. and longitude 101° 30′ W. Its whole course thus lies within one degree of
latitude and but one and a half degrees of longitude. Wollaston Lake bears
the distinction of dividing its waters between the Mackenzie River watershed,
by means of the Fond du Lac River, flowing into Athabaska Lake, and the Hudson
Bay watershed, by way of the Cochrane River, whose waters are drained into
Churchill River by the Reindeer River, which discharges Reindeer Lake. And
since both Wollaston and Reindeer Lakes are so near the height of land them–
selves, Cochrane River, which flows from one to the other, has few branches;
and consequently its drainage area is practically restricted to its own
actual valley. On the west, the Fond du Lac drains the bulk of the territory;
on the north, the headwaters of the Thlewiaza and Kazan rivers approach close
to its valley; while, on the east, several rivers flowing into Hudson Bay
restrict it in that direction. Nevertheless, it carries a considerable
volume of water, most of which comes from Wollaston Lake.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cochrane River
It is a typical Canadian Shield river, consisting of lakes and lake-
extensions joined by short stretches of rapid-filled stream. Leaving
Wollaston Lake, it flows northward, for ten or twelve miles, in a wide
channel bounded by rocky shores in which many bays occur. It then swings
northeastward for 10 miles, still quite wide and lake-like, after which it
turns eastward through several lake-expansions, between two of which it
flows over the Big Stone Rapids. Two shore stretches of river and two small
lakes in this eastward course lead to Charcoal Lake, 16 miles long and about
two miles wide at its widest, lying in a northeast-southwest direction. From
the northeastern end of Charcoal Lake, the river continues in the same direction
directly for 10 miles in which it tumbles over Caribou Rapids with a fall of
25 feet. Another small lake-expansion occurs just as the river crosses the
102nd parallel of west longitude, which constitutes the boundary between the
provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Continuing a northeasterly course for
12 miles, in which two rapids occur with descents of six and three feet, res–
pectively, Cochrane River reaches its northernmost point in latitude 59° 07′
N., and then turns abruptly southward through a number of lakeexpansions and
and a rapid with a drop of seven feet, Shortly after rec
or
^
ro
^
ssing the 59th
parallel, it swings
g
^
t
^
o the southwestward for five miles, and then after
going over a rapid with a four-foot drop, tur
s
^
n
^
s sharply to the east, expanding
again into a winding, lake-like stretch, continuing thus for five miles into
a small pear-shaped lake. From the southern end of this lake, Cochrane River
flows southwestward for four miles and then enters the northwestern angle
of a lake, five miles long, lying in a northwest-southwest direction. This
lake spills almost directly into Misty Lake over a rapid with a drop of
five feet. Misty Lake, seven miles at its greatest length by about five
miles wide, contains several large islands and its shores are indented
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cochrane River
by a number of long arms and bays. Flowing out of the southern side of Misty Lake, the river runs southwestward for two and a half miles in a com– paratively narrow channel in the course of which it flows over White Spruce Rapids, with a fall of six feet. Making a sharp turn to the northeastward, it flows in this direction between wide banks, and then again turns south– westward to enter a narrow lake 10 miles in length, lying northeast and southwest, which does not seem to have a name. Flowing out of the southeastern side of this lake, the river proceeds southward with many twists and turns for five miles to Lac Brochet, 15 miles long by about five miles at its width widest. This lake lies in a northwest-southeast direction, and is heavily indented, especially on its northeastern shore, and contains a number of islands. Leaving Lac Brochet at its southeastern extremity, the river is tortuous, running over three rapids within a short distance, the third of which has a fall of 17 feet. It than flows in a generally easterly direction through a series of lake-expansions; and, shortly after going over Chipewyan Falls, with a drop of six feet, it turns southeastward to enter a narrow, indented lake, 15 miles long, lying approximately north and south. After leaving this lake, the river flows slightly west of south for 12 miles in a compara– tively narrow channel and then enters two parallel lake-expansions, each about five miles in length, joined together at their northernmost ends, between which a rapid occurs with a fall of four feet. Below the second of these expansions, the river flows through a continuous series of expansions, holding a generally southwesterly course, broken, however, by only one four-foot rapid until, in the final 10 miles, it narrows and rushes between rock-bound walls with a drop of 40 feet. Wollaston Lake has an altitude of 1,300 feet and Reindeer Lake is at 1,150 feet above sea level, the river thus having a total drop of 150 feet.EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cochrane River
Cochrane River was first explored by A. B. Cochrane, of the Geological
Survey of Canada, who ascended it in 1881 from Reindeer Lake to its source
in Wollaston Lake. Formerly called Ice River, its present name was suggested
by Cochrane's colleague, Dr. J. B. Tyrrell, and has since been adopted.
Cochrane's report was not published, but most of the details on available
maps are derived from his notes.
Fort Confidence
EA-Geography (Herma Briffault)
FORT CONFIDENCE
Fort Confidence, 66° 54′ N., 118° 49′ W., at the northeast end of
Great Bear Lake, immediately west of the outlet of Dease River. In ruins
at the present time, only gall chimneys stand, like monoliths, where once
were a group of log houses that served as wintering quarters in 1837 and
1838 for Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease, who named the place and
set up the first buildings when commanding the Hudson's Bay Company expe–
dition sent out to survey arctic coastlines westward from Franklin's
farthest west and eastward from his farthest east. A large island fronting
it (Fishing Island) shelters the locality from winds, as do the trees of
the region. It is one of the few well-wooded spots on the northern shores
of Great Bear Lake. Over a long period of years, it was a strategic point
from which to explore the Dease River so that suitable portages for crossing
to the Coppermine could be laid out. Fort Confidence provided wintering
quarters for several Franilin search expeditions. Altogether, the site
is important in the history of the exploration of northern Canada.
The first constructions, described by Simpson, formed three sides of
a quadrangle, of which the main building was 40 feet long by 1
e
^
1
^
wide, com–
prising a central hall flanked by two bedrooms. Besides this there was the
"men's house," a structure 30 feet long and 18 feet wide; a "store," a kitchen,
EA-Geogr. Briffault: Canada - Fort Confidence
and "an observatory," the latter two buildings being erected in 1838. No nails were used in the buildings, skillful dove-tailing being relied upon to give them both neatness and durability. The original buildings were subsequently destroyed by fire and were rebuilt by John Bell and Sir John R o ^ i ^ chardson in 1848, when wintering on the Franklin search expedition of 1847-49. "All the houses erected by Dease and Simpson had been burnt down," writes Richardson, "except part of the men's building. Mr. Bell reached the site on the 17th August and immediately set to work." He constructed a storehouse, two men's houses, a house for the officers. Richardson has some particular remarks to make on the chimneys: "In the log houses, which are commonly erected in this country, the chimneys are massive affairs of tempered clay and boulder stones, and require to be leisurely constructed." Hence their durability. Dr. John Rae, of the same expedition, wintered at Fort Confidence in 1849-50. The buildings were still standing in 1899, when Dr. Robert Bell's expedition reached the site in July of that year, they were surprised, J. Macintosh Bell relates, "to find the log houses of the fort still in good condition, although nearly half a century had elapsed since their occupation." When David Hanbury reached the place in August, 1902, the buildings were again in ruins, having been burnt a second time. The walls and roofs were standing, however, and portions of the buildings were capable of being made habitable. When Stefensson reached the mouth of the Dease River in the autumn of 1910 (on his expedtion of 1908-12), nothing remained but the tall chimne [: ] s. In striking contrast to this scene of desolation were the neat stacks of firewood, left by Richardson's men and looking as if cut but the previous year, an illustration, as he remarks, of the slowness of decay in far northern latitudes. George Douglas, in the late autumn of 1911, pitched his tent one night on the oldEA-Geog. Briffault: Canada - Fort Confidence
site, among the ruins.
C. D. Melvill and John Hornby built their house in 1910 on Bear Lake
itself, a half mile east of the site of Fort Confidence. The house of
another famous frontiersman, John Hodgson, also built in 1910, is on the
east bank of the Dease River, not far away.
References:
Baird, P. D. "Expeditions to the Arctic,"
The Beaver
, Winnipeg, The
Hudson's Bay Company, June-September, 1949.
Bell, J. Macintosh. Report on the Topography and Geology of Great Bear
Lake and of a Chain of Lakes and Streams thence to Great
Slave Lake.
Geological Survey of Canada,
Part C, Annual
Report, vol. xii. Ottawa, 1901.
Douglas, George M.
Lands Forlorn, a Story of an Expedition to Hearne's
Coppermine River
, New York, G. P. Putnam's, 1914.
Great Britain, House of Lords, Sessional Papers,
Arctic Papers,
vol. v, 1852.
Contains letters from Dr. John Rae to (1) the Secretary of
g
^
t
^
he Admiralty and (2) Sir George Simpson, dated Nov. 14, 1850
and April 15, 1851, from Fort Confidence.
Greely, A.W.
A Handbook of Arctic Discoveries
, Boston, Roberts Brothers, 1895.
Hanbury, David T.
Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada
, London, Edw.
Arnold, 1904.
Richardson, Sir John.
Arctic Searching Expedition
(etc), London, Longman,
Brown, Green, 1851.
Simpson, Thomas.
Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America
;
Effected by the Officers of the Hudson's Bay Company during
the Years 1838-39
. London, Richard Bentley, 1843.
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur.
My Life with the Eskimo
, New York, Macmillan Co. 1913.
Coronation Gulf
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CORONATION GULF
Coronation Gulf, Mackenzie District, northern coast of Canada, is one
of the largest indentations on the coast. It lies in an east-northeast
direction, and is about 100 miles in length and about 55 miles wide, bounded
on the north by the south coast of Victoria Island. It is entered from the
west by way of Dolphin and Union Strait, which at the point of entrance is
about 25 miles wide. Cape Krustenstern, in latitude 68° 28′, longitude
116° 05′ W., is the eastern extremety of a hooked, rocky promontory rising
about 100 feet above the water. From Cape Krus
[:
]
nstern, the coast forming
the northern part of the western end of Coronation Gulf runs southward for
about 13 miles to Locker Point, which is low at the water's edge but is
overlooked by a high bluff called Kikigarnak some distance back from the
shore. At Locker Point, the coast turns abruptly westward and continues
in that general direction for about 18 miles to the entrance to Basil Bay,
about four miles wide at its mouth, which extends west-northward for about
eight miles, tapering gradually to a point. The shores of this bay are low,
with sandy beaches, rising gradually to low hills, which toward the head
of the bay are covered with grass.
Cape Hearne, a low shingly promontory, marks the southern entrance to
Basil Bay. Here, as at Locker Point, the cliffs lie some distance back from
the shore, rising at their highest to about 200 feet above the intervening
land. Between Cape Hearne and Cape Kenall, about 14 miles southwestward, a
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
triangular bay extends back from the line of the coast for about 10 miles in a west-northwesterly direction. The shores of this bay are generally low and grassy, with cliffs standing at some distance inland to the north. Cape Kendall, standing out boldly, about 200 feet above the water, marks the northern portal of Richardson Bay, which forms the southwestern extremity of Coronation Gulf. Its entrance, from Cape Kendall to Mackenzie Point, on the south shore of Coronation Gulf, is about seven miles across, and it extends about the same distance southwestward, receiving at its apex the Rae River, flowing in from the west. Richardson River, a smaller stream, flows into Richardson Bay on its south side. A mile east of Mackenzie Point, another, shorter, projection occurs, eastward of which, for four miles, the south shore of Coronation Gulf is low and sandy, rising to a gravelly clay bank about 100 feet high as the Coppermine River enters in latitude 67° 48′ N., longitude, 115° 30′ W. The river, at its mouth, is about a mole wide; and on its southern side it has built up a sandspit which projects from a low, gravelly plain [: ] lying at the foot of clay hills. The river, which rises about 500 miles to the southeastward, follows a course slightly east of north in its final stretch. The settlement of Coppermine (q.v.) stands on a ridge on the western side of the river, and is the most important community east of the mouth of the Mackenzie River.
Eastward from the mouth of the Coppermine River, the coast of Coronation
Gulf runs irregularly in an easterly direction with a slight bow to the
southward; the shore is low, with sandy or gravelly beaches. Farther east,
the coast becomes bolder, with bare, rocky cliffs, swinging to the east–
northeast. Several rocky points project into the sea in this stre
[:
c
]
^
t
^
ch, which
is also broken by the mouths of several small rivers. Tree River, the largest
of these, enters a narrow inlet called Port Epworth, extending five miles
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
southward. The shores of Coronation Gulf and the shores of this inlet are from 400 to 500 feet in height, and on the eastern side of Port Epworth a granite mountain rises to a height of about 1,000 feet. Beyond Fort Epworth, the shore swings more to the northeastward and is roughly indented. Eighteen miles northeast of Port Epworth, a rocky promontory extends in the general direction of the coast, off the end of which is a large island called Hepburn Island. Grays Bay lies in the angle formed by the promontory, and is further protected by Hepburn Island. From the bottom of Grays Bay, the coast, still high and rocky, trends in a northeasterly direction to Cape Barrow, in latitude 68° 04′ N., longitude, 110° 54′ W.
Continuing the line of the coast northeastward for 40 miles across an
island-filled indentation, Cape Flinders, the
[:
]
southwestern point of
Kent Peninsula, is reached, marking the eastern extent of Coronation Gulf.
But extending southward from the line between Cape Barrow and Flinders is a
stretch of water about 40 miles wide and the same distance north and south.
This expanse of water forms the entrance to Bathurst Inlet, extending south–
ward for about 85 miles, as w
^
e
^
ll as the entrance to Melville Sound, extending
in a northeasterly direction. It is indented on all sides, and might reason–
ably be considered part of Bathurst Inlet into which it leads. Since, how–
ever, it is generally considered as part of Cornation Gulf, it is described
here as such.
Cape Barrow is the northern extremity of a bold headland consisting of
pink and grey granite, rising to a height of 340 feet, connected to the
mainland by a low neck of land a mile or less in width. From Cape Barrow,
the general trend of the shore forming the western side of this broad indenta–
tion is southeasterly for about 40 miles, terminating in Kater Point. In this
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
distance two indentations occur, Detention Bay, about seven miles south of Cape Barrow, and Daniel Moore Bay, about eight miles farther to the south– east. The latter is about six miles wide at its mouth and about the same distance to its bottom. Kater Point is a high, bold headland, which con– stitutes the northeastern extremity of a rounded promontory forming the western side of Arctic Sound. The latter extends southward for about 15 miles, the final three of which constitute Baillie Bay, at the entrance to which Hood River flows in from the southwest. At the entrance to Arctic Sound, and for about seven or eight miles southward, the banks are high and rugged, after which they fall away, and the country becomes low and covered with grass. The eastern side of Arctic Sound is formed by a long, narrow promontory, extending in a north-and-south direction, terminating in Wollaston Point, which is generally taken to be the northwestern portal of Bathurst Inlet.
A line from Wollaston Point east-northeasterly to Everitt Point, a
distance of 17 miles, marks the northern limit of Bathurst Inlet. Following,
now, the eastern side of the indentation connecting Bathurst Inlet with
Coronation Gulf proper, a shallow bay occurs between Everitt Point and
Cape Croker, about six miles to the northward, across the mouth of which
three islands form a chain. Cape Croker, which is on an island off the
coast, is the southwestern portal of Melville Sound, which extends north–
eastward for about 30 miles, where it connects by a narrow passage with
Elu Inlet, which continues in the same general direction for a further
40 miles, almost severing Kent Peninsula from the mainland. Opposite Cape
Cro
[:
]
er, and forming the northern portal of Melville Sound, are a group of
islands which enclose Parry Bay on their north side. The western end of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
Kent Peninsula extends northward of this group of islands and is cut by two deep, narrow indentations, the western shore of the second of which is formed by the promontory terminating in Cape Flinders. A line northward from Cape Flinders, across the mouth of Dease Strait to the south shore of Victoria Island, is generally considered to mark the eastern end of Corona– tion Gulf.
Conration
^
Coronation
^
Gulf, more perhaps than any other stretch of the Canadian
arctic coast, is filled with islands of all sizes and shapes. A short
distance off its western shore, just south of the entrance to Dolphin and
Union Strait, the Duke of York Archipelago consists of a cluster of relatively
small islands. As is the case with most of the principal islands and other
geographic features of Coronation Gulf, itself named in honor of the coronation
of King George IV of England, they were named by Sir John Franklin. The
Lawford Islands lie off the southern shore of the Gulf, between the mouth
of Coppermine River and Port Epworth. Hepburn Island, which helps to shield Grays
Bay, remains a monument to John Hepburn, the seaman from Orkneys to whom the
Franklin party owed so much. The section between Coronation Gulf proper
and the entrance to Bathurst Inlet is particularly filled with islands. The
Wilmot Islands are situated on the line between Cape Barrow and Cape Flinders,
consisting of a large island and a cluster of smaller ones. Southwestward
of this group lie the Chapman Islands, similar in characteristics to the
Wilmot group; and southeast of these lie the Lewes Islands, containing the
largest island of any in the three groups. Richardson Islands comprise a
group, of which one is about eight miles in length by about five miles wide.
These lie close to the Victoria Island shore, just west of a line running
north from Cape Barrow. Murray Island, about three miles in length by about
two miles wide, lies a mile or so west of the western end of the largest
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
Richardson island. It stands out boldly, its southward-facing escarpment rising about 500 feet above the water.
The most important river flowing into Coronation Gulf is, of course,
the C^c^oppermine (q.v.). About 12 miles west of Tree River, the Sallik River
enters; and between the Sallik and Coppermine two other fairly large rivers
flow in, the Kugaryuak and the Asiak. In the short stretch between Grays
Bay and Cape Barrow three streams enter, none of which is of any considerable
size, but Hood River, which flows into the bottom of Arctic Sound, is a fairly
large stream.
The timber line does not approach the coast anywhere along the shore
of Coronation Gulf nearer than about 40 miles, except for isolated clumps of
trees, and then only in the valleys of the streams. The land, however,
except where the rock is exposed, is well covered with grass and lichens,
and formerly provided pasturage for large herds of caribou and smaller numbers
of musk oxen. Coppermine River, from the coast as far upstream as Bloody Fall,
contains plentiful supplies of salmon, trout, and whitefish, which are dried
by the Eskimos and sold to the Hudson's Bay Company for use at other less–
favored posts. The region is also well stocked with furs, and the natives
there are much better off than many others along the coast.
Coronation Gulf was first explored by Captain (later Sir) John Franklin,
whose party descended the Coppermine River in 1821 from their base at Fort
Enterprise, northeast of Great Slave Lake, and then proceeded eastward in
boats along the coast as far as Point Turnagain, on the northwestern shore
of Kent Peninsula. On the return journey, the party ascended Hood River for
some distance and then marched overland to Fort Enterprise, but were reduced
to starvation before the survivors reached the post, only to find expected
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Coronation Gulf
stores of food had not been provided. John Richardson, of the second Franklin expedition, explored the western shore of Coronation Gulf as far east as the Coppermine River. Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease, conducting explora– tion on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1838 and 1839, traversed its eastern and southern shores. Stefansson, journeying eastward along the coast from his winter camp on the Horton River, traversed the [: ] western end of the gulf as far east as the mouth of Coppermine River, which he ascended. The following year, he descended the river and followed the shore westward to Dolphin and Union Strait, crossing thence to Victoria Island. And in 1914-16, much of the south shore of the gulf was surveyed by members of the Stefansson Arctic Expedition 1913-18.
References:
[:
]
Franklin, John.
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in
the years 1819-20-21-22. London, 1823.
Franklin, John and Richardson, John.
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the
Shores of the Polar Sea in the years 1825, 1826 and 1827
.
London, 1828.
Simpson, Thomas.
Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America
during the years 1836-39
. London, 1843.
Stefaneson, V.
My Life With the Eskimo
. New York, 1913.
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.
Cree Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CREE LAKE
Cree Lake, in northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, lies in a
northeast-southwest direction between latitude 57° 13′ N. and 57° 43′ N.,
longitude 106° 01′ W. and 107° 13′ W., at an altitude of 1,570 feet above
sea level, with an area of 350 square miles. It lies just north of the
height of land separating the watershed of the Churchill River from that
of the Mackenzie River, and is drained by the river of the same name north–
ward into Black Lake, thence into Lake Athabaska by Fond du Lac River, and
ultimately reaches the Arctic
Ocean
^
Sea
^
by way of the Mackenzie River. Its
shores are composed chiefly of Athabaska sandstone, which also composes many
of the numerous islands with which its expanse is dotted. Its shores are
heavily indented with the long, irregular inlets, divided by rocky points,
that are characteristic of lakes in that region.
The southwestern extremity of Cree Lake consists of two irregular bays,
separated by a promontory. Similar bays and promontories line the shores,
east and west and along the northern shore. Back from the shores, to the
south and east, the country consists of sandy plains, wooded with small
Banksian pine. Farther north, the country consists of gently rounded
hills wooded with small pine, where an occasional sandy escarpment stands
out. The hills and projecting points consist generally of gneiss, but these
protrude through the overlying Athabaska sandstone. Cree Lake, like many others
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cree Lake
in the same line running northwestward from Lake of the Woods, on the south, to Great Bear Lake, on the north, marks the contact between the comparatively unaltered Palaeozoic and the highly altered Pre-Cambrian rocks.
This lake, after the ice sheet had receded, stood at a much higher
altitude, and was also much larger, as is shown by raised beaches to be seen
at various places along its shores. The islands with which it is studded,
except those of sandstone or gneiss, consist mainly of unassorted glacial debris,
and lie in the same direction as the main axis of the lake. They are more or
less oval in shape, rounding up from each end toward the middle, which is their
highest part. The materials of which they are composed seem t o have been
deposited by glacial streams discharging into crevasses in the ice, which thus
became filled with unassorted sand and gravel that was left in the shapes now
seen when the ice melted away from their sides. For these deposits, not quite
the same in form or composition as eskers, which are also found in many places
where glacial drift has accumulated, Dr. J. B. Tyrrell has suggested the
Indian tern
ispatinow
. The largest island in Cree Lake, of this type, is
called Ispatinow Island.
Cree Lake was first explored in 1892 by J. B. Tyrrell, of the Geological
Survey of Canada, when he ascended the Mudjatik River from Churchill River,
crossed the divide to a stream flowing northward into Cree Lake and then,
after traversing the west shore of the lake, descended Cree River to Black
Lake and the Fond du Lac River,
g
thence to Lake Athabaska.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B. Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River. Geological Survey of Canada; Annual Report, Vol.VIII.
1896.
</bibl>Cree River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
CREE RIVER
Cree River, northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, drains the lake
of the same name into Black Lake, and is this part of the Mackenzie River
draindge system. It rises in about latitude 57° 42′ N., and leaves the lake
as a broad, shallow stream flowing over a bed of broken sandstone fragments
with a current of from six to eight miles an hour. Six miles below Cree Lake,
the river drops from 30 to 40 feet in a distance of two miles over what is
called the Hawk Rapids, and half a mile farther down rushes swiftly between
walls of sandstone 10 feet in height. The country through which it runs con–
sists of low hills covered with boulders and thinly wooded with Banksian pine.
For several miles beyond the swift water last mentioned, the river alternately
expands into wide bits of quiet water and rushes down stony rapids. Following
this, it enters a region of morainic hills composed of boulders which rise in
places to about 100 feet in height, after which a further stretch of sandy
country occurs. This type of river continues for 20 miles — heavy rapids
where the stream runs very swiftly, then gradually expanding and running over
a wide bed of gravel and boulders. At no point does it flow through a
definitely marked valley, which indicates, of course, the recent nature of
the channel, and the shortness of time, from a geological standpoint, since
the recession of the ice sheet. This shortness of time is accentuated by the
fact that streams in this latitude are frozen for the greater part of the year
and consequently only during the summer time is much erosive action possible.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cree River
As the Cree River crosses the 58th parallel, Little Cree River flows in from the southwest. A few miles below the mouth of Little Cree River, the main stream flows for three-quarters of a mile over a heavy rapid, with another nine miles farther down stream. The country here consists of stony hills. Following this, the river holds a relatively straight course in a north- northeasterly direction, between low, marshy banks in a valley a third of a mile wide and 40 feet deep. Rapid River now flows in from the east, and four and a half miles below, a series of heavy rapids begins, each separated from the next by stretches of quiet water. This series is ended by a rapid three miles in length in which the drop is 40 feet. The valley here lies between hills of boulders rising from 100 to 150 feet on each side, and the bed of the river consists of boulders that have fallen into it from both sides. Deep and narrow in its upper part, the rapid spreads near its lower end over a wide, shallow, boulder-strewn flood-plain. For four and a half miles the river continues wide with low banks, after which a series of rapids begins, lasting for four miles to the mouth of the Bad-water River. From the mouth of Bad-water River, Cree River flows northward for three miles through undulating Trout River and then flows over the last rapid in its course.
Below the mouth of Trout River, the Cree flows slightly east of north
for 16 miles to the mouth of Sandy River. Beyond the mouth of the latter,
Cree River turns sharply to the west and, flowing five miles in that direction,
enters Wapata Lake, about three miles across, out of which it flows through a
short lake-expansion before entering the long, narrow southwestern end of
Black Lake. Cree River is 108 miles long, and in the distance between Cree
and Black lakes falls 541 feet.
Cree River was first explored in 1892 by J. B. Tyrrell of the Geological
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Cree River
Survey of Canada, who descended it from its source to its mouth as part of a reconnaissance survey conducted by him in association with D. B. Dowling between Athabaska Lake and Churchill River. While it provides a link in a canoe route from Churchill River to Athabaska waters, its difficulties are such that few will be tempted to go that way, and consequently, unless valuable minerals are some day found along its course, it is likely to continue as unfrequented as in the past.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B. Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and
Churchill River. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. VIII. 1896.
</bibl>Dawson
EA-Geography - Canada
DAWSON
Dawson, administrative centre of Yukon Territory, is situated on the
east bank of the Yukon River, north of its confluence with the Klondike
River. It is named after
^
Dr.
^
G. M. Dawson, a geologist who explored the
region in 1887. Dawson is a base of supply and distributing point for
the Klondike gold-fields, and has a population of about 800. In addition
to the Dominion Government administrative buildings, Dawson contains a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, two banks, a telegraph office,
a Government radio station (Department of National Defence), a weather
station, a post office, public and separate schools, a public library, a
hospital, Church of Kngland and Roman Catholic churches, a motion picture
theatre, stores, hotels, and substantial private residences. The town has
electric light, telephone, and water services. A system of roads radiates
from Dawson to the placer mining areas of the Klondike
[:
]
istrict where
large gold dredges operating in the creeks and valleys are of great interest
to tourists. A ferry provides a means of crossing the Yukon River to West
Dawson, and a truck and tractor road extends westward to the Alaskan
boundary and beyond the dredge camps situated on upper Fortymile River in
Alaska. A landing field for aircraft is located in Klondike River Valley,
12 miles from Dawson.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Dease Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
DEASE LAKE
Dease Lake, in Northern British Columbia, slightly more than twenty-
four miles long and averaging less than a mile wide, lies almost due north
and south just west of the 130th
[:
]
meridian, between the 58th and 59th
degree of north latitude. Its altitude of 2,660 feet above sea level, is
only about 100 feet lower than the height of the divide, two miles to the
south of its upper extremity, which separates the Pacific and Arctic
watersheds. Dease Lake, on the arctic side of the divide, drains north–
ward by way of Dease and Liard rivers into the Mackenzie River.
The lake was discovered in 1834 by John McLeod, Chief Trader of the
Hudson's Bay Company, who had been stationed at Fort Halkett, on the Liard
River. In that year he traveled up Dease River and Lake on his way to the
Stikine River to establish a post for his company. He named both river and
lake after Peter Warren Dease, a fellow-officer of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Owing to the intransigence of Russian traders at the mouth of the Stikine,
who prevented the Hudson's Bay Company's ship,
Dryad,
from entering the
river, no post was established in the area at the time, and McLeod returned
to Fort Halkett.
In 1838, another Hudson's Bay officer, Robert Campbell, attempted to
establish a post on Dease Lake, and in the spring of that year succeeded in
doing so. During the following winter, however, his party had a very difficult
time. "We were dependent for subsistence on what animals we could catch," he
EA-Geography: LeBourdais: Canada - Dease Lake
wrote later, "and, failing that, on ' tripe de roche '. We were at one time reduced to such dire straits that we were obliged to eat our parchment windows, and our last meal before abandoning Dease Lake, on 8th May, 1839, consisted of the lacing of our snowshoes." The post was not reopened.
Dease Lake was next discovered by gold miners, when Henri Thibert, a
French-Canadian and his partner, a Scotsman named McCulloch, prospecting up
the Liard and Dease rivers, reached Dease Lake in 1872; and hearing that
miners were working on the Stikine to the southwest, continued on to those
diggings to try their fortune. They found the best ground already taken,
and the following spring were on their way back to the Liard when they dis–
covered gold on a creek near the lower end of the lake, which they called
Thibert's Creek. They remained to work the ground and were later joined by
others who crossed from the Stikine.
During that summer gold was also discovered on Dease Creek, which runs
into the west side of the lake about sixteen miles from its head. The gold
was coarse and claims were worked for about six miles above its mouth, with
one or two good claims farther up. Like most placer diggings, however, the
paystreak was quickly worked out; what may be called the life of the camp
extended over a period of about twelve to fourteen years.
Laketon, at the mouth of Dease Creek, was the principal settlement, and
during the height of the boom was a busy spot. For many years it has now been
a
[:
]
host town, like most others that owe their existence to the vagaries of
placer gold mining.
Dease River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
DEASE RIVER
Dease River, in Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, drains the
territory northeast of Great Bear Lake, between that lake and the Copper–
mine River drainage basin, and should not be confused with another river
of the same name, tributary of the Liard River in northern British Columbia.
It forms part of a difficult canoe route by way of Dismal Lake to the Copper–
mine River and thence to the arctic coast at Coronation Gulf.
The branch of the Dease bearing that name on the map, rises in Lake
Rouvier, which is about five miles long and lies near the watershed between
the Dease and Coppermine drainage areas, in approximately latitude 67° 10′,
longitude 117° 30′ W., and flows westward to its junction with the branch
called the Sandy River, coming in from almost due north. Above the junction,
neither branch is really navigable, although the Sandy is considered to be
the canoe route referred to above. Following the junction, the Dease flows
southwestward, and is about 20 yards wide, with a sluggish current, flowing
between moderately high, steeply sloping and occasional cut banks. In one
place, the river has cut its way through a bed of rock, where a considerable
rapid occurs. Twenty miles below the junction of the Sandy and the Dease,
and about the same distance above the river's outlet, the East branch comes
in. This river was renamed the Stefansson by George M. Douglas because
Stefansson had his winter camp there in 1910-11, but the change of name has
not yet appeared on the maps. Below the junction with the East River, the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dease River
Dease is a broad, shallow stream, averaging about 130 yards wide, contracting occasionally, however, to as narrow a stream as 10 or 15 yards. Its current is intermittent, flowing in places swiftly over shallow rapids, succeeded by deeper stretches where the current is almost sluggish.
The Dease has figured in a number of famous expeditions and its historic
interest is out of proportion to its size, length, or any commercial value
that has so far been disclosed. It comes first into history in 1826, when
Dr. John Richardson, of the Franklin Expedition, having gone down the Mackenzie
River to the Arctic Sea, thence eastward to Coronation Gulf and up the Copper–
mine and Kendall rivers to the source of the latter in Dismal Lake, portaged
across to the head of the Dease (Sandy River) and descended
^
it
^
to Great Bear Lake,
proceeding to Fort Franklin at the western end of the lake.
The next expedition to use the river was that of Peter Warren Dease
(for whom it was named) and Thomas Simpson, officers of the Hudson's Bay
Company, when the latter in 1838, from their winter quarters, Fort Confidence,
at the
[:
]
eastern end of Great Bear Lake, ascended the Dease to the head of
Sandy River and crossed to Dismal Lake, which received its name from him, and
then descended the Kendall and Coppermine rivers, proceeding eastward along
the arctic coast. Returning in the fall, he retraced his steps down the Dease,
and in the following year again made a trip up and down the river.
During the Franklin search, Dr. John Richardson and Dr. John Rae,
together in 1848, ascended the Cop
^
p
^
ermine and reached Great Bear Lake by way
of the Dease. In the second year of the same expedition, after Richardson's
departure, Rae again followed the Dease route. It is not known that the
Dease was again used from the close of the Franklin Search until 1900, when
Dr. J. Mackintosh Bell of the Geological Survey of Canada, accompanied by
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dease River
Charles Camsell, ascended it to a point from which Lake Bouvier was visible. In 1902, David Hanbury came by canoe up the Coppermine and Kendall to the west end of Dismal Lake and crossed south to the Dease and thence to Great Bear Lake.
In 1910, the Stefansson party left their sledges near the mouth of the
Coppermine. They traveled inland, back-packing themselves and their dogs,
and spent the summer hunting along the Kendall River, Dismal Lake, and the
headwaters of the Dease, especially about the head of the east branch. That
autumn, with one Eskimo companion, Stefansson followed the Dease afoot to its
mouth. He traveled up and down it several times during the winter, for the
party had their winter quarters near the tree line on the east branch.
In the autumn of 1910, Joseph Hodgson, a retired Hudson's Bay Company
trader, built a cabin a short distance up the Dease at what is now known as
Hodgson Point. He and his family hunted along the Dease that year. And a
few weeks later (in the autumn of 1910), the English explorers, C. D.
Melville and John Hornby, built a cabin just east of the site of Fort Confi–
dence. The autumn of 1911, George M. Douglas and party arrived at the mouth
of the Dease which they ascended the following year on their way to the
Coppermine, returning later by the same route, an account of which has been
written by Douglas.
References:
Richardson, John.
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar
Sea in the Years 1825, 1826 and 1827
, etc.: London, 1828.
Stefansson, V.
My Life With the Eskimo
. New York, 1913.
Douglas, G. M.
Lands Forlorn
. New York, 1914.
Dease River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
DEASE RIVER
Dease River, in Northern British Columbia, which drains the lake of
the same name into the Liar
[:
]
, is about 180 miles in length, but, according
to Dr. George M. Dawson of the Geological Survey of Canada, who surveyed it
in 1887, "measured in straight lengths of one mile it is one hundred and
twenty-seven miles." Its general course is N.N.E. Dease River was named
in 1834 by John McLeod, Chief Trader of the Hudson's Bay Company, after
Peter Warren Dease, a fellow-officer of the Company.
The river, after leaving the lake, has an estimated width of from 100
to 150 feet and a depth of no more than three feet. It twists and turns,
meandering about a wide, flat valley. About eight miles down stream, the
river narrows and runs between high mountains on each side, rising from
1,000 to 5,000 feet. A few miles farther, it expands into a small lake,
followed within a few miles by three other similar expansions. These lakes
are from a mile to two miles in length, and impose a limitation upon the
navigability of the river because the ice usually remains in them for a
considerable time after it has gone out of the river, and it also forms
earlier in the fall.
Dease River is fed by many tributaries and rapidly increases in size.
The first t
^
ri
^
ir
butary of consequence, going down
[:
]
tream, is the Cottonwood.
It comes in from the northwest and occupies a wide valley bordered by high
mountains. Cottonwood Rapids are passed a short distance below the mouth
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dease River
of the Cottonwood, [: ] but offer no serious impediment to navigation for experienced canoemen.
The next important tributary is McDame Creek, coming in from the
northwest. At its mouth is Sylvester Landing, for many years the site of
a trading post, originally establish
ing
^
ed
^
by R. Sylvester. Gold was dis–
covered on McDame Creek in 1874, and Sylvester's was the base of supply
for miners working on that and other nearby creeks.
Rapid River comes in from the east, just before the Dease, previously
following a northeast course, makes a sharp swing to the north, which it
continues for about thirty miles. Here the valley is much wider, the mountains
recede and are markedly lower. Lateral valleys here, in the leo of the high
mountains through which the river has just passed, get relatively little pre–
cipitation, and prospectors and others make a practice of wintering their
horses in them, owing to the scantiness of the snowfall. The vegetation is
distinctly that of the "dry belt" and bundhgrass predominates.
French Creek comes in from the southwest, and shortly after the river
makes an abrupt turn to the northeast, which general direction it follows
for the final thirty miles of its course. Blue River joins from the west
twelve miles from the bend. For the first time the country loses its
interesting characters; no mountains are to be seen from the river valley,
although the current continues to be strong. Four miles before the Dease
reaches the Liard near Lower Post, it rushes over a number of rapids which
sometimes annoy, if they do not otherwise inconvenience, the voyageur.
Doré Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
DOR e ^ É ^ LAKE
Dor
^
é
^
Lake, northern Quebec, Dominion of Canada, is one of the sources
of the Nottaway River, which empties into the lower end of the east side
of James Bay. It is drained by the Chibougamau River, one of the principal
tributaries of the Nottaway. Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake is a companion-lake to Lake Chibou–
gamau, in much the same way that Mistassinis Lake pairs with Mistassini
Lake (q.v.). Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake is 12 miles long by about two miles at its greatest
width, very irregular of outline, and lies in a northeast-southwest direction.
To look at the two lakes on the map, Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake could easily be taken for the
western section of Chibougamau Lake, separated from it by a narrow, rocky
promontory and an adjoining island; but Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake, at an elevation of 1,218
feet above sea level, is 12 feet lower than the former, and consequently
must be considered a separate lake.
Gouin Peninsula, which, with Ile du Portage, forms the eastern shore of
Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake, ex
[:
]
ends for 11 miles in a northeasterly direction, varying in
width from a quarter of a mile to about a mile and a half. Ile du Portage,
about three miles long by two miles wide, blocks the northeastern end of
the long, narrow strip of water constituting Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake. Narrow passages
connecting Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake with Chibougamau Lake separate Gouin Peninsula and
Ile du Portage on the east shore of Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake, and between Ile du Portage
and the western mainland. In addition to the water communication with
Chibougamah Lake, between the
[:
northern
]
northeastern extremity of the
peninsula and Ile du Portage, several portages across the peninsula exit.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dor e ^ é ^ Lake
The shores of Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake, including Gouin Peninsula, consist of granitic
rocks, with the exception of part of Ile du Portage and the southwestern
angle of the lake, near its outlet, which are covered by glacial till and
where no rock outcrops. The lake contains many small islands, but about
midway a group of several fairly large islands almost divides the lake into
two sections. The southwestern end of Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake is divided into two deep
bays by a boreal promontory; from the head of the westernmost of these the
Chibougamau River, the discharge of the lake, flows southwesterly. Several
deep irregular inlets indent the west shore, of which
[: c]
^
C
^
ache
e
^
é
^
Bay and Cedar
Bay, in the mid-section of the lake, are the principal. A few small streams
flow into the lake, but its principal inflow is from Chibougamau Lake, of
which it forms the only outlet.
The country surrounding Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake is well timbered with black and white
spruce, the former predominating, balsam fir, Banksian pine, white birch,
with tamarack in the lower, swampy parts. Much of the country has, however,
been ravaged by fire at different times, and consequently a good deal of the
timber is second-growth. If it were not so inaccessible, this timber might
be commercially valuable, at least for pulp.
[:
]
he lake is well stocked with
fish, of which lake trout and whitefish are the principal ones, but quanti–
ties of brook trout, pike, pickerel, suckers and chub also abound. For over
a century, the region has produced excellent furs, but excessive trapping'
has not greatly reduced the number of fur-bearing animals. Steps have been
taken in recent years to conserve the fur-bear
t
^
e
^
rs, but since the region seems
destined soon to become the scene of active mining operations, wild life will
doubtless have to give way to the demands of industry.
The principal minerals of economic importance so far discovered are
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dor e ^ é ^ Lake
gold-bearing copper culphide and gold quartz, which have been found in a number of places. One of the principal deposits up to the time of writing is on Cedar Bay, development of which was begun in 1934 by The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada. No ore has yet been discovered in the Chibougamau area sufficiently rich to justify extensive mining operations in present circumstances; and therefore all holders of mining properties can do is to wait until better transportation facilities are provided.
The region was visited during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
by fur traders, missionaries and explorers seeking a route to James Bay.
Fur, and perhaps some day, timber, seemed all that the country could ever
be good for, except, for local consumption, the fish with which the lakes
are filled. The granitic rocks were not then considered likely to contain
minerals of economic importance. In 1903, however, Peter McKenzie discovered
what seemed to be valuable deposits of asbestos, gold and copper. At that
time the greater emphasis was placed upon the presence of asbestos. Many
other prospectors followed McKenzie and, despite its inaccessibility, interest
was developed in the possibilities of the area. Since development depended
almost entirely upon better transportation facilities, the Government of the
Province of Quebec was pressed to build a railway into the district; but
before engaging upon such an undertaking, the Government appointed a com–
mission to investigate the mineral resources. The commission, known as the
Chibougamau Commission, consisting of Dr. A. E. Barlow, Special Lecturer
in Economic Geology at McGill University, Montreal, chairman, and E. N.
Fairbault, of the Geological Survey of Canada, and J. C. Gwillim, Professor
of Mining at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, entered the region in
1910. Its exhaustive report, made in 1911, stated that no asbestos deposits
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dor e ^ é ^ Lake
of economic importance had been discovered, and that such gold and copper deposits as had been found were not commercially valuable. This report seriously retarded the development of the country.
Opinions in geology, as with all sciences, change as further informa–
tion becomes available. In 1911, the importance of the vast region of
northern Canada underlain by Pre-Cambrian rocks was not yet appreciated.
The gold mines of Porcupine and Kirkland Lake, in northern Ontario, and
the gold-copper of Noranda, in northern Quebec, had not yet been discovered.
The Chibougamau area, furthermore, is a difficult country to prospect; in
addition to the handicap of distance from bases of supply, the rocks are
thickly covered by moss, requiring costly and laborious stripping before
their nature can be ascertained. Prospectors, however, continued their
efforts; and many properties have since been located, some of which, with
cheaper transportation, are capable of profitable operation. This may soon
be forthcoming because a railway is being built into the Ungava Peninsula,
to the northeast, to develop extensive iron ore deposits there.
The first scientific exploration of the area about Dor
e
^
é
^
Lake was under–
taken in 1870 by the Geological Survey of Canada, when James Richardson con–
ducted an investigation of its geology, Dr. A. P. Low, also of the Survey,
devoted much of his time between 1884 and 1905 to the exploration of Labrador,
including the Chibougamau region. Detailed work was done in 1927 and 1930
by J. B. Mawdsley, and continued in 1930 by G. W. H. Norman, also of the
Geological Survey of Canada.
References:
Low, A. P. Report of Exploration in the Labrador Peninsula Along the East
Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan and Portions of Other Rivers
in 1892-93-94-95. Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report,
Vol. VIII, 1895.
Mawdsley, J. B., and Norman, G.W.H. Chibougamau Lake Map-area, Quebec.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 185, 1935.
Dubawnt River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
DUBAWNT RIVER
The Dubawnt River, Northwest Territories of Canada, is the principal
tributary of the Thelon River, draining a considerable area in southeastern
Mackenzie and westerly Keewatin districts. It rises in the height of land
northeast of Lake Athabaska and follows a generally northeasterly course of
580 miles to join the Thelon River in Beverly Lake. Its watershed extends
from latitude 62° 20′ N. to latitude 64° 35′ N., and from longitude 99° 30′
W. to 107° 55′ W.; but because of the proximity of the Kazan, on the east,
and the upper part of the Thelon, on the west, the watershed is long and
narrow. In the Dubawnt's upper reaches, its course is through a fairly
well-wooded region; but for the greater part of its length it traverses a
treeless territory.
The Dubawnt River rises in Labyrinth Lake, on the edge of the tableland
forming the height of land between the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay drain–
age areas, although two streams draining chains of small lakes flow into
Labyrinth Lake from the southwest. Leaving Labyrinth Lake at its northeastern
end, the Dubawnt, after five miles, expands into Brule Lake, and then into
another small lake. Flowing out of the latter, the Dubawnt continues on a
on a northeasterly course for 10 miles, and then swings southeastward for
half a mile into Sandy Lake, a triangular expansion about five miles long.
Leaving Sandy Lake, the Dubawnt flows through Mountain Lake, about the same
size as Sandy Lake, and within a short distance enters a long westerly-extending
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Dubawnt River
arm of Smalltree Lake, which lies in latitude 61° N., and longitude 105° 30′ W. The river continues eastward out of the eastern end of Smalltree Lake, through a small lake, and then enters the northwestern end of Anaunethad Lake, an irregular, straggling lake about 30 miles long, lying in a northwest-south– east direction. Between Anaunethad Lake and Wholdaia Lake, the water merely spills over the edge of one rocky basin into the next, producing a series of slight rapids, although the difference in level between the two is very small. Wholdaia Lake lies at an altitude of 1,225 feet above sea level, and, in a sense, is an extension of Anaunethad Lake, continuing the same general axis and consisting of a similarly contorted and irregular outline. Its length, from the point where it joins Anaunethad Lake to its southeastern extremity, is about 50 miles; but, in addition to this, an arm stretches twenty miles to the northeast from the end of which the Dubawnt emerges, expanding imme– diately thereafter into two small lakes. Below these, the river flows north– ward in a fairly regular channel for six miles, expanding into Hinde Lake, six miles long, which inclines to the northeast. A further short stretch of channel in a generally northward [: ] irection leads to Boyd Lake, about 15 miles long to about two miles at its widest.
During most of this distance, the surrounding country has been well
wooded, with black and white spruce, tamarack and aspen, but below this point
the timber begins to thin out. It is a region of innumerable lakes of all
sizes occupying irregular, shallow depressions sccoped out of the gneissic
rocks by the action of the glaciers in the ice age.
From Boyd Lake, the river flows mainly northward for five or
xis
^
six
^
miles
into Barlow Lake, roughly wedge-shaped, about eight miles in length by about
three miles wide at its top, which lies across the intersection of the 62nd
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dubawnt River
degree of north latitude and longitude 103° W. Flowing swiftly over strong rapids, the river continues for three miles northeasterly to a somewhat larger, more irregular lake, lying northwest and southeast, called Carey Lake. Here the timber finally ceases, and from then on the country con– sists mainly of rolling tundra. It was at this point that the Tyrrells, in 1893, saw a herd of caribou that covered the countryside.
At the outlet of Carey Lake, the Dubawnt plunges down a rapid with a
fall of 30 feet; and in the following 20 miles seven other rapids occur
with a total drop of 120 feet. The river here runs northwesterly into
Markham Lake, about seven miles in length by about four wide. A short
stretch of stream connects Markham and Nicholson lakes, the latter abou
[:
]
seven miles by five, lying in a northeast-southwest direction. Leaving
Nicholson Lake at its northern extremity, the river swings to the northeast,
flowing over a series of six rapids for a total drop of 100 feet, and enters
the west side of Dubawnt Lake.
Dubawnt Lake, with an area of 1,600 square miles, at an elevation of
500 feet above sea level, is the largest in Keewatin District, although a
portion of its western side is in Mackenzie District. It is cut by the
102nd degree of west longitude (boundary between Mackenzie and Keewatin
districts) and is also cut by the 63rd degree of north latitude. Like other
lakes in the Pre-Cambrian region, it contains many long, narrow islands and
is consequently a maze of channels. The red and grey gneisses through which
the river has
rup
run up to this point now give way to red and grey sandstones
and coarse conglomerates, cut and altered by dykes and masses of dark green
trap and bright red quartz porphyry.
Dubawnt River flows out of the northeastern angle of Dubawnt Lake and
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Dubawnt River
shortly after rushes down a rocky gorge, not more than 50 yards wide, followed by three rapids in a distance of about four miles, and then expands into Grant Lake, about four miles long. The latter receives on its west side the Cham– berlain River, flowing from the southwest. The surrounding country here con– sists of long sandy ridges with terraces, probably of marine origin, extend– ing along their sides. From Grant Lake, the river flows over a rapid and then continues through a wider stretch of channel, where the current is slack, running first northward and then northeastward and over another heavy rapid into the south end of Wharton Lake, which lies in latitude 64° N., at an elevation of 300 feet above sea level. Wharton Lake is wedge-shaped and about 12 miles long, by about four or five at its greatest width, which is toward the north. From its eastern side an arm extends southeasterly for about half a mile, expanding into a small lake a mile in length. From the eastern end of this expansion, the river continues eastward for a mile, flowing in a wide channel; and then, breaking over rapids, runs nor ^ t ^ hward for three miles into the southern end of Marjorie Lake, which is triangular in shape and about five miles long. In the four or five miles between Wharton and Marjorie lakes, the river drops 40 feet. Where the Dubawnt leaves Marjorie Lake at its north– western angle, a rapid occurs, after which it flows northwestward for 30 miles at a rate of about three miles an hour between sandy banks, and again breaks over rapids. Six miles below these final rapids, the river enters the expansion connecting Beverly and Aberdeen lakes. Between Marjorie and Aylmer lakes, the river drops 127 feet; and between Dubawnt and Aylmer lakes, the drop is 370 feet.
The Thelon River, about the same size as the Dubawnt, flows into the
western end of Beverley Lake, and theceforth, until the combined stream
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Dubawnt River
discharges its waters into Baker Lake and Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay, it goes under the Thelon name, although formerly it was known for the whole distance as the Dubawnt.
The first person of European descent to see the Dubawnt River was
Samuel Hearne, when he crossed and recrossed it on his journey to the Copper–
mine River in 1771-72. It was first explored in 1893 by J. B. and J. W.
Tyrrell (q.v.), of the Geological Survey of Canada, when they ascended the
Black (now Chipman) River into Selwyn Lake and crossed the height of land to
a lake on its northern side which they called Dely, after the then Minister
of the Interior of Canada, and which for some time was considered to be the
source of the Dubawnt. The name of this lake has since been changed to
Wholdaia, while the source of the river has been found to be considerably
farther west, as described above.
References:
Tyrrell, J.B. Report on the Doobaunt, Kazan and Ferguson Rivers and the
Northwest Coast of Hudson Bay. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. IX, 1896.
Tyrrell, J.W.
Across the Sub-Arctic of Canada
. Toronto, 1908.
Eastmain River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
EASTMAIN RIVER
The Eastmain River, in the northern part of the Canadian province of
Quebec, drains an area of 25,500 square miles in the southwestern portion
of the Ungava Peninsula, or N
[:
e
]
w Quebec, as it is now officially called.
It rises in the granitic hills of the tableland which lies between latitudes
52° 30′ N. and 54° N., longitude 69° W. to 71° W., and flows in a generally
westerly direction, discharging into James Bay not far north of the latter's
southeastern angle. The river's chief sources are Lakes Opemiska, Wahemen
and Patamisk, which occupy rocky basins within a short distance of each other.
With a length of 375 miles, its watershed is long and narrow, due to the
proximity, on the south and north, respectively of the Rupert and Fort
George rivers; its tributaries, in consequence are many but short.
Patamisk Lake, at an elevation of 1,800 feet above sea level, is drained
through a succession of smaller lakes into Opemiska Lake. What is called the
Pemiska branch of Eastmain River flows out of the south side of Opemiska Lake;
and, as is often the case in the Pre-Cambrian regions, a heavy rapid occurs
where it leaves the lake. At this point, the Eastmain is a small stream,
occupying an indefinite, rocky channel. After flowing southwesterly for a
distance of about 20 miles, it is joined by the branch draining Lake Wahemen.
The combined stream then flows westward and, swinging to the north, takes in
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Eastmain River
Long Portage Creek, which comes in from the northeast. Below the mouth of Long Portage Creek, the river, now considerably increased in volume, is about 200 yards wide and averages three feet in depth, flowing through a number of lake-expansions and over many rapids for about nine miles, after which it divides into two channels for a distance of nearly four miles to enclose a large island, and then receives the Misask River, which enters from the northeast. The latter is a fair-sized stream, which again con– siderably increases the Eastman's volume. The course is now southwesterly, and continues thus for about 45 miles. In this section, long islands of glacial till are numerous; the river bottom, a mile wide in places, is strewn with boulders and angular blocks of gneiss and granite. A g ^ t ^ the end of this stretch, the river takes a sharp turn, flowing almost back upon its course for two or three miles during which a drop of 55 feet occurs. At the apex of the turn, two small tributaries come in from the north. Once more resuming a general southwesterly direction for about four miles, Eastmain River again separates into two channels to take in a large island just above the confluence of the Kowatstakau River, which com [: ] s in from the north. Following this, the course once more becomes southwesterly for about eight miles t o the mouth of the Tichegami River, which flows in from the southeast. From the headwaters of this stream, a portage route leads southward to Lake Mistassini.
The country through which the river flows in this section is low and
almost flat, with only a few isolated hills seldom rising mo
[:
]
e than 100 feet
above the general le
a
vel. The river occupies a shallow valley from 300 to
1,000 yards wide, with low sandy banks. The soil is typical glacial till,
composed of sand and clay with an admixture of boulders. The country is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Eastmain River
thickly timbered with black spruce, Banksian pine, poplar, tamarack and white birch.
Eastmain River is here from 200 to 400 yards wide, frequently expand–
ing into lakes of various sizes and enclosing many islands, At the point
where Grand Island, 14 miles long by nine wide, divides the river into two
channels, a stream comes in from the mouth, draining a chain of lakes which,
with portages, provides another canoe route between the Eastmain and Lake
Mistassini. Below the island, the river runs westward again for five or six
miles, and then, turning northward, flows into and out of the eastern end of
Lake Nasaskuaso, which extends westward for about six miles at right angles
to the stream. This lake lies among rocky hills which rise from 200 to 400
feet above the surrounding country. Ross River comes in from the northeast
a mile below the outlet of Lake Nasaskuaso, after which the Eastmain, with
many twists and turns, enters upon a northwesterly course. A short distance
below the mouth of Ross River, the Eastmain plunges through Ross Gorge where,
in two miles, it drops 60 feet. Then, bending to the west, it flows through
Prosper Gorge, where in a succession of rapids a drop of 100 feet occurs.
Continuing on a course slightly south of west, the river makes an abrupt
turn to the northwest, where it enters the Great Bend; its width of a quarter
of a mile now contracts to little more than 100 yards, and for the next
fifteen miles it flows between high, rocky banks over a succession of rapids
and cascades. At the lower end of this stretch, Broken Paddle River comes
in from the northeast, and beyond this the river makes a curve to the northwest
before continuing its general westerly course, during which it passes through
Conglomerate Gorge where it is divided into a number of channels by narrow,
rocky islands between which the water rushes with great velocity through chutes
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Eastmain River
with a total fall of over 100 feet. Below this point, the river, previously flowing almost on the same level as the s [: ] rrounding country, runs in a more definitely marked valley. Lake-expansions, which hitherto have been numerous, now become fewer, since the river is better confined between definite banks. A number of tributaries are received on each side in this stretch, the river swinging to the northwest again for 10 miles below the gorge, after which it makes a sharp turn and flows for a mile and a half through Clouston Gorge, which is a straight chute never wider than 100 feet and sometimes as narrow as 30, with a fall of 105 feet.
From here to its mouth the river flows in a shallow valley across a
succession of broad terraces of stratified sand anc clay. In its descent
from one terrace to the next below, the river cuts a valley back into the
sand and clay until the underlying rock is reached, and the degree of hard–
ness of this rock determines the nature of the falls or rapids which occur
in each case. Below Couston Gorge, the Eastmain flows slightly south of west
for 25 miles to its confluence with the Opinsaka River, during which, among
other obstructions, it flows through a 65-foot chute called Island Falls,
followed by rapids bringing the total fall to 120 feet. Six miles farther on,
another chute occurs with a 20-foot drop called the Talking Falls.
The Opinaka is a considerable stream draining a series of lakes, largest
of which is Eye Lake, 25 miles long by nine miles wide, lying to the northeast,
The river now approaches its lower reaches and its valley and the surrounding
country are fairly well wooded. Two miles below the mouth of the Opinaka,
the valley becomes gradually narrower and the rapids heavier; the river is now
only 100 yards wide and falls 75 feet through a shallow, rocky gorge called
Basil Gorge. In this section the banks are from 50 to 100 feet high, and
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Eastmain River
they decrease in height with the distance from the sea. In the eight miles between the mouth of the Opinaka and the head of tidewater, 17 miles from the coast, the river is, for most of the distance, about a quarter of a mile wide; below [: ] hat point, flowing due west, it widens in places to over a mile, and is filled with islands of all sizes; its current is from two to four miles an hour, its banks low and sandy. Three miles above the river-mouth, on the south shore, the Hudson's Bay Company's post is situated. The East–main is about a mile and a half wide where it enters the bay, and is obstructed by many sand bars, most of which are bare at low water, leaving shallow channels between.
Reference:
<bibl>
Low, A. P.
Report on Exploration in the Labrador Peninsula along the Eastmain
,
Koksoak, Hamilton, Manikuagan and Portions of Other Rivers in 1892
-
93-94-95:
Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report
, 1895.
</bibl>Fawn River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FAWN RIVER
Fawn River, northwestern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is a tributary
of the Severn River (q.v.). It rises in Trout Lake, in latitude 53° 45′ N.,
longitude, 90° W., and flows in a generally northeasterly direction for
about 120 mio^l^es, after which it swings to the northwestward and flows in
that direction for about 60 miles, entering the Severn just above Limestone
Rapids, 56 miles from the sea. The nature of the territory through which
the Fawn runs is similar to that traversed by the Severn. While it also
contains many rapids, it is easier to navigate than the Severn, and conse–
quently Indians and others wishing to reach the headwaters of the Severn
usually ascent it, and portage across to the Severn from Trout Lake. F
^
r
^
om
the Indians' standpoint, the Fawn River route is a better one because the
lakes through which the Fawn runs are better for fishing.
Ferguson River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FERGUSON RIVER
Ferguson River, in the Northwest Territories of Canada, drains an
area in Keewatin District lying westward of Hudson Bay. Serving chiefly
to connect a series of lakes, large and small, with which that area is covered,
its length is but 180 miles, in which distance it drops 400 feet.
It rises in Ferguson Lake, which lies approximately in latitude 63° N.,
longitude, 96° 10′ W., not far east of the northeastern angle of yathkyed
Lake, which is drained by the Kazan River flowing northward into Baker Lake,
thus draining into Hudson Bay. Ferguson River, which runs at right angles
to the Kazan River, also discharges into Hudson Bay.
The river emerges from Ferguson Lake as a shallow, rapid stream about
30 yards wide and flows eastward for five miles, draining two small lakes on
the way, and enters the western end of Kaminuriak Lake, a shallow, sprawling
lake, which lies at an altitude of 320 feet, set in a till-covered plain,
from which rolling, grassy plains sweep off to a distances. Flowing out of
the south side of Kaminuriak Lake, Ferguson River, now a much larger st
^
r
^
eam,
60 yards wide and two feet deep, runs swiftly for a third of a mile into a
small lake, after which it divides to enclose a long, flat, grassy island,
at the end of which is a cascade with a 15-foot drop. Below the rapid, the
river continues with a strong current to a lake extending southeast for seven
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Ferguson River
miles with a width of from three-quarters of a mile to a mile and a half. Emerging from this lake at its southeastern angle, the river flows south with a continually swift current for two and a half miles, and enters the northwestern end of another lake of similar size. It flows out of this lake at the northeast angle, continuing for two miles through a rocky gorge, and then turns southeast for two and a half miles among bold, rocky hills, where it breaks over a strong rapid. Below this point, the river flows eastward for two miles in a straight channel with steep rocky banks, and then passes through a small lake surrounded by hills. After emerging from this lake, it flows over a rocky rapid three-quarters of a mile in length, and, still flow– ing swiftly, flows into Quartzite Lake.
The river leaves Quartzite Lake in a rather indifferent channel, and a
mile and a half farther on rushes through another heavy rapid and into a small
lake. Flowing through three lakes, the second and third of which are separated
by a rapid, where it runs over boulders, after which it enters the northwestern
end of a narrow lake, the last on the stream. Some distance below Quartzite
Lake, a short tributary is received, which drains Kaminak Lake, which spreads over
a considerable area a few miles to the southwest, whose longest dimension is
about 34 miles.
From the southeastern end of its final lake, the Ferguson River flows in
a south-southeasterly direction down an irregular and comparatively steep decline
in a shallow, boulder-lined channel. After continuing thus for a mile and
three-quarters, the river turns abruptly to the east and flows with an easy
current in a wide channel, when it is obstructed by a heavy, crooked rapid a
third of a mile long, after which there is another half mile of east water,
followed by a rapid with a fall of 10 feet. For the next three-quarters of a
mile the river flows with a moderate current, contracting then and rushing
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Ferguson River
swiftly between walls of trap and granite. Immediately below this short gorge, the river flows swiftly for two miles and a quarter over a wide bed of pebbles and, passing through a rocky gap, empties into Hudson Bay at the head of Nevill Bay.
Ferguson River was first explored in 1894, when Dr. J. B. Tyrrell (q.v.),
of the Geological Survey of Canada, portages across from the Kazan River, and
traversed it from Ferguson Lake to its mouth. It has since been geologically
surveyed by other members of the Survey.
Although the west coast of Hudson Bay, as well as the greater part of
Keewatin Districts, is underlain by granites and greisses, a group of rocks of
volcanic and sedimentary origin outcrop along the coast between Rankin and
Dawson inlets, and similar outcrops occur at various places along the Ferguson
River. Since such rock assemblages in other parts of the Canadian Shield con–
tain metallic occurrences, it is considered possible that similar deposits
might some day be found at some point on the Ferguson River; at any rate,
the Geological Survey suggests that such areas might well repay the efforts
of prospectors.
References:
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Dubawnt, Kazan and Ferguson Rivers and the
Northwest Coast of Hudson Bay:
Geological Survey of
Canada;
Annual Report
, Vol. IX, (1896); 1897.
Weeks, L. J.
Meguse River and Part of Ferguson River Basin, Northwest
Territories;
Geological Survey of Canada;
Summary Report
,
Part C.; 1932.
Finlay River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FINLAY RIVER
The Finlay River drains a narrow strip of territory along the western
flank of the Rocky Mountains, between latitudes 58° N. and 56° N., in north–
eastern British Columbia. It is the farthest source of the Peace River, one
of the principal tributaries of the Mackenzie. It rises in a cluster of
lakes occupying adjoining valleys between the Cassiar and Omenica ranges of
mountains in or about Latitude 57° N. and longitude 127° W. The branch
flowing out of Thutade Lake is usually considered the principal source, and
after leaving that lake the stream runs northwestward for about 35 miles and
then expends into a narrow, lake-like section 18 miles long. Below this, as
it cuts through a spur of the mountains before making its great bend to the
southeast, it contracts into a succession of canons, the most formidable of
which is Long Ca
^
ñ
^
on, where for five miles the river rushes between cliffs
600 feet high, narrowing in places to less than 100 feet. At the end of this
southeasterly stretch, the Quachada comes in from the northeast. Owing to
the proximity of the Rocky Mountains, most of the Finlay's branches flowing
in from the east are small, but the Quachada, whose milk-white color gives
the key to its glacial origin, is an exception.
Below the Quachada, the river enters the Rocky Mountain Trench, one of
the most remarkable transverse depressions on the continent. Beginning south
of the International Boundary, it continues northwestward for over 800 miles
along the western flank of the Rocky Mountains, during which it is successively
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Finlay River
occupied by the headwa ^ t ^ y ers of the Kootenay, Columbia and Fraser rivers draining into the Pacific, and the Peace, which drains into the Arctic.
Eleven and thirty-five miles, respectively, below the mouth of the
Quachada, the Paul and Akie rivers flow in from the east. The Finlay valley
in this stretch is from three to six miles wide, the channel, broken by many
sandbars, from 100 to 150 yards wide, and the stream flowing at a rate of
about four miles an hour. The general course is southeasterly, but the
river twists and turns continually. Fifteen miles below the mouth of the
Akie, the river enters Deserters' Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, a narrow, tortuous defile about half
a mile in length, which at its narrowest is not more than 100 feet wide.
Fourteen miles below Deserters' Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, the Ingenica, one of the Finlay's
principal tributaries, comes in from the west. It is about 55 yards at its
mouth and rises not far from Lake Thutade. Gold was first discovered in its
sandbars and terraces in 1891, since when mining has been more or less con–
tinuous, but the richest deposits have long been exhausted.
Fort Grahame, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, is located
20 miles south of the Ingenica to supply the prospectors and Indians living
along the upper Finlay and its branches. Thirty miles below Fort Grahame,
the Ospica comes in from the east; and a mile farther on, the Omenica, the
Finlay's largest tributary, enters from the west, contributing about one-fifth
of the Finlay's volume at that point. With its many branches, it drains a
large area lying to the east of the Omenica Range, a considerable amount of
which has agricultural possibilities. Gold was discovered on the Omenica in
1868, and some of its bars and benches have been worked ever since, although
in recent years the amount of gold recovered has been negligible. A few
miles before it joins the Parsnip, at the Forks, the Finlay receives Manson
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Finlay River
River from the west, which, with the Ingenica and Omenica, has provided the bulk of gold recovered from what is generally called the Omenica goldfields. The Finlay meets the Parsnip head-on in latitude 56° N., longitude 123° 15′ W., at which point it is about 300 yards wide. After the two streams meet, they turn abruptly to the eastward and, as the Peace, begin the passage through the main range of the Rocky Mountains on the first lap of the way to the Arctic Sea.
The Finlay was first ascended in 1797 by John Finlay, an officer of the
North West Company, after whom it was named; and was explored to its source
by Samuel Black, of the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1824. Since it is not on any
through route, and he who goes up must come down again, and also perhaps because
of the many serious obstructions in its upper reaches, it has not been ascended
to its source by many travelers or explorers. In 1893, R. G. McConnell, of
the Geological Survey of Canada, surveyed it as far as a short distance beyond
Long Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, surveying also its principal tributaries.
It is the haunt of some of the largest game animals on the continent,
the grizzly bear, the moose, the caribou, as well as mountain goats and
sheep, and for that reason some big-game hunters have visited it. It and
its tributaries are well stocked with fish, the most important of which are
rainbow and Dolly Varden trout. The Indians who live along the Finlay belong
to the Sekani tribe, a branch of the great Dene family, and they live entirely
on fish and game, supplemented by supplies secured from traders in exchange
for furs.
References:
McConnell, R. G.
Summary Report
. The Geological Survey of Canada; Ottawn, 1893.
Haw
ro
^
or
^
th, P. L.
On the Head Waters of Peace River
. New York, 1917.
Burpee, L. J.
The Search for the Western Sea
. Toronto, 1935.
Finlayson Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FINLAYSON LAKE
Finlayson Lake, nine and a half miles long by about a mile wide, in
southeastern Yukon Territory (latitude 61° 45′ N., longitude 130° 15′ W.),
is one of the sources of the Liard River, a tributary of the Mackenzie.
Lying in a northwesterly-southeasterly direction at an elevation of 3,105
feet above sea level, it marks the summit of the watershed between the
Yukon and Arctic drainage basins. It is drained southeastward by the
Finlayson River, which flows into the west arm of Frances Lake. No rock
exposures are seen along its shores; its beaches are mostly gravel, with
some swamp in places. The country generally is overlain by a mantle of
glacial drift; the glaciers responsible, however, were local and not part
of the ice sheets which covered the greater part of the continent during
the glacial period. Finlayson Lake was discovered in 18
^
4
^
5
0 by Robert
Campbell of the Hudson's Bay Company when he traveled from the lower Liard
River to the headwaters of the Yu
i
kon (Pelly) River by way of the Liard,
Frances River and Lake, Finlayson River and Lake and across the 15-mile portage
to the Pelly. River and lake were named by Campbell after Duncan Finlayson,
Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and were explored by Dr. George M.
Dawson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, in 1887.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N.W.T. and
Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887
. The
Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 1898.
Burpee, L. J.
The Search for the Western Sea
. Toronto, 1935.
Finlayson River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FINLAYSON RIVER
Finlayson River, 35 miles in length, drains the lake of the same name
in southeastern Yukon Territory, and is one of the sources of the Liard
River, a tributary of the Mackenzie. It is a shallow stream, blocked by
many sandbars and choked with fellen timber, which renders it practically
unnavigable except for short stretches where the water is deeper. In its
final four miles, it flows through a narrow rock ca
n
^
ñ
^
on filled with rapids in which the
total drop is 300 feet. Finlayson River was discovered in 1840 by Robert
Campbell, of the Hudson's Bay Company, on his way from the Liard to the head–
waters of the Yukon (Pelly) River, and named by him after Duncan Finlayson,
Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was visited by prospectors in
the 1870′s and some gold was recovered from its bars, but not sufficient to
justify large-scale operations. It was explored in 1887 by Dr. George M.
Dawson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, on his exploratory journey from
the stikine River to the Yukon, by way of the Liard and Frances Rivers.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District. N.W.T.
and Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887
. The
Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 1898.
Burpee, L. J.
The Search for the Western Sea
. Toronto, 1935.
Fortymile
EA-Geography - Canada
FORTYMILE
Fortymile is a small placer mining settlement situated on the west
bank of the Yukon River about 47 miles below Dawson at the mouth of
Fortymile River. It has a post office.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Fond Du Lac River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FOND DU LAC RIVER
Fond du Lac River, in northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, con–
stitutes a part of the great Mackenzie waterways system, draining an area
north of Churchill River, south of the Thelon drainage area, and west of
the height of land separating the Mackenzie and Hudson Bay drainage basins.
Wollaston Lake in which it rises has the almost unique distinction for such
a large lake of providing the source of two rivers of almost equal size
which flow in opposite directions. The Cochrane River issues from the
northern end of Wollaston Lake, flows into Reindeer Lake, which is drained
by Reindeer River into Churchill River, and its waters eventually reach
Hudson Bay. Fond du Lac River, on the other hand, flows out of the north–
western angle of Wollaston Lake, and, following a general west-northwesterly
course through Hatchet and Black lakes, in addition to many smaller ones,
enters the eastern end of Lake Athabaska. Its drainage basin thus extends
from latitude 56° 30′ N. to 60° 20′ N., and from 103° 35′ W. longitude to
106° W. It is a swift stream, broken by rapids and falls throughout the whole
of its length.
At the point where Fond du Lack River flows out of Wollaston Lake, it is
narrow and runs over rapids in a bed of large granite boulders, but shortly
widens considerably. For the first three or four miles the banks are rocky,
but shortly after the country becomes low, without any rock in sight. The river
here flows generally northwesterly, plunging over one serious rapid and another
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fond du Lac River
smaller one before Hatchet Lake is reached. Hatchet Lake, irregularly rectagular in shape, and [: ] otted with islands, is 12 miles long at its great– est length and seven miles at its greatest width. Fond du Lac River empties into its southeastern corner, issuing again from the opposite corner. A short distance below Hatchet Lake, the river drops over a rapid with a fall of 18 feet. This rapid is divided at its head into two channels by an island, and shortly below the rapid the river expends into a small lake which consists of a wider section of the stream lying about east and west, and from which project northward two narrow parallel arms about two miles in length. Below this lake, the river runs northwesterly over three rapids with drops of eight, six and twelve feet, respectively, and enters Crooked Lake, which is merely another expansion of the river, [: ] g extending for seven miles. Poplar Rapids mark the outlet of the lake, and also the first appearance of poplar trees west of Wollaston Lake. The river is now between 80 and 100 feet wide. Three-quarters of a mile below the last rapid, another occurs with a drop of 10 feet; and about this point the river reaches the region underlain by Athabaska sandstone, which from now on largely forms its banks.
Waterfound River, rising in the height of land which separates its
headwaters from those of the Haultain River flowing south into Churchill River,
here flows in from the southwest. It enters a deep extension of the Fond
du Lac, which in a sense reaches out to meet it. From the mouth of the
Waterfound River, the Fond du Lac River flows generally northward through
four lake-expansions of various sizes, none of any considerable size, each
of which is separated from the next by a heavy rapid. Kondaw Lake, studded
with islands, about 10 miles long by about five in width, marks the point where
the river turns from its northward course and continues generally westward. The
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fond du Lac River
country here consists of morainic hills composed of boulders intermized with red sand, rising from 50 to 75 feet in height. Issuing from Kosdaw Lake, the river is again interrupted by rapids, and passes into a long, narrow Lake– expansion below which is a stretch of quiet water about three and a half miles in length, broken, midway, however, by a slight rapid. Below this stretch, two further rapids occur, with drops of five and ten feet, respectively. Here the river splits into three channels, below which it narrows and flows with a swift current into the eastern end of Otter Lake, three and a half miles in length. Beyond Otter Lake, the river continues westward over a small rapid and then another with a fall of six feet and into a lake two miles long. Below this small lake, the river plunges down a rapid with a drop of 30 feet. This is known as Thompson Rapid, and it was here that David Thompson was upset from his canoe in 1796 and lost all his equipment. It is 60 miles from Wollaston Lake, and about midway between the latter and Black Lake. A short distance below Thompson Rapid, another one occurs where the fall is 12 feet and farther on, a second one, where the drop is 15 feet. Beyond this, the nature of the river changes, its channel becomes much more pronounced and fever lakes occur.
A few miles below the last-mentioned rapids, the river goes over a fall
of 15 feet, called Manitou Falls, where the water tumbles in two streams over
a rocky sandstone ledge into a narrow channel about 25 feet wide, which opens
into a shallow, rocky basin. Below these falls, the river runs northwestward
for three miles with a swift current, where the banks on the south are mostly
of sandstone, and of boulders on the north side. A drop of 15 feet occurs
at the end of this stretch. Beyond this, the river flows quietly for five
miles, continuing on a westward course through a wide, swampy valley between
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fond du Lac River
banks of sandstone from 10 to 20 feet high, and then swinging to the north– west, continues thus for three miles, below which Brink Rapids extend for a mile with a total drop of 25 feet. Shortly below this, the river flows over Brasay Rapids, nearly a mile in length, where the stream is divided into two channels by a large island. Moose Lake, which is merely an expansion of the river, now extends for about six and a half miles; and below the lake two rapids occur between its outlet and the mouth of the Hawk-rock River, which flows in from g the south. Beyond the mouth of the latter, Fond du Lac River consists for five miles of a series of lake-expansions which terminate in an abrupt bend to the north. The river flows in this direction for about a mile, in which North Rapids occur, and then, following a further series of lake– expansions, it turns northeastward, continuing thus for 13 miles to the mouth of Perch River, coming in from the east. Just beyond the mouth of Perch River, the Fond du Lac swings to the north-northwest for six miles in which another rapid occurs between two lake-expansions. As the river swings again to the westwa d ^ r ^ d, Porcupine River enters from the northeast; and shortly below, the Fond du Lac, p [: ] eviously flowing through wide banks, divides into two channels around in an island and plunges over Burr Falls, where the water rushes for 300 yards between bare rocky walls 40 feet apart, th [: ] greater portion of the water flowing on one side of the island and ending with a drop of 25 feet. Below this, another divided fall occurs making a total descent of 43 feet. Three-quarters of a mile below the foot of these falls, the river, now about 100 yards wide, flows into the southeastern side of [: ] Black Lake, through two channels whicn enclose Burr Island.
As it emerges form Black Lake, Fond du Lac River, flows northward for
three miles of almost continuous rapids, called Elizabeth Falls, in which the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fond du Lac River
descent is 110 feet, after which it enters Middle Lake, about two miles long, and then flows northward for half a mile and westward a mile. The whole distance from the outlet of Middle Lake is another continuous rapid known as the Woodcock Rapids, with a total drop of 81 feet. At the end of this stretch, the river, running northward, divides about an island, then turns slightly south of west, gradually widening into a lake-expansion about eight miles long. Carp River flows into the north side of this expansion from the northwest. Fond du Lac River contracts again below this point, rushing over Stony Rapids for a fall of 25 feet after which, wide and quiet, it enters the eastern end of Lake Athabaska.
The first persons to traverse Fond du Lac River, aside from Indians,
were undoubtedly fur traders. In 1796, David Thompson, of the Northwest
Company, ascended Reindeer River to Reindeer Lake, from which he crossed
[:
at
]
to Wollaston Lake by way of Swan River and its chain of lakes and portages;
and from Wollaston Lake he ascended Fond d
g
^
u
^
Lac River to its mouth. In 1881,
A. S. Cochrane, of the Geological Survey of Canada, made a track-survey
from the lower Saskatchewan River, by way of Churchill and Reindeer rivers,
to Reindeer Lake, and from there ascended the river since known by his name
to Wollaston Lake, and from there descended Fond du Lac River to Lake Atha–
baska. In 1892, J. B. Tyrrell, also of the Geological Survey, assisted by
D. B. Dowling, explored the river from its source in Wollaston Lake to its
mouth, as part of an extensive reconnaissance survey conducted by them
between Athabaska Lake and Churchill River.
References:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River
. Geological Survey of Canada; Annual Report, Vol.
VIII, 1896.
</bibl>Fort George River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FORT GEORGE RIVER
Fort George River, formerly called Big River, drains a considerable
area in the central partof the Ungava Peninsula, now called New Quebec,
in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is 520 miles long and flows slightly
north of west form its sources in lakes lying among the granitic hills of
the high tableland in central Ungava, near the boundary between Newfoundland-
Labrador and New Quebec, into the upper part of James Bay in latitude 53° 50′
N. Its drainage basin is long and narrow, like that of other rivers in the
region, because it is hemmed on the south by Eastmain River and on the north
by Great Whale River; nevertheless the area which it drains is given by the
Dominion of Canada Year Book as 26,300 square miles.
Fort George River rises in a number of lakes occupying narrow valleys
in the hills referred to above, the principal of which is Hichikun, lying
in an altitude of 1,760 feet above sea level, just north of latitude 53° N.,
between longitudes 70° and 71° W., and comprising 150 square miles. Other
lakes which contribute to its beginnings lie farther east and north, not far
from the headwaters of the koksoak, which flows northward into Ungava Bay,
and the Manikugan, which flows southward into the St. Lawrence River.
What may be called the main stream leaves Lake Nichikun at its north–
western extremity and flows northward for about 10 miles until it is joined
by a branch draining a number of lakes to the eastward. Then, continuing
westward in what appears to be a continustion of the valley occupied by the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fort George River
latter, it flows through a lake-expansion called Round-eyed Lake, and shortly after receives from the east another branch of almost equal size. This part of the river was explored in 1893 by Dr. A. P. Low on behalf of the Geological Survey of Canada on his way to the headwaters of the koksoak River.
A southern branch, apparently as large as the more northerly one, rises
in a series of lakes not far from the sources of the northern branch, and,
following a generally parallel course, joins the latter in longitude 76° 31′
W., at a point where the two branches, having followed a course slightly north
of west from their respective sources, turn for a few miles to the southwest
before, as a united stream, they enter upon the final stretch to the sea. It is
impossible to give a detailed account of the river below its headwaters because
no record of any further exploration is available below the point where Dr. Low
left it on his way to the headwaters of the Koksoak. That the river is not
dotted in on the map would suggest that someone has traversed its course, but
the almost entire lack of detail over most of its length as compared with such
rivers as the Eastmain and the Koksoak, which are known to have been explored,
would also suggest that much of the course of the Fort George River as shown
on present-day maps must be largely a matter of conjecture.
At its mouth, the river is separated into two main channels by an island
six miles in length, on the north shore of which the settlement of Fort George
is situated. It consists chiefly of the Hudson's Bay Company's post and that
of Revillon Freres, as well as Anglican and Roman Catholic missions.
The region immediately about the mouth of the river has some agricultural
possibilities; for many years good gardens have been cultivated which produce
excellent crops of such vegetables as can be grown elsewhere in the north
temperate zone.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Fort [: ] eorge River
Fort George is said to have one of the safest anchorages on the coast
of Hudson and James Bays.
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula Along the
Eastmain, Kokeoak, Hamilton, Wanikuagan and Portions of Other
Rivers in 1892-93-94-95.
Geological Survey of Canada, Annual
Report, Vol. VIII, 1895.
Curran and Calkins.
In Canada's Wonderful Northland
. (W. Tees Curran and
H. A. Calkins); New York, 1920.
Foster Lakes
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FOSTER LAKES
Foster Lakes, northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, consist of
three long, narrow, irregular lakes, lying at slightly different levels
and connected by short, rapid stretches of stream. They are drained
principally southward by Foster River into Churchill River, but one of them
is also drained by way of Wathaman River into Reindeer Lake, whose waters
also reach Churchill River. They are called Upper, Middle and Lower Foster
lakes, and lie
en echelon
, following the strike of the underlying gneiss,
which is southwest and northeast. The area in which they are situated is
bounded on the south by latitude 56° 28′ N., on the north, by latitude 56°
58′ N., on the east by longitude 105° 16′ W., and on the west by 105° 36′ W.
Upper Foster Lake, the northwestermost of the three, at an elevation of
1,686 feet above sea level, is about 25 miles in length, not at any point
wider than two miles, and much narrower than that over much of its length.
A larallel section, about nine miles in length by about two miles at its
widest, lies to the southeast of the main part of the lake, to which it
is attached by a narrow strait. A third section, lying still farther to
the southeast, about 12 miles in length and equally narrow, is attached to
the second by another short, narrow strait.
A short, rapid-filled stream connects the third section of Upper Foster
Lake with Middle Foster Lake. The latter is shaped like an irregular H, the
northwestern upright of which is 13 miles long, the connecting bar four
miles long, and the southeastern upright, 12 miles long. Since the drop
EA-Geog. LaBourdais: Canada - Foster Lakes
between Upper and Middle Foster lakes is 15 feet, the elevation of the latter is 1,671 feet above sea level.
Lower Foster Lake, 1,650 feet above sea level, is 17 miles long and
generally narrower than either of the others. A short, narrow passage in
which there is a drop, at the point where it joins Lower Foster Lake, of
21 feet, connects the latter with Upper Foster Lake. Like the two other
sections, Lower Foster Lake has a narrow, irregular pendant lake, about 8
miles long, on its southeastern side.
To these main lakes and their appendages, on all sides, smaller lakes are
connected by short streams and passages, making it often hard to determine
where one lake ends and the other begins. The group is set, of course,
among myriads of lakes of all sizes and descriptions, of which the Foster
Lakes are merely the largest aggregation. Like all other lakes in this
region, their shorelines are very irregular, broken by numerous indentations;
and all are studded with islands.
Foster L
^
a
^
kes are situated on the height of land separating the Churchill
watershed from that of the Meckenzie, which at this point consists of a
relatively high, level tableland studded with lakes. The shores of Foster
Lakes consist chiefly of gneiss, more or less heavily wooded with black
spruce and banksian pine, with, in the swamps, occasional stands of tamarack.
In contrast to the appearance of the country immediately north of the height
of land, where a heavy
^
over
^
burden of unassorted sand, gravel and boulders masks
the underlying rocks, not much glacial debris is in evidence.
Only the discovery of rich mineral deposits which, considering the
nature of the rocks in the vicinity, is not beyond the bounds of possibility,
is likely to confer any economic value upon these interesting lakes.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Foster Lakes
situated midway between the Churchill and Mackenzie watersheds, and accessible, except by sir, only by means of rapid-filled streams which only expert canoe– men can negotiate, it seems likely that they will continue for some time to be part of the little known hinterland of Canada.
The first person, other than an Indian, to see the Foster Lakes was
J. B. Tyrrell, of the Geological Survey of Canada, who passed through them
in 1892 on his way from Wollaston Lake t o Churchill River. He had
[:
]
ascended the Geikie River to its headwaters and crossed the height of land
to the Foster Lakes, proceeding thence by way of Foster River to Churchill
River. Owing to the lateness of the season, he was unable to spend much time
in their exploration, but named them and the river flowing out of them in honor
of the Canadian stateman George Eulas Foster. They, and the surrounding
country, have since been mapped by the Topographical Survey of Canada from
aerial photographs taken by the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Geological
Survey has mapped their geology.
References:
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River
. Geological Survey of Canada. Annual Report, Vol. VIII,
1896.
McMurchy, R. D. Preliminary Report, Foster Lake Area, West Half, Saskatchewan.
Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 37-17; 1937.
Foster River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FOSTER RIVER
Foster River, northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, 90 miles long,
drains an area between the watershed of Haultain River, on the west, and
that of Reindeer River, on the east, all of which flow southward into the
Chur
^
c
^
hill River, which discharges into Hudson Bay. Foster River rises in
a group of lakes of the same name which lie at an altitude of 1,200 feet
above sea level in the lake-studded strip of comparatively level tableland
which marks the divide between the Churchill and Mackenzie watersheds.
Foster River flows out of the southwestern end of the Lower Foster Lake
in about latitude 56° 25′ N., longitude 105° 45′ W., and follows a deep
valley in conformity with the strike of the rocks, which there consist
mainly of reddish gneiss. For the first 18 miles, measured in a direct line,
the river is almost a continuous rapid, flowing over rounded boulders; but
toward the end of this portion, the obstructions become more widely spaced
and the intervening stretches of quiet water are longer. Hills of sand and
boulders now begin to make their appearance among the knobs of gneiss and
granite, hitherto prevailing.
The end of the stretch just described is marked by a heavy, crooked
rapid where the descent is 10 feet. The river continues its relatively
straight course for another five and a half miles, through a series of
basin-like depressions with wooded slopes, where it runs at a moderate rate
EA-Geography. LeBourdais: Canada - Foster River
over most of the distance, broken, however, by three heavy rapids where rocky barriers cross the valley. This is followed by a section of three and a half miles, again measured in a straight line, where the river is very crooked, flowing through a low marsh, below which a beautiful fall occurs where the stream falls over a barrier of reddish gneiss. This is succeeded within a short distance by two other falls caused by similar ledges of gneiss. Half a mile below the second of these, Little Whitefish River, a considerable stream, comes in from the northwest. Thus far, Foster River has followed a generally direct course, flowing in a well-marked valley, slightly west of south. It now turns sharply eastward, flowing down another rapid within a third of a mile; and three-quarters of a mile farther on, drops over another ledge of gneiss for a fall of eight feet.
The country now changes considerably, the rocky hills almost disappear,
and the river, here about 50 yards wide, flows with an easy current in a
narrow, crooked valley through a sand and gravel plain, where the channel
is overhung with willow. Continuing through marshy country, the river swings
abruptly northward and suddently emerges into a lake three and a half miles
long, with bold, rocky shores, the southern shore of which is composed of
almost bare red granite, while the northern shore is farily well wooded.
Leaving the lake, the river rushes over a barrier of gneiss, and a quarter
of a mile below strikes another heavy rapid. The river continues northward
in this stretch, then turns northeastward to meet Sandy River, flowing in
from that direction. Below the mouth of Sandy River, however, Foster River
flows almost directly eastward, plunging over three short, rocky rapids; and
then turns abruptly southward where another, heavier, rapid occurs, followed
by a second, where the descent is about five feet. Continuing southward with
a decreasing current, the river empties into the eastern end of a narrow lake,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Foster River
three miles long; its longer axis lies almost east and west, and is out by the 56th parallel of north latitude. The shores of this lake are thickly wooded with small poplar and spruce.
Flowing out of the west end of this lake, the river again follows a
well-defined valley for about two miles, in the course of which a rapid
occurs with a descent of about 15 feet, and then enters the north end of a
lake which originally went under the name of Jumping-into-the-Water Lake,
but which the Geographic Board has seen fit to rename Eulas, perhaps because
the latter could more easily be identified with the statesman for whom the
river is also named, Sir George Eulas Foster. Eulas Lake is shaped somewhat
in the form of a right-angle triangle, with the angle to the east, and the
distance along the hypotenuse is nine miles.
Below Eulas Lake, the river tumbles down a heavy rapid over broken
masses of gneiss, followed by a stretch of quiet water, which continues
for almost three miles, when the river again tumbles over an obstruction,
this time consisting of boulders, where the drop is 25 feet. This, however,
is the final obstruction on the river. From this point it flows in a fairly
direct course slightly west of south through a country consisting of high,
barren, rocky hills; and within a short distance it cuts th
^
r
^
ough a rocky gap
into the bottom of a deep bay on one of the many lake-extensions which
characterize the Churchill River. In its short course, Foster River has
descended about 400 feet.
Foster River was first explored in 1892 when J. B. Tyrrell, of the
Geological Survey of Canada, ascended the Geikie River from Wollaston Lake
and crossed the height of land to Foster Lakes, thence following Foster River
to its mouth. Because of its many rapids, it is not a preferred canoe route;
and unless rich mineral should some day be discovered in its valley, it is not
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Foster River
likely, in the foreseeable future, to become much better known than it is at present. However, it cuts across the contact between the western edge of the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, on the east, and the Palaeozoic rocks lying to the westward; and since minerals of economic value are found elsewhere in similar contacts, it is not entirely beyond the bounds of possibility that mineral occurrences of value might be found in the vicinity of Foster River.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Lake Athabaska and Churchill
River.
Geological Survey of Canada. Annual Report,
Vol. VIII, 1896.
</bibl>Frances Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FRANCES LAKE
Frances Lake, in southeastern Yukon Territory (latitude at its outlet
61° 15′ N., longitude, 129° 15′ W.), is the source of the river of the same
name which flows into the Liard River. It is shaped like a tuning fork, the
arms of which, 30 miles in length by a mile and a half wide, join about three
miles from its outlet. The arms are about eight miles apart and are separated
by a group of low-rounded mountains. The lake, 2,577 feet above sea level,
lies in a north-and-south direction in a wide plateau about 300 feet above
its own level. On the west, some distance back, a range of mountains runs
north and south with an average height of about 7,000 feet, the highest peak
of which is Mount Logan, 9,000 feet high.
The water of Frances Lake is clear with a pale brownish tint and abounds
in fish, chiefly whitefish, lake trout and pike. The country is generally well
wooded, the principal trees being white spruce (Picea alba), which frequently
attains a diameter of two feet, black spruce (Picea nigra), black pine (Pinus
Murrayana), tamarack (Larix Americana), birch (Betula paprifera) and popular
(Populus balsamifera). The lake was discovered in 1840 by Robert Campbell
of the Hudson's Bay Company and named by him after Lady Simpson, wife of the
Governor of Rupert's land. He established a post near its outlet, but it was
abandoned in 1851, when, because of the hazards of navigation on the Liard,
supplies for posts on the Yukon River were brought in instead from the Mackenzie
by way of the portage across from the Peel River to the Bell, and thence down the
Porcupine to the Yukon.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Frances Lake
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N.W.T.
and Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887.
The Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 1898.
Burpee, L. J.
The Search for the Western Sea.
Toronto, 1935.
Frances Lake
EA-Geography- Canada
FRANCES LAKE
Frances Lake is a trading post situated on the eastern shore of
Frances Lake in southeastern Yukon. It has a priva
^
te
^
commercial radio
station.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Frances River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FRANCES RIVER
The Frances River is a tributary of the Liard River in southeastern
Yukon Territory. It rises in Frances Lake, the outlet of which is in
latitude 61° 15′ N. and longitude 129° 15′ W., flowing slightly east of
south a distance by river of about 90 miles to its confluence with the
Liard. Leaving the lake, its course is through a wide valley where its
current for the first few miles is slack and its channel broken by islands
and gravel bars. Then the current quickens and the river runs for ten miles
at from four and a half miles to five miles an hour, followed by a stretch
of eight miles where the water is considerably deeper and the current less
swift. Twenty-one miles below the lake a ca
n
^
ñ
^
on occurs. The river here makes
an abrupt turn to the east, continuing for four miles during which it is
interrupted by a series of rapids extending for about a mile and a quarter.
For the next thirteen miles the river runs south-southeasterly, and then
southwesterly for a short distance. Here a small stream comes in from the
northwest, draining Simpson Lake. Below this, for about 12 miles, the river
again runs in a south-southeasterly direction, leading to another ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, which
is about three miles long and bordered by broken, rocky cliffs, where the fall
is 30 feet. From this canon to the mouth of the river, the distance in a
straight line is 13 miles, but 22 by the river's twists and turns. In its
lower reaches, the Frances traverses a high plateau, but in its upper part is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Frances Lake ^ River ^
flanked by mountains lying some distance away.
Frances River was discovered in 1834 by John McLeod, Chief Trader of
the Hudson's Bay Company, who ascended it as far as the small stream draining
Simpson Lake, which he ascended also, naming the lake after Sir George
Simpson, Governor of Rupert's land. In 1840, Robert Campbell, another
Hudson's Bay Company officer, followed the Frances to its source on his
way across the divide to the headwaters of the Yukon (Pelly) River. He
named it after lady Simpson. It was explored in 1887 by Dr. George M. Sawson
of the Geological Survey of Canada, who ascended it on his exploratory journey
from the Stikine River to the Yukon. In the interval, it has been visited by
prospectors who found gold in its sandbars, but not in sufficient quantity to
justify extensive mining operations.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report of an Exploration in the Yukon District. N.W.T
.
and Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887
.
The Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 1898.
Burpee, L. J.
The Search for the Western Sea.
Toronto, 1935.
Franklin Mountains
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS
The easternmost section of the Mackenzie Mountain (q.v.) area, in
northwestern Canada, consists of the Franklin Mountains. This group of
mountains is separated from the main ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains by
a strip of Mackenzie Lowland, and by that portion of the Mackenzie River
which extends from near Fort Wrigley almost to Fort Good Hope. The
mountains rise out of the Mackenzie Lowland and extend northwestward in
a broad are consisting of four different ranges, for a total distance of
about 400 miles. They consist in some places of a single, high, rocky
ridge, sloping steeply upward from the surrounding plain, and, in other
places, of two or three parallel ridges.
The four ranges which constitute the Franklin Mountains are: (1) the
Nahanni Range, from Nahanni Butte, on the Liard River, northward to Camsell
Bend, on the Mackenzie River; (2) the Camsell Range, beginning a short
distance south of the north end of the Nahanni Range, and extending to
Fort Wrigley; (3) the McConnell Range, on the east side of the Mackenzie River,
beginning near the north end of the Camsell Range, and extending to a point
about due east of Norman Wells; and (4) the Norman Range, from Beer Rock,
at the mouth of Great Bear River, to the Mackenzie River, after its north–
ward bend, a short distance above Fort Good Hope, where the mountains
terminate.
EA-Geography: LeBourdais: Canada - Franklin Mountains
These four ranges are not in line; each slightly overlaps the next.
The McConnell Range lies farther to the east than the others, and provides
the main part of the arc, supported at the north end by the Norman Range,
and at the south end by the Camsell Range. The Nahanni Range continues
the trend of the McConnell Range southward, while the gap between the two
is filled by a line of low hills.
The Nahanni Range, the most southerly of the four, rises abruptly
from the Lowland in the angle formed by the South Nahanni and Liard rivers.
The South Nahanni River flows past the southern end of this range as it
empties into the Liard. The Range extends northward to where it is cut off
by the Mackenzie River at Camsell Bend. The North Nahanni River flows along
the base of its northern end. At its southern end, it consists of two
parallel ridges, the more westerly of which shortly merges into the Mackenzie
Lowland. The easterly ridge, however, rises to an elevation of 5,000 feet,
and forms a remarkable, narrow, rugged wall, from six to ten miles wide.
The Camsell Range, at its south end, consists of two narrow ridges
within the horseshoe bend near the mouth of the North Nahanni River and a
broader ridge on the west side of the river. Northward, the range expands
into a belt consisting of several nearly parallel ridges over 4,000 feet high,
with a breadth of nearly 30 miles. Most of these ridges are rocky and pre–
cipitous on their eastern faces, but are smooth and sloping on the west.
Beyond root River, the range continues toward Fort Wrigley, but it is
overlapped on the west by a short ridge projecting southward from the main
part of the McConnell Range to the north. The Mackenzie River has out thr
g
ough
this southern projection at Roche
qui-trempe-a-l'eau
.
The Camsell Range is flanked on all sides by portions of the Mackenzie
Lowland, which comprises a low plain partly occupied by the Mackenzie River,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Franklin Mountains
backed by hills and upland stretches that reach elevations of more than 1,000 feet, on the east, and 2,000 feet on the west.
The McConnell Range, at its southern end, reaches heights of 5,000
feet. It is here about 20 miles wide, and consists of several ridges of
broken, mountainous country, in which some of the summits have tops suggestive
of an old, elevated plateau surface. At Great Bear River, the mountains
converge to a single, narrow ridge, which the river has cut through at St.
Charles Rapids. Northward, beyond the St. Charles Rapids, the ridge con–
tinues for about 40 miles, and gradually disappears into the adjacent plains
region.
The Norman Range begins at Bear Rock, which occupies the angle between
the Great Bear and Mackenzie rivers, and extends northwestward. This portion
of the Franklin Mountains is much lower and less rugged than in the more
southerly ranges. Its main summits do not rise to a greater height than
about 2,000 feet. At its extremity, where the Mackenzie River swings north–
ward, a short distance above the Ramparts, it divides into three major ridges,
terminating respectively, in East Mountain, Rat Hill, and Beavertail Mountain,
which form a bold escarpment overlooking the river valley to the west. The
mountains are not continued on the west side of the Mackenzie River, where
parallel sections of the Mackenzie Lowland
^
and
^
the Peel Plateau divide the Franklin
Mountains from the main part of the Mackenzie Mountain area, of which they
form a part.
References:
Williams, M. Y.
Exploration of Mackenzie River, Between Simpson and Wrigley
,
[:
]
N.W.T.
Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report,
Part B, 1923.
Bostock, H. S.
Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, With Special References
to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel.
Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247, 1948.
Frederick House River
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
FREDERICK HOUSE RIVER
Frederick House 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.). The Frederick House River
rises in Night Hawk Lake (q.v.), in latitude 48° 30′ N., longitude 81° W.
Night Hawk Lake lies at an altitude of 895 feet above sea level. Frederick
House River flows out of the northwest angle of the lake in a broad stream,
which runs with a sluggish current for 10 miles into Frederick House Lake.
The drop between the two lakes is only one foot. The timmins branch of the
Ontario Northland Railway (q.v.) runs along the south side of Frederick House
Lake, c
or
^
ro
^
ssing the river not far from where it enters the southwest corner
of the lake. Frederick House Lake is six miles long and about three miles
wide, Frederick House River continues from the northern point of Frederick
House Lake, flowing in a general north-northwesterly direction, which it
follows until it joins the Abitibi River in latitude 49° 20′ N., longitude
81° 17′ W., after a course of about 75 miles. Its drainage basin is narrow,
since it runs parallel to the Abitibi, which is a few miles to the east, and
to the Mattagami, whose course lies from 20 to 25 miles farther west.
In the part immediately below Frederick House Lake, the river is fairly
swift, following a shallow valley in which it has cut a narrow channel through
the thick glacial drift. Unlike most other streams in the area, it is not
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Frederick House River
interrupted by rapids or falls. This is probably due to the fact that it is still in process of cutting its channel through the glacial detritus and has not reached the underlying granites. It is crossed by the National Transoon– tinental line of the Canadian National Railways, at Frederick Station, six miles east of Cochrane (q.v.). Shortly below this point, the Frederick House River receives its largest tributary, the Buskegau River, which comes in from the west. It is here a broad, rather sluggish stream, which widens gradually during the rest of its course, and is about three-quarters of a mile in width where it joins the Abitibi. Its junction with the latter is at the point where the Abitibi, after flowing westward for 10 miles, resumes its northwesterly course. The river and lake received their names from Frederick House, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company, established in 1783.
The course of Frederick House River lies entirely within the Clay Belt
(q.v.) region of northern Ontario. The region has excellent agricultural
possibilities, and since it is well supplied with railways, might easily
become settled. Before this can be done, except on a sporadic basis, large–
scale clearing projects would need to be instituted, of which there does not
seem at present to be any prospect.
Reference:
<bibl>
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland: Ontario
. Toronto. The Ryerson Press,
1946.
</bibl>French River
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
FRENCH RIVER
French River, in northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, drains an
area to the west of the Abitibi River (q.v.), and, as is the case with the
latter, its waters reach James Bay by means of the Moose River (q.v.), into
which it discharges a short distance below the mouth of the Abitibi. It
rises in a series of small lakes in latitude 49° 40′ N., longitude 80° 32′
W., and flows in a generally northerly direction, with a total length of
about 100 miles. In its upper reaches, it traverses part of the Canadian
Shield, and, as is typical of streams in that region, is interrupted by
numerous rapids and falls. Its immediate valley in this portion is well timbered
with spruce, poplar and tamarack, which changes to dwarf black spruce a short
distance from the stream on either side. Considerable areas in this section
have been burnt over. Its lower reaches are almost entirely through muskeg
and peat bog, characteristic of the Hudson (James) Bay Lowlands, where the
timber consists chiefly of stunted black spruce. The French receives a number
of tributaries, most of which flow in from the east because its watershed is
hemmed on the west by that of the Little Abitibi and Abitibi rivers.
Extensive deposits of gypsum and china clay have been cross-cut by the
stream, and these may some day prove of value, particularly if similar deposits
farther west should ever be developed. If, and when, the muskeg lands of this
region, generally, are proper
r
ly drained, it is possible that an extensive
area of land suited to agriculture could be made available in the French River
basin.
Reference:
<bibl>
Government of Ontario.
Report of James Bay Forest Survey, Moose River Lower
Basin.
Toronto: King's Printer, 1923.
</bibl>Frobisher Lake
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
FROBISHER LAKE
Frobisher Lake, northwestern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, drains
through Churchill Lake, to the south, into the Churchill River, which empties
into Hudson Bay, 1,000 miles to the eastward. It is a great, sprawling
expanse of water and rook which exhibits in an extreme manner the character–
istics of lakes in the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield. Neither
its area nor its length of shoreline is probably known accurately, but it is
quite possible that its shoreline is longer in proportion to its area than
is the case with any other lake in Canada, and that probably means anywhere
in the world. Its southernmost point is in latitude 56° 10′ N. and its
northernmost point is in latitude 56° 37′ N.; its easternmost point is in
longitude 107° 53′ W. and its westernmost point is in longitude 108° 34′ W.
From its easternmost point to its westernmost point the distance is 28 miles,
and from its southernmost extremity to its northernmost point the distance
is 33 miles, but these figures give no indication of its area because its
super
i
ficial extent bears little relation to its actual water area. It
consists of at least eight more or less irregular parallel vertical sections
joined
[:
]
together by narrow channels, besides which each section is occupied
by large islands. Generally the sections increase in length to the westward;
the shortest is the easternmost and the longest is the westernmost. The latter
is about 23 miles long by about four miles at its widest, while the eastern–
most section is 10 miles long and about four and a half miles wide. The
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Frobisher Lake
intervening ones range between these two extremes. Generally a lake can be described as a body of water surrounded by land; but in some of these sections, so large are the islands they contain, they might as well be described as large bodies of land surrounded by narrow lanes or channels of water. Even on the map it is difficult to get a visual picture of this lake, and it is infinitely harder to convey a verbal picture of it.
Frobisher Lake is connected at its northwestern extremity with Turnor
Lake, to the northwest, by a short stretch of rapids-filled river; and it
is connected with Churchill Lake on the south through Simonds Channel, which
at one point narrows to a quarter of a mile. The level of Turnor Lake is
10 feet above that of Frobisher Lake, but the latter and Churchill Lake are
at the same level, consequently both are drained by Churchill River which
flows out of the southern end of Churchill Lake.
It is probable that the first persons other than Indians to traverse
this lake were fur traders, since the area still produces a considerable
quantity of furs, but there is no record of who the first explorer was.
Geikie River
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
GEIKIE RIVER
Geikie River, northeastern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, drains a
narrow strip of territory lying southwest of Wollaston Lake, emptying into
the southwestern end of the latter. Wollaston Lake has two outlets, one
draining northwestward into Mackenzie River waters, the other, draining
southeastward by a circuitous route into Churchill River waters; conse–
quently, in this way, Geikie River can be said to form part of both the
Arctic and Hudson Bay draining basins. It rises in latitude 56° 37′ N.,
longitude, 105° 45′ W., in the lake-studded tableland forming the height
of land between the Churchill and Mackenzie watersheds, and is about 120
miles long. The river flows almost directly northeastward, without any con–
siderable deviation, and because it generally follows the strike of the
underlying Pre-Cambrian rocks, is perhaps less impeded by rapids and falls
than most rivers in that part of the Canadian Shield. Where rapids occur,
they are usually caused by accumulations of boulders left by the retreating
Keewatin glacier. Geikie River flows through no lakes of any size, but
frequently expands into lake-like stretches; and, for a for a considerable portion
of its course, runs with a slack current. In General, it flows through a
heavily drift-covered country between low, sparsely wooded banks.
Geikie River begins as a rapid streamlet flowing northeastward out of
a small straggling lake set among spruce-covered hills, and flows through
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Geikie River
two similar small lakes before entering a lake about three-quarters of a mile in length with wooded, rocky shores. Flowing out of the northern end of this lake, Geikie River, now from six to 12 feet wide, winds for a mile along the bottom of a shallow valley, and then enters an oval lake about three miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide. It is a somewhat larger stream when it emerges from this lake and continues its northeastward course through a wooded, sandy country to the mouth of a small branch flowing in from the eastward. Beyond this point, it expands several times into elongated ponds, lying in low, marshy country, and then enters a narrow lake about 11 miles in length, whose greatest width is about three-quarters of a mile, and whose shores consist of low, sandy hills, fairly well wooded. Flowing out of the northeastern angle of this lake, the stream, now about 35 feet wide, flows for three miles and a half through a fairly level, sandy country into another small lake.
Beyond this point, for five miles in a straight line, the river flows
through a heavily drift-covered region, where sand, gravel and boulders in
the same condition as when left by the retreating Keewatin glacier, and which,
since that time, has been practically undisturbed. The river, hitherto flowing
northeastward, here makes a sudden turn to the east, flowing in that direction
for a short distance, before again resuming its northeasterly course through a
sand and gravel plain above which occasional knobs of gneiss occur. Swinging
ab
^
r
^
uptly to the west, it cuts across the strike of the gneiss, running through
a sloping valley 100 feet deep, and then resumes its regular course, flowing,
shortly after, into the southwestern end of Big Sandy Lake, 15 miles long,
and about half a mile wide at its greatest width.
The stream that leaves Big Sandy Lake is much larger than the one enter–
ing it 15 miles above. The country changes, too; more rock is exposed.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Geikie River
Shortly before the outlet of Big [: ] andy Lake, the river breaks over two rapids, with descents of two and five feet, respectively and then, flow– ing between vertical walls of rock, goes over falls with a drop of about eight feet. Beyond this, is another narrow lake, four miles in length, below which two rapids occur where the descent is 12 and 30 feet, respec– tively. The river here flows through a sloping valley, 30 to 40 feet deep, in a somewhat irregular plain of sand, above which rise occasional hills of gneiss.
The river now passes out of the belt of granitic rocks that it has
recently been traversing, and for the next three miles is, for the most
part, rapid and shallow, flowing between hills and ridges of rounded stones
and boulders intermixed with reddish sand or silt. That the bedrock still
consists of granitic rocks is evidences by the river's going over a fall
between sandy banks where the obstruction is composed of massive granite.
Below this fall, the river continues for three miles in a straight stretch
of quiet water between sand banks to the head of White Spruce Rapid, where,
in a spectacular descent of 18 feet, it tumbles over a series of granitic
barriers.
Below the rapid, the river flows wide and shallow for half a mile and
then drops down two rapids which are a
^
b
^
out a quarter of a mile apart. After
this, the river straightens out and runs for 14 miles without a break, where
in places there seems even to be no current. At the end of this stretch,
however, boulders again appear in the bed of a stream and along the banks,
and for two miles the river becomes a rapid torrent, descending in that
distance a total of 35 feet. Below this, the river widens, running between
low, wooded hills, at the end of which it expands into a small lake, surrounded
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Geikie River
by hills of sand and boulders. Shortly below, Poor-fish River flows in from the southwest, the largest tributary of Geigie River and navigable for canoes. Beyond the mouth of Poor-fish River, Geikie River flows between sand and gravel banks, and then turning suddenly below two rounded hills, cuts across the strike into a parallel valley, tumbling down rapids in the process. Con– tinuing northeastward in this valley for a mile and a half between steep, sandy banks about 50 feet high, Geikie River flows over a heavy rapid where the total descent is 45 feet, the channel wide and filled with boulders. Two miles below this rapid, the stream separates around an island and then falls over a ledge of gneiss for a drop of three feet. From the foot of this rapid the river, now about 100 yards wide at its narrowest, flows deep and quiet for four miles through low, wooded hills, and then expands into two lake-like stretches, studded with islands, and finally merges gradually into the bottom of Nekweaga Bay, the southwestern extremity of Wollaston Lake.
Geikie River was first explored in 1892, when J. B. Tyrrell, of the
Geological Survey of Canada, crossing from Athabaska Lake to Churchill River,
ascended it from Wollaston Lake to its source, and then crossed to the head–
waters of Foster River, which hetraversed to its mouth in Churchill River.
Dr. Tyrrell gave the river its name in honor of James Geikie, of Edinburgh,
Scotland, well-known geology authority.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River
. Geological Survey of Cana
[:
]
a. Annual Report, Vol. VIII,
1896.
</bibl>George River
EA-Geography (D.M. LeBourdais)
GEORGE RIVER
George River, in northwestern Ungava, now called New Quebec, in the
Canadian province of Quebec, drains a considerable area of territory lying
west of the height of land which separates New Quebec from Newfoundland-
Labrador. Its course is approximately northward from its source in about
latitude 55° N. to its mouth in the southeastern part of Ungava Bay, which
it enters in latitude 59° N., longitude, 66° W. It is 365 miles in length
and drains a territory of 20,000 square miles. Like most other rivers in
Ungava, its drainage area is long and narrow, since it is hemmed between
the height of land on the east and the Kaniapiskau and Whale rivers on the
west, the latter of which drains the widening angle between the George and
Kaniapiskau rivers, toward Ungava Bay.
George River is formed by three main branches, the central and perhaps
the thief one, rises in Lake Hubbard, slightly south of latitude 55° N.;
the east branch drains a series of small lakes stretching off toward the
height of land a few miles farther to the east; and the west branch drains
a similar chain of lakes farther west, chief of which is Lake Petitsikapau.
The central and east branches join in Cabot Lake, the second principal lake–
expansion below Lake Hubbard; while the west branch flows into the combined
stream a short distance below the outlet of Advance Lake, which is about 50
miles below Cabot Lake. The George is now a considerable river, flowing
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - George River
through a flat, boggy and sparsely wooded region in which the principal trees are tamarack and spruce. For 30 miles after the confluence with the west branch the river continues to meander through one lake-expansion after another, only one of which is of any considerable size. The course hitherto has been approximately northwesterly, but after crossing latitude 56°, it takes a turn sharply to the west for two miles over a series of heavy rapids and then enters Indian House Lake, which extends northward for 60 miles, varying in width from a quarter of a mile to two miles. It might more properly be described as two lakes rather than one, since at a narrow point a swift current exists, which would suggest a change in level. Except that in the stretches above and below this point no current exists, the whole 60 miles might be considered as an exceptionally wide stretch of river. It is perhaps significant that the Kaniapiskau River flows through a similar lake-expansion at Cambrian Lake due west of Indian House Lake, except that Cambrian Lake extends for only about half the length of the latter. In both cases the geological structure is apparently similar.
Indian House Lake is bounded by hills on each side, those on the east
rising abruptly from the water, while those on the west stand some distance
back, with sand terraces separating them from the river. Many small tribu–
taries enter from both directions, but none of any consequence. As is usual
with lakes in this region, Indian House Lake terminates in a series of rapids,
and the river continues as before, rapids succeeding lake-expansions, with
very little quiet water anywhere.
A few miles below Indian House Lake, the river, flowing swiftly, expands
into Slanting Lake, below which the lake-expansions largely cease; the river
now makes an irregular curve to the west and flows through hills on either side
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - George River
in a deeper valley. From this point to its mouth, it is swift, with numerous rapids. At one point it drops over falls called Helen Falls, the height of which has not been ascertained. Several tributaries are received, the largest of which are usually from the east. Toward its mouth the hills seem to become higher, principally because the stream has out its valley so much farther below the surface of the surrounding country. It is about two miles wide immediately above its estuary. On the east bank, 10 miles from the o ep ^ pe ^ n sea, the Hudson's Bay Company's post is situated.
The first descent of George River of which there is a record is that
of Mrs. Leonidas Hubbard Jr., in 1905, who, in completing a journey begun
by her husband three years previously, who died in the interior of Labrador,
traversed the river from its source in Lake Hubbard to its mouth.
Reference:
<bibl>
Hubbard, Mina Benson.
A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador.
London,
(Mrs. Leonidas Hubbard) 1908.
</bibl>Granville Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GRANVILLE LAKE
Granville Lake, northern Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, is an expanded
portion of Churchill River, which at that point flows in a northeasterly
direction across the province to empty into Hudson Bay. It lies roughly
in a northeast-southwest direction, 850 feet above sea level; its southern–
most point in in latitude 56° 11′ N.; its northernmost point is in 56° 30′
N.; its easternmost point is in longitude 100° 06′ W.; and its westernmost
point in 100° 56′ W., 40 miles east of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan boundary.
The lake consists of a narrow, tapering section about 30 miles long and
about four miles wide at its widest — southwestern — end. From this central
section radiafe long, irregular arms, the longest of which extends northwest–
ward for 18 miles. The longest arms are nearer the southwestern end of
the lake, so that, as seen on the map, the lake looks like a fallen tree,
with its longest branches nearest the root and becoming shorter toward the
top, or northeastern end, of the lake. Like many northern trees, its branches
are longer on one (the northern) side than on the other. The main part of
the lake, as well as its many arms, are filled with islands of all sizes.
It's total area is 207 square miles.
Granville Lake lies entirely within the Canadian Shield, and its features
are typical of a large part of that region. It consists of a series of rocky
basins which were scooped out of the rock by the glaciers. The country
surrounding the lake consists of rounded ridges and hills composed of the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Granville Lake
harder rocks interspersed with narrow, steep-walled valleys, low, muskeg- filled depressions, and small lakes in settings of either muskeg or rock, and connected by small, swampy streams. Most of the rock in the region con– sists of granite, but north of Granville Lake a belt of greenstone and sedi– ments occurs; and it is in these rocks that it is though minerals of economic importance might be found. If some day important mineral occurrences should be found, adequate power for their development will be available. Granville Falls, where the Churchill River falls 25 feet, a short distance before it enters the lake, is an excellent power site; and, in addition, many falls of varying heights occur in all of the streams that [: ] flow into the lake. The Churchill flows in at the lake's southwestern angle; the Keewatin and the Hughes rivers drain large areas to the north; while the Laurie, which enters the lake at its southwestern angle, not far from where the Churchill enters, drains a large area to the northwest.
The country generally has been burnt over, but a heavy second-growth con–
sisting chiefly of poplar, jackpine, spruce and some tamarack, is springing up.
The islands in Granville and the other larger lakes have escaped the fire, and
on some of these stands of fine timber remain. If further fires can be pre–
vented, the territory should some day be productive of considerable quantities
of pulp wood, in addition to smaller amounts of merchantable timber.
Although the Churchill River was for many years part of the great canoe
route to the Athabaska and Mackenzie districts, the route tapped the river farther
upstream, and consequently that part of the Churchill of which Granville Lake
is a part, did not become so well known as the section farther west. Following
the staking of gold claims in 1930, the area was mapped by the Topographical
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Granville River
Survey of Canada; in 1932, detailed reconnaissance was begun by J. F. Henderson of the Geological Survey of Canada; and, in 1933, geological mapping was con– tinued by G. W. H. Norman, with the assistance of J. F. Henderson and others.Great Bear Lake
EA- [: ] Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GREAT BEAR LAKE
Great Bear Lake, in Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, with an
area of 12,000 square miles, is the largest lake wholly within the Dominion.
Only Superior, Huron and Michigan, on the continent, are larger. Crossed
by the Arctic Circle, its most northerly point is in latitude 67° N.,
while its most southerly point is in latitude 64° 30′ N. East and west, it
lies between longitudes 117° 30′ W. and 124° W. If it were not for four
large peninsulas jutting into it from opposite directions, the lake would be
a rough rectangle; but with its five arms it looks like an irregular swastika.
A broad-based promontory terminating in a pendant peninsula of which the
backbone consists chiefly of the Scented Grass Hills, 2,144 feet high, forms
the main part of the western end of the lake, separating Keith Arm, on the
south, from Smith Arm, on the north. Keith Arm, in turn, is separated from
a narrower arm farther south, called McVicar Arm, by a long peninsula termi–
nated by Grizzly Bear Mountain, 1,500 feet high. Thus, at the western end
of the lake there are three arms, separated by extensive peninsulas.
Two broad arms and one peninsula form the eastern end of the lake.
Dease Arm, in the extreme northeastern angle of the lake, is separated by a
broad promontory from McTavish Arm, in the southeastern angle. From the tip
of this promontory to the shore of the Scented Grass Hills peninsula opposite,
is a space of open water of about 40 miles. Great Bear Lake, from the eastern
extrmity of McTavish Arm to the mouth of Great Bear River, at the western
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
extremity of Keith Arm, is about 170 miles long, while at its greatest width it is about 125 miles. It lies at an elevation of 391 feet above sea level, and its greatest depth has not yet been ascertained, but it is known to be in excess of 280 feet. Its shoreline is appriximately 1,360 miles long, in the course of which its receives few rivers, the principal being Dease River, at the northeastern extremity, and the Sloan, and the Camsell, both of which flow into McTavish Arm. It is drained by Great Bear River, 75 miles long, which flows out of the western end of Keith Arm and empties into the Mackenzie River.
Like all the lakes in the series extending northwestward from the Lake
of the Woods, on the Canada-United States border, Great Bear Lake lies across
the contact between the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield on the
east and the Palaeozoic rocks to the west. Its shores are generally low,
except for part of McTavish Bay, part of Dease Arm and south of Smith Arm.
In general, the Palaeozoic rocks have withstood the action of the glaciers
much less than the granitic Pre-Cambrian rocks, which thus stand out in bold
cliffs.
Keith Arm, the principal indentation on the western side of the lake, is
about 75 miles deep by an average of about 30 miles wide, lying in the pre–
valling northeast-southwest direction. Grea
t Bear River flows out of its
northwestern angle, four miles southwest of the site of Fort Franklin, built
in 1825 for the explorer, Captain (later Sir John) Franklin (q.v.). The
northwestern shore of Keith Arm is broken by two indentations of considerable
size, the most westerly of which is Russel Bay and the other Deerpass Bay,
the deeper of the two, which with Mackintosh Bay, extending southward from
Smith Arm, almost separates the Scented Grass Hills peninsula from the larger
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
promontory. A range of low sandy hills follows the north shore of Keith Arm, never exceeding 500 feet in height. For the most part they are three or four miles back from the shore, but in several places they come to the water's edge.
The Scented Grass Hills peninsula juts southeastward toward the central
part of the lake and is the most easterly projection of the western shore,
terminating in a prominent headland known as Etacho Point. The Scented Grass
Hills consist of a ridge of round-topped hills, some of which are from 400 to
500 feet high. Northwestward, along the north shore of the Scented Grass Hills,
11 miles beyond Etacho Point, is Douglas Bay, where deposits of coal are known.
Smith Arm, narrower than Keith Arm, and not so deep, lies in the north–
western angle of Great Bear Lake, its end marking the most westerly point of
the lake. Following the general trend, it, too, lies in a northeast-southwest
direction. Except for Macintosh Bay, about midway of its southern coast, its
shores are not greatly indented. From the western end of Smith Arm a line
of small streams and lakes extends south almost to the mouth of Great Bear River
and provides a traffic route between Smith and Keith arms which obviates the
necessity of following the long course along the coast around the point of
the peninsula.
About midway of the north shore of Smith Arm, the Katseyedie River,
flowing in from the north down a deep valley it has out through a range of
round wooded hills lying to then
^
^
north, some six or seven miles from the shore
s
enters the lake; eastward, beyond the mouth of the Katseyedie River, the shore
for some distance is sandy. The northern shore of Smith Arm — running in a
northeasterly direction — merges directly into the north shore of Dease Arm,
which constitutes the northeastern angle of the lak
[:
]
. It is about the same
depth as Smith Arm, but is somewhat wider. About 30 miles from the end of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
Dease Arm, at Limestone Point, Pre-Cambrian rocks outcrop, and from there to the site of Fort Confidence, along what might be called the north shore proper, the coast is marked by rocky promontories, deep water, and by sizable spruce in the background. The site of Fort Confidence is some six miles west of the mouth of the Dease River.
The southerly shore of Dease Arm extends southwestward from the mouth of
Dease River to Cape MacDonnel, about 50 miles in a straight line. The first
30 miles are rough and rocky; deep bays with wooded shores and small rocky
islets are common. Low, broken hills follow the immediate shore, and extend
into the interior. The Narakay Islands, of which there are seven or eight,
lie some two miles off shore, about midway between Dease River and Cape
MacDonnel. They are a prominent feature in the topography of this part of
the lake and can be seen for miles. They are high and rocky, presenting
steep shores of greenstones to the water's edge. Cape MacDonnel, at the end
of the peninsula separating Dease Arm from McTavish Arm, to the south, is a
long, narrow gravel point, strewn with immense granite boulders and stretching
out into the lake.
McTavish Arm is the most easterly extension of Great Bear Lake and
occupies its southeastern angle. Wider at the bottom than it is deep, its
width, from the extremity of Hornby Bay to the bottom of Conjuror Bay, is
more than 70 miles in a direction a little west of south, but its depth from
west to east is only about 60 miles. The northern shore of McTavish Arm runs
almost straight east from Cape MacDonnel. For the first 50 miles it is a
repetition of the south shore of Dease Arm, except that the mainland is per–
haps higher and better wooded. Then the country becomes rocky, and hills
appear, terminating in a steep angular knob of greenstone called Black Rock,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
rising 600 feet. Beyond Black ^ R ^ ock the shoreline trends northeast and north for about 15 miles, after which it bends southward and southwestward, enclose– ing Hornby Bay. From Hornby Bay southward the eastern shore of McTavish Arm is deeply indented, and dotted with islands. The whole eastern shore, in– cluding Hornby and Conjuror bays a [: r ] ^ t ^ its north and south extremities, respect– tively, is surrounded by high hills of granite and greenstones. For miles along some parts of the shore these hills rise to a height of 600 and 700 feet almost perpendicularly from the water. They are not associated in ranges; the country has the appearance of an elevated peneplain. More or less timber is found all along the eastern shore of McTavish Arm. White spruce is the prevailing forest tree, but tamarack, balsam poplar and aspen also abound, particularly in Conjuror Bay, although not of great size.
Hunter Bay lies south of the entrance to Hornby Bay, trending in a
northeasterly direction. Echo Bay lies about midway between Hornby Bay on
the north and Conjuror Bay on the south; and at the northern extremity of the
entrance to Echo Bay is LaBine Point, alongside of which is the Eldorado mine,
(q.v.). Conjuror Bay marks the extreme southeastern part of McTavish Arm.
It is a deep inlet, stretching toward the southeast; across its mouth,
cutting it off from the main portion of McTavish Arm, is Richardson Island.
Camsell River, draining a large part of the plateau to the south, enters an
inlet on the south side of Conjuror Bay.
Beyond the end of Richardson Island, a broad promontory juts northwest–
ward toward the central part of the lake. At its extremity is Leith Point
in latitude 65° 45′ N., longitude 119° 45′ W., which marks the southwestern
extremity of McTavish Arm. A peninsula approximately 56 miles long by 22
miles wide, extending in a southwest-northeast
[:
]
irection, separates McVicar
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
Arm, in the southwestern angle of Great Bear Lake, from the main part of the lake. Grizzly Bear Mountain, a massive round-topped ridge, some 1,500 feet high, bare of trees for sever ^ a ^ l hundred feet toward the top, terminates this peninsula. McVicar Arm, approximately 68 miles long by an average of about 12 miles wide, lies in the prevailing direction of southwest-northeast. The promontory to the east, already referred to, which terminates in Leith Point, almost blocks its entrance. The latter, which runs in a northwesterly- southeasterly direction, is about seven miles across from peninsula to peninsula.
Although the records are obscure on this point, it is believed that
Alexander Mackenzie (q.v.), after his historic trip to the Arctic Sea in
1789, caused a post of the Northwest Company to be established at the
western end of Great Bear Lake, not far from where Fort Franklin was later
built. At any rate, the post, if ever established, had long been abandoned
before Fort Franklin was built in 1825. Franklin's party spent the winter of
1825-26 there; and Dr. John Richardson (q.v.), who accompanied Franklin,
explored 500 miles of the lake's shores during the fall of 1825 and the
following April, fixing many points by astonomical observations.
Peter Warren Dease (q.v.), a Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company,
and Thomas Simpson (q.v.), also an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, who
had been commissioned to explore the arctic coast east of the Coppermine
River, spent the winters of 1837-38 and 1838-39 near the mouth of the Dease
River, building Fort Confidence there; and, in 1848-49, Dr. Richardson again
wintered at Fort Confidence on his return from the Franklin search. In 1900,
James Mackintosh Bell (q.v.), of the Geological Survey of Canada, with Charles
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
Camsell (q.v.) as one of his assistants, explored part of the western, the northern, the eastern, and part of the southern shores of the lake. In 1909- 10, C. D. Melvill (q.v.) and John Hornby (q.v.) were on McTavish Arm and else– where on Great Bear Lake; in 1910-11, Stefansson (q.v.) was on the shores of both McTavish and Dease arms, and wintered on the upper Dease, while Melvill and Hornby, as well as Joseph Hodgson (q.v.), wintered near the mouth of the Dease. That winter Stefansson explored the forest and prairie northeastward from the mouth of the Dease to Cape Parry on the arctic coast. George H. Douglas (q.v.) was at Great Bear Lake, and to the northeast of it, the winter of 1911-12, exploring particularly in the direction of the Coppermine River. D'Arcy Arden (q.v.) as a trapper, trader and, later, prospector, made his headquarters on Great Bear Lake from 1914 for more than 20 years, until he moved to Yellowknife.
In the fall of 1929, Gilbert LaBine (q.v.) set out by airplane from
Edmonton to prospect in the vicinity of the eastern end of McTavish Arm. He
spent but a short time there, but what he saw, especially as he flew out over
Echo Bay, convinced him of the desirability of further examination. Consequently
the following spring he flew in again and this time, on the shore of Echo Bay,
he located veins carrying silver and what later proved to be pitchblends. He
staked several claims which eventually became the El
r
^
d
^
orado mine, one of the
greatest radium-uranium producers in the world. LaBine's find caused a
flurry of staking, and development of other mines was begun in the vicinity,
but within a few years only the Eldorado mine continued in production.
Port Radium, on Cameron Bay, is the commercial center, aside from the
community maintained by the Eldorado mine itself; it has among other facilities,
a postoffice, trading posts, rooming houses, restaurants, Government wireless
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear Lake
station, flying company base, and a detachment of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The fishery resources of Great Bear Lake, so far as present information
goes, seem to be considerable. Whitefish are the most important, but fresh–
water herring, arctic trout, bluefish, loche, dorys, jackfish, and tullabees
also abound. Whitefish are found more generally near the mouths of the rivers;
herring, averaging a pound and a half, are found especially near the entrance
to Great Bear River. Trout, running up to 50 or 60 pounds in weight, are
caught principally in the main portion of the lake.
By the end of October or early in November, the bays along the shores
of Great Bear Lake begin to freeze over, but the center of the lake is not
covered with ice until December. The breakup is usually some time in June,
depending on the nature of the season, but often some of the bays are still
ice locked until well into July, while floating ice may still be seen after
the first of August.
References:
Richardson, John.
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the
Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826 and 1827, etc.
Lodnon, 1828.
Bell, J. Macintosh.
Annual Report;
Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.
Great Bear River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GREAT BEAR RIVER
Great Bear River, 75 miles long, drains the lake of the same name in
northwestern Canada into the Mackenzie River. It averages from 150 to 300
yards in width, mostly confined between clay banks, and has a current vary–
ing from three to seven miles and hour. Its average depth is about six feet,
except in a section of about six miles 35 miles from its mouth, where rapids
occur, and there is not more than an average of three feet in depth. It is
navigable for powerful river boats and below the rapids and can be navigated
for its whole length by smaller craft which must be poled or lined upstream,
but which can manage the rapids on the downstream course. Since it receives
practically all its water from Great Bear Lake, its watershed corresponds
almost exactly with that of which the lake is the reservoir and extending not
very far beyond its margin in any direction. The only addition is that con–
tributed by a few unimportant tributaries.
The river leaves Great Bear Lake at the northwestern angle of Keith
Arm, flowing at first through a broad rather shallow channel. For 10 miles
it follows a southwesterly course and then turns to the westward, a direction
which it holds with minor deviations throughout the whole of its course.
The rapids are caused by the cutting
[:
]
of the river through the Franklin
Mountains which become visible shortly after the descent of the river is
beguun. Long after every vestige of ice has left other sections of the river,
and while its shores are profuse with grasses and flowers, its banks an either
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Bear [: Ytar ] River
side of the rapids are piled high with the ice that has accumulated during the winter and from which the banks at this point never become entirely free.
Great Bear River flows into the Mackenzie at right-angles, its clearer
water running side by side with the Mackenzie's darker flood for several
miles before they finally mingle. Since the discovery of the Eldorado mine
at the eastern end of Great Bear Lake in 1930, the river has been an impor–
tant traffic artery for supplies going upstream to the mine, but more par–
ticularly, for concentrates on their way outside to the refinery.
References:
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Annual Report
. Geological Survey of Canada, 1900.
Douglas, George M.
Lands Forlorn.
New york, 1914.
Great Slave Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GREAT SLAVE LAKE
Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, is second
only to its northern neighbor, Great Bear Lake, among the lakes wholly within
the confines of the Dominion. It has an area of 11,170 square miles, and as
much is the fifth in size in North America, being exceeded only by Superior,
Huron, Michigan and Great Bear. Like the other lakes in the series extend–
ing northwestward from the Lake-of-the-Woods at the Canada-United States
border to Great Bear Lake, it lies across the contact between the granitic
Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield on the east and the younger Palaeo–
zoic rocks on the west. Like Great Bear, its main axis lies in a southwest-
northeast direction. Its greatest length is 348 miles and its greatest width
(to the top of North Arm) is 150 miles, although its average is about 35 miles.
It is widest in its western section, which, but for an occasional one near shore,
has no islands, while its long, narrow eastern section is filled with them.
It is 495 feet above sea level, and is the source of the Mackenzie River
Proper, which flows out of its western extremity.
Great Slave Lake lies between latitudes 60° 50′ N. and 62° 55′ N. and
longitudes 108° 40′ and 117° W., and is wholly within the forest zone of
Canada, although to the east and nor
^
t
^
heast the timber is small in places.
Generally speaking, the timber resources are better on the south than on the
north shore. The lake was once — probably in post-glacial times — in the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
form of a cross, but the south arm has been filled by the Slave River, which empties its silt-laden waters into the lake at that point.
For purposes of description, the lake may be div
^
i
^
ded into four sections,
the Slave River delta section, on the south; the East Arm; the North Arm;
and the western, or Mackenzie River section. The Slave River delta, or
central section of the lake, is the remnant of what was once the main part
of Great Slave Lake. At one time it extended southward as far as the rapids
at Fort Smith, 200 miles beyond the present shoreline. The Taltson River,
the prin
i
^
c
^
ipal stream, aside from the Slave, flowing into the lake from the
southeast, enters about 25 miles east of the center of the Slave delta, but
the whole distance between the two rivers is in realit
[:
]
part of the delta,
constantly advancing farther into the lake. Resolution, the principal settle–
ment on the south shore, has been a trading post for a century and a half,
although its exact site has frequently been changed. Its present location
is three miles southwest of the main mouth of Slave River. The whole coast
along the south shore to a point beyond the mouth of the Taltson is low and
marshy, but the Taltson marks the eastern extent of the Palaeozoic rocks,
and as soon as the harder Pre-Cambrian rocks appear the shore becomes bolder
and the lake is filled with islands, practically all of which are of Pre-
Cambrian formation. The lake is now much narrower, and the effects of the
geological structure upon the physical characteristics of a lake are graphi–
cally illustrated. In its western end, Great Slave Lake occupies a wide
basin gouged out of the Palaeozoic rocks and its shores are low, sandy and
marshy; while in the eastern portion, the lake is long and narrow, with high,
rocky shores, and filled with islands which are also long and narrow, their
axes corresponding to the general axis of the lake.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
It is interesting to note how the islands in the narrowing section of
the lake beyond the mouth of the Taltson, seem to line up from south to north
across the lake, and also how their western edge corresponds with the eastern
shore of the North Arm, which again is explained by the geological structure.
East of the east shore of the North Arm is Pre-Cambrian territory; the
glaciers routed out only the relatively softer sections of the rocks, leaving
high, bold shores, and even within the space which the water could occupy,
islands, similarly high and rocky occupy in places almost as great an area
as the water itself. The country back from the shores has the thin soil of
the Canadian Shield, which nevertheless provides sustenance for a surprising
extent of forest cover. A remarkable feature of the eastern end of the lake
is the long, narrow peninsula which, projecting westerly from the south shore,
almost to the north shore, roughly divides the eastern end into longitudinal
sections, that to the north called McLeod Bay and the one to the south,
Christie Bay.
Proceeding eastward from the mouth of the Taltson River along the south
shore, trending here northeasterly, the elevation is moderate and the topog–
raphy irregular for 25 or 30 miles, after which for the next 50 or 60 miles,
the country becomes more rugged. At about latitude 62° 05′ N., an irregular
peninsula juts out to the southwest, closely paralleling the shore, and from
its appearance might be one of the cluster of islands lying beyond its
extremity. North of this peninsula, a section of the lake is dyked off by
narrow ridges of rock forming Stark Lake, connected with the main part of
the lake by a narrow channel which in its short course is interrupted by two
rapids. Into this lake the Snowdrift River enters from the northeast. On
the peninsula separating Stark Lake from the lake proper, is a small settle–
ment called Snowdrift consisting of the usual trading post and little more.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
North of Stark Lake lie two irregular and generally westward-estending peninsulas which separate Tochativi Bay from McLeod Bay on the north. An extension of Kahoshella, the northernmost of the two peninsulas, continuing southward, is the one already referred to as almost reaching the north shore of the lake at Taltheilei Narrows.
Charlton Bay, 16 miles in length by from two to five miles wide,
occupies the eastern extremity of the lake, from which it is separated by
two long rocky points, Townsend Point on the north, and Manufelly Point on
the south, which project from either side of the narrow lake-end, leaving
a channel only half a mile wide between them. Into the northern end of
Charlton Bay, the Lockhart River empties, draining Artillery Lake to the
northeast and an extensive country beyond. Old Fort Reliance, built in
1833, and later destroyed, was located near the outlet of the river. The
present Reliance is on the tip of Fairchild Point.
Proceeding westward, along the north shore of the East Arm, eight or
10 miles west of the foot of Fairchild Point, Hoarfrost River, a small
rapid stream drops into the lake over a fall of about 60 feet. Between
Hoarfrost River and the mouth of Barnston River the coast follows an approxi–
mately westerly course, beyond which it curves sharply to the southwest, the
shore rising steeply through sparsely timbered rocky slopes to a rolling
plateau about 600 feet above the lake leve. Hearne Channel, the northernmost
of several longitudinal channels, separates Blanchet Island from the mainland,
and connects the East Arm with the central part of the lake. At its western
end, Gros Cap marks the entrance to the North Arm.
North Arm extends in a northwesterly direction for 100 miles at right
angles to the main axis of the lake. It ends in Frank Channel, the narrow
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
passage leading to the 25-mile Marian Lake, really an extension of the North Arm. At its entrance, North Arm is approximately 35 miles wide, narrowing gradually toward the north. It occupies the contact zone between the sedi– mentary and Pre-Cambrian rocks, and is, in this respect, a continuation of the Slave River Valley. Following the east shore of North Arm northwesterly, about 30 miles from Gros Cap, the coast is indented by Yellowknife Bay, into the head of which Yellowknife River empties. The bay, about 10 miles wide at its mouth, extends almost due north for some 15 miles, narrowing gradually toward the mouth of the Yellowknife River. About 10 miles up the western side of the bay a small knobby peninsula juts from the shore, and on it and the land behind the town of Yellowknife (q.v.) is situated. It is the center of a rapidly growing gold-min g ing region which extends northward and north– eastward for a distance of 150 miles. Rae, at the head of the North Arm, was established as a trading post in 1852.
Continuing along the north shore of the lake westward from the North Arm,
the coast from Gypsum Point — the southwestern extremity of the North Arm —
is low and flat, rising scarcely anywhere as high as 200 feet above the lake.
The country to the north is covered more heavily than farther east with spruce,
poplar, birch, and alder. This coast, composed mainly of softer rocks than
farther east, contains many more indentations, but they are not, as a rule,
very large. From Gypsum Point the coast trends southwesterly and then to the
west to enclose a wide bay, after which it continues slightly west of south,
past moraine and Jones points to Sulphur Bay, a double bay divided by a
peninsula, with an island lying across the entrance. Windy Point projects
into the lake south of Sulphur Bay, where, in 1920, Imperi
^
a
^
l Oil Limited
drilled unsuccessfully for oil. Across a bay about four
^
^
miles wide is Slave
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
P ^ p ^ oint, a long narrow headland jutting four or five miles into the lake, and marking the northeastern portal of Deep Bay, which extends in a north– westerly direction about 15 miles into the low, swampy territory which here borders the shore of Great Slave Lake. Off the southwestern Point of the bay, and forming part of its southern shore, Big Island marks the entrance to the Mackenzie River. Big Island is about 51 15 miles in length and lies close to the north bank of the river. The channel on its north is shallow, while on the south it is dotted with islands.
From Point des Marais, opposite the eastern end of Big Island, the south
shore of Great Slave Lake curves southeastward for about 25 miles to the mouth
of Hay River and the settlement of that name. Hay River, flowing in from the
southwest, is the largest stream entering the west arm of the lake. Twenty-
four miles farther east, Buffalo River also flows in from the southwest. The
shore between Hay and Buffalo rivers is low, shelving and largely of sand and
boulders. Sulphur Point, eight miles northeast of the mouth of Buffalo River,
gets its name from the presence of sever
^
a
^
l springs which emit a strong odor
of sulphuretted hydrogen. The shore continues in a northeasterly direction
to Pine Point, when it swings more directly eastward, and then curves almost
northward to Resolution, forming a wide, northward-facing bay. At the bottom
of this bay, Little Buffalo River comes in from the southeast.
The first man other than an Indian to see Great Slave Lake was Samuel
Hearne, on his return journey from the Coppermine River in 1771, who arrived
at the north shore on December 24 of that year. Crossing the ice to the mouth
of the Slave, he continued up the latter on his way to Fort Prince of Wales
on Hudson Bay. Peter Pond may have been the first of the fur traders to see
the lake, possibly as early as 1778 or the following year; Grant and Leroux,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
also fur traders, erected buildings at the mouth of the Slave in 1786. Alexander MacKenzie crossed Great Slave Lake on his way to the Arctic Sea in 1789. He reached the lake on June 9 and was delayed there by ice until the 29th, when he finally began his descent of the river that now bears his name.
Great Slave Lake has been an important center of the fur trade ever
since. In the third decade of the twenti
t
^
e
^
th century, because of oil seep–
ages at different points, hopes were entertained that the Silurian and Devon–
ian formations around the western end of the lake might prove productive of
petroleum; and although Imperial Oil Limited drilled a well in 1920 at
Windy Point, no oil has yet been produced. Since then, however, interest
has shifted to minerals, and since 1934, but particularly since the end of
World War II, gold mining in the Yellowknife area has dwarfed interest in
everything else. The rocks in the area, however, show indications of their
possibilities, both as regards base metals and some of the rarer metals.
From the earliest days, Great Slave Lake has been an important link in
the Mackenzie transportation route, although in a sense it has been somewhat
of an obstruction to traffic, for until the ice has cleared from Great Slave
Lake, the river below, even though ice-free for a month, cannot be used for
through traffic. For this reason those who believe in the future possibilities
of the Mackenzie Valley are strong advocates of a railway to tap the river
below the outlet of the lake. The highway that has been built by the Alberta
and Dominion government connecting the Northern Alberta Railways at Grimshaw,
Alberta, with the settlement of Hay River, partly fulfills that need.
Normally, ice forms on Great Slave Lake about the latter part of October.
Because of winds, however, it is continually being broken up, sometimes until
the middle of December; and this renders travel over the ice a dangerous
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Great Slave Lake
a dangerous matter until the ice has become solid enough. The first open water in spring is often seen in May at points where a current exists; but it is during the month of June, in some places early in the month, at others, later, that it is safe to count on being able to cross the main part of Great Slave Lake.
The lake's fishery resources are of considerable economic importance.
Fish have provided the principal food for the Indians since time immemorial,
and has been of equal value to the traders. The whitefish is the outstanding
fish, both from the standpoint of its value as food and the abundance of its
supply. The average weight is about three pounds, but whitefish weighing
eight and nine pounds are not uncommon. Lake trout come next in importance,
running in weight from 10 pounds to 50 pounds. Another valuable fish,
especially because of its wide distribution and the quantities available
is the inconnu (Stenodus mackenzii), which seems to be peculiar to Mackenzie
and other northern waters. It has the appearance of a whitefish but is
larger, varying from 10 to 30 pounds, and seem to be intermediate between a
whitefish and a trout. Another common fish is the bluefish, which also
resembles the whitefish but is smaller and is distinguished by an abnormally
large back fin. Pike, pickerel and suckers are also common in the sediment–
carrying waters, especially at the west end of the lake. Goldeyes (Hiodon
alosoides Rafinesque) have also been found in Great Slave Lake, but as not
so common as the others referred to above.
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
.
Tyrrell, J. W.
Annual Report
. Geological Survey of Canada. 1900.
Great Whale River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GREAT WHALE RIVER
Great Whale River, in central Ungava District, now called New Quebec,
part of the Canadian province of Quebec, drains a large area of territory
westward into Hudson Bay. Its length is given as 365 miles in the Dominion
of Canada Year Book, and its course is shown on the map published by the
Province of Quebec, but the dearth of detail would suggest that a great
deal of its course has been put down largely by conjecture, although it
is not marked by dots, as is the rule in such cases. According to the map,
it rises in an unnamed lake of considerable size laying in latitude 54° N.,
longitude 71° W., whence it flows northwestward to Lake Apiskigamish, which,
according to the Year Book, has an area of 392 square miles. Another branch,
rising near the main branch, and following a parallel course, through White
Winter Lake, and Egg Lake, also flows into Lake Apiskigamish, which lies
across the angle formed by latitude 55° N., and longitude 73° W. Great
Whale River issues from the southwestern angle of the lake and flows slightly
north of westward to its mouth in Hudson Bay. Leaving the lake, the river
flows westward for 30 miles, then northwest for 25 miles, westerly for about
100 miles, northwesterly for about 17 miles, southwesterly for 25 miles and
then 18 miles northwesterly to the Bay. In its 17
[:
]
mile northwesterly bend
it receives the Coast Branch, a tributary from the north, which drains the
territory near the coast, between the Great Whale and Little Whale rivers.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Great Whale River
On the south side, about 18 miles from its mouth, the Great Whale receives the South Branch, which drains a chain of lakes which, with connecting streams, reaches almost to the Fort George River. This stream shows a considerable fall, and in its short course over four falls, 15, 30, 136, and 230 feet in height, respectively. Below the mouth of the South Branch, Great Whale River itself drops over two falls, one of 230 feet and the ^ ^ other 65 feet in height. Since Great Whale River flows across the same type of country as the Eastmain, in which many rapids and falls occur, it may be assumed that similar obstruc– tions occur in Great Whale River above those already mentioned, details of which must await further explorations.
A post of the Hudson's Bay Company and an Anglican Mission are situated
on the north bank near the mouth of the river, which is in latitude 55° 20′ N.,
longitude, 78° 30′ W. Unlike other rivers emptying into Hudson Bay, it has
not an extensive estuary.
Reference:
<bibl>
Department of Mines, Quebec.
Extracts
of
From Reports on the District of Ungava
or New Quebec
. 1929.
</bibl>Groundhog River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
GROUNDHOG RIVER
Groundhog River, northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is a
tributary of the Mattagami River (q.v.), which, with the Missinaibi (q.v.)
forms the Moose River (q.v.), which empties into the southern end of
James Bay. The Grounding River rises in Grounding Lake, which lies in
latitude 48° 10′ N., longitude 82° 20′ W., at an altitude of 1,135 feet
above sea level. Grounding Lake, which is about three miles long by about
a mile-and-a-half wide, is separated from Horwood Lake (q.v.), a much
larger sheet of water, by a short stream, on which there is a dam built
to hold back flood waters in Horwood Lake for power purposes on the
Mattagami River.
A short distance below the outlet of Grounding Lake, the Winnipeg-
Toronto branch of the Canadian National Railways crosses the river at
Groundhog River Station. For five miles below the railway crossing, the
river flows northeastward in a narrow channel, with steep banks cut into
the heavy glacial drift. It then swings more nearly northward for five
miles, spreading into a lake-expansion.about half a mile long, after which
it continues in a northerly direction for another five miles to the junction
with Scorch Creek. The latter flows in where another lake-expansion occurs.
Continuing its general northerly course for a further 20 miles, the Groundhog
River swings slightly north of west for about five miles, and then bends
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Grounding River
again to the north, following this course for five miles to the junction with Ivanhoe River, which, like Scorch Creek, comes in from the west. Continuing slightly east of north for 12 miles, the Groundhog receives the Nat River from the east. At this point, it swings sharply to the west for six miles, after which it continues on a course slightly east of north for about 25 miles. In this stretch it receives numerous small branches, principally from the west. It also receives from the west, the Wakusimi River, which is con– siderably larger than most of the other tributaries in this portion of its course. Six miles below the mouth of Wakusimi River, the Groundhog divides into two channels to enclose Bremner Island, which is about three miles long by about a mile at its greatest width. Three miles below Bremnet Island, at Faquier Station, the Groundhog is crossed by the National Transoncinental branch of the Canadian National Railways. Travelers wishing to reach points on the lower Mattagami, Moose River, or James Bay, often launch their canoes at this station. From Faquier, the Groundhog, now a large stream, flows almost due north for about 40 miles to its junction with the Mattagami. In this final stretch, it is a sluggish river, containing many islands and widening frequently into [: ] lake-expansions. It is not interrupted by rapids in this part.
The Groundhog River
[:
]
flows for its whole length through country under–
lain by the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, but most of the area
is heavily overlaid by glacial drift, in places over 100 feet deep. For this
reason, the river flows for practically the whole distance without reaching
the underlying rock. On this account, it does not have the rapids and falls
characteristic of many of the streams which traverse the Shield.
The entire course of the Groundhog River is through the Clay Belt (q.v.)
of northern Ontario, and therefore the territory which it traverses has
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Groundhog River
excellent agricultural possibilities. These, however, will not be realized unless large-scale clearing and draining operations are undertaken. The territory is at present fairly heavily forested with black and white spruce, Banksian pine, white birch, tamarack and poplar. Much of this, however, is small and best suited to the production of pulpwood.
Reference:
<bibl>
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland: Ontario
. Toronto, The Ryerson P
[:
]
ess,
1946.
</bibl>Hanbury River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HANBURY RIVER
Hanbury River, in the Northwest Territories of Canada, is one of the
principal tributaries of the Thelon River, draining a section of country
east of Great Slave Lake. It rises in about latitude 63° 40′ W., in a
series of connected lakes which, characteristic of lakes in the Canadian
Shield, either spill their waters directly into another lake below or into
a short stretch of rapid-filled stream. These lakes occupy the high table–
land consisting of grey granite which constitutes the height of land between
the Hudson Bay and Great Slave Lake watersheds.
For about a mile and a half below the lake that is taken as its source,
the river trends nearly south and consists of one long rapid, falling in that
distance about 50 feet. At the foot of this long rapid, the river bends to
the northeast and continues in that general direction for about 50 miles,
passing through four small lakes and into a fifth, which has been called
Sandy Lake because of the very remarkable high white sand hills to the north
of it, and its shores and bottom of white sand. Sandy Lake lies about 940feet
m
^
a
^
bove sea level; its length is about four miles and width less than a mile.
Just above Sandy Lake, the river turns sharply toward the southeast and
maintains that general direction to its junction with the Thelon. About a
mile below Sandy Lake, however, the nature of the river changes abruptly.
It begins to drop from the granitic heights to the sandstone plain below,
commencing with a drop of 50 feet at Macdonald Falls. Thence for three miles
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hanbury River
the river rushes through a narrow, deep chasm called Dickson ca n ^ ñ ^ on, and drops over 200 feet. About a mile below the canon, canother fall of 60 feet occurs named Ford Falls; nine miles below, Helen Falls, another beautiful fall of 60 feet occurs; and a short distance below this a further fall of 10 feet occurs. Eight miles of smooth water follows before the Hanbury River joins the Thelon.
The first person of European descent to see the Hanbury was David T.
Hanbury, who, in 1899, ascended the Thelon from Chesterfield Inlet to the
headwaters of the river now named for him, proceeding thence to Great Slave
Lake, by way of Artillery Lake and Lockhart River.
In 1900, J. W. Tyrrell, on an exploratory expedition for the Department
of the Interior of Canada, reached the headwaters of the Hanbury from Great
Slave Lake and descended
^
it
^
to its junction with the Thelon. He gave it the name
it now bears and was the first to map its course and the shores of the lakes
from which it originates and through which it flows.
John Hornby, an eccentric Englishman, visited it a number of times previous
to 1924-25 when he and J. C. Critchell-Bullock spent the winter in its vicinity,
conducting exploration work on it and the Thelon. Two years later, Hornby
died of starvation in a cabin on the bank of the Thelon, a short distance below
the mouth of the Hanbury River.
Since the establishment of the Thelon Game Sanctuary in 1927, which embraces
the Hanbury River, several investigators for departments of the Canadian Govern–
ment have traversed its course, notably W. H. B. Hoare, in 1928-29, and
C. H. B. Clarke, in 1936-37.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hanbury River
References:
Hanbury, D. T.
Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada.
London; 1904.
Clarke, C.H.D.
A Biological Investigation of the Thelon Game Sanctuary
.
Department of Mines and Resources, Ottawa,
Bull
.No. 96, 1940.
Hoare, W.H.S.
Conserving Canada's Musk-Oxen.
Department of the Interior,
Canada; 1930.
Tyrrell, J. W.
Exploratory Survey Between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay
,
Districts of Mackenzie and Keewatin.
Annual Report, Department
of the Interior; Sessional Paper No. 25. Appendix 26 to the
Report of the Surveyor-General of Canada; 1902.
Harricanaw River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HARRICANAW RIVER
Harricanaw River, in northwestern Quebec province, Dominion of Canada,
drains an area lying southeast of James Bay. Its length is 250 miles and
it flows northwesterly into the southern extremity of James Bay, its lower
portion being in the Province of Ontario. It is formed by the junction of
three principal streams which flow northward in roughly parallel valleys,
coming together slightly south of latitude 50° N. The easternmost branch is
called the Octave River, the middle branch carries the name of the main stream,
and the Turgeon is the westernmost branch. They rise near latitude 49°, which
is about the divide between James Bay and St. Lawrencee River waters. After
the junction, the combined river flows in a fairly direct valley to its mouth,
spreading into occasional lake-expansions, with the usual rapids marking the
drop from one terrace to the next.
Its upper reaches are underlain by rocks of early Pre-Cambrian age,
mainly Timiskaming and Keewatin, but for some distance above its mouth the
river flows through the James Bay lowlands, which are underlain by Palaeozoic
rocks, which extend upstream beyond the Ontario-Quebec border.
The region drained by the Harricanaw is in the main heavily timbered
with black and white spruce, poplars, tamarack and Jack pine, most of it of
pulp grade, but with occasional stands of merchantable timber.
Reference:
<bibl>
Geological Survey of Canada: Various reports and map
[:
]
.
</bibl>Haultain River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HAULTAIN RIVER
Haultain River, northern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, is a tributary
of the Churchill River, flowing southward into that river. It rises in Haul–
tain Lake, which lies in about latitude 56° 51′ N., longitude 106° 25′ W.,
and flows first in a southeasterly direction, then slightly west of south and
finally south to its junction with Churchill River. It is broken by many
rapids and falls, and in its lower reaches is very tortuous. Its whole course
lies within the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, and it is character–
istic of the rivers of that region. In its upper reaches it flows through a
succession of lakes consisting mainly of rocky basins scooped by the ice out
of the granite during the glacial period; and while the whole region through
which it flows is dotted with myriads of lakes of all shapes and sizes, it
does not flow into or through so many of them in its lower part, which would
suggest that a considerable length of time had elapsed between the emergence
of the lower parts of the river from the overlying ice sheets and the
[:
]
lying
recession of the ice from its upper reaches. The height of land
separating the Churchill and Mackenzie watersheds lies at a maximum altitude of
1,850 feet; the river has a total drop of about 500 feet. It receives many
tributaries, chief of which is the Norbert, which enters from the northeast
near the Haultain's mouth; but most of them are short, and donsequently its
drainage basin does not extend very far east or west of its valley.
From its principal source in Haultain Lake, Haultain River flows through
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Haultain River
one irregular lake after anoth ^ e ^ r until it enters Mawdsley Lake, about seven miles in a straight line southeast of Haultain Lake. Mawdsley Lake is an island-studded sheet of water about two miles each way, with a shore line broken by many indentations. In its course between the two lakes, the Haultain receives a number of tributaries from the north, each draining its character– istic chain of lakes. As the Haultain emerges from the south side of Mawdsley Lake, it plunges over a rapid with a fall of eight feet, and between that point and its mouth it flows over 35 other rapids or falls, with descents ranging up to 25 feet.
The country through which the Haultain runs is marked by many low rocky
hills, the depressions between whi
z
^
c
^
h are partly filled with glacial debris,
which in the lower part of the area, in particular, take the form of narrow
ridges of sand and fragments of sandstone, lying generally parallel to each
other and at right angles to the direction of the ice movement, which was south–
westerly. These ridges vary up to one and a half miles long and about 35 feet
in height.
The area is generally wooded, the principal forest trees being black spruce,
poplar, birch, Banksian pine and tamarack, depending upon the nature of the
terrain, with black spruce predominating.
At a few points toward its lower and the geological formations might suggest
the possible presence of minerals having economic value; but hitherto none of
importance have been found in the area, which, however, has been but slightly
prospected. Failing the discovery of minerals, it would seem likely that
Haultain River and the country it traverses might remain for some time among
those parts of the Canadian ninterland that will continue relativ
^
e
^
ly unknown.
The only persons who have explored Haultain River for any distance above
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Haultain River
its mouth are members of the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada, of whom F. J. Alcock, J. C. Sproule, and D. L. Downie have made the principal contributions. Its area have ^ has ^ been mapped by the Topographical Survey of Canada, largely from serial photographis taken by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Reference:
<bibl>
Sproule, J. C.
Preliminary Report, M
[:
]
djatik Area, Saskatchewan
. Geological
Survey of Canada; Paper 38-B.
</bibl>Hay River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HAY RIVER
Hay River, in northern British Columbia and Alberta and southern
Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, drains an area of 25,700 square
miles, flowing mainly northeastward into the western end of Great Slave Lake
after a course of 350 miles. It traverses an excellent mixed farming
country, which should soon be in a position to attract settlers. Hitherto
considered as beyond the northern fringe of settlement possibilities, its
turn is now about due. Distance from markets and lack of transportation
have rendered settlement difficult or impossible, but the recent opening up
of a great mining region in the vicinity of Yellowknife on the north shore
of Great Slave Lake should soon provide a market, while the highway recently
built through the territory by the Alberta and Dominion governments to provide
access to the mines at Yellow
i
^
k
^
nife will help to solve the transportation
problem. If the mining region progresses according to present indications,
it should be only a matter of a short time until a railway is built, and the
most likely route for such a railway is along the Hay River valley.
Each of the three streams which unite to form Hay River has its
[:
]
ource
in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains west of the eastern boundary of British
Columbia (longitude, 120° W.). On the west, they interlock with the yeadwaters
of the Fort Nelson River, a tributary of the Liard, flowing into the Mackenzie.
The southern tributary, extending as far south as latitude 57° N., interlocks
with tributaries of the Peace. Northward, the Hay watershed is limited by the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hay River
nearness of the Liard and Mackenzie watersheds. Its westernmost tributary, the Kotcho River, rises in British Columbia in approximately 59° N., longi– tude 121° 30′ W., and flowing eastward into the Province of Alberta, empties into Hay Lake in latitude 58° 50′ N., longitude 119° W. The main branch of the Hay rises in latitude 58° 10′ N., approximately on the British Columbia boundary, flows northwestward for 25 or 30 miles, and then, bending to the east, flows apparently to join the Kotcho in Hay Lake, but this it does not do. It skirts the south shore of that shallow sheet of water, separated sometimes only by a dyke-like ridge, at others by extensive meadows. A short distance east of Hay Lake, the Hay is joined by the Omega River, a short stream which drains Hay Lake,
The southern branch, called the Chinchaga River, rises also in British
Columbia, a short distance west of the boundary in latitude 57° N., and flows
northeastward almost to the 58th parallel and slightly east of longitude 118° W.,
when it makes a sharp bend to the northwest and from then continues in a
generally northerly direction until it joins the Hay about 15 miles east of
Hay Lake. From the junction of the Hay and Chinchana, the Hay proper flows
northeasterly to its mouth, passing through the broken western edge of the
Caribou Mountain plateau, with Watt and Caribou mountains (elevations, 2,500
and 3,300 feet) on the east, and, beyond 60° N., with the Cameron Hills on the
west. About 40 miles from its mouth the Hay cuts through the escarpment of
the Alberta Plateau, where hard limestone is superimposed on softer shales,
plunging over two falls, Alexan
[:
]
ra Falls, with a sheer drop of 140 feet, and
Louise Falls, about a mile and a half below, with a total drop of 52 feet in
a series of cascades. Below the latter, rapids occur for about three miles,
the river flowing through a gorge 170 feet deep, continuing for five miles
below Louise Falls.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hay River
Below the falls the river passes through soft bluish-green shales, which
rise gradually to form bold cliffs along both sides of the valley. Above the
delta the river is about 100 yards wide; and the banks here are low and
grassy, while the country beyond on both sides is thickly wooded. In the
delta section the river widens, enclosing a line of alluvial islands, and
enters the lake by two main channels.
Hay River settlement at the mouth of the river, on its right bank, con–
sists of the Hudson's Bay Company's post, Anglican Mission, with hospital, a
Catholic church, and the postoffice. Trading posts belonging to the Hudson's
Bay Company and Revillon Freres
[:
]
have been maintained at the mouth of the
Meander River, a tributary of the Hay which flows in from the south 75 or
80 miles east of Hay Lake, for many years, but they are kept open only in
the winter and spring months. Supplies are brought in by wagon road from
Vermil
l
ion, on Peace River. This road ascends the valley of Boyer River,
a tributary of the Peace, to the divide between the Peace and Hay river
watersheds and then descends the Meander to its mouth. Crossing at that
point by a fjord, the road proceeds westward along the north bank of the
Hay through the meadows and prairies which extend practically all the way
to Hay Lake.
Traders were the first persons other than Indians to rea
^
c
^
h the Hay
River Valley, but
[:
]
sections of it have since been explored by various
members of the Geological Survey of Canada, and it has also been explored
by departmental officers of the Alberta Government.
In addition to its agricultural prospects, which are exceptional, the
geological formations underlying Hay River Valley are favorable for petroleum,
of which the unsuccessful drilling of one well need not be taken as a cr
[:
]
terion;
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hay River
and the power which could be generated at the falls, combined with the min d eral resources of the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, a short distance to the eastward, suggest interesting industrial possibilities. Altogether, the Hay River district is one of the most promising of the newer regions of Canada.
Reference:
<bibl>
Cameron, A.E.
Summary Report
; Geological Survey of Canada; 1917.
</bibl>Hayes River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HAYES RIVER
Hayes River, in northwestern Manitoba, rises within a few miles of
the north end of Lake Winnipeg and, following a northeasterly course of
180 miles, flows into Hudson Bay, approximately in latitude 57° N. Its
watershed of 28,000 square miles is bounded on one side by the drainage
basin of the Nelson and on the other by that of the Severn. Because of
the many serious interruptions to navigation on the Nelson, to which it
runs parallel, the much smaller Hayes has been, since the earliest times,
the chief boat and cance route from upper Hudson Bay into the interior.
Fortunately, it is possible to cross from the navigable East Channel of
the Nelson to the Hayes, near its headwaters, and the latter has few
serious obstructions in its whole course to the Bay.
From Lake Winnipeg, the boat route follows the East Channel of the
Nelson, past the famous Norway House of the Hudson's Bay Company, to The
High Rock and then swings away to the right up a small, marshy stream called
the Echimamish, which is a Cree word meaning a channel in which the water
flows both ways. This stream, and the intervening Hairy Lake, is followed
for a distance of twenty-eight miles in a direct line from the Nelson to the
watershed, marked by a low rock called the Painted Stone. A portage of
twenty-eight yards leads to what is considered a continuation of the same
stream, although it runs in the opposite direction to the Hayes River.
The first serious interruption occurs at the foot of Robinson Lake,
where the portage, the most formidable one on the whole route, is 1,315 yards
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hayes River
long, with a drop of about forty-five feet. Seven miles below, the river enters a narrow and practically straight ravine through which it flows for another seven miles to Pine Lake. At Windy Lake, the course, hitherto mainly east, swings to the northwest, or at right angles to its previous course, and at the end of four miles falls down a chute with a descent of about six feet, called the Angling Place into a marsh which leads to Oxford Lake.
Oxford Lake, on which is situated Oxford House, of the Hudson's Bay
Company, is island-studded and runs northeast and southwest, in line with
the prevailing trend of the country. It has a length of thirty miles and
a maximum breadth of about eight or nine. An extension beyond Oxford House
is called Back Lake, and it is from this that the channel continues south–
easterly to the head of Knee Lake. This lake, which has a total length of
forty miles, by about six miles at its widest, consists of two principal
expansions, each lying northeast and southwest, but connected by a narrower
portion, about nine miles long, running north and south. Knee Lake, too, is
studded with islands, particularly numerous in its central portion. Ten
miles beyond, the river expands into what is called Swampy Lake, a narrow
strip of water ten miles long, the last lake on the route.
Leaving Swampy Lake, the river is dotted with small islands for about
nineteen miles, and a great number of r
[:
]
pids are encountered, none of them
offering serious obstacles to navigation. Below this, clay banks make their
appearance on both sides and continue, varying in height, down to the Bay.
Below Br
[:
]
ssey Hill, a remarkable, isol
d
ated mound of gravelly earth
392 feet in height, about three-quarters of a mile east of the Hayes, few
islands occur and the river has an average width, for a considerable distance,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hayes River
of about forty-five yards. Several rapids and chutes occur in the first thirteen miles, caused by ledges of granitic rocks. The last of these is called The Rock, where there is a considerable exposure of these Pre-Cambrian rock s.
The character of the river changes at The Rock, and from there to the
sea, a distance of 105 miles, no more rapids occur. Like its companion
river, the Nelson, the Hayes in its upper reaches flows through a succession
of lakes and river-expansions, and then, confining itself to a narrower
channel, runs more directly to the sea.
The stream is shallow at low water and runs with a swift current to the
head of tidewater, about nine miles above its outlet. Fox River comes in
from the west, seventy-five miles above the mouth of the Hayes, and, twenty–
five miles farther on, the Shamattawa, a larger tributary, flows in from the
southeast, bringing with it the waters of God's River, which, for a hundred
and twenty-five miles, runs parallel to the Hayes, only a few miles to the
south. The river here has an average width of about 220 yards, continuing
at that width as far as the mouth of the Pennygutway, a small stream flowing
in from the southwest about twenty-four miles above the river's mouth. Below
this, the river widens to a quarter of a mile, gradually increasing to half a
mile, until opposite York Factory it has become a mile.
York Factory, on the west bank of the river, about five miles above
Beacon Point, the extremity of the narrow tongue of land separating the
estuaries of the Nelson and Hayes rivers, was once the most important Hudson's
Bay Company's post on the Bay. It was established more than 260 years ago
and has been in continuous operation since then.
References:
<bibl>
Bell, Robert. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress, 1877-78.
Brock, R.W. Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1910.
McInnes, William. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 30, 1913.
</bibl>Horwood Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HORWOOD LAKE
Horwood Lake, northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is one of the
sources of the Groundhog River (q.v.). It lies at an altitude of 1,140
feet above sea level, and is separated from Groundhog Lake, a much smaller
sheet of water in which the river of the same name has its rise. It is 20
miles long at its greatest length, and about five miles wide at its greatest
width. It is irregular in shape, contains numerous islands, and has long
bays and arms extending both north and south from its main section. A dam
in the stream between Horwood and Groundhog lakes serves to conserve water
for power purposes on the Mattagami River, of which the Groundhog is a
tributary. The country in which the lake lies is one of low relief, with
very few hills or
rt
ridges standing above its general level. Many lakes
abound in the surrounding region, which is typical of the Pre-Cambrian
country, in that jagged depressions in the underlying rocks are filled with
water which spills from one to the next. The country is well forested with
white and black spruce, Banksian pine, white birch, tamarack and poplar. Most
of the timber is small, however, and suited mainly to pulpwood. The soil is
not as favorable for agriculture as far
^
t
^
her north in the Clay Belt (q.v.)
proper, but small areas exist in which good agricultural land might be obtained
if draining and clearing were to be undertaken.
Reference:
<bibl>
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland: Ontario
. Toronto, The Ryerson Press, 1946.
</bibl>Hudson Bay Lowland
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
HUDSON BAY LOWLAND
The Hudson Bay Lowland, Dominion of Canada, occupies parts of the
provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, comprising an area from 50 to
200 miles wide bordering the western, southwestern and southern shores of
Hudson and James bays. Northward, it ends near Churchill, Manitoba, where
its width is about 50 miles. As it extends southward, its width increases,
its maximum width being reached between Cape Henrietta Maria and the mouth
of the Albany River. It includes the lower valley of the Harricanaw River,
which flows into the southeastern angle of James Bay, but does not, however,
extend as far east as the Nottaway River.
The Hudson Bay Lowland is underlain chiefly by rocks of
P
^
p
^
alaeozoic age,
although in some sections the underlying formations belong to the Mesozoic.
The qestern and southwestern edges of the Lowland are in contact with the
Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, which, at the point of contact,
dip steeply beneath the younger rocks. In a few isolated spots, in the
midst of the Lowland, small outcrops of Pre-Cambrian rocks make their
appearance.
Since the Pre-Cambrian peneplain ranges between 1,000 feet at its
lowest level, and 1,400 feet at its highest, above the sea, the drop to the
Lowland and is everywhere abrupt. The Lowland, at the point of contact
(known as the "fall" line), ranges from about 300 feet to 700 feet above sea
level. Thus the numerous streams that rise in the Canadian Shield and flow
through the Lowland to reach Hudson or James bays, have many rapids and falls
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Hudson Bay Lowland
where they drop from the upland to the lowland level.
The Hudson Bay Lowland slopes gradually toward the sea, the land imper–
ceptibly merging into the bottom of the bay, where it continues at about the
same grade. The result is that, in this region, the water along the shores
is shallow for a considerable distance offshore. The coastline is therefore
indefinite, its position depending from time to time upon the stage of the
tide.
During a recent geological period, this region was covered by the sea,
when thick strata of marine clays were deposited. The clay is now overlain
by s
[:
]
rata of glacial and post-glacial drift, which in turn, are covered by a
layer of humus derived from decaying vegetation. It seems evident that the
region has undergone several fluctuations in level, and that the modern plain,
superimposed on the ancient Palaeozoic formations, must have stood above sea
level during the deposition of the glacial drift.
The whole area is sparsely covered with dwarf black spruce and tamarack,
none of which, however, is of commercial importance, even for pulp. The prin–
cipal vegetation consists chiefly of spagnum moss. This monotonous expanse of
flat, swampy country is relieved in places by ridges of sand or gravel, which,
especially in the Moose River basin, generally run north and south. In places,
although not continuous, these ridges can be traced for miles. In the southern
portion of the region, they often merge into larger areas having a slightly
higher elevation than the general level. These higher parts support heavier
growths of trees, in places much larger than the rule, and present a pleasant
contrast to the dismal appearance of the prevailing muskeg.
As the sea is approached, the proportion of muskeg increases, and the
vistas of apparanetly never-ending swamps are broken at wider intervals by
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
sand or gravel ridges. These ridges, too, support growths of sturdy trees of greater height and size than those which struggle in sparse stands throughout the muskeg.
Numerous shallow streams, winding their way across the top of the plain,
have narrow strips of dry land along their edges, proportionate to their size.
The larger streams, holding more direct courses, are bordered by strips of
heavily timbered land, varying from several hundred yards in width to half
a mile or more.
The Lowland is apparently of too recent origin to be maturely dissected
by its drainage channels, as is the case in regions older, geologically. All
evidence here points to recent origin. The principal rivers have remarkedly
straight courses for miles through wide, shallow valleys. Near the contact
with the Pre-Cambrian peneplain, the height of the valley walls is probably
100 feet, on the average, and this gradually lowers in the direction of the
sea. As a rule, both sides of the main river valleys rise directly, or
almost so, from the level of the river; but in much of the upper parts of
the chief streams, they, by swinging from side to side of the valleys, have
produced precipitous banks on one side, and alluvial flats on the other.
Most of these rivers have already cut their way through the post-glacial and
glacial deposits, and are now running on or near the Palaeozoic strata, which
in many places they have also deeply cut.
The smaller rivers show exceedingly crooked river channels, which also
swing from side to side across the valley. Here, narrow flood-plains
alternate with scarped banks on both sides of the stream. Most of these
streams are still cutting their channels through the glacial drift.
The Hudson Bay Lowland is traversed by the lower reached of the Churchill,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
Nelson, Hayes, Severn, Winisk, and Trout rivers, flowing into Hudson Bay; and by the Ekwan, Attawapiskat, Albany, Moose and Harricanaw rivers, flowing into James Bay. Such large tributaries of the Moose as the Missinaibi, Mattagami, and Abitibi, also have parts of their courses within the Lowland.
Because the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic formations which underlie most of
this region, are productive of petroleum in other parts of Canada, some
exploration has been undertaken with a view to determining whether petroleum
is likely to be present in these rocks. So far, however, no favorable indi–
cations have been found.
On the other hand, such negative results do not entirely rule out the
possibility of petroleum, since the heavy overburden makes the detection
of seepages extremely difficult. Seepages are an indication upon which
prospectors rely considerably. The most significant negative sign, however,
is that the rock formations, where they have been examined, seem to be too flat
to allow of the concentration of petroleum, even should the rocks beneath be
petroliferous.
These conclusions are conditioned by the fact, however, that large areas
have not yet been prospected. The absence of anticline structures in these
regions cannot therefore be assumed without question. The best that can be
said is that no actual indications of petroleum have so far been observed;
and that most of the available evidence seems to suggest that petroleum may
not be present.
Although the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield to the south and
west comprise one of the world's greatest storehouses of minerals, few mineral
occurrences of consequence have been discovered in the Hudson Bay Lowland.
An exception to this statement must be made in favor of considerable deposits
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
of iron-bearing limestones. On the other hand, many of the principal rivers flowing through the Lowland into James Bay, cut through beds of china clay of excellent quality, which would suggest the possibility of an extensive ceramics industry. In addition, even more extensive beds of gypsum exist throughout the same region. These same rivers cut through beds of lignite coal, which, while of little present value, should some day at least be of value for local consumption.
According to Dr. J. Mackintosh Bell, who reported on the Moose River
basin for the Ontario Department of Min
[:
]
s in 1904, the iron-bearing limestones
consists "for the most part, of exceedingly pure and high-grade limonite or
hematite, excellently suited for the manufacture of steel and commercially
fit for any use to which the best iron ores are adapted."
He further reported that, "when it is remembered that most of the ore is
high-grade, that the area exposed is large, and that the actual ore-body may
prove to be much larger when the overlying mantle of drift has been removed,
and that finally it exists in easily workable position, the value of the
deposit will be greatly appreciated."
These iron-bearing limestones are seen on the Opazatika River (q.v.),
where they are exposed for some 225 yards continuously on the east bank of
the stream, and appear as several isolated outcrops for a somewhat shorter
distance on the opposite side. On the Mattagami River (q.v.), about 25 miles
above its junction with the Missinaibi (q.v.), and some 16 or 18 miles below
the foot of the Long Portage, another extensive outcrop occurs. The mass of
ore appears on both sides of the river, which at that point has a width of
about 400 yards, and in low water it
[:
]
can be seen in the bed of the stream.
Nothing has ever been done with these deposits. They are still too
remote to be of commercial value, but when the country adjoining is settled,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
as some day undoubtedly it will, they should be utilized. The great quantities of water power available, should render them of even greater value.
Probably the next most important resource of this region, at any rate
as at present discernible, are the deposits of kaolin, of china clay. Beds
of these clays of various thicknesses and extent are cut by most of the rivers
in the Moose River basin. One of these deposits, on the Wabiskagami River,
a tributary of the Missinaibi, eight miles above its mouth has been described
by Dr. Bell.
"The deposit lies on the south bank," he writes, "slong which it is
traceable for about 400 feet, rising above the summer level to a height of
at least 10 feet. The clay is soft, plastic and unctious, generally almost
white in color, but sometimes stained deep hematite red or yellow ochre by
impregnation of iron oxide. Much of it is remarkably free of sand, but other
parts contain lenses and small pocket-like areas composed of grains of clear,
glassy quartz sand, mixed with pure white kaolin."
Here again, the proximity of ample hydro-electric power
[:
]
could be
a great advantage.
Even more widespread are the deposits of gypsum. On Moose River, gypsum
beds appear on both sides of the river, beginning about 12 miles below the
confluence of the Missinaibi and Mattagami rivers. On the northwest side,
the beds extend along the river for two and a half miles, and on the opposite
side for two and three quarter miles. Three or four miles farther down stream,
another deposit appears on the southwest side, and extends for about a mile.
A well-known feature of the region is the so-called "Gypsum Mountain,"
about 10 miles east of the Abitibi River in latitude 50° 40′ N., which con–
sists of a mass of gypsum standing above the level of the plain. While its
crest is only from 20 to 25 feet above the level of the muskeg, it neverthe-
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
less has an appearance of height because of the flatness of the country, stretching as it does in every direction as far as the eye can see. The outcrop in this area has been traced for three-quarters of a mile from the base of the "mountain." This gypsum is reported to be of excellent quality.
Lignite beds are equally widespread. Practically all the streams from
the French River, on the east, to the Albany River, on the west, out through
beds of this material. The coal is of glacial age, and is therefore compara–
tively young, as is indicated by its appearance. In many of the deposits,
the coal resembles the "braun kohl" of Saxony, but in other deposits it more
nearly resembles some of the tertiary lignites of southern Seskatchewan.
From time to time, efforts have been made by the Ontario Government to
utilize this coal, and a considerable amount of drilling has been done. For
a time it appeared that some of the coal might be put on the market in southern
Ontario in the form of briquettes, and considerable money was spent by the
government in that endeavor, but in 1947 the government announced that the project
was not commercially feasible. No further efforts have been made to develop
the coal.
While it is doubtful if this lignite could be transported long distances
by rail to sell in competition with harder coals imported from Pennsylvania,
there is no doubt that for local consumption, as and when the need arises, it
will prove of great value. Since it occurs in a region which produces very
little timber, its value for domestic fuel would seem to be evident as soon
as settlement provides a market.
In addition to these extensive lignite beds, even more widespread supplies
of peat are available. This material varies in quality, depending upon its age,
thickness of the beds, location, and various other factors. As a supplement to
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
the lignite, there is no doubt that it can some day be counted upon to provide the Hudson Bay Lowland with an almost inexhaustible supply of fuel close at hand.
For industrial purposes, however, the most important source of power is
the potential hydro-electric energy that may be derived from the many streams
that drop from the adjoining Canadian shield. In most cases the transmission
lines required to bring power from the point of production to where it would
be needed would be short.
As has been pointed out, these streams drop from 500 to 700 feet in
their descent from the Shield to the Lowlands. This drop, moreover, occurs,
in most cases, within a distance of a few miles. Power is already being
produced on the upper reaches of some of these rivers, such as the Abitibi,
the Matta
v
gami, and the Albany. This does not interfere, however, with the
development of power farther north. In some cases, the highest falls occur
beyond the present limits of development.
Pulp and paper mills are a possibility on some of these streams, near
the fall line. In some districts, heavy stands of spruce suitable for pulp
grow on the uplands to the south, which could be made available for such mills.
The possibility of pulp and paper production might depend, however, upon
transportation by sea. As shall be discussed later, the navigational possi–
bilities of James and Hudson bays are also a factor in any estimate of the
economic value of this region.
While the agricultural resources of the great Clay Belt (q.v.) to the
south are quite well understood, the agricultural possibilities of the Hudson
Bay Lowland are not so
q
well recognized. The sigh
^
t
^
of miles upon miles of
dreary muskeg, producing little more than a thick blanket of moss and sparse
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
growths of stunted spruce and tamarack, does not present a very favorable picture. Nevertheless, this region has undoubted agricultural possibilities. These will not be realized, however, unless large-scale reclamation projects are instituted over extensive areas of the country.
Owing to the impervious nature of the underlying clays, the rivers drain
only narrow strips of land on either side. Back from this line, the country
is permanently soaked with water. The moss, humus, and upper layers of
drift, contain water which never drains. In addition to this, in may parts
of the district, the ground never completely thaws because of the protection
of the ice-water-soaked moss. What can happen when the land is cleared of the
moss and the water allowed to drain away or to evaporate, is seen in places
where fire has destroyed the sparse timber and also the moss. Here the soil
soon becomes dry, and is covered with grass.
Experience in other parts of Canada would suggest that the elimination
of summer frosts to which the region is now subject would follow the draining
and ploughing of the land. Competent authorities are of the opinion that
immense areas could be made available for farming if reclamation projects
of this nature, sufficient in extent, were to be instituted.
Transportation, of course, is a vital factor with respect to the develop–
ment of any of the resources referred to above. In this respect, the Hudson
Bay Lowland, in its southern section especially, is fairly well situated.
The Ontario Northland Railway (q.v.) cuts through the region from south to
north, following the valleys of the Abitibi and Moose Rivers to James Bay.
This railway begins at North Bay, which is on the main lines of both the
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific transcontinental railways. The Canadian
National Railways has another east-west line which runs through the Clay Belt,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
crossing the Ontario Northland Railway line at Cochrane (latitude 49° N.).
Since the railway trends northwestward beyond Cochrane, and the southern
edge of the Lowland southwestward, spurs northward from this line farther
west sould be relatively short. If and when the Canadian National lines
in this region are electrified, as some day they may be, the transportation
problem would be simplified.
If development of the Hudson Bay Lowland were to depend entirely upon
the exploitation of its own resources, and if long distances through unpro–
u
ductive territory were required in order to reach the region, such development
would undoubtedly be deferred much longer than will probably be the case. The
territory south of the Lowland — and between it and the railway — consists
of the highly mineralized Canadian Shield, where already many gold mines are
in operation. Some of these at present have no means of communication other
than the airplane and tractor train, in winter.
As further mines are developed in the area, the building of spur lines
northward from the nearest east-west railway will become a practicable matter.
In fact, in order to provide the maximum traffic for the existing railways
such feeders are most essential. When the resources of the Canadian Shield,
immediately adjacent to the railways, and those of the Hudson Bay Lowland,
farther beyond, are fully developed, many such branch lines will be required.
The Ontario Northland Railway now has its northern terminus at Moosonce,
near the mouth of Moose River, on James Bay. No facilities for ocean-going
vessels have yet been provided, and a considerable amount of dredging will
be needed before a port can be established there. Given sufficient traffic,
however, such facilities could be provided quite easily. When that time comes,
a large portion of the Hudson Bay Lowland will be within reach of the markets
of the world.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Hudson Bay Lowland
Most of the resources referred to above are in the southern part of
the Hudson Bay Lowland. This does not mean that parts of the region not
mentioned are devoid of such resources; it
is
merely means that more
information is available concerning these parts. Presumably, if equivalent
information could be secured about the lands farther north, they would
prove to be of equal economic importance.
References:
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin
. Report of
Bureau of Mines, 1904. Toronto: The King's Printer;
1904.
Williams, M.Y.
Palaeozoic Stratigraphy of Pagwachuan, Lower Kenogami
,
and Lower Albany Rivers.
Summary Report, 1920, Part D;
Geological Survey of Canada; 1921.
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland; Ontario.
Toronto: The Ryerson Press;
1946.
Kapiskau River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KAPISKAU RIVER
Kapiskau River, northern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, drains a narrow
strip of territory within the Hudson (James) Bay Lowland, between the Atta–
wapiskat (q.v.) River, on the north, and the Albany (q.v.) River, on the
south. It begins a small, shallow stream in about latitude 52° 25′ N.,
longitude 86° W., and flows southeastward for about 30 miles into a group
of small lakes, the largest of which is about a mile and a half long, by
about half a mile wide, called the Kapiskau Lakes, which lie at an elevation
of 400 feet above sea level. The country surrounding consists largely of
muskeg and swamp on which little but stunted black spruce and tamarack grow.
On occasional patches of higher ground, larger trees consisting of spruce,
white birch, Banksian pine and poplar are found.
Passing through Kapiskau Lakes, the river continues its southeasterly
course, for the first five or six miles, wide and sluggish, and then, for 30
or 35 miles, in a somewhat narrower channel cut through stratified clay banks.
The river then makes a long curve to the northeast through low hills covered
with poplar and birch. The river here is interrupted by a number of rapids
caused by boulders in the bed of the stream. At most stages of water they
do not interfere with canoe travel in either direction. The banks on either
side are now lined with narrow strips of fairly large trees, but beyond these
strips the country on both sides, as far as the eye can reach, presents a
dismal view of almost endless muskeg, supporting the usual stunted black
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kapiskau River
spruce and tamarack. The channel cuts many peat bogs, and in places a stratum of peat, five or six feet thick, forms part of the banks. At inter– vals, sand or gravel ridges stand out above the general level, and these are covered with larger trees similar to those which line the banks of the river.
After a 20-mile stretch in which the course is slightly south of east,
the river swings abruptly to the northeast in a long are, at the end of which
it cuts through outcropping limestones. It has now descended about 230 feet
from the level of the Kapiskau Lakes. Taking another abrupt turn, it again
describes an are to the northeast, during the course of which it flows through
clay banks with a swift current, broken in places by boulders causing rapids.
From this point to its entry into James Bay, it continues a generally north–
east course. About 50 miles from its mouth, it receives the Atikameg River,
a stream about 140 miles long, which drains the area between the Kapiskau and
Albany rivers.
The Kapiskau River has no distinct valley, but has cut a channel through
the post-glacial and glacial drift which overlies the Palaeozoic rocks of the
Lowland region, cutting into the rock itself as the sea is approached. The
average height of the banks is not much more than 25 or 30 feet. Probably
due to the action of ice during the freshets, the land immediately adjacent
to the banks has been elevated above the level of the country immediately
beyond. The clay subsoil prevents drainage, except close to the channel,
and consequently the land beyond the edges of the river is perpetually soaked
with water. This water neither drains nor evaporates. Thick blankets of
sphagnum moss cover land not actually submerged, which helps to keep the soil
beneath from drying or receiving any warmth, even during hot summer days.
The Kapiskau River is about a quarter of a mile wide at its mouth, and
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kapiskau River
for a few miles above the head of tidewater, averaging about 150 yards as far up as the mouth of the Atikmeg, above which it narrows considerably. Its length to the kapiskau Lakes is about 266 miles, an d its total length is about 300 miles.
Reference:
<bibl>
Wilson, W.J.
Reconnaissance Surveys of Four Rivers Southwest of James Bay
.
Summary Report, 1902; Geological Survey of Canada; Ottawa:
The King's Printer; 1903.
</bibl>Kapuskasing River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KAPUSKASING RIVER
The Kapuskasing River is a tributary of the Mattagami River which,
joining with the Missinaibi, becomes Moose River. These streams drain
a considerable area of northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, into James
Bay. The Kapuskasing River rises in the lake of the same name, in latitude
48° 30′ N., longitude 82° 55′ W. Its course is approximately northeast to
its juction with the Mattagami in latitude 49° 55′ N.
Flowing out of the northeastern angle of Kapuskasing Lake, where it
has a width of about 100 feet, it drops down a rapid for a descent of 23
feet. Here the line of the Canadian National Railways from Winnipeg to
Toronto and Montreal crosses the river. In its course beyond this point,
the Kapuskasing River descends seven falls or rapids that have power possi–
bilities, ranging from 16 feet at the Loon Rapids to 56 feet at Big Beaver
Falls and 64 feet at Lapingam Rapids. Only one of these has yet been
developed, a fall at the town of Kapuskasing, where a head of 30 feet pro–
vides 2,500 horse power. Here the National Transcontinental line of the
Canadian National Railways crosses the river. Sturgeon Falls, 35 miles above
the mouth of the Kapuskasing, derives its name from the fact that sturgeon
are unable to get above the 17-foot fall at this point. No further ob–
structions occur below Sturgeon Falls. The channel is broad and shallow
and filled with boulders. The Kapuskasing enters the Mattagami by two mouths,
which discharge about four miles apart.
The country through which the Kapuskasing River flows is similar to
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kapuskasing River
that described in the accounts of the upper reaches of the Missinaibi and Mattagami rivers (q.v.). Its course lies entirely within the Canadian Shield section of northern Ontario.
References:
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin.
Report of
the Bureau of Mines, 1904. Toronto: The King's
Printer; 1904.
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland Ontario.
Toronto: The Ryerson Press;
1946.
Kazan River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KAZAN RIVER
Kazan River, Northwest Territories of Canada, drains a considerable
area chiefly within the District of Keewatin and its waters reach Hudson
Bay through Chesterfield Inlet and its freshwater extension, Baker Lake.
It rises in Kasba Lake, which lies at an elevation of 1,270 feet above
sea level, just west of the boundary (102° S.) between the districts of
Mackenzie and Keewatin and a few miles north of the 60th parallel of north
latitude, which divides the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba from
the Northwest Territories.
The drainage basin of the Kazan comprises 32,700 square miles, extend–
ing northward from just south of latitude 60° N. to latitude 64° 05′ N.,
and east and west from longitude 95° 55′ W. to 103° 30′ W. Since it is
paralleled on the west for the whole of its course by the Dubawnt River,
and on its eastern side comes close to the height of land marking the western
limits of the Hudson Bay watershed, its drainage area is long and narrow,
and its tributaries are all short. In its course of 455 miles it drops
about 1,200 feet, mostly in short repids, but several falls also occur, at
one of which, in the lower reaches of the river, the drop is considerable.
The Kazan lies wholly within the Canadian Shield and its characteristics
are similar to other rivers traversing that area.
No two maps show Kasba lake in exactly the same place; some show it
partly in the Mackenzie District and partly in Keewatin District; others
show it wholly within Mackenzie District. Likewise, none shows its outline
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
completely traced, consequently its area is yet unknown. It seems, however, to consi [: ] t of two arms, somewhat in the shape of a Y, one arm lying approxi– mately east and west and the other in a northwest-southeast direction, each of which is about 25 miles long.
Kazan River flows out of Kasba Lake near the latter's northwestern
angle and for the first three-quarters of a mile flows quietly over a bed of
boulders, after which, in a channel more definitely marked, it rushes down
a series of swift, crooked rapids, bearing off toward the northeast. The
rapids continue for a mile and three-quarters, ending with a cascade where
there is a drop of 15 feet. At the top of the rapids, the channel is deep
and narrow, but at their end it spreads out over a mass of boulders. The
banks below this are c
[:
]
mposed of sand and boulders and fairly well wooded, the
channel well-defined, though winding, the water shallow and the current
swift, Passing through a lake about three miles in leng
g
^
t
^
h by about a mile
wide, the river swings to the eastward for about two miles and then enters
Tabanni Lake, which is somewhat larger than the one just above.
Flowing out of the northern end of Tabanni Lake, the river continues
With a swift current in a northeasterly direction for three miles and enters
the south end of Lake Annadai, which is about 50 miles long and about seven
or eight wide at its greatest width. It lies in a northeast-southwest
direction across the angle formed by the 61st parallel and the 102nd meridian.
While rapid occur at a number of places, the greater part of the 170-foot drop
between Kasba Lake and Ennadai Lake is accounted for by the steady stope of the
country.
Below Ennadai Lake, the river flows over boulders, causing heavy rapids for
about two miles; and then, turning sharply to the north-northeast, and still
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
flowing swiftly, enters a small lake about a mile and a quarter in width, lying slightly east of north. Leaving this lake, the river then swings to the eastward for two and a half miles, still flowing swiftly between banks of boulders. The country off to the northwest is low and wet, moderately wooded with small black spruce and occasional tamaracks, but beyond this point the forest thins out and is soon left behind.
Continuing generally eastward, expanding into a number of small lakes,
the river flows in a shallow channel over pebbles and boulders with a rapid
current, and then turns sharply to the north, continuing in that direction
through several lake expansions, after which it flows northeast by east for
five miles into the southern end of a lake about 13 miles long, lying in a
north and south direction. This lake is merely a much wider lake expansion
than usual, and its river-like nature is shown by the presence midway of a
narrows where a light rapid occurs. Two miles below the north end of this
lake, the river turns sharply to the west and continues in that direction
for nearly 10 miles, when it again swings to the northeastward and enters
another long, narrow lake, lying in the same general direction as the
previous course of the river. The surrounding country is low and wet,
broken here and there by parallel ridges of boulders. Continuing in a
northerly direction for seven or eight miles, the river then swings to the
northeast, and after flowing for seven miles in a channel from 120 to 200
yards wide, enters the northwestern extremity of Angikuni Lake. In this
stretch the banks are from 20 to 40 feet high, which gradually decrease in
height as the lake is approached. The area and outline of this lake are
still undetermined, but it is of considerable size and is at least 25 miles
long, following its main axis, which lies northwest-southeast, and is about
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
10 miles wide at its greatest width. The river emerges from the northeastern angle of this lake and flows almost due east for a straight-line distance of 44 miles. The current varies; sometimes the river rushes headlong down a narrow channel, and at others spreads out over beds of boulders, expanding twice into small lakes. About midway of this stretch, the river falls over a ridge of gneiss with a drop of 20 feet, and then continues with a rapid current to a second fall, below which a heavy cascade occurs in which the water rushes through a narrow, rocky gap into a gorge 60 feet deep. This represents the extent of the drop from the head of the upper fall, a distance of about a mile and a half.
Below this point the river expands to a width of about 250 yards, and
for the next 13 miles is almost a continuous rapid, at the end of which it
falls 20 feet in a series of cascades. Continuing eastward for five miles,
the river then turns abruptly to the north, flowing for 10 miles in that
direction with a
[:
]
strong current between banks of boulders. At the end of
this stretch, the river opens into a small lake two miles long, at the outlet
of which is a heavy rapid, where a fall of 10 feet occurs, caused by a ledge
of gneiss. The river continues for five miles and then swings toward the
west, flowing with a strong steady current between rocky islands, and then
tumbles in a low fall over a rocky ledge. Below this point the river widens,
becoming less rapid, and flows between sandy banks, where the country has the
appearance of a fertile, rolling prairie. After a few miles it contracts and
is deep. This is one of the points where caribou formerly crossed the river
in their migrations, and is thought to be the spot visited by Hearne in 1770.
Below this point, the river, deep, with a slackening current, gradually widens
to a bell mouth and flows into the northwestern angle of Yathkyed Lake.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
Yathkyed Lake, with an area of 860 square miles, is one of the largest
in Keewatin District. It is roughly wedge-shaped, lying in a northwest–
southeast direction, with its greatest dimension at the north. It contains
many islands, one exceptionally large. The Kazan River flows out of the
northeastern extremity with a swift current, and after half a mile enters
a lake about four miles wide. When it emerges, it flows out by a narrow
channel in which occurs a heavy rapid caused by a ridge of gneiss. Below
this point, the river expands, continuing thus for a short distance between
sandy beaches, and then breaks into a rough rapid over boulders and irregular
ridges of gneiss. For the next three miles it flows northward over a bed
of boulders
a
through a pleasant valley, which leads to a small lake about
two miles long. Out of this, the river rushes in a narrow channel, with a
current of five miles an hour, and then expands into a shallow, stony channel
from 150 to 200 yards wide.
After a course of about five miles due north, the river enters the
southern extremity of a lake about 12 miles long and from three to four
miles wide, lying in a northeast-southwest direction. Leaving the north end
of this lake, the river, following a northeasterly course, passes through a
range of low but very rugged hills, after which it swings due eastward for
about 30 miles in a lake-like stretch where it expands at times to a width of
about two miles. Low, rocky hills, from 100 to 200 feet high, border the stream
in this stretch, a short distance beyond which it drops about 30 feet through a
long cascade-like rapid. Below this it continues for about 12 miles and then,
through a series of rapids, contracts abruptly, and flowing through three channels,
formed by one large and one small, rocky island, it drops over the Kazan Falls
into a gorge between perpendicular walls from 50 to 75 feet in height. Below the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
falls, the river continues its turbulent course through the ca n ^ ñ ^ on for about a mile before emerging into a broad and shallow valley, through which it winds its way between gravelly banks. The total drop from the head of the rapid above the falls to the foot of the ca n ^ ñ ^ on is estimated to be at least 100 feet. For the last 20 or 30 miles before entering Baker Lake, the river runs through banks of blue boulder clay. Between yathkyed and Baker lakes the current is everywhere swift — four to eight miles an hour. In addition to the Kazan Falls, there are 15 rapids, all but two of which can be negotisted by lowering the canoe at the end of a line.
The Kazan River flows for most of its length through a region that once
supported the central portion of the ice sheets that covered the country during
the glacial period. It was consequently a region of less movement than was the
case in areas farther removed from the center; and it is therefore more heavily
overlaid with glacial detritus. For this reason very little rock is exposed
along its course, and this makes prospecting difficult, since its general
inaccessibility prohibits the sort of intensive prospecting necessary to
determine mineral possibilities in such circumstances. Such being the case,
it is likely to remain one of the later spots to attract the prospector. It
has better power possibilities than most of the other rivers in the District,
however, and this might make easier the development of such mineral resources
as may be discovered.
While the territory through which it flows is well covered with vegetation,
it is not — except, perhaps, around Yathkyed Lake — as suitable a region as
some others for the grazing of reindeer, such, for instance, as the sand plains
along the Thelon and Back rivers. Reindeer-raising, however, is the only
economic possibility, aside from mining, and perhaps fur-farming, that can be
foreseen for Keewatin District.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kazan River
Samuel Hearne, on his way to the Coppermine in 1779, crossed the river
just about Yathkyed Lake, and again crossed it on his return after having
failed to reach his objective. Until Dr. J. B. Tyrrell (q.v.) descended
it in 1894 from Kasba Lake to about 25 miles below Yathkyed Lake, no one
appears to have visited it. In 1930, A.E. Porsild, of the Department of
the Interior of Canada, descended it from Yathkyed Lake to its mouth, sur–
veying its pasturage possibilities for reindeer.
References:
Tyrrell, J.B.
Report on Dubawnt, Kazan and Ferguson Rivers and Northwest
Coast of Hudson Bay
; Geological Survey of Canada; Annual
Report, Vol. IX; 1896.
Porsild, A.E.
The Reindeer Industry and the Canadian Eskimo
; The Geographical
Journal, Vol. 88; 1936.
Keewatin District
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBroudais)
KEEWATIN DISTRICT
Keewatin District is the easternmost portion of the Northwest Terri–
tories of Canada, exclusive of the islands in the Arctic Archipelago, but
including islands in Hudson and James bays. It lies between the 60th
parallel of north latitude on the south and the Arctic Sea on the north;
and between the 102nd meridian of west longitude, on the west, and Hudson
Bay, on the east. Exclud
ing
^
ed
^
also are two large peninsulas, Booth and
Melville, jutting northward from the Canadian mainland, which are part of
the District of Franklin, to the north. Keewatin District comprises an
area of about 291,000 square miles.
Two of these boundaries, the southern and the western, consist of
imaginary lines; neither follows a natural geographical division, and
consequently both cut across the general slope of the country. The four
large rivers which drain the greater part of the District rise west of the
102nd meridian; while, on the south, the Thlewiaza River rises south of
the boundary, flows northeasterly across it, and then, bending to the
southeast,
[:
]
follows the 60th parallel for a considerable distance before
swinging again to the northeast to discharge its waters into Hudson Bay.
The northern and eastern boundaries, however, are much more varied.
The former begins at the point where the 102nd meridian cuts the south
shore of Queen Maud Gulf in about latitude 67° 48′ N., about a mile and
a half west of Blackwood Point, and about half-way between the western
and eastern extremities of Queen Maud Gulf, which extends east and west
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: ^ Canada - ^ Keewatin District
for about 250 miles. At the point where the meridian cuts the coast, the shore trends slightly north of southeasterly, continuing thus until almost the 100th meridian, when it swings northeasterly to form the west coast of Adelaid Peninsula, whose northernmost extremity is in latitude 68° 30′ N. The peninsula is almost severed by Sherman Inlet, which runs southeasterly for a distance of about 50 miles, leaving an isthmus 24 miles long between its head and Elliott Bay, on the eastern side. Adelaid Penin– sula is about 60 miles north and south, and about 50 miles wide at its greatest breadth. Its shoreline consists of a succession of bays ^ and ^ fjords, separated by long, narrow points, with many islands along the coast. Between Adelaide Peninsula and Boothia Peninsula, to the east, Chantrey Inlet extends southward for about 35 miles and then southeastward for about the same dis– tance, receiving at its head, Back River, one of the principal streams in Keewatin District, flowing in from the southwest.
The eastern coast of Chantrey Inlet extends northward and then northeast–
ward to Cape Britannia, a rocky bluff about 200 feet high. From Cape Britannia,
the coast continues northeastward to Shephered Bay, which lies southeastward
of an extensive peninsula jutting to the southwestward, the extremity of which
is called Cape Colville. From the cape, the coast continues northeastward
to Spence Bay, the western end of Boothia Isthmus, which there separates
Franklin and Keewatin districts. The isthmus, which is about 25 miles across,
and in which are several lakes, runs about east-northeast and south-southwest
in approximately latitude 69° 50′ N., and terminates on the east at Lord
Mayor Bay. South of the latter,
[:
]
Pelly Bay extends southward for about 55
miles, dividing the mainland base of Boothia Peninsula, on the west, from
Simpson Peninsula, on the east. Committee Bay, the southernmost part of the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
Gulf of Boothia, 125 miles in depth, separates Boothia and Melville peninsulas. From the head of Committee Bay, Rae Isthmus, dividi ^ n ^ g Franklin District from Keewatin District (76 (87° 30′ W.), runs south to Repulse Bay, at the head of Roes Welcome Sound, in Hudson Bay waters.
Roes Welcome Sound separates the mainland from Southampton Island,
lying to the eastward in Hudson Bay. It is about 150 miles long, extending
southward from Repulse Bay to the main part of Hudson Bay, and is about 40
miles wide at its southern end and about 15 miles at its northern end, with
a maximum width of about 65 miles. Southampton Island, which is part of
Keewatin District, is about 200 miles in length by about 180 miles at its
greatest width, comprising 16,114 square miles, lying between latitude 62° 50′
N. and 65° 53′ N., and between longitude 80° W. and 87° 07′ W. Coats and
Mansel islands, much smaller than Southampton, are also included in Keewatin
District, and lie southeastward of the southern end of Southampton Island,
between it and the western coast of Ungava Peninsula, province of Quebec.
The mainland boundary of Keewatin District begins at the northwestern
extremity of Repulse Bay and follows the coast southward to Wager Bay, a
fjord-like inlet extending inland for a distance of 100 miles from the coast.
The entrance to Wager Bay, af its narrowest, is about five miles across, but
the bay widens at it proceeds westward, achieving a maximum width of about
20 miles. At a distance of about 60 miles from the line of the coast, it
divides into two arms, on the southernmost of which a trading post is established.
From Wager Bay, the coast trends south-southwestward for 90 miles to Cape
Fullerton, which marks the southwestern portal of Roes Welcome Sound. From
Cape Fullerton, the coast swings westward to enclose a broad bight, the
northwestern extremity of which is called Daly Bay and the southwestern angle,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
Winchester Inlet. Depot Island, once a rendezvous for whalers, lies off the entrance to Winchester Inlet.
From Winchester Inlet, the coast trends south-southwestward for about
35 miles to the entrance to Chesterfield Inlet which, with its fresh-water
extension, Baker Lake, extends in a northwesterly direction for about 180
miles. It is about eight miles wide at its mouth, but for most of its length
is much narrower, and is made narrower still in many places by islands of
various sizes. Chesterfield settlement is situated on Spurrell Harbor, on
the southern side of the entrance to the inlet.
Proceeding southward from the entrance to Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Fore–
land, about 25 miles to the south, consists of two hills standing above the
generally low coastline. From Baker Foreland, the coast bears off to the
west-southwestward for 17 miles to the entrance to Rankin Inlet, just north
of the latter, Marble Island lies a few miles off the coast. It, like Depot
Island, was formerly a wintering-place for whalers. Rankin Inlet extends
inland about 22 miles in a northwesterly direction, and is about 17 miles
wide at its mouth, which increases farther inland. It is filled with islands
and reefs. Continuing southwestward for about 60 miles, the coast is indented
in turn by Pistol Bay, Mistake Bay, Nevill Bay, into which Ferguson River
discharges, and Dawson Inlet. From Dawson Inlet to the point where the
southern boundary of keewatin District cuts the coast of Hudson Bay, a distance
of about 100 miles, the coast continues low and monotonous, the shoreline
depending largely upon the stages of the tide. Eskimo Point, about 50 miles
southwest of Dawson Inlet, lies between two sandy ridges, or eskers, projecting
from the general line of the coast, and is the site of a small settlement.
Keewatin District consists mainly of a rolling plateau, sloping eastward
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
to Hudson Bay and northward to the Arctic Sea. Beyond latitude 65° N., the drainage is northward; south of that line, it is eastward. The rivers nearly all follow a similar pattern: in their upper reaches they flow north– eastward, then turn toward the east or southeast. Their valleys, in the upper reaches, are of recent origin and they flow almost on the surface of the ground among myriads of lakes and lake extensions, separated by short stretches of stream in which many rapids occur. Bordering Hudson Bay, a strip of territory appears to have but recently risen from below the sea. The drop from the highest point of the plateau to the sea is very gradual.
Except for a few short rivers which drain the area between its watershed and
the Arctic Sea, the greater part of the Arctic drainage is carried by Back
River, which rises far west of the boundary between Mackenzie and Keewatin
districts, crossing it at the point where the river expands into Lake Pelly,
at the intersection of latitude 66° N. and the boundary (longitude 102° W.).
From this point, it flows eastward approximately along the 66th parallel, through
Lake Carry and then swings northward through Lake Macdougall, after which it
winds alternately north and south of the 66th parallel until, after crossing
the 98th degree of west longitude, it turns abruptly to the northeast and flows
more or less directly into Chantrey Inlet, expanding into Lake Franklin shortly
before.
On the Hudson Bay watershed, the most northerly river system of importance
is the Thelon-Dubawnt. The upper Dubawnt rises in Mackenzie District, not far
from Great Slave Lake, and flows northeasterly through many lake expansions
into Dubawnt Lake, which is cut by the boundary between Mackenzie and Keewatin
districts. Below Dubawnt Lake, flowing northeastward, and then northwestward,
the river enters a long expansion between Beverley and Aberdeen lakes in
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
latitude 64° 50′ N. The Thelon River, which also rises in Mackenzie District, flows into the western end of Beverley Lake. From Lake Aberdeen, the com– bined stream runs practically eastward and then southeast to empty into the western end of Baker Lake.
The Kazan River rises in a lake that is cut by the boundary a short dis–
tance north of the 60th parallel and runs through many lake expansions and
a number of considerable lakes, the largest of which is Yathkyed, before it
discharges into the south side of Baker Lake. Its course, from the point where
it crosses the western boundary of Keewatin District until it runs into Baker
Lake closely parallels that of the Dubawnt. Between the Kazan watershed and
the Hudson Bay coast, the country is drained by a number of short streams, such
as the Ferguson and the Maguse, each of which drains a network of Lakes. Along
the southern border of the District, as previously mentioned, the Thlewiaza River
follows a course similar to the ones followed by the Kazan and Dubawnt rivers
farther north.
Characteristic of the Pre-Cambrian region of Canada, the whole of Keewatin
District is covered with a myriad of lakes of all sizes and shapes, the largest
of which are Dubawnt (1,600 square miles), Garry (980 square miles), Baker 975
square miles), Yathkyed (860 square miles), and Maguse (510 square miles).
All occupy rocky basins in which they sprawl into many arms and indentations,
while none in exceptionally deep. Most of the lakes are filled with excellent
fish, of which the principal are lake trout, whitefish and salmon trout.
The topography of the country bears a
a
^
d
^
irect relationship to the direction
of glacial movement. The chief center from which the ice spread has been placed
by Dr. J. B. Tyrrell (q.v.) who explored this area for the Geological Survey
of Canada, as somewhere east of Dubawnt Lake. The evidence of striae on the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
rock and the direction of eskers seem sometimes to be at variance with the topography because of secondary movements of a local nature; but when the country is viewed from the air, according to G. H. Blanchet, the general slope of the land is seen to correspond with what one would expect from the known action of the ice. During the glacial period the country was ploughed into furrows, lying in a general direction about 30° south of east. These furrows consist of long ridges of harder rocks and the space between them is largely occupied by water, either in the form of streams or of lakes of varying sizes. The direction of glacial movement south of Chesterfield Inlet, for instance, varies from 10° south of east, at the north, to 20° south of east at Eskimo Point; while north of Beverley Lake, the furrows hold a course of about 25° west of north. The ice ignored local topography, and often the furrows lie across the slopes.
The chief underlying rocks over most of Keewatin District are grey or
light-red granite or granite gneiss, in large part lightly covered with glacial
debris. Between Rankin and Dawson inlets, an area of crystalline schists,
lavas and quartzites occurs extending inland to the vicinity of Kazan River;
the distribution of this type of rock is irregular and tends to produce a
rough local topography. South of Baker Lake and along the Thelon River, a
red sandstone is found which continues to the west shore of Dubawnt Lake. It
has broken down into a sand plain of low relief through which the Thelon
River has worn a well-marked valley and in which it has cut its channel almost
to grade. An immense amount of sand is carried down this river and deposited
in Beverley Lake, while the stream connecting Beverley and Aberdeen lakes
consist of succession of sandbars.
The streams that go to make up the Thelon rise on the summit of the plateau
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
near waters that drain into Great Slave Lake. Dubawnt and Kazan rivers also rise on the summit of the plateau, but otherwise are somewhat different from the Thelon and the Back. They flow north-northeasterly across the plateau, almost at right angles to the glacial furrowing, and at an angle to the prevailing slope toward Hudson Bay. They both have the same general character, and consist chiefly of a succession of lakes, irregular in shape, which usually discharge tumultously through the barrier ridges that enclose them. The upper reaches of most of the waterways flow so nearly at the same level as the surrounding country that when viewed from the air little or no indication of a river is evident among the maze of lakes on all sides. Only at rapids is it sometimes possible to identify a river. Nevertheless, the general course of the principal rivers are remarkably direct when all these circumstances are taken into account. East of Kazan River, the drainage follows both the main country slope and the direction of the glacial movements.
Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake carry the level of the sea almost 200
miles inland, and sea-going ships can sail all the way to the western end
of the lake, although tidal action does not extend beyond its eastern end.
Northward from Chesterfield Inlet, the terrain, rocky and broken, rises to
an elevation of 1,000 feet. Between Wager Bay and the arctic coast, the hills
are lower and more scattered. The headwaters of Quoich River, which empties
into the western end of
Z
^
C
^
h
^
e
^
sterfield Inlet from the north, rise in high, rugged
hills; but to the westward, the country spreads into a sand-and-boulder upland
with a general level of about 600 feet above the sea. Then, in long, moderate
slopes the country subsides to a sand plain through which Back River flows.
This plain extends from as far east a
[:
]
Meadowbank River to well into Mackenzie
District, and Back River, in crossing it, expands into shallow lakes. The
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
upper portions of the Back and Thelon rivers both have the same general character; they rise near the height of land separating the Mackenzie watershed from that of the eastern Arctic and Hudson Bay and make an abrupt descent to the sand plain, across which they flow with few rapids. Between the two rivers lies an upland which finally merges into the interior plateau.
Between Back River and the arctic coast at Bathurst Inlet, the drift–
covered Pre-Cambrian plain with moderate relief is charply broken by the
rugged mountains that form the seacoast. They start at the base of Kent
Peninsula and extend southwesterly; to the east of Bathurst Inlet they have
a depth of from 15 to 20 miles and reach about 1,500 feet high. South and
west of Bathurst Inlet, they subside into the plateau.
Practically the whole of the District of Keewatin forms part of the
great Canadian shield, consisting of Pre-Cambrian rocks which transmit to
the country its predominant characteristics. The glaciers provided the
materials which constitute the soil of the northern plains of Canada. The
slow movement of the ice stripped the surface of the country, grinding and
mixing ogether
wi
the materials thus removed. In general, the farther from
the center of ice movement the finer the materials were ground. As the ice
retreated, these were left behind, sometimes layer upon layer, in other
places deposited in irregular mounds. Following this, it was sorted and
reassorted by the large post-glacial rivers. On the uplands, little assort–ment occurred, resulting in varying thicknesses and admixtures of clay, sand,
gravel and boulders.
Toward the center of the ice movement, the glacial debris received little
grinding and also less assortment, resulting in soil of a coarse nature in
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
which boulders and angular rock fragments predominate. Frost and water continue the disintegration, while the streams carry the finer particles into the lowlands to form a rich culture-bed for vegetation. Consequently, over a large part of Keewatin District upland soils are coarse and boulder– filled, and those in the lowlands are heavier. The coarse soil of the hills allows the moisture to drain away rapidly, while the heavier soil of the valleys and flats retains it. This is reflected in the varying type of vegetation seen on the uplands and in the lowlands. On the hills it is sparse and restricted largely to hardy types and primitive forms, while on the plains it is more luxurious and varied.
The late spring and short summer are to a certain extent offset by the
long hours of sunlight. Vegetation carries its seed through the winter and
drops it in the early summer on the moist earth warmed by the almost con–
tinuous sunlight. The seed is thus favorably placed for rapid germination
and growth and the response is phenomenal. The aspect of the country changes
in a few days from brown to green, and successions of many-hued flowers rapidly
follow. Summer reaches its height in July, when the vegetation is in full
bloom. Summer winds are usually moderate, and strong winds do not persist.
According to standards elsewhere, precipitation is scant; but plants have a
perpetual source of moisture because of the permanently frozen soil just
below their roots.
Early in August, as plants mature, the green of summer quickly merges
into the brown of autumn. The winds become stronger, holding pretty constantly
in the northwest. By the end of August, or
[:
]
arly in September, color again
dominates the scene as the frosts of approaching winter cause the willows to
take on their bright yellow hues and other shrubbery goes in for purples and
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
reds. The autumn is generally quite long, and winter comes almost impercep– tibly, with a gradual decrease in temperature. Not often is there enough snow for travel before the first of December. What snow does come, blows into drifts and packs with the wind and it is difficult to estimate its total depth. There is, however, scarcely ever enough to require the use of snowshoes.
Vegetation varies considerably in different parts of the country,
depending upon such factors as soil, shelter, and proximity to cold bodies
of water. Although certain grasses and sedges, in addition to lichens and
mosses, grow on the open plains, sometimes almost luxuriantly, the country
has practically no possibilities from the standpoint of general agriculture.
Cereals are out of the question; and vegetables can be grown only in excep–
tional circumstances. The great resource, of course, is pasturage, if ever
steps were taken to provide suitable herds of grazing animals.
As a rule, trees disappear first on the tops of hills and continue
longest in sheltered, well-watered valleys. When viewed from the air, the
forests are seen to be more and more broken by bare patches as the treeline
is approached. Bare spots tend to enlarge and then join one another, leaving
strips and islands of trees which become smaller and smaller. Tongues of
forest extend along the courses of the rivers. Along the smaller streams or
in moist spots thick growths of willows occur.
Soil, temperature, moisture and wind are the governing factors in
setting the limits of tree growth. The hardiest specimens are found at the
treeline; spruce and tamarack are usually the only forest trees found near
the edge of the woods, and the spruce, in dwarf form, alone survives beyond.
Occasional islands of trees far beyond the timber line indicate the existence
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
of some favorable circumstance of which the trees are quick to take advantage.
A great deal of the District of Keewatin is north of the tree line. Where
the southern boundary of the District cuts the coast, the land is bare of all
but shrubs. Proceeding westward, the treeline curves northward to approxi–
mately 62° 32′ N., although there are islands of timber even farther north.
At Padlei, at the headwaters of the Maguse River, for example, far from the
tree line, an area of several square miles of spruce and tamarack exists.
The first Europeans to see any part of what is now the District of Kee–
watin were undoubtedly members of the expedition which sailes from the Thames
in April 1612 to continue the search for the Northwest Passage by way of the
great bay that had been discovered two years earlier by the ill-fated Hudson.
The expedition was financed by The Company of the Merchants of London Discoverers
of the Northwest Passage, who were to do so much in subsequent years for explora–
tion of the arctic coasts of North America. It sails in two ships, Hudson's
Discovery
and the
Resolution
, commanded by Sir Thomas Button. Proceeding
westward through Hudson Strait, Button discovered Coasts Island, which is now
part of the District of Keewatin, and gave to the cape at its southern extremity
the odd name of Cary's Swans Nest. Continuing westward, he, much to his disgust,
encountered the west coast of Hudson Bay somewhere between Cape Eskimo and
Driftwood Point. Here he turned south, and after wintering in the estuary of
the Nelson River, sailed northward the following summer along the Hudson Bay
coast, continuing almost to the mouth of Wager Bay, and then, despairing of
finding a passage to the westward, turned back and set sail for home, discover–
ing also Southampton Island on his way eastward.
In the year 1631, two expeditions sailed from England to search in Hudson
Bay for the Northwest Passage, one under commane of Luke Foxe and the other
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
commanded by Thomas James, both of whom have left their names on the map of that region. Both sailed along the west coast of Hudson Bay, although neither entered Rankin Bay or Chesterfield Inlet, each of which might have seemed the entrance to the passage they were seeking, especially the latter, which could have taken them 200 miles inland. Foxe sai ^ e ^ some distance north of Cape Fullerton, naming an island there Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, after one of his patrons, a name which has since been adopted to designate the passage between Southampton Island and the mainland.
In 1742, Captain Christopher Middleton, also searching for the Northwest
Passage, sailed northward through Roes Welcome Sound, and explored Wager Bay,
which he named after Sir Charles Wager, then First Lord of the Admiralty,
continuing up the coast as far as Repulse Bay, which he also named, to indicate
his belief that no Northwest Passage existed in that direction.
In 1761, a Captain Christopher sailed northward from Chur
^
c
^
hill Harbor in
the sloop
Churchill
to explore Chesterfield Inlet, up which he sailed 100 miles,
and returned to Churchill; but the following year he sailed to the western end
of Baker Lake, which he named.
On February 23, 1770, Samuel Hearne departed from Fort Prince of Wales at
Churchill Harbor under instructions from the Hudson's Bay Company to proceed
to the Coppermine River. He spent the summer and the following winter in
part of the region now known as Keewatin District, and in the spring of 1771,
continued his journey northwestward. On June 30, he reached the Kazan River,
a short distance above Yathkyed Lake. He joined a party
^
^
of Indians on their
caribou hunt and with them slowly moved westward, passing to the northward of
Dubawnt Lake. Finally, the season became so far advanced that his guides
refused to continue to the Coppermine. Not only that, but they plundered him
of most of his effects. His sextant was blown over by the wind and broken and
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
he therefore decided to return to Churchill, following a course that took him somewhat south and west of Dubawnt Lake, crossing the Kazan a short dis– tance above Angikuni Lake, and reaching Fort Prince of Wales on November 25, 1771. Twelve days later, with new guides, he set out on his successful journey to the Coppermine, but his course ^ lay ^ mostly to the south of the Keewatin boundary.
The next lot of explorers, although not searching for the Northwest
Passage, were indirectly connected with that search, since they were search–
ing for lost explorers themselves in search of the Northwest Passage. First
of these was Captain (later Sir) George Back, who, in 1833-34, explored the
river that now bears his name from its source to its mouth. He was searching
for Captain (later Sir) John Ross, an arctic explorer who, however, got back
to England some time before Back himself returned. Back reached the eastern
end of Great Slave Lake late in 1833 and proceeded northward along a chain
of lakes where he succeeded in locating a lake which proved to be the source
of the river then called Great Fish River. This, he named Sussex Lake, and
descended the river that issued from it for a short distance, but at a small
lake called by him Musk Ox Lake, he turned back because of the lateness of
the season, returning to the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, where he built
Fort Reliance in which he and his party spent the winter. Although in the
meantime word had been received of the return of Captain Ross, Back decided
to continue his projected trip to the arctic coast; and in June and July, 1834,
accompanied by Dr. John Richardson, surgeon and naturalist of the expedition,
and a party of Indian guides, he descended the river to its mouth and explored
the arctic coast as far east as Ogle Point, the northeastern extremity of
Adelaide Peninsula. During August and September of the same year, he returned
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
up the river and spent another winter at Fort Reliance.
In 1839, Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease, officers of the Hudson's
Bay Company, from their headquarters at Fort Confidence at the eastern end
of Great Bear Lake, descended the Coppermine to the Arctic and explored the
coast as far east as Rae Strait. The Hudson's Bay Company's exploratory
program was continued by Dr. John Rae, who, in 1846, with instructions to
connect with Simpson and Dease's farthest east, sailed north along the Hudson
Bay coast from Fort York, wintering at Repulse Bay, and the following spring
made
[:
]
sledge journeys including the traverse of the isthmus since called by
his name and the delineation of the Gulf of Boothia coastline. On succeeding
expeditions, and during the Franklin search, Dr. Rae covered much of the
northern coast of what is now Keewatin District; and in 1853, again crossing
Rea Isthmus, in Pelly Bay came upon the first undoubted trace of the Franklin
party. He learned from Eskimos that a boat party of 30 white men had died
of starvation four years before near the mouth of Back River, and he bought
from the natives a number of relics sufficient to establish the authenticity
of his discovery.
Since Rae had accounted for only 30 of the missing men, the British
Government urged the Hudson's Bay Company to continue the investigation with
a view to determining the fate of the rest of Franklin's men. The company
ordered two of its officers, James Anderson and James Stewart, to descend
Back River and examine the territory in that vicinity. This Anderson and
Stewart did in the summer of 1855, and on Montreal Island, in Chantrey Inlet,
into which Back River empties, they came upon what appeared to be the last
camp of the men of Franklin's expedition, who had died there.
To learn further details of the gruesome tragedy, Lieut. Frederick Schwatka,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
U.S.A., in 1879, conducted an overland expedition from the Hudson Bay coast near Depot Harbor northwestward to the mouth of Back River and thence to the vicinity of where the Franklin party remains had been found, returning by a parallel route farther west, which included the ascent for a short dis– tance from its mouth of Back River.
Following these explorers concerned directly or indirectly with the
search for the Northwest Passage, come the explorers in the service of the
Geological Survey of Canada, including such men as Dr. Robert Bell and
Dr. A. P. Low, who worked chiefly along the coast of Hudson Bay, and Dr.
J. B. Tyrrell, who carried his explorations inland. In 1893, the latter,
accompanied by his brother, James Williams Tyrrell, explored the Dubawnt
River from its headwaters in Mackenzie District to Chesterfield Inlet, and
then continued down the coast to Churchill. In the following year, Dr. Tyrrell
explored the Kazan and Ferguson rivers, thus filling in a considerable blank
space between the Dubawnt and Hudson Bay. Since then, mining companies have
covered the region by airplane, searching for minerals, and a considerable
area has been mapped from the air by the Royal Canadian Air Force in associa–
tion with the Topographical Survey of Canada. There still remain, however,
many blank spots on the map of Keewatin District.
The first commercial activities in the district were those of whalers
operating along the west coast of Hudson Bay; but in recent years this industry
has declined through the virtual extermination of the right whale upon which
it chiefly depended for support.
F
^
T
^
he fur trade has been important, too, but
this section of the Canadian north nas contributed less to it than most others
of equal extent. In the first place, the forested area is limited and most
of the fur-bearing animals prefer wooded regions. The fur trade depends
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
upon native peoples to secure the pelts, and the natives of Keewatin District are mostly Eskimos who live mainly along the coasts and along the courses of the principal rivers and the larger inlets, such as Chesterfield, Rankin and Wager on Hudson Bay, and at a few points along the arctic coast.
Future possibilities of the District would seem to be confined to two
principal ones: the grazing of reindeer and the exploitation of minerals.
So far, no attempt has been made to utilize the great tundra lands for the
grazing of reindeer; nor has any effort been made to domesticate the musk ox,
which would seem to be another logical development for such a country. The
nearest approach to the latter is the setting aside by the Federal Government
of Canada of the Thelon Game Sanctuary, the greater part of which lies within
Mackenzie District, for the purpose of preventing, if possible, the complete
extinction of the musk oxen.
Lack of transportation facilities render mineral development a difficult
matter, except in the event of deposits of extreme richness, which so far
have not been discovered in Keewatin District. In fact, such explorations,
admittedly inadequate, so far made have been unfavorable, rather than the
reverse. Naturally, only those areas where rock exposures occur
l
can be
prospected, either from the air or on foot. What may yet be discovered when
the territory has been carefully covered by geophysical and other scientific
forms of testing cannot even be surmised. In the meantime, the prospects in
other parts of the immense Canadian northland, such as those which are
accessible from the Mackenzie valley, are attracting the interest of prospectors
and investors to the exclusion of Keewatin District. Probably this area will
thus remain a reserve for that day in the possibly distant
[:
]
^
future
^
when the
more accessible regions have become exhausted, and when the provision of better
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Keewatin District
transportation facilities shall have made possible the exploration and develop– ment of what will most likely continue to be the least known section of Canada.
References:
Back, George:
Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of Great
Fish River, and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the
the years 1833, 1834 and 1835;
London; 1836.
Rae, John:
Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea
,
1846-47; with an Appendix on the Natural History of the District
;
London, 1850.
Anderson, James
Proceeding of the Hudson's Bay Company Expedition to Investigate
Stewart, James
the Fate of Sir John Franklin and Party;
Select Committee on
Arctic Expeditions; 1855.
Gilder, W.H.
Schwatka's Search;
New York; 1881.
Tyrrell, J.B.
Report of Dubawnt, Kazan and Ferguson Rivers and the Northwest
Coast of Hudson Bay
; Geological Survey of Canada; Annual Report,
Vol.IX, 1896.
Blanchet, G.H.
Keewatin and Northeastern Mackenzie; Ottawa
; Department of the
Interior; 1930.
Keno Hill
EA-Geography
KENO HILL
Keno Hill is situated in the Mayo mining district and is served by a
good road from Mayo Landing, about 35 miles distant. The settlement has
a post office and a Territorial assay office.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Kenogami River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KENOGAMI RIVER
The Kenogami River, northwestern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is one
of the principal tributaries of the Albany River (q.v.), through which its
waters reach James Bay. It drains an area of about 2,400 square miles on
the south side of the Albany, east of the drainage basin of the Ogoki River
(q.v.). While its length is relatively short, it receives many tributaries
and contributes to the Albany almost as much water as that river contains
above the junction. It rises in Long Lake, in about latitude 49° 30′ N.,
longitude 86° 30′ W. Long Lake is about 50 miles in length, with a maximum
width of about five miles, occupying a southward-extending tongue of the
height of land, which, at its nearest, approaches to within 20 miles of
Lake Superior.
The Kenogami River flows out of the northern end of Long Lake. The
first 15 miles of its course are so slack that the Ontario Hydro-Electric
Power Commission has built a dam across the river at that point which
revers
[:
]
s its flow. This has the effect of raising the water in Long Lake,
which, instead of discharging all its water into James Bay, now discharges
a portion of it into the St. Lawrence system through Lake Superior. This is
accomplished by means of a channel that has been cut from the southern end of
the lake, connecting it with south-flowing streams. This diversion was made
in order to increase the flow over Niagra Falls, where power can be more
conveniently used.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kenogami River
While it may still be said that the Kenogami River "rises in Long Lake,
since it still receives some of its waters from that source, the above
qualification must now be made. The level nature of the height of land in
this region is further demonstrated by similar diversionary works on the
Ogoki, a few miles farther west.
Below the dam, the Kenogami holds a generally northeasterly course,
expanding into many lakes, as is characteristic of streams traversing the
Canadian Shield. These lakes are merely separated by short sections of river,
broken by rapids and falls. This northeasterly course continues for from 50
to 60 miles. Swinging
[:
fro
]
then to the southeast, the river holds this course
to the junction with the Pagwachuan River, which comes in from the southwest,
about 25 miles below. This tributary provides, with the lower Kenogami and
Albany rivers, the only uninterrupted river-route from the railway to James Bay.
Both the Kenogami and the Pagwachuan are crossed near their headwaters
by the Canadian National Railways. In its upper reaches, the Kenogami is
interrupted by many rapids and falls, as has been said, and is therefore not
suited to river traffic except for light canoes. The Pagwachuan, however,
except in low water, is almost free from obstructions, and the lower Kenogami
and Albany rivers are easily navigable. For this reason, the route for
heavy freight has been from the railway at Pagwa, down the Pagwachuan to the
Kenogami, down the latter to the Albany, thence to James Bay. For many years,
the Hudson's Bay Company and Revillon Freres have used 15-ton scows, pushed
or towed by power-boats, to transport their supplies down these streams to
their posts along the rivers and on the Bay. The scows are built at Pagwa
each season and broken up for their lumber at their destinations.
Turning sharply to the northeast after receiving the Pagwachuan, the
Kenogami flows in this direction for 25 miles, and then receives the Nagami,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada Kenogami River
from the southwest, and, shortly after, the Kabinakagami, from the south. The Hudson's Bay Company's Mammattawa post is near the conlfuence of these rivers. The Kenogami now turns northward and flows in that general direction for about 75 miles until it empties into the Albany. In this stretch, it receives from the west, Little Drowning River, Drowning River, Little Current River, and a number of other smaller tributaries.
That portion of the Kenogami which flows across the Canadian Shield tra–
verses a country fairly well timbered with white and black spruce, white birch,
balsam, poplar, tamarack, and some cedar; but after the river drops to the level
of the Hudson (James) Bay Lowland, the timber consists chiefly of dwarf black
spruce and tamarack, none of which is of commercial value.
The Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield are similar in this region
to those in other parts of the Shield where valuable mineral occurrences have
been found. In the area adjacent to that drained by the Albany and its tribu–
taries, a number of gold mines are being operated, and it is probable that
others will be brought into production as the territory becomes more fully
prospected. The surface is heavily covered with an overburden of post-glacial
and glacial drift, and only where this is cross-cut by streams does much rock
outcrop.
Outside of mining, the chief re
[:
]
ources probably consist of extensive
deposits of fire clays along the river's lower reaches, underlain by the
Palaeozoic rocks of the Hudson Bay Lowland. Lignite beds are also exposed
in places, but these are at present of no value except for local consumption,
if and when such a demand shall arise. Owing to the many waterfalls on the
Kenogami and its tributaries, power would be available for any possible
future use.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kenogami River
Isolated areas in the Canadian Shield within the watershed, if cleared
of timber, would provide suitable farming land; while much larger areas,
both in the Shield and the Lowland section, could be made available by
large-scale reclamation projects. Such, however, do not seem likely to
be unde
e
^
r
^
taken while other more accessible areas still remain undeveloped.
References:
Williams, M.Y.
Palaeozoic Stratigfaphy of Pagwachuan, Lower Kenogami,
and Lower Albany Rivers.
Summary Report, 1920, Part D,
Geological Survey of Canada; Ottawa: Kfg's Printer, 1921.
Keele, Joseph.
Mesozoic Clays and Sands in Northern Ontario.
Summary
Report, 1920, Part D. Geological Survey of Canada; Ottawa:
King's Printer, 1921.
Kesagami Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KESAGAMI LAKE
Kesagami Lake, northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, lies within
the Hudson (James) Bay Lowland region, in latitude 50° 30′ N., longitude
80° W. It is drained by the river of the same name into Hannah Bay, an
indentation at the south end of James Bay. Its greatest length, north and
south, is 19 miles, and it is nine miles wide at its greatest width, with
a total area of 90 miles. It is roughly rectangular in shape, shallow (average
about six feet), and heavily indented on all sides. At its southeastern angle,
Newnham Bay, a narrow inlet, extends southward for about 12 miles. Its shores
are low, but higher on the west, where a considerable amount of black spruce
might be available for pulpwood. On the east, however, the land is almost
entirely muskeg in which the only trees are a
[:
]
sparse growth of black
spruce and tamarack. This muskeg country consists of a heavy mantle of
sphagnum moss below which is a stratum of peat, upwards of 12 feet in thick–
ness. The peat overlies deposits of marine clay. The moss, a layer of
decayed vegetable matter and the peat are saturated with water which, be–
cause of the moss, does not evaporate, and, because of the clay below, does
not drain away. The land therefore is kept in what amounts to perpetual
cold-storage. With proper drainage, much of
f
^
t
^
his land, now a total waste,
might be made productive. The most distinctive feature of Kesagami Lake is the
peat cliffs which, for the most pert, form its shores. In many places they
rise steeply from the water, which has carved them into odd-shaped pillars
and caves.
References:
Bell, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin.
Ontario Bureau
of Mines; 1904.
Govt. of Ontario.
Report of James Bay Forest Survey, Moose River Lower Bzsin
.
Toronto: The King's Printer; 1923.
Kesagami River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KESAGAMI RIVER
The Kesagami River, in northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, rises
in the lake of the same name, and flows into James Bay. Its length is
about 70 miles, and it drains an area of about 1,800 square miles. The
greater part of its course, which is generally slightly east of north, is
through a muskeg country in which the timber is chiefly dwarf black spruce
and tamarack. A small section of the country is somewhat higher than the
rest, but has been
[:
eandly
]
^
badly
^
burned. Second-growth timber, which consists
chiefly of Banksian pine, poplar and birch, is still immature. Owing to
the amount of moisture in the ground, trees in this region do not attain a
greater average height than about 30 feet, and a maximum diameter of four
or five inches in a growing period of between 100 and 150 years.
The entire course of the Kesagami River lies within the Hudson (James)
Bay Lowlands, and, like all other streams in that region, it flows with a
swift current in a channel out through the marine clay deposits overlying
limestone rocks of Palaeozoic age. The banks are generally steep. The
thickness of the overburden diminishes as the river nears the sea, and in
places it flows over beds of horizontal limestone. The Kesagami has few
tributaries, and these are small because of the impervious nature of the clay
through which they run. No falls or rapids interrupt its course, and its
chief economic value will probably lie in its availability as a means of
conveying pulpwood to James Bay, if and when that need arises.
Reference:
<bibl>
Government of Ontario.
Report on James Bay Forest Survey, Moose River Lower
Basin.
Toronto: The King's Printer; 1923.
</bibl>Kirkland Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KIRKLAND LAKE
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is a gold-mining community
in the northeastern part of the province, in latitude 48° 15′ N., longitude
80° W. Although about 22,000 people live in and about the town which is its
center, Kirkland Lake is not incorporated, either as a town or as a city.
It is still part of the Township of Teck, whose officers administer the
affairs of the area as a whole. The reason for this arrangement is to make
sure that the proceeds of local taxation from the seven large gold mines
nearby might continue to be available for the needs of the community. The
mines are actually within the limits of the community, but they might decide
to remain outside the boundaries of the town or city in the event of steps
being taken to bring about the incorporation.
Kirkland Lake is on the Nipissing Central branch of the Ontario Northland
railway, connecting Swastika, Ontario, with Noranda, Quebec. It is also
served by the Ontario highway system, which provides excellent communication
at all times of year with the southern part of the province, as well as with
the communities farther north.
Following the discovery of rich gold quartz in the Porcupine (q.v.) area,
northwest of Kirkland Lake, in the second decade of the twentieth century,
prospectors extended their search throughout the adjacent territory in the
hope of duplicating the riches of Porcupine. The country carries a mantle of
post-glacial and glacial drift, which in many places is covered with muskeg,
Kississing Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KISSISSING LAKE
Kississing Lake, northwestern Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, is one of
the larger of the thousands of sprawling lakes of all shapes and sizes that
cover the greater part of the area of Pre-Cambrian rocks forming the northern
part of Canada known as the Canadian Shield. It possesses a distinction over
many others, however, in that on its shore is located one of the greatest
base-metal mines of the Dominion, the Sherritt-Gordon mine. Kississing Lake
lies near the height of land on the southern edge of the drainage basin of
the Churchill River, and consequently forms part of the Hudson Bay watershed.
Although its total area is only 141 square miles, it spreads over a considerable
extent of territory, measured from its farthest expremities in either direction.
On all sides, long, irregular bays and arms wind back into the surrounding
hills; and capes, points and peninsulas of all lengths, sizes and shapes projec
[:
]
into it. While the main portion of the lake would appear to be lying with
its longest axis in an almost east and west direction, a distance of about
20 miles, it is approximately the same distance from the bottom of the lake's
southernmost arm to the bottom of its northernmost arm. The main part of
the lake, as well as all its bays and arms are filled with numerous rocky
islands, both large and small. Consequently, if the lake were to be enclosed
within a rectangle whose sides were equivalent to its greatest length and
width, the surface of the land within the rectangle would be greater than
that of the water. This, however, is not peculiar to Kississing Lake, but
is typical of a majority of the lakes within the Canadian Shield.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Kississing Lake
Kississing Lake's southernmost point is in latitude 55° 03′ N.; its
northernmost point is in latitude 55° 19′ N.; its easternmost point is in
longitude 101° 06′ W.; and its westernmost point is in longitude 101° 35′ W.
Its elevation is 920 feet above sea level. Since it lies so nearly on the
height of land, none of the streams in its vicinity is large, and the
country is poorly drained. A great many short streams draining small lakes
or chains of lakes flow into it, but its principal affluent is the Kississing
River, which enters at its southwest angle. It is drained by the continuation
of the Kississing River, which flows out at its northeastern angle, and
follows a northeasterly course, through many lakes, to its junction with the
Churchill River.
Kississing Lake lies in a country of low elevation, isolated rocky hills
rising from 50 to
60
^
250
^
feet above the general level, although hills of the
latter height are uncommon. Interspersed between the hills are lakes and,
in places, swamps. The country was once fairly heavily timbered with spruce,
jackpine, poplar, birch and tamarack, but it has been repeatedly fire-swept.
In only a few spots can stands of timber of any considerable size now be
found. Although all the streams in the vicinity are interrupted by rapids
and falls, not much potential waterpower results because the streams are small,
but the town of Sherridon and the Sheritt-Gordon mine are supplied with power
from the installation of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company at
Island Falls, on the Churchill River, about 40 miles to the north.
The discovery of rich mineral deposits in the Flinflon area, about 40 miles
to the southwest, stimulated interest in the whole region, and prospectors worked
their way northward to Kississing Lake. In 1923, deposits of copper-zinc
sulphides were staked on the east shore of Kississing Lake, the principal
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Kississing Lake
of which have since become the Sherritt-Gordon mine, now served by the town of Sherridon. The Flinflon branch of the Canadian National Railways was extended northward from Cranberry Portage in 1931.
The first geological exploration of Kississing Lake was made in 1899
by D. B. Dowling, of the Geological Survey of Canada (q.v.), who passed
down upper Kississing River, crossed Kississing Lake and followed lower
Kississing River to the Churchill. Following the discovery of important
minerals in the district, it was mapped by the Topographical Survey of
Canada in 1928; and the Geological Survey undertook a further survey.
In 1927-28, J. F. Wright, of the latter, mapped an area surround the lake
and also examined the various deposits that had been discovered up to that
time. In the interval, the Sherritt-Cordon mine has been developed into
one of the most important base-metal producers in Canada, and considerable
data are now available concerning the whole region.
Reference:
<bibl>
Wright, J. F.
Kississing Lake Area, Manitoba
. Geological Survey of
Canada; Summary Report, 1928, Part B.
</bibl>Koksoak River
EA-Geography [: ] (D. M. LeBourdais)
KOKSOAK RIVER
The Koksoak River is the largest in Ungava, or New Quebec, as the
territory is now called. It rimes in the high granitic tableland in the
central part of the Labrador Peninsula, from which streams flow southward
to the St. Lawrence, eastward to the Atlantic, westward to the Hudson and
James bays and northward to Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait. With its main
tributary, the Kaniapiskau, it is 535 miles in length and drains a terri–
tory of 62,000 square miles, extending from latitude 53° N. to 58° 35′ N.,
and from longitude 67° W. to 74° 30′ W. It is the only river in Ungava
that is navigable for ocean-going stammers, which can ascend it for 60 or
70 miles above its mouth. Its course lies through geological formations
containing important mineral occurrences, notably iron and lead, which,
at the time of writing, are about to be developed. Several high falls occur
on the Kaniapiskau, providing opportunities for the generation of hydro–
electric power that will greatly assist in the exploitation of the adjacent
mineral resources. For these reasons, it
^
is
^
more than likely that the Koksoak,
hitherto little more than a name on the map, will shortly be known as one
of the most important rivers in Canada.
The Koksoak's main source is Lake Kaniapiskau, 375 square miles in
extent, but its farthest source is Summit Lake, 100 miles to the south,
which lies on the divide and discharges southward to the St. Lawrence as
well as northward to Ungava Bay. Lake Kaniapiskau is drained by the river
of the same name which contributes 445 of the 535 miles attributed to the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
Koksoak. Lake Kaniapiskau discharges through three swift-flowing outlets into streams broken by heavy shallow rapids, full of great boulders; these coalesce within five miles to form a stream about 200 yards wide. Flowing mainly north, with frequent deviations, the river for sixty miles alternates between shallow lake-expansions and rapids. Shortly below the lake, a range of partly wooded hills appears, but generally hills are isolated and the country is covered with low ridges of till. The timber consists of a heavy growth of black spruce, tamarack, balsam fir, and white birch, none of which, however, is more than 10 feet high. At the end of the northward- trending course, the river, turning to the northeast, contracts to less than 100 yards and descends in a narrow valley which it has cut to bedrock through the till; and in five miles drops 150 feet. On the north side, the hills increase in height as the river descends below the general level, and at the lower end rise abruptly 500 feet above the stream, while those on the south are somewhat lower.
From Lake Kaniapiskau to the head of this first gorge, the river wanders
about almost on the surface of the country, spreading out into lakes where
the surface is flat, contracting into narrow stretches filled with rapids
where it passes between low ridges as it follows the main slope of the country,
falling with the drop in the general elevation of the surface. Where it is
obstructed by rapids, these are frequently over boulders without any rock
in place. The absence of a distinct valley and the presence of rapids over
boulder-clay suggests that the river does not follow its pre-glacial valley,
which is still filled with glacial deposit. At the gorge this changes, how–
ever, and the river descends into a deep, distinct valley, probably of ancient
origin, in which it continues to its mouth. The valley is not, of course, of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
constant depth in all that distance, bur drops in a series of steps, following the slope of the country.
From the foot of the heavy rapid below the gorg
[:
]
, the river takes an
easy bend and flows in that direction for eight miles over constant small
rapids, with a current of from four to seven miles an hour. It now averages
200 yards in width, descending in a valley from a quarter
[:
]
to half a mile
wide, walled in by steep, rocky hills rising 500 to 800 feet above it which
are covered to within 200 feet of their highest summits with a straggling
growth of black spruce. The tops are treeless, and are covered with white
moss and low arctic shrubs.
Turning southeast, the river continues in that direction under similar
conditions for three miles; then it turns east-northeast, while valley and
river both broaden. The river, now a quarter of a mile wide, flows in a
straight course for nine miles. Owing to its greater width, the water here
is very shallow, and bouldery shoals cause a continuous rapid. The rapid
now turns northeast for four miles and again broadens slightly, the rapids
giving place to a strong, steady current of nearly six miles an hour. The
hills forming the sides of the valley are about 500 feet high, which is
approximately the level of the surrounding country. All the little streams
entering the river fall from gaps slightly lower than the summits of the hills.
From the head of the rapids at the gorge to this point, the river has fallen
420 feet without any direct drop exceeding four feet.
The river no
s
^
w
^
bends to the southeast for six miles, with a strong current,
in a slightly wider and lower valley, where the country is covered with
scattered black spruce and a few tamarack, never more than 20 feet high
nor exceeding nine inches in diameter. Turning again directly east, the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
river flows in that direction for six miles, its channel wide and shallow, filled with sand and fine gravel. After a bend to the east-southwest, a small rapid is passed, and three miles below, Branch River falls in on the south side, the first tributary of any considerable size below the commence– ment of the river-valley proper. It comes in with a heavy fall along the side of a rocky hill of 800 feet. Below this, the river flows eastward for three miles; then a bend of a mile and a half to the northeast is followed by another long stretch to the eastward. Then the channel broadens somewhat and the current is slacker for the next eight miles. The general course for the next 10 miles is east-northeast; a bend of two miles to the south is followed by an eastward stretch of five miles, where the river is over half a mile wide, flowing with a strong current until it reaches the base of a low range of hills on the north side, 200 to 400 feet high. The river now appears to break through this low range, and doing so bends sharply to the southeast for two miles, then northeast two miles, again southeast two miles, and finally south for three miles, passing out into a broad valley, where it is joined by the Katakawanastuk or Sandy River, from the south.
Below the mouth of Sandy River, the stream flows eastward for five miles
to the head of a rocky gorge, down which, in a mass of foam it rushes in a
chute from 30 to 100 feet wide, with perpendicular rocky walls from 50 to
100 feet high, and in a mile falls 110 feet without any direct drop of more
than five feet. Below the gorge, the channel widens to half a mile, and
continues eastward with strong current and flat rapids for three miles. Here,
again narrowing to 100 feet, it falls 30 feet into a rocky, narrow gorge named
EatonCanon; and turning directly south, rushes between jagged perpendicular
walls having a width varying from 50 to 150 feet. As the stream descends, the
banks rise and become 200 feet higher a quarter of a mile below the first fall.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
Here the river turns sharply to the northeast and continues as a rushing torrent, through a deeper and still narrower gorge with overhanging walls of red granite on the east side. After falling in this manner for a third of a mile, the river widens to 100 yards and, changing its direction to the east, descends less abruptly for a quarter of a mile, while the walls of the canon are 100 feet lower and much less abrupt. Next, turning north, it makes a direct fall of 100 feet into a circular basin about 50 yards in diameter. Nothing but seething foam is seen in this rocky basin, which resembles a gigantic boiling cauldron. A small creek on the north side falls in, descend– ing the perpendicular wall in a cascade 200 feet high. The river leaves the basin by a rocky channel, rushing out with a fall of 30 feet in immense waves that gradually subside in a second and larger basin at its foot, where it widens to 150 yards. A small rocky island divides the river into two narrow channels where it leaves the larger basin, whence it flows northeast for two miles, and then gradually bending south in the next mile and a half, still a hundred yards wide, it rushes along in heavy deep rapids between vertical walls of granite capped with drift that rise from 100 to 300 feet above its surface. Suddenly bursting out into a wider valley running north-northeast, it receives the Goodwood River, a large tributary flowing in from the south.
Below the junction of the Goodwood River, the stream runs north-northeast
for six miles, with a rapid current, in a channel 300 yards wide; then, expanding
to nearly half a mile, it turns north, and for 15 miles flows with a moderate
current in a shallow channel filled with sandy shoals. Contracting now to
less than 100 yards, the river, at Granite Fall, drops 80 feet over a ledge of
rock into a beautiful circular basin, nearly half a mile in diameter, below
which, now about 300 yards wide, it again passes into a deep valley less than
a mile wide, extending northwest with rocky walls that often rise sheer from
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
800 to 1,000 feet. This valley continues from three to five miles wide and is remarkably ^ ^ straight, the course being about northwest. For seven miles it does not average over 400 yards in width, is very shallow and greatly obstructed by sand and shingle bars, over which it breaks into rapids. Balsam poplar trees 40 feet high and 10 inches in diameter grow on the lower terraces, along with white spruce 60 feet high and over 18 inches in diameter.
Continuing a general northwesterly course, the river expands into Cambrian
Lake, which is about two miles wide and surrounded by high rugged hills of
Huronian and associated rocks. In 14 miles the lake gradually sweeps round
from north to northwest, and at the end of the curve, the Tipa or Death
River flows in from the southwest.
The physical aspect of the country changes as soon as the later Pre-Cambrian
rocks appear. Where the underlying rock is Laurentian gneiss or granite,
the hills, though often high and with vertical sides toward the river valley,
always have rounded tops, with long, gently curved outlines, while the hills
formed from the stratified rocks of the later Pre-Cambrian age are much
sharper and more rugge
[:
]
. The general dip of the rocks is toward the north–
east, and, in consequence, the mountains which they form show steep clif
faces toward the west, with long, gentle slopes on the opposite side. The
cliff-faces have generally a reddish color, due to the oxide of iron present
in all the rocks of this series.
From where the lake gradually merges into the river again, the latter
continues almost northward for 15 miles to the confluence of the Piachikias–
took or Ice-dam River which enters from the southwest. Turning next to the
northeast for seven miles in a wide sandy valley, the Kaniapiskau flows along
with increased current in a shallow channel three-quarters of a mile wide,
EA-Geog. Lebourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
until, at Shale Falls, it reaches a barrier of black shale and limestone, where it falls 60 feet in 200 yards.
Gradually bending around to the northwest, the river flows in that
direction for 20 miles, until it is joined by a large tributary from the
southeast called the Swampy-bay River. Then for eight miles below the
mouth of this river, the stream flows northwest in a narrow valley between
sharp, rocky hills, from 400 to 600 feet high. It next turns north-northwest
for seven miles, and then north for seven miles more. Along the last mile
the river narrows to 400 yards and flows swiftly between hills of limestone
from 200 to 600 feet high. Turning sharply now to the northeast, the river
continues to flow swiftly in a narrow, rock-bound channel for three miles,
when it again turns northward and holds that direction for 10 miles to
Pyrites Chute, and then falls 30 feet in half a mile over black shale on
edge.
Below the chute, the course is northwest for 15 miles. For four miles
the channel averages three-quarters of a miles in width, and the surrounding
country is low and flat, with sharp hills of rusty rock and a few exposures
of limestone on the east side. A number of low islands of limestone occur
in the next mile, at the end of which the river, at the Limestone Falls,
descends 60 feet over ledges of that rock which at that point c
^
r
^
oss the
valley obliquely. Below the falls, for four miles, the river, about half
a mile wide, flows b
[:
]
tween scarped banks of sand and gravel 75 feet high;
and then, narrowing to less than 200
f
yards, for five miles rushes through
a narrow valley called Maniton Gorge out through limestone and shale, with
walls from 50 to 300 feet high.
Below the gorge, the river for six miles gradually bends toward the
east until it is joined by the Stillwater-Larch, a large tributary flowing
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
in from the west through a broad valley. As the junction is approached, the banks on the west side become lower and form a broad sandy plain between the two rivers. The Indians use the Stillwater as a route to Hudson Bay, following it to the head and then crossing to Clearwater Lake, which is drained into Hichmond Gulf.
The confluence of the Stillwater-Larch and the Kaniapiskau constitutes
the Koksoak proper, and immediately below the junction the combined river
turns to the northeast and for five miles is less than half a mile wide,
flowing with a swift current between low terraced banks in a valley two or
three miles wide bounded by sharp hills from 500 to 600 feet high. These
hills, still composed of the later Pre-Cambrian rocks, run in sharp ridges
from a mile to two miles apart, roughly at right angles to the river. The
valley for five miles below the forks widens to five or six miles, and the
river itself spreads out to over a mile; it now becomes very shallow and is
greatly obstructed by sand and shingle shoals, as it flows with a strong current
in the same
[:
]
irection for 21 miles.
Low ledges of gneiss cross the stream and form a number of rocky islands,
causing a heavy rapid for nearly a mile, followed, two miles below, by another
a quarter of a mile long. At both rapids the water is shallow and obstructed
by reefs and large boulders. The foot of the second rapid marks the head of
tidewater. From here the course changes to east-northeast for 18 miles. The
river is now from two to five miles wide and broken into numerous channels by
long, low islands of sand, bare at low water, with a deep bay on the north si
[:
]
e,
around which the rocky hills sweep; these then cross the river seven miles
down the course, where they form a number of high rocky islands that hem the
water into deep channels, through which it rushes rapidly in and out according
to the state of the tide. At and below the islands the river varies from a
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koksoak River
mile and a half in width, its valley bounded by rocky hills, rising from 100 to 300 feet directly from the water, with only in a few places a narrow border of drift between. The course continues nearly northeast to the mouth of the river, some 20 miles below.
Fort Chimo, the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment, is situated on
the south shore, facing a small cover on a low terrace 200 yards wide,
about two miles below the islands, and about 30 miles above the mouth of the
Koksoak. It was first established in 1827 and afterwards discontinued, but
in 1866 it was reestablished and has continued since that date.
The Koksoak was first explored from Lake Keniapiskau to its mouth in 1893
by Dr. A. P. Low of the Geological Survey of Canada. In recent years con–
siderable exploratory work has been conducted by mining companies to whom
the Quebec Government has granted large concessions, but no report of these
explorations has yet been published.
References:
<bibl>
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the
Eastmain, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manikuagan and Portions of Other
Rivers in 1892-93-94-95;
Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual
Report
; 1895.
</bibl>Koyukuk River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KOYUKUK RIVER
The Koyukuk River is one of the principal tributaries of the Yukon
River and the second largest in the lower section of the river. It serves
mainly to drain the slopes of the Endicott Range, flowing in a general
southwesterly direction from the mountains to its junction with the Yukon.
For a considerable part of its course, it is parallel to the Yukon. For
a considerable part of its course, it is parallel to the Yukon, only a
short distance to the south, and consequently, below its headwaters, nearly
all its tributaries of any importance come in from the north, the northeast
or the northwest. While, in point of volume, it is exceeded only by the
Tanana, some persons hold that because of the disfance that it is navigable,
and for other reasons, it should rank ahead of the Tanana. The latter,
however, has the great advantage of increasing commercial importance, for
its mining regions have continued to advance, and it has many other advantages
in addition; whereas the Koyukuk, depending as it has been upon the vagaries
of placer mining, finds itself, so to speak, the cord along which is strung
a collection of ghost communities.
The Koyukuk drainage basin interlocks, on the west, with those of the
Noatak and the Kobuk, and with that of the Chandalar on the east. Since the
area drained by the Koyukuk li
v
^
e
^
s between the Yukon and the Endicott Range,
where the Yukon is rapidly swinging to the southwestward, the distance
between the mountains and the Yukon River increases — and likewise the
relative area — with each degree westward. Therefore, while the Koyukok
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koyukuk River
drainage extends near its headwaters only from latitude 66° to slightly beyond latitude 68° it extends, near its mouth — more than eight degrees of longitude farther west — from equally as far north to as low as 64° 50′ N. It lies within two of the three great physiographic provinces which comprise the Territory of Alaska, — the Rocky Mountains (Endicott) section and the Interior of Yukon Plateau province, in both of which rocks of Mesozoic and Palaeozoic ages predominate. Along its northern boundary, high mountain heights prevail, which,in the eastern portion of the watershed, give way abruptly to the lowlands as the Yukon Flats section is reached; while in the western portion, the foothills extend in most places to the river valley itself.
The Koyukuk River begins above the 68th degree of north latitude in two
forks, neither of which is called the Koyukuk; the easternmost goes under the
name of the Dietrich and the westernmost fork, the Bettles, both of which are
swift mountain streams. The first tributary of consequence after the junction
of the two forks is the Hammond River, where some gold was discovered during
the days of the gold boom. Six miles below the mouth of Hammond River, the
Wiseman River flows in; at its mouth is the town of Nolan, the principal
center for the mining region that extends along the river for about 25 miles.
Fifteen miles below Nolan, is the site of the abandoned Coldfoot, which received
its name because some miners, intending to proceed farther up the river, there
got "cold feet" and decided to proceed no farther.
Below Coldfoot, the Koyukuk receives Wild Creek and the North Fork, on
each of which varying amounts of gold have been found. Sixty miles below
Coldfoot is Bettles, at the mouth of the John River, the principal distributing
center for the mining district that stretches from Hammond southward to that
point. It is the farthest point that can be reached, even with difficulty, by
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koyukuk River
steamers; and here all supplies for points farther up the river are trans– shipped to specially built double-bottomed barges propelled, where the water is deep, by gasoline engines and hauled by horses through stretches where the water is shallow. Bettles also marks the transition from the high mountains to the lowlands; back of Bettles the Endicott Range stands in serried ranks, a seemingly impenetrable wall.
About 45 miles below Bettles, the South Fork comes in from the east.
At its mouth is a considerable Indian village. Below this the channel widens
along which the river meanders through banks of gravel, littered with drift–
wood. Below the mouth of the South Fork, the river turns to the west and
while running in that direction, for the first time dips below the Arctic
Circle.
Red mountain, a red-topped bluff, serves as a landmark, appearing now
on one side of the course and now on the other as the river winds its way
southeastward. The Korutna comes in here from the east. It was by way of
this stream that Lieut. Allen reached the Koyukuk in 1885. Some distance
below this, at the lower end of an island which divides the river, the navigable
channel breaks sharply, turning at the same time almost at right angles, thus
making a nasty spot to
^
^
navigate, which has received the appropriate name of
Measly Chute. Ten miles below the Measly Chute is the site of the once
active Hughes City, named after the former Chief Justice of the United States
((who had not yet reached that high office), but now abandoned. The river
now makes a wide bend to the south, swinging off to the northwest, and just
before it resumes its general southwesterly course, the Hogatza River comes
in from the north just as the Koyukuk crosses the 66th degree of north latitude,
From here to it
[:
]
mouth, a distance of 300 miles, the river winds from bank
to bank through a maze of channels and between countless islands and gravel
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada — Koyukuk River
banks, piled with driftwood, with nothing in sight in any direction but scrubby timber among which willows predominate. Not a landmark is to be seen anywhere until near the mouth of the river, when the mountainous bluff overlooking the entrance of the Koyukuk into the Yukon comes in sight. In this final stretch it flows south, then west and finally south again; but in a distance by river of over 250 miles, less than a degree of latitude is gained.
The Koyukuk was first explored by a white man in 1885 when Lieut. Henry
T. Allen, U.S.A., having ascended the Copper River from the coast, crossed
to the headwaters of the Tanana and descended it to its mouth. He then
crossed the Yukon a few miles below the mouth of the Tanana, and with two
soldiers and a party of packers and guides followed the divide between the
Tozitna and Melozitna rivers to the height of land dividing the Yukon and
Koyukok watersheds, past many small lakes and then to a tributary of the
Kornutna river which he followed to its mouth and thence down the Kornutna
to the Koyukuk.
At that point Allen transferred his party to canoes and continued up
the river as far as the present town of Bettles, where he turned back and
proceeded down stream to the Yukon. He made a rough sketch of the river,
indicating the approximate position of tributaries, islands and other
geographical features. When he returned to the United States, he added
the names of friends and others to his map, but few of his suggested names
are to be found on present-day maps.
Thereafter the river was visited from time to time by prospectors, but
not sufficient gold was secured to cause a rush until the eventful year of
1898 when in some mysterious manner word flashed down the river and along
the lower Yukon that gold had been discovered on the upper Koyukuk. Eager
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Koyukuk River
prospectors and others, on their way up the Yukon to the Klondike were easily diverted to this new strike and when the Freeze-up occurred up– wards of 50 steamboats and 1,000 men were caught on the upper reaches of the Koyukuk, where most of the stampeders found themselves short of supplies before the end of the winter. Not many remained to prospect after the ice went out and the steamers were able to head back downstream. Some stayed on, however, and for many years considerable quantities of gold were re– covered from the creeks mainly above South Fork. The Koyukuk, like the Chandalar, suffers under the disadvantage of having its mining region far above its mouth, thus requiring a long and arduous river journey, with consequent high costs of operation. Placer camps are notoriously short-lived, and unless more permanent means of making a living can be secured the com– munities that depend upon such an existence are usually doomed to a precarious lease of life. In that class, at present, are the communities along the Koyukuk; and with the fate of its communities that of the river is combined.
References:
Allen, Henry T.
Report of an Expedition to the Copper, Tanana and Koyukuk
Rivers
; Washington; 1887.
Stuck, Hudson.
Voyages on the Yukon and Its Tributaries;
New York; 1917.
Kwataboahegan River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
KWATABOAHEGAN RIVER
The Kwataboahegan River, in northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada,
is a
[:
]
tributary of Moose River (q.v.), which empties into the
southern end of James Bay. It rises in Moosonee Lake, a shallow sheet of
water in latitude 50° 30′ N., longitude 83° 30′ W. The boundaries of this
lake vary with the season of the year, and also upon how much of the sur–
rounding muskeg is to be included. The river's course is roughly northeast,
and its length about 125 miles. Since it lies entirely within the Hudson
Bay Lowland (q.v.), it is characteristic of streams in that region. It flows
through a shallow channel, which, in its upper reaches, has cut into the
post-glacial and glacial drift covering strata of marine clays over the
[:
]
underlying Palaeozoic rocks. Further down, it has cut through these strata
into the rock below. The river receives a few tributaries, two of which,
entering one from each side, considerably augment its volume. It enters
Moose River about 29 miles above the latter's mouth. The region through which
the Kwataboahegan flows consists almost entirely of muskeg, supporting a sparse
growth of stunted black spruce and tamarack of no commercial value. While
other tributaries of the Moose and their tributaries, farther south, expose
beds of china clay, lignite coal and iron-bearing limestones, evidences of
similar deposits on the Kwataboahegan are lacking, Although this is more
likely to be due to lack of adequate examination than to the absence of deposits.
Reference:
<bibl>
Bell
[:
]
, J. Mackintosh.
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin
. Ontario Bureau
of Mines; 1904.
</bibl>Labrador: (General)
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: (GENERAL)
Labrador is that part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland which
occupies the easternmost angle of the continent of North America, consisting
of 110,000 square miles. For many years its boundaries and area were in
dispute; the Crown Colony of Newfoundland claimed all the territory between
the Atlantic Ocean and the height of land separating the Atlantic and Hudson
Bay watersheds, north of latitude 52° N.; the Government of Canada contended
that all but a narrow strip along the coast was Canadian territory. In 1927,
the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council decided the issue in
favor of Newfoundland. When the colony joined Canada in 1949, the importance
of that decision was largely reduced, except insofar as some people in the
Province of Quebec were concerned, who still feel that a large part of
Labrador rightly belongs to their province. Since, however, the Province
of Quebec is already the largest of the Canadian provinces, with more than
300,000 square miles of largely undeveloped hinterland, the allocation of
Labrador to Newfoundland now meets with general approval in Canada.
Labrador consists of a narrow triangle on a more or less rectangular
base. The triangular section extends northward for about 500 miles, and the
base extends about 500 miles in an east-west direction by about 200 miles
north and south. The eastern boundary of Labrador consists of the Atlantic
Ocean from Anse Sablon, in the Strait of Belle Isle, to Cape Chidley, in
latitude 60° 30′ N., longitude, 64° 30′ W. Its southern and western boundaries
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (General)
are those which were the subject of controversy. As now established, the boundary extends due north from Anse Sablon to the 52nd degree of north latitude; thence westward along that latitude to the Romaine River; thence along the east bank of that river and its headwaters to their source; thence due north to the crest of the watershed; thence westward and northward along the crest of the watershed of the rivers flowing into the Atlantic to Cape Chidley.
Since, except for a narrow strip in its southeastern corner, Labrador
consists only of land which drains into the Atlantic, its highest points
would seem to be along its western and southern boundaries; that, in general,
it would slope eastward to the sea; but this is not quite correct. Its
highest parts are actually along the northeastern coast, where the Torngat
Mountains (q.v.) rise to heights of 6,000 feet, despite the fact that the
drainage is nevertheless eastward.
Labrador's more important geographical feature is probably the Hamilton River
(q.v.), whose watershed occupies almost the whole of the broad base of the
triangle, and comprises 29,900 square miles. The Hamilton River rises in
the high tableland which characterizes the height of land in that region,
where a maze of lakes, large and small, are connected by a network of short
streams, most of which are broken by frequent rapids and waterfalls. It is formed
by two principal tributaries, the Ashuanipi (q.v.), and the Attikonak (q.v.),
which rise in large lakes near the southern edge of the height of land, and
flow northwesterly to a junction in Sandgirt Lake (q.v.), after which the main
river follows a generally easterly direction, discharging into Melville Lake
(q.v.), partly salt, which is connected by a narrow channel with Hamilton
Inlet (q.v.), an indentation of the Atlantic coast, some 200 miles north of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (General)
the strait of Belle Isle. The Hamilton River consists of two diverse sections, the upper part of which is characteristic of many other streams that traverse the Canadian Shield. It occupies no well-marked channel, but seems almost to flow on the surface of the ground, spreading into numerous lakes, which are dotted with islands, and indented by many long arms and bays. The river divides around large islands, sometimes flowing in several parallel channels; in some cases it enters a lake by more than one channel and leaves in the same way. The sections between lakes or lake-expansions are invariably broken by a succession of rapids and water– falls of varying lengths and heights. Then, about 200 miles from its mouth, the Hamilton River entirely changes its ways. It suddenly descends from the high tableland across which it had previously meandered in post-glacial channels, through banks consisting chiefly of glacial till, to the level of its preglacial channel, deeply out into the bedrock. In 16 miles, it drops 1,038 feet, of which 245 feet constitute a sheer drop at Grand Falls, com– prising one of the most stupendous cataracts in the world, and a further 574 feet in 12-mile Bowdoin Canyon immediately below. In this 16-mile section, it is estimated that 4,750,000 horse power can be developed, while the river as a whole is capable of providing a total of 7,000,000 horsepower, one million of which can be obtained at a second fall called Muskrat Falls, where a head of 70 feet exists, 18 miles in a direct line from its mouth.
Labrador forms the eastern angle of the Canadian Shield which comprises
about two-thirds of the Dominion of Canada, and provides most of its mineral
wealth. The Shield is underlain chiefly by rocks of Pre-Cambrian Age, a com–
plex mass of highly crystalline Archaean rocks consisting principally of
gneisses and schists, some of which are believed to be highly metamorphosed
materials of clastic origin, while others are regarded as fol
^
ia
^
ai
ted eruptives.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (General)
These rocks in other parts of Canada, where extensively prospected, are rich in valuable minerals. An area in the western part of Labrador underlain by rocks classified as Animikie and Keweenawan, or late Pre-Cambrian, have been found to contain important deposits of high-grade hematite ore, which is now being developed, and which will probably help to transform the economy of this hitherto unproductive region.
The area about the headwaters of Hamilton River contains the largest
lakes in Labrador. Lake Michikamau (q.v.), the largest, is about 80 miles
long from southeast to northwest, and 25 miles at its widest part. Lake
Ashuanipi, narrow and irregular in outline, is the source of one of the
chief tributaries of Hamilton River, and is upward of 50 miles long. Lake
Petitsikapau, one of the lakes in the course of the Ashuanipi, is 25 miles
long and has a maximum width of eight miles. Lake Attikonak, the source of
the other principal Hamilton River tributary, is almost 40 miles long, and, in
places, 20 miles wide; while Lake Winokapau, an expansion of the lower
Hamilton River, is 35 miles in length with a maximum width of about two
miles. Lake Winokapau is remarkably deep; one sounding gave a depth of
427 feet. Melville Lake, already mentioned, is classified as a lake rather
than an arm of the sea, since its water is neither entirely salt nor fresh;
it is about 125 miles long, with a maximum width of about 24 miles.
The two principal groups of mountains are the Mealy Mountains in the
Hamilton Inlet Region, and the Torngats (q.v.), in northeastern Labrador.
The Mealy Mountains rise
[:
]
steeply from the south shore of Melville
Lake, and extend east and west about 60 miles. Seven peaks exceed 3,000
feet, the highest rising to 3,800 feet. They seem to be remnants of a
[:
]
dissected peneplain; but their northward-facing escarpment is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (General)
probably due to faulting. Their name is derived from the patches of snow which remain on their sides during the summer, which gives them the appear– ance of being powdered over with meal. In winter, they are masses of gleaming white.
The Torngats do not seem to be the result of mountain-building in the
usually accepted meaning of the term, but seem also to be remnants of a
dissected peneplain, elevated along its eastern edge and sloping toward
Hudson Bay. These mountains do not constitute a watershed, which here lies
to the west of them, and the drainage cuts through them to the ocean. It
is probable that they are remnants of former mountains, reduced to the pene–
plain level by past erosion; some of their summits indicate a previous erosion
level. In some places there is evidence of faulting, which has raised some
parts beyond the former peneplain level. The whole has been modified by
ice-action during the glacial periods, which has tended to erase much of
the legend left by previous geologic ages.
The loftier parts of the tableland rise near the coast from Mount Thoresby
(2,733 feet) near Nain to Ryan Bay near Eclipse Harbor, with a length of 230
miles from southeast to northwest. In the seaward part, the mountains are
often "razorbacks." Westward from the ocean-front, the mountains become
more massive, with steep sides, often several thousand feet in height, the
upper portions nearly vertical, but with gently rolling summits, indicating
the existence of an ancient elevated peneplain. Farther west, the valleys
out deeply into the tableland, but not across each other, thus creating no
peaks or separate mountain masses.
The Labrador coast is one of the most bold and rugged in the world, with
lofty promontories standing from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea, often with
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (General)
perpendicular cliffs from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in height. Precipitous islands lie off the coast, often separated from each other and from the shoreline by narrow, deep channels, which, in local parlance, are called "tickels." Narrow and deep bays or fjords run inland every few miles, some, like Nachvak, extending 30 or 40 miles from the open sea. What adds to the picture of desolation is the stark bareness of the coast, which, unlike the equally indented coast of British Columbia, is completely devoid of trees, and often of vegetation.
From latitude 52° N. to about 53° 30′, the Labrador coast runs prac–
tically north and south, consisting of one indentation after another, some
deep, some shallow, most of them dotted with rocky islands, and others con–
sisting of many winding arms. Simply to list these indentations would take
up many pages, but some of the more important ones may be mentioned. Battle
Harbor is the largest inlet north of the entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle.
In about latitude 53° to a number of harbors are grouped about Hawke Island;
and at Domion Run, the coast bends to the northwest, opening in latitude 53° 50′
into Sandwich Bay, extending southwestward about 25 miles and widening inside
to a maximum
^
^
of about five miles. Cartwright settlement is near the entrance
of Sandwich Bay, on its south side, and consists of a trading post, homes of
traders and others, and a 20-bed hospital operated by the International Grenfell
Association. The next important indentation is Hamilton Inlet, which, with
its navigable inland lakes provides the most extensive opening in the Labrador
coast. Indian Harbor is a settlement on Indian Island, off the northern
point of the inlet.
From the northern extremity of Hamilton Inlet, the coast continues its
northwesterly trend, the most conspicuous feature of which is Cape Harrison,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
a reddish cliff marking the seaward end of a broad promontory. The wide bay beyond is full of islands. At Makkovik, the Hudson's Bay Company has a trading post, and it is also the site of a Moravian mission. The next point of note is Hopedale, in latitude 55° 27′ N., also the site of a Moravian mission, with its church and school. In addition to a trading post, a few white families live there and about 100 Eskimo families. Cape Harrison is on an island 300 feet high, with a sharp black summit; at Davis Inlet there is a trading post; and Zoar is next, 23 miles to the northwestward.
Nain, in latitude 56° 33′ N. is the next point of special interest; it
is the headquarters of the Moravian missions. At Port
[:
D
]
^
M
^
anvers, Mount Thoresby
is seen rising from the southern shore of the bay. Between
Nair
[:
]
^
Nain
^
and Port
Manvers a number of deep indentations penetrate the mountainous seafront. The
trend of the coast holds very generally to its northwesterly course, but
is badly broken by inlets, promontories, and islands too numerous to mention.
The most conspicuous feature of the coast immediately beyond Port Manvers
is the Bishop's Mitre, an outstanding double summit, about 3,750 feet high,
with a cleft in the middle about 500 feet deep. The northern end of this
headland terminates in Cape Mugford, with a sheer, 2,000-foot cliff. The
small settlement of Okak is on an island in the bay of the same name. The
Kiglapait Mountains, a range of the Torngats, extend for about 12 miles along
the coast at this point, rising to nine peaks ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 feet
in height.
Hebron settlement, on the fjord of the same name, in latitude 58° 12′ N.,
is the principal settlement
^
most northern ?
^
principal settlement along the Labrador coast, and has a population
of about 200 Eskimos, in addition to a few whites, mainly associated with the
Moravian mission. Saglek Bay, is a deep and wide indentation a few miles
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
north of Hebron, immediately beyond which is Bear's Gut, with Blow-me-down Mountain s on its northern side. The next important indentation is Nachvak Fjord, extending back about 30 miles and dominated by Mount Razorback. The ocean face consists now of the Torngat Mountains; cliff succeeds cliff, with deep, steep-sided indentations between. A short distance beyond Nachvak Fjord, Cape White Handkerchief is a conspicuous sight, with its patch of light-colored pegmatite extending upward from its base for about 500 feet, with a total height of about 1,720 feet. Seven Islands Bay, in latitude 59° 22′ N., is dominated by the Four Peaks, which range from 3,800 to 4,000 feet above the water. Eclipse Harbor, behind Aulatsivik Island, with Mount Bache Point, is the next feature of interest, after which comes Cape Kakkiviak, Clark Harbor, and then McLelan Channel, which separates Killinek Island from the mainland, at the end of continental Labrador. Boudoin Harbor is on the east side of Killinek Island; and at the island's extremity is Cape Chidley, where the cliffs are about 1,200 feet high.
The southern part of Labrador, except for a narrow coastal zone, is
fairly thickly forested, if due allowance be made for large areas of swamp
and muskeg and the tops of ridges and hills, which are usually bare. The
principal trees here, in the order of their abundance, are, black spruce,
white or canoe birch, tamarack, balsam fir, white spruce, balsam poplar,
yellow birch, and aspen poplar. Black spruce is the dominant tree throughout
the greater part of the southern portion of Labrador, which in the lower
Hamilton valley and tributary valleys is found up to 26 inches in diameter
and 100 feet in height. On the higher and poorer ground, the trees are much
smaller, but in many places areas exist which contain sufficient
r
quantities
of the smaller timber to provide material for pulp and paper mills. In the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
vicinity of Melville Lake, it is estimated that at least two large pulp and paper plants could be supplied, and Kindle describes stands of merchant– able timber in the same region that co ^ u ^ ld provide sawlogs for sawmills.
In the lower Hamilton River valley, and at the head of Melville Lake,
potatoes and other root vegetables do well; but generally, except in favored
spots, the agricultural possibilities of Labrador are not great. Extensive
tundra areas exist in the northern part which once grazed herds of caribou,
and on some of these reindeer could undoubtedly be herded.
Every lake and stream contains an abundance of fish. Lake trout,
whitefish, and brook trout are found almost everywhere. In most of the
streams flowing into the Atlantic, salmon abound. The great fish of Labrador
is, of course, the cod, which has provided the chief industry for most of its
people for more than four centuries. Except for those who live along the
Labrador coast, called "liviers," cod fishing is carried on by fishermen
from the island of Newfoundland, most of whom work from small boats and
cure their fish on shore, where they live during the summer in huts, or
"tilts" built for the purpose. Others, called "floasters,"
^
3 in 1954
^
also from the
island of Newfoundland and elsewhere, fish from schooners with trawls or
nets, packing the fish away in the hold in ice or salt.
The main source of income of the people in the inland portions of
Labrador is still the fur trade. Along the coast, polar bears, seals, and
white foxes are the chief fur-bearing animals; while inland the principal
ones are mink, marten, muskrat, weasel, beaver, otter, lynx, and foxes of
all varieties. The Hudson's Bay Company has maintained trading posts in
Labrador since the earliest days, and some of its competitors have followed
it there.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: (Labrador (general)
Until recent mining development brought about new communities at the
head of the Hamilton River watershed, the people of Labrador consisted of
four groups. The first are the Newfoundland fishermen, who do not live
there, but spend the fishing season along the coast. The next group con–
sists of the liviers, many of whom are mixed white and native blood. They
devote themselves in summer to salmon fishing, and in winter to trapping.
Unlike the native, who is often improvident, the liviers are generally
industrious and, although, ignorant, often succeed in maintaining a certain
degree of comfort for their families, although most of them are in more or
less perpetual bondage to the traders.
The other two groups consist of the Eskimos and Indians, the former
inhabiting the coast settlements in the northeastern part of the coast; while
the Indians occupy the interior and southern parts. When the white man first
came to Labrador, the Eskimos extended far south, some along the Gulf of
St. Lawrence; but for many years none have been seen south of Hamilton Inlet.
The Indians belong to two groups, the Montagnais, in the south, and the
Naskaupis, in the north. Formerly the Hamilton River was the boundary between
the hunting grounds of these two groups, but latterly these lines have tended
to disappear. In recent years, both groups have been greatly decimated by
disease, and now consist of but a remnant of their former numbers.
The climate of Labrador is conditioned by two conflicting influences;
the generally recognized characteristics of a continental climate of
relatively warm summer weather with summer rainfall, and cold winters; and
an oceanic climate characterized by wet fall and winter weather, but much
milder than the climate inland. In a certain sense, the higher land of the
interior has only two seasons; summer and winter. The sudden transition
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
from winter to summer occurs usually in the first part of June. With the disappearance of the snow and ice from the smaller lakes, the daytime temperature rapidly increases, and trees and bushes immediately burst into leaf. Frosts on clear summer nights often continue, however.
As a general thing, the summer weather continues well into autumn;
but, when it comes, winter sets in as suddenly as summer comes. Snow falls,
and ice generally begins to form in the small lakes about the middle of
September. In the interior, the higher summits become covered with snow
while the lower land is still free, but along the coast, probably because of
the influence of the Labrador Current, the reverse is the case. The winter
temperatures of the interior are generally low and remain fairly constant
throughout the winter, when lows from 40° to 50° F. are recorded in most
places, often much lower.
Labrador was the first part of the North American continent to be seen
by Europeans. No one knows the exact location of the Vinland of the Norsemen,
but there is little doubt that people from Iceland and Greenland were familiar
with the shores of Labrador five centuries before the time of Columbus. The
Cabots cailed along the coast of Labrador, and shortly afterward fishermen
from European waters found their way to the Labrador fishing grounds, the like
^
of
^
fo
which
[:
]
had never before been seen. In 1504, the town of Brest, on
Bradore Bay, in the Strait of Belle Isle, was founded by fishermen; and in
1517, as many as 50 vessels called there; while at the height of its pros–
perity, about the year 1600, Brest contained 200 houses and a population
of about 1,000 persons. In 1586, John Davis sailed along the Labrador
coast, discovering two inlets there, one of which still bears his name;
the other, now known as Hamilton Inlet, he called Ivutoke Inlet.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
In 1763, with the transfer of Canada from French to British rule,
the southern and eastern coasts of Labrador were placed under the juris–
diction of the Governor of Newfoundland; they were restored to the juris–
diction of the Government of Canada ten years later; and returned to the
jurisdiction of the Government of Newfoundland in 1809. Much confusion
existed, however, as to what actually constituted Labrador; and this was
not settled for more than a century until, in 1927, the Privy Council
handed down its decision, as already mentioned.
In 1838, John McLean, then in charge of Fort Chimo, on the lower
Koksoak River, in northern Ungava, crossed overland by way of Lake Michikamau
to Hamilton Inlet, where the Hudson's Bay Company had established a post the
previous year. The following year, he again started for Hamilton Inlet with
canoes, but at Grand Falls, which he was the first person not an Indian to see,
he was unable to find the portage and returned to Fort Chimo. In the follow–
ing two years, however, he was successful in reaching Hamilton Inlet. About
1875, Roman Catholic missionaries established an Indian mission at Northwest
River, near the west end of Melville Lake, and during the following two
summers, Pere Lacasse crossed overland from Northwest River to Fort Chimo,
returning by sea in the Hudson's Bay Company's boat.
In 1891, two separate expeditions from the United States ascended the
Hamilton River as far as Grand Falls. Austin Cary and E. M. Cole who were
the first to reach the falls, lost their boat and outfit by fire when a
short distance below the falls, and were obliged to walk the
2510
250 miles
to the coast. In the meantime, Henry G. Bryant and C. A. Kennaston were on
their way up the river, but the two parties did not meet.
In 1893, Dr. A. P. Low, of the Geological Survey of Canada, spent the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
the early part of the winter near the head of Melville Lake, and between January 19, 1894, and the middle of May transported canoes and supplies up the Hamilton River with sleds as far as the Grand Falls. The summer was spent in exploring the river and its chief tributaries and Lake Michikamau. In the fall, Low descended the Romaine River to within 100 miles of the St. Lawrence River, and crossing to the St. John River descended it to the St. Lawrence. Low's account of the country is the most detailed yet published, and in some respects is the only one available. In recent years considerable serial exploration has been carried on by mining companies, and many aerial photographs have been taken, but the results of these have not yet been published.
Low was the first to describe the extensive iron ore deposits that
exist in a zone that extends from near the headwaters of Hamilton River to
the west shore of Ungava Bay. Their existence remained a matter of academic
interest only for over half a century. In 1936, the Hollinger Consolidated
Gold Mines Limited (q.v.), through a subsidiary, was granted a concession
conferring on it the exclusive exploration rights covering 20,000 square
miles of territory near the headwaters of Hamilton River. This adjoins an
area of 3,900 square miles in the Province of Quebec, for which exploration
rights have been secured from the Quebec government. The Labrador Mining
and Exploration Company, which is the subsidiary of the Hollinger Company
referred to, is owned partly by the M. A. Hanna Company, of Cleveland, Ohio.
Another subsidiar
y, the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway Company
was incorporated to build and operate 350 miles of railway from Seven Islands
Bay, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to the spot where the
company proposes to mine the ore.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
Diamond drilling has been conducted at a number of points, and extensive
deposits of high-grade hematite ore have been disclosed. The ore is in
high ridges, in many places considerably above the general level, and can
be loaded directly into cars strung along the bases of the ridges. Suffi–
cient ore was found to justify the expenditure of $200,000,000. in devel–
opment work. The present objective of the company is a production of
10,000,000 tons a year, with double that amount eventually if markets for
it can be found. While it is expected that this amount of ore will be taken
out by rail to the St. Lawrence, it is believed that the iron ranges extent
so far to the eastward as some day to justify the building of a railway to
some point in the lower Hamilton River valley where, because of the immense
power potential of that stream, the ore could be smelted by electrolytic process.
Since the earliest times, the east coast of Labrador has been claimed
by Newfoundland; and while what later became the Dominion of Canada disputed
the claim, the exact boundaries were never defined. Canadians claimed that
Newfoundland had been granted a mere strip of territory along the coast
sufficient for the purpose of curing fish and for other activities connected
with the fisheries. The Newfoundland government, however, granted licenses
to lumbermen entitling them to cut timber in the Hamilton River Valley, which
the Canadian Government protested was within the territory of Canada. The
verdict delivered on March 1, 1927, conceded the entire Newfoundland claim;
in fact, the award was much more favorable to the Newfoundland cause than
most Newfoundlanders even dared to hope. This dispute had held up the
development of the country; but it must be admitted that in the more than
20 years that have elapsed since the dispute was settled, Labrador made very
little progress.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
So far as the coast of Labrador is concerned, the greatest influences
there in recent years have been the missions maintained by the Moravians
and by the ministrations of Dr. Wilfred Grenfell's organization. The
Moravians were first on the scene, their first establishment being under–
taken in 1752, when they attempted to found a mission at what later became
known as Hopedale. They were attacked by Eskimos soon after landing, and
one missionary and five sailors were killed. Almost 20 years elapsed
before they made their second attempt, this time successfully at Nain, in
1771. Five years later, a second mission was established at Okak, and in
1782, they were successful in establishing a mission at Hopedale. These
sufficed them for almost half a century, and then, in 1830, their settlement
at Hebron was founded. In the meantime, they had extended their missions to
the region of Ungava Bay, which is in northern Quebec. While the Moravians
brought the Scriptures to the Eskimos, their missions were largely maintained
by trading with their charges, with results not always to the advantage of
the Eskimos.
When Dr. Wilfred Grenfell first came among the people of Labrador in
1892, as an officer of the Royal National Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen
(of Great Britain), he was deeply impressed by the terrible poverty, the
almost permanent half starvation of the people, their ignorance, and the
total absence of even the simple
s
sanitary habits, which in the Eskimos'
nomadic way of life had not been necessary, but which became necessary when
they began to live in permanent abodes. Thenceforth Grenfell's life was
to be dedicated to the work of improving the lot of these miserable people.
He eventually founded the International Grenfell Association, which is
supported by voluntary subscriptions. Its staff has grown to over 100 persons,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
including voluntary workers, and its ships sail under their own interna– tionally recognized flag.
Hospital ships patrol the coast all summer. They go from their base
^
s
^
at St. Anthony, in the island of Newfoundland,
^
and North West River at head of Lake Melville
^
as far north as
Hopedale,
and sometimes to
Hebron. In winter, the doctors travel with dog teams,
visiting the people all along the coast up to
^
Hebron
^
. Makkovik, where the Moravian
^
?
^
sphere of influence begins. The Grenfell Association tries
^
?
^
not to
^
?
^
overlap
with the work of others. Association hospitals have been established at
strategic points, besides which nursing stations are set up at a number of
other places for use during the fishing season. In addition to the medical
work, the Association carries on charitable and educational activities.
Modern schools, with facilities for boarding pupils, have been established
at the principal settlements. The schools are free, both for study and for
practical training.
Cooperative stores were also established, but not without much opposition
from the traders; the first was at Red Bay, in the Strait of Belle Isle, in
1896, and in 1901 a cooperative sawmill was established. At attempt, in
1907, to bring in domestic reindeer did not succeed because of lack of
experience on the part of the Eskimos.
Now that Labrador, as part of Newfoundland, is part of Canada, the
people will get the benefit of social legislation which the former colony
could not provide. Each Labrador mother will be eligible for Mother's
Allowance, consisting of a monthly payment amounting to from five to eight
dollars for each child under sixteen years of age. Old age pensions will
also be available for the aged. The amounts thus received are not large;
but, in a land like Labrador, where poverty is so general, even such
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador (general)
payments must mean a great deal to those who hitherto have had so little; and undoubtedly the increased opportunities which will come with the devel– opment of mines and the establishment of pulp and paper plants should help to raise the pitiful standard of living of many of the people. Communities will be organized in which hospitals, schools and other essentials of civilized living will, for the first time, except in a very limited sense, be made available for the people of Labrador.
References:
Hubbard, Mina B.
A Woman;s Way Through Unknown Labrador
; London, 1908.
Kindle, E. M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District
,
Labrador Peninsula
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Memoir No. 141; 1924.
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along
the Eastmain, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan and Portions
of Other Rivers in 1892-93-94-95.
Geological Survey of
Canada, Annual Report, Vol. VIII, pp.1L-387L, 1895.
MacKay, R.A. (ed.)
Newfoundland, Economic, Diplomatic, and Strategic
Studies
. Toronto: Oxford University Press; 1946.
Tanner, V.
Outlines of the Geography, Life and Customs of
Newfoundland-Labrador
(2 vols.) Cambridge: The University
Press; 1947.
Labrador: The Backway
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: THE BACKWAY
The Backway is one of three remarkable deep basins which drain into
the Melville Lake - Hamilton Inlet indentation in southeastern Labrador,
Province of Newfoundland, Canada. It
[:
]
oins The Narrows, which connects
Melville Lake and Hamilton Inlet, at the point where The Narrows expands
about Henrietta Island, and its maximum depth is 80 fathoms. Its length
is about 30 miles, with a maximum width of about five miles, except at and
near its entrance, where it is not more than half that wide. It lies in a
generally east and west direction; but
[:
]
for the first 10 miles inside the
entrance its direction is northeast-southwest; its eastern portion lies
roughly parallel to the south shore of Hamilton Inlet, from which it is
not more than six or seven miles distant. The land about its entrance is
high, hills rising to 1,350 feet above the sea, but the elevation falls
away toward the east. No large streams discharge into it, and such drainage
as exists comes from the high hills to the south, but the streams are shore
and their volume not great.
The present outlet of Hamilton River (q.v.), the largest river in
Labrador, is by way of Melville Lake and Hamilton Inlet, which with The Narrows,
provide a navigable waterway inland for a distance of 177 miles for ships of
considerable draft. Melville Lake, 125 miles long, has a depth of 160 fathoms,
and was evidently part of the pre-glacial Hamilton River channel, which reached
the sea by way of The Backway. The Narrows has a depth of only about 10 fathoms,
and Hamilton Inlet is but from 20 to 50 fathoms deep. According to Dr. E. M. Kindle,
EA-Geog. Labrador: The Backway
who surveyed the region in 1921 for the Geological Survey of Canada, "the
inference that the preglacial Hamilton flow seawards by The Backway instead
of by The Narrows is based on the much greater depth and width of The Backway,
and the fact that the land is very low between the seashore and the eastern
end of The Backway... When the final retreat of the great valley glaciers
which marked the late stages of glaciation began it may be presumed that the
high mountains southwest of the Backway, together with the mountain ridges
immediately north of the western half of it, supplied an abundance of glacial
ice to the terminal end of Hamilton valley, which kept it blocked for a long
period after the ice-sheet had vanished from much of the adjacent parts of
the valley."
This damming up of the old outlet, caused the water to find an alternative
one, and an existing valley which now constitutes The Narrows became the new
channel. When the ice finally cleared from The Backway, its former eastern
outlet was blocked by glacial detritus, and the direction of its flow was
reversed to discharge into The Narrows, which in the meantime had lowered
its own level sufficiently to serve as the outlet for all the streams converging
on Hamilton Inlet.
Reference:
<bibl>
Kindle, E. M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District, Labrador
Peninsula.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No.141; 1924.
</bibl>Labrador: Double Mer
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: DOUBLE MER
Double Mer, in southeastern Labrador, Province of Newfoundland,
Canada, is one of four fjore-like stretches of water, all of which are
drained into the sea by way of Hamilton Inlet, and which constitute one
of the most striking geographical features of that region. Malville Lake,
the largest of these, receives the waters of Grand Lake and The Backway,
but Double Mer discharges directly into the sea through Hamilton Inlet.
Of the four, only Grand Lake is entirely fresh; the others are tidal. All
show by their depths that they are vestiges of preglacial valleys which
have been gouged even deeper by glacial action. Double Mer is the shallow–
est of the four, with a maximum depth of 46 fathoms, which, however, is con–
siderably deeper than the head of Hamilton Inlet into which it empties, where
the depth is not more than 23 fathoms.
Double Mer lies in an east-west direction parallel to the north shore
of Melville Lake and 10 to 15 miles distant from it. The two bodies of water
are separated by high hills which present a scarp-like face along the south
shore of Double Mer, but which slope away to a lowland zone along the north
side of Melville Lake. The former consists of Pre-Cambrian rocks, while the
latter is underlain by rocks of Palaeozoic age. The north shore of Double
Mer is also low, consisting of similar Palaeozoic rocks.
Double Mer has a length, over all, of about 40 miles, with a maximum width
of about five, narrowing in places to less than a mile. It consists of two
prin
cipal sections, each about 20 miles in length, of which the western one
EA-Geog. Labrador: Double Mer
is the wider and deeper. These two sections are connected by a narrows only a few hundred yards across. The outlet to Hamilton Inlet is about a mile wide. Double Mer is much more salt [: ] than any of the others because it receives relatively little fresh water from incoming streams, and this is indicated by the much greater extension along its borders of seashore conditions.
Since this region is part of the Canadian Shield, most of its
rocks belong to the Pre-Cambrian groupings, the most common of which are
gneisses of various kinds. These are cut in places by dykes of almost
white quartzite, and on this account have been given the name "Domino
gneiss." Sometimes an island can be seen, half of which is composed of
dark trap-rock, and the other of light-colored quartzite.
As has been said, the northern shores of Melville Lake and Double Mer
[:
]
are low-lying, underlain by Palaeozoic rocks, as so far observed, of a
single formation — a coarse red sandstone. It is a firmly cemented, dull
red, arkose sandstone of coarse texture, containing, in some layers, numerous
small pebbles. The best outcrops of this sandstone occur along the north
shore of Double Mer, indicating a total thickness of 500 feet. Low, who,
in 1894, observed outcrops on the north shore of Melville Lake, called in
Cambrian sandstone, but because of the greater exposures on the shore of
Double Mer, and because a name seemed desirable, Kindly has suggested that
it be called Double Mer sandstone.
Reference:
<bibl>
Kindle, E. M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District, Labrador
Peninsula.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No.141, 1924.
</bibl>Labrador: Grand Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: GRAND LAKE
Grand Lake, in southeastern Labrador, Province of Newfoundland, Canada,
is one of four fjore
^
l
^
-like stretches of water, all of which are drained into
the sea by way of Hamilton Inlet, and which constitute one of the most
striking geographical features of that region. Grand Lake, which consists
entirely of fresh water, is drained into Melville Lake, which is tidal; the
latter,125 miles long, is connected with Hamilton Inlet by The Narrows, a
channel 12 miles in length and averaging about a mile in width. These four
lakes — Grand, Melville, The Backway, and Double Mer — are all vestiges
of preglacial valleys, as is evidenced by their depth; Melville Lake is the
deepes, with 160 fathoms, and Grand Lake is the next with 90 fathoms. Grand
Lake lies to the northwest of Melville Lake, into which its water is drained,
and is 40 miles long by an average of about four miles wide. Unlike most
lakes whose basins lie within the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield,
its shores are very regular; viewed on the map, it resembles a frankfurter,
with one tapered and bent. In reality, no such resemblance exists, for it
is bordered by high mountains that rise abruptly
[:
]
from the water's edge,
without any lowland margin, as in the case of Melville Lake and Double Mer.
Only three streams of any size flow into Grand Lake, the Beaver, Susan,
and Naskaupi, the latter of which is a large river. The first two enter at
the head of the lake, in the narrow se
[:
]
^
c
^
tion that is bent almost at right-angles.
The Naskaupi, 280 yards wide at its mouth, enters about five miles below, at
the point where the narrow upper section begins. Susan and Beaver rivers
unite in a small lake, which is connected wi
f
^
t
^
h the head of Grand Lake by a
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador: Grand Lake
channel only a few rods long. Beyond this small lake, the two streams occupy [: ] well-developed valleys on opposite sides of a mountain ridge, which ends a mile and a half northwest of Grand Lake. It was up the Susan River that the ill-fated Leonidas Hubbard traveled, under the mistaken impression that the stream he followed was the larger Naskaupi.
Grand Lake is drained at its lower end by a short channel which spreads
into a small shallow lake, which in turn is connected with Melville Lake
by what is called the Northwest River, only 300 yards long. Northwest
River enters Melville Lake a short distance east of the mouth of Goose
Bay, at the western end of the lake. Northwest settlement, the largest in
the area, is at the outlet of Northwest River. It consists of trading posts,
and the homes of traders, trappers, Indians, and others; and a 5-bed hospital
is operated there by the International Grenfell Association.
Reference:
<bibl>
Kindle, E. M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District, Labrador
Peninsula
. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No.141; 1924.
</bibl>Labrador: Hamilton Inlet
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: HAMILTON INLET
Hamilton Inlet is a funnel-shaped indentation on the lower Labrador
coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of the Strait of Belle Isle. It
is about 40 miles deep and, from headland to headland, the distance is
about 35 miles. The inlet contains a number of rocky islands and a fringe
of islands also extends along the coast. The shores are high and rocky, with
precipitous cliffs in some places. Depth of water varies from 20 to 50 fathoms,
which is approximately the depth over the continental shelf, to the east.
Hamilton Inlet is connected with Melville Lake, extending westward for
125 miles and about 24 miles at its widest, by a channel 12 miles long with
an average width of about a mile. Melville Lake has a maximum depth of 160
fathoms, and differs physiographically from Hamilton Inlet. The former, in
pre-glacial times, was evidently part of the Hamilton River channel, which
seems to have reached the sea through The Backway (q.v.), which has a present–
depth of 80 fathoms.
The shores along the outer part of Hamilton Inlet are devoid of trees,
and the vegetation is distinctly of the subarctic type, but 15 miles west of
the line of coast the shores of the mainland and the islands begin to show
patches of dwarfed black spruce, appearing in the distance as dark green
blotches against the lighter green of the moss-covered hillsides. Toward
the head of the inlet, the stunted spruce give way to much larger trees,
and at its head, the country round about is well covered with trees, still
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton Inlet
however, much smaller than those to be seen farther inland.
The principal factor is keeping the eastern portion of the inlet destitute
of trees is undoubtedly the presence of floating ice, which persists in the
outer parts of the inlet until the latter part of July; whereas, in midsummer,
ice is seldom seen toward the head of the inlet. The rapid transition in the
summer climate as between the coastal region and a short distance inland has
been described by one observer as "like passing from winter to summer."
For the above reasons, and also because raw materials and power sources
are nearer, such industrial development as
[:
]
may in future be undertaken
in the region of Hamilton Inlet is likely to be located farther west, probably
in the vicinity of Goose Bay, at the head of Melville Lake, where the Goose
Airport has already been established.
Reference:
<bibl>
Kindle, E.M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District, Labrador
Peninsula.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No.141; 1924.
</bibl>Labrador: Hamilton River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR : HAMILTON RIVER
Hamilton River, in the Labrador portion of the Province of Newfoundland,
Canada, is, next to the St. Lawrence, the largest river system on the Atlantic
coast of North America. To the head of its longest tributary, its length is
about 600 miles; it drains an area of 29,900 square miles, extending from
latitude 52° N. to 54° N., and over seven degrees of longitude. It is formed
by the junction of two large tributaries, the Attikonak and the Ashuanipi,
which come together in Sandgirt Lake, below which the river is called the
Hamilton. These two main tributaries rise in the relatively high tableland
which constitutes the height of land separating the Hudson Bay and Atlantic
watersheds, on the one hand and the Arctic and St. Lawrence watersheds, on
the other. They meander across the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield
in shallow channels, widening frequently into lake-expansions and receiving
innumerable branches draining long strings of lakes of all sizes and shapes.
The upper portion of Hamilton River also flows through the same sort of
territory, generally in several roughly parallel channels. This portion of
the river is obviously post-glacial. Below Grand Falls, 72 miles from Sandgirt
Lake, the river resumes its ancient channel, which is from 500 to 900 feet
below the level of the surrounding plateau. In the transition from the higher
to the lower level, the river descends 1,038 feet in a distance of 16 miles,
in one place making a sheer drop of 245 feet. It is estimated that in this
stretch a total of 4,750,000 horsepower of hydroelectric energy can be developed.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Hamilton River
Hamilton River empties into Melville Lake, 125 miles long, which in turn discharges into Hamilton Inlet, the largest indentation on the Labrador coast, about 40 miles deep and about 35 miles from headland to headland. Melville Lake is tidal, and, except when the tide flows inward, a current exists between Melville Lake and Hamilton Inlet, and its water is neither salt nor fresh.
Hamilton River flows out of Sandgirt Lake (q.v.) by several outlets,
the two principal ones continuing as separate channels for 15 miles, when
they unite in Flour Lake. The southern channel is considered the principal
one, and it also leaves the lake in two channels which remain separate for
10 miles. The principal branch of the southern channel leaves Sandgirt
Lake from the head of a deep bay at its southeastern angle. It varies
in width from 100 yards to over a mile, and is broken by numerous islands.
The current, however, is ve
^
r
^
y strong, and in the 15 miles between Sandgirt
and Flour Lakes is interrupted by seven short, heavy rapids, usually where
the stream is contracted by the presence of islands. At these places the
river-bed consists of large, rounded boulders. The northern channel is
somewhat smaller in volume than the southern or principal channel. It is
also filled with islands and frequently spreads into lake-expansions, the
largest of which is called Lobstick Lake, five miles below Sandgirt Lake.
Flour Lake is 10 miles long, and about two miles wide, but it has long
bays extending from it on both sides, and is so filled with rocky islands
that its shores are hard to determine by merely passing up or down the
main channel.
The surrounding country in this stretch is low and rolling, with long
ridges of glacial drift, which lie, in conformity with the strike of the
rock, in a general northwest-southeast direction.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Hamilton River
Hamilton River is wide where it leaves Flour Lake, its channel broken
by numerous islands, but it soon contracts to a width of about half a mile,
flowing with a swift current, which is interrupted by two shallow rapids
filled with large boulders. The banks here are generally low, composed of
glacial drift, of which the islands also consist. The distance is about
eight miles from Flour Lake to Jacopie Lake, which is about seven miles
long and about two miles wide, with two deep bays on each side. It is
surrounded by low, rounded, rocky hills, and, on the east side, a chain of
low islands almost masks the mouths of the bays. A heavy rapid called
Louis Rapids occurs at the entrance to Jacopie Lake, and another at its
outlet, which is at its southeastern angle.
The river now enters a wide lake-expansion about a mile in width and
about three miles long, which is filled with spruce and tamarack covered
islands, at the outlet of which the stream flows for a mile with a strong
current, broken by heavy rapids. Beyond this point, it turns to the south–
east and contracts to half its width, rushing along for three miles over a
channel filled with boulders. In this stretch the river gradually narrows,
decreasing to about 160 yards in width, and flowing through a gorge cut into
the solid rock, which at its lower end is more than 100 feet below the
general level of the country.
Dr.
^
A.
^
P. Low, who explored the river in 1894, gives this account of the
Grand Falls:
"The last 300 yards are down a very steep grade, where the confined
waters rush in a swirling mass, thrown into enormous, long surging waves,
at least twenty feet from crest to hollow, the deafening noise of which completely
drowns the heavy boom of the great falls immediately below. After a final
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
great wave, the pent up mass of water is shot down a very steep incline of rock for 100 feet, where [: ] breaks into a mass of foam, and plunges into a part of the fall being [: ] sufficient to carry it well out from the perpendicular wall of rock at the bottom."
This fall was measured in 1947 by G. H. Desbarats, in charge of a
survey of the Hamilton's power possibilities for the government of Newfoundland,
and he established it as 245 feet from the crest to the basin below. This
basin, nearly circular, and about 200 yards in diameter, is surrounded on all
sides by nearly perpendicular rocky walls 400 feet in height, except at the
points where the river hurls itself over the cliff, and at its outlet, which
is a narrow canyon at right-angles to the falls.
Now begins what is known as the Bowdoin Canyon, a stretch of 12 miles
by the river, but not much more than one-third of that distance in a direct
line. The channel zigzags between southwest and east, following the direction
of two sets of fractures, or cleavage planes, in the rocks. In its course
through the canyon, the river drops 574 feet. The walls are not more than
100 yards apart, narrowing in places to little more than 100 feet. Although
the general slope of the surrounding country is toward the east, the grade
of the river is much greater, with the result that walls about 400 feet in
height at the head of the canyon increase to 900 feet above the surface of
the water at its foot.
Below the canyon, the river continues for about 45 miles with a swift
current, which, for the first 12 miles below the mouth of the canyon, is
almost a continuous rapid, on a generally southeasterly course. In this
stretch it varies in width from 50 to 100 yards, and the banks are precipitous,
although in some places the channel expands to about 400 yards. It contracts
again, however, about half a mile above where the Metchin River comes in from
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
from the north.
Continuing its southeasterly course for about seven miles past the
mouth of Metchin River, Hamilton River enters the head of Lake Winokapau,
which is about 35 miles long, and, in the first 20 miles is from one and a
half to two miles wide, and in the lower 15 miles, not more than a mile
wide at any point. The lake has high hills on both sides, and is very deep.
Dr. Low made a sounding about 15 miles from its lower end and got a depth
of 427 feet. This lake seems to occupy the pre-glacial bed of the river,
which, however, was gouged to a greater depth by the glaciers.
At the outlet of Lake Winokapau, the river banks are almost 800 feet
higher than the level of the lake, and the river flows in a narrow channel
with a rapid current for six miles in which the direction is almost due south.
The channel here is from 100 to 300 yards wide, and this entire stretch is
occupied by the Muni Rapids, which culminate in what is called Devil's Hole.
Below this point, the river swings to the southeastward again as far as the
junction of Cache River, coming in from the northeast, and then bends south
again, widening in places to two miles where the current is very slack, and
contracting again to less than 300 yards. Rapids occur above where the
Minipi River flows in from the south, with rapids below. For the next 10
miles, the Hamilton River flows due north in a narrow channel, broken by
rapids. At the end of this stretch, it takes a sharp turn to the east, where
a heavy rapid called the Horseshoe occurs. From the bend, the river runs
slightly south of east for five miles into Gull Lake, passing over Gull Island
Rapids.
Gull Lake is six miles long, but Low says the name is a misnomer, since
a perceptible current is present; the name, however, has stuck. Whether river
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
or lake-expansion, Gull Lake is never more than a mile wide. At its head, the river's course changes to the northeast, which it holds in a general way until it reaches Muskrat Falls.
Immediately below Gull Lake, the river breaks over Porcupine Rapids,
extending for about three miles. The channel here is deep and about 300
yards wide, gradually widening to about a mile, where a large island divides
it into two channels. Below this it opens into what is called Sandy Island
Lake, where the expansion is caused by a sandy shoal which extends across the
river, forcing it to cut a deep bay on the south side into a bank of white
sand, which rises in a vertical wall to a height of about 100 feet. Below
Sandy Island Lake, a rapid about two miles long occurs, called Toms Rapid.
The river is now about a quarter of a mile wide. Following this, the river
narrows to less than one-third of a mile for a distance of about three miles.
A narrow island obstructs its course in the upper part of this stretch, at
the end of which is Flates Rapids, just above the entrance to Sandy Lake,
15 miles long. At the outlet of this la
[:
]
e, the river contracts to about
100 yards and, at Muskrat Falls, pours down a rocky chute with a drop of
about 25 feet; then it rushes along a rocky canyon for another 400 yards, and
plunges into a circular basin for a further drop of 25 feet, the total descent
being about 70 feet. The basin into which the river falls is about two miles
across. As the river leaves the basin at the foot of Muskrat Falls, it is
not more than one-third of a mile in width, and for about a mile is obstructed
by a long, narrow island, below which it divides again about Muskrat Island,
a mile and a half in length, and then widens to abouta mile. Twelve miles
below Muskrat Island, a small stream called Caroline Brook comes in from the
south, and three miles and a half below this Traverspine River comes in, also
from the south.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
The western extension of the Mealy Mountains, visible for some time
from the river, now approaches and forms the southern wall of the valley.
The river's north bank consists of a long, low point of sand and gravel,
forming also the south shore of Goose Bay, which is an extension of Lake
Melville.
A short channel, on the south side, drains Mud Lake, a shallow body of
water about two miles long, separated from the river by two low islands,
which extends to the foot of the Mealy Mountains.
Hamilton River is three-quarters of a mile wide as it flows into the
western end of Melville Lake, but a
[:
]
few miles above its width is about
a mile and a half. Its lower reaches are filled with sand bars, but the
river is navigable for boats of considerable draft as far as Muskrat Falls.
Near the lake, the river banks are low, barely rising above highwater level,
but they rise by successive terraces until they are about 100 feet high,
15 miles from the lake.
Probably the first person other than an Indian to see the upper
Hamilton River was John McLean, of the Hudson's Bay Company, who first saw
it in 1839. Then in charge of Fort Chimo, on Ungava Bay, he crossed over–
land to the headwaters of the Hamilton and descended it as far as Grand Falls.
Unable to discover the portage route past the falls and canyon, he turned back;
but the following year was successful in reaching Hamilton Inlet, and the
trip was repeated in each of the two following years. An account of these
trips is given in his book,
Twenty-five Years in the Hudson's Bay Territory.
Missionaries and fur traders occasionally traversed the stream in the
intervening years, but generally the region remained largely a
terra incognita
until 1891, when two different American expeditions visited the river within
a few days of each other. Austin Carey and D. M. Cole had the mi
[:
]
fortune
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
to lose their boat and outfit by fire when within a short distance of Grand Falls, and were forced to walk the 250 miles to the coast. At the same time, Henry G. Bryant and C. A. Kenaston were on their way up the river, but the two parties did not meet.
In 1893, Dr. A. P. Low and party, of the Geological Survey of Canada,
spent the early part of the winter at the head of Melville Lake, and
between January 19, 1894, and the middle of May they hauled their canoes
and provisions up the Hamilton River by sled as far as the Grand Falls.
During the summer, the upper river and its two main tributaries were
explored, after which they descended the Romaine River to within 100 miles
of the St. Lawrence, crossed to the St. John River, and thence to the
St. Lawrence. This was the first thorough exploration of Hamilton River,
and the last of its kind until aircraft made aerial exploration possible.
In 1947, the Newfoundland government commissioned G. H. Desbarats
to make a survey of the power possibilities of the river, which he did in
that and the following year. His party had the benefit of aircraft to
transport men and supplies the longer distances, but canoes were also
extensively used. Low's estimate of 302 feet for the sheer drop at Grand
Falls was found to be too high, and is given as 245 by Desbarats; but, on
the other hand, the total descent from the lake-expansion above the falls
to the mouth of Bowdoin Canyon was found to be 1,038 feet, instea
[:
]
of the
760 estimated by Low, which greatly increases the power potential.
This region has also been surveyed in recent years by subsidiaries
of Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines, in connection with the concessions
granted to them by the Newfoundland and Quebec governments. Extensive
aerial surveys of Labrador and northern Quebec have been made by these
companies, but details are not yet available.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Hamilton River
Consequently, this part of Labrador, until recently so little known, is
likely to become of great importance in the future industrial development
of Canada. According to Desbarats' estimates, the Hamilton River is capable
of developing 7,000,000 horsepower of hydro-electric energy, which is three–
fifths of the present installations in Canada. Grand Falls
[:
]
^
is
^
about 115
miles from the iron-ore deposits now being developed by the Hollinger interests,
with a possibility of other deposits being
[:
]
opened up even nearer. From
the falls to tidewater on Melville Lake, the distance is about 160 miles.
Hamilton Inlet and Melville Lake constitute the easternmost harbor in Canada.
Muskrat Falls, only 25 miles from the head of Melville Lake (18 miles in
a direct line), is capable of producing 1,000,000 horsepower. Mr. Desbarats
estimates that pulpwood is available in the lower Hamilton area to accomo–
date at least two large pulp and paper mills, all of which suggests that
the development within a short while of an extensive industrial community
somewhere in that vicinity is more than likely.
During World War II, the Canadian Government built a large airport at
Goose Bay, which was used to ferry aircraft and other supplies across the
Atlantic by way of Greenland and Iceland. Since the war, the airport has
been continued as an alternative to Gander Airport on the island of New–
foundland, which is much more subject to fog than is Goose Airport.
References:
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the East
Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan, and Portions of Other Rivers
in 1892-93-94-95.
Geological Survey of Canada Annual Report,
Vol. VIII, pp. lL - 387L, 1895.
Desbarats, G.E.
Surveying on the Hamilton River, Labrador;
Canadian Geographical
[:
]
Journal, Vol. XXXVII, No. 5 (Nov. 1948).
Labrador: Melville Lake
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: MELVILLE LAKE
Melville Lake, Labrador portion of the Province of Newfoundland,
Canada, is a tidal lake, 125 miles long and 24 miles at its widest. It
is connected with Hamilton Inlet (q.v.) by a channel 12 miles long and
about a mile wide. Lake Melville appears to be a remnant of the sunken
valley of Hamilton River; but since its depth is 960 feet, and the depth
of the sea over the continental shelf beyond the mouth of Hamilton Inlet
does not exceed 20 to 50 fathoms, which is about the depth of Hamilton
Inlet itself, it would appear that the ancient valley has since been deeply
eroded by glacial action. In the early British Admiralty maps, Melville
Lake is shown as part of Hamilton Inlet, but the two bodies of water have
since been given separate names and are no longer considered as part of the
same geographic feature.
Melville Lake, with its great depth and its mountain scarp on the south
side, rising to an elevation of 2,000 feet, might be considered an inlet
of the fjord type, especially since, like a fjord, it becomes considerably
wider and deeper inside than at its entrance; but Dr. E. M. Kindle, who
surveyed the region for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1921, decides
against that designation because of the accepted definition that "no great
river flows into a fjord, for the main drainage of the land is away from the
fjord coast"; and Melville Lake is the outlet of Hamilton River, the largest
river in Labrador, and several other large streams, and the drainage of the
EA-Geog. LeBroudais: Labrador - Melville Lake
region is all toward the coast. The most exact definition would therefore seem to be that Melville Lake is an expansion of Hamilton River.
Although Melville Lake is tidal, a current passes through the Narrows
from the lake to Hamilton Inlet, except when the tide is flowing inward;
and its water is not entirely salt.
Goose Bay, 20 miles deep and about nine miles wide, is at the northwestern
angle of the lake, near the mouth of Hamilton River, and separated from the
latter by a long tongue of sand and gravel. Goose Airport is near the head
of Goose Bay, a short distance back from the shore of the bay.
In addition to Hamilton River, Hamilton Lake receives Goose River, flowing
into the head of Goose Bay; Northwest River, which is the name now used to
denote the short stream draining Grand Lake into Melville Lake (the Naskaupi,
Susan, and Beaver rivers flow into Grand Lake); and, farther east, on the
north side the two principal streams discharging into Melville Lake are the
Sebaskachu and the Mulligan; on the south side, the Kenamu, Kenemich and
English are the principal streams flowing into the lake.
The lowlands and the slopes of hills bordering Melville Lake and the
other large bodies of water which drain into The Narrows or Melville Lake,
such as The Backway, Double Mer, and Grand Lake, are more or less heavily
timbered. The principal trees in the approximate order of their abundance
are: black spruce, white or canoe birch, tamarack, balsam fir, white spruce,
balsam poplar, yellow birch, and aspen poplar. Much of the spruce, both white
and black, and the balsam fir is large
[:
]
nough in many places for lumber.
According to Kindle, black spruce in this district "probably reaches a greater
average size than in Nova Scotia," and he mentions one measured on Kenemich
River which was 9 feet 10 inches in circumference and appeared to be 100 feet
high. The largest trees are found in the river valleys, those on the higher
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Melville Lake
ground are smaller and best suited for pulwood. G. H. Desbarats, who made a survey of the Hamilton River region in 1947-48, estimates that a suffi– cient quantity of such timber is available in the vicinity of Melville Lake to support at least two large pulp and [: ] paper mills.
Electrical power, which can be generated at Muskrat Falls, on Hamilton
River, about 18 miles in an air line from the head of Melville Lake; and
immediate access to the sea, are advantage
ages
^
s
^
which render this region an
obv
ious center for future industrial development. Sufficient hydrographic
and meteorological information is not yet available to determine the length
of the navigation season, which would probably be governed by a variety of
factors.
References:
Kindle, E. M.
Geography and Geology of Lake Melville District, Labrador
Peninsula
. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No.141;
1924.
Desba
[:
]
ats, G.H.
Surveying on the Hamilton River, Labrador:
Canadian
Geographical Journal, Vol. XXXVII, No.5 (Nov. 1948).
Labrador: Lake Michikamau
EA-Geography Lake (D. M. LeBourdais)
LABRADOR: LAKE MICHIKAMAU
Lake Michikamau, in western Labrador, Province of Newfoundland, Canada,
is the largest lake in Labrador. Triangular in shape, its longest axis
extends northwest and southeast, with its base at the southeast. The 54th
parallel of north latitude cuts about midway through it, and the 64th meridian
of west longitude bisects it the other way. Its greatest length is about
80 miles, and its greatest width is about 25 miles. The mainpart of the lake
is about 60 miles long, with a narrow bay extending for about 25 miles from
its southeast corner. Its widest part is in its southern third, where islands
are numerous beyond the shore line; in the northern part of the middle section,
a long point and a line of large, high islands extend far out from the north–
west side, contracting the width to six miles. Beyond this, to the northwest
end, the average width is eight miles. The shore line is irregular, especially
on the west side, and small ridges of drift form points behind which long,
narrow bays run off. The lake receives a number of small streams on all sides,
but none of any great size.
The north shore is low and sandy, with shallow water extending far out.
Boulders of red granite are scattered about the shore and in the water, and
in some places are ranged in rows along the shore, having been pushed into
position by the expansion of ice in spring. A small river enters the north
end, the discharge from Little Michikamau Lake, 25 miles long, which occupies
a continuation of the valley occupied by Lake Michikamau, from which it is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Lake Michikamau
separated by a long, narrow interval of drift. A ridge of drift-covered granite about 300 feet high, on the west side, extends northwest far beyond the north end of the lake.
The east shore, for the first 20 miles from the north end, is also
low, with bouldery points and reefs. A sharp, rocky ridge, 300 feet high,
runs parallel to the shore, and about six miles distant. The interval
between it and the lake is occupied by small lakes and swamps lying between
low ridges of drift; and from there to the outlet, or for the next 30 miles,
the shore is high and rocky, with deep water close in, and only a few small
rocky islands along shore. Ten miles from the southeastern end of the main
part of the lake, the Naskaupi River, the main discharge of the lake, flows
out to the southeastward. The Naskaupi flows into Grand La
^
k
^
e (q.v.), which
is drained into Lake Melville by Northwest River. From the discharge
to the southeastern end of the main body of the lake, the shore is again
low and sandy, with boulder-covered points and swampy land behind. A deep,
narrow bay extends for about 25 miles farther to the southeast from this
corner.
The south end of the lake is very irregular and rocky; the water is
shallow and dotted with many small granite islands. The country behind is
broken by several ridges from 200 to 300 feet high. Another deep bay, into
which flow two small streams, extends from the south shore.
The country along the west side is broken by low ridges, with a wide
interval of swampy land along the shore. The coast line is indented by
deep bays, between wide, swampy points, fringed with boulders. For almost
the full length of the lake, a wide fringe of islands composed of sandy
drift that rise only a few feet above the water, follows the shore.
Lake Michikamau occupies a deep basin that is evidently very ancient
^
,
^
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Labrador - Lake Michikamau
surrounded by rounded, Pre-Cambrian hills rising from 200 to 500 feet above the level of the lake. The hills are wooded for only about 200 feet above the water, their tops being covered with white lichens and small arctic shrubs. The outer islands and exposed points are treeless, and the trees growing on the more protected islands and shores are small black spruce and tamarack, with only an occasional clump of white birch on the lower slopes of the hills. The country behind is quite rough, rising in irregular hills from 50 to 250 feet high.
The water in the lake is very clear and cold, and the lake abounds with
fish of which the principal species are, lake and brook trout, land-locked
salmon, whitefish and pike.
Reference:
<bibl>
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the Eastmain
,
Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan and Portions of Other Rivers in
1892-93-94-95.
Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report,
Vol.VIII, pp.lL-387L; 1895.
</bibl>Lake Laberge
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LAKE LABERGE
Lake Laberge, 20 miles north of Whitehorse, is really an expansion
of the Lewes River, although its size entitles it to be classed as a lake
in its own right. It is slightly more than 30 miles long, and varies from
a mile and a half to five miles wide, lying in an approximately north-and-
south direction. It was named after Michael Labarge, an officer of the
Collins Overland Telegraph Company (q.v.), but is probably best known to the
general public as the scene of Robert W. Service's
The Cremation of Sam McGee
.
The lake, which lies at an elevation above sea level of 2,050 feet, is
horded nearly everywhere by hills or mountainous country, thez hills along
its lower part, on the east side, rising abruptly 300 to 1,000 feet above the
water, with white limestone summits. Farther up the lake, the mountains attain
a height of 2,000 feet, but are not so striking in appearance as those lower
down. On the west side, the hills gradually back from the shore to a height
of about 2,000 feet and are wooded to their summits, but are not so noticeable
as those on the opposite side. In the distance, to the back of them, is the
Miners Range of mountains, so named by Dr. George M.
[:
K
]
^
D
^
awson of the Geological
Survey of Canada, in 1887.
Ogilvie Valley, running northwesterly from the lower end of the lake, was
evidently once the outlet by which the river emerged, although its drainage is
now toward the lake. The river, on the other hand, seems to have broken through
a range of hills to the northeast. Richthofen Valley, which joins the Lake
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lake Laberge
Laberge depression near its upper end, just opposite the island of the same name, likewise bears off to the northwest. It contains Richthofen Lake, about 10 miles long, which is drained into Lake Laberge by Richthofen Creek.Leaf River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LEAF RIVER
Leaf River, 295 miles long, in the northern part of Ungava Peninsula,
in that portion of the Canadian province of Quebec now called New Quebec,
flows in a
^
^
northeasterly direction from its source near the east coast of
Hudson Bay to its mouth in the southwestern angle of Ungava Bay. Like most
of the rivers that drain the peninsula, its drainage basin is long and narrow,
because it is hemmed in on both sides by parallel streams. On the south,
the Stillwater River limits its drainage basin, the northern limits of which
still remain unknown owing to the fact that the region to the north, between
the Leaf and Payne rivers, has not yet been sufficiently explored to deter–
mine its extent in that direction.
Leaf River has its source in Minto Lake, 485 square miles in area, the
southern shore of which touches latitude 57° N., and which lies between
longitude 74° 35′ and 76° 25′ W. The main part of the lake is about 60 miles
long by about 15 at its greatest width, its axis lying almost due east and
west; joined on the north by a narrow opening, two long, parallel arms extend
in the same general direction as the main portion of the lake. The northern–
most of these continues northeastward for over 50 miles, more like a wide stretch
of river
g
^
t
^
han a lake; but since it is presumed to be without current it is
taken to be part of the lake. A series of rapids marks the beginning of the
river, which, at this point, has a width of about
5
400 feet and an average
depth of 10 feet. For some distance below the lake, it flows th
^
r
^
oough a region
of small rounded hills, with little clumps of dwarf trees here and the
^
r
^
e in
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Leaf River
sheltered valleys. For the first 20 miles the stream is a succession of lake-expansions. Following this section, the river enters a region of granite hills 500 feet in height, flanking each side of a gravel plain about 1,000 feet in width, down which the river meanders. Unlike most of the other rivers in the Ungava Peninsula, Leaf River does not tumble over any falls; but in one section continuous rapids occur for about nine miles. About 70 miles from the coast, terraces along the granite valley walls, about 200 feet above the water, make their appearance, increasing to a maximum height of 250 feet near the river's mouth. In its final 50 miles, the river averages 1,500 feet in width, still bordered by granite hills from 400 to 500 feet high. Leaf River empties into rock-walled Leaf Gulf, or Leaf Lake, an arm of Ungava Bay with its longest dimension of 40 miles parallel to the Bay. It is separated from the latter by a narrow strip of rock, across which a narrow gap, not unlike that at Richmond Gulf, on the opposite side of the peninsula, communicates with the bay.
Leaf River traverses an area that has been very little explored. In
March and April of 1912, Robert J. Flaherty made a traverse with dog teams
from Hudson Bay to its headwaters, thence downstream to its mouth. From his
chart and written account most of the above information has been secured.
According to Flaherty, the Eskimos were wont to hunt fresh-water seals in
Minto Lake, and both lake and river are abundantly stocked with Atlantic salmon,
arctic salmon, and whitefish.
Reference:
<bibl>
Flaherty, Robert J.
Two Traverses Across Ungava Peninsula, Labrador;
Geographical Revies, Vol. VI, No. 2 (August 1918).
</bibl>Lewes River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LEWES RIVER
The Lewes River, southernmost tributary of the Yukon, in Yukon
Territory, Canada, rises on the eastern flank of the Coast Range in
latitude 59° 50′ N., longitude, 135° 08′ W., although some of its branches
head still farther south. It flows in a generally northwesterly direction,
through several considerable expansions into the lakes, and, after a course
of 338° miles, joins the Pelly in latitude 62° 48′ N., and longitude 137° 25′
W. The Lewes proper heads in a small stream rising
i
^
o
^
n the eastern side of
the divide which separates Canadian from American territory. It was the
principal route of the stampeders to the Klondike in 1898 and subsequent
years, and its valley provides the route for the White Pass & Yukon Railway,
from Skagway, Alaska, 111 miles, to Whitehorse, Y. T. Except for the inter–
ruption caused by Miles Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on and the Whitehorse Rapids, comprising a dis–
tance of three-and-a-half miles, it is navigable for boats or scows from
Lake Lindeman, and for river steamers from Lake Bennett to its mouth. Until
the completion of the railway in 1900, the part played by the Lewes River in
supplying the transportation needs of Yukon Territory was a considerable one,
a role it has continued to play below Whitehorse, although the airplane has
since reduced the importance of steamboat transportation. Of the two rivers,
the Pelly and the Lewes, which combine to make up the Yukon proper, the Lewes
is considerably the larger, having an estimated discharge at its mouth of
of 37,672 cubic feet per second under conditions of normal flow, although
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
its volume does not fluctuate as greatly as that of many of the other Yukon tributaries. This is because of the presence in its course of the lake– expansions referred to, which serve to hold the water during freshet periods. These lakes, however, also have the effect of delaying the opening of navi– gation on the river in spring until about three weeks after the Yukon and other streams farther north are free of ice.
The Lewes River drainage area consists of about 35,000 square miles,
part of which is in British Columbia and the rest in Yukon Territory. It
is a relatively narrow strip, hemmed by the Coast Range on the west and by
the drainage basin of its companion river, the Pelly, on the east. It extends,
north and south, across four degrees of latitude, from 59° N., to 62° 48′ N.,
and at its widest comprises six-and-a-half degrees of longitude, from 130° 30′
W. to 137° W. It is mainly a mountainous region, with the highest mountains
on its western flank, the foothills of the St. Elias Range. On the south,
its
[:
]
sources are in the northern outliers of the Cassiar Range, whose
highest peaks are much lower than even the foothills of the Coast Range.
On the east, its sources are in the Simpson Mountains, a local chain lying
between the headwaters of the Lewes and the Pelly, probably a continuation
of the granitic bath
^
o
^
lith which, farther south, gives rise to the Cassiar
Mountains.
The Lewes drainage basin contains practically all the lakes of any
importance in the Yukon watershed. Kluane Lake is an exception, since it
is drained by White River, but the latter reaches the Yukon only 90 miles
below the mouth of the Lewes. Of these lakes, Lindeman, Bennett, Tagish,
Marsh and Laberge may be termed river-expansions, while Teslin and Atlin,
occupying parallel valleys farther to the east, are drained, too, by the Lewes.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
The whole of the Lewes drainage basin is in excess of 1,555 feet above sea level, the elevation at the mouth of the Lewes. It follows generally the line of contact between the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Coast Range and the Paleozoic rocks of the Interior of Yukon Plateau, which has been produc– tive of most of the mineral wealth so far found in the region, and which holds most promise for the future. In addition to gold, silver, copper and coal indications are promising.
The Lewes is commonly said to have its rise in Lake Lindeman, which
is fed by streams flowing into it from the northeastern slopes of the
mountains of the Coast Range, beyond the crest of which Pacific tidewater
lies only a few miles away, although other tributaries originate farther
from its mouth. Lindeman is a narrow mountain lake about five miles long
having an average width of about half a mile, at an elevation of 2,170 feet
above sea level. A small, rocky, rapid stream three-quarters of a mile
long leads from the foot of Lake Lindeman to Lake Bennett, where, in Klondike
days, most of the boats and rafts were built for the descent of the river to
the goldfields. Lake Bennett is 25.8 miles long, lying almost north and
south between high mountains. Toward its lower end an arm projects to the
westward, and another arm, 2.7 miles long, which goes under the name of Lake
Nares, connects Bennett with Tagish Lake on the east. Tagish Lake occupies
a series of narrow valleys, between mountains, lying in a general northwesterly
direction, but with many ramifying arms. Only its lower sixteen miles are
included in the Lewes waterway system. Beyond the outlet of Tagish Lake the
Lewes first appears as a river for five miles, although in places with a
barely perceptible current.
[:
]
It then widens into Lake Marsh, 20 miles long and about two miles wide, curving
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
slightly to the northwestward and occupying a broad, well-marked valley. Near the lower end of this lake, the McClintock River en d ^ t ^ ers from the north; and a short distance beyond, the Lewes River flows down a continuation of the same wide valley. This wide, well-marked valley continues in a north– westerly direction most of the 23 miles to Miles Ca n ^ ñ ^ on, where a local basaltic intrusion crosses, through which the river has been forced to cut a path for itself. This results in the only serious obstruction to navigation on the whole Yukon system. The river here contracts to about 100 feet in width, rushing between vertical walls from 50 to 100 feet in height. Miles Ca n ^ ñ ^ on, hetfirst part of the obstacles, is about five eights of a mile long, uninter– rupted by rocks or other obstacles. The water, however, pours through [: ] with such force that upstream navigation is practically impossible, although scows and rafts have often gone through safely on the way down. Midway of the canon, the stream expands and seems to gather its forces for the next dash through the confining basalt. Then comes about two miles of very swift and rough water before the Whitehorse Rapids are reached. Here, while the river is not so constricted as in Miles Ca n ^ ñ ^ on, the current is as swift and the bed of the river is strewn with huge granite boulders, thus rendering navigation perilous in the extreme. Despite this the Whitehorse Rapids, where the worst part extends for about three-eights of a mile, were frequently run in the days of the gold rush, when time was one of the most important factors in the lives of the eager goldseekers or those who catered to their needs.
The town of Whitehorse is on the left bank of the river about a mile
below the foot of the rapids, and is now the effectual head of navigation on
the Yukon system. During the summer months, steamboats ply regularly between
Whitehorse and Dawson, 460 miles below. Whitehorse was an important center in
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
years of World War II, during construction of the Alaska Highway and the Canol Project. With the end of the war, however, it reverted to its former status of a town of but 500 people, although with several airplane services, the Alaska Highway, the White Pass & Yukon Railway and the Yukon River steamers all making it a principal point of call, its importance far out– strips what its relatively small population might suggest.
The river, from Whitehorse to Lake Laberge, although curving slightly to
the west, flows almost directly northward; about half way, it takes in the
Takhini, coming from the southwest and draining the large and beautiful
Lake Kusawa. Lake Laberge, 31 miles long and with a maximum width of five
miles, is an expansion of the river, occupying a broad valley which, under
the name of Ogilvie Valley, bears off to the northwestward beyond the lake's
lower end. The Lewes, however, does not occupy this valley, which would seem
to provide its logical channel, but cuts a narrow gash to the northeastward,
and after flowing on this course for twenty miles, swings sharply to the east
and southeast, continuing thus for seven miles to the mouth of the Teslin
River. In this stretch it is a swift stream about 200 yards wide, running in
places at the rate of six miles an hour. The Teslin River, a considerable
stream, comes in at an acute angle from the southeast, after a course from
Teslin Lake closely paralleling the Lewes. Hootalinqua is at the mouth of
the Teslin River.
From this point for a further 30 miles to the
^
^
mouth of the Big Salmon,
which enters from the southeast, the river follows a generally northerly
course, with many sinuosities. Below the Big Salmon, the Lewes turns sharply
on a course slightly north of west and continues so for 34 miles to the mouth
of the Little Salmon, coming in from the northeast. Forty miles below on the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
opposite side, the Nordenskiöld enters from almost due south. In its course from the lower end of Lake Laberge, to the mouth of of the Nordenskiöld, the Lewes describes a giant bow inclining to the eastward, and the latter repre– sents the string to the bow. In order to provide the easiest and most direct route, the road from Dawson to Whitehorse leaves the Lewes Valley at this point and turns up the Nordenskiöld. From the head of the latter, it crosses to a branch of the Takhini, which takes it back to the Lewes a few miles below Whitehorse.
Below the Little Salmon, the river widens considerably and the current
slackens, but before the mouth of the Nordenskiöld is reached it becomes
much more tortuous and the current quickens. Tantalus Butte, a well-known
landmark, is passed at this point where the river also repeatedly twists
back upon itself in its course. Here, extensive deposits of high-grade
bituminous coal have been discovered which have been mined for half a century.
Just below the Nordenskiöld, the river swings sharply to the north, running
in that direction for about 15 miles, to Five Fingers Rapids, where a con–
glomerate dike crossing the course of the stream has been so cut by the river
as to leave isolated pinnacles of rock standing like the piers of an abandoned
bridge. They do not, however, offer any serious impediment to transportation
but provide an added feature of interest for the traveler; in summer this
stretch of the river is widely visite
[:
]
by tourists who make the regular trip
from Skagway to Dawson and return. Five miles below the Five Fingers Rapids,
is Yukon Crossing, where the winter road from Dawson to Whitehorse crosses from
the right to the left bank of the Lewes.
From the Five Finger Rapids to the confluence with the Pelly is 55 miles,
the river following a nearly straight course in a northwesterly direction.
The current is swift, averaging about four-and-a-half miles an hour. The
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
river here, where not broken by islands, averages about 150 yards in width. In the final five miles, it is thickly studded with islands, which in places increases its width from bank to bank to about a mile. Selkirk, near the confluence of the two rivers, established first in 1848 and abandoned in 1852, was re-established as a community in 1898 and since then has maintained a mission church and two or three trading establishments.
The discovery of the Lewes is due to the efforts of an officer of the
Hudson's Bay Company, Robert Campbell, who was commissioned in 1840 by
Sir George Simpson, Governor of Rupert's Land, to proceed northwestward
from the headwaters of the Liard in the hope of finding a westerly-flowing
river that might become a link in a Northwest Passage. Campbell reached
the headwaters of a stream flowing in the desired direction, which he named
the Pelly, after the governor of his company. He built a fort there which
he called Pelly Banks, and in 1843 descended the Pelly to its confluence
with a somewhat larger stream flowing in from the southeast, which he named
the Lewes, after John Lee Lewes, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Returning to Pelly Banks, he descended the river again five years later and
began the building of a considerable post at the confluence of the two
rivers, which he called Fort Selkirk, later abandoning Pelly Banks and
conducting all trading operations from the new fort. The Indians with
whom the Hudson's Bay Company traded had previously been in the habit of
securing their supplies from other Indians living in the Chilkoot and
Chilkat passes, which divide the headwaters of the Lewes from the Pacific
slope. Consequently a considerable traffic up and down the river existed,
but there is no evidence to show that Campbell ever carried on any explora–
tion above the confluence of the Lewes and Pelly.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
The first white man to reach the Lewes from the coast by way of one of
the passes through the mountains was a prospector named George Holt who,
in 1878, accompanied by Indians, crossed either the Chilkoot of the White
pass and followed the Lewes to the lower end of Lake Marsh, crossing by
trail to the Teslin River, and subsequently returning to the coast by
the same route. Holt's expedition was followed in later years by other
parties of prospectors, few of them proceeding below the Big Salmon,
although, in 1882, one party appears to have reached the mouth of the
Pelly and ascended it for some distance. The Lewes was first surveyed
in 1887, when two different surveys were made. One was by Dr. G. M. Dawson,
of the Geological Survey of Canada, who followed in Campbell's tracks of
47 years before up the Liard and its tributaries and down the Pelly. From
the confluence with the latter, he followed the Lewes River to Lake Lindeman
and from thence proceeded out of the country by way of Lynn Canal. His
account of the river and its lake system is still one of the most complete
that has been published. The same year, William Ogilvie, commissioned by
the Canadian Government to determine the point at which the International
Boundary crosses the Yukon River, ran a line from a fixed point at the head
of Lynn Canal down the full length of the Lewes and on to the boundary.
In 1883, Frederick Schwatka, U.S.A., floated on a raft with his party
from Lake Bennett as far down the Yukon as the mouth of the Tanana, where
they transferred to a native boat for the rest of the journey
f
^
t
^
o the mouth
of the Yukon. His account of the river may still be read with interest.
Lakes Bennett and Marsh, the Nordenskiöld River, and many other points
received their names from him; but his suggested name for the Big Salmon
(D'Abbadie) was fortunately not adopted, although it is a pity that some
other name more appropriate had not been suggested and established him
or someone else.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Lewes River
When the gold fields of the Klondike lured the adventurous from all the
world, the principal route to the diggings was by way of Chilkoot Pass and
the Lewes River. It thus for a time because one of the most actively-traveled
streams to be found anywhere. The White Pass & Yukon Railway, begun in 1898,
and completed in 1900, for most of its distance follows the valley of the
Lewes, and in consequence every foot of it was surveyed and mapped. Below White–
horse, it is, of course, part of the scenic route to Dawson which thousands
of tourists traverse every year. From Tagish, at the head of Lake Marsh, to
Selkirk, at its mouth, the line of the Yukon Telegraph Service, operated by
the Department of Public Works of Canada, closely follows the river, except
for the stretch between the foot of Lake Laberge and Hootalinqua, when it
follows the opposite side.
The future of any part of Yukon Territory is bound up with the general
development of the country. The Yukon is a long distance from the markets
of the world, and any resources which it may have will need to be exceptionally
rich to allow of profitable development. Two assets of the Lewes Valley, how–
ever, stand out as possibilities when the general development of the country
is accomplished; the copper deposits in the vicinity of Whitehorse and the
bituminous coal deposits at Tantalus and other points along the river. These
are already known; but since the river largely follows the line of contact
between the granites of the Coast Range and the Palaeozoic rocks of the
Interior Plateau, the prospects are favorable for a much greater and more
varied type of mining activity when the time comes. One thing that might
be predicted is that its beautiful lakes should some day draw to themselves
pleasure seekers from all over the world.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N. W. T. and
Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia 1887
; Ottawa, 1898.
Schwatka, F.
[:
]
A Summer in Alaska
; New York; 1891.
Ogilvie, W.
Early Days in the Yukon
; Toronto, 1913.
Liard River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LIARD RIVER
The Liard River, in northwestern Canada, 570 miles in length, is one
of the principal tributaries of the Mackenzie. It rises far west of the
Mackenzie Valley in Yukon Territory, not far from Pacific tidewater; and
after traversing a portion of southeastern Yukon, it crosses into British
Columbia at longitude 128° 45′ W., looping down through the northern part
of that province for over 200 miles, and again crossing the line where the
boundary between Yukon and Mackenzie territories meet the British Columbia
boundary (latitude 60° N., longitude 121° 20′ W.).
In its upper reaches, it derives from two sources, the stream which
carries the Liard name, rising not far from the source of the Yukon (Nisutlin
River) in latitude 61° 15′ N. and longitude 131° 20′ W.; and the Frances,
which might perhaps have been considered the main river, source of which
is near the divide leading to the Yukon (Pelly) watershed. Its farthest
source is Finlayson Lake, which is drained by Finlayson River into Frances Lake
and from that lake into Frances River, which flows southward to join the main
branch of the Liard a short distance before it crosses the line into British
Columbia. The Liard receives a number of tributaries in its course, the
Hyland, Coal, Smith, Beaver and South Nahanni being the principal ones flowing
in from the north, while the Rancheria, Dease, Turnagain, Rabbit, Trout, Toad,
Fort Nelson and Petitot are the principal ones from the south. From its sources
to the point where it cuts through the northern escarpment of the main range
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
of the Rocky Mountains, it is a rapid, tortuous stream; beyond that point its current slackens somewhat, but it is never sluggish as it flows through its wide valley across a flat country.
The Liard's drainage basin extends through five degrees of latitude,
from 57° N. almost to 62° N., and its branches interlock with those of the
Yukon, Stikine, Skeena and Peace, while its waters are drawn from both sides
of the Rocky Mountains.
The river is navigable for small, flat-bottomed river steamers as far
as the mouth of the Fort Nelson River; but above that point it is navigable
for craft no larger than cances, and then only if innumerable rapids and
falls are overlooked. In practically no part of its course, especially west
of the eastern portals of the mountains, could progress be made upstream by
paddling, and even poling is difficult, arduous labor.
The Alaska Highway strikes the Liard at the mouth of prout River, cross–
ing there to the north bank, which it follows at greater or less distance
until near Lower Post, at the mouth of the Dease, it re-crosses the river
and proceeds up the Rancheria River on its way to Whitehorse. The Northwest
Staging Route also follows the Liard Valley along the same general course.
Above the mouth of the Frances River, the Liard is narrow and swift,
but after receiving the Frances its volume more than doubles and its valley
expands to about two miles set in a wide rolling plateau some 500 feet above
the level of the stream, rising in places to twice that elevation. The water
in the main stream is turbid, with a yellowish tinge, while that of the
Frances is much more clear; the two refuse to mingle for several miles.
The valley generally is well wooded, the principal trees being spruce, black
pine and poplar; the channel is filled with islands and sandbars; and the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
current is about four miles an hour. From the mouth of the Frances to the mouth of the Dease, a distance of 45 miles, the course is generally southeast.
Thirty-six miles below the mouth of the Frances, the river rushes through
a narrow canyon three miles in length, the lower end of which is approximately
on the boundary between British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Six miles
below, the Dease River comes in from the southwest; its source is within
a few miles of the valley of the Stikine, which flows into the Pacific.
Near the mouth of the Dease, the Liard is 180 yards wide, with a depth
of six feet over about one-third of its width, giving it an estimated volume
of 19,000 cubic feet per second. The Dease contributes about half that
amount in addition. Below the mouth of the latter, the southeasterly course
continues, the river averaging 250 to 400 yards in width, extending in places
to more than half a mile. Many islands and sandbars are still the rule.
Twelve miles below the
^
^
mouth of the Dease, Hyland River, about 75 yards
wide at its mouth, its water clear and sparkling, comes in from the north.
Six miles beyond, the river makes an abrupt turn to the northeast and runs
in that direction for 18 miles, almost touching the boundary again. For the
first 12 miles of this stretch, the river is wide, with many islands; but
it gradually contracts and the banks become steeper, while the current
increases from four-and-a-half
^
miles
^
an hour to seven. This leads to what is
known as the Little Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, about half a mile in length and at its narrowest
not more than 200 feet wide, where at different times in the past a number
of boatmen have been drowned.
Below the Little Ca
n
^
ñ
^
on, the river expands to over half a mile, con–
tinuing so for three miles, after which it again contracts, followed by another
canyon through which the river rushes with great velocity. These variations
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
in the width and velocity of the river are due primarily to changes in the nature of the formations through and over which the river runs; where it cuts through the rock, usually shales and sandstones and occasional beds of limestone, the river contracts, causing rapids or other obstructions. In the intervals, the banks are generally composed of silts, sand and gravel, where the current undercuts the banks and allows the stream to spread over a wider area.
Below the canyon mentioned above, the Liard again widens out and, after
rounding a bend, enters another southeasterly stretch, averaging 300 yards
in width but closely confined by sloping banks through which it runs at a
rate of five miles an hour. Bending south, it continues southerly for 12 miles
and enters another canyon about 100 yards in length, where it contracts to not
more than 150 feet. Below this, it spreads into an island-studded basin,
contracting again to its usual width of 300 or 400 yards, and then runs
eastward for five miles to Cranberry Rapids.
Cranberry Rapids extend for about a mile and a half, with a stretch
of comparatively quiet water about midway. In the upper portion of these
rapids, the river-bed is filled with masses of rocks against which the current
dashes with great force, Below the rapids, the river widens again, but the
current remains strong. A short distance beyond this, Turnagain River,
about 120 yards wide, comes in from the south. It drains a considerable
extent of territory lying north of the headwaters of the Finlay, from which
it is divided by Sifton Pass.
Below the mouth of Turnagain River, the Liard turns north, and two miles
farther on it reaches the Mountain Portage Rapids, where it tumbles over bands
of shales extending for about half a mile. A short distance below these rapids,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
Rabbit River, 200 yards wide, brings in a considerable volume of clear water from the south. Beyond this, for two miles, the river runs without obstruc– tions; and then, for a mile, it expands and contracts three times, producing ominous-looking whirlpools.
Below Whirlpool Rapids, the river makes another bend and receives Coal
River from the north; and then, running swiftly and smoothly, it rushes over
the rapids at Portage Brule, which are about two miles long and where
numerous rocks and small islands interrupt the course until near the lower end
the river flows between high vertical cliffs.
The stream proceeds without further interruption until Devil's Portage
is reached. This rapid, despite its sinister name, is not so formidable an
obstacle to navigation as many of the others and can be run with a canoe.
Immediately below, the river, still running southeasterly, heads for what
appears to be a gap in the mountains. The mountains here, however, have ended
their 1,000-mile extent, which begins south of the International Boundary.
Nevertheless, the river's path is not smooth; the mountains throw out rugged
outliers, and in cutting through this escarpment the Liard meets with many
obstructions. Shortly after it enters this region, Trout River, a swift,
clean mountain stream, about 100 feet wide, comes in from the south, and
with it the Alaska Highway to cross the Liar at that point. About half a
mile from the river, on the north bank, are springs of sulphur water which
comes from the ground at a temperature of 150° F.
Below the mouth of Trout River, the Liard bends abruptly to the north,
continuing in that direction for a short distance and then, turning east,
runs with increasing swiftness between banks that quickly increase in height,
eventually merging into the famed Devil's Canon. In its course through this
canyon, the river makes a great bend to the northeast, and for the next 30 or
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
or 40 miles plunges through a succession of canyons and expansions known as the Grand Canyon. One, called the Rapids, of the Drowned, fittingly describes the whole series. Hell Gate marks the point where the river, boiling and churning in its passage through the mountain gorges, and having cut through the terminal spurs of the Rocky Mountains, debouches onto the plateau beyond. Nevertheless, before quiet water is assured, one more canyon is encountered, where the river flows for a mile through vertical banks 300 feet high and about 150 yards in width. Shortly beyond this, the Liard re– ceives Toad River, coming in from the south.
The river now runs in a northerly direction for about 30 miles. It is
filled with islands and sandbars and varies in width from 500 yards to over
a mile, with a steady current of four-and-a-half miles an hour, although the
valley is narrow and trough-like. At the end of this section, the river is
over a mile wide; and after suddenly bending at right angles, passes through
a narrow gap and enters a much lower country, leaving behind a steep escarp–
ment, running generally north and south with a height of over 1,000 feet,
beyond which Beaver River enters from the north.
Beyond the mouth of Beaver River, the Liard runs southeastward again,
making a couple of bends before it receives the largest of its tributaries,
the Fort Nelson River, which comes in from the south, where it and its branches
drain a large territory extending
[:
]
outhward almost to the valley of the Peace.
Below the Fort Nelson, the Liard flows in an almost northerly direction, and
then, bending to the northeast, continues in that direction as far as Fort
Liard. In this stretch, it skirts the southern end of the Mackenzie Mountains,
which, in a sense, are a continuation of the Rockies, although they differ
geologically. The river is now a broad stream with many islands and sandbars,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
running through a wide valley, which is well timbered, the trees consider– ably larger than those seen farther up. Petitot River, coming in from the southeast, enters at Fort Liard.
From Fort Liard to its confluence with the Mackenzie, a distance of
200 miles, the river flows generally northeasterly through the Mackenzie
lowlands, with many channels, broken by numerous islands and sandbars,
receiving in this stretch the South Nahanni, which comes in from the north.
Within 30 miles of the Mackenzie, the Liard Valley deepens and gives the
appearance of a wide canyon where for ten miles the stream breaks over a
series of ripples. Before it finally joins the Mackenzie, it expands to
a width of two miles, still filled with islands and sandbars.
The Liard River, originally known as the
Riviere aux Liards,
from the
abundance of cottonwoods along its banks, was first sighted by Alexander
Mackenzie on his way to the Arctic Sea in 1789. Later, it became one of
the routes of Hudson's Bay Company traders working their way westward and
northward to the Yukon country. One of the first posts on the river was
Fort Halkett, at the mouth of Smith River, from which, in 1834, John McLeod,
chief trader of the Company, ascended the Liard to a point beyond 60° N.,
where a tributary flows in from the north. He ascended it to the mouth of
a branch coming in from the northwest which he then ascended to a small
lake, naming the latter after Sir George Simpson, Governor of Rupert's
Inland
Land.
Robert Campbell, also of the Hudson's Bay Company, acting under in–
structions from Sir George Simpson, undertook the exploration of the upper
Liard in 1840, in the hope of discovering a westward-flowing river. He
turned up the tributary that McLeod had ascended to a lake which it drains,
naming both after Lady Simpson, and then proceeded across the divide to the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
headwaters of the Pelly, which, although he did not then realize it, was one of the sources of that westward-flowing river he was seeking. The Liard route was maintained for some years to supply posts established by Campbell on the Pelly and Yukon, but after Pelly Banks, [: ] the post on the upper Pelly, was abandoned in 1850, supplies were brought in for the Yukon posts from Fort McPherson, at the Mackenzie Delta, by way of Rat, Bell and Porcupine rivers to Fort Yukon, at the mouth of the Porcupine. It was later revived by prospectors when mining activity in the Cassiar district of British Columbia was at its height, and some placer mining was done on the Liard and several of its tributaries, but its many canyons and rapids were against it as a traffic route. It was first surveyed in 1887, when Dr. George M. Dawson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, traversed its upper reaches from the mouth of the Dease at to its source in Finlayson Lake; and R. G. McConnell, also of the Survey, explored it from the Dease to its mouth. During the Klondike excitement in 1898, and for a few years thereafter, prospectors attempted to reach the Yukon goldfields by way of the Liard, but few [: ] succeeded. Because of the difficulty of navi– gating the upper Liard, supplies for posts on the Dease and other tribu– taries of the Liard west of the mountains have generally been brought in from the Pacific by way of the Stikine River. In its lower reaches, however, it is navigable for river steamers to the mouth of the Fort Nelson River, 274 miles above its confluence with the Mackenzie, and the Fort Nelson is also navigable up to Fort Nelson, a further 126 miles.
What the Alaska Highway and the Northwest Staging Route will do for
the Liard country still remains to be seen. That it is well-mineralized is
recognized; but not sufficient prospecting has yet been done to indicate
whether its mineral deposits are sufficient in quantity or value to justify
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Liard River
exploitation. In the lowland region between Fort Liard and the Mackenzie, a large extent of arable land exists which may some day provide homes for many people; but so far the vast area drained by the Liard remains prac– tically unpopulated.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N.W.T
.
and Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887
.
Ottawa: 1898.
----.
The New North-West
. Toronto: 1947.
Burpee, Lawrence J.
The Search for the Western Sea.
Toronto: 1935.
Camsell, Charles and
The Mackenzie River Basin
. The Geological Survey of
Malcolm, Wyatt Canada, Memoir No. 108; Ottawa, 1919.
Little Abitibi River
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
LITTLE ABITIBI RIVER
The Little Abitibi River, in northeastern Ontario, Dominion of
Canada, is a tributary of the Abitibi River (q.v.), which itself is a
tributary of Moose River (q.v.), through which the waters of both reach
James Bay. The Little Abitibi drains a section of territory comprising
about 1,800 square miles, north of Abitibi Lake, and flows into the Abitibi
River from the east.
It rises in Little Abitibi Lake, in latitude 49° 25′ N., longitude
80° 30′ W., and follows a northwesterly course of about 100 miles to its
junction with the Abitibi River. Little Abitibi Lake is the southernmost
of a series
of
consisting, besides that lake, of Williston, Pierre, Mont–
reuil and Harris lakes. The first three are connected by short stretches
of river, but Pierre, Montreuil and Harris flow most directly from one to
the other, as is characteristic of many lakes in the Canadian Shield regions
of northern Canada.
From three-quarters of a mile below the outlet of Harris Lake to within
two miles of its mouth, the Little Abitibi River consists of a continuous
series of rapids and falls. In a number of places, it narrows to a width
of but a few yards, where the river rushes in a torrent for miles through
steep-walled canyons.
Some of these rapids and falls will doubtless one day be utilized for
power. The lakes in its upper reaches are capable of providing a considerable
storage-area, an important factor in any power development. Whether this
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Little Abitibi Lake
power will be used in the appreciably near future will depend upon the need for power within a practicable radius. The most likely fields for such power are mining and pulp and paper production, both of which are indicated by the nature of the country.
While the Little Abitibi River traverses an area underlain by the Pre-
Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, these are so heavily covered by glacial
drift that effective prospecting is almost impossible. This is probably the
chief reason why no mineral occurrences of consequence have yet been discovered,
although relative inaccessibility is another. The increase in the use of
geophysical and similar scientific prospecting methods may, however, soon
change this.
The Little Abitibi River flows through a country which is fairly heavily
timbered with black and white spruce, birch, Banksian pine and poplar. None
of this timber is very large, but considerable stands suitable for pulpwood
exist. These stands would be much more extensive had not large areas, within
recent years, been overrun by fire. Nevertheless, a pulp and paper plant
somewhere along the Little Abitibi River would seem to be a distinct possibility.
Since the Little Abitibi River cuts across the eastern end of the Ontario
Clay Belt (q.v.), its basin probably has good agricultural possibilities.
The land would need to be cleared, however, and much would have to be done
in the way of providing transportation facilities before settlement could
be undertaken on any large scale. The country drained by the Little Abitibi
River is therefore most likely to be one of the last portions of the Moose
River drainage basin to be opened up. Important mineral discoveries in the
region could, of course, radically change the situation at any time.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - Little Abitibi River
References:
Government of Ontario:
Report of the Survey and Exploration of Northern
Ontario, 1900
. Toronto: The King's Printer, 1901.
Government of Ontario:
Report of James Bay Forest Survey, Moose River
Lower Basin.
Toronto: The King's Printer; 1923.
Little Buffalo River
(D. M. LeBourdais)
LITTLE BUFFALO RIVER
The Little Buffalo River, in southern Mackenzie District, northwestern
Canada, drains an area lying between Peace River on the south and Great Slave
Lake on the north, running almost parallel to Slave River on the east. It
rises in a group of small lakes in 59° 30′ N., about 10 miles north of the
source of the Jackfish River, which flows southeast into the Peace. Although
its length is only 213 miles, its drainage area is limited.
It drops 415 feet in its descent to the lake, but by far the greater
part of the fall occurs at the point where it drops over the escarpment of
the Alberta Plateau. Farther up, it is narrow, braided and sluggish and in
its upper section is only 15 to 20 feet wide, broken by innumerable rapids.
Rising in a region of muskegs and small lakes, the principal of which
are Thultue and Conibear, it flows in a northeasterly direction till a short
distance beyond the 60th parallel, near Salt River settlement, when it turns
sharply and runs generally northwesterly to its mouth. Shortly below this
point, it cuts through the escarpment, resulting in a canon where, after
rushing in many preliminary rapids over a limestone bed, it plunges over three
falls,
five
5, 16 and 49 feet high, respectively. Below these falls, a winding
canon, varying in width from 100 yards to almost half a mile, has been cut for
about eight miles to Lobstick Creek, in which, at intervals along the bends,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Little Buffalo River
spectacular limestone cliffs rise to more than 100 feet. The canon and the surrounding country are wooded with spruce, Banksian pine, poplar and aspen.
The principal tributaries that enter the Little Buffalo from the west
are the Sass, Klewi and Nyarling, all of which drain the northwestern part
of the Alberta Plateau. The Sass and Klewi are small; the Nyarling, or
underground river, is navigable for a considerable distance. Beyond 113°
40′ W., it disappears at intervals in a subterranean channel. The lower
reaches of the Little Buffalo are very beautiful, and such an authority as
Ernest Thompson Seton, writing in 1911, declared that "the Little Buffalo
is the most beautiful river in the world, except, perhaps, its affluent, the
Nyarling." He also wrote that "the heavenly beauty of the shores, with virgin
forest of fresh, green spruces towering a hundred feet on every side, or
varied in open places with long rows of thick-set hedges of the gorgeous
wild red Athabaska rose, made a stream that most canoemen, woodmen and natural–
ists would think without a flaw, and with every river beauty in its highest
possible degree."
Much of the country through which the Little Buffalo runs has distinct
mixed farming possibilities. It is now the home of the only wild bison herds
in existence. In addition to salt deposits of unknown extent, its geological
structure is considered favorable for the production of petroleum.
References:
<bibl>
Camsell, Charles.
Summary Report
; Geological Survey of Canada; 1902.
</bibl>
<bibl>
Seton, Ernest T. The Arctic Prairies; New York (revised ed.) 1943.
</bibl>Little Churchill River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
LITTLE CHURCHILL RIVER
From Lake Winnipeg to the lower Churchill River the route most commonly
followed is down the Nelson River to Split Lake and thence by way of a series
of lakes, streams and portages to the Little Churchill River. The latter is
126 miles in length from its source in Waskaiowaka Lake to where it empties
into the Churchill, about 105 miles from the shore of Hudson Bay.
Leaving Split Lake, a portage is made from the head of a small bay
running north from the Hudson's Bay Company's post on the lake. This portage,
which is a mile and three-quarters long, leads to the shore of Fox Lake, a
small lake forty feet above the Split Lake level. The course follows the
stream that leads northward out of this lake two and a half miles to Assean
Lake, which is about twelve miles long and an average of about a mile wide.
From the eastern extremity of Assean Lake the course follows the Ouatawi
River, small and crooked, a distance of fourteen miles to Ouatawi Lake, which
is about three miles long by half a mile wide.
From this point, five portages and four lakes are crossed in a total
distance northward of six miles in a straight line to a bay of Waskaiowaka
Lake. This lake is about sixteen miles long, with two expansions; the southern
one, ten miles in length by five in breadth, is connected to the northern one,
six miles long by four wide, by a short narrows.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Little Churchill River
The Little Churchill River flows out of the northern end of Waskaiowaka
Lake, and four miles down stream expands into a lake two miles long and one
and a quarter wide. Three miles farther on, Beaver River, twenty-two yards
wide, flows in from the northwest; and a mile below is the first portage,
where a strong rapid with a total fall of seventy feet in a distance of about
five hundred yards obstructs the course. In the next seven miles, two other
portages are encountered, the longest measuring five hundred and thirty yards,
with a total fall of fifteen feet.
Six miles of swift current from this point leads to comparatively quiet
water, where the river spreads out and forms many expansions and islands,
leading to Recluse Lake, the last of the river's lakes and expansions. Below
the outlet of Recluse Lake are two short portages, beyond which is a strong
rapid that can be run, covering a total fall of twenty feet in a distance of half
a mile. The last portage on the Little Churchill is two and a half miles below
this rapid. From this point the river, following a generally northward course,
is of a uniform width of about sixty-five yards and maintains a swift, smooth
current until it merges with the Churchill. During its final reaches, the
Little Churchill runs through a valley about six miles wide, flanked by clay
hills rising to 300 feet above the river.
References:
<bibl>
O'Sullivan, Owen: Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1906.
McIhnes, William: Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 30, 1915.
</bibl>Little Whale River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
LITTLE WHALE RIVER
Little Whale River, in Ungava District, now called New Quebec, in the
Canadian province of Quebec, drains an area north of Great Whale River and
south of the Stillwater-Clearwater watershed. It rises in Upper Seal Lake
which lies across the angle formed by 58° N. latitude and 74° W. longitude.
The lake is about 40 miles long at its greatest length and about 13 miles
wide, tapering at both ends. The Canada Year Book gives it an area of 260
square miles. The map, however, shows no details concerning other lakes that
the river undoubtedly passes through on its way to the coast, nor of rapids
and falls which with equal certainty obstruct its progress. Its mouth is in
latitude 56° N., longitude 77° 30′ W. According to maps of the Geological
Survey of Canada, it traverses near its mouth an area of rocks similar to those
in the Ungava Depression, in which extensive mineral occurrences have been dis–
covered.
Reference:
<bibl>
Department of Mines,
Quebec: Extracts from Reports on the District of Ungava or
New Quebec; 1929.
</bibl>Lockhart River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
LOCKHART RIVER
The Lockhart River, in Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, drains
a considerable area east and northeast of Great Slave Lake. It rises in
MacKay Lake, latitude 64° N., longitude 111° 30′ W., at an altitude of 1,415
feet above sea level and flows through a continuation of the great transverse
valley of Great Slave Lake, into the eastern extremity of which it empties
in latitude 62° 45′ N., and longitude 109° W., after a semicircular course
of 300 miles composed mostly of lakes, one after another. The Lockhart River
is a potential power source, in its lower reaches dropping about 700 feet in
25 miles.
MacKay Lake, out of which the Lockhart River issues, is about 60 miles
in length, lying approximately east and west, except for its eastern end,
which swings to the northeastward. The river, after leaving MacKay Lake,
runs south for a few miles and then eastward into a series of lakes called
the Outram Lakes, which lead to Aylmer Lake. This stretch of river and lake–
extensions is 30 miles in length, in the course of which the river, in passing
over a succession of granite ridges, drops about 200 feet. Aylmer Lake, with
an area of 340 square miles, is shaped like an irregular L facing the opposite
way, its outlet being at the southeastern angle, where the Thanakoie Narrows
separate it from Lake Clinton-Colden, extending to the southeast. The latter
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Lockhart River
is a great sprawling lake with an area of 253 square miles. Hitherto the chain of lakes and streams which composes the Lockhart River system has trended eastward and southeastward, but after issuing from the southeastern extremity of Clinton-Colden Lake, the river turns sharply to the southwest where, at Caribou Narrows, it cuts through a granite ridge and flows into Ptarmigan Lake, 16 miles long by two to three in width, lying slightly west of south. Below Ptarmigan Lake, the river passes through a series of expan– sions, joined by narrows in which rapids exist. In the 15 miles to Artillery Lake, the river falls 32 feet. Artillery Lake, about 55 miles long by about seven at its widest part, lies at an altitude of 1,190 feet, and from there to Great Slave Lake, a distance of only 25 miles, the drop in elevation is almost 700 feet. The most spectacular point is at Parry Falls, where the river makes a straight leap of 85 feet into a rocky cavern from 30 to 50 feet wide.
Lockhart River was first explored by Skr George Back while searching
for Sir James Ross in 1833. From his headquarters at old Fort Reliance,
near its mouth, he ascended the river and its connecting lakes, which he
named. J. W. Tyrrell (q.v.), who followed him in 1900 on an expedition for
the Geological Survey of Canada, makes some scathing references to Back's
lack of accuracy. Tyrrell ascended the Lockhart River as far as the eastern
arm of Clinton-Colden Lake, from whence he crossed the divide to the Thelon
River. Other Canadian government survey parties have since done exploratory
work in the region, but it
^
is
^
still very little known.
References:
Back, George:
Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of Great
Fish River and Along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in the
Years 1833, 1834 and 1835
; London; 1836.
Tyrrell, J. W.:
Annual Report
; Geological Survey of Canada; 1900.
MacKay Lake
EA-Geography [D. M. LeBourdais]
MACKAY LAKE
MacKay Lake, Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada, lying approximately
along latitude 64° N. and between longitudes 110° and 111° 15′ W., north of the
East Arm of Great Slave Lake, is the source of Lockhart River, which, after a
circuitous route through several lakes, empties into the eastern end of Great
Slave Lake. MacKay Lake, like the majority of lakes in the Canadian Shield,
spreads over a wide area, extending into many long narrow bays, but its main
axis is approximately east and west, except that its eastern extremity bends
to the northeast. It is about 60 miles in length and lies at an altitude of
1,415 feet. The Lockhart River issues from the eastern end of the northeastern
extension of MacKay Lake.
Around and south of Warburton Bay, at the southwestern end of MacKay Lake
are rolling plains where the relief is less than 40 feet, with isolated rocky
ridges rising to a height of about 120 feet. To the east, the ruggedness of the
terrain is more pronounced, and the granite hills rise to a height of 200 feet
or more. From a high observation point south of MacKay Lake, a confusion of hills
stretches south, east and west, with lakes appearing everywhere in the valleys.
The bare appearance of the rocky summits is relieved by vegetation in the valleys
— grass in the lowlands and alders on the hillsides, with small spruce in shel–
tered valleys and occasional clumps of larger trees. The country to the north is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada - MacKay Lake
practically bare of timber, such growth as exists being confined to willows and other small shrubs. Like the rest of the country, it is dotted thick with lakes of all size d ^ s ^ and shapes.
MacKay Lake was first explored by George (later Sir George) Back, who, in
1833-35, headed an expedition searching the Canadian mainland for the lost British
explorer, Sir James Ross, who, however, reached England before Back himself returned.
Economic prospects in this region are confined almost entirely to the possi–
bility of securing gold or other valuable minerals from its rocks. In 1940-41,
J. F. Henderson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, examined the geology of the
MacKay Lake region and his report disclosed the presence of several bodies of sedi–
mentary rock and two large bands of greenstone considered by him to be favorable
for the occurrence of metallic mineral deposits. Owing to the relative inacces–
sibility of the region, it is possible that development of any deposits that might
be found would have to await the provision of better transportation facilities,
which willprobably depend upon the ex
g
^
t
^
ent to which the mineral possiblities of
the Yellowknife district, about 100 miles to the southwestward, are developed.
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.
Henderson, J. F.:
MacKay Lake
; Geological Survey of Canada; Paper 41-1; 1941.
Mackenzie Bay
EA-Geography [D. M. LeBourdais]
MACKENZIE BAY
Mackenzie Bay, on the north coast of Canada, is the broad indnetation
into which the Mackenzie River discharges. Its western portal is marked by
Herschel Island, in approximately latitude 69° 30′ N., longitude 139° W.; and
its eastern portal, 100 miles east-northeastward, is at the northern extremity
of Richards Island, in latitude 69° 44′ N., longitude, 134[ 30′ W. At its
southernmost point, in latitude 68° 52′ N., the Mackenzie River enters through
its three main channels. The bay is cup-shaped, with its western side sloping
at a wider angle than its eastern side. The former contains few indentations
and few islands lie offshore; while the eastern side consists almost entirely
of islands. Herschel Island, triangular in shape, and with an elevation of
about 500 feet at its high
t
est point, is terminated at its northeastern ex–
tremity by a hooked sandspit, and is about 10 miles at its greatest length by
about half that broad; its southern extremity lies about two miles off the
mainland. At one time it was an important whaling and trading center; for many
years the Hudson's Bay Company maintained a post there; and it was also the
headquarters of a detachment of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Since the estab–
lishment of Aklavik, midway up the Mackenzie delta, and Port Brabant, on the
northeastern side of the bay, these two places have divided between them the
business former
^
l
^
y tributary to Herschel Island.
About 29 miles southeastward of Herschel Island, the Babbage River flows
in from the south, emptying into the head of Phillips Bay, a shallow indentation,
the western side of which is a narrow tongue of land extending north-northwest–
ward called Kay Point, which has an elevation of about 200 feet. From the base
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie Bay
of Kay Point, the shore of Mackenzie Bay continues southeasterly for another 27 miles to Shingle Point, which consists mainly of a sandspit. Blow River flows in from the southwestward about midway between Shingle Po ^ i ^ nt and Tent Island, which lies off the mouth of the westernmost channel of the Mackenzie River, a distance of about 16 miles from Shingle Point. In this stretch are two shallow indentations, one on each side of the small delta thrown up by Blow River. Pitt Island, about four miles across in eachdirection, lies about 15 miles north-northeast of Tent Island.
Many islands are caused by the channels of the Mackenzie delta. Uniformly
low, and criss-crossed by smaller channels, they belong to the delta rather
than to Mackenzie Bay. Just to the west of the mouth of the
Mid
middle
channel of the Mackenzie River, however, a group of islands lie within the bay.
The nearest of these to the coast, from which it is separated by a narrow channel,
is about 20 miles long, pear-shaped, and about nine miles wide at its widest.
Its axis is in a northwesterly-southeasterly direction; and lying close to its
western side is a long, narrow island, about five miles long by about a mile
wide, neither of which seems to have a name. Extending northwestward from the
extremity of the larger island, from which it is separated by a narrow channel,
is Ellice Island, about 18 miles in length, also somewhat pear-shaped. Lying
close to its northwestern extremity are two small islands, extending toward Pitt
Island, from which they are separated b y a passage not more than three miles in
width. To the eastward, between the middle and eastern mouths of the Mackenzie
River, another group of islands extends northwestward from the coast. The nearest,
apparently unnamed, is an irregular, narrow island about 16 miles long lyin
[:
i
]
^
g
^
itself in a north-and-south direction. A group of smaller islands, including
Kendall and Garry islands, lie to the northwestward; they are long and narrow,
none greater than eight or nine miles in length. To the eastward of these,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie Bay
Richards Island, the largest in Mackenzie Bay, about 50 miles long at its greatest length, extends approximately in a north-and-south direction. It is irregularly diamond-shaped, its southeastern side separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, which might be [: ] considered an extension of the eastern channel of the Mackenzie, except that it is tidal and consists of salt water. The southern extremity of Richards Island is just opposite the mouth of the eastern channel; Pullen Island, about three miles long, about half of which con– sists of a sandspit extending to the northeast, lies off its northern extremity [: ] Whale Island, about nine miles long by about two miles wide, lies close to the west side of Richards Island, slightly south of its middle part.
Mackenzie Bay is generally shallow over a considerable part of its area,
but beyond a line extending from Garry to Herachel islands the depth is said to
be about 80 fathoms. In the main, the eastern part of the bay, as indicated
by the presence of so many islands, is considerably shallower than most of its
western part.
While Alexander Mackenzie was the first to reach the mouth of the Mackenzie
River, which he did in 1789, he did not proceed beyond the delta, and consequently
did nothing to explore Mackenzie Bay. It was first explored in 1826 by Captain
(later Sir) John Franklin when he proceeded westward from the Mackenzie delta and
explored the coast of what is now Yukon Territory and a large part of the north
shore of Alaska; while his associate, Dr. John Richardson, proceeded eastward
along the coast to Coronation Gulf to the mouth of the Coppermine River, which
he ascended to rejoin Franklin at Great Bear Lake. Seaward of the Mackenzie delta,
is the Beaufort Sea, which once was the scene of extensive whal
^
i
^
ng operations based
upon Herschel Island.
Reference:
<bibl>
Franklin, John, and Richardson, John:
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the
Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826 and 1827
; London; 1828.
</bibl>Mackenzie District
EA-Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
MACKENZIE DISTRICT
Mackenzie District is the westernmost portion of the Northwest Territories
of Canada, bounded by Franklin District and the Arctic Ocean, on the north; Yukon
Territory on the west; the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and part of
British Columbia, on the south; and the District of Keewatin, on the east. Its
boundaries consist of the crest of the M
^
a
^
ckenzie (Rocky) and Richardson Mountains
on the west; the Arctic Ocean and part of Franklin District on the north; the
102nd degree of west longitude, on the east; and the 60th parallel of north
latitude, on the south. It comprises an area of 527,490 square miles, of which
34,265 consist of fresh water.
The southern and eastern boundaries, consisting of imaginary lines, cut
across the slope of the land and do not constitute natural geographical divisions,
such as the western and northern boundaries do. With the exception of the Liard
River, all the principal rivers that go to make up the Mackenzie River come from
south of the 60th parallel. On the east, the four large rivers that cross Keewatin
District, the Kazan, Dubawnt, Thelon and Back, all rise within Mackenzie District.
Even the western boundary, consisting though it does of high mountains, cannot
confine the Mackenzie watershed within the limits of Mackenzie District, since
the Liard and Peel rivers rise far to the westward of the mountains. Only the
northern boundary, the Arctic Ocean, constitutes a fixed and constant boundary;
where the ocean begins, the rivers, mountains and other geographical features must
come to an end.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
The northern boundary of Mackenzie District begins at a point on the Arctic
coast in latitude 68° 55′ N., longitude, 136° 05′ W., near the western edge of
the Mackenzie River delta. The broad indentation into which the Mackenzie River
flows, called Mackenzie Bay, is filled with islands,
[:
]
especially on its eastern
side, the largest of which is Richards Island, whose northern extremity is in
latitude 69
[:
1
]
° 44′ N., longitude 134° 30′ W.
From the easternmost channel of the Mackenzie delta, the coast trends north–
easterly behind Richards Island to Cape Dalhousie, in latitude 60° 15′ N., longi–
tude, 129° 10′ W., which is the end of a long peninsula separated from the mainland
by the narrow entrance to the Eskimo Lakes. The latter extend southwesterly from
the west shore of Liverpool Bay, which lies between Cape Dalhousie and Bathurst
Peninsula, the next prominent point to the eastward. Liverpool Bay runs south–
ward for about 60 miles, taking in, at its southern extremity, Anderson River, a
considerable stream, which flows into the head of the bay from the southwest.
Bathurst Peninsula, in latitude 70° 36′ N. longitude, 127° 30′ W., is, next to
Boothia Peninsula, the most northerly point of the Canadian mainland; the Baillie
Islands, a cluster of three, lie off its extremity. From Cape Bathurst, the coast
swings sharply to the southeast, forming the western side of Franklin Bay, with
Langton Bay at its southern end. Horton River, one of the principal streams
entering the Arctic east of the Mackenzie, flows into the western side of Franklin
Bay.
Parry Peninsula, ending in a cape of the same name, forms the eastern coast
of Franklin Bay. It is a high, narrow, rocky promontory, jutting northward from
the mainland just east of the 125th degree of west longitude. Darnley Bay,
about 35 miles across and extending south-southwestward for about 40 miles, lies
on the eastern side of Parry Peninsula. The eastern shore of this bay is formed
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
by a broad promontory, facing northwestward, the northwestern point of which is bold Cape Lyon, and the northern extremity, a few miles to the northeast– ward, is Pearce Point, in latitude 69° 47′ N., longitude 122° 33′ W., where there is an excellent harbor. From Pearce Point to Keats Point, 17 miles, the coast runs approximately eastward, but here it swings to the southeastward, continuing in that general direction for 147 miles to the bottom of Stapylton Bay, which lies behind a northwest-southeast-trending promontory ending in two capes, the southern of which is Cape Hope. Beyond the northernmost of these, Cape Bexley, in latitude 68° 58′ N., longitude 115° 59′ 58′ W., the coast again trends southeastward to Cape Krusenstern (latitude 68° 28′ N., longitude, 113° 55′ W.), which mark e s the southwestern portal of Coronation Gulf. About half-way between Cape Bexley and Cape Krusenstern is Bernard Harbor, which for some time was the base of the southern party of the [: ] Canadian (Stefansson) Arctic Expedition, 1913-1918.
The distance straight across from Cape Krusenstern to Cape Flinders, the
western extremity of Kent Peninsula, in longitude
[:
]
109° W., which marks the
southeastern portal of Coronation Gulf, is little more than 100 miles, but
the distance, following the undulations of the shore, is several hundred miles.
From Cape Krusenstern, the coast turns due south for 15 miles to Cape Hearne,
and bends westward for about 30 miles, then again swinging south and around to
the east to form the western end of Coronation Gulf. The Coppermine River,
rising a short distance north of Great Slave Lake, flows into Coronation Gulf
not far from its western end. At the river's mouth is the settlement of Copper–
mine, with its trading posts, missions, detachment of Royal Canadian Mounted
Police and radio station.
The south coast of Coronation Gulf bends to the south in the shape of a bow,
of which the 68th parallel constitutes the string. At Cape Barrow, just about
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
where longitude 110° crosses the 68th parallel, Bathurst Inlet cuts a gak gash in the coast extending about 135 miles southeasterly from a line between Cape Barrow and Cape Flinders. Hood River flows into Arctic Sound, an indentation just inside Bathurst Inlet on the western side, and Burnside River also flows in to the west side farther south, while Western River flows into the bottom of the inlet.
Kent Peninsula, about 100 miles long and 30 wide at its widest, is an oddly–
shaped piece of territory lying parallel to the mainland east of Coronation Gulf.
It is attached to the mainland by a narrow neck of land at its eastern end, and
is separated from the mainland by a narrow, irregular stretch of water which, at
its mouth and eastward to a point where peninsula and mainland nearly meet, is
called Melville Sound, and which farther eastward is called Elu Inlet. From
Cape Flinders, the coast trends northeastward for 30 miles to Turnagain Point
(longitude 108° W.), so-named by Sir John Franklin to mark his farthest eastern
point in 1821. From Turnagain Point, the coast of Kent Peninsula trends east–
northeast to Cape Alexander, and then, in a long sweep to the southeast, becomes
the western part of Queen Maud Gulf. Midway along the gulf, the 102nd meridian
marks the eastern boundary between Mackenzie and Keewatin districts.
The waters lying north of the Coast thus delineated, are Beaufort Sea, from
longitude 136° to 124°; Amundsen Gulf, from 124° to 118°; Dolphin and Union Strait,
from 118° to 114°; Coronation Gulf, from 115° 50′ to 109°; Deast Strait, from 109°
to 105°; and Queen Maud Gulf, from 105° to 102° W. Opposite Franklin and Darnley
bays, the south end of Banks Island forms the north shore of Amundson Gulf;
while stretching eastward from 119° to 111° W., the land opposite is the south
shore of Vi
t
^
c
^
toria Island.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
The coast eastward from the western boundary of Mackenzie District, across
the face of the Mackenzie delta, is low, and continues generallyso till beyond
Cape Bathurst, where the Melville Mountains begin. This range follows the coast,
from five to ten miles inland, eastward for about 135 miles from Franklin Bay,
at times approaching quite close to the shoreline. On the western side of Franklin
Bay, cliffs of carbonaceous shale from 200 to 300 feet in height, smoldering
underground, send up clouds of smoke and steam. At Pearce Point, the cliffs rise
to a height of about 250 feet, and a rugged coast continues to the eastward. Cape
Bexley stands out boldly, but beyond that the coast is again low to Cape Krusen–
stern, where the cliffs are about 300 feet high. The western end of Coronation
Gulf is high and rugged, but the coast becomes low again farther east. Cliffs
are bold at the entrance to Bathurst Inlet, but die away as the inlet proceeds
southward, Eastward along the coast of Kent Peninsula, with the exception of an
occasional headland, the coast is low, continuing generally so to Queen Maud Gulf.
Mackenzie District is comprised of three physiographic provinces, which
extend parallel to each other from its southern boundary to the Arctic Ocean, their
margins lying generally in a northwest-southeast direction. The easternmost province
[:
]
consists of a
[:
]
portion of the great Canadian Shield, which extends westward from
Hudson Bay and embraces practically all of the adjoining Keewatin District. This
area is underlain chiefly by rocks of
[:
]
pre-Cambrian age. The oldest of
these are assemblages of sediments and volcanics which are cut and surrounded
by granitic and gneissic rocks which occupy by far the greater part of the region.
Younger than most of the granitic rocks are local developments of sedimentary rocks.
Adjoining this region on the west is an extension of the great depression that
occupies the central part of the North American continent from the Arctic to
the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Cordilleran chain, underlain chiefly by rocks of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Palaeozic age. The westernmost province consists of the Mackenzie and Richard– son Mountains, extensions of the Rocky Mountain chain, underlain chiefly by Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks.
The Canadian Shield section comprises an area 350 miles wide at the 60th
parallel, increasing to about 500 miles north of Great Bear Lake, and about 630
miles in length at its greatest north and south dimension. Its western boundary
follows Slave River from the 60th parallel to the southern shore of Great Slave
Lake. Crossing the lake, it follows the North Arm, continuing northward along
the line of riv
^
e
^
rs and lakes drained by Camsell River to the south shore of Great
Bear Lake from that flowing northward, beyond which an area, not yet fully ex–
plored, of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks, borders the Arctic coast.
It is a region of low relief, practically unbroken by hills rising much
more than two or three hundred feet above the general level of the plain, some
of which are of glacial origin, consisting of gravel or sand. Its chief
characteristic is the innumerable lakes, ranging in size from mere ponds to
such giants as Great Slave and Great Bear, although only the eastern portions
of these lakes lie within the Shield. Connecting streams are usually short,
broken by frequent rapids and waterfalls. Since its present level is the result
of glacial action, the Shield is generally but thinly covered with the types
of soil left behind by the retreating ice. Near the center of ice action, the
movement was less than at the periphery, and consequently glacial detritus in
such regions tends to consist largely of coarser materials, sand, gravel and
clay, intermixed with boulders and angular fragments of rock. Farther from
the center the materials have been more finely ground, resulting in the heavy
alluvial soils of the Canadian plains. Local areas exist where every gradation
between these two extremes can be found. Mainly, however, the chief characteristic
of soils within the Shield is their sparseness.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Only the southern and western edges of the Shield section are forested.
The edge of the timber zone crosses the 102nd meridian in about latitude 63° N.,
swinging northward along the upper Dubawnt and Thelon rivers, skirting the
eastern ends of Great Slave Lake and Great Bear lakes and continuing down the
vallcy of Horton River, northward to within a few miles of the Arctic Ocean.
North and east of this line, the country consists of rolling, open country
usually carpeted with a thick covering of vegetation, ranging from mosses and
lichens on the upper parts of hills or on land where the soil is poor, to
grasses and sedges where the soil is heavier. The latter constitutes the region
that once provided pasture for millions of head of caribou, and still does to
a lesser degree. In certain parts of the eastern portion of the district,
musk-oxen also are to be found, but their numbers have been greatly reduced,
not through inability of the land to support them, but because of the inability
of the creatures to protect themselves against modern firearms.
The line of contact between the pre-Cambrian rocks of the Shield and the
Palaeozoic sediments of the lowland region has provided most of the minerals
of economic value so far found. It is here that the gold of Yellowknife and
the uranium ores of Great Bear Lake have been discovered. In the Palaeozoic
rocks evidence of
[:
]
oil has been found in a number of places and a commercial
oil field has already been established at Norman Wells, on the Mackenzie River,
just beyond latitude 65° N. In addition, coal and salt deposits have been found
at a number of places.
The lowland section occupies the area lying between the western edge of the
Canadian Shield and the base of the mountains, varying in width from 300 miles
at the 60th parallel to about 200 miles at latitude
[:
]
63° N., and narrowing
still more farther northwest. The central feature of this region is, of course,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
the Mackenzie River below Great Slave Lake, and the Slave River south of that point. The Mackenzie Lowland region is a continuation of the Alberta Plateau, which ends in an escarpment running parallel with Slave River as far as a short distance south of Great Slave Lake, swinging then to the westward and following the west bank of the Mackenzie River as far north as the Liard River, generally standing above the adjacent lowlands at an elevation of about 400 feet. Beyond this escarpment, the lowland section slopes gradually toward the Arctic with a grade of not more than five inches to the mile. Rising above the general level of the lowland are several ranges of hills or mountains, such as the Horn Mountains and the Franklin Mountains; Grizzly Bear Mountain and Scented Grass Hills, on the shores of Great Bear Lake; and the Reindeer Hills, lying to the east of the Mackenzie delta. The Horn Mountains, the southernmost of the above, lie north of the Mackenzie River between Providence and Simpson, and stand about 1,000 feet above sea level, presenting a steep escarpment toward the river and a gentle slope to the north. The Franklin Range, on the east side of the river from near Wrigley to beyond Great Bear River, is considered to be an outlier of the Mackenzie Mountains. Rising out of the lowland as a wooded ridge, it continues northward in a series of round-topped hills, gradually increasing in height, until it terminates in Mount Clark, which lies about 8 or 10 miles from the river and rises to between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. Beyond Mount Clark, the mountains continue as a lower range northward beyond Great Bear River, which cuts a wide gap through it, where [: ] Mount Charles rises to about 1,500 feet. Grizzly Bear Mountain, which dominates the peninsula between Keith and McVicar bays of Great Bear Lake, and Scented Grass Hills, forming the backbone of a peninsula on the western shore of the lake, represent aggregations of Palaeozoic rocks which have resisted the [: ] action of the ice which has gouged out theEA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
surrounding softer rocks. A number of smaller isolated knobs occur at various places along the course of the Mackenzie River. The well-known Rock-by-the– River-Side, near Wrigley, which rises about 1,500 feet above the water, is one of these; Bear Rock, which occupies the angle between Great Bear River and the Mackenzie, and Roche Carcajou, about 100 miles below Bear Rock, are others.
The westernmost portion of the Mackenzie District, the Cordilleran physic–
graphic province, is made up principally of two mountain ranges, the Mackenzie
Mountains, extending from about 60° N., and the Richardson Mountains into which
the former merge in latitude 66° N. These are but extensions of the great Rocky
Mountain chain which forms the backbone of the continent. Where the Liard River
cuts its course through its northern outliers, the Rocky Mountains proper come
to an end, leaving only a spur to cross the river and die away in the plateau to
the north. The Rockies are succeeded by the Mackenzie Mountains, which, however,
are not exactly a continuation of the former, but lie about 80 miles
[:
]
farther
east than a line projected northward from the end of the Rockies. The Mackenzie
Mountains continue to
w
where the Peel River causes another transverse break; and
the mountains which toninue onward from there are known as the Richardson Moun–
tains. These, however, are no more a continuation of the Mackenzie Mountains
than the latter are an extension of the Rockies, since in each case features
exist which differ from
the
those in the range farther south; but there is a closer
resemblance between the Rockies and the Mackenzie Mountains than there is between
the latter and the Richardson Mountains. The Richardson Mountains are lower and
not so wide as the Mackenzie Mountains. At Fort McPherson, they have a width
of about seven miles, while their highest peaks are not more than about 4,000
feet above the sea. The Mackenzie Mountains, on the other hand, resemble the
Rockies in general characteristics, and consist of a series of parallel ranges,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
striking northwesterly in the southern part and almost east and west in the northern part. According to Joseph Keele, of the Geological survey of Canada, "they are the greatest mountain group in Canada and appear to consist of two ranges, an older western range, against the eastern edge of which a newer e range has been piled." Their highest summits are about 8,000 feet.
As previously mentioned, the central feature of Mackenzie District is, of
course, the great river which extends for 1,000 miles from the western end of
Great Slave Lake inlatitude 61° N., longitude, 117° W., northwesterly to the
Arctic Ocean in latitude 69° N., longitude 136° W. The
[:
]
bulk of its waters
comes from its great tributaries, the Athabaska, Peace and Liard, all of which
have their sources far beyond the borders of Mackenzie District. Tributaries
lying within the district are short, since the height of land on the east is not
far from the Mackenzie Valley, while, except for the Liard and Peel, which cut
through the mountain barrier at the south and north extremities of the district,
respectively, all other
[:
]
rivers flowing in from the west rise in the mountains
and therefore are necessarily short. An exception is the South Nahanni, which
rises in about latitude 63° N;, longititude 129° 20′ W., and runs southeasterly,
cutting transversely across the ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains to flow into
the Liard in latitude 61° N., longitude, 123° 50′ W. The Arctic Red River, at the
opposite end of the Mackenzie Valley, is another exception; it, like the South
Nahanni, flows parallel to the main course of the Mackenzie, only in this case,
instead of flowing southward, the Arctic Red rises in about latitude 65° N.,
longitude 130° W., and flows between parallel ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains
until it breaks through into the lowlands at the head of the
[:
]
Mackenzie
delta in latitude 67° 30′ N., longitude 134° 20′ W. Between the South Nahanni
and the Arctic Red, the many other tributaries that flow into the Mackenzie are
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
short. An exception is Keele River, which, with its tributary the Twitya, drains an extensive area between the Mackenzie River and the mountains at a point where the two are at their greatest distance apart. Great Bear River, draining the lake of the same name, and Hare Indian River, which drains an area northwest of Great Bear Lake, are the two principal tributaries of the Mackenzie on the east. Slave River, two-thirds of which is within Mackenzie District, flows between Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake, bringing the waters of the Athabaska and Peace rivers. At Fort Smith, just within the southern boundary of Mackenzie District, a gneissic spur extends westward from the Canadian Shield over which the Slave River drops in a series of heavy rapids extending for 16 miles for a total drop of 125 feet. Its banks, 100 feet high at Fort Smith, gradually decrease in height and practically disappear before Great Slave Lake is reached.
The Canadian
[:
]
Shield section is drained by a number of important rivers.
The Talton is the principal one in the southern part of the district. Rising
slightly north of latitude 62° N., longitude 109° W., it flows by a circuitous
route of 265 miles into the south side of Great Slave Lake, and drains an area
of about 19,000 square miles. The Dubawnt, Thelon and Back rivers rise on the
eastern slope of the interior plateau, near the height of land, and flow in a
generally northeasterly direction. The first two, combining, discharge into
Hudson Bay at Chesterfield Inlet, while the other
,
flows into the Arctic Ocean
at Chantrey Inlet, in longitude 96° 40′ W. The Lockhart River, which rises near
the source of the Back, after following a roundabout course through a series of
lakes, empties into the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, its waters eventually
finding their way to the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River. Burnside River
flows into the western side of Bathurst Inlet; and Hood River follows a parallel
course a few miles farther north to empty into Arctic Sound.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
The Coppermine River is the principal stream draining the Canadian Shield
northward in the northeastern part of Mackenzie District. It rises within a
few miles of the head of Back River, and after flowing through one lake after
another, as is characteristic of rivers in this region, eventually achieve a
more distinctly-defined channel. It follows a generally northwesterly course of
525 miles and empties into the Arctic Ocean near the western end of Coronation
Gulf. Several other large rivers drain into the Arctic. The first west of the
Coppermine is Horton River, which has a length of about 200 miles, and flows
northwesterly, passing east of the Melville Mountains and emptying into the west
side of Franklin Bay. Flowing roughly parallel to the Horton, and draining
a considerable area lying north of Great Bear Lake, the Anderson River, 465 miles
long, flows into the bottom of Liverpool Bay.
A short river, but one that is beginning to bulk very largely in importance,
is the Yellowknife River, which flows southward draining a chain of lakes into
Yellowknife Bay, on the east side of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake. It forms
part of a canoe route to the Coppermine River from Great Slave Lake and traverses
the famous Yellowknife gold mining area. Camsell River, a stream characteristic
of the pre-Cambrian region, drains a large area of closely clustered lakes north–
ward into Great Bear Lake. Dease River rises on the southern slope of the Copper–
mine watershed and flows southwesterly into the southeastern extremity of Dease
Arm, Great Bear Lake. South of Great Slave Lake, Hay, Buffalo and Little Buffalo
rivers, although rising south of latitude 60° N., drain an extensive portion of
the southern part of the District into Great Slave Lake.
With such a proportion of its territory lying within the Canadian Shield,
Mackenzie District is naturally a region of lakes. This would render it notable
for its lakes
a
in any event, but when to these
[:
]
are added such immense lakes
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
as Great Slave and Great Bear, it can probably be said that Mackenzie District contains a greater proportion of its area in lakes than is the case with any other areas in the world. Great Slave Lake, 11,170 square miles, is the fifth lake in size in North America, being exceeded only by [: ] Superior, Huron, Michigan and its great neighbor, Great Bear Lake. Its greatest length is 348 miles and its greatest width (to the top of the North Arm) is 150 miles, with an average width of about 35 miles. It lies at an altitude of 495 feet above sea level, across the contact between the pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, on the east, and the Palaeozoic rocks, on the west. Receiving the waters of the Athabaska and Peace rivers through Slave River, it is the source of the Mackenzie River. At one time a southern arm corresponding to the North Arm opposite, extended for about 100 miles up what is now Slave River, but the latter has, in the inter– val, obliterated it by the accumulation of silt brought down from the great rivers to the south.
Great Bear Lake, with an area of 12,000 square miles, is the largest lake
lying wholly within the territory of the Dominion of Canada, and is exceeded on
the North American continent only by Superior, Huron and Michigan. Its northern–
most extremity is in latitude 67° N., and it lies between longitude 117° 30′ W.
and 124° W. Its greatest length is about 170 miles, which gives no indication
of its shape, which is somewhat in the form of an irregular swastika. It lies
at an elevation of 391 feet above the sea, and although its greatest depth has not
been ascertained, it is known to be in excess of 280 feet. Like its southern
neighbor, Great Slave Lake, it lies across the contact between the pre-Cambrian
rocks of the Canadian Shield, on the east, and the Palaeozoic rocks of the Mac–
kenzie Lowland on the west, and its shores are influenced by these different
types of rocks. Thus, in the east, its shores are bold and rocky, while in the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: [: ] Canada: Mackenzie District
west they are generally low, but relieved in places by hills where the barder rocks in the Palaeozoic column have successfully withstood the shearing action of the glaciers.
Lakes in the Mackenzie Lowland are much fewer in number than in the Canadian
Shield section, and where they do occur they are usually shallow and often sur–
rounded by swamp or muskeg. Most of these lie west and south of the western
end of Great Slave Lake, such as Trout Lake, in longitude
[:
120[
]
120° W., which
is drained into the Mackenzie River by the river of the same name; Tathlina
and Kakisa lakes, drainedinto the western extremity of Great Slave Lake by the
Beaver River; and Buffalo Lake, drained by the river of the same name, also
into Great Slave Lake.
Of the lakes that lie within the Shield, Lac la Martyr, 840 square miles,
lying in an east-west direction in latitude 63° N., between longitude 118° 15′
W. and 120° 20′ W., is drained by the river of the same name flowing eastward
into Marian Lake, an extension of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake. Hottah
Lake, lying in a north-south direction in longitude 118° 20′ W., and cut about
midway by latitude 65° N., has an area of 377 square miles. It is one of the
chain containing many lakes drained into Great Bear Lake by Camsell River. Lac
de Gras, 345 square miles, is the source of the Coppermine River, and lies in
that area of lakes which provides the sources of the Back River, emptying into
the Arctic in Keewating District, and the Lockhart, which is drained into the
western Arctic through Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River. Aylmer Lake,
340 square miles, is one of many lakes forming the Lockhart drainage system; while
Nonacho Lake, 305 square miles, is one of the chain of Lakes of all sizes and
shapes through which the Taltson River flows in its northwesterly course to Great
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Slave Lake. Dubawnt Lake, 1,600 square miles, lies almost wholly within [: ] Keewatin District, but the boundary between Keewatin and Mackenzie districts cuts across its western end.
Because of its general rocky character, its thin, light soil and the nature
of its climate, none of the Canadian Shield is suited to field crops. A great
part of it, however, is covered with mosses, lichens, grasses, sedges and other
forage plants; and since it was at one time the home of millions of caribou,
which are but reindeer in the wild state, this region should some day, perhaps
when pasturage resources elsewhere have become over-grazed, provide pasturage
for vast herds of reindeer. At the time of writing, a reindeer reserve of 6,600
square miles east of the Mackenzie delta, not far south of the Arctic Ocean, has
been established by the Canadian Government. Here a herd of reindeer, bought by
the government from Lomen Brothers, in Alaska, and driven overland to new pastures
in Mackenzie District (where they arrived in March, 1935) have done very well.
From these, it is possible, other areas in the Canadian north suitable for rein–
deer grazing, which aggregate an immense territory, may be stocked.
The mountainous part of the District, with the exception of small areas of
valley or tableland, is also out of the question, of course, so far as field
crops are concerned. The absence of
[:
]
foothills also makes impossible the utiliza–
tion of any of the mountain section for grazing. But, when it comes to the
Mackenzie Lowland, the possibilities for agriculture are considerable. South of
Great Slave Lake, west of Slave River, considerable areas of excellent agricul–
tural land are to be found, especially along the Little Buffalo, Buffalo and
Hay river valleys, where field crops could be raised successfully. In addition,
considerable areas of pasturage for horses or cattle are available in this
region, as is evidenced by the existence, west of Slave River, of the northern
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
half of the Wood Buffalo Park in which roam at large the last remnants of the great buffalo herds of the west. Extensive areas of possible agricultural land also exist in different parts of the territory bounded by the Liard River, on the west, the Mackenzie, on the north, and the Kakisa-Beaver River, on the east, extending south to the 60th parallel.
At Fort Smith, which is almost on the 60th parallel, oats and wheat have
been grown for many years, while all the usual varieties of garden produce as
well as small fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries, do extremely
well. In latitude 61° 15′ N., is a settlement called Brow's Farm, which con–
sists of a clearing in the spruce forest of about 40 acres, of which about half
is devoted to hay crops, principally alfalfa, which the owner raises to feed
horses and cattle, and to supply such local market as has hitherto existed.
At Simpson, which has been the site of a trading post for nearly a century and
a half, good gardens have been cultivated and field crops raised during the
greater part of that time; and similar conditions are found at each of the
settlements along the Ma
^
c
^
kenzie River. At Good Hope, for instance, just south
of the Arctic Circle, gardens have been cultivated for over a ce
[:
]
tury, producing
all the usual types of vegetables common to the north temperate zone. Similar
conditions exist at Arctic Red River, in latitude 67° 30′ N., while at Aklavik, within
the Mackenzie delta, gardens are cultivated and forage crops raised for the
feeding ofdairy cattle.
The average temperature at Good Hope for July is 60° F., which is much
the same as that along the coast of New Brunswick, while in mid-June and mid–
August, the average is about 54° F. The long period of sunlight in these lati–
tudes results in rapid growth. The 55-degree summer isotherm, for example, runs
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
through the middle of Great Slave Lake and the west end of Great Bear Lake to Good Hope, where it swings west to the mountains. The winter climate, however, is governed more by latitude than is the summer climate, with the result that a decrease of temperature coincides with increase in latitude. This, however, is not an important factor in determing the agricultural possibilities of the District. What counts is the amount of sunshine in summer, and compared with Ottawa, for example, Simpson has an average of about three hours more sunlight daily for the three summer months. Precipitation is fairly uniform throughout the District, and is somewhat higher than obtains on the prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south. The total precipitation ranges between 15 and 20 inches annually, and snow usually lies to a depth of about two feet, except in the mountains. The existence of permanent frost (permafrost) over a large part of the District also has a bearing on the supply of moisture for plants.
The forest area includes practically the whole of the Mackenzie Lowland
region to within a short distance of the Arctic Ocean. The varieties of trees
consist only of eight, five conifers and three deciduous trees. White spruce
(
Picea alba
), is the most important tree in the region, the principal one used
in building and for general construction purposes. It can be found as far north
as trees grow, and also extends tongues eastward along the valleys of streams
into the otherwise treeless areas of the Canadian Shield beyond the general
timber line. It grows best along the banks and on the islands in the streams;
and even as far north as the mouth of the Peel, at the head of the Mackenzie
delta, trees which grow to a height of over 100 feet and measure 18 inches on the
stump are not uncommon. Black spruce (
Picea mariana
) is found together with
white spruce, but it never reaches the same size and therefore its value for
building purposes is limited. In some localities it is sufficiently plentiful
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
to become available some day for pulpwood. Banksian pine ( Pinus banksiana ), growing on sandy or gravelly ridges, is found generally throughout the Mackenzie Lowland, as far north as latitude 64° 30′ N. Temarack ( Larix americana ) is found everywhere throughout the Mackenzie Lowland, principally in the muskegs, as far north as trees grow. It does not reach sufficient size to be of value for building purposes, but since it is tough, it has many uses. Balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ) grows principally in the valleys of the mountain section and on the lower slopes of the mountains, but it is not as abundant as the other confers. Balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera ), aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) and birch ( Betula papyrifera ) also extend over most of the region. The latter is an im– portant tree, with a wide variety of uses. It has the hardest wood of any tree that grows in the District, and is therefore useful for all purposes requiring a hard wood.
The District of Mackenzie offers a variety of commercial opportunities.
The first commercial undertaking was, of course, the fur trade. It was to the
fur trade that the region owed its first exploration, and for over a century after
the first traders arrived their posts constituted the principal settlements, and
the fur trade provided the main occupation of its inhabitants, whites as well
as natives. Most of the principal fur-bearing animals have for many years been
plentiful over most of the region, such as the fox, beaver, marten, mink, lynx,
muskrat, ermine and otter. At a time when the fur production of Canada was worth
$5,000,000 a year, the Mackenzie basin (including some portions outside the
present District) produced furs to the value of $2,000,000. While the greater
part of the furs exported from the District are caught by Indians and Eskimos,
about 20 percent of the total catch is the product of white trappers. The leading
furs, in order of their greatest contribution to the total, are: muskrat, white
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
fox, beaver, ermine, red and cross fox, mink, marten and lynx. This order changes somewhat from time to time. The annual catch of muskrats in Mackenzie District at the time of writing is about 225,000 pelts. The beaver was once the chief fur animal in the territory, but it is early esterminated, and it has been found necessary to protect it by frequent closed seasons. A century ago the annual catch of marten was about 30,000 pelts, but it has since dropped to as low as 5,000, and lower; and consequently protective measures have also been necessary with respect to this animal. It is likely that Mackenzie District will always remain a fur-producing region; but as settlement increases and certain areas are given over to mining and other industrial purposes, the fur– bearing animals will naturally be driven from some of their previous haunts. There is no reason, however, to anticipate the extinction of any of the fur– producers if adequate conservation measures are continued. On the contrary - with proper conservation, there is no reason why most of these animals should not increase, since large areas of the District will probably always be more suited to wild life than to anything else.
Until the development of the Yellowknife mining community began just before
World War II, the principal inhabitants of Mackenzie District consisted of
Indians and Eskimos, the former occupying the area extending northward as far
as timber grows; the latter occupying chiefly the treeless regions beyond, especially
along the Arctic coast. While the Indians have separated into a number of
different groupings, not properly referred to as tribes, such as the Chipewyan,
Slave, Dogrib, Nahanni and Hare, they all belong to the great Athapaskan com–
munity. The Eskimos, likewise, over the whole of their territory, maintain an
almost identical culture. They, too, have regional groupings, but essentially
they are one people.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
From the appearance of things at the time of writing, the greatest resource
of the District would seem to be its mineral deposits. While the greater per–
centage of Mackenzie District is underlain by pre-Cambrian rocks, a very large
area consists of sediments of later deposition. The pre-Cambrian area consists
mainly of granites and gneisses, with small areas here and there of older, highly
metamorphosed rocks such as quartzite, slate, and sericite and chlorite schists.
Also there are later sandstones that have beenintruded by basic igneous rocks.
The wide stretches of granite and gneiss have so far not by themselves been
productive of minerals of economic importance; but the older, much altered rocks
and the more recent basic dykes, sills, and flows are often found to carry
metallic minerals in commercial quantities.
The sediments lying to the west of the pre-Cambrian region consist of lime–
stones and shales of Devonian age, as well as shales and sandstones of Creta–
ceous and Tertiary age. The Devonian limestones and shales form a broad belt
stretching from the southern boundary northward nearly to the Arctic coast. In
the southern part of the District, they are overlaid by Cretaceous rocks, and
also toward the mouth of the Mackenzie. These later sediments also overlie
the Devonian rocks in long stretches along the Mackenzie above and below Great
Bear River and are exposed to the west and north of Great Bear Lake. Small areas
Of Tertiary sediments are found at the mouth of Great Bear River
^
and
^
on Peel River.
In the Tertiary sediments seams of lignite coal have been located at different
points, while in the Devonian, petroleum has been found at a number of places,
either seepages of by the drill.
Following the discovery of light oils in Turner Valley, Alberta, in 1914,
prospectors worked northward and an examination of various seepages in the
Mackenzie River about 50 miles north of Fort Norman at a point where what is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
now known as Bosworth Creek flows into the Mackenzie from the east, since known as Horman Wells. These leases were later acquired by Imperial oil Limited, Canadian subsidiary of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey); and in 1919 development was undertaken by Northwest Company, a subsidiary of Imperial Oil Limited. Theodore A. Link, then a young geologist in the employ of Imperial Oil Limited (now its chief geologist), was commissioned to proceed to Norman Wells to supervise the drilling of a number of wells. The first drilling was begun in 1920 at a point near the site of the seepages at the mouth of Bosworth Creek. Drilling was by cable-tool rig; bedrock was reached under frozen glacial drift at a depth of less than 20 feet; and at 83 feet, a flow of fresh water was struck, below which the first showing of oil was encountered. This was in what came to be known as the Imperial formation, which at that point was 255 feet thick. Some oil was found throughout the entire thickness of this formation. Passing out of the Imperial formation, the drill penetrated what was called the Fort Creek shales, which also were oil-bearing; and, at a depth of 783 feet, drilling was discontinued because the flow of oil (rising at times 75 feet in the air through 6-inch casing) seemed sufficient for the moment. In 1923, this (Discovery) well was deepened to 1,025 feet, still in the Fort Creek shales, and a further flow resulted. In the next few years Northwest Company drilled five additional wells in various locations in the Norman Wells field, in all but one of which various quantities of oil were secured. In 1921, the Fort Norman Oil Company drilled a well about eight miles up the river from Imperial's Discovery well, but no oil had been secured when the well was [: ] abandoned at a depth of 1,512 feet.
Since no market existed for oil in the lower Mackenzie at that time,
Imperial Oil Limited capped its wells to await future developments. Then a demand
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
arose in an unexpected quarter. In 1930, Gilbert La Bine staked the Eldorado mine at the eastern end of Great Bear Lake and began the production of radium. The development of what became eventually a large mining enterprise created a need for fuel, which Imperail Oil Limited was able to supply. The company re-opened its wells and installed a small refining plant with a capacity of 850 barrels a day, which operated only in summer. Imperial's equipment was adequate to the need until the United States entered World War II, but that event changed the whole picture. Before the entry of the United States, the Canadian Government had completed the construction of a line of airports between Edmonton, Alberta, and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, within eas e y reach of Fairbanks, Alaska; and shortly after the entrance of the United States, the U.S. Army built a highway through Canadian territory to Fairbanks. Soon both highway and airports were busy conveying war materials to Alaska and to the Soviet Union; but for this, oil [: ] was required. Since tankers were not available to bring in supplies by way of the Pacific, a plan, known as the Canol project was evolved under which additional wells would be drilled at Norman Wells and a pipeline laid between Norman Wells and Whitehorse, where a refinery was to be erected to convert the crude oil into aviation gasoline and other products required. This neces– sitated the building of a pipeline thro ^ u ^ gh passes of the Mackenzie Mountains, a distance of approximately 600 miles, which was one of the most spectacular projects of the whole war, and built at an enormous cost. Following the end of the war, the pipeline was scarpped.
When the Japanese were driven out of the Aleutians, and oil requirements
in northern Canada and Alaska became less urgent, at the end of 1944, the drilling
program was discontinued. Up to that time, 62 well had been drilled, of which
[:
]
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
56 were oil-producers. The drilling went far toward determining the extent of the Norman Wells field and established the fact that the oil-producing forma– tion consisted of coralline limestones. In addition to the drilling, an in– tensive prospecting program was undertaken. Early in 1942, arrangements were made to put 13 geological survey parties in the field, and these began a systematic survey of the Mackenzie valley from below Great Slave Lake to the Mackenzie delta. The parties were flown to their assigned locations by U.S. Army transport planes, and were serviced and supervised by airplanes. The geological examination of the Mackenzie Valley under the Canol Project was the most extensive and intensive project of its kind every undertaken anywhere. It was planned and directed by Dr. T. A. Link. While the Norman Wells field was the only one drilled, an immense amount of geological information was secured which will be of inestimable value to future generations engaged in the development of the great oil-bearing structures which were indicated by the survey as underlying the Mackenzie Valley. At many points, in addition to Nor– man Wells, strata of coralline limestone were found to exist in structural condi– tions favorable to the concentration and retention of oil.
Before Gilbert LaBine staked the Eldorado claims in 1930, the general feel–
ing among mining men and geologists had been that the most productive portion
of the Mackenzie Valley would probably prove to be that underlain by Palaeozoic
rocks, and much
[:
]
of the attention of the Geological Survey of Canada and others
had been directed to ward the examination of such areas, especially with a view
to the securing of oil. At that time, the great Canadian Shield to the east–
ward was largely unknown geologically, and such examinations as had been made,
while indicating areas in which the prospects seemed favorable, had not disclosed
much to encourage prospectors to undertake the expense and labor required for
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
its more intensive examination, particularly while more accessible regions else– where in Canada still lay untouched. Ia Bine's discovery helped to turn the eyes of the mining fraternity to the P re-Cambrian rocks on the eastern margin of the Mackenzie Valley. This led to important gold discoveries at Yellowknife Bay, on the west shore of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, along the Yellow– knife River, and east and west of that stream. By the outbreak of World War II, despite high transportation costs, resulting in high costs of operation, five producing mines had been developed, and the town of Yellowknife was growing rapidly. The war forced the mines to discontinue production, and development generally was suspended until the end of hostilities; but since then the produc– tive area has been widely extended, many additional mines have been brought into production, and the field is believed by many whose opinion is worth while to become eventually the greatest in North America, while some even go much beyond that.
Since the first days of the fur trade, the Mackenzie system of rivers and
lakes has been the chief transportation route through the country, and the canoes
of the traders constituted the first medium of transport. These were later
supplemen
^
t
^
ed by heavier cargo boats, rowed or sailed down stream and tracked up–
stream. Mackenzie District is, of course, dependent upon transportation facilities
which extend beyond its borders to the south. In fur-trading days, the entrance
to the District was by way of Methye Portage, leading from the Churchill River
and a long series of waterways culminating in the St. Lawrence River at Montreal.
River steamers operating on the North Sask
[:
]
tchewan first reached Edmonton in 1875,
and a few years later a road was
[:
]
built north to the Athabaska River, 100 miles,
to Athabaska Landing.
[:
]
Thereafter, much of the traffic followed that route to
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Athabaska Landing, down the river by boat or scow to Fort McMurray, where freight was transshipped to streamers [: ] operating from there to the head of the rapids on Slave River, where a 16-mile portage was necessary, but below which, to the Arctic, no further interruption occurred.
The railway reached Edmonton in 1891, which ended steamer traffic on the
Saskatchewan, and also put an end to the Methye Portage route. When the railway
reached the town of Peace River on the river of the same name in 1916, traffic
bound for Mackenzie District went by way of the Peace, which was interrupted
only once (at Vermilion Chute), which made it preferable to the Athabaska because
the latter, in its upper reaches, contains many heavy rapids and could be navi–
gated — and then with difficulty — only by small boats and scows. The Atha–
baska came back into the picture, however, in 1921, where a railway from -
Edmonton reached Waterways, on the Clearwater River, a few miles above its con–
fluence with the Athabaska at Fort McMurray. The first steamer appeared on the
upper Athabaska in 1884, and the first on the lower river in 1886. Since then
steamers have been the principal transportation agency on the Mackenzie system.
With the rapid development at Yellowknife, a highway became imperative and
a road previously used only in winter time, from Grimshaw, on the Northern Alberta
Railways, northeastward to the mouth of Hay River, a distance of about 400 miles,
has been, by the joint efforts of the Alberta and Federal governments, converted
into an all-year road. In winter, tractor-trains consisting of a caterpillar
tractor drawing a number of 15-ton sleds and a caboose, operated between
Grimshaw and Hay River settlement.
The airplane first invaded the Mackenzie in 1921, and by 1926 an air mail
service had been inaugurated. The discovery of the
[:
]
^
Eldorado
^
r
mine in 1930, and
the subsequent activity at Yellowknife, have greatly accelerated the use of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
planes, both for fright and passenger transportation. At the time of writing, practically all airplane services from Edmonton to points in Mackenzie District are controlled by Canadian pacific Air Lines, which acquired and consolidated several separate lines previously operating out of Edmonton. Regular schedules are maintained to Yellowknife, Aklavik, Port Radium, Coppermine, and other points in Mackenzie District, the frequency depending upon the amount of traffic available.
Any scheme of economic development is dependent upon power, and in this
respect Mackenzie District is fortunately situated in having large quantities
of potential hydro-electric energy, widely distributed over the country. To
begin with, the rapids at Fort Smith, on the southern boundaryof the District,
could produce from 200,000 to 500,000 horse-power. The Lockhart River, which
flows through a number of large lakes suitable for water-storage, has a fall
of 700 feet in its final 25 miles. At Alexandra Falls, on Hay River, the river
drops 140 feet and at Louise Falls, on the same river, there is a further
[:
]
drop of 52 feet. At White Eagle Falls, on Camsell River, a few miles south of
Great Bear Lake, a head of 70 feet
[:
]
could be secured, providing a maximum of
10,000 and a minimum of 4,000 horse-power. Falls on the South
[:
]
Nahanni, the
Peel, the Coppermine and many others could, as required, contribute their quota
of power.
The first person of European descent to visit any part of what is now the
District of Mackenzie was Samuel Hearne of the Hudson's Bay Company, who, in 1769,
set out from Fort Prince of Wales at Churchill Harbor to investigate the reported
deposits of copper on the river that has since been called the Coppermine. He
made three attempts to reach his objective, the third of which was successful.
His first attempt was begun on November 6, 1769, when he departed with a party
consisting of two white men and a number of Indians, the latter of whom deserted
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
before the expedition had gone very far, and Hearne was forced to return to Fort Prince of Wales. Setting out again on February 23, 1770, with none but Indians in his party, although different ones from those on his first attempt, he spent all summer wandering about in what is now Keewatin District, following the hunt with his Indians, but making slow progress toward the Coppermine. The nearest he got was a point north and west of Dubawnt Lake, when his guides decided the season was too far advanced to admit of proceeding to the Coppermine, advising him to winter with them and defer the attempt until spring. When, however, his sextant was blown over by the wind and broken, Hearne decided to return to Fort Prince of Wales, and prepare for another attempt. This he did, reaching Fort Prince of Wales on November 25, 1770. Twelve days later, Hearne was off again, this time under better Indian auspices, following a more southerly course than previously. His party reached the present Mackenzie District when they crossed Kasba Lake on the ice. Continuing west by south, they had, by the beginning of March, reached Wholdaia Lake, near the headwaters of the Dubawnt River. From there they moved on slowly to Clowey Lake, where they were joined by upwards of 200 Indians who proposed to join the expedition. Hearne now discovered that their purpose in doing so was to attack their hereditary enemies, the Eskimos. Leaving Clowey Lake, their course was almost due north; and on May 30, they reached Peshew Lake, where most of the women were left behind to follow at a more leisurely pace. On July 12, a branch of the Coppermine was crossed, and the following day they reached the main stream about 40 miles from its mouth. Here, scouts reported an Eskimo encampment some distance down the stream, which the Indians made prepara– tions to surprise; and then followed the massacre that has given the place its name — Bloody Fall. Following the massacre, Hearne descended the river to its mouth, a further eight miles, and then began the return journey. On this part ofEA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
the trip, he continued south by west between the Coppermine and Yellowknife rivers, reaching the north side of Great Slave Lake on December 24, 1771. Crossing the lake on the ice, he reached the south shore near the mouth of Slave River, which he ascended for about 40 miles, and then turned east, crossing the Dubawnt and Kazan rivers near their headwaters, and arrived at Fort Prince of Wales on June 30, 1772.
The first of the fur traders to reach Mackenzie District — aside from
Hearne — was Peter Pond, a partner in the Northwest Company who, in 1778, estab–
lished the first fort in Mackenzie territory on the Athabaska River about 30
miles above its mouth. The following year he dispatched two traders,
c
Cuthbert
Grant and Laurent LeRoux, to Great Slave Lake to establish a fort there, which
he probably visited himself. Pond was succeeded in charge of the Athabaska
district in 1788 by an ardent young Scottish fur trader, Alexander Mackenzie,
who established Fort Chipewyan on the south shore of Lake Athabaska and the
following year descended the Mackenzie to its mouth, making the return journey
in 102 days.
In 1820, Captain (later Sir) John Franklin, accompanied by Dr. Richardson,
George Back and Robert Hood, proceeded from Old Fort Providence, on the north
arm of Great Slave Lake, on an overland trip to the Coppermine River and the
Arctic coast. At Winter Lake, they erected a small structure which they called
Fort Enterprise; and, in 1821, descended the Coppermine
[:
]
and explored the
Arctic coast eastward, including Coronation Gulf, Bathurst Inlet, Melville Sound
and part of Kent Peninsula as far as Turnagain Point, in longitude 108° W. On
the return journey, they ascended a river named after Franklin's Companion, Hood,
as far as Wilberforce Falls, and proceeded overland to Fort Enterprise, enduring
great hardship and privation before their destination was reached;in fact, they
ver nearly starved to death.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Three years after his return to England, Franklin was again in Mackenzie
District, this time for the purpose of exploring the Arctic coast west of the
Coppermine River. After spending the winter at Fort Franklin, at the western
end of Great Bear Lake, Franklin and his party
[:
]
descended the Mackenzie River
to the head of the delta, where, at a spot since known as Separation Point,
they divided. Franklin and Back descended the western branch of the Mackenzie
and explored the Arctic coast westward for 374 miles. Richardson and a young
naval officer named Kendall descended the eastern branch and followed the
coast by boat eastward to the Coppermine, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles. He
then ascended that river as far as a tributary now known as Kendall River,
and from it crossed to the headwaters of Dease River and thence to Great Bear
Lake, where Franklin shortly joined him at Fort Franklin.
In 1833, George Back, now commander of his own expedition, reached the
eastern end of Great Slave Lake to search for possible evidence of the fate
of Captain (later Sir) John Ross, who had sailed into the Arctic four years
before and of whom nothing had yet been heard. In prosecuting the search, Back
proposed to descend the Great Fish River (now Back River) to the Arctic coast.
That autumn he explored a number of lakes about the headwaters of the Lockhart
River, one of which a mile north of Lake Aylmer, proved to be the source of Great
Fish River. After wintering at Fort Reliance, near the mouth of Lockhart River
at the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, Back, accompanied by Dr. Richardson,
descended Great Fish River in June and July, 1834, and explored the Arctic coast as
far east as Cape Ogle, the northeastern extremity of Adelaide Peninsula, return–
ing up the river later in the same year, to spend another
[:
]
winter at Fort –
Reliance.
Although exploration had been one of the conditions of the charter which
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie Distrit
the Hudson's Bay Company had secured from King Charles II of England in 1670, very little exploration accomplished by the company, except for the journeys of Samuel Hearne. During the first part of the nineteenth century, the company was subject to considerable criticism because of this failure and, as a measure of justification, in 1837, dispatched one of its officers, Thomas Simpson, ac– companied by another officer, Peter Warren Dease, to Mackenzie District to conduct explorations. In that year, they explored west of the Mackenzie, spending the winter at the eastern end of Great Bear Lake, where they built Fort Confidence. The following June they ascended Dease River, crossed Dease River, crossed to the Coppermine and descended it to the Arctic coast, which they explored east– ward as far as Cape Alexander, returning to Fort Confidence for a second winter. In 1939, they returned to the Arctic by the same route as the previous year and succeeded in penetrating eastward as far as Rae Strait.
In 1848, Dr. John Richardson, returning to Mackenzie District for the
fourth time, descended the Mackenzie and continued eastward to the Coppermine,
which he ascended, proceeding thence to Great Bear Lake.
After Dr. John Rae had secured evidences of the fate of the Franklin ex–
pedition of 1845 in Pelly Bay, east of
i
Boothia Peninsula, the Hudson's Bay
Company, at the request of the British Government, dispatched James Anderson
and James Stewart to make a fuller investigation of the scene of the last camp
of the Franklin party. In 1855, they descended Back River and after having
found further evidences of the fate of Franklin's men on Montreal Island in Chantrey
Inlet, near the mouth of Back River, returned up that river later in the same
year.
With the transfer of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company to the
Dominion of Canada in 1869, responsibility for the exploration of the country
devolved upon the Government of Canada. The first exploratory journey of any
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
consequence in Mackenzie District made under Canadian Government auspices was made in 1887 by R. G. McConnell (q.v.), who had accompanied Dr. George M. Dawson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, from the Stikine River, on the Pacific coast, to the confluence of Dease River (not to be confused with the river of the same name east of Great Bear Lake) and the Liard, descending the latter to the Mackenzie. In the following year, he made a geological survey of the river from Fort Smith, on Slave River, to the mouth of the Peel, and up Rat River to the Bell and Porcupine rivers, thence to the Yukon.
The following year, William Ogilvie, of the Department of the Interior,
reached the Mackenzie Valley from Yukon Territory by way of Porcupine, Bell and
Peel rivers, and carried a survey up the Mackenzie to Great Slave Lake, thence
up Slave River to Lake Athabaska, for the first time definitely fixing many of
the most important geographical points in the country.
In 1893, Dr. J. D. Tyrrell, accompanied by his brother James, portaged from
the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, and explored the Dubawnt River from Wholdaia
Lake to its confluence with the Thelon River, and explored the latter to its mouth
in Baker Lake. During the summer of 1899, explorations were conducted on Great
Slave Lake by Dr. Robert Bell and his assistant Dr. J. M. Bell; and in 1900,
the latter explored Great Bear River and the northern and eastern shores of
Great Bear Lake. After making a traverse to Coppermine River, he returned to
Great Bear Lake and proceeded by way of a series of rivers and lakes from the
southern shore of Great Bear Lake to the North Arm of Great Slave Lake. In the
same year, Dr. J. W. Tyrrell explored the upper Thelon River, making a portage
across from the eastern end of Great Slave Lake. In 1905, Charles Camsell made
a reconnaissance of the Wind and Peel rivers from the Yukon side of the mountains,
returning to the Yukon by an alternative route. In 1914, Camsell explored the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
Tazin-Taltson river system from the source of the Tazin, a short distance north of Lake Athabaska, to the mouth of the Taltson in Great Slave Lake. Since then, many members of the Geological Survey of Canada have contributed to the explora– tion of different parts of Mackenzie District,culminating in the great amount of work that has been done in the region north of Great Slave Lake and in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake, as well as the extensive investigations that have been made in the Palaeozoic rocks of the Mackenzie Lowland.
In 1908, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, accompanied by Rudolph M. Anderson, began,
under the suspices of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the
Geological Survey of Canada, an exploration of the Arctic coast of Canada,
especially with respect to the way of life of the Eskimo peoples, and the fauna
and flora of the region. The first winter was spent mainly along the coast
west of the Mackenzie delta, and it was not till the fall of 1909 that Stefansson
began what he considered his main work. In a general way, the existence of
Eskimos between Cape Parry and Coronation Gulf was taken for granted, but no
one, so far as was known, had ever visited them. Camp for the winter of 1909-10
was established at LangtonBay, at the foot of Franklin Bay, but much of the time
was spent in travelling about the country, up and down Horton River, to secure
food for the
paty
party, which consisted, in addition to Anderson, of several
Eskimos. In April 1910, Stefannson, accompanied by three Eskimos, set forth on
a trip eastward along the coast to visit the unknown people, and early in May,
near Cape Bexley, came upon the first groups of Copper Eskimos. After spending
a few days with these people, Stefansson continued eastward to Coronation Gulf,
and in June ascended the Coppermine River, and spent the summer in the vicinity
of Dismal Lake, wintering on a branch of the Dease River, from which various trips
were
[:
]
made. The expedition remained another year along the Arctic coast
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
but no new territory in Mackenzie District was explored.
The southern party of the Canadian Arctic (Stefansson) Expedition, 1913-18,
spent the greater part of the time from the winter of 1913-14 to 1916 along the
Arctic coast of Mackenzie District, where from a base at Bernard Harbor geologi–
cal, geographical and ethnological explorations and studies were conducted.
In addition to the above, a great deal of exploration has been carried on by
private individuals, largely by airplane, in the search
[:
]
for minerals. Accounts of most of these are unpublished and any contribution
which they have made toward geographical discovery cannot yet be determined;
but gradually the region is emerging from the mists that have for so long ob–
scured it from all but the very few.
Mackenzie District is administered by the Federal Government of Canada. On
June 22, 1869, an act was passed by parliament entitled an "Act for the temporary
government of Rupert's Land and the North-West Territory when united with Canada."
A year and a day later, the imperial parliament at London transferred these
lands to Canada, which have since been administered under the name, Northwest
Territories. From time to time, sections have been removed to become new provinces
or to be included in provinces already formed. Thus, in 1870, the province of
Manitoba, considerably smaller than its present dimensions, was created; and in
1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan came into being, occupying all the
territory between the provinces of Manitoba and British Columbia, from the 49th
parallel to the 60th parallel. After various changes of boundary and jurisdiction,
the Northwest Territories were divided into three districts, Mackenzie, Keewatin
and Franklin, effective January 1, 1921, and their boundaries were set as they
are today. Following the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan,
a Northwest Territories Amendment Act was passed setting forth, among other
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
but no new territory in Mackenzie District was explored.
The southern party of the Canadian Arctic (Stefansson) Expedition, 1913-18,
spent the greater part of the time from the winter of 1913-14 to 1916 along the
Arctic coast of Mackenzie District, where from a base at Bernard Harbor geologi–
cal, geographical and ethnological explorations and studies were conducted.
In addition to the above, a great deal of exploration has been carried on by
private individuals, largely by airplane, in the search
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]
for minerals. Accounts of most of these are unpublished and any contribution
which they have made toward geographical discovery cannot yet be determined;
but gradually the region is emerging from the mists that have for so long ob–
scured it from all but the very few.
Mackenzie District is administered by the Federal Government of Canada. On
June 22, 1869, an act was passed by parliament entitled an "Act for the temporary
government of Rupert's Land and the North-West Territory when united with Canada."
A year and a day later, the imperial parliament at London transferred these
lands to Canada, which have since been administered under the name, Northwest
Territories. From time to time, sections have been removed to become new provinces
or to be included in provinces already formed. Thus, in 1870, the province of
Manitoba, considerably smaller than its present dimensions, was created; and in
1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan came into being, occupying all the
territory between the provinces of Manitoba and British Columbia, from the 49th
parallel to the 60th parallel. After various changes of boundary and jurisdiction,
the Northwest Territories were divided into three districts, Mackenzie, Keewatin
and Franklin, effective January 1, 1921, and their boundaries were set as they
are today. Following the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan,
a Northwest Territories Amendment Act was passed setting forth, among other
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
things, provisions for the administration of what remained of the Northwest Territoirires. This act provided for the appointment by the federal government of a chief executive officer called the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and a Council of not more than four members to assist him. This was modified in 1921 to provide for the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner and to increase the membership of the Council to six. The Commissioner and members of the Council are usually all senior civil servants at Ottawa, generally headed by the Deputy Minister of the Department through which the Council is responsible to the Gov– ernment. For many years this was the Department of the Interior, and now is the Department of Mines and Resources. The Council sits at Ottawa, but an admini– strative center has been maintained at Fort Smith, and since much of the admini– strative work now concerns Yellowknife, [: ] ^ an ^ office has also been established there, where mining claims may be recorded, miner's licences secured, and from where the enforcement of regulations concerning the operation of mines is controlled. The regular government departments at Ottawa, such as Health and Welfare, Agricul– ture, and any others concerned cooperate with the Council to provide such services as may come under their respective jurisdictions. For example, all medical doctors in the District, except perhaps, some now in Yellowknife, and those employed by mining and oil companies, are full-time employees of the Department of Health and Welfare, but serve as medical health officers for the enforcement of the sanitation and health regulations of the Council.
According to the census of 1941, the population of the Northwest Territories
consisted of 12,026 persons, of whom 2,248 were whites, 4,334 Indians and 5,404
Eskimos, and consequently, with such a small and scattered population, there was
little demand for much change in the administrative set-up. No community was
sufficiently large to wish to incur the expanse of local government. But
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]
since the development of gold mining in the Yellowknife district, and the estab-
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
lishment [: ] of the town of Yellowknife, there has been a considerable amount of demand for a change in the system, especially for [: ] representation in the House of Commons. The latter demand was met in part by the Redistribution Act of 1947, under which Mackenzie District will in future be represented in parliament by the member who formerly represented only Yukon Territory. It is inevitable, however, that as the population increases and other considerable communities grow up, the demand for provincial status will increase. At present, in the town of Yellowknife, tital to all land is vested in the Government and those requiring lots for business or residential purposes secure them on lease. The Government consequently maintains most of the services. For example, it has constructed a power project on Snare River, about 90 miles north of Yellowknife town, from which power is being distributed both to small consumers and to mining companies.
Here and there a voice is raised in favor of the joint develoment of their
adjoining territories — Yukon Territory, Mackenzie District and Alaska — by Canada
and the United States, by the creation of a joint planning and administrative
board to which should be given broad powers to provide for long-range planning
and the execution of whatever plans are agreed upon. It is recognized that the
methods by which the Canadian and American west were opened up are not applicable
to the north, even if it were admitted that the plan followed in the case of the
former was the best possible in the circumstances. It is realized that the
opening of the north is a field where cooperative, large scale operations are
the only ones likely to succeed, and that governmental agencies are the ones most
capable of planning and executing them. An instance is the establishment of domestic
reindeer in the northern part of Mackenzie District. The original herd of 2,370
head which arrived from Alaska in 1935 was bought by the Government of Canada.
The Northwest Territories administration supervises the main herd (which has more
than doubled in the interval), the slaugh
a
tering of surplus animals, the distribu-
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
tion of meat to mission hospitals and residential schools, or for other purposes, the development of small herds under Eskimo management, and the training of Eskimo herders in order that the industry may continue as far as possible in the hands of the native population.
On the other hand, there is pressure from interested parties to have the
District, or sections of it, divided into large parcels and leased to mining
corporations, each of which would be given a monopoly over the exploration and
development of the mineals in its respective area. Already one such lease
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]
has been granted to two corporations jointly — The Consolidated Mining and
smelting Company of Canada Limited and Ventures Limited — covering an area of
500 square miles in extent on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, where zinc–
lead prospects are believed to be extremely promising. If the plans of the
lessees materialize as formulated, a railway will be necessary, which presumably
the lessees are prepared to build. A railway into Mackenzie District is required
for its proper development, but those who feel that the planning and development
of Mackenzie District and Yukon Territory should be carried out in conjunction with
the planning and development of Alaska, are apprehensive lest the setting up of
vested interests such as the above will prevent or seriously interfere with the
co-ordinated development of the whole region. In their view, the time must
come when a great international highway crossing these territories shall unite
North America and Asia by means of a tunnel under Bering Strait. To those who
think thus, all other considerations are subordinate in importance.
References
:
Hearne, Samuel:
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the
Northern Ocean. Undertaken by Order of the Hudson's Bay Company, for
the Discovery of Copper Mines, a North-West Passage, etc., in the Years
1769-1772;
with notes and introduction by J. B. Tyrrell; Champlain
Society, Toronto, 1911.
Mackenzie, Alexander:
Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Lawrence, through
the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie District
years 1789 and 1793. With a Preliminary Account of the Rise, Progress and Present State of the Fur Trade of that Country . London, 1901.
Franklin, John:
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in 1819-22
.
London, 1823.
----.
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea in the
Years 1825, 1826 and 1827. . Including the Progress of a Detachment to
the Eastward by John Richardson
. London, 1828.
Back, George:
Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the North of the Great
Fish River and Along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in the Years 1833
,
1834 and 1835
. London, 1838.
Simpson, Thomas:
Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast Effected by the
Officers of the Hudson's Bay Company During the Years 1836-39.
London,
1843.
McConnell, R. G.: Geological Survey of Canada, Reports, Vol. IV, 1888-89.
Stefansson, V.:
My Life with the Eskimo
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]
, New York, 1913.
Department of Naval Service:
Reports on the Canadian Arctic Expedition
, 1913-1918.
Ottawa, 1917-28.
Camsell, C. and Malcolm, W.: The Mackenzie River Basin. Geological Survey of
Canada, Memoir No. 108, 1921.
Stockwell, C. H. and Kidd, D. F.:
Metalliferous Mineral Possibilities of the Main-
land Part of the Northwest Territories
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Summary Report, 1931.
Kidd, D. F.:
Rae to Great Bear Lake, Mackenzie District, N.W.T. Geological Survey
of Canada, Memoir No. 187, 1936.
Bethune, W. C.:
Canada's Western Northland: Its History, Resources, Population,
and Administration
, Ottawa, 1937.
Lord, C. S.:
Mineral Industry of the Northwest Territories
. Geological Survey
of Canada, Memoir No. 230, 1941.
Finnie, R.:
Canada Moves North,
Toronto, 1942.
Hume, C.S. and Link, T.A.:
Canol Geological Investigations in the Mackenzie River
Area, Northwest Territories and Yukon
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Paper 45-16, 1945.
Dawson, C.A. ed.:
The New North-West
, Toronto, 1947.
<bibl>
D. M. LeBourdais
</bibl>Mackenzie Mountains
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
MACKENZIE MOUNTAINS
The Rocky Mountains are often thought of as the "backbone of the conti–
nent," but, as as a matter of fact, they terminate far short of the extremity
of North America. South of latitude 60° N., where the Liard River, on its way
to join the Mackenzie River, cuts across the last outliers of their escarpment,
the Rocky Mountains come to an end. Other mountains, different in some respects,
continue the Cordilleran chain. The first of these are the Mackenzie Mountains,
which are sometimes considered to be a continuation of the Rockies, but which,
in fact, constitute an entirely different group of mountains. They run in the
same general direction as the Rocky Mountains, but they are not a continuation,
since their axis is about 80 miles farther east than a line projected northwest–
ward from the terminal ranges of the Rocky Mountains would follow.
The Mackenzie Mountains occupy a crescent-shaped area extending from latitude
61° 10′ N., longitude 124° W., to latitude 65° 25′ N., longitude 135° 50′ W.
They have a maximum width of about 100 miles. The Mackenzie Mountains fall into
two fairly district parallel groups of ranges, the easternmost of which is called
Canyon Ranges, and the westernmost, the Backbone Ranges. These mountains are dis–
tinguished from the Selwyn Mountains, to the west, once considered part of them,
by the fact that they are composed almost entirely of sedimentary rocks, while
the Selwyn Mountains consist largely of metamorphic and intrusive rocks.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie Mountains
The Mackenzie Mountains are cross-cut by two principal river valleys, in
addition to many smaller ones. Keele River occupies a deep depression across
the mid part of the mountains. Redstone River,
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]
farther south, also cuts a
deep and wide valley. The Canol Road (q.v.) crosses the mountains just north
of the main portion of the Keele River valley.
Except in one or two places, the Mackenzie Mountains rise abruptly from
the Mackenzie Plain, presenting a steep escarpment through which tributaries of
the Mackenzie River have cut deep canyons. Among the principal rivers cutting
such canyons are the North Nahanni, Root, Redstone, Carcajou, and Arctic Red
Rivers. These canyons have given the Canyon Ranges their particular name.
The area covered by the Canyon Ranges may be divided into three sections.
In the northwest, the mountains consist of a mass of ranges including small
plateau areas. In the central part, from south of Mountain River to Redstone
River, the principal features are plateau, on the summits of which remnants of
old erosion surfaces are widespread. One of these plateaus is familiar to those
who were engaged in the construction of the Canol Road as the Plains of Abraham.
These plateaus form a tableland more than 6,000 feet high, composed of nearly
horizontal strata in the central part of a broad anticline. In the south part,
which lies south of Redstone River, the country rises and again becomse mountain–
ous. South of Redstone River, the mountain ridges converge, thus narrowing the
valleys and the Canyon Ranges as a whole to a width of about 15 miles at the west
fork of Root River.
Backbone Ranges comprise the eastern part, and form the summits of the Mackenzie
Mountains. As a whole, they constitute a compact group, with few broad valleys
and almost no plateaus or remnants of former land surfaces, such as
[:
]
characterize
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie Mountains
the Canyon Ranges. Peaks here reach a higher level than in the latter ranges, with an average height of about 7,000 feet. Near the northern and southern ex– tremities of the Backbone Ranges, the general level rises, and peaks of 8,000 and 9,000 feet occur.
A difference exists between northern and southern Backbone Ranges. In the
north, the mountains are said to resemble a vast plowed field, in which uniformity
of level and closely spaced ridges and narrow valleys are striking characteristics.
The valleys of Snake and Arctic Red rivers cut great gashes across the main
trend of the mountains. Farther south, the southern head of
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]
Redstone River
and the heads of Root and North Nahanni rivers have great U-shaped valleys with
floors one and two miles wide, in which they have cut deep channels.
Most of the rivers which rise in the Mackenzie Mountains originate in the
Backbone Ranges, and, on their way to the Mackenzie River, cut channels through
the Canyon Ranges. Some of these, however, draw part of their drainage from the
slopes of Selwyn Mountains, which lie beyond the Backbone Ranges, to the west.
On the other hand, none of the streams which flow into the Yukon River has its
source in the Mackenzie Mountains.
References:
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 Cordillera, with Special Reference to
the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Memoir No. 247; 1948.
D. M. LeBourdais
Mackenzie River
EA-Geog. (D. M. LeBourdais)
MACKENZIE RIVER
The Mackenzie River is one of the greatest in North America, the
largest flowing into the Arctic Ocean. While the Mackenzie proper begins at Great
Slave Lake, in latitude 62° N., and longitude 115° W., its sources lie much farther
to the south and west. The Athabaska River, its most southerly tributary, rises
near latitude 52° 30′ N., while another tributary, the Liard, rises beyond longi–
tude 131° W., and the Peele, entering near its mouth, reaches almost as far west
as the boundary between Alaska and Yukon territories. From the headwaters of the
Peace, its longest tributary, to its mouth in latitude 69° N., is a distance of
2,514 miles.
The length of the Mackenzie to the Arctic Ocean from Great Slave Lake is
1,056 miles, and it varies from half a mile to two miles in width over a large part
of that distance, in some places extending to four and five miles. While its
course swings through every point of the compass from southwest to east, it is
mainly northwesterly, cutting diagonally across twenty degrees of longitude.
The Mackenzie's principal tributaries, the Athabaska, Peace, Slave and
Liard, are all great rivers in their own right; and its immense size is largely
due to the contribution they make to its volume. With the exception of Great Bear
River, draining the lake of the same name, which enters from the east 500 miles
above the Mackenzie's mouth, and the Peel, its other tributaries are relativel
negligible.
Except for a break at the rapids, 16 miles long, on the Sla
[:
]
EA [: ] Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
at latitude 60° N., the Mackenzie and its northern tributaries, with Athabaska and Slave, are navigable for river steamers from waterways, end of railway transportation, on the Clearwater River, a tributary of the Athabaska, to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of about 1,700 miles, while the upper Athabaska is navigable for smaller steamers for over 300 miles beyond the Grand Canon, 90 miles above McMurray. The Peace is also navigable for the greater part of the distance between the foothills of the Rockies and its mouth, with one serious obstruction — at Vermilion Chutes — 220 miles from its mouth, where a drop of 30 feet occurs.
First explored to its mouth by Alexander Mackenzie in 1789, the river
which bears his name remained for over a century and a half but a fur-traders'
highway, its principal settlements being the various posts of, first, the North–
west Company and then the Hudson's Bay Company. Although a few far-sighted
persons, notably Vilhjalmur Stefansson, have for some years been stressing the
strategic importance of the Mackenzie as a highway to Asia, even World War II
failed to impress the Canadian authorities with its great importance in this
respect; and with the end of hostilities
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]
what little recognition it had gained
during the war seemed in danger of being forgotten. On the other hand, its
importance as a local traffic artery was, however, increasing steadily with the
growth of mining activity in different parts of the district.
The Mackenzie drainage basin of 682,000 square miles is greater in
area than some of the mighty empires of the past. Although not as large as that
of the Mississippik, no other system on the continent can compare with it. The
St. Lawrence, for example, no mean river itself, drains a territory of but 498,500
square miles. The Mackenzie basin, at its greatest length is 1,350 miles long,
900 miles wide at its broadest, and comprises three lakes which are
[:
]
among the
largest in the world, comparable only to those in the St. Lawrence basin.
In comparatively recent geologic times, the greater part of the
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
Mackenzie basin was submerged beneath the waters of the ocean. Then the land rose and the mountains which now form the backbone of the continent were upthrust. It comprises three distinct physiographic provinces: the Canadian Shield section on the east, a central plain section, and the Cordilleran section on the west.
The Canadian Shield section, from 80 to 280 miles wide and about
800 miles long, constitutes the western contact of the hard pre-Cambrian rocks
of the Shield with the Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of the central plain section.
It slopes gently westward from the height of land, and also northwestward with
the general contour of the country. It is fairly uniform in elevation, as is
characteristic of the Shield, and has the pitted appearance given it by the pre–
sence of innumerable lakes ranging in size from mere ponds to such giants as
Great Slave and Great Bear, both of which lie partly within the
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]
Shield and
partly within the central plain section.
Most of these lake depressions were caused by the gouging of glaciers
when the country was being ground to its present level. At the same time, its
new face was swept clean of all detritus except an occasional small terminal
moraine with its typical nest of boulders. In the interval since the ice age a
sparse layer of soil has accumulated which nourishes a fairly heavy — consider–
ing the rockbound nature of the country — growth of trees, the principal of
which are spruce, banksian pine and tamarack, with poplar, birch or willows
wherever fire has once raged.
So recent, form a geological standpoint, has been the action of the
glaciers that the whole region, despite the age of its rocks, has a fresh-looking
appearance. Marks of glacial reamers can plainly be seen on the surface of the
granite; lake-bottoms are generally of relatively smooth rock, free of mud or mire,
weeds or reeds. Beaches are usually rocky, with practically no sand or gravel
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada:Makenzie River
anywhere. Connecting streams have rocky channels which they have not yet had time to cut down to a uniform level, and nearly all tumble fromone level to another, constituting the country a vast potential power house. Very often these streams connect lakes in series, like beads on a string. The water is clear and fresh; in most cases filled with fish.
The central plain section is a continuation of the great depression
that lies east of the mountains from the Gulf of Mexico northward. It extends
the full length of the Mackenzie basin, and is from 200 to 400 miles wide. Topo–
graphically, it falls into two main regions, a plateau region and a lowland
region. The former occupies almost the whole area south and southwest of Great
Slave Lake, and is a continuation of what farther south is called the Alberta
Plateau. From the foothills, it slopes gradually toward the northeast, ending
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]
in some places in an escarpment that overlooks the adjacent lowlands by about
400 feet. Rivers like the Athabaska and the Peace have carved channels across
the plateau from 800 to 1,200 feet below the level of the surrounding country
where they first enter it, but diminishing in depth as they continue northeast–
ward. The plateau is not uniform in elevation, but is relieved by other plateaus
or ridges, some rising 2,500 feet above the general level.
The lowland region extends northward from the plateau escarpment
along both sides of the main stream, except when the mountains and another
plateau region near the Mackenzie delta encroach upon it. Its general elevation
is low. At the west end of Lake Athabaska it is 700 feet above the sea, sloping
northwestward to the Arctic Ocean at an average grade of not more than eight
inches to the mile. This region, too, is relieved in places by the emergence of
hills or mountains, some rising to 4,000 feet; otherwise it is a flat plain,
thickly forested with small spruce, tamarack and willow. Where drainage is
poor, considerable areas of muskeg exist.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie basin is bounded on the west by the Cordilleran section, from
20 to 200 miles wide, comprising the Rocky Mountains and their northern extensions
the Mackenzie and Richardson mountains. The main ranges of the mountains do not
at all points, however, form the western boundary of the basin. The Mackenzie,
like a northern pine, has most of its branches on one side, the west; and, unlike
any other river on the continent, draws its waters from both sides of the great
Cordilleran upthrust. The Peace and Liard both rise beyond the mountains, the
Liard reaching across part of northern British Columbia
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]
into Yukon Territory
to find its source within a short distance of Pacific tidewater.
The Athabaska, the most southerly tributary of the Mackenzie, rises in that
plexus of glaciers and high mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains that also is
the source of giant rivers that flow into the Pacific and Hudson Bay. It runs
mianly northeasterly into Lake Athabaska, a distance of 765 miles, carving a
deep, picturesque valley across the Alberta Plateau. Lake Athabaska, 195 miles
long and with a maximum width of 35 miles, extends in a northeasterly direction
from the mouth of the Athabaska River, entering near its western end.
Slave River, which flows out of Lake Athabaska almost opposite the mouth
of the Athabaska, flows northward 300 miles to Great Slave Lake. The Peace,
abbut a mile wide at its mouth, empties into the Slave River about 30 miles below
Lake Athabaska; and 71 miles farther down, an outlying spur of the Canadian Shield,
cutting across the course of the stream, interrupts its placid course in a
sixteen-mile series of rapids w ith a
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]
drop of 125 feet, the only serious
obstacle to navigation between the head of navigation on the upper Athabaska
River and the Arctic Ocean. Great Slave Lake, 288 miles long and 60 miles wide
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: CanadaD: Mackenzie River
at its widest, with an area of 11,170 square miles, ranks fifth among the lakes on the continent, being exceeded only by Superior, Huron, Michigan and its neighbor, Great Bear. It also lies in a northeasterly-southwesterly direction, Slave River flowing in about 100 miles east of its western end.
About 1934, promising gold prospects, were discovered in the pre-Cambrian
rocks on the west shore of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, and during the next
few years many thousands of claims were staked and several large mines were
brought under production. The war held up development, but since its end pros–
pecting and development have increased at an accelerating rate, and the town of
Yellowknife (q.v.) had a population in 1948 of about 4,000.
Hay River, 300 miles long, flows into the western end of Great Slave Lake,
emptying into the wider part of the funnel through which the lake pours its waters
into the Mackenzie proper, which here has its inception. Unlike most rivers,
which begin as streamlets, the Mackenzie, having inherited the waters brought down
by the Athabaska, Peace and their numerous tributaries, together with the water
that has accumulated in its great lakes with their many feeders, is a mighty
river from the start. Five to seven miles wide where it leaves Great Slave Lake,
and filled with islands, it is still four miles wide fifteen miles below. Soon
it narrows, however, to half that width, the current quickening to four miles
an hour. At Pro
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]
idence, on the north or east bank, 45 miles below the lake, are
located a Hudson's Bay Company's post, wireless station, Royal Canadian Mounted
Police post, and a Roman Catholic Mission, the latter, with its church, school
and other buildings looking very much like its counterparts along the shores of
the St. Lawrence.
The river, hitherto flowing northwest, widens below Providence into what
is known as Mills Lake, where Horn River, characteristically linking a chain of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
small lakes, comes in from behind the Horn Mountains to the north. Shortly below Mills Lake is what was called the Head of the Line, because it was here that the towing line could be discarded by boats coming up the river. Below here, too, the banks close in; the river first turns southwest, then west, and [: ] finally, just above the mouth of Trout River, which flows in from the west, again swings to the northwest. One hundred and fifty-six miles below Providence, the Liard comes in from the southwest, to pour its silt-laden flood into the clear water of the Mackenzie with which it will not merge for many miles. Just below the mouth of the L [: ] ard, on the north side of a small island, is Simpson, established in 1804 by the Northwest Company, and for many years one of the most important of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts on the Mackenzie.
The valley of the Mackenzie is not very well defined over most of the way
between Great Slave Lake and Simpson. The river flows with a fairly swift
current through a wide, flat plain, bordered on either side by low hills stand–
ing a long way back from the water, its channel wide and broken by many islands.
Seventy-five miles below Simpson, at the mouth of the North Nahanni, a
change occurs in the nature of the country, the river strikes against the base
of the Makenzie Mountains and flows within sight of them for several hundred
miles. There, at Camsell Bend, the river is deflected from its northwesterly
course to almost due north. The top of the escarpment is 2,000 to 3,000 feet
above the plain, and the North Nahanni and Root rivers enter through narrow
gaps in the escarpment face. Not only are mountains seen on the
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]
west side,
but soon a low wooded range rises out of the lowland on the east side and follows
the river for about 200 miles, gradually increasing in height. This is the
Franklin Range, named after Sir John Franklin, who first explored it.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
The river continues a northerly course until, 142 miles below Simpson,
near Wrigley, it again swings off to the northwestward, continuing in that
direction to just above Norman, where a sharp turn to the west occurs. After
a few miles, the northwesterly course is resumed, continuing to the mouth of
the Carcajou River and the Sans Sault Rapids, where the Mackenzie flows over
a ridge of rock.
At the site of old Fort Wrigley, 25 miles above the present post, the
Mackenzie is about a mile and a half wide; but below this for 100 miles high
hills press closely down on either side and confine the river to a channel only
half a mile wide, where the current quickens to five miles an hour. The present
Wrigley is almost opposite the Rock-by-the-River-Side, a perpendicular, round-
topped butte rising from the water's edge to a height of 1,500 feet. About 80 miles
below Wrigley, the river expands again and, until it shoots through the Ramparts
325 miles below, is never less than a mile wide, frequently twice that width.
Norman, almost on latitude 65° N., 162 miles below Wrigley, occupies a
commanding position on the east bank of the river at the mouth of the Great Bear
River. Bear Rock, a landmark visible for miles, rises from the river's edge to
a height of 1,400 feet. A few miles above Norman, on the same wide of the river
as the settlement, columns of smoke can be seen where seams of lignite coal are
burning. Alexander Mackenzie reports having seen the fires when he passed in
1789 and they have been burning ever since. The burnt-out fires leave a red
pigment, which Indians use for paint.
Fifty miles below Norman is Norman Wells, where Imperial Oil Limited is
developing an extensive oil field. In 1920, two shallow wells were sunk by the
Northwest Company, a subsidiary of Imperial, but were capped because no market
then existed for the product. After the Eldorado mine at Great Bear Lake was
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
developed gasoline and fuel oil were produced from a small plant to supply the local demand. During World War II additional wells were drilled and the produc– tion enormously increased in connection wit h the Canol Project (q.v.).
Thirty miles below Norman Wells, Roche Carcajou is seen rising above the
river to a height of 1,000 feet. Looked at from a certain position, it seems
to resemble a wolverine, hence its name. Twenty-five miles farther on, while
the river is expanded to a width of nearly two miles, it suddenly seems to
[:
]
end in a
cul-de-sac,
but turning to the east, and contracting to about 500 yards,
it rushes between vertical walls of rock. The Ramparts, as this section is
called, is an impressive sight, extending for seven miles. At the upper end,
the limestone cliffs average about 125 feet in height, which increases to about
250 feet toward the lower end. The Indians say that the river, tired of traveling
on its belly so far, now turns on its side.
Good Hope shows up next, on the right bank, about two miles below the
Ramparts, its whitewashed buildings an inviting sight as they come into view.
Because of its proximity to the Arctic Circle, its extensive gardens are always
an object of special interest.
For the next 125 miles, the Mackenzie, again on a northerly course, is never
less than a mile wide and in what is known as the
[:
]
Grand View, extends to
about three miles. Then for about 60 miles the river flows westward between clay
banks through a low flat country. When once the river has resumed its usualy
northwestward course, its valley somewhat resembles a wide canon in the section
known as the Lower Ramparts, or Narrows. Immediately below, is Arctic Red River,
at the mouth of the river of the same name flowing in from the west.
Twenty miles below Arctic Red River, the delta begins, extending 100 miles
toward the ocean, although only about 70 miles wide because it is hemmed in be-
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
tween the Richardson Mountains on the west and the Reindeer Hills on the east. At the head of the delta, Peel River flows in from the west. Aklavik, the only place except Yellowknife of all those referred to here that has been established in recent years, is located on the Mackenzie delta, and is the farthest-north community on the river. Tuktoyaktuk is a settlement on the Arctic Coast, 187 miles northeast of Aklavik, east of the Mackenzie delta, locally called Tuktuk, although, according to the Post Office Department, its name is Fort Brabant. Properly speaking, it [: ] is not in the Mackenzie Valley, but it is reached chiefly by way of the river, and is a port of call for some steamers and airplanes handling valley traffic.
While the Mackenzie frequently changes its course, it is not a meandering
stream, and always appears to know where it is going. Although in low water
slight rapids appear in one or two places, it is a deep river, with always plenty
of water for navigation. Its variations in width and swiftness of current are due
mainly to the fact that in its course it cuts through a succession of relatively
hard dolomites and softer cretaceous formations. Unlike the Mississippi and
the Fraser, its water is usually clear, due, of course, to the fact that its
lakes act as storage basins. They also regulate its flow — which has been
estimated at 500,000 cubic feet per second — and consequently the Makenzie does
not show such great variations in the amount of water it carries at different times
of year as do many other large rivers.
The story of the fur trade comprises the greater part of Canadian history;
over a large part of Canada it still remains a living link with the past. Most
of the principal cities in Canada have grown up where furtraders built their
stockades to barter for peltries with the Indians. The first transportation routes
across the continent were blazed by furtraders; and from the fur trade was derived
the first wealth the country ever knew.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
In 1670, not knowing — nor perhaps caring — that in 1493 Pope Alexander
VI had divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, King Charles II of
England, by a stroke of the
[:
]
regal pen, granted to his cousin Prince Rupert
and "Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay," "The
whole trade of all those seas, streights and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and
sounds . . . within the streights commonly called Hudson's streights together
with all the lands, countries and territories upon the coasts and confines
of the seas, streights, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds aforesaid . . ."
The English adventurers established trading posts on Hudson Bay;
[:
t
]
and
Indians from far and near brought their furs to barter for such goods as the
Company cared to give them; for the Company had
^
a
^
monopoly. Its nearest competitors
were French monopolists operating out of Montreal, Three Rivers and Quebec, who,
although they eventually extended their forts to within sight of the Rocky
Mountains, were never a serious threat.
When, however, Canada was ceded to England in 1763, the Company for the
first time faced real competition. The relatively easy-going French fur–
traders were succeeded by tough Scottish adventurers, in the fur trade not solely
because they like the life, but because of the profits that could so
[:
]
easily
be made. Chief of these competitors was the Northwest Company, organized in
1783 by Joseph and Benjamin Frobisher and Simon McTavish of Montreal. While
nominally required to observe the chartered rights of the Hudson's Bay Company,
the Northwest Company followed the trade wherever there was promise of profit.
Not only did it offer competition within the territory specifically reserved
to the Hudson's Bay Company, but it penetrated beyond to lands that drained into
the Pacific and the Arctic.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
The Northwest Company attempted to gain official status in the regions be–
yond the territory included in the Hudson's Bay Company's grant by offering to
explore at its own expense "between the latitudes of 55 and 65, all that tract
of territory extending west of Hudson's Bay to the North Pacific Ocean," in return
for exclusive trade rights for ten years. Probably because of Hudson's Bay Company
influence, the offer was not accepted by the British Government. Nevertheless, it
was largely due to the efforts of the Nor'-westers that exploration was extended
to both the Arctic and Pacific shores.
In 1778, Peter Pond, a partner in the Northwest Company, built a trading
post on the Athabaska River, about 30 miles above where it flows into the lake
of the same name. Pond was a successful trader, and, although illiterate, had
an active and inquiring mind. He was especially interested in exploration,
and his map,
[:
]
[:
]
based on his own explorations and information received
from the Indians, a curious mixture of fact and fiction, was for years the only
available one of the northwestern portion of the continent. He seems to have
visited Great Slave Lake, although he probably did not reach the mouth of the
river which drains it. He had heard of the river, however, from the Indians,
and was convinced that it led to the western sea, for at that time the belief
was still strong in many minds that a navigable waterway existed across the northern
part of North America joining the Atlantic and the Pacific.
[:
]
Pond's views, soon current among the furtraders, had a definite influence upon
one of their number, young Alexander Mackenzie,
[:
hho
]
who, in October, 1787, succeeded
him in charge of the Northwest Company's trade in the
[:
al
]
Athabaska Country. By
this time knowledge was general of Cook's explorations along the Alaskancoast;
and Pond had persuaded himself, and presumably Mackenzie, that Cook's River, so–
called, was the Pacific outlet of Great Slave Lake.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
Mackenzie, after taking over from Pond, moved the post to a new location —
on the south shore of Lake Athabaska — which he called Fort Chipewyan. It
was soon to become the most important point in all the country west of Hudson
Bay and north of the Missouri River, the center of the richest fur-producing
region on the continent, half a million square miles in extent.
Chipewyan was the terminus of a transportation system that reached one-third
of the way round the world. Most of the trade-goods bartered to the Indians
there came from England by boat to Montreal. The following winter they were
gathered together at Lachine, on the St. Lawrence River, eight miles above
Montreal, where they were securely packed in parcels of 90 pounds each. In
the spring, when the ice had cleared from the inland lakes, birch-bark canoes
capable of holding upwards of five tons each, and paddled by eight or ten men,
were loaded with these parcels as well as with food for the journey. Up rivers,
across lakes and over portages, the
Voyageurs
followed a course across the
continent, arriving in October at Chipewyan.
It was June 3, 1789, when Alexander Mackenzie, his new post built and things
running smoothly at Chipewyan, set off in a birch bark canoe on what he fondly
hoped was a voyage to the Pacific Ocean. His crew consisted of four French
Canadians, two of whom brought their Indian wives, and another man referred to
by Mackenzie as a German. He was accompanied, in addition, by an Indian called
English Chief, with his two wives, who travelled in a small canoe; and, in
another canoe, two young Indians engaged to act as hunters and interpreters.
Mackenzie was not one to waste daylight, of which there was no dearth in
those latitudes at that season of the year; and day after day his diary records
the time of breaking camp as five, four, three and even two o'clock in the morning.
Great Slave Lake was reached on the morning of June 9, but the lake was still
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
covered with ice, and it was not till June 29 that the journey down the great river actually began. On July 1, the mouth of the Liard was passed, and two days later camp was made at the foot of the Rock-by-the-River-Side, then called by its French name, Roche-tempe-l'eau . Two days later, they passed the mouth of Great Bear River, and without knowing it had travelled half way to the Ocean. On July 10, also without realizing it, they were at the head of the Mackenzie delta. That they had reached tidewater became evident three days later when they found their camp inundated by the sea.
Mackenzie was a disappointed man. The
r
river upon which he had set such high
hopes wasted itself in the Frozen Ocean; it was not to be a link in the long–
sought Northwest Passage. For a century and a half Mackenzie's 'River of Dis–
appointment,' as he called it, continued to roll on to the sea, providing a high–
way mainly for those who were eager to secure the skins of animals or to save the
souls of men.
Like Mackenzie, the early travellers on the river used birch bark canoes;
most of them came from the east and were accustomed to such craft. Later, as
tonnage increased, canoes for heavy freight gave place to the York boat, a shallow–
draft, wooden craft about 40 feet long, constructed for use on rivers. It was pro–
pelled chiefly by cars, but a square sail was also used when the wind was fair. For
upstream traffic, it was towed
a
from along the bank; and since the footing was
usually of the worst possible sort, such towing was the most arduous work
imaginable.
While the York boat remained in use for many years thereafter, its end was in
sight when the
Grahame
, the first steamer on the Mackenzie system, appeared in 1884.
It ran between McMurray and Smith's Landing (now Fitzgerald), at the head of the
rapids on Slave River. The first steamboat on the Mackenzie proper was the
Wrigley
,
which made its initial run in 1886. In 1908, the
Mackenzie River
, a much larger
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
boat, with accommodation for passengers, was added. This was followed, some years later, by the Distributor , a still larger boat. These were all owned and operated by the Hudson's Bay Company through, in later years, its department known as Mackenzie River Transport. Freight is carried mainly on barges which are lashed to the forepart of the steamer, which pushes them along. Two trips a year between Waterways and Aklavik is the usual schedule. The down trip usually takes sixteen days, with about twice that long for the return journey.
A number of other cmpanies have entered into the transportation picture on
the Mackenzie system since the development of Yellowknife, but most of these
are engaged in the traffic to Yellowknife and do not handle freight for points
below Gre
[:
]
t Slave Lake. The other principal firm in the river freight business
is Northern Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Eldorado Minng and Refining
(1944) Limited, the government-owned corporation which operates the Eldorado
mine on Great Bear Lake. This company, established in 1931, was taken over by
Eldorado in 1936 and transferred to the Government of Canada when the other interests
of the Eldorado company passed into government control. The Canadian government
has provided the company with ample funds for the improvement and increase of its
equipment, and it is now perhaps in a better position to handle frieght than any
other company on the Mackenzie system. The Hudson's Bay Company, on the other
hand, has decided to go out of the business of operating a common carrier, main–
taining its boats chiefly to serve its many posts along the river.
Most of the passenger traffic up and down the valley is now by air. Airpla
[:
]
e
service on a charter basis in the Makenzie valley began as early as 1921, and
regular schedules have been maintained since 1929. But it was not until the
discovery of the Eldorado mine and its subsequent development that any considerable
amount of air traffic was available. Canadian Airways and Mackenzie Air Service,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada: Mackenzie River
Limited, were the two chief operators in the valley until they were amalgamated in 1941 to form United Air Service Limited, which a year later became part of Canadian Pacific Air Lines, Limited, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
While planes equipped with either floats or skis were the rule before World
War II, owing to the absenceof airports, the latter deficiency was corrected
when the United States authorities, as part of the Canol Project, built
[] air–ports at McMurray, Fort Smith, Resolution, Hay River, Providence, Mills Lake,
Simpson, Wrigley and Norman Wells, as well as others of a less permanent nature,
which have since made possible the use of wheeled craft — at least half-way
down the Mackenzie — thus avoiding the loss of flying time formerly experienced
during the break-up and freeze-up periods.
For freight transport to Yellowknife, a highway has been built jointly by
the Dominion and Alberta governments from Grimshaw, Alberta,
[:
]
on the Northern
Alberta Railways, to Hay River. In addition to serving Yellowknife and other
points in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake, it will provide a means of reaching
the head of transportation on the Mackenzie river proper at least a month earlier
than was formerly possible because of the ice-locked lakes farther south.
References:
Mackenzie, Al
[:
]
xander:
Voyages from Montreal on the river St. Lawrence through
the Contienent 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, 1801.
Stewart, Elihu:
Down the Mackenzie and Up the Yukon in 1906
. London, 1908.
Camsell, Charles, and Malcolm, Wyatt:
The Mackenzie River Basin.
The Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 108; 1921.
Waldo, Fullerton:
Down the Mackenzie
, New York, 1923.
Weig
[:
]
rt, Hans W. and Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (Ed.)
Compass of the World: A Sympo-
sium on Political Geography
. New York, 1944.
Dawson, C. A. (Ed):
The New North-West
. Toronto, 1947.
D. M. LeBourdais
Mayo Landing
EA: Geog. Canada
MAYO LANDING
Mayo Landing, situated on the north bank
[:
]
of Stewart River about 180
miles from Yukon River, is the commercial headquarters of the Mayo mining
district. It has a mining recorder's office, a detachment of Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, a public school, Church of England and Roman Catholic churches,
a post office, a Government radio station (Department of National Defence), a
weather station, hospital, and several stores. A landing field is located
near the town. Roads extend from Mayo Landing to the silver mines on Galena
and Keno Hills, and to placer gold mines on Highet,
[:
]
Haggart, and Dublin
Creeks.
From:
Nor' West Miner
March, April, 1950.
Moose River
EA-Geog. j(D. M. LeBourdais)
MOOSE RIVER
Moose River, one of the principal str
^
e
^
ams in northern Ontario, Dominion of
Canada, flows northeastward into James Bay. The river proper is only 16t miles
in length, but to the head of the Mattagami, its longest tributary, which marks
the southern extent of its watershed, the distance is 340 miles to tidewater.
With its many tributaries, the Moose has a total drainage area of 42,100
square miles, extending from latitude 47° 50′ N., on the south, to James Bay,
in latitude 51° 21′ N.; and from longitude 80° W. to 84° 30′ W. The Mattagami
and Missinaibi rivers, by their junction in latitude 50° 54′ N., form the Moose,
which receives thereafter the Abitibi and French rivers, in addition to many
smaller streams, most of which flow in on the east side.
The Moose River basin is one of the most important in central Canada, drain–
ing a territory hitherto little known, with resources whose value has been but
little realized. It constitutes the main trunk by which several rivers, each
important in its own right, discharge their waters into James Bay. These tribu–
tary streams rise in the Clay Belt which overlies the pre-Cambrian rocks of
the Canadian Shield, at an average elevation of about 1,000 feet above the sea;
and after flowing across this zone, they drop over a series of rapids and falls
which provide many opportunities for the future development of hydro-electric
power, in addition to some installations already made. They
[:
]
then drop from
500 to 700 feet within a few miles over the edge of the escarpment that marks
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Moose River
the contact between the pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield and the Palaeo– zoic rocks of the Hudson (James) Bay Lowland. While this area is referred to as part of the Canadian Shield, it lacks most of the latter's characteristics, familiar in other places. Here, the pre-Cambrian hills and valleys which were prominent in pre-glacial time have been deeply buried by glacial drift, con– sisting chilefy of till in the southern section, changing to marine clays farther north. Wells sunk considerably over 100 feet have failed to reach the bottom of this overburden.
The whole course of the Moose proper lies within the lowland region bordering
on James Bay, which consists mainly of muskeg with very little relief, having a
gradual descent to the Bay of slightly more than 3 feet to the mile. The river
is wide and filled with islands and sand bars, entering the southern end of James
By
Bay through an estuary over three miles wide at its mouth, which is also studded
with islands. A sand bar at the mouth of the river limits navigation at present.
The depth over the bar at high tide is about 12 feet, and the normal tidel rise
is about 5 feet, increasing to 12 in certain winds. Engineers who have surveyed
the navigational possiblities of the estuary report that dredging would not be
a difficult matter, if and when traffic requirements render this advisable.
Four main streams, in addition to several smaller ones, go to make up Moose
River. The most westerly is the Missinaibi, with its principal tributaries, the
Opazatika and the Kabinakagami; the longest, the Mattagami, comes next, on the
west, together with its tributaries, the Groundhog and the Kapuskasing. Then comes
the Akitibi, with its principal tributaries, the Little Abitibi and the Frederick
House, after which comes the French, the easternmost, with a cluster of branches.
The latter is not to be confused with the other river of the same name in northern
Ontario, flowing westward
[:
]
into Lake Huron.
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Moose River
These streams follow a generally northeasterly direction, flowing in shallow
channels roughly parallel to each other, in places broken by rapids several miles
in length, or else by short, steep chutes, separated by stretches of sluggish
water. Along the contact of the hard rocks of the Canadian Shield with the
softer rocks of the lowland region, the descent in all the rivers is the greatest.
These falls, howevr, are now mostly in the harder rocks, into which, in the
course of time, the rivers have succeeded in cutting their channels some distance
upstream from the actual points of contact, with the result that these transitional
points are nearly always marked by steep-walled canyons cut into the harder rocks.
That where the Abitibi flows over the escarpment is a good example. Here, the
stream, having dashed for some four miles over a series of falls and chutes,
debouches by a narrow entrance into a wide, deep basin, from which it emerges on
the opposite side in a cascade and then runs for two miles through a further
canyon. The walls of this canyon rise abruptly to a height of 200 feet, after
which the bank slopes back fully 100 feet more.
From the junction of the Missinaibi and the Mattagami, the Moose
[:
]
follows
a northeasterly course almost without deviation to James Bay. Immediately below
the junction, it is about three-quarters of a mile wide as it spreads to enclose
an island. Then, for the next five miles, it narrows to about half a mile and
contains no islands of any size; but from the end of this stretch to its mouth it
is seldom less than
[:
]
a mile in width and filled with islands, except for one
or two short stretches unbroken by islands. In its final 18 miles, it is from
three to three and a half miles wide.
Beginning a few miles below the junction, the river cuts through two beds of
lignite and gypsum, each extending along both banks for almost a mile, and at
other points further deposits are exposed. All the tributaries of the Moose
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Moose River
cross-cut similar deposits as they flow through corresponding zones. At a number of place on these rivers, extensive deposits of high-grade fireclay have also been exposed, while in other places deposits of kaolin exist.
The coastal plain of the Moose River basin has a mean height above the sea
of about 300 feet along the southern edge of the Palaeozoic rocks,
[:
]
sloping gradually to the sea. The various tributaries of the Moose dissect
it like the ribs of a fan. Althrough no falls or serious rapids exist in this
area, the rivers nevertheless flow with a swift current. The whole territory is prac–
tically a muskeg, thinly timbered with stunted black spnuce and covered with a
heavy mantle of sphagnum moss. The rivers, in cutting their channels, have gone
through thick clay deposits. Ice, forced down these channels by the freshets,
has puddled the banks with clay so that they have become impervious to water.
For this reason, the land on both sides, although covered with water, receives
no drainage.
If this land were to be drained so that the warmth of the sun could penetrate
beneath the present insulating surface, especially if the country were drained
on an extensive scale, there is little doubt that large areas could be reclaimed
for settlement. Doubtless, too, the prevailing temperature could be raised many
degrees by such a process. At present, the impervious soil, covered with a thick
mantle of moss and saturated with ice-water, renders the country a perpetual
ice-box.
With waterpower avai
[:
]
ble along the escarpment, the great deposits of gypsum,
fireclay and kaolin could quite possibley provide the basis of an important
ceramics industry. Farther south, where extensive forests of pulpwood exist, sev–
eral pulp and paper mills are already in operation, and others will probably
be established in the future. The region already has railway transportation.
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais; Moose River
The Ontario Northland Railway connects to the south with the Canadian National Railways, at Cochrane, which is within the [: ] area, and to the north, with tidewater at James Bay, where contact could be made with ocean-going vessels. This region would appear to be one of the most extensive that is [: easiy ] easily accessible, and capable of immediate development in the whole of the Canadian sub-Arctic territory.
The lowlands bordering on James Bay merge imperceptibly with the sea bottom,
which continues its northward slope at about the same gradient. Moose River
therefore enters
[:
]
James Bay through low-lying, level country without well–
defined banks, resulting
[:
]
in a widespreading estuary, with many bars and shoal
sections. Six miles above the bar that marks the outer limit of the estuary,
the river has a width of over three and a half miles. It is still three miles
wide at a distance of 18 miles upstream, and at the head of tidewater, 26
miles above the outer
[:
]
bar, it is slightly more than a mile and a half from bank
to bank. The Fishing Tent Rapids, which are no bar to river navigation, mark
the transition from river to tidal waters. From a short distance above the
Fishing Tent Rapids, to within a few miles of its mouth, the river is divided by
islands into two distinct channels, known
[:
]
as the north and south channels,
respectively.
[:
]
Both channels unite, however, before the mouth of the river
is reached.
On the north channel, the trading post of Revillon Freres has been established
since 1903, while on an island in the south channel the Hudson's Bay Company's
post, known as Moose Factory, has been located since 1671. The Ontario North–
land Railway's townsite of Moosonee is located on the west (or north) bank, a
few miles south of Moose Factory. The railway, which generally follows the valley
of the Abitibi River over most of its route, swings to the westward a short
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Moose River
distance below the Blacksmith Rapids, and crosses the Moose about 60 miles from its mouth, following the west side of the river to Moosonee.
The spring break-up, near the mouth of Moose River, occurs as a rule between
April 20th and May 20th, an average date being May 5th. Navigation on the Bay
itself opens some time in June, and continues to the end of October.
Moose River was one of the earliest river highways in Canadian history. In
1662, it was followed to James Bay by Radisson and Groseilliers, on their first
visit
[:
]
to Hudson Bay, which later led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay
Company. A quarter of a century later, after the Hudson's Bay Company had become
well established on the Bay, representatives of official New
[:
]
France, the
Chevalier de Troyes and the young Pierre d'Iberville, followed that route to
the Bay to capture the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, which remained in
French hands until recaptured by the Company in 1693.
While Indians followed the Moose and its tributaries north
[:
]
ard to trade with
the Hudson's Bay Company, the latter did not use the rivers — at least not till
railways tapped them farther south. Its means of access was by sea. Although,
in these days, doubts are sometimes cast concerning the navigability of Hudson
and James bays, in its history of nearly three centuries, the Hudson's Bay Company
never seems to have had any such doubts. Navigating those uncharted waters with
little sailing ships, they rarely lost a cargo. When surveyors, laying out a
course for the Ontario Northland Railway, arrived at Moose Factory, they discovered
that in all those years, with ships coming and going, the Company had never troubled
to keep a record of tidal variations, nor had they any record of soundings.
Their ocean-going vessels did not generally attempt to enter the Moose River
estuary, but transferred cargoes to smaller vessels at Charlton Harbor, where a
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Moose River
good harbor exists. Not all ships with cargo for Moose Factory did this, how– ever; some preferred to lie off the shoals until the tide was at its height and go in over the bar.
References:
Bell, J. Mackintosh:
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin.
Report of the
Bureau of Mines, 1904; Toronto, The King's Printer, 1904.
Kindle, E. M.:
Geology of a Portion of the Northern Part of Moose River
Basin, Ontario.
Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1923,
Part Cl, Ottawa, 1924.
Williamson, O. T. G.: The S
[:
]
x Northland Ontario. Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1946.
Nisutlin River
EA-Geog. Canad. LeBourdais: Nisutlin River
NISUTLIN RIVER
Nisutlin River, Yukon Territory, Dominion of Canada, is the most distant
source of the Yukon River. It rises in Nisutlin Lake, lying at an altitude
of 3,000 feet above sea level, in latitude 61°, longitude 132° W., and flows
into Nisutlin Bay, on the east side of Teslin Lake. After leaving Nisutlin
Lake, which has a length of about two miles, the river flows in a northwesterly
direction for about 16 miles; then, making an abrupt turn to the southwest,
it continues in that direction for about 15 miles. Making another abrupt turn,
the river flows northwestward for four miles, and then swings again to the
southwest, continuing in this general direction for three miles. After receiv–
ing Rose River from the north, it follows a generally southerly course for
about 36 miles.
The Nisutlin Valley here runs parallel to that occupied by Quiet Lake,
[:
]
four miles to the westward. Quiet Lake is the source of the Big Salmon River,
which is a tributary of the Lewes River. At about 20 miles from the beginning
of the southward stretch, Cary Portage connects the Nisutlin Valley with the
head of Quiet Lake. This portage, four miles long, is made shorter by the
presence of three lakes in its course. Sixteen miles below Cary Portage, Sidney
Creek comes in from the northwest. Despite its designation as a creek, it is
the Nisutlin's largest tributary. At the mouth of Sidney Creek, the Nisutlin
is divided into two channels to enclose an island about a mile and a half in
length.
EA-Geog. Canada: LeBourdais: Nisutlin River
Below the mouth of Sidney Creek, the Nisutlin swings somewhat east of
south, and holds this course, with many twists and turns, until, about seven
miles from its mouth, it turns to the southwest and flows into Nisutlin Bay.
Three miles and a half above its mouth, it receives Wolf River, a consider–
able stream, from the northeast. The Nisutlin has a total length of about
135 miles.
Nisutlin River is wide and shallow, and for the greater part of its distance
has a width of from 60 to 130 yards. Near the mouth of Wolf River, and imme–
diately below, it has a current of about six miles an hour; above that point
to a short distance below the mouth of Sidney Creek, the current averages from
from one to three miles an hour; but above that point it is more often nearly
five miles an hour. In its upper reaches the river is interrupted by numerous
rapids, but none of any consequence occur below Sidney Creek. It is navigable
for small motor boats beyond the mouth of Sidney Creek, and for canoes above that
[:
]
point. Many sand bars are found in the lower reaches, with gravel bars
farther up. The country through which the river runs is mountainous, but no
peak rises in the immediate vicinity of its valley higher than 5,000 feet above
sea level.
The surrounding country is fairly heavily timbered with white and black spruce,
balsam fir, black pine, aspen and balsam poplar, white birch and tamarack, some
of which is of considerable size.
The region is geologically similar to that which provided the rich placer
gold deposits of the Klondike, and some of the tributary streams, as well as the
river itself, are known to be gold-bearing.
The Geological Survey of
[:
]
Canada recommends the area as worthy of more inten–
sive prospecting. The Alaska Highway, which crosses the river near its mouth, may
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Nisutlin River
now make the region more accessible than it has been in the past.
References:
<bibl>
Lees, E. J.:
Geology of Teslin - Quiet Lake Area, Yukon.
Geological
Geological Survey of Canada; Memoir No. 203, 1936.
</bibl>
D. M. LeBourdais
Ogilvie Mountains
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais
OGILVIE MOUNTAINS
The Ogilvie Mountains, northwestern Canada, constitute a group of ranges
lying northwestward of the Selwin Mountains (Q.V.) and north of the Yukon
River. They continue westward for a short distance into Alaska. At one time
they were understood to occupy a considerably larger area than that now
accorded to them, when part of the Selwyn Mountains were also included. As
delineated at present, they comprise a roughly rectangular area extending from
latitude 64° N. to a spur which projects a short distance beyond the Arctic
Circle; and from longitude 135° 30′ W. to the 141st Meridian. Their main axis
lies in a northwesterly direction. On the northwest, they are bordered by the
Porcupine Plateau, and on the southeast by the Stewart Plateau.
These mountains are probably the least known of any in the Canadian
Cordillera. One reasonfor this is that they are not penetrated by any navigable
river; and, although the territory immediately south and east provided one of
the world's greatest placer gold mining regions, no important gold discovery was
ever made in any part of the Ogilviex Mountains.
The Ogilvie Mountains appear to comprise two distinct regions. These consist
of a belt along their southwestern side, about 35 miles wide, containing intru–
sions of granitic and basic rocks; and a much larger section lying northeast of
this belt, and continuous with it, about 60 miles wide and about 160 miles in
length, which consists, so far as is known, exclusively of sedimentary rocks.
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Ogilview Mountains
The mountains in the southwestern belt are the only ones about which very much is known. They have a rugged appearance, with long, branching ridges connect– ing steep-sided peaks that are separated by deep valleys. In some places, be– tween elevations of 5,000 and 6,000 feet, the ridge-tops present rolling sur– faces, above which the peaks rise to from 6,300 to 7,100 feet above sea level. Little definite information is available about the main body of the mountains, but it is not thought that peaks in this portion will exceed in general the height of those in the southwestern belt.
Reference:
<bibl>
Bostock, H. S.:
Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, With Special
Reference to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel
; Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247, 1948.
</bibl>
D. M. LeBourdais
Old Crow
EA-Geog. Canada
OLD CROW
Old Crow is a fur trading center and Indian village on the north bank of
Porcupine River at its junction with Old Crow River. It has (1950) a Royal
Canadian Mounted Police detachment, a trading post, and a Church of England
mission, and has two-way radio communication.
From
Nor'West Miner
March, April 1950.
Peel River
EA-Geog. Canada
PEEL RIVER
Peel River, in northwestern Canada, is one of the principal tributaries of
the Mackenzie River, entering from the west, near the Mackenzie Delta. With the
Porcupine, it divides the drainage of northern Yukon Territory; the Porcupine
flows westward to the Yukon, while the Peel flows mainly eastward. Like the
Liard, farther south, but like other tributaries of the Mackenzie in between,
the Peel's watershed extends west of the first line of mountains. The headwaters
of the Peel and Porcupine interlock in the Porcupine Plateau; streams now feeding
Peel River once ran the other way to the Porcupine; but the Peel, by more quickly
lowering the level of its valley, has gradually encroached upon territory forermly
drained by the Porcupine. Its total
[:
]
length is given as 365 miles, but the
extent of its drainage area gives it an importance much greater than that suggested
by its length.
The Peel draws its waters from the Porcupine Plateau and the eastern slopes of
the Ogilvie Mountains, which lie to the west of the Richardson Mountains, and
from the northwestern flanks of the Selwyn and Mackenzie mountains, which mark the
southern border of the Peel drainage basin. The river flows through the gap be–
tween the Mackenzie and Selwin mountains, on the south, and the Richardson Moun–
tains, on the north. In its upper half, the river follows an easterly course
across the Porcupine and Peel plateaus; then, turnign abruptly toward the north,
it continues across the Peel Plateau, emerging upon the Mackenzie Lowland before
discharging its waters into the Mackenzie Delta.
The Peel's largest tributaries come from the south, and include such rivers
EA-Geog. Canada LEbourdais: Peel River
as the Wind, Bonnet Plume and Snake, which very greatly add to its volume. Above the mouth of the Wind, which enters about 220 miles above the Peel's mouth, the Peel Valley has not been very fully explored, except by aerial photography. For many years, the Peel and some of its tributaries have been used as routes between the Mackenzie and Yukon rivers, but the one most followed utilizes very little of the Peel, since it ascends Rat River, which enters the Peel not far bove its mouth.
What may be termed the main branch of Peel River rises in the Ogilvie
Mountains in about latitude 65° N., longitude 138° W. Its first principal
tributary is the Blackstone River, which flows in from the southwest; shortly
after, the Hart enters from the same general direction. The Peel here has
already cut a deep valley, ending in a canyon 10 miles long.
A mile below the canyon, Wind River comes in from the south, from its sources
in theSelwyn Mountains. It flows into the eastward-flowing portion of the Peel,
which continues this course for another 52 miles. Bonnet Plume River, which
follows a course parallel to that of Wind River, comes in 14 miles east of the
mouth of the latter. Below the mouth of Bonnet Plume River, the Peel flows through
another canyon, the walls of which are about 500 feet high. Below the canyon,
the river continues eastward for a further 38 miles to Snake River, coming in
from the southeast. Here, the Peel makes its abrupt turn to the northward,
following this general course to its junction with the Mackenzie. In this section,
the Peel Valley is about a mile wide and filled with gravel bars and wooded flats.
In its lower reaches, the Peel receives few tributaries; the principal ones,
however, are from the west. Its watershed is limited on the east by that of
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Peel River
Arctic Red River, which closely parallels the lower Peel some 30 or 40 miles to the east. Satah River, 62 miles below the mouth of Snake River, marks the transition from the high Peel Plateau to the level of the Mackenzie Lowland. Here, the plateau ends in a bold, semi-circular escarpment, from 400 to 1,000 feet above the lowland. The Peel has cut a deep valley through the Plateau, the walls of which increase in height as the river proceeds toward the escarpment.
Fort Macpherson, one of the early trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company
in the Mackenzie River region, is on the east bank of the Peel, about 18 miles
above the latter's mouth, in latitude 67° 30′ N. The line of separation between
the Mackenzie River delta and that of the Peel itself is not very well defined.
Twelve miles below Fort Macpherson the Peel divides into two channels; the
western, or Husky, channel of the Mackenzie could be considered as an extension
of the Peel.
Until it emerges into the lowland, Peel River is a rapid stream, with a
current varying from four to eight miles an hour; in its final stretch through
the lowland it becomes quite sluggish, with a current near Fort Macpherson of
not more than two miles an hour. A measurement made at Fort Macpherson at the
end of July gives a volume of 49,206 cubic feet per second.
In 1905, Charles Camsell, of the Geological Survey of Canada, ran a micro–
meter survey from the mouth of Wind River to the Mackenzie Delta, and examined
the geology of the region through which the river flows. During World War II,
a considerable amount of exploration was conducted on the Peel and some of its
tributaries by geologists of the Canol Project. Many structures favorable to
the accumulation of petroleum were discovered by these explorations, and it is
possible that some day the region may become part of an extensive
[:
]
oilfield.
References
:
Camsell, Charles:
Peel River, in the Yukon and Mackenzie Districts
Summary Re–
port, Geological Survey of Canada, 1905.
Hume, G. S. and Link, T.A.:
Canol Geological Investigations in the Mackenzie
River Area, Northwest Territories and Yukon
. Geological Survey Papers
45-16; Ottawa, The King's Printer, 1945.
D. M. LeBourdais
Pelly Mountains
EA-Geog. Canada
PELLY MOUNTAINS
The Pelly Mountains occupy a large region shaped like a spear-head
in the south-central part of Yukon Territory, Dominion of Canada. Their main
axis lies in a generally northwesterly direction, with the point of the spear
at the westernmost extremity. The southwestern and southeastern ends project
beyond the general line, and are separated by a triangular plateau area. The
Glenlyon Range occupies the northwesternmost point, while the southwestern
projection consists of the Big Salmon Range and the larger, southeastern,
lobe contains the St. Cyr, Campbell and Simpson ranges. Large U-shaped
valleys divide the mountains, while the Big Salmon and Magundy rivers and
Harvey Creek cut through them from side to side. The Pelly River flows for
a considerable distance along their northeastern border.
At places along the borders on all sides, the adjoining plateaus merge with
the mountains, forming tablelands and long, smooth-topped spurs. Particu
[:
]
larly
in the Glenlyon Range, high tablelands occur at elevations of between 4,500
and 5,500 feet, above which the mountains peaks stand, and the peaks are said
to show in places rem
[:
]
nants of at least one, higher, older surface.
The St. Cyr Range, which is 180 miles long and 40 miles wide, constitutes
the principal part of the Pelly Mountains. Its main summits reach heights of
from 7,000 to 8,000 feet, while in the other ranges the peaks are from7,000 to
7,500 feet high.
It is estimated that during Pleistocene time the main ice surface of the
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly Mts.
final glaciation throughout most of the Pelly Mountains stood at an elevation of more than 6,000 feet, and was probably higher in the St. Cyr Range. A large part of the Glenlyon Range is believed to have been above the surface of the ice, the general level of which rose toward the south and southeast, leaving less of these ranges above it.
Reference
<bibl>
Bostock, H.S.:
Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, With Special
Reference to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parallel
: Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247; 1948.
</bibl>
D. M. LeBourdais
Pelly River
EA-Geog. Canada
PELLY RIVER
The Pelly is one of the principal wholly-Canadian tributaries of the Yukon
River. It rises slightly south of latitude 63° N., in longitude 129° 30′ W.,
in the foothills of the Mackenzie Mountains, the extension into the Yukon Terri–
tory of the great Rocky Mountain chain. For most of its course it flows throgh
a mountainous country, first southwesterly and then northwesterly, after which
it joins the Lewes in latitude 62° 48′ and longitude 137° 25′ W. Its length is
given as 330 miles; but it is possible that more complete surveys will modify
that slightly in one direction or the other. The smaller of the two branches
which together form the Yukon, it has a volume of about 29,283 cubic feet per
second, while the Lewes has an estimated volume at a normal stage of water of
37,672 cubic feet per second. It is navigable for small light-draft river
steamers to the foot of Hoole Canon, over 200 miles from its mouth, although
so far there has been little need for boats of that description venturing on
its waters. Prospectors have worked its bars at different times, and some gold
has usually been receoved, but no strikes of any importance have been made in
its valley or that of any of its tributaries. The country through which it
flows is an excellent fur country, and one of its tributaries, the Macmillan, is
noted for big game, especially mountain sheep, goats and grizzly bears. Since
it flows but a short distance to the east of the Lewes River watershed, and one
of its own great tribuataries, the Ross, parallels its upper reaches for many
miles; while the Macmillan, its other great tributary, parallels its lower
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
reaches, its branches, aside from these, although many, are not of any con– siderable length and each drains but a small area.
The Pelly River drainage basin extends from latitude 61° 30′ N., on the
south to 63° 25′ N., on the north, and from longitude 129
[:
]
^
°
^
10′ W., on the east,
to 137° 25′ W., on the west, with an aggregate area of 21,300 square miles.
While, for the greater part of its course, it flows through the Yukon Plateau
physiographic division of Yukon Territory, its
[:
]
source and the sources of
its principal tributaries are in the Rocky Mountains division of the Territory.
Therefore, while for the entire length of its
[:
]
course it is bordered by
mountains, those nearest its valley along the greater part of its course consist
principally of the dissected remnants of the once great Yukon peneplain which has
since been cut by the various rivers and streams into isolated mountain masses;
[:
]
whereas the Rocky
[:
]
Mountains division consists of a true range of mountains,
with foothills and outliers, generally attaining greater heights, although of
approximately the same relative geologic age as the Plateau section. Of the
three physiographic divisions into which Yukon Territory falls, the Pelly basin
is confined entirely to the two mentioned; and nowhere does it come in contact
with the granitic Coast Range section. An exception must be made to the generality
of the preceding statement because among mountains mainly of Mesozoic and Paleo–
zoic ages, mountains with a granitic axis also appear, apparently a continuation
(or reappearance) of the batholiths that give rise to the Cassiar Range farther
south. It is possible that these intrusions are responsible for such evidences
of mineralization as have so far been discovered. Geographically, the Pelly drain–
age basin can be said to occupy the midsoutheastern section of the Territory,
and represents a rather wide trough, having the eastern edge much higher than
the western one, the whole, sloping gradually toward the northwestward.
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
The Pelly River rises as a small branching stream high in the Mackenzie
Mountains on the southwestern flanks of Mt. Christie (7,300 ft.), and flows
at first in a southeasterly direction, curving then to the southwest till it
reaches the 130th meridian of west longitude, when it flows southward for about
five miles, swinging again to a southwesterly course for ten miles and enters
Wolf Canon, during the course of which it bends abruptly to the southeast for
another mile, and then after resuming its southwesterly course for six miles,
it makes a sharp bend to the south, flowing in that direction for 25 miles to
the confluence of Woodside River, flowing in from the east and draining the
Pelly Lakes, once thought to be the source of the Pelly. From the mouth of the
Woodside, it swings to the southwest again and continues in that direction till
it reaches the Slate
[:
]
rapids approximately on the 130th meridian where it again
turns southward continuing so till Campbell Creek comes in from the east. It
was about here that the Pelly was first sighted by Robert Campbell, its dis–
coverer.
[:
]
Continuing for a few miles farther on a southwesterly course,
it then bends gradually to the northwestward, holding that general course almost
the entire distance to its mouth. The river near the entrance of Campbell Creek
is about 110 yards wide, flowing at the rate of not more than two-and-a-half
miles an hour, with a middle depth in fairly low water of about seven feet.
Hoole River is the first important tributary below Campbell Creek, and it
comes in from the south about 33 miles down stream. The current has quickened
in that distance and is now about four-and-a-half miles an hour. Just below
the mouth of Hoole River a rapid occurs in which there is a fall of 10 feet in
about 200 yards. Seventeen miles below the mouth of Hoole River is Hoole Canon,
which marks the upper limits of navigation for any craft that cannot be portaged.
Here the river makes a right-angle bend to the northeastward, where it is
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
confined between vertical cliffs about 100 feet in height and extending for three-quarters of a mile. This canon and the river of the same name were named by Robert Campbell, who [: ] was responsible for naming most of the other tribu– taries. A number of small streams are received on each side between Hoole Canon and the mouth of the Pelly's chief tributary, Ross River, which enters from the northeast, 23 miles below, but they are of little importance. Nearly all the streams that come in from the north and northeast are turbid, [: ] while those from the south, all short, are generally of a clear, bluish color.
Although the general direction of the river below the mouth of Campbell Creek
is but a few degrees north of west, it curves to the south with many twists
and turns, flowing through a hilly, irregular tract of country with no well–
defined river valley. This hilly country extends back from the river on the
south a distance of 10 or 12 miles to an integrated mountain range called the
Pelly Range; but on the north the dissected peneplain continues without visible
termination.
One hundred and seventy miles below the mouth of the Ross, the Pelly's
[:
]
other large tributary, the Macmillan, comes in from the northeast, joining the
parent stream at an acute angle after following a parallel course for a consider–
able distance before the confluence. The Macmillan is almost as large as the
Pelly, and contributes to the general turbidity of the latter. Between the
Ross and the Macmillan the Pelly
[:
]
follows a general northwesterly course, but
with many convolutions. It is bordered on the south by the Glenlyon Mountains,
a local range, mainly of granite. For part of the distance, mountains are also
seen on the north side, rising to
[:
]
heights of 4,000 and 5,000 feet.
From the mouth of the Macmillan to the confluence with the Lewes the course
is mainly westerly and the distance 74 miles, although in a straight line, little
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
more than half as much. Thirteen miles below the mouth of the Macmillan, the river turns southwestward and then almost south to pour through Granite Canon, four miles in length, where granite cliffs rise on each side to a height of from 200 to 250 feet. While the current here is swift, there is plenty of depth, and navigation need not be interrupted for steamers having sufficient power. Below Granite Canon, the river trends northwestward, but with many more twistings and turnings. It is now much wider and contains many islands, while for 15 miles or so the country on each side is low; but as the mouth of the river approaches hilles appear on either side, although they do not exceed about 400 feet in height. The current in this final stretch is about two-and-a-half miles an hour.
The Pelly was discovered in 1840 by Robert Campbell of the Hudson's Bay
Company who that year was commissioned by Sir George Simpson, Governor of
Rupert's Land, to ascend the upper Liard and seek a north-or westward-flowing
river that might provide an overland Northwest Passage. Accordingly, with one
canoe and seven men Campbell ascended the Liard to its confluence with a river
coming in from the north. This he named the Frances, after Lady Simpson, and
continued up the stream till he reached its source in a fairly large bifurcated
lake, which he likewise named after the Governor's lady.
[:
]
Leaving the
canoe and part of the crew behind, he set off with three Indians up a river coming
in from the northwest, which ended in a lake 10 miles long, both of which he
named after Duncan Finlayson, Chief Factor of the company. This lake seemed
to be about on the height of land between the area which drained southward and
and that which he expected would drain to the north or northwest. He continued
overland. "For three days on this trip," he writes, "we had neither the luck
to kill nor the pleasure to eat . . . On the sixth day we had the satisfaction
of seeing from a high bank a large river in the distance flowing North West.
I named the river Pelly River after our home governor Sir J. Pelly. Descending
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBoudais: Pelly River
to the river we drank out of its pellucid waters to waters to Her Majesty and the Hudson's Bay Company."
In 1842, Campbell built a fort at the point on the Pelly where he had
first encountered it, which he called Pelly Banks. The following year he
descended the river in a birch bark canoe till he came to its confluence
with another large stream coming from the southeast. This he named the
Lewes, after another Chief Factor of his company, returning to Pelly Banks
which remained the principal trading-station of the company, receiving its
goods from the Mackenzie over the same route by which Campbell himself had
reached Pelly Banks. During the winter of 1847-48, boats were built at
Pelly Banks to assist in the further extension of the company's operations;
and in June 1848, Campbell again descended the Pelly to the Lewes, and there
at the junction of the two rivers he built a post which was called Fort
Selkirk. The Pelly Banks post was abandoned two years later and all supplies
were transferred to Fort Selkirk, and at the same time the route up the
Liard and Frances was discontinued, for in the meantime, in 1847, a post
had been established by A. H. Murray of the same company at Fort Yukon,
480 miles below Fort Selkirk, near the confluence of the Yukon and Porcupine,
and it was considered easier to bring supplies up the river from that point
than by the arduous Liard route. Thenceforth all traffic between Fort
Selkirk and the posts on the Mackenzie was by way of Fort Yukon.
[:
]
The Indians who traded at Fort Selkirk were mostly those known to
the traders as Stick or Wood Indians, who, previous to the establishment
of Fort Selkirk, had secured their supplies from the Chilkoots and Chilkats.
The latter controlled the passes at the head of Lynn Canal, and received
their supplies from white traders who came by sea. These coast Indians
had built up a lucrative trade of which they were very jealous, and they
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
did not care to see it pass into the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company. In the summer of 1852, rumors reached the post that the Chilkoots and Chilkats were planning a raid; and, in consequence, the Wood Indians, in order to protect it, had remained within reach of the fort all summer. Unfortunately, they were absent for a few days in August when, on the 21st, the Chilkoots and the Chilkats made their raid upon the unprotected fort, The occupants were expelled and the place pillaged. Two days later Campbell returned with the friendly Indians, but by that time the pillagers had fled, leaving behind a scene of desolation. Campbell had no alternative but to abandon the place. After sending members of the staff to Fort Yukon for the winter, he himself set off up the Pelly in a small canoe, retracing the steps by which he had entered the country 12 years before. He hoped to secure permission for the re-building of Fort Selkirk, but this permission he never received, and the p ^ l ^ ace remained a ruin for nearly half a century.
The next travelers on the Pelly were prospectors who descended the
Lewes in 1882 and ascended the Pelly as far as Hoole Canon, and perhaps
some distance farther up. They secured some showings of gold, but evidently
not sufficient to justify their engaging in any very extensive mining
operations.
The first survey was made of the Pelly in 1887, when Dr. George M.
Dawson, Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, ran a
reconnaissance survey up the Liard from the mouth of the Dease River to
Frances river and lake, up the Finlayson River to Finlayson Lake, and from
thence to the Pelly, which he reached in latitude 61° 48′ 52″ and longitude
131° 01′ 06″ W., not far from where Campbell had first reached it. He
then descended the river to the confluence of the Lewes, which he considered
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Pelly River
to be the principal stream. Dawson continued his survey up the Lewes to its headwaters in Lake Lindeman and crossed the mountains to Lynn Canal by way of the Chilkoot Pass.
A few prospectors attempted to reach the Klondike in 1898 by the
Liard and Pelly route, but most of them failed to get as far as the Pelly;
those who did, had little difficulty thereafter, since from a navigational
standpoint the Pelly is much superior to the Liard. During the placer gold
era in the Yukon Territory, prospectors panned its many sandbars, but when
nothing very rich was discovered they drifted away and finally the stream
was deserted. It has been much more productive of furs and trappers with
trap lines along its valley have done well. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
maintain a post at the mouth of the Ross, but it has never been kept very
busy.
References:
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N.W.T.
and Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia 1887
; 1898.
Mackay, D.
The Honourable Company A History of the Hudson's Bay
Company
; Toronto; 1938.
Porcupine River
EA-Canada: Geography (D. M. LeBourdais)
PORCUPINE RIVER
The Porcupine River, one of the principal tributaries of the Yukon, rises
and flows for more than half its length in Canadian territory, and then crosses
into Alaska Territory to join the parent stream after a total course of 550
miles. Like most of the other rivers that flow into the north Pacific — the
Columbia, Fraser, Stikine and the Yukon itself — the Porcupine follows a
northerly course for its first long stretch, and then bending to the westward,
flows southwesterly to its mouth. It rises in a cluster of lakes called the
Nahoni Lakes in latitude 65° 30′ N., and longitude 140° W., not far from the
valley of the Yukon, but 300 miles above the point at which it eventually
empties. Thus, with the Yukon as a base, it follows the other two sides of a
rounded triangle; perhaps the area enclosed might be described as resembling
an arrow head. In its roundabout course to its mouth on the Arctic Circle, in
longitude 145° 10′ W., it receives many tributaries, the principal of which
are the Bell, the Old Crow, bringing what is probably the most northerly waters
of the Yukon watershed, and the Black, which rises not far from where the Por–
cupine itself has its origin. It is navigzble for light-draft boats for more
than 300 miles, but traffic has never required any regular steamer or other
boat service.
The Porcupine drainage basin lies entirely within the angle formed by the
Mackenzie Mountains in making their great bend to the westward to become the
Endicott Range of Alaska. The Porcupine Valley follows the sane general course;
EA-Canada: Geography. LeBourdais: Porcupine River
its principal branches rise in the Mackenzie Mountains. The main stream of the Porcupine rises, however, among local mountain masses, known as the Keele and the Ogilvie Mountains, which seem to be but more resistant remnants of the dissected peneplain which comprises the Interior or Yukon Plateau physiographic province, between which and the Mackenzie Mountains province the Porcupine flows for the whole of its course. The geological formations in which the river flows are therefore chiefly of Mesozoic and Palaeozoic ages. The Porcupine drainage area comprises 24,600 square miles, extending from latitude 65° 30′ N., on the south to 68° 30′ N., and from longitude 137° W. to 145° 10′ W. For the greater part of its course the Porcupine flows through a mountainous country; the final 90 miles traverse the low, flat, monotonous Yukon Flats region.
Rising in a chain of small lakes in the Ogilvie Mountains called the Nahoni
Lakes, the Porcupine, a small swift stream, flows almost directly northward for
30 miles, receiving in this stretch three short branches from the west. It then
turns sharply to the east, flowing for 10 miles in that direction, after which
it swings to the northeastward, continuing thus for 30 miles, during which it
receives a number of small tributaries from the east. The Mackenzie Mountains
are h
[:
]
re parallel to the river at no great distance; consequently streams flow–
ing from their slopes into the Porcupine are short. The river now makes a de–
tour of several miles to the eastward, almost retracing its course, and then
runs nearly due north for 20 miles, receiving at this point an important trib–
utary, the Bell, a stream about 100 yards in width in its lower reaches, which
comes in from the east, where it connects with the portage to the headwaters of
the Rat, flowing into the Peel, and thus providing an almost continuous water
route between the Yukon and Mackenzie rivers.
After receiving the Bell, the Porcupine tends generally northwesterly, with,
EA-Canada: Geography. LeBourdais: Porcupine River
however, one or two twists to the northeast. It is now from 100 to 200 yards in width, with a current of about 2 miles an hour, flowing down a wide, shallow valley, which, about 10 miles below the mouth of the Bell, contracts to what might be described as a wide canon, where the banks are high and steep. 40 miles below the mouth of the Bell, the Driftwood River comes in from the north, which considerably swells the Porcupine; it is now much wider, extending from 200 to 300 yards, interrupted by islands and many gravel bars. Its valley is wide, and the hills close by are low. The river has not yet reached its greatest northing and thus for a few miles after receiving the Driftwood it continues in a northerly direction and then turning to the west, follows a course slightly south of west for 75 miles. About 40 miles below the mouth of the Driftwood, the Old Crow, one of the Porcupine's chief tributaries, comes in from the north, and 30 miles farther on, flowing in from the south, the Bluefish River enters.
At the end of this stretch, the Porcupine makes a sudden bend to the south
and shortly after enters the section known as the Ramparts in which it follows
a general southwesterly course for about 30 miles and then runs slightly west
of south for another 12 miles. Bending sharply to the eastward, the river with–
in a mile reaches Rampart House, the most westerly post of the Hudson's Bay Com–
pany, on a small flat between the bordering hills on the north bank and the river
front. In the Ramparts the river is hemmed by limestone and sandstone cliffs,
which have been weathered into all sorts of shapes and colors, presenting one of
the most picturesque sections of the whole Yukon River system. While not as
deep nor as rugged as the famous Ramparts on the upper Yukon, they have a dis–
tinction all their own, and afford a pleasing contrast to the dreariness of the
Yukon Flats section which is soon to follow.
The Ramparts are divided into two sections which follow one upon the other
EA-Canada: Geography. LeBourdais: Porcupine River
within a few miles, the upper section ending at what is called Howling Dog Rock, where the river flows through sheer bluffs rising from the water's edge. Shortly below this point, the Coleen River enters from the north. The Ramparts then con– tinue in a southwesterly direction, and when they give way to the Flats, the Sheenjik River comes in also from the north, while 30 miles below, the Big Black River enters from the south. This is a large stream and is navigable for about 200 miles. Near the mouth of the Porcupine a small channel breaks away and joins the Yukon above the main mouth and only about a mile-and-a-half below Fort Yukon. At different stages of water, the current in this channel runs from the Porcupine into the Yukon; while at others, it is from the Yukon to the Porcupine.
The first white man to reach the Porcupine seems to have been John Bell
of the Hudson's Bay Company, who, in 1842, crossed from the Peel by way of the
portage to the river that now bears his name and thence reached the porcupine,
which, in 1844, he descended to its junction with the Yukon. In 1847, A. H.
Murray, also of the Hudson's Bay Company, traveled down the Bell and Porcupine
to the
confluence with the Yukon and a short distance above that point established
Fort Yukon. Since the nearest point fixed by survey was many hundreds of miles
distant, there was no way of knowing whether the new fort was in British or Rus–
sian territory, although Murray had a shrewd suspicion that the latter was the
case. Fort Yukon was the center of an excellent fur country and since no con–
tact was made with the Russians (except for the visit of a Russian fur trader
in 1863), the post continued on its original site until Alaska passed into United
States hands. Even then it was two years after the cession before Captain Charles
W. Raymond, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, made an astronomical survey
which proved that the post was indeed within United States territory.
EA-Canada: Geography. LeBourdais: Porcupine River
Rampart House, 138 miles up the Porcupine, was then built to replace
For Yukon, but when John Henry Turner, of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
ran a further survey in 1889, and proved that it was still within United States
territory, the post was moved 35 miles upstream to its present site. The Por–
cupine continued to be an important part of the route by which the Hu
sd
^
ds
^
on's
Bay Company supplied Rampart House, and, in return, transported the annual fur
catch to the Mackenzie River and eventually to the markets of the world.
In 1888, R. G. McConnell of the Geological Survey of Canada, crossed the
portage from the Peel to the Bell and Porcupine, running a survey from the Peel
to the mouth of the Porcupine, In the same year, William Ogilvie, D.L.S., who
had been dispatched by the Canadian Government to do preliminary work in con–
nection with the determination of the International Boundary between Alaska and
Yukon territories, ascended the Tatonduk River from its mouth, below Circle City,
Alaska, on the Yukon, to the divide separating the Yukon and Porcupine water–
sheds and surveyed the Porcupine to the mouth of the Bell, proceeding thence
to the Mackenzie by way of the Bell and Rat rivers. Thus, in that year, for
the first time, the Porcupine was completely explored and mapped from its source
to its mouth.
References:
Murray, A. H.
Journal of the Yukon 1847-48
. Ottawa, 1910.
McConnell, R. G.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon and Mackenzie Basins
1887-1888
. Geological Survey of Canada, 1898.
Stuck, Hudson
Voyages on the Yukon and its Tributaries
. New York, 1917.
Ptarmigan Lake
EA-Geog. )D. M. LeBourdais)
PTARMIGAN LAKE
Ptarmigan Lake, in the District of Mackenzie, northwestern Canada,
about 16 miles long and from two to three miles wide, connects Clinton-Colden
and Artillery lakes in the series of lakes and streams which constitute the
Lockhart River system. The Lockhart River rises in Mackay Lake and before
reaching Ptarmigan Lake flows through Aylmer and Clinton-Colden lakes with
their connecting streams. Its level is not much less than that of Clinton–
Colden, but in the 15 miles between Ptarmigan Lake and Artillery Lake a drop
of 32 feet occurs. Ptarmigan Lake lies in a southwest-northeast direction,
but at its lower end, a deep bay extends southward for about four miles.
A massive granite ridge at the north end of the lake marks the change
in the course of the Lockhart waterway system from southeast to southwest,
as well as a change from the rugged topography characteristic of Clinton–
Colden, Aylmer and Mackay lakes and their connecting streams and river–
expansions. This granite ridge is the cause of Caribon Narrows separating
Ptarmigan Lake from Clinton-Colden. At Tyrrell Point, on the east bank
of Caribou Narrows, an outcrop exists in the form of a high dome. It is
partly covered by glacial drift, but the grey granite beneath is exposed
on the south and east sides, and it outcrops at a number of points along
the west shore, as far south as Butte Island, below which metamorphic rocks
are exposed and the country becomes more open and gently rolling with long,
uniform slopes leading back from the lake. The prevailing rock of this series
EA-Geog. Canada: LeBourdais: Ptarmigan Lake
is soft brown to grey mica schist.
At the narrows, about 12 miles southwest of Butte Island, granite appears
on a high point jutting into the lake, and forms a high rugged ridge on the
west side of the bay and a more or less continuous ridge from there north–
eastward. This granite is different from that formerly observed, being
usually red and pink in color and very coarse grained. It crosses to the
west side of the northeastern end of the lake and continues westward to
Aylmer Lake and possibly extends eastward along the north shore of Clinton–
Colden Lake.
Ptarmigan Lake, the Lockhart River and the other lakes in the Lockhart
River system were named and first explored by George (afterwards Sir George)
Back who, in 1833-35, headed an expedition searching for the lost British
explorer Sir James Ross, who succeeded in getting back to England, however
some time before Back himself returned. The lake has been visited by others
in the interval, notably by J. W. Tyrrell in 1900 who traversed it on his
way to the Thelon River on an exploratory expedition for the Geological
Survey of Canada. Other Canadian government expeditions have made surveys
since then, but the area is still relatively little known.
Like the other lakes in this series, it is in a district at present
comparatively inaccessible, and since its timber and agricultural possibilities
are negligible, its only hope of economic importance lies in such mineral
possibilities as ma
n
y be contained in its underlying rocks. Similar formations
[:
]
in other
parts of the country have been found productive, and it would therefore not
be unnatural if some day when the country is more fully prospected valuable
mineral deposits should be discovered.
References:
EA-Geog. Canada. LeBourdais: Ptarmigan Lake
References
:
Back, George.
Nar
[:
]
ative 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.
Tyrrell, J. W.
Annual Report
; Geological Survey of Canada; 1900.
Quebec, Subarctic Section
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
QUEBEC, SUBARCTIC SECTION
The subarctic section of the Canadian province of Quebec consists of
the western portion of the Labrador Peninsula, comprising the region formerly
known as the district of Ungava, but now called New Quebec which was added
to the province in 1912, in addition to part of Old Quebec south and east
of James Bay. The boundaries of this area would therefore be as follows:
Commencing at a point on the Ontario-Quebec boundary (longitude 79° 30′ W.)
in about latitude 48° 15′ W., where it crosses the height of land between
the St. Lawrence and James Bay drainage areas; thence, northward along the
boundary to the south shore of James Bay; thence, eastward along the inden–
tations of the south shore of James Bay to its southeastern angle; thence,
along the eastern shore of James and Hudson bays in a generally northward
direction to Cape Wolstenholme, in latitude 62° 35′ N., and longitude 77°
31′ W., at the northeastern extremity of Hudson Bay; thence, in a generally
southeasterly direction along the south coast of Hudson Strait (including
the shoreline of Ungava Bay) to Cape Chidley, in latitude 60° 30′ N., long–
itude 64° 30′ W., thence, southward and southwestward along the divide separ–
ating the Atlantic and Hudson Bay watersheds to a point where it intersects
the height of land separating the Hudson Bay watershed from that of the St.
Lawrence in about latitude 52° N.; thence, westward along the height of land
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
to the point of commencement, aggregating about 343,259 square miles.
The area, which attains its greatest elevation along its eastern and
southern borders, slopes gradually northwestward. The highest part consists
of a granitic region lying between latitude 52° 30′ N., and 54° N., and
longitude 69° and 71° W., in which some of the largest rivers in the region
have their sources, and which in some places attains an elevation of about
2,500 feet above sea level. From this point the land rolls westward and
northward in undulating folds to the shores of James and Hudson bays and
Hudson Strait. It is traversed by ridges of low, rounded hills, seldom
rising more than 500 feet above the general level of the country. In the
Southern portion, that which drains into James Bay, the descent is gradual;
nevertheless, the rivers flowing through that area are interrupted by quite
as many falls and rapids as those farther north which flow into Hudson Bay,
where the land within a short distance of salt water attains heights of
about 1,000 feet, resulting in many great waterfalls as the rivers drop
down the escarpment to the sea.
The rivers of the area, commencing at the southwestern angle, are:
the Harricanaw, 250 miles long, which, although flowing into the southern
tip of James Bay in the Province of Ontario, nevertheless drains a consid–
erable portion of the area being here described; the Nottaway River, 400
miles long, which flows northwesterly into the Bottom of James Bay; the
Eastmain River, 375 miles long, a few miles north of the latter, also flow–
ing mainly westward into James Bay; Fort George River, 520 miles long, also
flowing westward into James Bay, a short distance north of the Eastmain
River; Great whale River, 365 miles long, flowing westward in a parallel
valley into Hudson Bay; Little Whale River, a few miles farther north,
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
running parallel to Great Whale; the Clearwater and Nastapoka rivers, still farther north, running northwesterly into Hudson Bay; and north of that, the Kogaluk and Povungnituk rivers draining the peninsula between Ungava and Hudson bays, in a portion of the area still largely unexplored. No rivers of consequence enter that portion of Hudson Strait between Cape Wolstenholme and Cape Hopes Advance, the western extremity of Ungava Bay, but several large rivers discharge into the latter. On the west side, Payne River drains an extensive area to the westward, its headwaters interlocking with those of the Kagaluk, thus providing an almost continuous cance-route across the peninsula. A similar situation exists with respect to Leaf River, 295 miles long, which drains Minto Lake, lying not far east of the Hudson Bay shore, and emptying into the southwestern angle of Ungava Bay. The Koksoak River, 535 miles long, the largest in the area, drains a large portion of the interior; its western tributary, the Stillwater-Larch, rising a short distance from the headwaters of the Nastapoka and the Clearwater, constitutes another water route between Ungava and Hudson bays. The Koksoak's other great tributary, the Kaniapiskau, rising far to the south in the high granitic area already mentioned, drains a strip of territory lying between the head of the westward-flowing rivers and those that flow eastward into the Atlantic. Whale River, a small stream, flows northward into the extreme southern point of Ungava Bay; but George River, 365 miles long, farther to the east, and flowing approximately north– ward into the eastern side of Ungava Bay, is an important river, draining a considerable area lying north of the watershed of the Hamilton River, the principal river flowing eastward through Labrador. Most of the rivers in their lower reaches occupy deep valleys, evidently of ancient origins, but inland, toward their sources, they seem to flow almost on the surface of theEA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
ground, hence the great number of lake-expansions, arms and bays, while the ancient channels are still filled with glacial detritus.
New Quebec, or Ungava, forms, with Labrador, the northeastern angle
of the Canadian Shield which comprises about two-thirds of the Dominion of
Canada, and which provides most of its mineral wealth. The Canadian, or
Laurentian, Shield is underlain chiefly by rocks of Pre-Cambrian age, a
complex mass of highly crystalline Archaean rocks consisting chiefly of
gneisses and schists, some of which are believed to be highly metamorphosed
materials of classic origin, while others are regarded as foliated eruptives.
A narrow strip of rocks classified as Animikie and Deweenawan, or late Pre–
Cambrian, extends southeasterly from Ungava Bay in which important mineral
occurrences have been discovered and of which, at the time of writing, de–
velopment was in progress. Similar rocks are found in a number of other
places, but generally the rocks of the area belong to the earlier Pre-Cambrian
series.
New Quebec, typical of Pre-Cambrian territory, is a land of lakes, rang–
ing in size from mere ponds to sheets of water such as the Mistassini, with
an area of 840 square miles, the Clearwater, 410 square miles, the Apiski–
gamish, 392 square miles, Minto Lake, 485 square miles, and Upper Seal Lake,
with an area of 260 square miles. These are but a few of the largest among
the myriads, most of them still unnamed, that cover the landscape and feed a
network of rivers and streams. The rivers of New Quebec have no mountains
to feed them as is the case with most rivers; they depend upon the run-off
from precipitation which, in the aggregate, amounts to an enormous volume of
water. In most cases, they occupy rocky basins, free from weeds or swamp,
generally with rocky rather than sandy shores. Most of them are very irregular
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
in outline, with long arms or bays and dotted with rocky islands of all sizes and shapes.
The climate ranges from temperate to cold, and climatic conditions are
much less favorable than in the same latitudes westward of Hudson Bay. Temper–
ature depends largely upon the direction from which winds come; south and
southwest winds prevail during the summer, and bring overcast skies with fre–
quent drizzling rain. When the wind swings to the north or northwest, clearer
weather and lower temperatures follow; while when the wind comes from the
northeast, heavy snow or rain storms may be expected. Clear, pleasant weather
is usually the rule when the wind is in the east or southeast. The snowfall
in winter varies from three to six feet; while, in summer, rain storms are
frwquent. Precipitation, however, is not a great factor in the growth of such
vegetation as the region affords, since over a large percentage of the area
the soil is perpetually frozen. This provides ample moisture at the plant–
roots, while the heavy mantle of mosses and lichens helps to prevent water
from rain and snow from running off too quickly. The soil consists mostly of
glacial till, composed of a mixture of sand and clay, intermixed with boulders
of various sizes. Along the lower reaches of some of the rivers greater or
less areas of bottom land have accumulated where, climate permitting, a limited
amount of agriculture might be undertaken. In a few spots, especially toward
the southern end of James Bay, garden produce can be raised successfully, but,
generally speaking, the region as a whole does not promise much in the way of
agriculture. It is possible, of course, that, with further experimentation in
types of agriculture suited to northerly regions, the extent of territory over
which the hardier sort of crops could be cultivated might be considerably in–
creased. Not much of the area is covered with grass, but mosses and lichens
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
carpet most of the country; and for that reason it is more than likely that over large areas reindeer-raising could be successfully undertaken. No other type of stock-raising, however, is indicated.
The forest is continuous over the southern part of the area between
latitudes 52° and 54° N., the only exceptions being the summits of rocky
hills. This part of the country contains vast areas of timber suited mainly
to pulp, but here and there are extensive stands of merchantable timber. To
the northward of 54°, the higher hills are treeless and the size and number of
these areas rapidly increases; in latitude 55°, more than half the surface
of the country is treeless, woods being found only about the margins of small
lakes and in the valleys of the rivers. Trees also decrease in size until
on the southern shores of Ungava Bay, they disappear altogether. The Leaf
River, which empties into Ungava Bay a few miles north of its southwestern
angle, is the northern limit of forest trees on the west side of Ungava Bay.
A line drawn a little south of west, from the mouth of the Little Leaf River
to the mouth of the Nastapoka River, on Hudson Bay, would give a close approx–
imation to the northern tree limit of western Ungava. Throughout the forest
belt, the lowlands fringing the streams and lakes are covered with thickets
of willows and alders. As the semi-barrens are approached, the areas covered
by these shrubs become more extensive, and not only form wide margins along
the rivers and shores of the lakes, but, with dwarf birches, occupy much of
the open glades. Willows and birches also grow on the sides of the hills,
above the tree line, where they form low thickets exceedingly difficult to
pass through. Beyond the limits of the true forest, similar thickets of Artic
willows and birches are found on the low ground, but on the more elevated lands
they grow only a few inches above the surface.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
The principal forest trees are: White paper, or canoe, birch (
Betula
papyrifera
), Aspen poplar (
Populus tremuloides
), Balsam poplar (
Populus
balsamifera
), Banksian pine, Jack pine (
Pinus Banksiana
), White spruce (
Picea
alba
), Black spruce (
Picea nigra
), Balsam fir, or spruce (
Abies balsamea
),
Tamarack or larch (
Larix Americana
).
Fish abound throughout the region: all the large lakes and streams are
well supplied. Lake trout and whitefish are plentiful in most of the lakes,
the former running up to 50 or 60 pounds, while white fish average three or
four pounds. A species of small sturgeon is found in a number of lakes and
streams, notably Rupert, Eastmain and Nottaway rivers and in Lakes Nemiskau
and Obatogaman. The Indians consume large quantities of suckers, which are
found almost everywhere in the rivers and lakes. The Atlantic salmon is
found in the rivers flowing into Ungava Bay, but it is not found in the streams
that empty into Hudson Bay. Land-looked salmon, or ouinaniche, are found on
a number of the streams where high waterfalls have cut off access to the sea
and in the lakes which they drain. Hearn's salmon, or arctic trout, is found
along the northern part of the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, although it does
not seem to go much farther into the Bay than a short distance south of Cape
Jones. Brook trout are abundant in many of the lakes and rivers, sea-run
fish of this species running up to 14 pounds are found along the coasts and
about the mouths of the rivers. Pike are common throughout the area in the
lakes and quiet-flowing sections of the rivers. Codfish are abundant along
the coast of Hudson and James bays.
Walrus once extended as far south along the Hudson Bay coast as the
Belcher Islands, but they have been largely exterminated. Hair and harp seals
are found along the coasts of Hudson and James bays and along Hudson Strait.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
The white whale, a species of porpoise, is common along the shores of Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay.
The main source of income for the people of Ungava since the seventeenth
century has been the fur trade, and furs still constitute their main source
of revenue. The varieties of furbearing animals fluctuate in numbers from
time to time and from locality to locality, as trapping and activity of other
descriptions take their toll of the wild life. Foxes of all kinds are caught
over a wide area, as well as lynx, marton, fisher, weasel, mink, Wolverine,
Wolf and otter. Beaver were once plentiful all through the forested area,
but have been exterminated over large areas; of late years, however, they have
been protected by the Government. Barren ground grizzlies and polar bears
are found in the northern parts of the area, while black bears are common over
a larger section of the region, especially in the forested parts.
Both barren ground and woodland caribou were once found in large numbers
in the areas suited to their particular requirements, but the latter have
been practically exterminated and the former, once in immense herds, are now
found chiefly in the more inaccessible regions of the treeless parts of the
north.
In the late Pre-Cambrian rocks, many minerals have been found, chief of
which from an economic standpoint are probably lead and iron, the latter more
especially. In the rocks underlying the Ungava Depression, which runs south–
easterly from Ungava Bay, Immense deposits of hematite ores, running as high
as 64 per cent, have been found. This ore is especially suited to the manu–
facture of Bessemer steel, and is of a type similar to that found in the famous
Misabi Range of Minnesota. The ores are generally associated with a cherty
limestone, which occurs widely throughout the region, although not in every
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
case associated with iron carbonates. Iron occurrences have been reported by the Geological Survey of Canada since as early as 1877, and from these reports it is obvious that the region contains hundreds of millions of tons of commercial grade ores, development of which has been compelled to await the provision of transportation and the generation of power.
The latter should prove no problem, for most of the rivers in the region,
on their way to the sea tumble down cataracts or fall over cliffs. For ex–
ample, Great Whale River, within 20 miles of its mouth, drops over three falls,
150, 230, and 65 feet in height, respectively. The falls on the Nasrapoka,
not far from its mouth on the Hudson Bay coast, have a drop of 180 feet, 125
feet of which is a sheer drop; while near Richard Gulf, the Wyachuan River
Falls provide a head of 315 feet. It is estimated that the Shale Falls of the
Kaniapiskau River, a tributary of the Koksoak, are capable of producing 1,000,000
horse power of hydro-electric energy.
The northern boundary of New Quebec, from Cape Chidley, on the northeastern
corner of Killinok Island, the southeastern extremity of Hudson Strait, is, in
a straight line, nearly 500 miles long, to Cape Wolstenholms, the southwestern
limit of Hudson Strait and the northeastern extremity of Hudson Bay. Trending
north-northwest, it forms the southern shore of Hudson Strait and includes
Ungava Bay, 140 miles wide at its mouth and about the same in depth. The
eastern shore of Ungava Bay comes to a common point with the Newfoundland–
Labrador coast at Killinok Island, which is merely and extension of the coast,
separated from the mainland by narrow McLelan Strait. On the Western side of
Killinek Island, the harbor of Port Burwell is on the north shore of Forbes
Sound, which is two and ahalf miles wide at its entrance. From the soutern–
most point of Forbes Sound the coast trends south-southwestward for about 45
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
miles and then turns to the south-southeast for about 16 miles. Beyond this point, the coast continues in a southwesterly direction to the mouth of George River, the estuary of which is about eight miles across. Between the mouth of George River, a distance of 55 miles southwestward to the mouth of Whale River, the coast is generally low with occasional rocky points. In this stretch are three small bays, each receiving a small river. Ungava Bay does not diminish much in width from top to bottom and the coast at its lower end trends slightly north of west.
Between the mouth of Whale River, which is about a mile wide, and the
mouth of the Koksoak River, which enters the lower end of Ungava Bay, about
25 miles west of the mouth of Whale River, the coast continues low and is broken
by a deep indentation known as False River Bay, so-called because of its having
been mistaken for the mouth of Koksoak River. The Koksoak, the largest in the
Whole territory is navigable for ocean-going vessels for about 60 or 70 miles.
Fort Chimo, the Hudson's Bay Company's post, is situated about 30 miles above the
river's mouth.
The western side of Ungava Bay is low-lying and trends in a generally
northerly direction, terminating in Cape Hopes Advance, in latitude 61° 05′ N.
and longitude 69° 33′ W. Between the mouth of the Koksoak and the mouth of
Leaf River a broad promontory about 35 miles wide extends northeastward beyond
the direct line of the coast. Leaf Bay, immediately beyond the promontory,
about seven miles wide at its mouth and two and a half miles deep, leads by a
narrow opening to Leaf Lake or Gulf, separated from it by a narrow strip of
rock, into which Leaf River empties. Hopes Advance Bay, a broad indentation
without headlands lies north of Leaf Gulf. The coast then curves to the east
in a gradual bow, which is terminated by Payne Bay, 12 miles wide at its mouth
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
and about 40 miles deep to the mouth of Payne River. Beyond this point the coast trends northerly to Cape Hopes Advance, which is the northern extremity of a flat peninsula, five to ten miles wide and rising to an elevation of about 250 feet, separating Ungava Bay from Diana Bay, immediately to the westward. The latter is about 12 miles wide at its mouth and extends south– ward for about 20 miles. Beyond Diana Bay, the coast trends north-northwest– ward and is indented by a considerable number of bays and flord-like inlets. In a stretch of about 70 miles from the westernmost point of Diana Bay to Cape Prince of Wales, the coast tre [: ] ds first west-northwestward and then hocks around to the north, ending with Cape Prince of Wales. This section, especially where it swings northward, is indented by a number of bays, resulting in a jagged coastline. Cape Prince of Wales, which is in latitude 61° 31′ N., longitude 71° 31′ W., marks the beginning of a stretch of bold coastline ex– tending in a northwesterly direction to Cape Weggs (latitude 62° 26′ N., longitude 73° 41′ W.), in which there are several large fiord-like inlets. Wakeham Bay, the principal one, about 14 miles northwestward of Cape Prince of Wales, is considered to be the safest and best harbor on the south coast of Hudson Strait. Wakeham Bay settlement is situated on the eastern shore, about 6 miles within the entrance.
From Cape Weggs the coast trends west-southwestward for about 50 miles
to Sugluk Inlet, which penetrates inland in a southwesterly direction for about
13 miles and is about 2 miles at its greatest width. From Sugluk Inlet, the
trend of the coast is again west-northwesterly for 65 miles to Cape Wolsten–
holme. Eric Cove, 2-1/2 miles east of Cape Wolstenholme, in latitude 62° 35′ N.,
longitude 77° 31′ W., marks the extreme northwestern limit of the south coast
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
of Hudson Strait between Cape Chidley and Hudson Bay, and also marks the northernmost point of the Province of Quebec.
The eastern shore of Hudson Bay deviates laterally at a number of points
in its 800 miles to the bottom of James Bay, but its general trend is never–
theless north and south. The Hudson Bay section can be divided into parts,
the northern, extending form Cape Wolstenholme to Cape Dufferin, about 250
miles to the south, and the southern part between Cape Dufferin and Cape Jones,
which marks the transition from Hudson Bay to James Bay, about 260 miles farther
south. The northern part is relatively low, with rounded hills rising very
little above the wide valleys, while inland a slightly rising plain is broken
by long, rocky ridges. The shores are rocky at the points, the bays fringed
by sand or boulder beaches. The water is shallow for a considerable distance
off-shore and the bottom is very uneven. The southern part, however, is bold
with hills often rising directly from the water to altitudes of 1,000 feet or
more. This stretch of coast, between Cape Dufferin and Cape Jones, recedes
to form a wide are open to the westward in which there are chains and groups
of islands, the largest being the Belcher group. To the east, opposite the
Belcher Islands, Richmond Gulf provides one of the most interesting features
of the Hudson Bay coast. It is an irregular inlet, triangular in shape, about
23 miles at its base. Its axis runs parallel with the sea from which it is
separated by a high rocky ridge two or three miles in width, across which a
narrow gap, 300 feet at its narrowest, gives ingress and egress.
Cape Jones, which is cut by the 80th parallel of west longitude in lati–
tude 54° 34′ N., is the westernmost point of the Ungava Peninsula. James Bay,
which extends southward from this point, is more than 200 miles long, the
greater part of it having a width of more than 100 miles. As in the case of
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
Hudson Bay i st ^ ts ^ elf, the eastern coast of James Bay is very irregular in outline, broken by innumerable inlets and with rocks lying close to the shore. The trend of the coast from Cape Jones to the mouth of the Eastmain River, 170 miles, is slightly south of southeast. Fort George River (Big River), which enters the Bay 50 miles southeast of Cape Jones, is one of the largest streams of the Ungava Peninsula. It discharges through two main channels, caused by an island at its mouth; Fort George settlement is situated on the north side of this island. Eastmain River enters about 120 miles south of the north of Fort George River.
From the mouth of Eastmain River the coast trends south-southwesterly
to Sherrick Hill, a bold promontory standing 700 feet above the water line.
Beyond this point, the coast again trends slightly south of southeast to Rupert
Bay, entered between Snape Point and Sawayan Point, about 10 miles southwest–
ward. Rupert Bay is an indentat on in the eastern side of the bottom of James
Bay which extends southward more than 20 miles to the mouth of the Nottaway
River. Rupert River, at the mouth of which stands Rupert House settlement,
empties into the eastern side of Rupert Bay about 19 miles south-southeastward
of Snape Point; Broadback River discharges between Rupert and Nottaway rivers.
The southern boundary of the area being described is arbitrary, but
follows in general the height of land between the St. Lawrence River drainage
and that of Hudson and James bays and Hudson Strait. It is a line about 600
miles in length, beginning at the Ontario boundary south of 48° N., and con–
tinuing northeasterly to a point in latitude 52° 30′ N., longitude 64° W.,
where it intersects the watershed between James and Hudson bays and that which
drains into the Atlantic Ocean, marking the boundary between Quebec and New–
foundland-Labrador.
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
The Labrador Peninsula was undoubtedly the first part of North America
to be seen by a European. Just where the Norsemen from Iceland and Greenland
made their first landfall is not known; but it is now generally believed that
it was probably at the southeast end of Baffin Island, whence, in later years,
they proceeded southward along the coast of Labrador. John Cabot and his son
Sebastian are believed also to have reached Labrador, and after them fishermen
from several European countries. These, however, all confined their visits
to the Atlantic coast, and consequently did not have contact with the terri–
tory which has since come to be known as New Quebec. The first persons of
European descent to explore the coasts of that area and to land upon its shores
were Henry Hudson and members of the crew of his ship the
Discovery
, which
sailed into Hudson Strait in the summer of 1610, and after battling storms
and ice in the Strait, reached Cape Wolstenholme at its western end to which
Hudson gave its name after one of his patrons. From there Hudson turned south
along the eastern shores of Hudson and James bays to the bottom of the latter,
where the winter was spent. It is possible that Hudson and his eight compan–
ions abandoned in a small boat the following year by the mutinous crew of the
Discovery
may have reached land somewhere along the coast of James Bay, but
of that there is no recoed. In 1631, Thomas James in the
Henrietta Maria
of
about 70 tons, searching for the mythical Northwest Passage, sailed to the
bottom of the bay since named after him and on Charlton Island, a few miles
off the eastern shore of James Bay, spent the winter, where three of his crew
died.
In 1670, King Charles II of England granted to his cousin Prince Rupert
and "Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay," "The whole
trade of all those seas, streights, and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and sounds..
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
. . . within the streights commonly called Hudson's Streights together with all the lands, countries and territories upon the coasts and confines of the seas, streights, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds aforesaid . . ." This regal grant included all the territory now known as New Quebec. Even before the grant was given, a fort had already been built in the territory in question. In order to test the story of the two renegade French Canadians, Radisson and Groseilliers, upon whose representations the Company of Adventurers had been organized, two ships were outfitted for an expedition to Hudson Bay, the Eaglet and the Nonsuch . The former, with Radisson on board, encountered heavy weather on the Atlantic and put back into the Thames; but the Nonsuch, a 50 ton ketch, commanded by Zachariah Gillam of Boston, with Groseilliers on board, succeeded in winning through to Hudson Bay. They sailed southward to the bottom of James Bay and at the mouth of a river which they called Rupert's River, established the first trading-post of the company that was later to be organized. They named it after the King, but later it became known as Rupert's House, and as such has been in continuous existence. The ship's company winter– ed there and Groseilliers busied himself so well with trading with the natives that when the Nonsuch with its cargo of furs valued at £19,000 reached England the following year, any lingering doubts that the English nobles and other persons who had joined prince Rupert in the enterprise may have had, quickly vanished.
The following year, Gillam and the
Nonsuch
were back, this time with
Radisson as well as Groseilliers; and accompanying them was the first resident
governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, Charles Bayly, who established himself
at Fort Charles. In 1686, despite the fact that England and France were at
the time nominally at peace, Chevalier de Troyes, with Le Moyne d'Iberville,
EA-Geog. LeBoudais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
then 24 years of age, 30 regulars, 70 Canadian militia and a chaplain, by a forced overland march during the winter, advanced from Montreal up the Ottawa River and down Moose River to Moose Factory, which they seized, as well as Rupert's House and Fort Albany. For seven years the French continued in pos– session of the forts at the bottom of James Bay, while the English controlled those on Hudson Bay; but in the meantime war had broken out between England and France; and in 1693 James Knight, then the resident governor, succeeded in driving the French entirely out of the territory.
With the passing of French rule in 1763, the Hudson's Bay Company was
relieved of the necessity of defending its preserves from enemies of the
nation, but it still had to meet the competition of other traders. This com–
petition caused the company for the first time to establish inland posts, and
which was later removed to the mouth of the river, near where the Northwest
Company also had a post. Except for this, the Hudson's Bay Company had no
ecompetition to meet in Ungava after the French were driven out in 1693. In
1827, Dr. Mandry, in the employ of the company, sailed up the east coast of
James and Hudson bays from Moose Factory to Richmond Gulf and proceeded thence
to Clearwater and Seal Lakes and from there to the Stillwater-Larch River,
descending the latter to the Koksoak where Fort Chimo was established 30 miles
upstream from the coast. Following the amalgamation with the Northwest Com–
pany in 1821, the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company was supreme until, in 1869,
They surrendered their charter and the Dominion of Canada took over. The com–
pany still retained its trading posts, however, and a considerable amount of
lands besides, which, in Ungava, constituted practically the only settlements.
From the time that the Hudson's Bay Company's charter was surrendered to
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
the Dominion of Canada, the latter administered the territory of Ungava as part of the Northwest Territories until 1912, when the whole area was trans– ferred to the Province of Quebec, and has since formed part of that province. During the time that the federal government held jurisdiction over Ungava Territory, nothing was done either to develop or settle the region. Practical– ly the only exploration was conducted by the Geological Survey of Canada through the work of Dr. Robert Bell and Dr. A. P. Low. The earliest survey was con– ducted in 1877-78, when he explored the east coast of Hudson Bay. In the same years Dr. Low explored the coasts of Hudson and James bays and the country to the east drained by the Fort George, Great Whale and Clearwater rivers. And between 1892 and 1895, inclusive, Dr. Low explored the greater part of the Labrador Peninsula, mainly along the courses of the Eastmain, Koksoak, Hamilton and other rivers, and later, in 1900, explored the coasts of Hudson Strait, Ungava Bay and the coasts of Hudson and James bays. Until quite recently his work has constituted practically all that was known about the geology of that region, and his reports have lighted the way for those who have followed him.
Although the Province of Quebec assumed jurisdiction in 1912, nothing
more has been done in the way of either development or settlement than was
done by the federal government during its 43 years of control until within the
Past few years when the government has adopted the plan of granting extensive areas
to large mining corporations.
Since the earliest times, the eastern coast of Labrador had been claimed
by Newfoundland; and while what eventually became the Dominion of Canada ad–
mitted the claim, the exact boundaries were never defined. Furthermore, Can–
adians were inclined to complain that Newfoundland's rights did not extend
quite so far to the west as its government seemed to think. Concessions granted
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
by the latter were disputed by the Canadian Government and finally, in 1903, the matter came to a head when the Government of Newfoundland granted a licence for the cutting of timber in the vicinity of Hamilton River which the Canadian Government considered to be within Canadian territory. Conse– quently, by mutual consent, the question was submitted to the Judicial Com– mittee of the Privy Council at London, the highest court in the British Empire. Decision was not rendered until March 1, 1927, when the privy Council found in favor of Newfoundland; in fact, the award was even more favorable than most Newfoundlanders had expected. The boundary between Labrador and New Quebec was declared to be the height of land separating the regions drained into Hudson and James bays from those draining into the Atlantic Ocean; and since the Hamilton River and its tributaries head far to the westward, the territory of Newfoundland-Labrador penetrates a considerable distance into the heart of the territory of New Quebec.
Mention has been made of the concessions granted by the Quebec Government
to certain mining corporations. In 1936, a concession was granted to the Hol–
linger Consolidated Gold Mines Limited, whose principal mining properties are
in the Porcupine section of northern Ontario, giving it the exploration rights
on an area comprising about 3,900 square miles, adjoining the Quebec-Labrador
boundary, extending southward from about latitude 55° N., and adjoining a
similar concession with respect to 20,000 square miles of territory granted
by the Newfoundland Government to a company headed by A. H. Mackay of Montreal,
which was later also acquired by the Hollinger interests, with whom are associ–
iated the M. A. Hanna Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Subsequently, Hollinger
Consolidated Gold Mines Limited incorporated three subsidiary companies to
assist in the exploitation of its concessions. Hollinger North Shore Explora-
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
tion Company Limited holds the 20,000 square mile concession obtained through the Mackay interests from the Government of Newfoundland; and the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway was incorporated to secure a charter to build and operate a railway from Seven Islands, a part on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, northward 360 miles to the northern limit of the area held under concession.
In the interval, diamond drilling has been conducted at a number of points
throughout the concessions and extensive deposits of high-grade hematite and
magnetite ore have been disclosed. It is expected that a great deal of it can
be removed by open-pit mining. Since most of the streams in the area and con–
tiguous thereto have falls and rapids of various heights, power constitutes
no problem; the only question that needed to be determined was the extent of
the deposits and that seems to be no longer a problem.
The iron deposits are mainly along what is known as the Labrador trough,
an area extending southward from Ungava bay and averaging about 30 miles in
Width. Immediately north of the Hollinger concession, Norancon Exploration
Limited, controlled by three large mining corporations, secured from the
Quebec Government in 1946 the rights to 1,500 square miles; tying onto this
area on the north, Fort Chimo Mines Limited, controlled by Frobisher Limited,
a subsidiary of Ventures Limited, holds the rights over 1,000 square miles,
including extensive iron ridges in the Fort Mackenzie area where the Shale
Falls on the Kaniapiskau River have an estimated capacity of 1,000,000 horse
power. North of this group, the Quebec Labrador Development Company controls
an area of 1,00 square miles at Limestone Falls, also on the Kaniapiskau River,
While north of this again, Fenimore Iron Mines Limited have 448 square miles,
constituting the final portion of the known iron region. The latter area is
EA-Geog. LeBourdais: Canada-Quebec, Subarctic Section
not far south of Ungava Bay and it is possible that transportation for its development will be by way of the Koksoak River.
Until these development began, the whole region contained but a few
hundred persons other than Indians and Eskimos and the number of the latter
was not great. As the game resources of the region have diminished, the
numbers of the natives have correspondingly diminished; it is not unusual for
whole families to die of starvation, while disease takes a heavy toll. The
widespread mineral occurrences which are now about to be developed will un–
doubtedly bring about an increase in the population — although probably not
of the native population — and it is only a matter of time till a number of
mining communities of considerable size will be established in different parts
of the area.
The northern portions of the Ungava Peninsula, along the coasts of Hudson
Strait and Hudson Bay as far south as Great Whale River until comparatively
recently were the habitat of the Eskimos, while the region inland as far north
as the Stillwater River and along the coast to the south of Great Whale River
Were occupied if at all by Indians. The latter belong to the Algonkian family
and consist mainly of the Nascaupee and Montagnais tribes, with a certain amount
of admixture, all of whom speak either Cree or Ojibway, but dialects vary in
different localities.
References:
Low, A. P.,
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the
Eastmain, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manikauagan and Portions of Other
Rivers in 1892-93-94-95
; Geological survey of Canada,
Annual
Report
; 1895.
Hubbard, M. B.,
A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador;
London; 1908.
Flaherty, R. J.,
Two Traverses Across Ungava Peninsula, Labrador
; The Geograph–
ical Review, Vol. VI, No. 2 (August 1918).
Dept. of Mines,
Extracts from Reports on the District of Ungava or New Quebec
;
Quebec, 1929.
Quiet Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
QUIET LAKE
Quiet Lake, Yukon Territory, Cominion of Canada, is the source of
Big Salmon River (q.v.), a tributary of Lewes River (q.v.), which is one
of the principal sources of the Yukon River (q.v.). Quiet Lake lies at
an altitude of 2580 feet above sea level, just west of the 133rd meridian
of west longitude, in the angle where the latter is intersected by the 61st
parallel of north latitude. It is 18 miles in length, with a maximum width
of 2-1/2 miles. Its main axis is north and south, but it curves slightly to the west.
On the west, the lake is bordered by high mountains, the highest reach–
ing 6,660 above sea level. A mountain rising to 4,600 feet above sea level
divided the lake from the Nisutlin Valley, to the east, but toward the upper
(southern) end of the lake the land becomes much lower. Here, Cary Portage
connects the Nisutlin River and Quiet Lake. The highest point on the portage
is only 370 feet above the level of the Nisutlin River. Three small lakes
reduce its length by about a mile. It is possible that the outlet of Quiet
Lake was toward the Nisutlin River in pre-glacial times. The present outlet
is at the northern extremity of the lake, where a 12-feet drop connects it
with the first of a series of small lakes in the valley of Big Salmon River.
The mountain slopes along the borders of the lake are well timbered
with white and black spruce, balsam fir, black pine, aspen and balsam poplar,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Quiet Lake
white birch and tamarack, some of which attains a considerable size.
Some of the streams flowing into Quiet Lake are gold-bearing, but
hitherto nothing of much consequence has been found. The Geological Survey
of Canada recommends the district as one that might repay more intensive
prospecting.
Reference:
<bibl>
Lees, R. J.
Geology of Teslin - Quiet Lake Area Yukon
. Geological Survey
of Canada; Memoir No. 203; 1936.
</bibl>Reindeer Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D.M. LeBourdais)
REINDEER LAKE
Reindeer Lake, lying slightly east of north on the boundary between
northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, drainsby way of
Reindeer and Churchill rivers, into Hudson Bay. It has an area of 2,444
square miles, of which 386 square miles are in Manitoba and 2058 square
miles are in Saskatchewan. Its length is 144 miles, it greatest width 30
miles, its elevation is 1150 feet above sea level, and its shoreline, broken
by innumerable indentations, is approximately 1300 miles. It contains over
3700 islands of all sizes and shapes. The southern end of Reindeer Lake is
in latitude 56° 15′ N., and its northern end is in latitude 58° 10′ N.,
While it is cut lengthwise by the 102nd parallel of west latitude, which
constitutes the boundary between the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Reindeer Lake lies wholly within the Canadian Shield, the area underlain
chiefly by rocks of Precambrian age, which occupies nearly all of northern
Canada, almost as far west as the Rocky Mountains, north of the prairies.
In consequence, it is charasteristic of lakes in that region: its shoreline
is broken by many long, narrow indentations, and its area is occupied by
numerous rocky islands. During the Pleistocene period, the lake and sur–
rounding area were covered by a continental ice-sheet, apparently originat–
ing in the Keewatin ice-center west of Hudson Bay, which moved in a south–
westerly direction. Owing to the shortness of the time, practically no ere–
sion has occurred since the retreat of the ice, and therefore such glacial
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Reindeer Lake
drift as was left by the ice still lies in about the same condition as when it was deposited. The chief variant in this is where glacial deposits have been re-worked by ice and wave action along the shoreline of the lake. Evi– dences of old beaches to be seen at a number of places, suggest that the level of the lake was somewhat higher at previous periods than at present.
Reindeer Lake is widest in its northern part and gradually tapers toward
the south, where it merges into Reindeer River. About half-way up the lake,
a string of islands of islands of various sizes extends across from Porcupine Point,
on
the eastern shore, to Vermilion Point, on the western shore, in effect, divid–
ing the lake into two sections, although both of the latter are also well
filled with islands.
The north shore of Reindeer Lake is broken by three deep indentations.
At the northwestern angle of the lake, Brocket Bay, about 10 miles deep and
about the same distance across, receives Cochrane River at its top and is
also the site of Brochet Indian village and trading post. Westward of Long
Point, a high, rocky promontory, Perch Bay extends northward for 10 miles
with a large island at its mouth. West of this, Zangexa Bay extends north–
ward for
[:
e
]
ight miles. From the mouth of this bay, the shore runs a southwest–
ward to a broad point forming the north shore of a wide bay, beyond which
the coast continues southwesterly to Vermilion Bay, into which Swam River
empties at its northwestern angle, and Wathaman River at its south
^
w
^
estern
angle. Vermilion Point forms the southern shore of Vermilion Bay; and on the
south side of the latter is Wepusko Bay, extending southwestward. From the
mouth of Wepusko Bay, the shore line trends southward, and then curves to the
southwestward, terminating in a long promontory which forms the eastern side
of the upper end of Numabin Bay, lying in a north-and-south direction, the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Reindeer Lake
southern end of which constitutes the lower end of Reindeer Lake. From the outlet of the lake, at its southern extremity, the east shore, even more deeply indented than the west shore, swings northeasterly. The first indenta– tion of consequence is Deep Bay, almost circular and about five miles across, which extends southeastward from the line of the coast. Twelve miles farther to the northeast, Wapus Bay, the outlet of the river of the same name, extends four or five miles eastward. Here the lake is not much more than 10 miles wide, the intervening distance being occupied by numerous islands. Paskwachi Bay, into which the Paskwachi River empties, lies immediately south of the broad promontory of which South Porcupine Point marks the southwestern extremity, and North Porcupine Point, the northwestern extremity. Beyond the latter, the shore line trends northeasterly to the bottom of Brocket Bay. In the latter stretch, the shore, while quite broken, is not so deeply indented as it is farther south.
Reindeer Lake lies south of the northern limit of woods, but the thin
soil generally surrounding the lake results in a sparse forest growth, the
principal trees being black spruce and birch of small diameter, with occasional
stands of Banksian pine and, in wet spots, a few tamaracks and poplars, the
latter being much more common towaed the southern end of the lake than farther
north.
Since the lake lies within the Precambrian area composed of rocks similar
to those in which important mineral occurrences have been discovered elsewhere,
it is possible that some day its shores may be the center of producing mines.
In 1927, a zinc-copper deposit was staked on Paskwachi Bay, almost on the bound–
ary line between Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In the following year, a certain
amount of diamond drilling was done, but whether because of lack of transporta-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Reindeer Lake
tion facilities, or otherwise, no further development has been undertaken.
Outside of the fur trade, which is still important, the only other in–
dustry which the region supports is commercial fishing. In winter, its
whitefish, lake trout and other fish in which its water abound, are caught
in nets set under the ice and shipped by tractor-train, princiaplly to supply
markets in the United States.
The first persons of European extraction to see Reindeer Lake were un–
doubtedly fur traders; the first explorer to reach its shores was David
Thompson, in the employ of the Northwest Company, who, in 1796, ascended the
Reindeer River from Churchill River, following and surveying the west shore
of the lake to Swan River,
[:
following
]
which he ascended, proceeding thence by
way of Wollaston Lake to Lake Athabaska. In 1881, A. S. Cochrane, of the Geo–
logical Survey of Canada, asking a track survey from Cumberland House, in the
lower Saskatchewan River region, to Athabaska Lake, traversed Reindeer Lake to
the mouth of the river since named for him, and thence to Lake Athabaska. In
1892, D. B. Dowling, of the Geological Survey, in association with J. B.
Tyrrell, surveyed the west shore of the lake to its outlet; and in 1928, C. H.
Stockwell, also of the Survey, completed the lake's geological mapping.
The principal river flowing into Reindeer Lake is the Cochrane which
drains a large area to the northeast, north and northwest. It rises in Wollas–
ton Lake, which lies northwest of Reindeer Lake, flows northeastward through
the usual chain of lakes and lake-expansions, and then, turning abruptly to
the south, flows in a course slightly east of south into the northeastern angle
of Reindeer Lake. Swan River, emptying into the west side of Reindeer Lake,
provides, by means of connecting lakes, streams and portages, a cance-route
to the southern end of Wollaston Lake. The wathaman River drains a consider-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Reindeer Lake
able area lying to the southwest of Reindeer Lake into Vermilion Bay, on the west side of the lake. Several small rivers enter the lake on its east side, the principal of which is the Paskwachi, flowing into the bay of the same name, about half-way up the lake.
Three trading posts have been established on Reindeer Lake, contiguous
to the three Indian villages. At Brochet, at the north end of the lake, where
the largest village is situated, the majority of the Indians are Chipawyans,
while at Southend, they belong to the Cree tribe. The other trading post,
also near the south end of the lake, on its eastern side, has few Indians
living nearby. It is the terminus of the winter train from the Hudson Bay
Railway at The Pas, Manitoba, on the Saskatchewan River.
References:
Stockwell, C. H.
Reindeer Lake Area, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
. Geological
Survey of Canada; Summary Report, 1928, Part B.
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River
. Geological Survey of Canada; Annual Report, Vol. VIII,
1896.
Reindeer River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
REINDEER RIVER
Reindeer River is the outlet by which the waters of Reindeer Lake, in
northern Saskatchewan (and partly in Manitoba), are drained southward into
the Churchill River. As is the case with many of the lakes in this region
of Pre-Cambrian rocks, the river commences its course by tumbling down a fall
of eight feet, which is circumvented by a short portage across a bare rocky
island, known as Rock Portage. Below this, a short stretch of river leads
to a small lake, below which is Whitesand Falls, where the river descends
about sixteen feet in two leaps. Here a dam has been constructed to regulate
the outflow to provide a more constant head of water for the hydro-electric
installation at Island Falls, on the Churchill River. This is followed by
another small lake, and this, in turn, by Manitou Rapids, where the river rushes
between high, almost vertical, rocky walls, making another portage necessary.
Below Manitou Rapids, for seven miles, the river flows through a regular
well-defined channel, winding along a low botton-land, wooded with small spruce
and tamarack. For the next eighteen miles, the river spreads into a succession
of small lakes; and, at Steeprock Fall, it plunges over a 15-foot ledge of rock,
where it divides into several channels between islands covered mainly with
spruce. Below the fall is a heavy rapid, where the portage leads over a hill,
rising to about forty feet above the river level at its lower end.
For the next thirty-two miles, the Reindeer wends its way through a wide
valley bordered by hills from 200 to 400 feet high, with many bays and rambling
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Reindeer River
extensions, resembling a lake much more than a river. Below this is a rough rapid known as Deer Rapid, th last on the river. From the foot of this r pa ^ ap ^ id to the Churchill, a distance of six miles, the river valley seems to be continuous with that of the Churchill above where the Reindeer enters, while the Churchill itself, proceeding to the eastward, seems to flow out through a narrow gap in the hills.
References:
McInnes, William Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 30, 1913.
Tyrrell, J. B. Geological Survey of Canada,
[:
]
Vol. Ix, 1896, Pt. F.
Richardson Mountains
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
RICHARDSON MOUNTAINS
The Richardson Mountains, northwestern Canada, constitute the north–
ward end of that great mountain chain which is sometimes called the "backbone
of the continent," and which, in North America, is known as the Rocky Moun–
tains. They succeed the Mackenzie Mountains, which are the successors of
the Rocky Mountains. Like both the Rocky Mountains and the Mackenzie Moun–
tains, they consist chiefly of sedimentary rocks, and are somewhat younger,
geologically than parallel ranges of the Canadian Cordillera farther west.
The Richardson Mountains are definitely separated from the Mackenzie
Mountains by the Peel Plateau, which occupies, at that point, a space of
about 40 miles between the two mountains across which the Bonnet Plume and
Wind rivers flow northward to join the Peel. The latter skirts the southern
end of the Richardson Mountains. Members of the Geological Survey of Canada
are of the opinion, however, that structurally the Richardson Mountains are
a northward continuation of the Mackenzie Mountains.
The Richardson Mountains extend from latitude 65° 48′ N. to latitude
68° 30′ N., and are cut lengthwise by the 136th degree of west longitude.
Their southern portion is narrow, having a maximum width of about 25 miles;
they spread out toward the north, however, with a miximum width of about 60
miles.
The Richardson Mountains constitute a generally narrow but continuous
belt of mountain territory, with the Peel Plateau flanking it on the east,
EA-Geography: Canada. Lebourdais: Richardson Mts.
and the much lower Porcupine Plain doing likewise on the west. Northward, they are succeeded by the Arctic Plateau. Unlike the Mackenzie Mountains, they form a continuous watershed throughout their length. Over most of this distance they suggest closely-spaced hills with smooth profiles, rather than mountain masses. It is reported that for the most part they are lower and no more rugged than the southern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which their bare slopes somewhat resemble. Their abrupt rise from adjacent regions of relative– ly low relief, such as the Mackenzie Delta, the Peel Plateau, the Arctic Plat– eau, and the Porcupine Plain, accords them a status which their lack of height might not justify in other surroundings,
The Richardson Mountains are highest and most rugged in their northern
part where also their width is greatest. Here the central mass is really
rugged. Toward the north, this rugged mass breaks into roughly parallel,
northerly-trending ridges which persist until they merge into the Arctic
Plateau.
Southward of this rugged region, the mountains narrow to 25 miles at
Rat River Portage. Fifty miles south of their northern extremity they be–
come lower, and probably at no point south of Rat River do they again reach
an elevation of 4,000 feet. Their slopes are steep, and relatively smooth;
some of their ridges are long and even, and, as viewed from the air, appear
to resemble immense road embankments. These features appear to indicate a
former erosion surface. On the west side, the Richardson Mountains rise from
the Porcupine Plain as a belt of low foothills from five to ten miles wide.
On the east, the border is more sharply defined; in the northern part, the
transition is quite abrupt, but farther south spurs of hills diverge from
the main line of the mountain front to disappear in the Peel Plateau.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Richardson Mts.
The southern interior of the Richardson Mountains does not seem to have
been subjected to glaciation during Pleistocene times. Ice appears to have
been thrust eastward across the Peel Plateau where it was joined by ice from
the south coming from the Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains, mainly by way of
the valleys of the Snake, Bonnet Plume, and Wind rivers. This ice is be–
lieved to have moved up Peel River past the south end of the Richardson
Mountains. It is thought that it may have pushed also into McDougall Pass,
of which a few small lakes may possibly serve as evidence, and then continued
around the north end of the mountains and northwestward along the Arctic
Coastal Plain.
Until recently, it has been generally believed that the Richardson
Mountains bent westward and extended into Alaska. Aerial reconnaissance
now shows that the Arctic Plateau definitely divides the Richardson Mountains
from a westward-trending range of mountains whch constitute the eastern
extension of the Brooks Range in Alaska. Those mountains are now known as
the British Mountains.
References:
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.
Camsell, C.
Report on the Peel River and Tributaries, Yukon and
Mackenzie
; Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report,
Vol. XVI; 1906.
Richmond Gulf
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
RICHMOND GULF
Richmond Gulf is an indentation in the coast of Hudson Bay between
latitude 56° 05′ N. and 56° 30′ N. It is triangular in shape, widest at
its southern end, where it measures 19 miles from east to west, while its
greatest length is 23 miles from north to south. It is separated from
Hudson Bay by a high narrow ridge of rock, which rises in cliffs from 500
to 1,200 feet above the water. A gap in the ridge, 2 miles long and only
300 yards wide at its narrowest, near the southern end, gives access to the
Gulf from Hudson Bay. The six-foot tide, prevailing in that region, rushes
in and out through this aperture with tremendous force. The inlet is broken
by a large number of islands, most of which are in its southern part. Two
streams of considerable size, the Clearwater and the Wiachouan, in addition
to a number of smaller ones, discharge into the Gulf, draining lakes in the
plateau to the east.
The shores of Richmond Gulf are underlain by rocks similar in geologic
age to those exposed in the Ungava Depression in which extensive important
mineral occurrences have been discovered. If equivalent values are dis–
closed in the vicinity of Richmond Gulf, the region may some day become of
considerable economic importance because of the presence nearby of enormous
potent
^
ial
^
power owing to the fact that all the streams entering the Gulf drop
over considerable falls in their descent from the plateau to sea level.
Reference:
<bibl>
Dept. of Mines,
Quebec
Extraxts from Reports on the District of Ungava or
New Quebec
; 1929.
</bibl>Ross River
EA-Geography: Canada
ROSS RIVER
Ross River is an Indian village with a trading post, situated at
the confluence of the Ross and Pelly rivers about 200 miles upstream
from the confluence of the Pelly and Yukon rivers.
From: Nor'West Miner
March, April 1950
Rupert River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
RUPERT RIVER
Rupert River, draining a section of territory lying south and east of
the southern end of James Bay, in the province of Quebec, has its source in
Lake Mistassini, 840 square miles in area, at an elevation of 1,243 feet
above sea level, which is cut by the 51st parallel of north latitude and
lies mainly between longitude 73° and 74° W. Rupert River flows slightly
north of west; in its course of 380 miles it receives many tributaries and
spreads into numerous lake-expansions. Because it is hemmed on the south by
the Nottaway River and on the north by the Eastmain River, its drainage basin
consists of not more than 15,000 square miles of territory; nevertheless, it is
a considerable stream.
The Rupert River flows out of the northwestern end of Lake Mistassini
and follows a generally northwesterly course which is mainly a succession of
lake-expansions, one practically opening into the other, with connecting
streams broken continually by rapids. About 100 miles below Lake Mistassini,
the Rupert receives the Marten which follows a similarly meandering course
roughly parallel to, but a few miles south of it. Six miles west of the con–
fluence, the river flows into Namiska Lake from which it proceeds westward,
opening into many expansions and descending 30 heavy rapids in a distance of
100 miles. Rupert House, the Hudson's Bay Company's post at the mouth of the
Rupert River, is the oldest post of the company, having been in continuous
operation since its founding in 1668.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Rupert River
The country through which the river runs in its lower reaches is cover–
ed with a thick growth of spruce, balsam and poplar, some of which is of
merchantable size and quality. The soil is a clay loam, covered with a thick
layer of leaf mould and considerable areas, if cleared, would be well suited
to agriculture.
Reference:
<bibl>
Curran and Calkins
In Canada's Wonderful Northland.
(W. Tees Curran and
H. A. Calkins); New York, 1920.
</bibl>Sachigo River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
SACHIGO RIVER
Sachigo River, northwestern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is a trib–
utary of the Severn River (q.v.), which flows northeastward into Hudson
Bay. The Sachigo River rises in a series of lakes connected by small streams
which extends between latitudes 53° and 54° N., and between longitudes 92°
and 93° W. These converge into a single rapid-studded stream flowing north–
ward into Sachigo Lake, a sheet of water about 24 miles long by about 10 miles
wide. Emerging from the north side of this lake, the Sachigo River flows
northward for 25 miles into Little Sachigo Lake, from which it flows in a
northeasterly course roughly parallel to that of the Severn River, discharg–
ing into the latter about 70 miles above its mouth. Like the Severn, the
Sachigo River consists of a succession of rapids and waterfalls until it drops
over the escarpment from the Canadian Shield region to the Hudson Bay Lowland.
The nature of the country through which it runs is similar to that traversed
by the Severn.
St. Elias Mountains
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
ST. ELIAS MOUNTAINS
The St. Elias Mountains, Province of British Columbia and Yukon Terri–
tory, Dominion of Canada, constitute the northern end of the Western System
of the Canadian Cordillera (q.v.) They are the highest mountains in Canada,
containing some of the highest peaks in North America, and are part of a
great mountain mass lying partly in Canada and partly in Alaska Territory.
This account deals only with the Canadian portion. A characteristic of
these mountains is the array of great peaks rising in solitary grandeur
from among a myriad of lesser ones, most of which would be giants in their
[:
]
wn right in any other part of the Canadian Cordillera. These great peaks
do not, as a rule, rise to pinnacle-like tops, but are massive, with precip–
itous sides, rising to broad, though rugged summits. They are covered, both
winter and summer, with a thick mantle of ice and snow, which smooths their
contours and lends them an etherial beauty.
About half of the St. Elias Mountains are in Canada, comprising a compact
block bordered on three sides by the Alaskan portions. This Canadian block
is roughly rectangular with its main axis in a northwesterly direction, in
line with the general trend of the country, and is about 200 miles long by
about 90 miles wide. The mountains extend, north and south, from latitude
59° N. to slightly beyond latitude 62° N., and from longitude 136° 06′ W. to
the 141st Meridian, which forms the western boundary of Yukon Territory.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: St. Elias Mts.
The St. Elias Mountains are divided into four principal parts: the
Kluane Ranges, the Alsek Ranges, the Icefield Ranges, and the Fairweather
Range. The first three are subdivided into other local ranges. The Fair–
weather Range is principally in Alaska, and only its northeastern slope is
in Canada.
The Kluane Ranges constitute a narrow frontal portion ofthe St. Elias
Mountains, beginning a short distance north of the 60th parallel and extend–
ing to the 141st Meridian. They mark the transition from the Yukon Plateau,
to the northeast, and rise abruptly above the southwest side of the Shakwak
Valley, which continues along the greater part of their length. They are
divided into nine different ranges by large cross-cutting valleys, which,
however, do not modify
^
th
^
e impression they give of a straight, continuous
front. Peaks in these ranges rise to heights of about 7,000 feet, with occa–
sional peaks reaching 8,000 feet or more. The Kluane Ranges do not extend
as far southward as those farther west, but merge into the northwestern end
of the Coast Mountains a short distance north of latitude 60° N. In their
southeastern part, they contain a number of alpine glaciers, some of which
are about two miles in length.
The Kluane Ranges are bordered on the southwest by the Duke Depression,
which separates the Kluane Ranges from the Alsek and Icefield Ranges farther
to the southwest. The Alsek Ranges comprise the southeastern part of the St.
Elias Mountains, and provide the front in that region. They begin at the
International Boundary, in about latitude 59° 30′ N., and extend northwestward
to a short distance north of the 60th parallel. These mountains are still
relatively little known, back from their borders, although peaks are reported
as rising to an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet. Along the International
[: ] Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: St. Elias Mts.
Boundary, which is their southern border, the highest peak is Mount Bigger, 8,250 feet above sea level.
The Icefield Ranges comprise the main body of the St. Elias Mountains,
and contain all the highest peaks except Mount Fairweather. They resemble
a high plateau, deeply dissected, above which the great peaks rise. This
plateau appears to consist of remnants of an older and still higher plateau
that once existed. Along the northeast side of Icefield Ranges, a border area
from 15 to 20 miles wide divides the Duke Depression and the Alsek River Valley
from the first line of the great peaks. This border area
^
ri
^
ses abruptly to
peaks 8,000 and 9,000 feet high, and in some places to elevations in excess
of 10,000 feet. Numerous alpine glaciers a
^
nd
^
ice-fields occur in the valleys
between these peaks. Lowell, Klutlan, Wolf, Donjek, Kluane and Kaskawulsh
glaciers, flowing outward toward the Yukon Pl
[:
]
teau, are among the best known
in this region.
Southwest of this border area, the great masses of the Icefield Ranges
rise, overtopped by their galaxy of great peaks. The chief of these are Mount
Logan, 19,850 feet high, with its four near neighbors, all in excess of 18,000
feet, and two in excess of 19,000 feet. Other great peaks in this area are:
Mount St. Elias, 18,008 feet; Mount Lucania, 17,150 feet; King Peak, 17,130
feet; Mount Steele, 16,439 feet; Mount Wood, 15,880 feet; Mount Vanc
^
ou
^
ver,
15,700 feet; Mount Hubbard, 14,950 feet; Mount Walsh, 14,780 feet; Mount Al–
verstone, 14,500 feet; McArthur Peak, 14,400 feet; and Mount Augusta, 14,070
feet. In addition, there are many peaks ran
^
gi
^
ng from 12,000 to 14,000 feet. in
height, most of which are still not known, and therefore have no names and have
never been climbed or measured.
These great peaks rise out of the surface of snow and ice that fills the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: St. Elias Mts.
valleys between them. North of Mount Logan, this surface is between 6,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level. Expanses of unbroken snow conceal the depth of the valleys, and give the impression that the mountains themselves are remnants awaiting reduction to the level of this surface.
The Fairweather Range in Canada is composed, as already mentioned, of a
single big ridge of mountains that culminates in the great peak of Mount Fair–
weather, 15,300 feet high, in the extreme southwestern corner of the St. Elias
Mountains. The Canadian part of the range consists partly of ridges radiat–ing from Mount Fairweather, and partly of valley glaciers, such as Melbern,
Grand Pacific and Ferris.
The Kluane Ranges, according to reports of the Geological Survey of
Canada, "are composed mainly of volcanic rocks, with associated shales, slates,
sandstones and limestones, and include sections ranging in age from late Pal–
aeozoic to late Mesozoic." Southwest of the Duke Depression, the slopes of
the Icefield Ranges are underlain mainly by Mesozoic and Palaeozoic sedimen–
tary and volcanic rocks. No geological examination of the great peaks has
yet been made, but from reports of mountaineers and the appearance of their
cliffs where bedrock is exposed, the belief is that they are composed largely
of granitic rocks.
References:
Bostock, H.S.
Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera. With Special
Reference to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth
^
p
^
arallel
.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247; 19
^
48
^
.
Washburn, Bradford
Exploring Yukon's Glacial Stronghold.
National Geographic
Magazine, Vol. LXIX, No. 6; 1936.
Sandgirt Lake
EA-Geography: Canada. (D. M. LeBourdais)
SANDGIRT LAKE
Sandgirt Lake, in the Labrador section of the Province of Newfoundland,
Canada, is of greater importance than its size would suggest. In a country
consisting largely of an endless maze of lakes, some very large, one rather
characterless lake about 12 miles long would seem to be of no particular
significance. Sandgirt Lake, however, is of importance because
^
it
^
is con–
sidered to be the source of Hamilton River (q.v.), one of the world's great–
est power streams. In it are mingled the waters of the Ashuanipi River (q.v.),
flowing in from the northwest, and the Attikonak (q.v.), coming in from the
south, the two principal tributaries of the Hamilton. Not only does it re–
ceive its waters from these two relatively large streams, but it also discharges
by two different outlets, several miles apart, both streams, however, eventual–
ly coming together to constitute the Hamilton River. Sandgirt Lake lies in
latitude 54° N., longitude, 65° 15′W., at an elevation of about 1,500 feet
above the sea, from which it is distant about 270 miles.
Sandgirt Lake is a typical Canadian Sheild lake, occupying a shallow,
rocky Basin, indented on all sides by deep, narrow bays separated by rocky
ridges. It lies in a northwest-southeast direction, which is also the general
trend of the country, and consequently the deepest bays are at its northwest–
ern and southeastern extremities. The Ashuanipi flows into one of those bays
on the northwest side of the lake, and the Attikonak flows into another near
the southeastern end, extending from the south side, The two outlets are near
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Sandgirt Lake
the southeastern extremity, Like most other lakes in the region, it is filled with rocky islands, one of which is quite large. The country sur– rounding Sandgirt Lake is more rugged than is generally the case in this part of Labrador; fairly high hills are visible in the northwest, while about 20 miles to the westward, a range of hills called the Ice Mountains, rising about 800 feet above the general level of the country, are a distinc– tive topographical feature. The country about the lake is well wooded, the principal tree being black spruce, but white spruce, balsam fir, and white and yellow birch may also be seen.
Sandgirt Lake was once on the route of Hudson's Bay Company's traders
traveling overland from Fort Chimo, on the Koksoak, near Ungava Bay, to their
posts on the lower Hamilton. It was first explored in 1894 by Dr. A. P. Low,
of the Geological Survey of Canada, when he made an exploratory survey of
the Hamilton River and i
^
t
^
s principal tributaries. In recent years, the country
roundabout has been surveyed by air in connection with the search for iron ore,
but details of such surveys are not yet available.
Reference:
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Laborador Peninsula, along the
East Main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manicuagan, and portions of
other rivers in 1892-93-94-95
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report, Vol. VIII, pp. IL-387L, 1895.
Severn River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
SEVERN RIVER
The Severn River, northwestern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, drains an
area of 38,600 square miles in the northwestern corner of the province, ly–
ing parallel with the Manitoba-Ontario boundary. Its course is northeast–
ward into Hudson Bay; its watershed is narrow, since it is hemmed on the
west by the Hayes River watershed, and on the southeast by that of the Win–
isk River. The Severn system consists of three streams of almost equal size
flowing in roughly parallel channels which unite about 70 miles and 56 miles,
respectively, from the sea. The Severn River is the central stream, with
the Sachigo to the westward and the Fawn on the east. Sections of both the
Severn and the Sachigo still remain to be fully explored. Indians and others
wishing to reach the headwaters of the Severn usually proceed up the Fawn be–
cause it is easier to navigate and closely parallels the main stream.
The main branch of the Severn River rises in Deer Lake, a long, narrow
sheet of water lying mainly east and west in latitude 52° 40′ N., between
longitude 94° and 94° 30′ W. Typical of lakes in the Canadian Shield, it is
heavily indented on all sides, and filled with rocky islets. Deer Lake dis–
charges through a short stretch of stream into another lake, about 8 miles
long, also lying in an east-west direction. From the northwestern angle of
this lake, the Severn flows northwestward for about 12 miles. It then spreads
into a narrow lake-expansion and
^
^
turns northward into the northwestern end of
Favourable Lake. The latter consists of two narrow, parallel bays extending
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Severn River
northwestward from another arm running at right-angles to these two. The southwestern arm is 10 miles long, the northeastern one, 6 miles long, and the transverse arm from which both project is 8 miles in length. From this lake, the river flows northward for about 25 miles. [: ] ^ It ^ then turns to the east, holding an easterly course for 20 miles, and then swings to the south. In this stretch it flows through six lakes of greater or less size, in addi– tion of numerous lake-expansions.
After flowing southward for about two miles, the river enters the north–
western angle of a long, convoluted lake, called Finger Lake, about 20 miles
in length and about eight miles at its widest portion. From Finger Lake, a
sh
[:
]
rt stretch of stream connects with the northwestern end of Sandy Lake. This
is the largest lake in the Severn River system. It lies roughly east and
west, is about 45 miles long, and about 12 miles wide at its greatest width.
The greater part of the lake, however, is much narrower. Sandy Lake is also
a typical Canadian Shield lake, heavily indented, with mostly rocky shores,
and studded with rocky islets.
The Severn River flows out of the northeastern end of Sandy Lake, and
follows a generally northeasterly course to its discharge into Hudson Bay in
latitude 56° N., longitude 87° 30′ W. In its course across the Canadian Shield,
the Severn continues to flow through lake after lake, and is continually in–
terrupted by rapids and falls. A few miles below the largest of these lakes
called Monsomshi Lake, the river divides into two channels which follow rough–
ly parallel courses for about 50 miles before they unite. Shortly after this,
the river drops from the Canadian Shield to the Hudson Bay Lowland in a ser–
ies of waterfalls. From this point to its mouth, the river flows through steep
banks which it has cut into the heavy covering of glacial drift that overlies
EA-Geography: Canada/ LeBourdais: Severn River
the Palaeozoic rocks of the Hudson Bay Lowland. These rocks come to the surface at Limestone Rapids, about 56 miles from the mouth of the Severn. Both the Sachigo and Fawn branches also drop over the escarpment before they join the Severn.
Since the Severn River does not provide a direct route from Hudson Bay
to Lake Winnipeg, such as that provided by the Nelson or Hayes rivers farther
west, it has not been as well explored as either of these. In fact, it is
still largely unexplored. The territory through which it runs may, however,
some day prove to be an important section of the country. The greater part
of this territory is underlain by Precambrian rocks similar to those which
elsewhere have produced valuable mineral occurrences. It is heavily covered
with glacial drift, and this makes prospecting difficult.
^
Its
^
hitherto rela–
tively inaccessible location has kept it from becoming known except to a very
few.
The Hudson Bay Lowland region, farther to the southeast, has economic
possibilities which may in time become of considerable importance; and the
section of the lowland traversed by the Severn River can be placed in the
same category.
The Canadian Shield region is fairly well forested, but the timber, in
the main, is small. It consists chiefly of white and black spruce, tamarack,
Banksian pine, white birch and poplar. Large areas have been burnt over at
various times. The Lowland section is covered chiefly with a sparse growth
of stunted black spruce and tamarack. Considerable areas in both sections
consist of muskeg.
Severn Factory, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company, at the mouth of the
Severn, has been in continuous operation since the earliest times of the company.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Severn River
Company traders have ascended the river from time to time to visit the Indians, but no records of geographical value, if any, have been kept. The Ontario Department of Mines has made geological examinations of certain parts of the area.Slave River
EA-Geography; Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
SLAVE RIVER
Slave River, 300 miles long, joins lakes Athabaska and Great Slave,
and forms part of the Mackenzie River system in northwestern Canada. It
flows out of the western end of Lake Athabaska and, although its course is
tortuous, it is generally northwestward. Thirty miles below Lake Athabaska
it takes in the Peace, which greatly augments its flow; and thenceforth it
is from one-third to two-thirds of a mile wide. The section between Lake
Athabaska and the mouth of the Peace was formerly known as Rocher River, the
Slave proper beginning below the Peace, but the tendency is to apply the
name Slave to the whole river.
Seventy-one miles below the moyth of the Peace, an outlying spur of the
Canadian Shield crosses its course, causing a series of rapids sixteen miles
long, where the river drops a total of 125 feet. Two roads connect Fitz–
gerald, at the head of the rapids, with Fort Smith at their foot, over which
freight is transported by mechanized equipment.
The 60th parallel of north latitude, the boundary between the Province
of Alberta, on the south, and the District of Mackenzie, on the north, crosses
just south of Fort Smith. Below the rapids the river winds monotonously through
a level alluvial plain between wooded banks of clay and sand which, 100 feet
high at Fort Smith, gradually lessen as Great Slave Lake is approached. In a
number of places, in its twists and turns, the river almost completes a circle.
At Le Grand Detour, for instance, it flows fifteen miles in roundabout fashion,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Slave River
coming back to within 1,000 yards of its starting point. At another place, the circuit is ten miles, while across the neck is only half a mile.
Slave River enters Great Slave Lake through an extensive delta, 20 miles
wide at its face, which, including the innumerable islands that fill the wes–
tern end of the lake, has been formed by material dredged out of the Alberta
Plateau by the rivers. It once discharged into an arm of the lake extending
far south of the present shore-line, but this has long since been silted full.
The first European to see Slave River was Samuel Hearne on his return
from his visit to the Coppermine River in 1771. Peter Pond, of the Northwest
Company, probably passed down the river some time within the next decade, and
in 1786 sent Laurent Leroux and Cuthbert Grant from his trading post on the
Athabaska River,
^
30
^
miles above Lake Athabaska, to Great Slave Lake to estab–
lish a post there, which they did at the eastern mouth of Slave River. On the
way down the river in 1786, five men accompanying Leroux and Grant were drown–
ed while attempting to run the rapids. Leroux spent at least two years at
the Great Slave Lake fort, and Slave River from that time onward was undoubt–
edly a regular route of travel for furtraders, who, however, until Alexander
Mackenzie made his historic voyage in 1789, apparently did not proceed farther
north than Great Slave Lake. The name is derived from the term applied to
the Indians living in the vicinity by the more warlike Crees, who despised
them for what they termed their slave-like behavior.
Fort Smith is now the headquarters for the administration of Mackenzie
District, and as the head of transportation on the Mackenzie, occupies a posi–
tion of some strategic importance, which should be greatly increased if, as
undoubtedly some day will be the case, the power possibilities of the rapids
at its door sho
^
ul
^
d be realized, and especially if, as would not be surprising,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Slave River
extensive base-metal deposits should be located in the near-by Canadian Shield within a reasonable distance.
References:
Camsell, Charles)
and (
The Mackenzie River Basin
. The Geological Survey of
Malcolm, Wyatt) Canada; Ottawa; Memoir No. 108; 1919/
Innis, H. A.
Peter Pond. Fur Trader and Adventurer
. Toronto, 1930.
Fort Selkirk
EA-Geography: Canada
FORT SELKIRK
Fort Selkir, an Indian village and trading center, is situated near
the confluence of the Pelly and Yukon rivers about 178 miles from Dawson.
It has a post office, an emergency aeroplane landing field, Church of
England and Roman Catholic churches, and a detachment of Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. Fort Selkirk is the site of a Hudson's Bay Company fort
constructed in 1848 and destroyed by Indians in 1852. Traces of the fort
still remain. The Hudson's Bay Company re-established a trading post at
Fort Selkirk in 1938. Fort Selkirk is the commercial center for the fur
trade of the Pelly River district, and a starting point for big game hunting
parties.
From: Nor'West Miner
March, April 1950
Snag
EA-Geography: Canada
SNAG
Snag is a trading post and intermediate aerodrome in western Yukon.
The aerodrome is equipped with a radio and meteorological station and is
accessible from the Alaska Highway. The record low temperature for Yukon
Territory (−81° F.) was recorded at Snag in February, 1947.
From: Nor'West Miner
March, April 1950
South Nahanni River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
SOUTH NAHANNI RIVER
The South Nahanni River, one of the main branches of the Liard River,
itself a principal tributary of the Mackenzie, flows into the Liard about
100 miles above the latter's mouth, in latitude 61° N., and longitude 123°
50" W. It rises in the eastern slopes of the Neckenzie Mountains in about
latitude 63° N., longitude 129° 20′ W., its headwaters interlocking with
those of the Keele, which, by way of the Gravel River, flows westward into
he Mackenzie. On the opposite side of the divide, the Pelly and its large
tributary, the Ross, also take their rise, flowing to join the Yukon. The
greater part of its course lies within the transverse valleys between the
parallel ranges of mountains that go to make up the vast bulk of the Mack–
enzie Mountains, and in its progress it cuts through two of these ranges,
flowing eventually for the final lap across a section of the Mackenzie low–
lands physiographic province. It is a swift stream, and during its course
drops over one of the highest falls in Canada and flows through two canons
20 and 15 miles, respectively, in length. Nevertheless, it can be navigated
by certain types of craft for about 150 miles, until the falls block further
progress.
The South Nahanni drainage basin is shaped like a wedge, with the point
directed southeastward. It is therefore quite narrow in its lower section,
since the river is there closely flanked by high mountains; but farther north,
where the river receives a number of spreading branches, the basin comprises
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: South Nahanni River
a considerably broad area, extending from 126° 30′ to 129° 20′ W. The South Nahanni can perhaps best be described as resembling a tall tree with its branches all toward the top.
For many years it has had a somewhat sinister reputation, and many tales
are told concerning it, most of which have no foundation in fact, and were
evidently invented by Ind
ai
^
ia
^
ns or trappers wishing to keep others from their
hunting ground. It has also been widely referred to as a so-called "tropical
valley," probably because, in one locality, a number of hot springs help to
produce a luxuriant growth of vegetation, and also because it is in the track
of the Chinook winds which tend to modify its climate.
The South Nahanni rises in three forks, the Caribou River, the most
westerly, Flat River, which empties into Caribou River about 20 miles above
its junction with the main stream, and the latter, which occupies the east–
ernmost of three roughly parallel, rather flat valleys forming the northern
portion of the South Nahanni drainage basin. Thirty miles above its junction
with the Caribou River, the main branch, which follows a generally southeaster–
ly course, drops 315 feet over the Virginia Falls, and 30 miles below the mouth
of the Caribou the combined stream passes through what is known as The Gate,
where the river has cut across a body of limestone. Here the river narrows
to about 75 yards, continuing thus for about 300 yards, with vertical cliffs
on either side rising to about 1,000 feet above the water's edge. The Gate
is merely the entrance to the Second Ca
^
ñ
^
on, where, for 20 miles, the river
cuts across its first range of mountains, apparently the rounded remains of
a dissected upland. Evidently the river antedates the mountains. Below the
ca
^
ñ
^
on, the river widens considerably, flowing for 10 miles across a broad,
flat stretch of country, with low banks, mountains in sight, but at a coneid-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: South Nahanni River
erable distance. At the end of this stretch, however, mountains close in again, higher this time, and once more the river cuts across a mountain range, continuing through the First Ca ^ ñ ^ on for 15 miles, with cliffs towering to heights of 1,000 and 1,500 feet on each side, breaking back to even greater heights. At the mouth of this ca ^ ñ ^ on a small stream discharges a flow of sul– phurous hot water and a number of other hot springs are in the near vicinity. For its final 40 miles, the river wanders in a broad valley between low banks.
The first white man to ascend the South Nahanni was probably Poole Field
who, with his partner, established a trading post in the days of the Klondike
excitement at the confluence of the Pelly and Ross, on the opposite slope of
the watershed. Indians from the South Nahanni crossed the mountains to trade
at his post, and eventually Field left the post and took up life with the
Indians, traveling for years with them up and down the South Nahanni, at the
mouth of which he finally established his home.
Shortly after the turn of the century, two prospectors, brothers named
McLeod, ascended the South Nahanni, and when nothing was heard of them for
some time, a third brother went in search of them, eventually finding their
bodies which showed evidences of murder. It was supposed that they had found
gold somewhere on the South Nahanni or on one of its branches and had been
killed for their gold. The Indians put the deaths down to the influence of
"evil spirits," all of which help
[:
]
ed to keep alive the stories that became
current about the region. Nevertheless, other prospectors, believing that
the McLeod brothers had found gold, were not deterred by such stories and
continued to prospect up and down the stream and its tributaries, but without
much success. Finally, in 1933, two prospectors, Clark and Stannier, did suc–
ceed in finding some gold and also the stakes of the original McLeod claims on
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: South Nahanni River
a tributary of Flat River. This resulted in a mild stampede, when a number of claims were staked, but nothing very rich has ever been found by anyone.
The first survey of the South Nahanni was made in 1928 when Fenley
Hunter, an American explorer, ascended the river, making a track survey as
far as Virginia Falls, which he named. He spent some time on the river, and,
next to Poole Field, probably knows more about it than any other white man.
About the same time, the Flat River was explored by R. M. Patterson.
In 1935, Alan E. Cameron, then on the staff of the University of Alberta,
visited the river to examine certain lead claims, in the course of which he
ascended the stream 90 miles to The Gate. He charted that part of the river
and examined it geologically, subsequently writing a descriptive article
about it for a magazine and giving an account of its history.
Reference:
<bibl>
Cameron, A. E.
South Nahanni River
, Canadian Geographical Journal,
Vol. XIII, No. 1.
</bibl>Stewart River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
STEWART RIVER
Stewart River, 320 miles long, is one of the principal Canadian trib–
utaries of the Yukon, which it joins about 70 miles above Dawson. Its main
stream rises in the Mackenzie Mountains, between the Peel and Pelly water–
sheds, amidst peaks which stand from 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level.
It was named after an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, who first
saw it in 1849. Gold was discovered on its sandbars in 1883, and it was
one of the chief gold-producers in Yukon Territory before the sensational
strike on Bonanza Creek turned all eyes toward the Klondike. Its gold was
not coarse, and neither it nor its tributaries were the scene of sensational
strikes; but during the years 1885-87, according to official figures, about
$100,000 was taken from its gravel deposits.
Except in its upper reaches, the watershed of Stewart River is almost
entirely within the Yukon Plateau, through which it and its branches have cut
Wide valleys between the irregular mountain masses now the remnants of a
region once uplifted and since eroded by stream action to a depth of from
2,500 to 4,000 feet below the former upland level. The valleys are generally
timbered, the timber reaching to about 2,500 feet above the valley floors,
beyond which the tops are usually bare.
Stewart River is navigable for steamers as far as Fraser Falls, a dis–
tance of 200 miles above its mouth. The term falls" is a misnomer: the
river at this point flows smoothly but with great speed for three-quartera
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stewart River
of a mile through a narrow ca ^ ñ ^ on with vertical rocky walls where the total drop is 30 feet. From Fraser Falls to its mouth, the river is seldom less than 150 yards wide and often twice that wide, with a current of from three to five miles an hour; above the falls, it flows at a slower pace.
After leaving its source in the high mountains, the main branch of the
Stewart first flows slightly south of west until it takes in the Beaver, near
latitude 64° N., longitude, 134° W., when it turns abruptly and runs south–
westward for about seven miles to the junction with the Ladue River. Both
the Beaver and the Ladue flow in from the northwest. Below the mouth of the
Ladue, the Stewart runs in a southeasterly direction for about 28 miles, and
then runs straight south for four miles to the junction with the Lansing River,
coming in from the east.
Twenty-eight miles below the mouth of the Lansing River, Hoss River, or
the south branch of the Stewart, comes in from the southeast. For 75 miles,
from the mouth of the Lansing to the mouth of Nogold Creek, which drains
Ethel Lake, lying to the west, the Stewart's course is generally southwest.
Below Nogold Creek, it turns sharply north for seven or eight miles, flowing
in this stretch through the ca
^
ñ
^
on called Fraser Falls.
From Fraser Falls, the Stewart runs slightly north of west to Mayo, a
settlement at the mouth of Mayo River, coming in from Mayo Lake, to the north–
east, the largest lake in the area. Below Mayo, the Stewart bends first
southwesterly and then northwesterly until a few miles beyond the mouth of
the McQuesten, which comes in from the northeast, when it again turns south–
westward. It continues this course until about 23 miles above its mouth,
when it turns northwestward to flow into the Yukon. Below the McQueston, it
receives a great many tributaries of all sizes, the largest being Lake, Rose-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stewart River
bud and Scraggie creeks, coming in from the south; and Barlow, Slough and Black Hills creeks, from the north
Mayo, one of the three principal settlements in Yukon Territory, is
the center of an extensive highly-mineralized region, from which in the past
considerable high-grade are has been shipped to outside amelters. Further
development awaits cheaper transportation.
References:
Cairnes, D. D. Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1915.
Keele, Joseph Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1905.
Stewart River
EA-Geography: Canada
STEWART RIVER
Stewart River, a trading center and post office, is situated on the
Yukon River at the mouth of the Stewart River. Connection is made here
with steamers operating on the Stewart River and serving points in the Mayo
mining district.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950.
Stikine River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
STIKINE RIVER
The Stikine River is the more northerly of the two principal streams
that drain a large portion of northwestern British Columbia, the western–
most province of Canada. The other, the Skeena, does not come within the
purview of this work. The Stikine, 335 miles long, originates in three
branches which rise in the same plexus of mountains that is also the source
of the Nass and the Skeena, traversing the plateau lying to the east of the
Coast Range, and cutting through the latter to reach the sea in 56° 34′ north
latitude. The main branch, made up of a number of smaller streams, rises in
the area between 57° and 58° north latitude, and between the 127th and 129th
meridians of west longitude. It flows northwesterly until beyond the 58th
parallel and makes a long sweep to the westward, then, on a southwesterly
course during which it takes in its two other branches and numerous tributar–
ies, it reaches the eastern flank of the Coast Range about 100 miles from the
sea.
There is nothing to distinguish the entrance to the Stikine from any
of the other inlets that indent this part of the coast. For some distance
from the sea, the valley may still be considered as an inlet, one that has
become filled with detritus carried down by the river flowing into it. The
mountains immediately bordering the valley at its seaward entrance are from
2,000 to 3,000 feet high and rise abruptly from the wide alluvial flats through
which the river winds.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
These flats are generally covered with thick growths of cottonwoods,
among which are mingled spruce and other species of small timber. They are
intersected by sloughs and channels, in places so numerous as to make it dif–
ficult to decide which may properly be considered the main stream. The val–
ley-bottom averages from two to three miles in width as far up as the Little
Canon, which seems to mark the head of the ancient salt-water inlet, now
silted up by the river. The canon, which is about three-fifths of a mile long,
and in places not more than 50 yards wide, consists of massive granite cliffs,
200 to 300 feet in height, above which, on the west side, rise rugged mountain
slopes.
Eight miles beyond is Klootchman Canon, where the stream is about 300
feet wide. Four miles above the Klootchman Canon is the Grand Rapid, which
is not as formidable as its name might imply, although the current here is
swift and the river wide and shallow. At this point, the valley abruptly
opens out, the mountains receding from the river and decreasing in height.
Here the transition from the coast type of climate to that of the interior
first becomes evident in the change from the lush vegetation of the coastal
strip to the more sparse growth characteristic of the "dry belt," which be–
gins immediately the first mountain barrier is passed.
The general trend of the Stikine valley in its first twenty miles is
east and west. It then describes a great semi-circle to the south, after
which, for 66 miles, it follows a direction nearly due north. The valley
continues beyond this in a nearly direct northeasterly course to the vicinity
of Dease Lake, although the upper part of the valley is not occupied by the
main river, which comes into the valley from the southward, but by the Tan–
zilla, or North Fork.
Near the mouth of the Stikine, the current is scarcely more than two
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
miles an hour, but it increases till it reaches a rate of six to seven miles in many places between the great bend and the head of navigation at Telegraph Creek, 138 miles from the coast, the swifter water being chiefly above the Little Canon. The average rate of the flow of the navigable portion is prob– ably about five miles an hour. There are no erious rapids, though the Little Canon forms a serious impediment when the river is at its highest stage in June and July.
The height of the river above the sea at Telegraph Creek is 540 feet,
giving an average fall of over four feet to the mile. The actual fall on the
upper part, of course, considerably exceeds this, because in the lower portion
the current is very sluggish, The extensive flats near the mouth of the river,
whore the water at low tide is not more than two or three feet deep, render it
necessary for boats to enter at high tide.
The river is navigable for stern-wheel steamers of light draft as far as
Telegraph Creek. Just above that point is the Great Canon, where for many
miles the stream is quite impassable, either for steamers or other boats.
The Stikine takes in a number of important tributaries. The Iskut, which
flows in from the eastward about 35 miles from the sea, is navigable for some
distance by canoes. The source of one branch is not far from the head of
Portland Canal, considerably to the south. By portaging from the headwaters
of the Iskut, the Indians can cross to the Nass River.
About seven miles below the Little Canon, the valley of the Scud is seen
in the east. Six miles above Klootchman Canon, the Clearwater enters from the
west. It is a stream of considerable size and can be navigated for some dis–
tance by canoes. The First South Fork, a large turbid stream, which for a
number of miles from the main river flows through a rough narrow gorge between
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
high hills and mountains, comes in about a mile and a half below Telegraph Creek. The latter is a small stream which drops into the river from a rocky cleft in the hills forming the right bank of the Stikine. Above Telegraph Creek, the Stikine takes in from the north the Tuya and from the northeast the Tanzilla; while from the south it receives the Second South Fork and the Kalp– pan.
Glaciers are a distinguishing feature of the Stikine valley, and are to
be seen on both sides of the river. Four only, all in the lower reaches (where
the precipitation is greatest), are of special importance, all on the west side
of the river. The first detailed notice of these glaciers was given in a re–
port by W. P. Blake, transcribed in the Fifth Annual Report of the United States
Geological Survey.
The glacier known as the First or Little Glacier by the miners (called
the Popoff Glacier by Blake), occupies a high valley about ten miles from the
Stikine's mouth. The next and most important is that called the Great Glacier.
It enters the wide valley of the Stikine nearly at right angles, through a
break in the mountains two to three miles distant from the river bank, Here
it has an estimated width of from one-half to three-quarters of a mile, but
upon emerging from the mountains it immediately expands in a fan-like manner
to from three to three and a half miles in width. Ten miles above the Great
Glacier, is the Dirt Glacier, so named by the miners because of the great
quantity of rocky debris with which it is covered. It is much smaller than
the Great Glacier, having an estimated width of only a quarter of a mile, but
this may be an underestimate.
The fourth important glacier, sixteen miles further up the river, is the
Flood Glacier. Its name is due to the fact that from its valley a great rush
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
of water occurs almost every year toward the end of summer. This is said to be caused by the blocking by the glacier of the mouth of some lateral valley, thus forming a lake which from time to time breaks through. The water thus liberated is such as to raise the river for a short time from a low stage to half-flood level.
The little town of Telegraph Creek, the principal settlement in the
area, occupies the narrow delta of the stream of the same name and the lower
terraces bordering it on both sides. In times past, when gold was being taken
from the creeks of Cassiar, it was a lively spot. Now it lives largely on
its memories, but the few who remain still feel sure that one day Cassiar —
and Telegraph Creek — will come into its own. Glenora, twelve miles below
Telegraph Creek, on the same side of the Stikine, also was once a thriving
place, although consisting of but a single row of houses at the foot of a
steep bank along the edge of the river. Now few of the houses are occupied.
Beyond the headwaters of the Tanzilla River, which flows into the Stikine
from the northeast, lies Dease Lake, whose waters are drained into the Mack–
enzie river system, by way of the Dease and Liard rivers. The divide which
separates the Arctic from the Pacific watershed is 2,730 feet above sea level
and 70 feet above the level of the lake.
Placer gold was first discovered on the Stikine in 1861, but the district
did not come into much prominence until after 1873, when more important gold
discoveries were made at other points in Cassiar District. The Stikine was
the chief traffic artery to and from the new diggings; and since the river
reaches the ocean through the coastal strip belonging to the United States
(part of the Alaskan panhandle), the boundaries of which were in dispute un–
til the settlement in 1903, it was the scene of more than one conflict over
jurisdiction.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
The first of these was in 1834, when the Hudson's Bay Company dispatched
the ship
Dryad
to establish a trading post on the Stikine in what they be–
lieved to be British territory. The Russian American Company, the Russian
counterpart of the Hudson's Bay Company, then in control of a monopoly of
trade in Alaska, sent two small armed vessels to intercept the
Dryad
and
threw up a defensive work on the site of the present town of Wrangell, which
they called Fort Dionysius. This led to a claim for damages from the Hudson's
Bay Company, part of which was eventually paid; but its chief result was an
agreement between the two companies by which one leased to the other the trad–
ing privileges over a large portion of the Russian coastal strip. The lease
was renewed from time to time until the United States bought Alaska from Russia.
The next important international incident involving the Stikine occurred
in 1876, when one Peter Martin was sentenced by a British Columbia court to a
term of imprisonment. Since there was no gaol in the district competent to
contain the prisoner for the duration of his sentence, the British Columbia
authorities sent him by canoe under guard down the Stikine River for transfer
to a ship at Wrangell
en route
to a suitable prison at Victoria. On the way
down river, while on shore for lunch, the prisoner made a break for freedom,
claiming that since hw was then on United States territory he could not legal–
ly be held. Although he was recaptured and subsequently sentened at Victoria
to an additional term for this further alleged offence, he was, after con–
siderable diplomatic correspondence to and fro between the Canadian, British
and United States governments, ordered to be released on the ground that while
Canadians had the right to navigate the American portion of the Stikine River,
such right was only for commercial purposes, and did not include the transfer
of prisoners. There was also the question as to whether the prisoner's escape
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
had been made on Canadian or United States territory.
The treaty between Great Britain and Russia, signed in 1825, which
purported to define the boundary between the territories of the two countries
on the northwest coast of North America, was very ambiguous, with the result
that Americans (as heirs to the Russian interest) interpreted it one way and
the British and Canadians in another. The American claim was that, according
to the treaty, the line should run at a uniform distance of ten marine leagues
from the coast, following round its many indentations. The British and Can–
adians insisted that the line should follow, in the words of the treaty, "the
summit of the mountains parallel to the coast," which would be generally near–
er to the coast than ten marine leagues. The Americans, insisting on the line
ten marine leagues distant from the coast, argued that no such mountains could
be found, while the British and Canadians argued to the contrary.
In order to establish a tentative boundary for customs purposes and also
to determine the merits of cases like that referred to above, pending final
settlement through diplomatic channels, the Canadian Government, on March 3,
1877, commissioned Mr. Joseph Hunter, C. E., "to proceed, with as little dealy
as possible, to the Stikine River for the purpose of making such a survey
thereof, and such a reconnaissance of the country embracing the coast range
of mountains in the immediate vicinity, as will enable you to ascertain, with
approximate accuracy, the boundary on the said river between the Dominion and
the territory of Alaska."
Mr. Hunter lost no time in carrying out his commission. He sailed from
Victoria on March 27, 1877, in the Hudson's Bay Company's steamer
Otter
, and
arrived at Fort Wrangell on April 2. He began his survey the following day
and completed it on May 3, He surveyed the river for a distance of 53.99 miles
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
from its mouth. At a point ten marine leagues from the ocean, he erected a monument, and he also marked the spot where a line "following the summit of the mountains parallel to the coast" would cross the river. The latter point was 24.74 miles from the mouth of the river, following its course, and 19.13 miles "from the coast in a direction at right angles thereto." He thus marked the points where, according to each contention, the line should cross. When the matter was finally determined, it was found that the Stikine cross– ing was one of the few places where the award more nearly coincided with the Canadian claim.
The upper part of the Stikine River had been discovered as early as 1834,
when John McLeod, Chief Trader of the Hudson's Bay Company, in charge of
Fort Halkett on the Liard River, traveled up Dease River and Lake and crossed
the divide to assist in establishing the post for which the
Dryad
was bring
ing supplies. Owing to the action of the Russians in preventing the ship from
entering the river, no post was erected at the time, and McLeod returned to
Fort Halkett. In 1862, after the discovery of gold, a post was established
on the Stikine, but was abandoned in 1878 when mining in Cassiar had practical–
ly ceased. Later, a post was established, and is still maintained, at Tele–
graph Creek.
The first gold was discovered on the Stikine in 1861, when two pros–
pectors, Choquette and Carpenter, panned placer gold out of its sand bars.
When word of this got out, a mild boom resulted and a number of prospecting
parties, mostly outfitted in Victoria, took up claims on the river. This
caused the Russians to wonder whether their territory was being trespassed
upon; and in 1863 the corvette
Rynda
was sent to investigate. It was found,
however, that the mining activity was well within Canadian territory.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
Very fine gold, sometimes referred to as "flour gold" can be found al–
most anywhere on the river, but not much of any consequence was discovered
below the Clearwater. The rich ground may be said to have been confined to
the stretch of river beginning about nine miles below Glenora and extending
to the Grand Ca
^
ñ
^
on, where Sheeks^'^s or Shake's Bar, and Carpenter's, Fiddler's
and Buck's bars were located. The richest ground was between Glenora and
Telegraph Creek. The only coarse gold was found in the lower part of the
Grand Ca
^
ñ
^
on, and some coarse gold was also found on the lower part of the
Tahltan, a tributary coming in from the north. The bars on the Stikine at
first averaged $3 to $10 a day per man — which was not very rich as good
placer diggings go: — although as much as from two to three ounces could
sometimes be obtained. Soon, however, the richest ground was worked out and
the miners — except for the few who always continue to hope on — moved to
other more promising prospects.
In 1866, exploratory parties of the Western Union or Collins' Overland
Telegraph Company, seeking a route for a telegraph line through British Col–
umbia, Yukon Territory, Alaska and across Bering Strait to Asia and Europe,
reached the Stikine. They were engaged in the vicinity for two years when
the successful laying of the Atlantic cable caused their enterprise to be
abandoned. The town of Telegraph Creek received its name from this circum–
stance.
In 1887, Dr. G. M. Dawson, of the Geological Survey of Canada, headed
a party who explored the Stikine from the point where the Hunter survey of
1877 ended to the mouth of the Tanzilla. He was assisted by R. G. McConnell
and J. McEvoy of the Survey. They left Ottawa on April 22, 1887, for Victoria,
B. C., and proceeded from there by steamer to Wrangell, Alaska, where they
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stikine River
arrived on May 18, McConnell remained there to hire Indians and secure canoes for a micrometer survey of the river from the limit of Hunter's survey to Telegraph Creek. In the meantime, Dr. Dawson and other members of the party proceeded to Telegraph Creek by steamer to get their equipment and supplies ready for the journey to the Yukon by way of Dease Lake and River and the Liard River, all of which was successfully accomplished.
References:
Canadian Sessional Papers
, Vol. XI, No. 11, 1878.
Blake, W. P.
Geographical Notes upon Russian America and the Stikeen River
,
Washington, 1868.
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District, N. W. T., and
Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia, 1887
. Ottawa,
1898.
Stillwater‐Larch River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
STILLWATER-LARCH RIVER
The Stillwater-Larch River, in northwestern Ungava, now known as New
Quebec, in the Canadian province of Quebec, is one of the principal tribu–
taries of the Koksoak River, which discharges northeastward into Ungava Bay,
an expansion of Hudson Strait. The Stillwater rises a short distance east
of the Hudson Bay shore and flows mainly northeastward, continuing as the
Larch to its junction with the Kaniapiskau after receiving the Kenogamistuk,
which comes in from the southwest. The combined river then becomes the Kok–
soak. The latter seems to be much more a continuation of the Stillwater-Larch
than of the Kaniapiskau, undoubtedly the larger and more important branch,
Which enters from the southeast at right angles to the course of the Larch–
Koksoak. The Still water drains a much larger area on the south than on the
north because on that side it is closely paralleled for most of its length by
the Leaf River, also discharging into Ungava Bay.
The Stillwater River rises in Shem Lake, seven and a half miles long by
about half a mile wide, which lies in latitude 56° 36′ N., longitude 73° 55′ W.
A short portage at the top of Shem Lake leads to the Lower Seal Lakes, from
which another short portage continues to Clearwater Lake, which drains westward
into Richmond Gulf, thus providing a canoe route between Hudson and Ungava bays.
As the Stillwater flows out of Shem Lake, it is merely a large turbulent creek
with a drop of 25 feet in the first quarter of a mile; it is then joined by a
creek of similar size, from which point the name Stillwater is generally applied.
EA-Geography:Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
According to Dr. A. P. Low, who explored it for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1896, the river flows over 64 rapids between Shem Lake and Natuakami Lake, 54 miles below, or more than one a mile. Its course after leaving Shem Lake is, with numerous minor bends, nearly northeast for 34 miles, then turn– ing gradually north for 12 miles and northeast again for eight miles, it ex– pands to form Lake Natuakami. In this distance the Stillwater receives numer– ous short tributaries, the chief of which, Russell River, draining a series of lakes, flows from the northwest about seven miles above the lake. The Still– water runscontrary to the general slope of the country. The Lake, which lies at an elevation of 520 feet above sea level, occupies a broadened portion of [: ] valley, 15 miles in length, varying in width from a quarter of a mile to three miles, and is very shallow. Its shores on either side rise gradually, and are bardered by wide areas of swamp and bottom land in which small black spruce and tamarack grow thickly.
Below Lake Natuakami, the river continues its general northeasterly dir–
ection, still frequently interrupted by rapids. In places, it divides into
several parallel channels, all shallow and obstructed by boulders. Since no
exposures of rock in place occur, and the river-bed consists mainly of boulders,
it is assumed that the river now occupies a channel of recent origin and that
its pre-glacial bed is filled with glacial detritus. The valley itself, how–
ever, is carved out of the Laurentian rocks which generally underlie the region
and which rise from 400 to 600 feet above the level of the river. In this
stretch the stream averages about a quarter of a mile in width. A rapid marks
the outlet of Lake Natuakami, after which an interval of five miles of fairly
quiet water occurs, and this is followed by two and ahalf miles of rapids where
there is a fall of 30 feet in which the channel is divided by boulders; below
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stillwater-Larch River
this for 11 miles, the stream flows at an even current of three miles an hour, where the stream is a quarter of a mile wide and obstructed by numerous sand– bars. The slopes of the valley in this stretch rise from 800 to 1,000 feet, and are flanked by terraces, probably marking the level of the poet-glacial sea. This is followed by 14 miles of heavy rapids with intervals of swift water during which the total drop is 65 feet; the stream here is from 200 to 400 feet in width. Near the end of this stretch, a large stream called the Lockout River flows in on the north side from the southwest; it occupies a parallel valley a short distance north of the Stillwater and drains a series of lakes. In the 37 miles between the outlet of Lake Natuakami and the mouth of the Kenogamistuk River, the Stillwater drops 185 feet.
The Kenogamistuk River carries a larger volume of water than the Still–
water, and might on that account be considered the main stream; it drains a
considerable expanse of territory in the angle between the Stillwater and Kan–
iapiskau rivers. Rising in Lake Kenogamisi, which lies on the 55th parallel
of north latitude, not far from the headwaters of the Great Whale River, it is
broken by a continuous succession of rapids, Where it joins the Stillwater,
it is over a mile wide, but much of this is occupied by sand and gravel bars.
From the mouth of the Kengamistuk to the junction with the Kaniapiskau,
the distance is 66 miles, and the stream is now called the Larch. For the
first 25 miles, the valley continues wide — from two to four miles, for most
of that distance; and since the river occupies from 400 to 1,000 yards of this
valley, the remainder is made up of low, swampy land covered with a thick growth
of willows, relieved here and there by black spruce and tamarack. Junction River,
flowing in from the north at the end of this 25-miles stretch, gets its name from
the fact that it marks the point of contact between the early Precambrian rocks
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Stillwater-Larch River
which underlie the greater part of Ungava and the series of later Precambrian rocks which extend in a narrow ban [: ] southeastward from Ungava Bay, and in which important mineral occurrences have been found. Below the mouth of Junction River, the course is southeast for 10 miles, then east for 9 miles, northeast for 9 miles, and finally east for 8 miles to the confluence with the Kaniapiskau. It varies from a quarter to a third of a mile wide along the first 19 miles of this section. The valley immediately below Junction River widens out until the hills which form its sides are from 5 to 10 miles apart, the space between be– ing occupied by a flat plain elevated about 60 feet above the river. The cur– rent in the final 8 miles of the stream is rapid, with a total fall of about 40 feet. The river now contracts to about 300 yards and rushes along in a much narrower valley than formerly. The hills on each side, changed in character below Junction River, become higher as the mluth is approached and are about 1,000 feet high where the river discharges into the Kaniapiskau to form the Koksoak.
References:
<bibl>
Low, A. P.
Annual Report,
Geological Survey of Canada; Vol. IX, Part L;
1896.
</bibl>Taltson River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TALTSON RIVER
The Taltson River, in southern Mackenzie District, northwestern Canada,
drains an extensive tract of territory to the southeast of Great Slave Lake,
into which it flows about 50 miles east of the mouth of Slave River. Its en–
tire course is cut through the Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield and
consequently it exhibits the characteristics of streams flowing through such
terrain. Its source is slightly north of latitude 62° N., longitude 109° W.,
from whence it flows westerly, then southwesterly, then westerly and finally
northwesterly to its mouth at Great Slave Lake, after a course of about 265
miles. The combination of numerous lakes to act as reservoirs, with waterfalls
or rapids in the connecting streams, renders the Taltson River system an ex–
cellent one for the development of power, if and when the demand should arise.
The Taltson River drainage basin covers almost the whole region between
Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake from the Slave River on the west to longi–
tude 108 degrees on the east, estimated at about 19,000 square miles. Its
southern edge extends to within 3 miles of Lake Athabaska at one point. Its
head waters interlock with those of the Thelon River, which flows northeastward
into Hudson Bay.
From its source in a series of small lakes, it flows in an irregular curve
through elongated river expansions southwestward into sprawling Nonacho Lake.
From there its course is slightly west of south through a succession of long,
narrow lakes, named successively, King Taltson and Lady Grey, but which might
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Taltson River
just as well be considered one long lake. At the end of its southwestward stretch, in which the above lakes occur, it drops 15 feet over the Natalkai Falls into a rocky gorge scarcely 40 feet wide, and then, swinging to the west, receives the Tazin, flowing in from the east, which contributes an almost equal volume of water. Dr. Charles Camsell, of the Geological Survey of Canada, who made the first survey of the river in 1914, measured both streams above the confluence and found that the volume of the Tazin was 5,100 cubic feet a second, while that of the Taltson was 5,340 feet per second. The Tazin enters about 140 miles above the mouth of the Taltson, and about 125 miles below its source.
After receiving the Tazin, the Taltson, now a considerable stream, con–
tinues the westward course and occupies an extension of the valley previously
followed by the Tazin. After passing through a small lake it contracts to a
rocky narrows, and continues in a more or less constricted channel to Kozo Lake,
about two miles long, lying in an east and west direction. Below Kozo Lake, two
rapids are encountered, while at Napie Falls the river leaps 20 feet over a
ledge into a rocky gorge, and, after making a sharp turn to the west, goes over
another fall with a drop of 12 feet.
For the next 8 miles the river runs northwesterly through a fairly wide
valley, flanked by rocky, wooded hills about 100 feet high. Two smaller ex–
pansions occur before Methleka Lake, about 3 miles long, is reached; and then,
a mile below, the river turns sharply to the west through a narrow gap and
breaks into a series of rapids extending for a mile, where the total fall is
about 15 feet.
Beyond these rapids, the river divides into several channels, and in about
a mile and a half drops 20 feet. This fall is called Naili, a Chipewyan name
suggested by the abruptness of the fall. A short distance below, the united
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Taltson River
river again divides into the Twin Gorges, where two parallel streams rush through narrow rocky clefts for a total drop of 90 feet. For a short distance below the gorges, the river continues rough and swift, then breaks over falls and rapids for a further drop of 30 feet.
Below these obstructions, the river straightens out; and, from being ir–
regular, crooked and broken, it changes to a more river-like stream which for
the next 17 miles to Konth River runs approximately straight north. Two strong
rapids, Natla, with a total drop of 15 feet, and the Nende, or Long Rapids,
interrupt navigation during this stretch. A short distance below the latter,
Konth River flows in from the northeast.
Tsu Lake, 17 miles long by about four wide in its main part, is irregular
in shape, containing many islands and with long arms extending north and south
from its main section, one seven and another eight miles long. According to
Camsell, this lake has been excavated along a contact between the gneiss and a
remnant of the series which he has called Tazin, consisting of schists, quartz–
ites, conglomerate, narrow beds of limestone and argillite, and some volcanic
ocks. From Tsur Lake to Tethul River is a little over 11 miles, during which
he river, flowing northwestward, falls over the Shethko Falls with a drop of
eight feet, and below this, after flowing through a rocky gorge, it separates
about an island for a further drop of five feet. For the next eight miles the
river is fairly wide, flowing without much deviation; one or two small ra
i
^
p
^
ids
occur, but at the end of the stretch it drops 20 feet into a large basin into
which the Tethul River flows in from the southeast (although entering the Talt–
son on the west side). Kleven miles almost due north of Tethul River, is a
large island where the river divides to flow into Deskenatlata Lake. In this
section the river has an average width of 200 yards, with banks of mud or sand
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Taltson River
about 8 feet high. After separating above the island referred to, the eastern channel, which is the main stream, runs northeast into Deskenatlata Lake, and from there flows westward to join the other branch nine miles below.
The river plunges over a series of steep chutes with a fall of about 15
feet at Oracha or Pelican Chutes, and falls into an oval basin below the chutes
and then flows a little east of north for a mile, after which it passes around
a long island, turns westward, and falls again in a series of steps having a
total drop of 10 feet. A number of rocky islets obstruct the river at this
point, causing a fall of about 3 feet, the last fall on the river. Below this
point, a distance of 23 miles to Great Slave Lake, the river is navigable for
steamboats.
A mile below, Pierrot Creek enters from the west, and now the nature of
the country undergoes a change. Above Pierrot Creek, the channel is largely in
rock, but from there to the lake it flows through old delta material deposited
by Slave River when the shore of Great Slave Lake was somewhat higher than it is
now. A short distance below Pierrot Creek, the river is 120 yards wide, with a
maximum depth of 35 feet and an average of 23. The banks are 20 feet high, but
gradually decrease toward the lake.
The Taltson was first explored in 1914 when Dr. Charles Camsell's party
descended the Tazin and the Taltson below the junction with the former from
Lake Athabaska to Great Slave Lake. In 1936, Dr. F. J. Henderson, of the Geo–
logical Survey of Canada, explored and mapped geologically two map-areas in
the vicinity of Taltson Lake and Nonacho Lake.
The territory drained by the Taltson, while forested, contains no commer–
cial timber; and its agricultural possibilities are nil; but it possesses im–
mense power possibilities, and since the entire area is underlain by Precambrian
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Taltson River
rocks, which elsewhere are productive of mineral wealth, it is hard to say what the future holds for the region.
References:
Camsell, Charles
An Exploration of the Tazin and Taltson Rivers North West
Territories:
Geological Suevey of Canada; 1916. (Memoir
No. 84).
Henderson, J. F.
Nonacho Lake N.W.T.
; Geological Survey of Canada; Paper
37-2; 1939.
Tanana River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TANANA RIVER
The Tanana River, as regards volume, length and commercial importance,
ranks as the chief tributary of the Yukon. Its course lies wholly within
the Territory of Alaska. It rises in about latitude 62° N., longitude 143° W.,
among the glaciers which debouch from the northern face of the high peaks of
the Wrangel Mountains, of which Mt. Blackburn (16,140 ft.) is the highest, and
reaches the Yukon in latitude 65° N., longitude 152° W. While, like all other
Alaskan rivers, it is tortuous, it follows a fairly general northwesterly
course, during which it receives many tributaries, some quite large. Because
of its glacial origin, it is a turbid stream; its tributaries flowing in from
the south in many cases contribute toward this turbidity, since the majority
come from glaciers; but the streams flowing from the north are usually clear.
The Tanana's current is swift throughout, and few stretches can ascend without
undue difficulty as far as Chena, a few miles north of Fairbanks, about 200
miles from its mouth, while beyond Bates Rapids, which interrupt traffic above
Chena, it is navigable for smaller craft for a further 250 miles.
The Tanana drainage basin is a comparatively narrow one, north and south,
extending from latitude 62° N.to 65° 30′ N; east and west, it covers a greater
extent — from longitude 141° 20′W. to 152° 20′W. It lies wholly within two
of the three great physiographic provinces which comprise the Territory of
Alaska — the Coast Range province and the Interior or Yukon Plateau province.
Since the Tanana flows for a considerable part of its length along the line of
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
contact between the granitic rocks of the Coast Range, on the one hand, and the Palaeozoic rocks of the Interior Plateau, on the other, which has already proved to be the most highly mineralized zone, its mining possibilities, while already developed to a certain extent, are probably still largely undisclosed. The river flows mainly across an undulating plain of low elevation, sloping gently to the northwestward, and dotted with a multitude of small ponds and lakes, only one or two of which are of any size, the largest less than 250 square miles in extent. This plain is bordered in the southwest by high moun– tains; and elsewhere isolated ridges or mountain masses rise occasionally above the general level of the plain.
The main branch of the Tanana rises in a huge horseshoe-shaped mountain
amphitheatre, the toe of which is occupied by a great glacier, and the sides
of which extend northward for about 40 miles. On the east, the valley, vary–
ing in width from two to seven miles, is lined by jagged, precipitous peaks,
and is bounded on the west by rounded, dome-like mountains. Between the two
is spread a broad, gravel-strewn flood-
^
p
^
lain, cut into numerous shallow streams,
in which the water flows at a rate of about seven miles an hour.
The river appears to gather its forces during its first hundred miles,
receiving in that stretch numerous tributaries nearly all of which or
^
i
^
ginate
in the mountains that are rarely out of sight to the south, but which never–
theless do not press so closely on the river here as they do farther down. In
this stretch, the river is relatively free from obstructions and is navigable
for fair-sized craft. The Tok River comes in from the south near the end of
this portion of the river; and shortly below, on the opposite side, the Alaska
Highway first reaches the Tanana Valley, which it follows more or less all the
way to Fairbanks. At Tanana Crossing, where the military telegraph line from
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
Valdez to Eagle crossed the river, the mountains come close and confine the river for many miles. On the north, however, the broad, undulating plain con– tinues. Below Tanana Crossing, the river takes in the Robertson and Johnson from the south, and the Healy, Volkmar and Goodpaster from the north. Just below McCarthy, the Big and Little Delta rivers come in from the south, bring– ing a deluge of silt-laden water from the glaciers on the slopes of Mount Hayes, The Twins and other giant peaks of the Alaska Range. Here also the highway comes in from the Copper River region, beyond the mountains, on the coast. Fifty miles below the mouth of the Big Delta River, the Salcha enters from the north, having a small settlement at its mouth. Another 60 miles, and the island, 60 miles long, is reached on which Fairbanks is situated. The latter city, by far the largest in the interior of Alaska, is not on the Tanana, but on the north side of an island that divides the river at this point. The island is separated from the mainland on the north by Chena Slough, a shallow, sluggish watercourse navigable only with difficulty from its lower end to Fairbanks, a– bout 20 miles, while the main branch of the river flows along the south side where the Bates Rapids occur. Although the rapids offer no obstruction in the usual sense, they are unnavigable because the river here spreads over a vast gravel plain where the current is extremely rpaid, but where the water is so shallow that none of the many channels is deep enough to float a boat of any size, even if the channels were not continually shifting. Chena, really the head of navigation on the Tanana, is situated at the lower confluence of the main river with the Slough. Into the latter, about half-way up, the Big Chena River flows from the north.
From Fairbanks to Nenana, 75 miles, the river runs in a southwesterly dir–
ection through a rolling plain stretching away to the north and west, while on
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
the south and east low rocky hills are visible, approaching close to the course of the river. In this stretch, the Wood, Totalanika and Tatlanika rivers enter from the south, but they are not of any great size. The govern– ment-owned Alaska Railroad, on its way to Fairbanks, crosses the Tanana at Nenana, which is situated at the mouth of a small stream of the same name com– ing in from the south. For a time Nenana was the terminus of the railroad, and as the point where the railway first reaches the river, it is still an important commercial town. Below Nenana, the river makes a great curve, flowing due north for some distance and then swinging to the southwest. About 65 miles below Nenana, the Totovana comes in from the north bringing the drainage from Lake Minto, and providing access to an active mining area. Then miles below the Tolovana, the Kantishna enters from the opposite direction, bringing the waters from many branches which head in the glaciers flowing from the northeastern slopes of Mount McKinley and the cluster of peaks of which it is the highest. The Kantishna is a large stream, and in 1905 was the scene of a mining boom which caused the building of many mushroom communities, most of which are long since abandoned. A branch of the Kantishna, navigable for boats of light draft, drains Lake Minchumina, one of the largest lakes in the interior of Alaska.
At the head of Hot Springs Slough, is the community of Hot Springs, where
water at a temperature of 110° F. flows from the ground. An attempt was once
made to establish a resort hotel at this point, but the venture was not a suc–
cess; after the hotel burned down it was not rebuilt. Next, coming in from
the south, is the Cosna, with an Indian village at its mouth, and shortly be–
low, the Chitanana. The Tanana here is wide, varying from half a mile to a
mile in width, running in several channels, with many islands. Despite its
width, however, and the number of its islands, the current does not diminish,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
and although the river does not enter the Yukon through a delta, its mouth extends along a wide front, broken by many islands. For this reason no par– ticular channel exists by which traffic may enter or leave the river; and boats attempting to enter frequently experience delays of considerable length while searching among the islands for a navigable channel.
Considering how early the upper Yukon was reached, and the length of time
that traders had been active on its lower reaches, it is remarkable that the
great Tanana River with its many potentialities should have remained relatively
unknown for such a long time. Harper and Bates, early Yukon traders, were, so
far as the record goes, the first white men to explore the Tanana. Starting
in the summer of 1875, from Harper's trading post at what was later called
Circle City, they crossed to the Tanana River by Indian trail, and built a
raft there on which they floated to the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon.
It is said that three years later, Harper ascended the river to about the site
of the present Chena in company with Al. Mayo, another partner. Of th
^
is,
^
there
is no record; but since both Harper and Mayo were enterprising men, such a trip
by them is not unlikely.
In 1885, Lieutenant Henry T. Allen, U.S.A., accompanied by two soldiers
and by John Bremner and Peter Johnson, prospectors from the Copper River country,
ascended the Copper River to the divide, crossed over to the Tanana and floated
in a boat made of green moosehide down that stream to its junction with the Yukon.
Allen'o party was poorly equipped and they nearly starved. Traveling hurriedly,
Allen made no real survey and his map of the river was but a sketch, roughly in–
dicating the tributaries noticed as they were passed. Since he had no Indians
with him, he had no way of knowing the names
^
by
^
which these rivers had been known
to the natives since time immemorial, and later, after his return to the United
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
States, Allen assigned names to the various geographical points, in honor of military colleagues, relatives and others. Most of the names suggested by him in the lower reaches of the river failed to stick, and the Indian names have been mostly retained, but Johnson, Robertson, Healy, Volkmar and Goodpaster, among others, in the upper reaches, have endured.
In 1898, Peters and Brooks of the U.S. Geological Survey reached the Tanana
River from the Canadian side and descended it to the Yukon. About 100 miles
from its mouth, they met the steamer
Tanana Chief
on what was said to be the
first attempt to a steamboat to ascend the river for any considerable distance.
In 1899, a military expedition under command of Captain W. R. Abercrombie,
U.S.A., was engaged in exploring the route of a military highway from Valdez
to the Yukon Valley and some exploration was carried on by members of the ex–
pedition about the headwaters of the Tanana.
In 1901, a trader, E. T. Barette, chartered the
Lavelle Young
, loaded it
with trade goods, and set off up the Tanana River for a point near Tanana Cross–
ing. Unable to get past Bates Rapids, the captain tried to navigate Chena
Slough, but fearing that he might be unable to extricate his boat, he finally
refused to go beyond a point about 20 miles above the entrance to the Slough.
Here, Barette's goods were unloaded and he built a log cache to house them,
after which he proceeded to St. Michael, where he built a boat of his own called
the
Isabelle
, in ehich he hoped to transport his outfit from the cache on Chena
Slough to Tanana Crossing.
While Barette was at St. Michael on this mission, he left his cache on
Chena Slough in charge of Frank Cleary. One day in 1902, Felix Pedro, a pros–
pector, came to the cache and told Cleary and one or two others who were there
that he had found placer gold on two creeks in the nearby hills and had staked
EA-Geography; Canada. LeBourdais: Tanana River
discovery claims on them. Cleary and the others lost no time in staking ad– joining claims. In the meantime, Barette, in his new boat, was on his way up the river; but when he arrived at his trading post he found an active stam– pede in progress and decided to remain. The spot where Barette built his cache became the site of the present city of Fairbanks, which was named by Barette adter the Vice-President of the United States at the time.
Until the Alaska Railroad was completed to Fairbanks in 1923, river steam–
ers plied the Tanana, between Nenana and St. Michael, on the lower river; and
between Nenana and Dawson and Whitehorse on the upper river. With the completion
of the railroad, however, most of these boats ceased operation; but the White
Pass & Yukon System has continued operation of boats between Nenana and Dawson.
The building of the Alaska Highway, which follows the Tanana Valley for
100 miles, will help to make the upper Tanana Valley more accessible, the
effects of which it is too soon to say. That the end of the Alaska Highway
will permanently remain at Fairbanks is hardly likely; and when it is extended,
another step will have bben taken in opening up the country drained by the
Tanana River.
References:
Allen, Henry T.
Report of an Expedition to the Copper, Tanana and Koyukuk
Rivers
. Washington, 1887.
Stuck, Hudson
Voyages on the Yukon and its Tributaries
. New York, 1917.
Wickersham, J.
Old Yukon, Tales - Trails - Trials
. Washington, 1938.
Tazin Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TAZIN LAKE
Tazin Lake, in northern Saskatchewan, just south of the boundary separ–
ating the province from the District of Mackenzie, lies immediately north of
the height of land between the Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake drainage
basins. At this point, the height of land is only three miles north of Lake
Athabaska and 460 feet above the level of the latter. Tazin Lake, 70
^
f
^
eet
lower than the height of land, drains northward by way of the Tazin and Talt–
son rivers and their series of lakes into Great Slave Lake. It lies in a
rocky basin gouged by glacial action out of the underlying Pre-Cambrian rocks,
is about 29 miles long by a maximum of eight wide, and has an east-and-west
axis. Its area of 207 square miles comprises a number of rocky islands, one
of which is 19 square miles in extent. Its shores are steep and rocky, slop–
ing to hills about 300 feet in height. Little gravel or sand is to be seen
along its beaches, as is typical of such lakes in the Canadian Shield area.
Tazin Lake was first explored in 1914 by a party of the Geological Survey
of Canada under Charles Camsell. It was known locally
^
b
^
y non-Indians as Black
Lake; but since there is another lake of that name at the eastern end of Lake
Athabaska, Camsell preferred to retain the Chipewyan name, which means black and
is derived from the appearance of the water, which, although clear, seems dark.
It abounds in fish, principally lake trout and whitefish.
A number of streams enter Tazin Lake, mainly from the north and east, the
principal of which is the Abitau, flowing in from the northeast. It is drained
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tazin Lake
by the Tazin River, which flows out of the south side of a deep bay at its western end.
References:
Camsell, Charles Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1914.
----. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 84, 1916.
Teslin
EA-Geography: Canada
TESLIN
Teslin, an Indian village with a fur-trading post office, is located on
the east side of Teslin Lake, about 114 miles southwest of Whitehorse, on the
Alaska Highway. It contains a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, and
Church of England and Roman Catholic churches. An intermediate aerodrome
equipped with a weather station is situated near the settlement.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Teslin Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TESLIN LAKE
Teslin Lake, northwestern British Columbia and southwestern Yukon Ter–
ritory, Dominion of Canada, lies across the boundary between Yukon Territory
and British Columbia. It has a total area of 161 square miles, 95 of which
are in Yukon Territory. It has a length of 60 miles, with an average width
of from one and a half to two miles, and it lies at an elevation of 2250 feet
above sea level. It is drained into the Yukon River by the Teslin River (q.v.)
sometimes known as the Hootalinqua River, which flows out of its northernmost
extremity. It lies in a northwest-southeast direction and occupies a depres–
sion below the general level of the dissected peneplain which forms the Yukon
plateau. The average level of the plateau is about 2750 feet above the level
of the lake. Above this, individual peaks rise to greater heights.
Teslin Lake extends from latitude 59° 30′ N. to latitude 60° 25′ N., and
between longitude 132° W., and 133° 20′ W.
[:
]
shoreline is broken about mid–
way on the east side by two large bays, Morley and Nisutlin. The Nisutlin
River, the largest stream emptying into the lake, flows into Nisutlin Bay,
where the settlement of Teslin is located. The Morley River flows into Morley
Bay.
The bed of Teslin Lake consists of glacial deposits resulting from local
ice action during the glacial period. This area was not submerged by the con–
tinental icecap during the glacial period, but has been subjected to a consid–
erable amount of local glaciation.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Teslin Lake
During the Klondike Gold Rush many gold-seekers reached the Klondike
by way of Teslin Lake and River. At one time the lake was considered as the
terminus of a projected railway from Telegraph Creek, B. C., which would con–
nect with boats on the lake and river. This would have avoided the rapids in
the Lewes River near Whitehorse, and provide uninterrupted navigation from the
head of Teslin Lake to Bering Sea. The railway, however, was never built.
The mountain slopes bordering the lake are well timbered with white and
black spruce, black pine, balsam fir, aspen and balsam poplar, white birch and
tamarack.
The Alaska Highway reaches the east shore of Teslin Lake by way of Morley
River. From Morley Bay, it follows the east shore of the lake northwestward,
and after crossing the Teslin River a short distance below the lake's outlet,
bears off to the west on its way to Whitehorse and Fairbanks. The highway may
make it possible for more people to enjoy the beauties of this marvellous lake.
Reference:
<bibl>
Less, E. J.
Geology of Teslin - Quiet Lake Area. Yukon
. Geological Survey
of Canada; Memoir No. 203; 1936.
</bibl>Teslin River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TESLIN RIVER
Teslin River, sometimes known as the Hootalinqua River, Yukon Territory,
Dominion of Canada, is a tributary of the Lewes River (q.v.). It drains Teslin
Lake (q.v.), which lies between latitude 59° 30′ N., and 60° 25′ N., and be–
tween longitude 132° W. and 133° 20′ W. The lake and river occupy a valley
which extends for about 250 miles from the Stikine watershed in northern British
Columbia to the confluence of the Teslin and Lewes rivers. This valley is from
one and a half miles to four miles in width, and consists of a depression run–
ning northwestward in a relatively straight line, conforming to the direction
of the major drainage of the country. The elevation at Teslin Lake is 2250 feet
above sea level and it is about 2000 feet at the confluence of the river with
the Lewes. This depression represents a continuous break in the general level
of the Teslin Plateau, which is part of the dissected peneplain which forms
the Yukon Interior Plateau. The general level of this plateau is about 2750
feet higher than the level of Teslin Lake, with occasional peaks rising higher
still.
This region was not covered by the icecap which covered the greater part
of North America during the glacial period. The country, however, has been
subjected to intense glaciation of local origin, and the whole country is heavily
overlain by glacial detritus. The Teslin valley has only in a few places eroded
these deposits to expose the underlying rocks.
Teslin River has a total length of 123-1/2 miles from its source in Teslin
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
Lake to its confluence with the Lewes River. Throughout its lower 95 miles, it has a current of about 4 miles an hour. At one or two places, swifter water occurs, amounting to rapids so far as transportation by small boats is con– cerned. Above this point, however, the river is sluggish, and meanders through the valley. It is navigable all the way for river steamers.
Teslin River has a number of important tributaries, of which Boswell River,
Indian River and 100
^
-
^
Mile Creek are the principal. These all flow in from the
east.
During the Klondike Gold Rush (q.v.), the Teslin River provided a route
for many gold-seekers on their way to the Klondike diggings. They came by
trail from Telegraph Creek, at the head of transportation on the Stikine River,
building boats at the head of the lake which carried them down the Teslin, Lewes
and Yukon rivers to the gold-fields. By this route they avoided the rapids on
the Lewes above Whitehorse.
Considerable prospecting has been done on the Teslin, and gold has been
recovered from some of the streams tributary to it and their branches, but noth–
ing very rich has ever been found. Large quartz veins containing lead and silver
minerals outcrop along Boswell River and its tributaries. The Geological Survey
of Canada still recommends the area as worthy of more intensive prospecting.
The territory through which the river runs is well timbered with white
and black spruce, balsam fir, black pine, aspen and balsam poplar, white birch
and tamarack, some of which is of fair size.
The Alaska Highway crosses the river shortly below the outlet of Teslin
Lake. This may have the effect of making its resources more accessible than
formerly.
Reference:
<bibl>
Lees, E. J.
Geology of Teslin - Quiet Lake Area, Yukon
. Geological Survey
of Canada; Memoir No. 203; 1936.
</bibl>Thelon River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
THELON RIVER
The Thelon River, Northwest Territories of Canada, drains a considerable
area in the districts of Mackenzie and Keewatin from a short distance east of
the eastern end of Great Slave Lake to Hudson Bay at Chesterfield Inlet. In
its upper reaches, it flows through a fairly well-timbered region, but practi–
cally the whole of its course through Keewatin District traverses the treeless
tundra. The whole of its course, too, is within the Candian Shield region of
northern Canada, underlain by rocks of Precambrian age. Characteristic of
rivers traversing the Shield, it consists, in its upper reaches, of a series
of closely connected lakes, one of which sometimes literally spills into the
next over a separate ridge of rock. Connecting streams are short, tortuous
and filled with rapids. It also flows through lakes in its lower reaches, but
they are larger and more distinctly defined. The Thelon River drainage basin
extends from latitude 60° 20′ N., on the south, to latitude 65° N., and from
longitude 97° W. to 107° 30′ W. The greater part of its course in Mackenzie
District is through the Thelon Game Sanctuary.
The Thelon River rises in Whitefish Lake in lttitude 62° 30′ N., longi–
tude 107° W., at an elevation of about 1200 feet above sea level, and from
Whitefish Lake flows into Lynx Lake, to the southeast. For the next 100 miles
the course of the upper Thelon is roughly eastward, receiving in this stretch
two principal streams from the southwest, after which it becomes a fairly large
river. These tributaries and the lakes for which they are but connecting threads
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Thelon River
traverse a grey granite upland which comprises the height of land between the Hudson Bay and Great Slave Lake drainage areas. It is a tableland of low relief in which eskers, aside from the innumerable lakes, constitute the principal features. Ten miles east of the mouth of the second of these trib– utaries, the Thelton makes a turn to the northwest, resulting in a horseshoe bend, about 10 miles across. For the next 80 miles, with many twists and turns, it runs mainly northward through a country underlain principally by unaltered sandstone of Precambrian age and wooded with spruce and tamarack. Banks, in the upper reaches, composed of coarse gravel, rise in places to 80 or 90 feet, but as, farther north, the country becomes more open and prairie-like, the banks become lower and are of sand. The stream is now from 100 to 250 yards in width, varying in depth from two to six feet, and flows with a current of about three and a half miles an hour. In this stretch a number of rapids occur, and shortly before Eyeberry Lake is reached, the banks contract and again be– come higher. Eyeberry Lake, an expansion of the river, is about 10 miles long, below which the country is low and less heavily timbered than farther south. Fifty miles beyond Eyeberry Lake, Hanbury River comes in from the west, which practically doubles the size of the Thelon. J. W. Tyrrell (q.v.) measured the volume of the river in July 1900, just below the confluence with the Hanbury and found the flow to be 50,000 cubic feet per second. Its width was 1,227 feet and its depth 5 feet.
From the mouth of the Hanbury, the river flows to the northeastward. About
12 miles below the junction, the channel becomes greatly contracted and the
river appears to be heading for a narrow gap, but when once that point is reach–
ed it expands again beyond its usual width and flows between sandy banks. Three
miles beyond, it divides about a large, low, grassy island. The Thelon, in this
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Thelon River
northeast stretch, is deeply cut into the sandstone. About 100 miles below the mouth of Hanbury River, in latitude 64° 30′ N., it makes a wide bend to the eastward, flowing between cliffs of sandstone; and then it turns to the southeast, across a wide flat, where its course becomes much less definite, as it spreads into small lakes filled with gravel islands. At the head of its southeasterly stretch, it receives Finnie River from the southwest and immediately swings away to the northeast, running through a more hilly country into the western end of Beverley Lake, in latitude 64° 33′ N., longitude 101° 15′ W., a distance of 224 miles below the mouth of the Hanbury River. The Thelon, below the mouth of the Hanbury, has an average width of about 250 yards, and flows for most of the distance through a pleasant, wooded country, in which spruce up to 15 inches in diameter can be seen. The woods continue to within 50 miles of Beverley Lake, after which they rapidly thin out.
Into the maze of channels which connect Beverley and Aberdeen Lakes, the
Dubawnt enters from the southeast, after a generally northeasterly course from
ar to the southwestward. The Thelon is again doubled by the entrance of the
Dubawnt. Aberdeen Lake, 475 square miles, lies in a generally east and west
direction, divided about midway by a narrows which almost divides it in two.
Leaving Aberdeen Lake, the course is north-northeast to Schultz Lake, 110 square
miles, in latitude 64° 41′ N., the most northerly point in the course of the
Thelon. Half-way down Schultz Lake, the red sandstone and hard conglomerate
through which the river has been flowing, changes to hills of gneiss, and flows
for the next 40 miles along the contact between the sandstone and gneiss forma–
tions. Below Schultz Lake, the river swings sharply
[:
]
outheastward, flowing
with a swift current in which a rapid occurs. In 40 miles it drops about 100
feet. It is now from 200 to 400 yards wide and flows between rocky banks 50
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Thelon River
to 100 feet high. It next flows through a gradually deepening valley whose sides consist of light green Huronian schists. Turning to the southward, the river flows into the westward end of Baker Lake. Baker Lake, 975 square miles, is 30 feet above sea level, but connects directly with Chesterfield Inlet. Ocean-going vessels proceed without difficulty to the western end of Baker Lake, approximately 200 miles from Hudson Bay. The Thelon River is navigable for craft of the York boat type from Hudson Bay to the mluth of Hanbury River, a distance of 550 miles, constituting a traffic artery that stretches across all of Keewatin District and a considerable distance into Mackenzie District. The lakes are not usually free of ice before some time in July and the freeze-up usually comes by about the first of October.
The country through which the Thelon River flows is underlain by Pre–
cambrian rocks, which elsewhere contain occurrences of metallic minerals of
economic value, and consequently the region presents possibilities of mineral
wealth, but so far nothing of importance has been discovered. This is no criter–
ion, of course, as to the existence or not of mineral deposits in commercial
quantities, since at present the region is too far removed to permit of inten–
sive prospecting. It is, furthermore, fairly heavily covered with glacial drift
and rock exposures are not frequent.
The upper part of the Thelon River, including its tributary, the Hanbury
River, is comprised in the Thelon Game Sanctuary, which was set aside in 1927
by the Federal Government, and consists of an area of 15,000 square miles. Its
purpose is to conserve the musk-oxen, as well as caribou and other wild life.
The first person of European descent to see any part of the Thelon River
was Samuel Hearne who, in 1771 crossed and recrossed it on his expedition from
Port Churchill on Hudson Bay to the mouth of the Coppermine River. The first
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Thelon River
person to explore the Thelon River above the mouth of the Dubawnt River, was David T. Hanbury, who ascended it from Chesterfield Inlet in 1899 to the head– waters of the river that now bears his name, proceeding thence across the height of land to Great Slave Lake by way of Artillery Lake and Lockhart River. Before this, J. B. and J. W. Tyrrell, on an expedition for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1893, had crossed the height of land from the eastern end of Great Slave Lake to Wholdaia Lake, descending the Dubawnt River to Beverley Lake, and from there continued down the Thelon to Baker Lake and Chesterfield Inlet. In 1900, J. W. Tyrrell, on behalf of the Department of the Interior of Canada, ex– plored the Hanbury River and the greater part of the upper Thelon, while mem– bers of his party conducted further exploration and surveys from the junction of the Hanbury to Chesterfield Inlet.
In 1924-25, John Hornby, who had previously visited the country, and J.C.
Critchell-Bullock conducted some exploratory work about the upper Thelon and
along Hanbury River. They entered the country by way of Great Slave Lake and,
after spending the winter in the upper Thelon region, proceeded eastward to
Chesterfield Inlet. In 1928-29, W. H. B. Hoare, of the Department of the Inter–
ior of Canada, made an investigation of the region about the upper Thelon and
Hanbury rivers in order to secure information concerning the resources of the
Thelon Game Sanctuary form the standpoint of a musk-oxen refuge; and in 1936–
37, a similar investigation was conducted by C. H. D. Clarke, assisted by W. H. W.
Hoare, for the Department of Mines and Resources of Canada.
References:
Tyrrell, J. W.
Exploratory Survey Between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay
,
District of Mackenzie and Keewatin
. Annual Report, Depart–
ment of the Interior; Sessional Paper No. 25; Appendix No. 26
to the Report of the Surveyor-General of Canada; 1902.
----.
Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada
. Toronto; 1908.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Thelon River
References, Cont'd:
Hanbury, D. T.
Sport and Travel in the Northland of Canada
. London, 1904.
Hoare, W. H. B.
Conserving Canada's Musk-Oxen.
Department of the Interior,
Canada; 1930.
Clarks, C. H. D.
A Biological Investigation of the Thelon Game Sanctuary
.
Department of Mines and Resources, Canada, Bull. No. 96;
1940.
Timmins, Ontario
EA-Geography: Canada. (D. M. LeBourdais)
TIMMINS, ONTARIO
Timmins, Ontario, is a mining community in the northeastern part of
Ontario, Dominion of Canada, situated in latitude 48° 28′ N., longitude 81°
20′ W. Although Timmins grew up on the outskirts of the great Hollinger mine
without any planning, it has since developed into a fairly attractive city.
Originally two miles from the Mattagami River (q.v.), it now extends to the
banks of that stream. From three power sites on the Mattagami, it derives
much of the electrical power needed for its homes, mines and industrial plants.
Timmins is one of four towns which have grown up to serve the mines in
the Porcupine Mining Camp (q.v.). The others are Schumacher, Porcupine and
South Porcupine, all of which occupy the 12-mile strip which so far contains
the great producing mines. Timmings, however, is the most important of the
four. During the decade from 1931 to 1941, it doubled in population. In 1941
census gives it a population of 28,900. This has not greatly increased since
then because of the war and the consequent retardation of gold mining due to
shortage of manpower and materials, and latterly to rising costs of operation.
Timmins has many well-constructed business blocks, paved streets, and all
the conveniences of a modern city. In 1911, while it was a rude collection
of shacks, it was burnt to the ground. By this time, however, its future im–
portance was becoming evident, and it was rebuilt in a more substantial manner.
Nevertheless, it remained for many years a somewhat crude mining community. It
suffered from the general feeling that mining towns are short-lived, and on
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Timmins, Ontario.
that account few cared to invest in permanent improvements. As the great mines continued to show possibilities of productiveness over a long period ahead, large business buildings were erected, and Timmins took on the appear– ance of a modern city. Many people who had originally gone to Timmins with– out any expectation of making it their home, now built substantial residences. People found that they could be as comfortable in Timmins as elsewhere, and a more permanent population grew up.
At the end of 1948, 15 producing mines were in the Porcupine area, employ–
ing 6,755 persons who received wages and salaries agg egating $12,000,000 a
year. In addition, many were participating in dividends from the mines, or
had interests in m
^
in
^
ing property which in some way brought in revenue. And al–
though three other towns share with Timmins in serving this community, Timmins
is by far the largest, and naturally most of the business gravitates to it.
While gold-mining almost entirely supports Timmins and adjoining towns,
and any reduction in the price of gold would have a disastrous effect upon
their fortunes, many other activities are possible to them. Some of these
possible activities have been considered by more forward-looking persons, and
other industries may in time become established. This would relieve the people
of too complete a dependence upon mining and take up some of the shock in the
event of any serious falling off in mining activity.
References:
Camerob, William (ed)
Porcupine Mines Manual
. Timmins Daily Press; 1939.
Williamson, O.T.G.
The Northland Ontario
. Toronto: The Ryerson Press,
1946.
Tintina Valley
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TINTINA VALLEY
Tintina Valley, Yukon Territory, Canada, is a remarkable physiographic
structure cutting diagonally across Yukon Territory from about latitude 61° N.,
longitude 131° W., until it passes into Alaska Territory in about latitude
64° 30′ N. (longitude 141 W.). For some time, Tintina Valley was thought to
be a continuation of the Rocky Mountain Trench, which it greatly resembles.
The latter follows the western side of the Rocky Mountains from south of the
International Boundary northwestward for about 900 miles. The floor of the
Rocky Mountain Trench, for most of its length, lies between 2,000 and 3,000
feet above the sea, and varies in width from two to ten miles. In this de–
pression, all the large rivers of British Columbia which rise in the Rocky
Mountain area have their source, including the Kootenay, Columbia, and Fraser.
Peace River also rises in the Trench; its great tributaries, the Parsnip, flow–
ing north, and the Finlay, flowing south, both occupy the Trench until they
join to penetrate the Rocky Mountains as Peace River.
The northwestern end of the Rocky Mountain Trench is blocked by the bulk
of the Pelly Mountains (q.v.), which stand diagonally across its path. Almost
in line, however, and following the same general direction, Tintina Valley
originates on the northwestern side of the Pelly Mountains as a straight, narrow
valley. It broadens to about eight miles at the point where the Ross and Pelly
rivers join, narrowing again until a short distance northwest of where the Mac–
millan River cuts across, its narrowest point is about three miles, while, be-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Tintina Valley
tween the Stewart and South Klondike rivers, it reaches a maximum width of 14 miles. Its floor elevations vary from 1,400 to 2,700 feet above sea level.
As in the case of the Rocky Mountain Trench, although Tintina Valley is
occupied for a time by most of the large streams that drain the section of the
country in which it lies, it is not itself a major drainage channel. The first
important stream to occupy part of its length is the Pelly, the south fork of
which originates almost at its head. After the north fork comes in, the Pelly
continues along the Valley until it eventually breaks through to the southwest,
just above where it is joined by the Macmillan river. The latter does not oc–
cupy the Valley for any distance, but merely cuts across it. Stewart River
is the next important stream to flow for some distance through the Valley;
then it, too, breaks away to the west to the west to join the Yukon. The Klon–
dike River also occupies the Valley for part of its course; and then the Yukon
River itself makes use of the Valley, flowing between its walls for some dis–
tance before passing out of Yukon Territory into Alaska. There is reason to
believe that, before the Pleistocene ice had rearranged the drainage-pattern,
the Yukon may have occupied much more of the Valley than it does now.
Northwest of Klondike River, beneath great masses of gravel, sand, and
clay, early Tertiary coal measures outcrop at intervals for more than 80 miles
along the Valley, and this indicates to the geologist that at least this part
of the Valley has been a depression for many ages. Since Tintina Valley cuts
a very deep gash across a large part of Yukon Territory, and coincides with a
number of major fault lines, it is likely to be of considerable assistance to
future geologists, filling in the more intimate details of the broad geological
picture which past and present workers in the field have already sketched.
Reference:
<bibl>
Bostock, H. S.
Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, with Special Reference
to the Area North of the Fifty-fifth Parellel.
Geological
Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 247; 1948.
</bibl>Torngat Mountains
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
TORNGAT MOUNTAINS
The Torngat Mountains, in northeastern Labrador, Canada, are the highest
of any in the eastern part of North America, although in remote geologic times
they were very much higher than at present. After they had been worn down to
a relatively low ponoplain, the latter was elevated, tilted toward the west,
and once more subjected to long ages of erosion. This has given then their
present high, rugged peaks and eep, narrow valleys showing few evidences of
the usual processes of mountain-building, but, on the other hand, displaying
most of the characteristics of a dissected peneplain.
The loftier parts of this dissected peneplain follow the coast from Mount
Thoresby (2,733 feet) near Nain to Ryan Bay, near Eclipse Harbor, a distance
of about 250 miles from southeast to northwest, in which the highest peaks are
from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. These, however, do not form a continuous range, but
consist of intermittant high sections connected by others of lower elevation.
The higher and more rugged portions are the Kiglapait
[:
]
, north of Mount Thoresby;
the Kaumajets, near Okak and Mugford; and the highest portion of all, the Torn–
gats, which extend from Saglek Bay to Ryan Bay, with a length of nearly 100 miles.
The Torngats may b said to begin on the north shore of Saglek Bay, in
latitude 58° N., where elevations of about 2,000 feet are observed. For the next
ten miles northwestward, high cliffs are the rule, with few inlets, and peaks
standing high above the cliffs. Beyond Bear Gut, Mount Blow-me-down rises to
a height of 3,000 feet. Cirque Mountain, with a height of 5,500 feet, stands
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Torngat Mountains
at the head of Nullataktok Bay. Back from the southwestern arm of Nachvak Fiord a group of high mountains rise, reaching heights of from 5,000 to 5,500 feet. To the northeast, beyond Nachvak Fiord, the characteristic mass of Mount Hazorback is seen which, although lower (3,000 feet) than some others, is never– the less of striking appearance because it consists chiefly of a type of gneiss called "charnockite." The White Handkerchief, a few miles farther north, is another outstanding landmark. Mount Tetragona, with an elevation of 4,700 feet, is also a striking mountain. Its summit consists of a sharp ridge, running nearly north and south, which has been cut by glacial action into two nearly equal peaks.
About Komaktorvik, or Seven Islands Bay, in latitude 59° 25′ N., are
grouped
[:
]
cluster of high peaks, the highest of which is perhaps Mount Cornelius
on its southern flank. Beyond this point, the typical Labrador coast continues,
with its steep cliffs and deep indentations, but the mountain masses are less
distinct, and erosion has not isolated peaks to the same extent as farther south–
east.
Geologically, the Torngats are made up principally of Precambrian rocks,
in which gneisses and granitic rocks predominate; but inland softer series of
slates and dolomites are found which the geologists have named the "Ramah series."
Where these rocks occur, the landscape is less rugged and the mountain masses
are rounded and lower in elevation. In parts of the Torngats, two distinct
lines of mountains are seen; the one nearest the coast is composed of the hard–
er rocks, and its peaks are higher and more rugged. This sea-facing range is
separated from the one farther inland by a depression from 5 to 10 miles wide.
Typical of this coast are the numerous fiords, each of which runs in a
generally westerly direction, some of which are divided into arms inland by the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Torngat Mountains
more resistant land masses. The main valleys are cut down nearly to the level of the sea and, for several miles inland, rise only gently. Though all the deeper valleys are U-shaped, some are long and others short, and the shortest of all are cirques, found in most of the mountain masses. Evidence of ice ac– tion on a large scale is found in every valley, and in the higher and deeper valleys and cirques within 20 or 25 miles of the coast numerous small glaciers may still be seen. Besides the actual glaciers, there are many permanent ice– sheets and snowfields, which, however, appear to be either stationary or re– ceding.
The watershed does not follow the crest of the highest mountains; the
streams rise some distance to the westward and have cut through the whole width
of the mountains on their way to the sea, which would suggest that the erosion–
rate was about equivalent to the rate at which the coast was elevated.
References:
Coleman, A. P.
Northeastern Part of Labrador and New Quebec
. Geological
Survey of Canada; Memoir No. 124; 1921.
Forbes, A, with
Northernmost Labrador Mapper From the Air
. American Geo–
contributions by graphical Society; Special Publication No. 22; 1938.
O. M. Miller, N.E.
Odell and Ernst.
Abbe
Ungava Bay
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
UNGAVA BAY
Like a miniature Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay indents the north coast of
Labrador Peninsula, at the northeastern angle of North America. Across the
eastern entrance to Hudson Strait, it faces the eastern end of Baffin Island.
Its northeastern extremity is also the northwestern extremity of Newfoundland–
Labrador. What is usually referred to as Cape Chidley, but which, in fact,
has not yet been definitely determined as to location, represents the point
at which the boundary between Newfoundland-Labrador, on the east, and Ungava,
or New Quebec, on the west, terminates on the north. Immediately at that point,
the eastern coast of Ungava Bay begins. As a matter of fact, the end of the
coastline proper does not mark the extremity of the coast. Killinek Island,
separated from the mainland by McLelan Strait continues the line of the coast
northwestward to what is generally referred to as Cape Chidley, although on
the map the latter is shown as being the easternmost point of the island.
From the west side of Killinek Island across the mouth of Ungava Bay to
Cape Hopes Advance, the northwestern extremity of the Bay, the distance is 140
miles, in a line slightly north of west. This line is interrupted by Akpatok
Island, which lies about 35 miles off the western shore of the Bay. Geologi–
cally and politically it is not part of Ungava; the latter is predominantly
composed of Precambrian rocks, while Akpotok Island is of Palaeozoic age.
Politically, Ungava Peninsula is part of the Province of Quebec, while Akpatok
Island is part of the Northwest Territories of Canada, administered by the fed–
eral government.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay is about 140 miles deep and shaped like a letter U, its east–
ern and western shores sloping very gradually toward each other, and it is
still relatively wide within a few miles of its lower extremity. Along its
shores many small islands exist, but only in its southwestern angle, in a broad
indentation called Hopes Advance Bay, are the islands of any size, but even the
largest of these is only about 20 miles long by about half that in width.
Unlike Hudson Strait, of which, in a sense, it is an extension, Ungava Bay
is shallow over most of its area. Toward the southern end of the Bay, the high,
rugged shores of Hudson Strait are contrasted by low shores and rolling country
extending back for 12 or 15 miles from the coast. Several important rivers
empty into the Bay, including, from east to west, the George, in latitude 59° N.,
longitude 66° W; the Whale, in latitude 58° 25′ N., longitude 67° 20′ W.; the
Koksoak, the largest river in Ungava, in latitude 58° 35′ N., longitude 68° W.;
the Leaf, in latitude 58° 50′ N., longitude 69° 35′ W.; and Payne River, in
latitude 60° N., longitude 70° W. Trading posts are established at or near the
mouth of each of these rivers, all of which discharge through fairly wide estuar–
ies, except Leaf River, which flows into a long, narrow inlet lying parallel to
the coastline and separated from the Bay only by a ridge of rock, through which
a narrow gap communicates with the waters of the Bay. The Koksoak is navigable
for ocean-going vessels for a distance of about 60 or 70 miles, but none of
the others is navigable above the head of tidewater. Exceedingly high tides
are encountered in Ungava Bay, where the mean rise is nearly 40 feet, and ex–
ceptional spring tides have been known to rise 60 feet.
It is probable that neither Frobisher in 1576-78 nor Davis in 1587 sighted
Ungava Bay; and Weymouth, sailing into Hudson Strait in 1602 possibly did see
it as he passed its wide entrance, but he doubtless did not recognize it as a
bay. It remained for Henry Hudson actually to navigate its waters, although it
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Ungava Bay
was not his objective, and was actually a source of irritation to him. Early in July 1610, Hudson's little ship, the Discovery , in which Weymouth had sailed before him, buffeted by adverse winds and pushed about by floe-ice, was forced into Ungava Bay near its northeastern extremity. From there he tacked across the Bay until he sighted Akpatok Island, which he called Desire Provoketh. He was then forced by the action of the ice southward along the western shore of the Bay until he arriced at a point somewhere in Hopes Advance Bay. Turning north again, he worked his ship through the floes until he reached the north– western extremity of the Bay, which he named Hold with Hope, but which is now called Cape Hopes Advance. It was about the 19th of July that the Discovery finally succeeded in rounding Cape Hopes Advance and proceeded on her way west– ward, Hudson to his death at the hands of his mutinous crew.
For many years thereafter, Ungava Bay was largely a place of mystery, but
in recent years various Canadian Government expeditions have charted its shores
and located some of the navigational hazards resulting from its many shoals.
References:
Low, A. P.
Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula along the East-
main, Koksoak, Hamilton, Manikuagan and Portions of Other Rivers
in 1892-93-94-95
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Annual Report
,
1895.
----.
Report on South Shore of Hudson Strait, 1898
. Geological Survey
of Canada,
Annual Report
, 1898.
Flaherty, R. J.
Two Traverses Across Ungava Peninsula, Labrador
. The Geographical
Review, Vol. VI, No. 2 (August 1918).
Wabiskagami River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WABISKAGAMI RIVER
The Wabiskagami River, northeastern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, is
a tributary of the Missinaibi River (q.v.), which, with the Mattagami (q.v.),
forms the Moose (q. v.), flowing into the southern end of James Bay. The Wab–
iskagami is one of the largest tributaries of the Missinaibi coming in from
the west. It rises in the lake of the same name, a beautiful sheet of clear
water from 10 to 12 miles long and about 4 miles wide, in latitude 49° 45′ N.,
longitude 84° W. The Wabiskagami River has a total length of about 100 miles,
but its course is so tortuous that, from source to mouth in a direct line, the
distance is little more than half its length. The greater part of its course
lies through the Hudson Bay Lowland, and is therefore, except in the shorter
portion that flows down from the Canadian Shield, free from rapids and falls.
In its lower reaches, the Wabiskagami cuts through extensive beds of lignite
coal, and at others equally extensive deposits of fire clay, well suited to
ceramic manufacture. Farther up the stream, not far below the fall-line, de–
posits of iron-bearing limestones are also cut by the river. Along its upper
reaches, some fairly good stands of white and black spruce interspersed with
Banksian pine and poplar are reported; while in its lower reaches the timber
consists chiefly of stunted black spruce and tamarack, of no commercial value.
A few patches of land suitable for farming may be found along the portion which
flows through the Clay Belt (q.v.), while the much longer section flowing through
the muskegs of the coastal plain could provide a considerable quantity of agri-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Wabiskagami River
cultural land if extensive reclamation projects were to be instituted through– out that region (See, Hudson Bay Lowland ).
Reference:
<bibl>
Ball, J. Mackintosh
Economic Resources of Moose River Basin
. Ontario
Bureau of Mines, 1904.
</bibl>Watson Lake
EA-Geography: Canada
WATSON LAKE
Watson Lake is situated in the southeastern part of Yukon Territory,
possesses a post office, a good airport, and a weather station, and is served
by Canadian Pacific Air Lines Limited. It is also access
bi
^
ib
^
le by a spur road
from the Alaska Highway. There is a Roman Catholic church at the road junc–
tion. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment is stationed in the settle–
ment.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Whale River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WHALE RIVER
Whale River, in Ungava District, now called New Quebec, in the Canad–
ian province of Quebec, rises south of latitude 56° N., and flows through
numerous lake-expansions northward into Lake Manuan, an H-shaped lake about
26 miles in length at its greatest, and about 12 miles wide, with an area of
100 square miles. The river enters the lake at its northwestern point and
leaves by its northeastern point, flowing in a general northwesterly direc–
tion for about 100 miles and emptying into Ungava Bay at the southernmost ex–
tremity. Whale River drains the area lying between the George River on the
east and the Kaniapiskau on the west, consequently its tributaries, while many,
are not very long, nor do they as a rule carry much water. Part of its course
is north of the treeline, while even in its upper reaches it flows through a
sparsely timbered country. Except in the lower part of the valleys, the land
is covered by a thick mantle of mosses and lichens. Its valley once grazed
vast herds of caribou, but, like elsewhere, the herds are now much smaller
and fewer in number.
Eight miles above the mouth of the river the Hudson's Bay Company's post
is situated; below this point the river continues more than a mile wide to its
mouth.
Reference:
<bibl>
Dept. of Mines
Quebec
Extracts from Reports on the District of Ungava of New Quebec
,
1929.
</bibl>White River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WHITE RIVER
White River is one of the large tributaries of the Yukon River. It
rises in the St. Elias Range, in the southwestern corner of Yukon Territory.
One of its sources, Sims River, is fed by the Kaskawulse Glacier, and flows
northward into Kluane Lake, reaching White River by way of the Kluane and
Donjek rivers. Its main stream rises in the Russell Glacier, from which it
flows for about 5 miles in a northeasterly direction, and then, turning ab–
ruptly to the east for about 30 miles, it runs northeasterly to its mouth in
the Yukon River, a distance of 180 miles. All but the first few miles of its
main branch are in Canadian territory.
White River was discovered in 1850 by Robert Campbell of the Hudson's
Bay Company, who named it so because of its milky color. He merely passed by
its mouth, and no one seems to have attempted its ascent until 1872, when
Arthur Harper, a veteran trader, traveled upstream over the ice for about 50
miles.
Although various parties of prospectors had visited the lower part of the
river, no attempt was made to reach its headwaters until 1891, when a party
consisting of Dr. C. W. Hayes, of the U. S. Geological Survey, Lieutenant Fred–
erick Schwatka, U.S.A., and a prospector named Mark Russell crossed overland
from the junction of the Pelly and Lewes rivers, reaching White River about
where it crosses the International Boundary. From there they ascended it to
the Russell Glacier, crossed the Skolie Pass and descended the Chitina and
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: White River
Copper rivers to the coast.
While on the Yukon River, they had heard various reports of copper de–
posits about the headwaters of White River, which had been circulating for
some time and had lost nothing of their sensationalism in the process. Slabs
of copper were reported to have been found as large as a log cabin. The ex–
plorers were back-packing and had very little time for an extensive examina–
tion of the country, but they were nevertheless able to report that most of the
stories were greatly exaggerated. They did see huge slabs of native copper.
Since that
^
^
time native copper has been found in a number of places throughout
the district. One slab weighing 6,000 pounds was found near Canyon City.
The discovery of placer gold in 1913 in Chisana District, Alaska, just
south of the headwaters of White River, caused thousands of persons to flock
into the area, many of whom went up White River from the Yukon. Although it
had previously been considered a difficult river to navigate, stampeders found
the White convenient for all sorts of craft, from canoes and row boats to gaso–
line launches and steamboats. It was found to open in spring below Beaver Creek
between May 25 and June 5, and from Beaver Creek to Canyon City, about June 12.
Ice commences to run thickly about September 30 and, during most years, the
river freezes over between November 10 and 15.
When the
^
^
gold-bearing deposits at Chisana proved to be limited, prospectors
turned their attention to the Canadian side of the line, and a number of differ–
ent streams tributory to or flowing into branches of the White were found to be
gold-bearing, but none was exceptionally rich.
In its upper part — in Alaska — the White flows through a broad valley
from two to five, and in places ten, miles wide, timbered occasionally, but
more often consisting only of bare stretches of gravel. Commencing near the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: White River
International Boundary, the valley gradually narrows, and about 3 miles below the Boundary assumes a canon-like form, with walls rising to from 150 to 200 feet on on either side, continuing thus for 6 or 7 miles to Canyon City.
For 9 miles below Canyon City the river traverses a floodplain, about a
mile wide, over which it continually shifts its course. In this section, Lake
Tchawsahmon valley, from 7 to 9 miles wide, extends northward, while the broad
valley of the Generic River comes in from the south, almost opposite.
The river is again restricted to a singlevalley for the next 8 miles; and
in this stretch it cuts through the main Nutzotin Range, whose summits rise
4,000 and 5,000 feet above the valley-floor. According to the late D. D. Cairnes,
of the Geological Survey of Canada, this portion of the White River valley is
antecedent to the uplift of the Nutzotin Mountains. As the land rose, the river
continued cutting, keeping pace with the uplift. The final mile of this stretch
is through a rock-walled canon, known as the Lower Canon. Below this, for the
next 45 miles, White River flows through a broad upland, its floodplain from
1 to 3 miles wide.
Beaver Creek joins White River from the southwest at Snag, about 85 miles
above the mouth of the White; about 10 miles below the entry of Beaver Creek
the flats end suddenly, and the river enters a narrow depression, where the
valley-bottom is some 1,300 feet lower than the surrounding upland. Twenty
miles below Beaver Creek, Donjek River comes in from the northeast, about doubl–
ing the size of the White. Twenty-three miles below the mouth of the Donjek,
the Katrina flows in from the east, its waters clear and clean. Below the Kat–
rina, the White River valley broadens again, and from there to the Yukon the
floodplain. always from 1 to 5 miles Wide, consists of bare wastes of gravel
through which the river cuts channels that shift from day to day. On all the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: White River
gravel bars and along the shores of the channels are huge piles of jumbled driftwood, brought down by the river in flood. Somewhere in its course, the river cuts through deposits of volcanic ash, which, added to its already over– loaded content of glacial deposit, gives it the distinctive greyish hue that it in turn imparts to the Yukon from which the latter never recovers.
References:
Cairnes, D. D. Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1914.
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir No. 50, 1915.
Hayes, C. Williard National Geographic Magazine, Vol. IV, May 15, 1892, pp. 117-162.
McConnell, R. C. Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1904.
Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1905.
Whitehorse
EA-Geography: Canada
WHITEHORSE
Whitehorse, situated on the Alaska Highway about 42 miles north of
Carcross, is the terminus of the White Pass and Yukon Railway and the head
of navigation on the Yukon River. It has a first class airport, equipped
with radio range and meteorological stations, served by air lines from
Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Fairbanks, as well as hotels, bank, hos–
pital, stores, weekly newspaper, Church of England and Roman Catholic churches,
and public and high schools. The headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police for southern Yukon and the office of the Mining Recorder for the White–
horse district are also located in the town. Whitehorse is an important out–
fitting center for big game hunting parties. From Whitehorse a motor road
provides access to the famous Whitehorse Rapids and Miles Canyon on the Lewes
River, which were navigated by many of the gold-seekers in the rush of 1897–
98. A foot-bridge across the canyon is a fine vantage point from which to
view the rushing waters.
From: Nor' West Miner
March, April 1950
Wholdaia Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WHOLDAIA LAKE
Wholdaia Lake, in the District of Mackenzie, northwestern Canada, is
one of the series of lakes in the Dubawnt River system near its head. Whold–
aia Lake, originally called Daly Lake, was once thought to be the source of
the Dubawnt, but since then a chain of lakes and rivers draining into Wholdaia
Lake from about 80 miles farther west is now considered to be the source of
the Dubawnt. Wholdaia Lake
[:
]
lies at an elevation of 1,290 feet above sea level,
astride of the 104th degree of west longitude, its southern extremity in lati–
tude 60° 10′ N., just north of the divide between the Athabaska and Hudson Bay
drainage areas; and its northernmost point is in latitude 61° N. A great strag–
gling lake, it is composed of many arms and long narrow bays, each lying gen–
erally in a northeast-southwest direction; the whole lake, however, has a north–
eastern angle. The northwestern arm of the lake is about 50 miles in length,
extending northwest-southeast; its northeastern arm is about 30 miles long and
lies southwest-northeast; and its southern arm is about 20 miles in length in
a north and south direction. These "arms," however, are not anywhere definite
and clear cut, and, at best, are but approximations. The lake's greatest width
is about 12 miles; its shoreline is quite out of proportion to its area, which
is further complicated by countless islands.
Wholdaia Lake lies entirely within the Precambrian rocks of the Canadian
Shield and it is characteristic of lakes in that area, the basinsof which have
been gouged out by glacial action, apparently so recently in geologic time that
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Wholdaia Lake
the action of the water has not yet been able to round off the rough edges. At the south end of the lake, hills of gneiss rise on both sides, which soon draw apart or decline, when the banks become low and strewn with boulders. Then, long low sandy points project from the shore, extending into a chain of sandy islands. Eighteen miles from the southwest end of the lake, a long pen– insula extends from the western shore, and a mile north of this a long point of boulders ends in an open sandy ridge, or esker, extending southwest and gradual– ly rising over some rocky hills 70 feet above the lake. This ridge marks the limit of timber growth, represented here by small aspens.
A point 4 miles to the west, on the north shore, is composed of biotite–
gneiss, its summit and eastern slope well rounded, while its western side is
much more broken. From this point northward the east shore is generally low
and strewn with angular fragments of rock. Typical of lakes in this area,
points or bars of gravel or sand of any considerable size are conspicuously
absent; the shores are mostly of bare rock.
Around the shore, and extending northward to the limit of the wooded
country, are more or less extensive tundra areas, usually on gentle slopes
that extend from the woods down to the edge of the water. The surface is mod–
erately dry and firm, and is covered with a growth of light green lichen, prob–
ably a species of Peltagera. Beneath the surface is a thickness of 8 or 10 feet
or more of moss which is quite dead, and below the first 12 inches is embedded
in a solid mass of ice.
Wholdaia Lake was first explored by J. W. and J. B. Tyrrell of the Geolog–
ical Survey of Canada in 1893, when they made an exploratory journey from the
eastern end of lake Athabaska to Hudson Bay, by way of the Dubawnt River. Whol–
daia Lake, which they call Daly, after the then Minister of the Interior of
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Wholdaia Lake
Canada, was taken by them to be the source of the Dubawnt, but they could not spare the time necessary to encompass its shores and consequently did not know that it was not the first but one of a series through which the Du– bawnt runs from its highest point. While it was not till the Tyrrells had reached Carey Lake, some distance farther northeast, that they encountered their first caribou, when they came upon herds that covered the countryside, Wholdaia Lake and its vicinity, is also excellent caribout country, and con– sequently, if and when the reindeer business is undertaken seriously in Can– ada, it would be a suitable area for that purpose. Aside from this, the ter– ritory has little economic value, except, of course, the possibility of miner– al wealth, which is always present in areas underlain by the Precambrian rocks of the Canadian shield.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. W.
Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada
. Toronto, 1908.
</bibl>Wiachouan River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WIACHOUAN RIVER
Wiachouan River, in western Ungava Peninsula, now called New Quebec, a
portion of the province of Quebec, is a short stream flowing into Richmond
Gulf, an indentation on the east coast of Hudson Bay, extending northward
from latitude 56° 05′ N. It is only about 40 miles long, but it is possible
that it will prove to be of importance because of the fact that it falls over
a cliff for a height of 315 feet just above its mouth, and one mile farther
upstream it drops another 65 feet. In a country in which practically all
streams drop over falls of varying heights, this might not be of any economic
importance, but the Wiachouan, near its mouth, traverses an area of late Pre–
Cambrian rocks similar to those in the Ungava Depression in which extensive
important mineral occurrences have been discovered. If, after being adequately
prospected, this area should also be found to possess minerals of value, the
presence of this potential power should be an important factor in its exploita–
tion.
Reference:
<bibl>
Department of Mines
Extracts from Reports on the District of Ungava, or
Quebec
New Quebec
. 1929
</bibl>Winisk River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WINISK RIVER
Winisk River, in northwestern Ontario, Dominion of Canada, drains an
area of 24,100 square miles into Hudson Bay. Its drainage basin lies south–
east of that of the Severn River and northwest of that of the Attawapiskat
River. It originates in Misamikwash Lake, in latitude 53° N., longitude 90° W.,
but its ultimate source lies farther to the south and west in the several
streams that empty into the lake. The river's upper reaches traverse a por–
tion of the Canadian Shield, consisting of Pre-Cambrain rocks, which comprises
the greater part of the northern portion of Canada. It is a region of low re–
lief, with a maximum elevation of about 1,500 feet above sea level. Heavily
glaciated knells and ridges stand out above the general level and the under–
lying rocks between carry a heavy overburden of glacial till. The terrain is
dotted with lakes of all sixes and shapes, connected by short, swift streams
filled with rapids and falls. Sometimes one lake morely spills over a rocky
ledge into the next. The country slopes generally north and east toward Hudson
Bay, with an average grade of about 5 feet to the mile.
Like most of the rivers in this region, the Winisk has not yet had time
to cut a definite river-valley for itself; it flows but a short distance below
the general level of the country. A characteristic of this river is the number
of channels which break away at various points and later rejoin. The current
is swift for the whole distance from Winisk Lake to the coast, though after the
river drops down the Pre-Cambrian escarpment, the descent is comparatively
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Winisk River
uniform. The absence of any valley might be interpreted to mean that the river in its present form is very recent.
Winisk River flows out of Misamikwask Lake by two outlets, the main
branch flowing east, while the other, known as the Asheweig, flows north, the
two reuniting some 200 miles below (following the course of the main river).
The main channel keeps an easterly course for the first 25 miles from Misamik–
wash lake and descends in that distance about 35 feet, principally in a series
of five rapids. Between rapids the river is mainly swift, but many lake-like
expansions occur. The surrounding co
^
u
^
try is generally low, seldom rising
higher than 50 feet above the river. Below the final rapid of the series just
mentioned, where a fall also occurs, the river expands into Wu
[:
]
in Lake,
an irregular, tortuous sheet of water about 25 miles long. From Wunnummin
Lake to Nibinamik Lake, a further distance of 25 miles, the descent is about
45 feet, occurring chiefly in three rapids which are separated from each other
by stretches of quiet water. Nibinamik Lake, from inlet to outlet, is about
5 miles long, but it extends to the south for 7 miles and
^
^
to the north for 4.
The surrounding country is well covered with spruce and temarack, but
aspen, balsam poplar and white birch grow along the ridges.
For the next 12 miles to Wapikopa Lake, the river flows with a fairly
strong current, descending in that distance about 35 feet in 3 principal rapids.
Wapikopa Lake is 13 miles long, and lies in a generally easterly direction. In
the next 38 miles, the river follows an irregular course through a succession
of small lakes which are separated by rapids, and then enters Winisk lake, 17
miles long with a maximum width of 7 or 8 miles. The lake consists chiefly
of a series of long, narrow channels lying north and south between low islands
of sand, gravel and boulders. Twenty-nine miles below Wapikopa Lake, the river
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Winisk River
separates into two channels, one branch flowing northward, by-passing Winisk Lake, and rejoining the other a mile below the lake's outlet. The other branch flows through Winisk Lake.
Nine miles below the outlet of Winisk Lake, another channel called the
Winiskisis, branches off to the northeast and follows an independent course
for 70 miles before rejoining the main stream. Thirteen miles below the head
of the Winiskisis, another channel called the Tabasokwia, diverges to the west,
contin
^
u
^
ing a separate course for 23 miles before it rejoins the Winisk. The our–
rent in all these branches is swift and broken by rapids and falls, at one of
which, known as Smoky Fall, the drop is 15 feet.
The impervious character of the till, together with its almost flat or
gently undulating surface, gives the country a muskeg-like character, even
though it lies 80 feet or more above the bed of the river in places. Along
the immediate banks, and for a few yards on each side, a narrow belt of trees
of fair size grow; but beyond that the terrain stretches away in a great almost
level plain. It is covered with a sparse and stunted growth of black spruce
and tamarack, under which is a thick carpet of moss.
At 68 and 77 miles, respectively, below Winisk Lake, the Tabasokwia and
Winiskisis channels rejoin the main stream; and at a lake-like expansion studded
with islands, about 7 miles below the inflow of the latter, the Asheweig comes
in from the southwest, and the Atikameg from the southeast. The former of these
is the stream previously referred to as flowing out of the main river at Misamik–
wash Lake, 200 miles above.
A short distance below this point, white birches and balsam are seen for
the last time on the banks. Thence to the sea the forest growth, quite to the
edge of the river trough, is composed entirely of black spruce and tamarack.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Winisk River
The islands, and here and there a projecting point, continue to show groves of white spruce, balsam, poplar and aspen.
After the course of 126 miles, almost directly north, with slight devia–
tions to the east and west, the river by a sharp turn suddenly changes its
direction to a little south of east, and holds that trend for 70 miles. Two
tributaries, both of which head near the Fawn branch of the Severn, join the
main river near the bend. About 15 miles below this point, an island
^
6 miles in length
^
divides
the river into two channels of about equal volume.
[:
]
The limestones and dolomites of the Hudson Bay basin first outcrop at a
distance of 42 miles from the Bay, measuring along the river. They are flat–
lying at first, but within a few miles the slope of the river carries it below
the surface of the limestones, which then form walls, gradually increasing in
height, until a gorge 30 feet deep is cut into the bedrock. This part of the
river, down to the sea, is evidently a pre-glacial channel.
The Mattawa River, a stream of consider
^
a
^
ble volume, comes in from the east
24 miles from the mouth of the Winisk, and 10 miles farther down the Mishamattawa,
or Big Mattawa, comes in from the west.
For the last 25 miles of its course, the Winisk has an average width of
about three-quarters of a mile, but expands to over a mile in many places. An
almost continual line of islands divides it into a number of channels all along
this part of the course. For the final 12 miles, these islands are generally
low, clothed only with grasses and bushes. Approaching the mouth, the banks
become lower, and for the last few miles are not generally more than 15 feet
high, and are composed of stratified clays and sands. The estuary has a maximum
width of about 3 miles.
The Winisk's volume, at a point 25 miles above the Bay, is estimated to be
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Winisk River
about 25,000 cubic feet per second in midsummer. Its length, according to present surveys, is given as 295 miles.
Hudson's Bay Company traders had been familiar with the river for many
years before its first exploration land survey by William McInnes, of the Geo–
logical Survey of Canada, who explored a large section of the region southwest
of Hudson Bay in the years 1903-4-5. Since McInnes' time, very little exploration
has been done in the area.
The economic possibilities of the region are largely a matter of conjec–
ture. In its upper reaches, the river cuts across an area underlain by the
Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Sheild, which are similar in general char–
acteristics to those which elsewhere contain valuable mineral occurrences. The
zone of rocks of Palaeozoic age which lies between the Pre-Cambrian escarpment
and tidewater is too heavily covered with overburden for easy prespecting.
Farther to the southeast, however, in the James Bay drainage basin, this
[:
]
one
contains extensive deposits of high-grade fireclays and equaily extensive de–
posits of gypsum. The value of lignite coal deposits also found in the latter
area is still problematical.
Reference:
<bibl>
McInnes, William
Report on a Part of the North West Territories drained
by the Winisk and Attawaniskut River
. Ottawa: Government
Printing Bureau, 1910.
</bibl>Wollaston Lake
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
WOLLASTON LAKE
Wollaston Lake, northeastern Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, lies at
an elevation of 1300 feet above sea level, and has the distinction, almost
unique in such a large lake, of being drained in opposite directions by two
almost equally large streams. The Cochrane River, which flows out of its
northern extremity, empties into Reindeer Lake and its waters ultimately reach
Hudson Bay by way of Reindeer and Churchill rivers. Fond du Lack River flows
out of its northwestern angle, through Black Lake, into Lake Athabaska, and
its waters reach the Arctic Sea by way of the Mackenzie River.
Wollaston Lake lies between latitude 57° 40′ N., and 58° 30′ N., in a
direction slightly east of north, and its eastern shore is cut by the 103rd
parallel of west longitude. It has an area of 768 square miles, and its shore–
line is broken by innumerable deep indentations. Like other lakes, of its kind
set in the Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, it is studded with rocky
islands of all sizes and shapes. As is the case with its neighbor, Reindeer
Lake, it is widest at its northern end and tapers somewhat toward the south,
but spreads at its southern extremity into two long arms, one at its sout^hwe^st–ern, and the other at its southeastern corner. Its narrowest point, at the spot
where the 58th parallel of north latitude crosses, is accentuated by the exist–
ence of large islands on each side lying parallel to the coastline, close in–
shore.
From the outlet into Cochrane River, at the extreme northern end of the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Wollaston Lake
lake, the shore trends southwestward to the outlet of the Fond du Lac River, which flows out of a considerable bay extending northwestward. This section of the shore, as well as the shores of the bay are lined with boulders, with an occasional sandy beach. The surrounding country is well wooded with spruce and Banksian pine. Eighteen miles south of the head of Fond du Lac River, Colline Creek comes in from the southwest, flowing into a narrow bay which runs southwestward to meet it, the ^ ^ south shore of which is a long point extending northeasterly for 6 miles. Thirteen miles south of Collins Bay, a broad prom– ontory juts northeeastward which is terminated by a knob of gneiss about 250 feet in height. Seventeen miles farther south, the entrance to Nekweaga Bay begins. The latter runs southwestward for 14 miles, and at its extremity re– ceives Geikie River flowing in from the southwest. From the mouth of Nekweaga Bay, the south shore of Wollaston Lake trends irregularly eastward. Compulsion Bay, a long, narrow indentation, occupies the southeastern angle of the lake, extending in a southwestern direc ^ tion ^ for 10 miles. From the mouth of Compul– sion Bay, the east shore of Wollaston Lake runs due north to about latitude 58° 07′ N., after which it swings northeasterly for about 9 miles to Fidler Bay, a long narrow indentation, lying in the same general direction as the shoreline, from which it is separated by rocky headlands cut by a narrow entrance. The shoreline continues northwastward from Fidler Bay to Clark Bay, one of a number of deep indentations forming the northwestern angle of the lake, and from there extends northwestward to Deception Bay, the extreme northerly point of the lake, a short distance west of which the Cochrane River flows out.
The first person of European extraction to see Wollaston Lake was David
Thompson, of the Northwest Company, who, in 1796, reached it by way of Swan
River and its chain of lakes and portages from Reindeer Lake, on his way down
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Wollaston Lake
the Fond du Lac River to Lake Athabaska. In 1881, A. S. Cochrane, of the Geological Survey of Canada, ascended the river now named after him from its mouth in Reindeer Lake to its source in Wollaston Lake, In 1892, J. B. Tyrrell, also of the Survey, assisted by D. B. Dowling, surveyed the west shore of the lake from the mouth of Fond du Lac River to the south end of Nekweaga Bay, and the south shore to Compulsion Bay. Tyrrell ascended the Geikie River to its source, crossing thence to Churchill River; while Dowling crossed the portage from the bottom of Compulsion Bay to Vermilion Bay, on Reindeer Lake, thence by way of Reindeer River to Churchill River.
Reference:
<bibl>
Tyrrell, J. B.
Report on the Country Between Athabaska Lake and Churchill
River
. Geological Survey of Canada; Annual Report, Vol. VIII,
1896.
</bibl>Yukon Territory
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
YUKON TERRITORY
Yukon Territory occupies the extreme northwestern corner of the Dominion
of Canada, adjoining the territory of Alaska on the west, the Province of
British Columbia on the south, the District of Mackenzie on the east; and is
bounded on the north by the Arctic Sea. It comprises 207,076 square miles;
and, according to the Dominion Census of 1941, had a population of 4,914 per–
sons, of whom 1,508 were Indians — which means that it had but 0.02 persons
to the square mile.
Physiographically, the Territory falls into three main provinces that
are continuous with similar divisions in British Columbia and Alaska. Two of
these, the Coastal system, in the southwest, and the Rocky Mountain systems,
in the northeast, are mountainous; while the most characteristic, the Interior
Plateau system, midway between the two, often referred to as the Yukon Plateau,
constitutes a belt from 250 to 400 miles wide, extending from the southeastern
section of the Territory northwestward across its extent and passing into Alaska,
where it continues in a westerly direction. This plateau provides the back–
ground for the great Yukon River, which flows through the middle of it.
The Yukon Plateau, cut first by the great trench of the Yukon River itself,
and then by its many tributaries and their numerous branches, presents a very
irregular appearance, but the tops of the hills and watersheds lie quite gen–
erally in the same horizontal plane; which gives the key to the nature of this
upland region. Despite its broken appearance, the plateau presents an aspect
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
of uniformity in its average elevation. The tops of these hills and ridges where not themselves eroded, constitute the remnants of what was apparently once a gently rolling plain, sloping toward the northwest. In fairly recent geologic time it was evidently a lowland, probably bordering on the sea. Then, after its elevation to its present level, which, in its southern portion stands at from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, its streams were regenerated and began the cutting of the channels that is still in progress.
In the southern part of the Territory, the plateau is covered with a vary–
ing depth of glacial deposit, which is still being redistributed by stream
action. These are the deposits in which the rich placer diggings of the Klon–
dike and other gold-bearing creeks and rivers of Yukon Territory have been found.
While it is probable that the richest of these have already been discovered
and exploited, there is no reason to believe that all possibilities in this
direction have been entirely exhausted.
The Rocky Mountain system, which provides the eastern boundary of the
Territory, consists of the northern extension of the Rocky Mountains, known
locally as the Mackenzie Mountains. These mountains, in several parallel ranges,
in echelon formation, follow the same northwest-southeast trend as the Rockies
farther south, but lie about 80 miles east of the direct line of continuation.
At the latitude of about 69° N., they bend toward the southwest and continue
into Alaska, where they are known as the Endicott Range.
The Coastal system, which has followed the Pacific coast northward through
British Columbia, crosses into the southwestern corner of Yukon Territory, and
then merges into the Yukon Plateau in about latitude 62° N. Consequently, a
cross-section of Yukon Territory from southwest to northeast would show a rela–
tively low mountainous area in the southwest, merging into the Interior Plateau
which occupies the central portion of the Territory, and then another mountainous
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
region, wider and higher than the first, extending along the eastern border in a northwesterly direction and bending at right-angles, passing thus into Alaska. The whole presents a concave surface, sloping from both sides toward the middle, which is occupied by the great trench of the Yukon River. In addi– tion to the three distinct physiographic divisions described above, there is a small arctic steppe region between the northern extremity of the Mackenzie Mountains and the Arctic Sea, and another intrusion of the Mackenzie lowlands in the region of Peel River. These, however, comprise but a fraction of the total area of the Territory.
The history of Yukon Territory is the history of the great river from
which it receives its name, and this has been told in connection with the ac–
count of the exploration of the river and its tributaries (see
Yukon River
).
The greatest event in its history was the discovery of rich placer gold in the
Klondike, which has also been told (see
Klondike Gold Strike
). It is possible
that some day the story of Yukon Territory may be written when neither the Klon–
dike gold strike nor the Yukon River itself will occupy the middle of the stage,
but that time is not yet.
Perhaps when that time comes, another form of mining may have replaced
placer mining, and more permanent and stable communities will have been establish–
ed. No permanent communit has ever been built on a foundation of placer mining,
and the Yukon with its fabulously rich Klondike is no exception. Nevertheless,
it is placer gold with its relative ease of recovery that attracts the goldseek–
er and causes the great booms. That the gold of the Klondike derived from quartz
ledges is generally admitted, but it is sometimes argued that the richest por–
tions of these ledges were ground away by the glaciers, thus releasing and con–
centrating the gold; and that the ledges were not rich enough to justify their
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
being worked as quartz mines if they had persisted to the present day.
Similar arguments were advanced against the possible existence of profit–
able gold quartz ledges in the Cariboo district, where, forty years before the
Klondike, equally rich placer mines were discovered; but when competent pros–
pectors, undeterred by such ideas, began a systematic search, gold mines re–
sulted which in a few years will have produced more gold than the placer diggings
ever did; and towns are already established whose promise of permanence is much
greater than would be likely in any placer camp.
Naturally, the areas first explored in Yukon Territory were those along
the streams, which not only provided ease of access, but also disclosed the
geological structures by providing cross-sections showing the various forma–
tions. Most of this prospecting has been done in the Interior Plateau region;
but even there, little prospecting for quartz has been done because of the dif–
ficulty imposed by the heavy overburden. With the use of modern prospecting
methods, however, the picture can quickly change.
What prospecting has already been done, where the primary incentive was
not the discovery of placer gold, has disclosed the presence of wide-spread
mineral possibilities. Already, in addition to gold quartz, silver-lead, silver–
gold, and silver-antimony deposits have been located. Copper has been found in
many places and only awaite adequate transportation and markets to justify de–
velopment on a large scale. The earliest deposits were found in the Coast Range
area, such as those near Whitehorse, and in the Wheaton district in the south–
western section of the Territory.
The most successful operations so far have been in the Mayo district, where
ore containing principally silver and lead, but also gold, has been mined for
some time. This mining has been, in a sense, but a transfer of the placer mining
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
techniques to lode mining. That is to say, the richest ore has been mined, leaving less profitable ore either in the ground or on the dump. No system– atic effort has ever been made to advance the country to the point where its mineral resources might be developed most economically from a national stand– point.
The Mayo mining district comprises that part of the Stewart River water–
shed east of the mouth of the McQuesten River. The town of Mayo, on the Stew–
art River 180 miles above its mouth, is the center of the district and its
distributing point. Although the presence of silver-lead ores in the Mayo
district had been known since 1906, the first extensive mining was not begun
until 1914, when development was started at the Silver King mine on Galena
Creek. Some ore from this mine had previously been shipped to the smelter at
Trail, British Columbia, from which the returns were at the rate of $269 a ton
in gold, silver and lead. During the winter of 1914-15, 1,180 tons of ore were
shipped to the Selby smelter at San Francisco and shipments continued until 1917,
when the high-grade shoot from which the ore was obtained became exhausted and
Mayo seemed destined to a fate similar to that of the placer ghost towns.
In 1919, however, Keno Hill was discovered; within a short time upwards
of a thousand claims were staked in all directions from the Discovery claim,
and the following year the Sadie-Treadwell vein, on the western slope of Keno
Hill, was discovered. This gave the camp a new lease of life; and in the next
few years 10,000 tons of ore, running about 200 ounces of silver and fifty per–
cent lead to the ton, was shipped to the smelter. Again, as in the past, when
the high-grade ore became exhausted, large-scale mining was discontinued. In
1923, the upper Beaver River district, which lies within the Ogilvie Range, a
spur of the Mackenzie Mountains, attracted many prospectors; but the ore did
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
not prove sufficiently rich to allow of development under existing conditions.
In Whitehorse Mining District, several copper properties have been known
since the earliest days of the Klondike gold boom, and have been favorably re–
ported on by competent engineers; but, as with other lode mining in the Terri–
tory, lack of cheap transportation is holding development back. As early as
1906, such a capable engineer as D. D. Carines of the Geological Survey of
Canada, wrote that since the region around Whitehorse contained sufficient
promising properties, and since there was an abundance of good coal, as well
as potential hydro-electric power, a smelter for Whitehorse was a development
to be expected within the then near future. Over forty years have elapsed
since that opinion was expressed; but mining activity in the area has long
since come practically to a standstill. This is not because Mr. Cairnes was
too optimistic about the mineral possibilities of the district, but because
it, like all of Yukon Territory, depends for its development upon initiative
from outside, and that initiative has not been forthcoming.
The Wheaton district, in the southwestern section of the Territory, is
another case in point. Ore deposits in that district comprise gold-silver
quartz, antimony-silver veins, silver-lead veins, as well as deposits of a
metamorphic nature along the contacts. The district lies just north of the
British Columbia voundary, and west of the line of the White Pass and Yukon
Railway. Wheaton River, which flows through the area, runs first east and
northeast, and then bends suddenly to flow directly south and empty into Lake
Bennett. The principal ore discoveries were made chiefly along the river from
its bend about 20 miles upstream.
In 1893, two prospectors, Frank Corwin and Thomas Richman, located a number
of claims in this section and returned to Juneau, Alaska, with samples of what
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
they had found. Some of these samples, when assayed, ran up to $1,200 in gold; but before arrangements had been completed for the further development of the claims, the prospectors both died suddenly without having disclosed to anyone the exact location of their claims.
In the following year, many prospectors searched the hills in the hope of
finding the source of the rich samples; but none succeeded, although a number
of apparently rich quartz ledges were found in various parts of the region.
Early in 1906, a strike was made in the area of gold-silver tellurides that
caused 500 claims to be staked in the following 90 days. Later in the same
season, what was undoubtedly the old workings of Corwin and Richman were dis–
covered. A stampede to the locality ensued. and soon the whole country for
some distance round was staked.
Despite these promising indications, no mines have yet been developed in
the Wheaton district. The ore was not sufficiently rich to allow of stripping
out the high-grade stuff, as has been done elsewhere in the Territory. So the
prospects, for what they are worth, still wait, after forty years, the provision
of conditions that will permit the establishment of a mining industry on a proper
economic basis.
Adjacent to the Wheaton district, in the Windy Arm region of Lake Tagish,
several properties were opened up as early as 1912. This ore was of sufficient
richness to allow of its being shipped to the smelter, but after the best of it
had been taken out the mine was closed down and another promising mining region
took its place with the others to await more propitious times.
White River is a large stream that flows into the Yukon from the southwest
about 90 miles below the confluence of the Lewes and the Pelly. Most of its
course is within Yukon Territory, but some of its upper tributaries head in Alaska.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
For many years Indians had reported gold and native copper from different points on the river; and in 1913 relatively rich placer ground was discovered in the Chisana district, just west of the International Boundary. This resulted in a stampede of several thousand men and some women. Although the gold-bearing area proved to be limited, staking was not confined to the immediate vicinity, and a good many properties were located on the Canadian side of the line.
Furthermore, since many of the stampeders had gone into the country by
proceeding up White River from the Yukon, a considerable amount of prospecting
was done in the White River valley. Nothing, however, equal to the Chisana
diggings was found on the Canadian side, and interest in the district quickly
subsided, without its having been very thoroughly prospected.
Writing in 1915, Mr. D. D. Cairnes stated: "Upper White River district
constitutes a portion of a well mineralized region, and possesses itself a
considerable degree of mineralization. The more promising of the mineral de–
posits that have been discovered, are those containing copper and gold, both
of which metals in this district as well as in adjoining portions of Yukon, are
found not only in their bed-rock sources, but occur as well in the form of placer
deposits. The district as a whole, however, has only been slightly explored,
and although promising prospects have been located, it has not yet been demon–
strated, except possibly in the case of the gold-bearing gravels, that a single
mineral deposit can be profitably exploited."
Nothing much has been done in the interval, but the region has now become
much more accessible by reason of the faxt that the Alaska Highway cuts across
its upper portion; and it is possible that it may come in for greater attention
in the future.
Several sections of Yukon Territory are favorable for the production of
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
coal. At the Tantalus mine, on the Lewes River about 190 miles below White– horse, coal was first mined during Klondike rush days. Enormous deposits of good bituminous coal are known to exist at this point, and the seams have been traced for a distance of over 50 miles. River boats use the coal, which is a great advance on wood-burning. Five Fingers mine, about 10 miles north of the Tantalus mine, has also produced considerable quantities of a similar grade of coal, but the market for it is now limited.
The Geological Survey of Canada has estimated that the probable amount of
coal in Yukon Territory in seams one foot or more in thickness amounts to about
5,190,000,000 tons. This, however, was made while large sections of the Mack–
enzie Mountains still remained unexplored; and that area, while not as promising
from the standpoint of mineralization as the Coast Range, has, farther south,
been productive of very extensive coal deposits. It is therefore within the
bounds of possibility that further extensive coal deposits may yet be located
within the Territory. At the present moment, unless it were to be discovered
in a relatively few districts where a limited market exists, coal could not
profitably be mined, no matter how good it might be.
Yukon Territory, like Alaska and other northern portions of North America,
suffers from the lack of any comprehensive plan for its development. Capable
of providing homes for millions of people, it is now inhabited by a mere hand–
ful, too few adequately to provide for its primary needs. The greater part of
Norway and Sweden and all of Finland lie in the same latitude as Yukon Territory;
they provide homes for ten million people, and yet their natural resources can–
not compare with those in Yukon Territory. It is obvious that the method of
settling and developing the western portions of the United States and Canada,
where pioneer settlers advanced into the wilderness and grimly dug in to await
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
the advent of civilization with its few primitive amenities, will not suffice for the opening up of the North, and some plan more in keeping with the re– quirements of the situation must be devised.
Agriculture is a secondary industry; but, despite the Territory's north–
erly latitude, a wide variety of grains and vegetables can be successfully grown.
Since 1917, the Dominion Government has maintained an experimental sub-station
near Dawson City, where plot tests have produced wheat running to 60 bushels,
oats to 134 bushels, and barley to 60 bushels an acre. Wheat planted on a farm
in the Yukon valley has been harvested in 87 days. Potatoes grow exceptionally
well, as do carrots, beets, turnips, parsley, cabbage and cauliflower. Tomatoes,
cucumbers and various types of melons grow very well under glass. Some sections
are suitable for hay; Brome grass has proved more suited to the country than
most other varieties, although timothy and western rye have also been success–
fully grown.
Yukon Territory has a typical continental climate, warm in summer and cold
in winter, with a very moderate precipitation. From May 1 to October 1, the
weather is delightful, with bright, sunshiny days followed by cool nights. As
the season advances toward summer, the period of daylight increases and the
length of the nights decreases accordingly. Since the average precipitation is
just slightly above 12 inches a year, not many days are lost because of rain.
The subsoil over most of Yukon Territory is perpetually frozen to bedrock,
and the rays of the summer sun penetrate but a short distance below the surface.
This is a great advantage in view of the sparseness of the rainfall; for moisture,
stored within a few inches of plant-roots, aided by the long stretches of sun–
shine, is responsible for the extraordinary growth of all sorts of plant life.
While in certain parts of southern Yukon, horses can winter out, and some
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
cattle and horses are raised by ranchers in the Territory, the country is not suited to stock-raising as a general thing, The winters are too long to allow of profitable operation. But large areas of country exist where reindeer could be handled. This is evident from the fact that the caribou is one of the most widely distributed wild animals; and any country in which caribout will thrive is suitable for reindeer.
Timber, while not of merchantable size in most localities, is sufficient
for local requirements, and if properly conserved could support an extensive
pulp industry. Hitherto, timber has been used largely for construction pur–
poses, and as fuel for buildings and power plants and for steamers plying on
the many navigable rivers. Wherever mining operations are conducted underground,
some timber is needed, but not to the extent required in places where the sub–
soil is unfrozen.
The principal trees throughout the country vary very little from one local–
ity to another; in some parts one species will prevail, and elsewhere, another.
Generally, as one proceeds northward, the forest growth becomes more sparse, and
the individual trees have a smaller average size than farther south; but even to
this rule there are many exceptions. The different varieties will, in most cases,
all be present, but perhaps in different proportions. Everywhere the valley–
bottoms are well timbered, and including these, about one-third of the land sur–
face can be said to be forested in the vicinity of the Yukon River and south of
its great bend, while beyond that the percentage of forested land decreases to
about one-fourth of the whole. Furthermore, it has been noted that the southern
and western slopes of the hills and mountains are better timbered than their north–
ern and eastern slopes. In southern Yukon, the timber limit in sheltered draws
is about 3,500 feet above sea level with an average of about 3,000 feet; but toward
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
the northern portion of the Territory the average timber level is not much higher than 2,000 feet. The principal varieties of trees are: white spruce (Picea alba), black spruce (Picea nigra), balsam fir (Abies subalpina), black pine (Pinus Murrayana), aspen poplar (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Pop– ulus balsamifera), white birch (Betula Alaskana or B. resinifera), and tamarack (Larix americanus). The more important shrubs include juniper (juniperus nana), dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa), wild rose (Rosa acidularis) "soap olallie" (Shepherdia canadensis), several species of willow, and two species of alder.
The white spruce is the most important of the trees, and constitutes about
one-half of the forest growth of the Territory, some specimens in southern Yukon
running to 24 inches or more on the stump. It provides the principal timber for
construction. Balsam fir is perhaps next in importance, and supplies a fair
grade of timber. Some specimens run from 12 to 14 inches on the stump. The
two varieties of poplar are found everywhere in river and creek bottoms and on
the slopes of hills. The tamarack is found only in the more moist portions of
the Territory, and is not found to any great extent in the northern section.
The shrubs, however, are found in profusion everywhere.
The principal wild fruits are, blueberry (Vaccinum uliginosum), alpine
bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina), strawberry (Fragaria cuneifolia), crowberry
(Empetrum nigrum), Saskatoon (Amerachier florida), yellow berry (Rubus Chaemorus),
northern commandra (Commandra lividia), red currant (Ribes triste), black cur–
rant (Ribes hudsonianum), raspberry (Rubus arcticus), high-bush cranberry
(Viburnum pauciflorum) and the foxberry or northern cranberry (Vaccinum Vitis–
Idaea).
Practically every stream and lake in the Territory is well supplied with
fish, of which grayling (Thymallus signifer) are the most common in the streams,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
and lake trout (Solvelinus Namaycush) and whitefish (Coregonus canadensis) in the lakes. In addition, salmon (Onchorhynchus), salmon trout, pike (Esox lucius) and 'inconnu' are plentiful. Yukon Territory is one of the few remain– ing big game resorts on the continent. Moose (Alces americanus), caribou (Rangifer osborni and R. arcticus), mountain sheep (Ovis dalli), mountain goats (Oreammus montanus), and black (Ursus americanus), brown (Ursus middendorffi) and grizzly (Ursus horribilis) bears are widely distributed.
The principal game birds are, the ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), willow–
ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus lagopus), Canadian grouse (Canachites canadensis),
ruffed grouse (Bonase umbellus umbelloides), Canada goose (Branta canadensis),
snow goose (Chen hyperboreus nivalis) whistling swan (Olor columbianus), sandhill
crane (Grus canadensis), white pelican (Pelicanus eythrorhynchos), as well as
many varieties of ducks.
The fur traders were the first white visitors, and fur has continued to
be one of the chief products of the Territory. In the year ended June 30, 1944,
the total fur catch consisted of 78,005 pelts, valued at $467,188.00. In addi–
tion to trapping for wild animals, domestic fur farming is very profitably fol–
lowed in Yukon Territory; foxes bred there are in demand as breeding stock by
fur farmers in other parts of Canada and in the United States.
The chief fur-bearing animals are, the wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis),
coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes Alascensis abietorum), Arctic fox
(Vulpes logopus innitus), lynx (Lynx canadensis mollipilosus), wolverine (Gulo
luscus), marten (Mustela americana), fisher (Mustela pennanti), mink (Lutreola
vison emerguemenos) otter (lutra canadensis) ermine (Putorius cicog
an
^
na
^
nii), beaver
(Castor canadensis) and musk rat (Fiber zibethicus spatulatus).
In 1898, while the Klondike rush was on, work was begun on a narrow-guage
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
railway, connecting Whitehorse, below the canon and rapids on the Lewes, with Skagway, Alaska, 111 miles distant, and completed in 1900. From Whitehorse to Dawson, 460 miles by river, passengers and freight are handled by well-appoint– ed streamers operated by a subsidiary of the White Pass & Yukon Railway Company, and by stage in winter. With the coming of the airplane, these services have been augmented by daily flights throughout the year between Whitehorse and Daw– son, Juneau and Whitehorse and Whitehorse and Fairbanks. In 1937, a regular airplane service between Edmonton and Whitehorse was inaugurated. During World War II, a line of airports, known as the Northwest Staging Route, was built along this route by the Canadian Government over which war personnel, equipment and supplies were flown to Yukon Territory, Alaska and the Soviet Union. The original airplane service has since been taken over by Canadian Pacific Airlines, which maintains regular schedules.
In 1899, construction was undertaken by the Federal Government of a tele–
graph line through the wilderness from Ashcroft, on the main line of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, in southern British Columbia, by way of Hazelton and Telegraph
Creek, to Dawson City. It was also extended to Boundary, a point on the Alaska–
Yukon boundary where telegrams were transferred to the United States military
telegraph lines for transmission to points in Alaska. In 1923, this was supple–
mented by wireless stations at Dawson and Mayo, relaying to stations in the North–
west Territories.
In 1942, the Alaska Highway was built by the United States military author–
ities connecting Dawson Creek, B.C. with Fairbanks, Alaska. The road enters
Yukon Territory where the Liard River crosses the B.C.-Yukon boundary, follows
the Liard to near its headwaters, climbs over the watershed to the Lewes River at
Whitehorse, thence westward to Fairbanks. Since the end of the war, the road has
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
been operated by the Canadian Department of Defence.
Yukon Territory is governed under the provisions of the Yukon Territory
Act, 1898, and amendments thereto, which provide for a local government com–
posed of a Chief Executive, originally called the Commissioner, but latterly
styled Controller, and an elective legislative council of three members, having
a three-year term, elected one each from the three electoral districts in the
Territory, Dawson, Mayo and Whitehorse. The Controller, who is appointed by
the Federal Government, through the Ministers of Mines and Resources, constitutes
the executive, while the council represents the legislature. Maintenance of
law and
^
^
order is entrusted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who assumed
the task during the days of the Klondike gold strike, when the first detachment
was sent in under Inspector Constantine.
Yukon Territory lives on the memories of its short but exciting past,
and in the hope of the future. The great hordes of ardent gold-seekers, push–
ing up every stream, like the salmon at spawning-time, eagerly panning its sands
and gravels for the elusive colors, are gone, probably forever. Except for the
occasional small hydraulic plant washing away some bench or stream-bed deposit,
all the placer mining is now done by huge dredgers owned and operated by one
principal company. Dawson and Whitehorse, reduced to but a fraction of their
former size and importance, are still (with Mayo) the principal (and only) towns.
Whitehorse experienced a temporary resurgence during World War II, when it was
the center of activity within the Territory and an important link in the trans–
portation chain between the United States and Soviet Russia.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon Territory
References:
Cairnes, D. D.
Geological Survey of Canada
, Memoir No. 31, 1912.
----.
Ibid
., Memoir No. 67 (No. 49, Geological Series), 1914.
----.
Ibid
., Memoir No. 50 (No. 51, Geological Series), 1915.
Canada, Department of the Interior: The Yukon Territory, 1926.
Canada, Dominion Bureau of Statistics: Canada Year Book.
Dawson, George M.
Report on an exploration in the Yukon District. N.W.T..
and adjacent northern portion of British Columbia, 1887.
Contained in The Yukon Territory, by F. Mortimer Trimmer,
pp. 243-382. 1898.
Mason, Michael H.
The Arctic Forests
. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1924.
Yukon River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
YUKON RIVER
The Yukon is one of the great rivers of the world, fifth in size in
North America. Its most southerly source is in northern British Columbia,
from whence it flows northwesterly through Yukon Territory and then south–
westerly across the greater part of Alaska Territory. From the headwaters of
the Nisutlin, in latitude 61° N., longitude 132° W., to the sea it is 1,979
miles in length, 1,265 miles of which are in Alaska and 714 in Yukon Territory.
One great tributary rises in the Mackenzie Mountains (extension of the Rockies),
within 80 miles of the Mackenzie Valley; another begins as a rapid mountain
torrent almost within sight of the Pacific into which, in latitude 63° N.,
the Yukon empties after a course of nearly 2,000 miles. Except for shifting
sandbars in one principal section, it is singularly free from obstructions,
and with its tributaries can be navigated by river steamers for an aggregate
of 3,500 miles.
(No
^
t
^
wo authorities seem to agree as to its length; some give it as high
as 2,500 miles. Much depends upon the method of measuring, which can vary
greatly with a river of such shifting channels. The figure quoted here is
from the Canada Year Book, and is based upon the latest surveys of the Yukon's
upper reaches.)
In its course to the sea, the Yukon cuts through every stratum in the
geologic scale. It flows through four distinct geographical sections: the
mountainous, Upper Ramparts section; the low-lying Yukon Flats; the Lower Ramparts
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
section; and the Lower Yukon. Nevertheless, it lies entirely within the Interior or Yukon Plateau division of the three physiographic provinces of which Yukon Territory and Alaska are comprised. Th ^ r ^ ough the whole of its course in Canadian territory, it and its many tributaries drain a mountainous country; in the upper reaches of only one of its branches are there any lakes. The Upper Ramparts section, beginning just below the junction of the Yukon's two main tributarirs, continues down stream for about 400 miles. Here the great river has cleft through a chain of mountains, its banks towering above the flashing stream, reminding diff ^ er ^ ent writers of the Cascades on the Columbia, the Yosemite Valley or the Yellowstone.
Shortly after crossing the International Boundary (141° W.), the Yukon
enters the Yukon Flats section, where it runs through a zone of low, flat
country extending east and west about 200 miles and about 60 miles north and
south. The Arctic Circle cuts about midway through this area, and it is here
that the river, hitherto flowing mainly northwestward, makes its great bend and
thenceforth flows in a generally southwes
^
t
^
erly direction.
Next comes 800 miles of what is known as the Lower Yukon. Here the river,
now a mighty stream, is no longer hemmed by mountains, although, on the north,
they are never very far away, sometimes rising abruptly from the river's edge;
but to the south the vista of spruce-clad plain is unbroken. Only one large
tributary, the Koyukuk, is received in this section, although smaller ones are
numerous.
The Yukon enters Bering Sea through a delta about 50 miles along its face
and the same distance upstream, dissected by five principal channels, although
many others are constantly opening and closing.
The Yukon drainage basin extends north and south across almost 10 degrees,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
from latitude 59° N. to 68° 30′ N., and covers more than 35 degrees of longi– tude, from 129° 15′ W., to 165° W., consisting of an area of 330,000 square miles, of which 127,190 square miles are in Canada. It comprises three prin– cipal physiographic provinces, the Rocky Mountains section on the east and north, in which tributaries flowing in from the north, northeast and southeast take their rise; the Interior or Yukon Plateau section; and the Coast Range, occupy– ing the southwestern section of the basin, in which the tributaries coming in from the south and southwest originate. The Rocky Mountains are largely sedi– mentary, belonging to the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic ages, while the rocks of the Coast Range are chiefly granit [: ] . Some of the highest mountain peaks, such as Mount St. Elias, 18,008 feet, and Mount Logan, 19,500 feet, are in this section.
It is chiefly along the line of contact between the granites of the Coast
Range and the Palaeozoic rocks of the Yukon plateau that the principal mineral
occurrences are found. While large sections, both in the Yukon Plateau region
and the Rocky Mountain region, are heavily covered with glacial deposit, the
Yukon drainage basin itself was not submerged by the great ice sheets which
during the Glacial Period overran the greater part of North America. Glacial
action, the results of which are evident today all over the region, was due to
relatively small local glaciers.
Except for the southern part of Yukon Territory, where a number of beauti–
ful lakes occur, it is a region singularly devoid of large lakes. In all the
aeea which lies within the Territory of Alaska, there is not a single lake of
any considerable size. With the exception of the Lewes, none of the Yukon's
tributaries expands into lakes; and the Yukon proper does not. Since there are
no catch-basins, water in the Yukon rises quickly during the spring freshets.
Furthermore, below Lake Laberge, on the Lewes, there are no lakes whose ice holds
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
up navigation in the spring; and once the river ice breaks up, the Yukon is open for navigation all the way to its mouth.
The Yukon drainage basin is mainly a well forested area, the principal
varieties of trees being white spruce (Picea alba), black spruce (Picea nigra),
balsam fir (Abies subalpina), black pine (Pinus Murrayana), aspen poplar (Popu–
lus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), white birch (Betual
Alaskana or B. resinifera) and tamarack (Larix Americanus). Toward the northern
part of the basin the forest becomes sparse; in the region north of the great
bend of the Yukon, the percentage of forested area decreases to about one-fourth
of that found in the southern part of the region.
Especially in the Yukon's upper reaches, the drainage follows the same
general direction as the main river; and consequently the tributaries hold par–
allel courses for long distances before they finally empty their waters into
its broad stream. In most cases, the shortest and easiest route from the Yukon
to the headwaters of any of its tributaries is across the sometimes fairly low
divide which separates one valley from the other.
Although the Yukon name is often used to designate the river to the head
of the Lewes, the latter name is too well established to be superseded; and in
this article the name Yukon is used only to designate that portion below the
confluence of the Pelly and the Lewes, in the same way that the Mackenzie proper
is taken to begin at Great Slave Lake and the Peace only after the junction of
the Finlay and Parsnip. Of the two streams which form the Yukon, the Lewes and
the Pelly, the former is considerably the larger and is already following a well–
defined northwesterly course when it is joined by the Pelly, coming in almost
directly from the east, in latitude 62° 48′ N., longitude 137° 25′ W. The com–
bined river then continues the course previously followed by the Lewes, as
though it were but a projection of the latter. At the junction, which is at an
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
elevation of 1,555 feet above sea level, is the settlement known as Selkirk since 1848, although the Canadian post office Department has bestowed upon it the name of Pelly. (See separate entries for Lewes and Pelly rivers.)
The courses of both Lewes and Pelly have been through mountains, and this
type of country continues, only perhaps more markedly after the junction. For
it is here that the Upper Ramparts begin. The river just below the junction
is between 300 and 500 yards wide, and flows with a current of four-and-a-half
miles an hour, in a generally westerly direction. The water of the Lewes,
sparkling and clear from the first little rills above Lake Lindeman, combines
with the brownish water of the Pelly to produce a clear, transparent stream.
All this is changed, however, after the first important tributary, White River
(q.v.), flows in from the southwest, bringing a flood of silt-laden water from
which the main stream never recovers. No longer in shallow pools can thegravel
on the bottom be seen.
The impact of the White seems also to divert the course of the river; for
instead of continuing the northwesterly direction it had previously been pursuing,
the Yukon abruptly swings to the northeast, holding that course for 10 miles un–
til the Stewart (q.v.), coming in from the northeast, apparently diverts it back
to its former no
[:
]
thwestward course. Mayo, 180 miles up the Stewart, is the center
of an extensive silver-lead mining region.
The Yukon, after receiving the Stewart, continues its northwesterly course
30 miles to the settlement of Ogilvie, opposite the mouth of Sixtymile River,
coming in from the northwest, on a small branch of which gold was discovered by
Arthur Harper in 1875. The Yukon River is now approaching the
^
^
spot which first
caused its name to be blazoned to the world. About 20 miles below the mouth of
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
Sixtymile, the Klondike River enters from the northeast. It is not a large stream, but the branchs that flow into it from each side carried more gold in their gravels than had ever ^ before ^ been found in the same extent of country. Below Sixtymile, the river contracts; and, swinging almost due north and then curving to the northeast, the Yukon, considerably contracted, but still a broad river, hurries past Dawson, on the east bank, scene ofthe great excitement of 1898 and subsequent years. Six miles below D ^ ^ wson, on the same side of the river, is the site of Fort Reliance, where Harper and McQuesten had their trading post in the days before the Klondike gold strike (q.v.).
Fortymile River comes in from the northwest, on the west side of the river,
with the settlement of the same name at its mouth. Like the Sixtymile and the
Stewart, it was the scene of considerable mining interest before the Klondike
attracted the eyes of the world. Fortymile is the last Canadian point on the
river, and here are located the customs and immigration offices where the luggage
of persons traveling up the river are inspected and where the travelers them–
selves must pass inspection. Only the final 20 miles of the Fortymile River is
in Canadian
^
t
^
erritory; it runs for the greater part of its length through Alaska
Territory. Between Dawson and Fortymile, the Yukon maintains, without much de–
viation, a generally northwesterly direction; but below tht point, while con–
tinuing in the same direction, it indulges in a number of extensive twists and
turns as it winds along its mountainous course.
Twenty miles below the point where the Yukon crosses the boundary, is Eagle,
Alaska, where the United States customs and immigration officers are stationed
and where persons traveling down stream must subject themselves and their effects
to the scrutiny of American officers. Twenty miles further along, the Seventymile
Creek comes in from the northwest. Here is perhaps as good a point as any to
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
explain the manner in which these "mile" rivers got their names. Fortymile and Sixtymile rivers were 40 and 60 miles, respectively, from Harper and McQues– ten's well-known trading post at Fort Reliance; but that rule does not apply to Seventymile, which is measured from Fortymile!
From Eagle to Circle, about 180 miles, the river describes a giant letter
S, sprawling to northwestward. Eagle lies but a few miles west of 141° W. long–
itude, in latitude 64° 45′ N.; while Circle is almost on the 144th meridian and
in latitude 64° 45′ N. It received its name through the erroneous belief of
its founder, Arthur Harper, that it was on the Arctic Circle. From Eagle to
Circle, the river, running swiftly without obstruction, winds among high moun–
tains, where it presents a panorama of changing vistas, each seeming more en–
chanting than the last. A short distance above Circle, the mountains begin to
recede, first on the left bank and then on the right, as the famous Yukon Flats
are approached. Beginning at Circle, they continue for 200 miles, when not even
a hill will
^
^
be seen while the river winds and twists through a country as flat
as the sea. Freed from the restraint of mountains that have hemmed it since it
began, the river now follows a meandering course, from 10 to 15 and even 20 miles
between banks, studded by islands of all sizes and shapes. From day to day, even
from hour to hour, the navigable channels shift, a perpetual challenge to the
navigator. There are no landmarks; all is monotony, with nothing to break the
endless vista of spruce-forested plain.
The Arctic Circle crosses about midway
^
t
^
hrough this area; and it is at this
point that the river, hitherto flowing mainly northwesterly, makes its great bend
and thenceforth flows in a general southwesterly direction. At the exact point
^
of the
^
elbow, the third of the Yukon's great tributary sources, the Porcupine,
enters from the east, flowing down a valley that would seem to be more suited to
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
the Yukon than its actual valley. Aside from the Porcupine, the principal tributary which the Yukon receives in the Flats section is the Chandalar, which enters from the northwest not far below the mouth of the P ro ^ or ^ cupine, while the Yukon, for the moment, runs due west before beginning its long southwesterly stretch.
The Flats section ends as abruptly as it begins; no outliers or foothills
hera
dl
^
ld
^
the transition. Ahead, a mountain chain cuts off the view, and then a
narrow gap appears toward which the river rushes headlong, soon to pour through
the Lower Ramparts. In this 100-mile stretch, there are no true ca
^
ñ
^
ons; the
course is a succession of rocky gorges, although the river is still from a mile
to 3 miles wide. The grandeur of the Upper Ramparts is duplicated in vista
after vista of towering cliffs. Then, as the Yukon receives, in latitude 65° N.,
longitude 152° W., one of its greatest tributaries, the Tanana, coming in from
the southeast, the Lower Ramparts section suddenly comes to an end.
Since the Tanana flows for a long distance parallel to the Yukon, at no
great distance south of it, tributaries coming into the latter from that direc–
tion are necessarily short, and for the most part inconsequential. On the north
side they are longer, but in the whole stretch between the end of the Flats
and the mouth of the Tanana no very important rivers are received, the Ray be–
ing perhaps the most important. Below the mouth of the Ray, the Yukon follows
a very tortuous course, as it winds its way through successive valleys opening
ahead of it, not generally lying in the same direction.
Below the mouth of the Tanana, the Yukon is a huge river, flowing swiftly,
as it generally does, but not so confined by mountains as in the previous stretch;
in fact, the mountains on the south soon fade entirely away, leaving an endless
vista of spruce-clad plain. The town of Tanana, just below the confluence, is
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
one of the most important on the river, its importance increased by the loca– tion nearby of the U. S. military post of Fort Gibbon. Ten miles below the mouth of the Tanana, the Tozitna comes in from the north and then no river of size is encountered till the Melozitna, a much larger stream, also coming in from the north, enters a few miles below the settlement of Kokrines, where there is a Roman Catholic mission and the usual trading posts, and just above the town of Ruby, the most important point below Fort Yukon.
Here the river, wide and swift, hugs the right bank, which is flanked
by high mountains, and presents many charming aspects. At Louden, 35 miles
below Ruby, the river, hitherto following a generally southwesterly course, is
sharply deflected to the northwest, and shortly after passes out of the mountains
into a lowland reminiscent of the Yukon Flats. This is an intimation that the
mouth of the Kuyokuk is approaching; soon its broad valley opens out and its
huge torrent pours into the Yukon, here widely distended.
Nulato, first established in 1838, and consequently of considerable inter–
est historically, is 20 miles below the mouth of the Kuyokuk. But before Nul–
ato is reached, the Yukon, a short distance beyond the mouth of the Kuyokuk,
turns steeply southward and continues in this general direction until it takes
its final turn and empties into the sea. It is now much wider, with many islands
and parallel lagoons. At Kaltag, 40 miles below Nulato, the mountains are still
visible on the right, but the interminable forest stretches off to the left.
Here the river flows parallel to the coast which is less than 100 miles to the
westward; and at Kaltag a portage trail leads across the intervening strip of
territory to Unalakleet, a distance of about 90 miles. Fifty miles below Kaltag,
an arm of the Yukon detaches itself and continues an independent course parallel
to the main stream for a distance of 125 miles. This is known as the Changeluk
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
Slough and receives in its meandering course the fairly large Innoko River, which joins it from the northeast. Anvik, 40 miles below the beginning of this slough, on the opposite side of the Yukon, is picturesquely situated at the foot of a wooded slope, at the junction of the Anvik River with the Yukon. Forty miles farther on is Holy Cross, a Roman Catholic mission center that has been established for many years and is one of the more important points on the river.
Next below is the Russian mission, once a place of importance; but in re–
cent years the Russians have slackened in their evangelical zeal and the mission
has declined in consequence. Here it is possible to portage across to the Kusko–
kwim River, not more than 30 miles distant in a direct line, but about 60 by
trail. From Holy Cross the river has followed an almost westerly course, but
shortly below the Russian mission it reaches its most southerly point in lati–
tude 61° 44′N., and then turns westward, northwestward and finally, at Andreafsky,
almost northward. It is now very wide and the imminence of the delta is appar–
ent. Mountains have long since been left behind, as has the forest. The view
is of low landscape, stretching endlessly in every direction, with the river
spread out in the foreground. The tide flows upstream for about 125 miles;
many islands, above water at one stage of the tide, are submerged at others.
The Yukon reaches the sea by five main channels, the Aphoon, the most
northerly one, through which most of the traffic passes, especially if it is
destined for St. Michael, the Okwega, the Ewikpak, the Kwishluak and the Kwem–
eluk. The delta, which extends north and south about 50 miles, is covered with
a dense growth of bushes, shrubs and rank grasses, one of the greatest breeding–
grounds for wildfowl in North America.
History
. Actual exploration of the Yukon began only in the early 1830's,
although Alexander Mackenzie, the discoverer of the great river which bears his
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
name, first heard of it in the east in 1789. In the west, Russian traders from the Aleutians and Kamchatka probably knew of its existence at the time of the Baranov Administration of the Russian American colonies, i.e., during the first two decades of the 19th century. Russian expeditions to Norton Sound, undertaken between 1822-24, neglected to chart the Yukon and Kuskokwim deltas; nevertheless, their location and extent must have been fairly well known, for the date coincides with the division of Russian Alaska into districts, at which time the basins of both the Yukon and Kuskokwim were officially apportioned to the St. Michael District. The Yukon was then called the Kvichpak, which is merely a corruption of the Eskimo name for "great river."
According to Zagoskin (see below), Andrei Glazunov, a creole and native
of the colonies, first surveyed the Yukon delta in 1832, naming several of its
larger native settlements. In December 1833, Glazunov again pushed in the dir–
ection of the Yukon, this time heading an inland expedition charged with finding
an overland communication between Norton Sound and Cook Inlet. Proceeding from
St. Michael, where the Tebenkov Expedition had just established a redoubt and
trading post, he crossed the narrow strip of territory to the head of the Anvik;
he traversed the river's upper part and the following year descended the Yukon
on his way to the Kuskokwim. A year later, while revisiting the lower Yukon,
he established a small trading post at Ikogmut, which was destroyed in a native
uprising in 1839. In 1838, Malakhov built the first blockhouse at Nulato, at
the confluence of the river of that name and the Yukon. He later ascended the
Yukon to a point about midway between the mouths of the Koyukuk and the Malozitna,
thence returning to the coast by boat. Nulato, too, was destroyed in 1839, but
rebuilt in 1840 and subsequently left in charge of the Russian trader V. Derz–
havin. In 1843 the place was expanded into a fort by Lieutenant L. A. Zagoskin
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
(q.v.), who was then head of a Russian surveying expedition to the Yukon and Kuskokwim valleys. Zagoskin, who had left St. Michael in December 1842, reach– ed Nulato with dog teams the following January. Later that year he explored the Koyukuk as far as the mouth of the Kateel River, and the Yukon as far as the mouth of the Novitna. From here he descended the Yukon to Ikegmiut, thence crossing the divide to the middle Kuskokwim.
For a considerable time, the Yukon was called the Kvichpak in its lower,
and the Yukon in its upper reaches, without the people at either point knowing
that it was the same river. The name Yukon, which is the Indian term for "great
river," was first applied by a white man in 1846, when John Bell of the Hudson's
Bay Company descended the river that now bears his name, continuing down the
Porcupine to the Yukon. The following year, A. H. Murray, also of the Hudson's
Bay Company, established Fort Yukon, Although this fort was 80 miles within
Russian territory, traders of the two countries apparently did not come into
conflict; indeed, for many years, they knew very little of each other's opera–
tions. In 1863, however, I. S. Lukeen, of the Russian American Company, (the
Russian counterpart of the Hudson's Bay Company,) ascended the river from Nulato
to Fort Yukon in an effort to gain what information he could of the British
trespassers. Nothing very definite came of this excursion, however; the Hudson's
Bay Company continued in possession of Fort Yukon until after the United States
came into possession of Alaska.
One reason for this may have been that up to that time no survey had been
made to determine the exact location of the boundary; but, in 1869, two years
after the United States had acquired Alaska, Captain Charles W. Raymond, Corps
of Engineers, United States Army, made an astronomical survey which proved that
the post was indeed in United States territory. Rampart House, 138 miles up the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
Porcupine, was then built to replace Fort Yukon; but fearing that it, too, was within United States territory, a new post was built 12 miles farther up the river, and the buildings at the first point were burned.
In the meantime, the Yukon River had been reached at another point. In
1840, Robert Campbell, an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, was instructed
by Sir George Simpson, Governor of Rupert's Land, to explore the upper Liard
with a view to discovering a river flowing westward thatmight prove to be a link
in the long-sought Northwest Passage. Accordingly, Campbell ascended the Liard
to its confluence with a river coming in from the north. This he named Frances
after Lady Simpson, and continued up the stream till he reached its source in
a fairly large bifurcated lake, which he likewise named after the governor's
lady. He continued northwestward up a river which ended in a lake 10 miles
long, both of which he named after Duncan Finlays on, Chief Factor of the com–
pany. This lake seemed to be about on the height of land between the area which
drained southward and that which he expected would drain to the north or north–
west. Proceeding overland, he reached a stream flowing northwestward, which he
named after Sir John Pelly, governor of his company. Campbell built a fort at
the point on the Pelly where he had first encountered it, which he named Pelly
Banks, and later descended the river in a birch bark canoe until, about 300 miles
downstream, he came to its confluence with another large stream coming from the
southeast. This he named the Lewes, after John
^
Lee
^
Lewes, another Chief Factor of
the company; and in 1848 he built a fort at the junction, which he called Fort
Selkirk. It was a flourishing post until destroyed by Indians in 1852, after
which it was not rebuilt.
When the attempt to lay a telegraphic cable across the Atlantic failed in
1858, a plan was devised to build an overland line from the Pacific coast of the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
United States northward through the then colony of British Columbia into what later became Yukon Territory, across Alaska, then an outpost of the Russian Empire controlled by the Russian American Company, to Bering Strait, where a short cable would connect with the mainland of Asia, thence across Siberia to European Russia. A company was formed in the United States to undertake the project. Robert Kennicott, Curator of the Museum of Natural History of North– western University, who was appointed chief of explorations, set up his head– quarters at Unalakleet and Nulato, in Alaska, near the mouth of the Yukon River (then known as the Kwikpak). Kennicott died suddenly before his work had well started; and when the Atlantic cable was successfully laid in 1866, the over– land scheme was abandoned. Word of this, however, did not reach Alaska until the following year, and in the interval some exploration had been done and cer– tain sections of the line actually constructed in British Columbia. Explora– tions on the lower Yukon by Kennicott's associates were included in this, while others working from the south also did some exploring about the headwaters of the river. (For further details see ^ — — ^
In 1887, Dr. George M. Dawson, Assistant Director of the Geological Survey
of Canada, headed an expedition which conducted the first reconnaissance surveys
of the principal rivers that go to form the upper Yukon. His party began its
work at the mouth of the Stikine River, ascending that stream to the divide
separating its valley from the Arctic watershed near Dease Lake, thence down
Dease Lake and Dease River to the Liard. There the party divided, Dawson him–
self proceeding at the head of a party up the Liard to the Frances, and thence,
following Campbell's route of 47 years before, to the upper waters of the Pelly,
which is reached in latitude 61° 48′ 52″ N., and longitude 131° 01′ 06″ W., not
far from where Robert Campbell had first sighted it. He descended the Pelly to
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
the confluence with the Lewes and from there ascended the latter to its source in Lake Lindeman and then went out by way of Lynn Canal. R. G. McConnell, with two men, went down the Liard to the Mackenzie, and after wintering at Fort Providence descended the Mackenzie to the Po [: ] l. From there he crossed the divide to the Porcupine, paddled down that river to the Yukon, and up the latter to the headwaters of the Lewes, also going out by way of Lynn Canal.
For some time a difference of opinion existed as to whether the Pelly or
the Lewes was entitled to be considered the principal fork. Generally, however,
the Lewes has come to be recognized as the more important, and for a while its
source was taken as the head of the Yukon. Later explorations, however, have
established the Nisutlin River as entitled to that distinction. It rises in
Nisutlin Lake, which lies on the 132nd meridian, just north of latitude 61° N.
Probably next to its navigability, the most significant feature of the
Yukon and its tributaries is that in their gravels and sands placer gold has
been found in such quantities. Robert Campbell and his associates discovered
gold on bars of the river as early as 1850, but it was not till 1872 that pros–
pectors seriously undertook the search. In 1885, mining began on the Stewart,
and the next year gold was discovered on Fortymile Creek, and many of those for–
merly working on the Stewart and other streams flocked there. Nothing very sen–
sational was discovered, however, until 1896 when George Carmack and two Indians
staked claims on Bonanza Creek — and the great Klondike rush was on.
The Yukon River was the main highway to the goldfields. Many prospectors
and others made the trip down the Mackenzie and over the divide to the Porcupine;
many more went in by Skagway on Lynn Canal, thence over the Chilkoot Pass or the
White Pass to the headwaters of the Lewes on Lake Lindeman or Lake Bennett, and
then down to the goldfields, of which Dawson City, just below the mouth of the
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
Klondike River, was the principal center. Others went by sea to St. Michael, on Norton Sound, Bering Sea, near the mouth of the Yukon, and ascended that stream the 1,400 miles to Dawson.
The first steamer on the river was the
Yukon
, owned by the Alaska Commer–
cial Company, lineal descendant of the Russian American Company. In 1888, four
small wood-burning boats constituted the entire fleet on the Yukon — the
Yukon
,
New Backet
,
Explorer
and
St. Michael:
but after the Klondike strike they multi–
plied enormously. Before the season of 1898 had closed, 32 companies were en–
gaged in transportation on the river, employing 60 steamboats, eight tugs and
20 barges. Of these, the
Susie
,
Hannah
and
Sarah
, operated by the Alaska Commercial
Company, and the
Will H. Isom
, of a competing company, the North American Trans–
portation and Trading Company, were the largest and most luxurious. When the
first flush of the boom began to subside, some of the boats were taken off; and
when the Alaska Railroad was completed to Nenana, all but two on the lower river
ceased their runs. Their rotting carcasses can still be seen along the bank of
the river at Whitehorse or along the shore of Norton Sound at St. Michael.
In 1898-1900, a narrow guage railway, the White Pass & Yukon (q.v.), was
built from Skagway to Whitehorse. A distance of only 111 miles; but in that
short stretch of road three countries or territories are traversed. It begins
in the Territory of Alaska, but within a few miles passes across the border into
the Province of British Columbia and eventually reaches Yukon Territory. After
the completion of this railway, most of the river traffic ceased as far as points
above Whitehorse were concerned. Boats still plied between the end of steel
and Dawson and other points down stream as far as Tanana, but not many were re–
quired. The great days on the river, with which only steamboat days on the
Mississippi can compare, were gone forever.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yukon River
References:
"
Account of the pedestrian journeys in the Russian poss–
sessions in America, by Lt. A. Zagoskin, in 1842-44
."
Translated from the Russian by A. Hotovitsky. MSS. Library
of Congress. E.A. files.
Andrews, C. L.
The Story of Alaska
. Caldwell, Idaho. 1938.
Bancroft, H. H.
History of Alaska
. San Francisco, 1890.
Dawson, George M.
Report on an Exploration in the Yukon District. N.W.T. and
Adjacent Northern Portion of British Columbia
. Geological
Survey of Canada, 1898.
Ogilvie, William
Early Days on the Yukon
. Toronto, 1913.
Schwatka, F.
A Summer in Alaska
. New York, 1891.
Stefansson, V.
Hunters of the Great North
. New York, 1922.
Stewart, Elihu
Down the Mackenzie and Up the Yukon in 1906
. Toronto, 1913.
Stuck, Hudson
Voyages on the Yukon and its Tributaries
. New York, 1917.
"Ueber die Reise und Entdeckungen des Lt. L. S
[:
]
goskin in
Russisch-Amerika." In Archive f.wissensch. Kunde v. Russland.
Vol. VI. Nos. 3 and 4. Berlin, 1847-48.
Wickersham, James
Old Yukon, Tales - Trails - Trials
. Washington, 1938.
Yellowknife River
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
YELLOWKNIFE RIVER
Yellowknife River, Northwest Territories of Canada, drains an area north
of Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie District, south of latitude 64° N. It dis–
charges into Yellowknife Bay
^
m
^
an indentation on the eastern shore of the North
Arm of Great Slave Lake, on the west shore of which the town of Yellowknife
is located. Yellowknife River is only 156 miles long, but since its course
lies almost entirely through the important Yellowknife gold mining region, its
significance is much greater than its length or volume might suggest. Previous
to the discovery of gold in its vicinity, it was notable chiefly as providing
the lower end of a canoe route from Great Slave Lake to the Coppermine River.
Typical of streams traversing the Canadian Shield, it is tortuous and broken
by innumerable rapids and falls, consisting chiefly of a succession of lakes
and lake-like expansions.
Yellowknife River rises a short distance north of latitude 64° N., in
longitude 113° 36′ W., in Porphyry Lake, the first of the usual series of small
lakes to merit a name, but it first takes on the appearance of a river by the
time it reaches Reindeer Lake, lying in a northeast-southwest direction. The
stream between Reindeer Lake and the next below, called Upper Carp Lake, is
broken by the usual rapids, both at the outlet of Reindeer Lake and the entrance
to Upper Carp Lake. The latter is about 10 miles long and continues in the
same direction as the stream and lakes above. The short stretch of river be–
tween the Upper and Lower Carp lakes is filled with rapids. Lower Carp Lake,
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife River
smaller than its mate above, lies in a generally east and west direction; its shores, like those of Upper Carp Lake, are indented and irregular. At the western end of Lower Carp Lake, the river turns abruptly southward, flow– ing through moderately-high banks, clothed with spruce, poplars and birch. It is now about 100 yards wide, and runs with a swift current, broken by numerous rapids. This stretch of about 15 miles is uninterrupted by lakes and toward its end the river swings slightly to the west to enter a small lake cut by longitude 114° W., and then turns to the southwest into a series of small lakes. The river at this point describes a large semi-circle, bending toward the east; and from point to point of this semi-circle, like the string to a bow, runs a chain of 9 small lakes, which persons traveling up or down the river follow in order to avoid the falls on the main stream. At the end of this circuit, the river flows through a small lake and then turns southward, continuing in that direction for 3 miles before entering the northern end of Fishing Lake, which lies in a north-and-south direction. Fishing Lake, like most of the others, is merely a somewhat broad expansion of the river; at its foot another rapid occurs, followed shortly by three additional rapids. The river then enters Rocky Lake, between which and the next lake-expansion five rapids occur.
The river in this stretch flows approximately southward, with few insig–
nificant deviations. Below Grassy Lake, the river falls over a rocky ridge
cutting across its course, and then breaks over three rapids where other ridges
of gneiss cross the stream. Below the next lake, the river turns sharply to
the east for half a mile, dropping over a rapid, and then turns southward again
into a small lake. Upon emerging from this lake, the river flows over a series
of four rapids and then enters Prosperous Lake, which is about 6 miles long,
with a large island occupying its middle portion. Where the river leaves Pros-
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife River
perous Lake, another rapids occurs, the last one on the stream. From the south– western angle of Prosperous Lake, Yellowknife River flows southwestward into the head of Yellowknife Bay. At Prosperous Lake a hydro-electric plant for the generation of power for the town of Yellowknife and nearby mines has been established. It has been supplemented by a more extensive installation on Snare River, about 90 miles to the northwest.
Yellowknife River received its name from that of the Indians living along
its course, who were found by the first visitors to the region to possess copper
knives made from metal secured on the Coppermine River. Yellowknife River was
first explored by Captain (later Sir) John Franklin in 1820, who with his party
ascended it by canoe from Great Slave Lake to its headwaters. Franklin establish–
ed his camp, called Fort Enterprise, at Winter Lake, a short distance north of
the headwaters of Yellowknife River, where his party spent the winter of 1820–
21, and where he and the survivors of the party starved the following winter.
The names which most of the lakes and other river features still bear were given
to them by Franklin, and his map and description of the river were the only ones
available until the discovery of gold in the Yellowknife area caused the whole
region to be mapped and surveyed in detail. In this latter work, several members
of the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada have been engaged at intervals
since the first gold discoveries were made in about 1934.
References:
Franklin, John
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in
the Years 1819-20-21-22
. London, 1823.
Jolliffe, A. W.
Preliminary Report, Yellowknife River Area, Northwest
Territories.
Geological Survey of Canada; Paper 36-5, 1936.
----.
Quyta Lake and Parts of Fishing Lake and Prosperous Lakes
Areas, Northwest Territories
. Geological Survey of Canada,
Paper 40-14, 1940.
Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
EA-Geography: Canada (D. M. LeBourdais)
YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T., CANADA
Yellowknife, typical of the new towns that gold-mining is producing along
the northern frontier of Canada, is both the farthest north and the fastest
growing. It is situated on the western shore of Yellowknife Bay, an inlet on
the eastern side of the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, in the District of Mack–
enzie, Northwest Territories of Canada. In 1947, it had a population of between
3,000 and 4,000, but this was limited by lack of housing and other restrictions.
The name is derived from that applied to the Indians in the vicinity of Great
Slave Lake by Samuel Hearne when he passed that way in 1771 on his trip to the
Coppermine River and noticed that the Indians carried weapons and used implements
of native copper.
The mineral possibilities of the Yellowknife area, like many others, were
first suggested by reports of the Geological Survey of Canada. In fact, a member
of the Survey, working there in 1935, actually discovered gold, word of which
was passed on to prospectors searching in the neighborhood. A mild boom occurred
that year; in 1936, about 600 claims were staked; and, with slight cessation dur–
ing the war years, staking has been continuous ever since. In 1945 alone, 9,481
claims were registered at the official recording office.
In the Northwest Territories each prospector may stake six claims, each
not greater than fifteen hundred feet square, and twelve additional claims, six
each for two other persons. Actual mining work to the value of not less than
$100 a year for five years must be done on each claim before clear title can be
secured.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
Since the Yellowknife area is a long way from sources of supplies and
equipment, a mining prospect would need to be more than exceptionally prom–
ising to have a fair chance of attracting capital for development. Ore that
was profitable if near the settled sections might be quite unprofitable in
the Yellowknife field. Therefore prospecting in the region is not a "poor
man's proposition." Lode mining is not like placer mining, for example, when,
as in the Klondike, gold dust or nuggets may be washed from gravel beds near
the surface, requiring in many cases only a minimum of equipment.
Until recently, when a Canadian prospector found a vein or other mineral–
ized structure which, when samples were assayed, indicated ore that might be
mined at a profit, he usually approached a mining broker in one of the larger
cities, more often Montreal or Toronto, to secure capital for development.
When the broker had assured himself that the prospects for profitable opera–
tion were such as to justify the expenditure of the large amounts needed for
development, he would probably propose the formation of a company having an
authorized capital of, say, 3,000,000 shares of one dollar par value. Of these
shares, as payment for the prospector's claims, the broker and prospector would
perhaps receive one-third. These, called "vendors' shares," would be divided,
on some basis agreed upon, between broker and prospector (who might have to
divide his shares with a partner or "grubstaker"). Quite often vendors' shares
are pooled until the remaining shares, known as "treasury shares" have been
sold, sometimes even until the mine is brought into production.
The broker then undertakes to sell the treasury stock to the public to
raise money for development. In some cases the fir
^
st
^
issu
^
e
^
might be put on the
market at a relatively low price, and the money thus raised devoted to prospect–
ing with diamond drills. If the drills confirmed expectations and disclosed
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
the presence of sufficiently large bodies of profitable ore, later issues would be put out at higher prices. The next step would be the sinking of a shaft from which to run tunnels underground at various levels along the vein or veins. If this further confirmed expectations, a mill would be put on the property to extract the gold from the ore. It would probably have a capacity of not more than 100 tons a day at first, but this would be increased if and when sufficient ore was blocked out to justify the increase. A large mine might eventually reach a capacity of from 1,000 tons upward.
The lifetime of a mine has a theoretical limit, and the most successful
companies prefer to have more than one mine upon which to depend. Forward-looking
companies therefore set aside cash reserves out of which, when the time comes,
additional properties may be secured; and a considerable number of Canadian
mining companies have in t
^
h
^
is way extended their operations far beyond their
initial venture, thus becoming huge holding companies in addition. The largest
of these is The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited, con–
trolled by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which owns the famous Sullivan mine at
Kimberley, B.C., the largest lead-zinc mine in the world, and the great smelter
at Trail, B.C. It also owns other mines or mining interests in practically every
mining section of Canada. Others in this class are Hollinger Consolidated Mines
Limited, whose principal mine is at Timmins, Ontario, but which, like Consoli–
dated Mines and Smelting, is interested in many other mining ventures, Dome Ex–
ploration (Canada) Limited, a subsidiary of Dome Mines Limited, also operating
its main mine at Timmins, and Noranda Mines, Limited, at Noranda, Quebec.
In addition to these are what might be termed mining investment companies
not necessarily identified with any particular mine, but interested in many dif–
ferent mining enterprises. In some cases they operate mines; in others, they
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
supply a large part of the capital, but have no hand in the operation. Typical of these is Ventures Limited, The Mining Corporation of Canada Limited, and many similar ones.
Consequently when a prospector now has what he considers a favorable show–
ing he often does not go to a broker at all but approaches one of these large
companies. The course then followed might be similar to that of a broker, but
more often the company puts its own money into the enterprise. Perhaps several
large companies will join in the development of a particular property. Sometimes
an issue of stock is put out to provide part of the money, but this is usually
after a certain amount of development work has been done and some of the spec–
ulative element has been eliminated. Most of the companies of this type have
their own corps of engineers and other experts.
Thus it was that when the first strikes were made at Yellowknife, representa–
tives of these companies were not far away; and, in view of the large sums need–
ed for development in that region, it was perhaps natural that they should soon
have taken the lead in development. Many others, with less capital behind them,
were also interested in the field, of course, and shares have been widely sold;
but it was the mines owned by large companies that reached production first.
Thus the first gold brick was poured in 1938 at the Con, owned by the Consilidated
Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited; and of the five producing com–
panies in the field at the outbreak of war in 1939, t
^
hree
^
were owned by this
company. These five mines had produced a total of $14,000,000 in gold when the
manpower shortage, scarcity of equipment and other restrictions of wartime forced
them, one after the other, to suspend milling operations.
It was due to the efforts of still another large-scale mining concern that
Yellowknife received its greatest push forward. In 1944, diamond drilling at
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
Giant Yellowknife Gold Mines Limited, controlled by Frobisher, Limited, a subsidiary of Ventures Limited, proved the existence of huge orebodies running high in gold, and also confirmed what had previously been but a geo ^ logical ^ theory concerning the nature of the geological structure and its possibilities from a gold mining standpoint. From that date big things have been expected of Yellow– knife, which time has fulfilled rather than otherwise.
In addition to the large orebodies and high values found in the immediate
vicinity of Yellowknife, the importance of the district is further indicated
by the fact that properties promising large production have been located and
are being developed beyond Indin Lake, about 150 miles north of Yellowknife
town, northeastward in the vicinity of MacKay and Courageous lakes, and east–
ward along Hearne Channel of Great Slave Lake. Within 75 miles of Yellowknife,
much development is under way in the Thompson Lake, Gordon Lake, and Beaulieu
River areas. By 1947, over 200 companies had been incorporated to hold or de–
velop properties in the district, while about 70 were actively engaged in de–
velopment work of some sort, with new ones continually getting under way.
Because Yellowknife is located in the Northwest Territories, its affairs
are administered by the Federal government. The governing body is composed
of a commissioner, a deputy commissioner, and a council of five members, all
senior civil servants at Ottawa, responsible to the Minister of Mines and Re–
sources. Jointly with Yukon Territory, it elects one member to the House of
Commons. This arrangement is not fully satisfactory to some of the residents,
and requests have been made for a greater measure of autonomy. Some have sug–
gested that the District of Mackenzie should be organized as a province. On
the other hand, many residents appreciate the fact that, with the Federal treas–
ury behind their community they stand a better chance of securing capital and
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
other expenditures than they would if they were on their own. This view is supported by substantial evidence; in 1946 alone, the government spent $20,000,000 directly or indirectly on behalf of Yellowknife. A certain amount of autonomy is allowed in respect to many matters of purely local concern. These are dealt with by a board of six trustees, three elected by the townspeople at large, and three nominated by the mining companies located in the vicinity of the town.
Yellowknife, typical of mushroom mining towns, grew up as a jumble of shacks
on a nobby tongue of land projecting into the bay and overflowing onto adjacent
Jolliffe and Latham islands. Suck a situation was plainly inadequate for the
city that was obviously in the making, and in 1945 the Federal government sur–
veyed a new townsite on a sandy plain about a mile and a half back of the orig–
inal one where there is room for expansion and where the soil is deep enough to
allow of water and sewerage pipes being put underground. The government under–
took to spend $1,000,000 on the water and sewerage system.
Lots in the townsite cannot be bought outright, but are leased from the
Federal government at a nominal rental. Leases run for five years and can be
renewed in perpetuity. A number of substantial buildings have been erected on
the new townsite, including a hospital, costing about $250,000 (financed joint–
ly by the Federal government, the Canadian Red Cross and a number of the large
mining companies), an up-to-date hotel, and a Federal administration building.
Canadian banks keep closely in touch with mining development, and their
interest in a new region is often a good index of its importance. The Canadian
Bank of Commerce was the first to establish a branch in Yellowknife, which it
did in 1938. In 1944, following the sensational results of the Giant Yellow–
knife drilling, the Bank of Toronto and the Imperial Bank of Canada both rushed
in with branches, the latter having to be content with quarters in a pool-room.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
The first hydro-electric power was supplied by an installation at Pros–
perous Lake, on Yellowknife River, about 12 miles from the town, which provided
about 4,700 horse power. This was installed by The Consolidated Mining and
Smelting Company of Canada Limited to supply power for its own properties, but
some was supplied to others needing it. This has since been augmented by a
more extensive development on Snare River at Big Spruce Lake, about 80 miles
north of the town. The initial unit was designed to provide 8,000 horse power,
but the project is planned to develop ultimately 25,000 to 30,000 horse power.
This was financed by the Federal government, which will supply power at a yearly
charge of $95 a horse power.
Yellowknife can be reached by air from Edmonton, Alberta, 600 miles; by
water from waterways (275 miles from Edmonton by rail), 607 miles; and, in
winter, by tractor-train from Grimshaw (333 miles from Edmonton), a station
on the Northern Alberta Railway, 452 miles. At the time of writing, an all-the–
year highway is under construction from Grimshaw to Hay River Post, on the south
side of the Mackenzie River, just below where it leaves Great Slave Lake. The
Federal government is sharing with the Province of Alberta the cost of construc–
tion of the 247 miles within the province, and is assuming the whole cost of
the 80 miles beyond the provincial boundary.
The remaining 125 miles to Yellowknife is by boat in summer and by cater–
pillar-tractor train — sometimes consisting of as many as forty sleds behind
one tractor — over the ice in winter. Previous to the completion of the all–
weather road, the distance from Grimshaw to Hay River in winter was usually
made in 24 hours; but, due to pressure ridges on the lake ice, the remaining
distance to Yellowknife often took as long as six days. The freight rate from
Grimshaw to Yellowknife was 6-3/4 cents a pound in quantities of 100 tons or
more, and 7-1/2 cents for lesser consignments.
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada
Canadian Pacific Airways operates a fleet of 14-passenger Lodestar planes
on regular daily schedules between Edmonton and Yellowknife, carrying passengers,
express and freight, as well as supplying local service to and from outlying
mines by Norseman planes.
The water route from Waterways to Yellowknife is interrupted only once —
at the rapids, 16 miles in length, between Fitzgerald and Fort Smith. A good
road has been built over the portage and motorized equipment is provided to
transport passengers and freight. Good boat service, both above and below the
portage, is supplied by the Northern Transportation Company, a subsidiary of
the government-owned Eldorado Mining and Refining (1944) Limited, and by the
Hudson's Bay Company, as well as by a number of smaller concerns.
Although many other minerals are found in the region about Great Slave
Lake, gold is the only one (except uranium) that can yet be profitably mined,
and thus, as far as can be seen, the fate of Yellowknife is bound up with the
fortunes of gold. Even though much of the ore
[:
]
so far discovered is relatively
rich, it is unlikely that the area would have been able to attract the necessary
capital if gold had remained at the old price of $20.67 an ounce; and if the
price should advance further, the future of Yellowknife and adjacent country
would to that extent be more assured.
Eventually, rail connection with the rest of Canada must be provided; and
when that time comes mining costs should be greatly reduced, the profits of
established mines considerably increased, and many marginal mines brought into
production. This would also make possible the development of copper, lead and
other base metal mines that today cannot meet high transportation costs. In
Northern Ontario, thirty years ago, rich silver deposits at Cobalt provided
much of the intial capital for the development of gold mines in the Porcupine
area, and these in time more than counterbalanced the eventual decline in silver
EA-Geography: Canada. LeBourdais: Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada.
production. Indeed, surpluses from mines in Porcupine are now being used to develop mines at Yellowknife. It is therefore quite possible that profits accumulated by the gold mines of Yellowknife and other relatively inaccessible regions may eventually be available for the exploitation of metals like copper, lead and zinc perhaps more economically necessary than gold itself. And if gold should ever cease to hold its present place as the basis of monetary values, another industry would be established to support the outposts of civilization that gold is now creating in the Canadian north; for, after all, the Pre-Cambrian Shield, on whose western edge Yellowknife is located, is one of the richest of the world's mineral storehouses.Loading...