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 KEt'KINTKD hHOM 
 
 Thf Ottawa Natiralist, Vol. XV, No. i. pp. 17 jt, 
 
 April, iqoi, Ottawa, Canailii. 
 
 ANCIENT CHANNELS OF THE OTTAWA RIVER. 
 
 I!. W Ei.i.s 1.]..])., K.It.s.f. 
 

 
 
 ^^> 
 
 ^^ ; \^^,, c.r< 
 
 J>>-»- au^i^ r/u„,i./j ' 
 
 %m^K 
 
 M4P OF THE 0Tr**4 n 
 
 PR ESEN' T AND PR£-S|_ 
 
THE CTTttt BivEB „,,,, 
 
 pre-glaC'al channels 
 
gQi] Elu — Anciint Channils. IT 
 
 ANCIKNT CHANNELS OF THE OTTAWA RIVER. 
 
 By R. W ■•■.l.l.B, S.I..I)., F.R.SC 
 Th« OlUwa miiy well be regarded as oni jf the ureal historic 
 rivers cf Canada. "or hundreds ol years it formed the lavourite 
 means nf communicMtion between the Indian tribes nf the west and 
 those ol the east. Ii was ascended by Champlain in i(< . At 
 that early date he crossed the height of land at Lake '..|> hhRi 
 and was presumably the first white man to gaze upo. ' - vast 
 expaits** of our inland seas. 
 
 F- iwing the advent of this great explorer, this river became 
 the chosen route of the voyageurs on their way inland to the great 
 unexplored conntry of the western plains. On the coming of the 
 Hudion Bay Cci.ipany i formed the ,,rincipal channel for carrying 
 on their immense business, their brigades of boats and canoca 
 passing year by year, irrying eastward the annual harvest of furs 
 and bearing westw into the wilds of our vast interior the 
 various kinds of merchandise suitable to the trade with the 
 savages of the great west. I iter, by means of steamhoat.s on 
 the deep stretches and by portagef round the falls and heavy 
 rapids, it formed the chief means o' immunication between the 
 east and the numerous settlers wi were scattered along its 
 route. 
 
 The river itself is of very ancient date. When the continent 
 was young, its valley was outlined, and for countless centuties the 
 drainage of a large part of eastern and northern America followed 
 approximately the present course. In support of this statement it 
 may be said that along the present channel of the stream, ex- 
 tensive deposits of the oldest Pala'ozoic formations ot this part of 
 Canada are found, ranging from the base of the Pl tsdam sandstone 
 upward into the Silurian, comprising many hundreds of feet of 
 strata, the greater portion ol which, over many thousands of 
 square miles, has long since been removed by the various pro- 
 cesses ot denudatfon. 
 
 The finding of these formations at many poir's in the bed 
 of the present channel shews that, before they were deposited, the 
 granite and gneiss hills were formed and the principal river channels 
 
i8 
 
 The Ottawa Natuhalist. 
 
 [April 
 
 were excavated. The general course of the river must h»v. h 
 
 .htttrr ™:^ """ '" ''' -'''' histor,::::ro js :: 
 
 these ,na> „i some cases be readily seen. 
 
 The distance from Muntreal on the St. Lawrence River to 
 
 part between the junct.on ol the Ottawa and the St lJ 
 rence at Ste. .Anne and the mouth of the Mat.awa is .86 m^'leT 
 Th,s portion of the river has nn almost direct course „f flf 
 
 ■several places. Thus ,n the lower hundred miles it sweeps south 
 war around the great mass of the crystalline rocks from' . p^int 
 a few mtles above the cty of Ottawa down to the mouth of the 
 R.ver Rouge, south of which to the St. Lawrence t^e face of 
 
 o ks ;t;;'.r™r""r' '"" °'''"''' ^"^ •"= most pat b/ 
 
 Td :,; """"""^ '''™""'°"^ "' ">■ ^--' -e- of drift sand 
 
 The portion of the river above the .Mattaw-a may he divided 
 n.o two part. From the source of the stream, wWch lie ear 
 he heads of the Gatineau and the west branch of the St. M lu ice 
 .t pursues a course a little south of west, with several large ."kj 
 expa„s,onsand arge bends, for about .50 miles, to the head of 
 
 chanJ'^r""'"^-- "'" "^ ''''"'"" °f '"^ -er abtlly 
 changes. Tem.scammg Lake is about sixty-one miles in len«h 
 w,th a w.,dth diminishing from some six mils at tl no then ' nj 
 to only a few hundred yards at the southern extrem ty The 
 general course of the lake and the connecting stretch of riveJ o 
 the forks of the Mattawa, which is some thirty.five mileslow r 
 down, IS thtrty degrees east of south 
 
 The drainage basin of the Ottawa is not less than 60 000 
 square m es, On the south the height of land ranges rom^'?:: 
 
 ::d:;^:;tir™--^'"^^^^^^^^ 
 
 suie, the channels of which form deep furrows in the ar^a Thich 
 
 thev now traverse The most ^., , 1 , " '""^ ""^e-* which 
 
 ine most e.i.-slcrly on the south side is the 
 
 i I ^ /> ,*- 
 
igol] 
 
 Ells — Ancient Channels./ 
 
 South Nation which rises near the St. Lawrence not far from the 
 town of Brockvllle, and after a somewhat tortuous course of lOo 
 miles reaches the Ottawa about forty miles east of Ottawa city. 
 The descent of the river in this distance is not more than loo feet, 
 so that, allowing for the High Falls near Casselman and several 
 rapids between that place and the Ottawa, it will be seen that for 
 the greater part of its course the waters of the South Nation must 
 be comparatively sluggish. 
 
 The elevation of the height of land to the north which divides 
 the waters of the Ottawa from those flowing into James' Bay is 
 rarely more than 1,000 feet above sea-level. Over a large part of 
 this area to the north, embracing many thousands of square miles 
 in this direction, the surface is covered with heavy deposits of sand 
 which overlie thick beds of clay. These deposits extend from the 
 lower Ottawa and the St. Lawrence nearly, or In places quite, to 
 the height of land. In the absence of fossils in these higher clays 
 positive evidence of their marine origin cannot be obtained, but it 
 may be stated that they are continuous northward with those 
 which do contain such orgaiusms, and therefore the assumption 
 may be made that the sea, at some date prior to or at the time of 
 their deposition, had invaded all the northern country to a depth 
 of some hundreds of feet. 
 
 The denudation of the old crystalline rocks, which were the 
 first to appear throughout this area, must have been enormous. 
 How many thousands of feet have thus been removed, cannot be 
 surmised. But along portions of the lower Ottawa, as in the 
 stretch below the Joachims Rapids, known as the Deep River, 
 the present bottom of the channel is now many feet below the sea- 
 level, the surface of the river being about 370 feet above tide, while 
 soundings made several years ago are reported to h.-.ve reached 
 a depth of over 500 feet. 
 
 In Lake Temiscaming also, certain portions have been 
 sounded and show that here the excavation has been very great. 
 At one point a depth of 470 feet was obtained, while the surface of 
 the lake is 591 feet above the sea. There must therefore have 
 been a large amount of denudation throughout this part of the old 
 river basin, though certain parts of this old channel have 
 since been to a certain extent tilled in by glacial deposits. 
 
The Ottawa Naturalist, 
 
 [April 
 
 It is intercstinif to note thnt, as one ascends the Oltawa, the 
 lower beds of the Paliuozoic series fail to appear. Thus, in the 
 lower portion of thi? river and as far west as the foot ol the Chats 
 Falls about thirty -five miles west of Ottawa, the lowest formation of 
 the series, viz., the Potsdam sandstone, rests direetl;' upon the 
 Archffian rocks. This is s'jcceedcd upward by the higher members 
 of the series. But even in early times there must have been heavy 
 breaks and uplifts, since, on the crest of the riage of crystalline 
 rocks which extends eastward from Arnprior lo within a few miles 
 of Ottawa on the smith side of the river, a deposit of the Potsdam 
 sandstone is seen several hundreds of feet above the beds noted 
 near the river bank at Quyon, while a couple of miles further 
 south, this part of the series has been thrown down again by a 
 heavy break, to about the same dist;.nce. 
 
 West of Arnprior the lowest beds seen along the river are of 
 Calciferous age, and these are last observed at the west end of 
 Allumeltc Island, above which no outcrops o( this formation have 
 yet been recognized. 
 
 Further up the river, above the Roche Capitaine, which is 
 thirty six miles below the Mattawa, the lowest beds are of the 
 Chazy formation, while on several of the islands in Lake Nipissing 
 beds of Black River age are found. On .some ol the islands in 
 the northern part of Lake Temiscaming fo.ssiliferous limestones of 
 upper Silurian age occur which are about the horizon of the 
 Niagara formation The Black River beds of Lake Nipissing are 
 at nearly one hundred feet greater elevation than the Niagara beds 
 just mentioned, and about loo feet lower than similar limestones 
 seen in the vicinity of Clear Lake to the south of the Bonnech6re. 
 In all descriptions of the country toward the height of land, 
 north of the Ottawa, the occurrence of great areas of sand has 
 been pointed out. The origin of this sand deposit has never been 
 satisfactorily explained. The material appears to be largely the 
 result of the decomposition, or breaking down to a fine slate, of 
 the underlying granite and gneiss which are the predominating 
 rocks of the area. From the generally level character of the 
 country along this height of land isolated peaks rise to consider- 
 able elevations, though over long distances these are rarely more 
 than low hill features, scarcely exceeding a hundred feet in height, 
 above the general plain. 
 
igoi] 
 
 Ells— Ancient Channels. 
 
 It is scarcely lo be supposed that the decay of the ifranilic 
 rocks alone could give rise to the extensive deposits of clay which 
 spread over so wide an area of the Ottawa valley underlyinsj the 
 sand. These clays are seen at elevations up to the summit of the 
 dividing ridge, at several points reaching a height not far from 
 1,000 leet above the sea. The source of this clay must also be 
 largely conjectural. It may be safely assumed, however, that the 
 amount of denudation throughout the entire area has been some- 
 thing enormous. In the Kastern Townships of Quebec this has 
 been undoubtedly more than 1,000 feet. In the area around 
 Ottawa city it has been lully as much, since at the faulted contact 
 ol the Calciferous and the Utica the upraised beds have been 
 entirely removed and the rocks reduced to a uniform level. It is 
 quite possible that there was at one time a regular succession of 
 the PaliEOZoic formations throughout the Ottawa valley, extending 
 over the whole country both north and south to the present height 
 of land, since even now we find at many widely detached points, 
 patches of the.se rocks which have in some way escaped the 
 denuding agents. It is therefore quite possible that much of the 
 clay throughout the district has been the result of the decomposi- 
 tion of the more recent formations. 
 
 While therefore this grand scheme of denudation has been 
 going forward from the earliest times, this has been supplemented 
 by the agency of ice in the glacial period. How many of these 
 periods of glaciation have been in operation in this area we can 
 not say, but we have distinct evidence of at le.ist three which are 
 presumably the most recent, and the traces of other and earlier 
 ones are probably long since removed. That ice moved over the 
 area in diflereul directions and at different times is shown from 
 the direction of the stria; and groovings now seen on the rock 
 surface. The presence of a third and apparently last set of mark- 
 ings with a western trend seems to indicate that a series of large 
 floating ice-pans moved westward up the Ottawa in a direction 
 almost opposite lo that recorded for the earliest known glacier 
 which would seem to have followed down -the present channel ol 
 
 the river. 
 
 In discussing the history of this valley therefore several 
 periods of upheaval jnd depression must be considered, and .some 
 
The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 [April 
 
 of these musl have affected the surface or crust by a vertical uplift 
 of many hundreds of feet. The amount of the latest recorded 
 movement can be, to some extent, estimated by the present 
 position of certain terraces which occur along the Ottawa a.nd 
 St. Lawrence rivers. These are found at elevations ranging as 
 high as 900 feet above sea-level on the the slopes of the mountains 
 east of Montreal, while on the upper Ottawa and around Lake 
 Nipissing terraces are recorded at even greater heights. Thus 
 high level beaches in the vicinity of North Bay were recorded by 
 Mr. F. B. Taylor* at elevations tf 1100 to 1200 feet and were 
 regarded by him as of marine origin. Along the Ottawa, below 
 Mattawa, Mr. R. Chalmers records beaches and sand terraces at 
 elevations of 1000 feet and more, and further adds "Extensive 
 depo.iils of sand and sills, implying submergence are spread over 
 this part of the country up to a height even greater than that of 
 the beaches referred to which have been described in earlier reports 
 of the Geological Survey as Algoma sands* 
 
 These; sands were formerly supposed to be due to fresh-water 
 agencies, but subsequent investigation has shewn that portions of 
 the deposits thus styled contain marine organism, especially along 
 the Icnver Ottawa, while their .similarity in many respects to those 
 which have been styled Saxic-iva sands in the lower St. Lawrence 
 basin and which are held to be of marine origin, is very remark- 
 able. 
 
 While therefore the Ottawa at some time flowed in a tolerably 
 direct line from the mouth of the Mattawa to the St. Lawrence, 
 certain causas have interposed at different periods to deflect the 
 waters from their original course and to eause them to excavate 
 other and newer channels. In an eviraination of the valley of the 
 river these interruptions will be fouru. at various points. Thus in 
 that portion of the river between the Mattawa and^the head of the 
 Deep River, a distance of fifty-four miles, the channel is fairly 
 straight. Several heavy rapids and falls however occur among 
 which may be mentioned Des Joachims, Roche Capitaine, Deux 
 Rivieres, La Trou, L'Eveillf, &c. 
 
 •Biillolin Clyol. ,Soc. .\ni., \'ol. \', 1S93. 
 *Rep. Geol. Sur. Can.. \'ol. X. p 18 J. 
 
igoi] 
 
 Ells — Ancient Channels. 
 
 '3 
 
 At most of these the banks are hiRh and the river still 
 apparently follows its original course. At the Roche Cipitaine 
 however, and at Des Joachims, secondary channels have been 
 made and the waters diverted. This f-ature is especially well seen at 
 Desjoachims where the present channel of the river is comparatively 
 new and the course of the old channel lies to the north following the 
 depression occupied by McConnell Lake and coming into the 
 present channel at the head of the Deep River, to the north of the 
 village of Des Joachims in a well defined depression, while the 
 shallow nature of the present channel is indicated by the long line 
 of foaming rapids which come in from the south. The difference 
 in elevation between the foot and the head of these rapids is about 
 forty feet. It is probable that at some time in the history of the 
 river, perhaps at the close of the Glacial period, great accumula- 
 tions of sand, gravel and boulders blocked the old channel at a 
 point some three miles above the present foot of the rapids or near 
 the mouth of the Dumoine river, and thus diverted the stream. 
 Possibly the same thing occured at the Roche Capitaine, since 
 here the second channel is seen to the north of the large island in 
 tiie river, this channel being now largely dry at ordinary stages of 
 the water. 
 
 Indications of this blocking of the old course of the Ottawa is 
 seen in the great accumulations of boulders near the village of 
 Mattawa, which represent terraces of morainic origin, modified 
 by the agency of the waters of the river. This evidently had 
 some effect upon the river channel at this place, since Dr. A. E. 
 Barlow in his report on the region says that "a well defined old 
 river-channel occurs running through the rear portion of the 
 village between the main street and the railway station which has 
 evidently been followed by the Mattawa or its antecedent stream. 
 It leaves the Mattawa about a mile above its mouth ar '"aches 
 the Ottawa at the foot of the rapid nearly threequarte. i mile 
 
 below 
 
 .Ibout twenty miles west of Pembroke the river makes 
 a sudden bend to the south at what is known as High View. 
 Just above this on the north side is a bold headland known as 
 Oiseau rock, which rises abruptly from the surface of the stream 
 
 Ri-p. C,e.o\. .Sur. C.i.i. 1897 ^'o'- ^- P- '7**' f'"'' '• 
 
»» 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 [April 
 
 for a height of nearly 500 feet. The southern shore ot the river 
 for several miles above High View is a rocky ridge which divides 
 the Deep River channel from a long chain of lakes which start'; 
 from the south shore ot the Ottawa about ten miles west of High 
 View and cuts across to a point .ibout three miles south of High 
 View point. The surface of the country around this chain of lakes 
 is heavily sand covered and these deposits extend south towards 
 Chalk River. The lakes evidently indicate a former channel 
 of the Ottawa which became choked up b> sand subsequent 
 to the glacial period. 
 
 The shore of the river opposite High View is indented by 
 bays. The north shore ol the main stream east from Oiseau rock 
 continues in a bold range of hill ■ for some miles eastward, and an 
 old channel apparently followed a straight course from the deep 
 bay eastward from High View. This channel evidently became 
 choked up by great deposits of sand and gravel, thus diverting the 
 stream past the east end of what is now known as the township of 
 Buchanan, southward. The old channel thur I'ocked extended 
 across the southern part of the townships of Sheen and Chichester, 
 and probably reached the Culbute channel of the the Ottawa which 
 flows along the north side of Allumette I.sland, below the Culbute 
 Fall. 
 
 On both sides of the river opposite this place and for some 
 miles to the ea.t aid west, the surface is covered with great de- 
 posits of sand and gravel, many feet in depth. In that part of the 
 township of Chichester, north of the village of Chapeau, these sand 
 ridges are well defined, continuing for several miles till they reach 
 the foot ot a bold ridge of granite anj gneiss. n\s ridge is con- 
 tmuous from the foot of Deep River to the mouth of Rouge River 
 about sixty miles below Ottawa city, and at one time undoubtedly 
 formed the the north shore of the Ottawa River for this portion 
 of its original course. 
 
 A great p.-irt of Allumette Island is occupied by these reddish 
 granite sands. They form extensive ridges along the centre of the 
 Island from east to west and they were .it one time doubtless con- 
 tmuous with the broad areas north of the Culbute channel through 
 wh.ch that channel has since been cut. The upper end of this channel 
 for some miles is narrow :■- 4 rocky, but the portion below the 
 
I90i] 
 
 Ells— Ancient Channels. 
 
 Culbute fall is much broader and rocks rarely appear along its 
 course except at the crossing of the road north from Chapais. 
 Below this the shores are of clay or sand till the end of the Island 
 is reached where the Pembroke channel joins the Culbute, flowing- 
 over broad ledges of Black Rivtr limestone, and forming what is 
 known as the Paquette Rapid which is about a fourth of a mile 
 south of the junction of the two channels. 
 
 The Pembroke channel which flows past the south side of. 
 Allumette Island is not deep. At the upper end rapids extend 
 partly across the river and there are many small granite islets. 
 Along the south shore of the river especially above the mouth of 
 the Petewawa the banks are entirely ol sand and in .some places 
 are from fifty to eighty feet high. 
 
 At the town of Pembroke a depression comes to the river 
 from the south and the Musquash River here joins the Ottawa. 
 This stream flows north-west against the regular course of 
 the Ottawa and discharges the Musquash and Mud Lakes the 
 former of which is about ten miles in length. The stream is for 
 tl— most part sluggish, flowing through a clay flat for some miles. 
 On the north side of Musquash Lake a ridge of crystalline rocks 
 rises abruptly, and on the south side Palaeozoic rocks, mostly of 
 of Black River age, form outliers, which have steep scarped 
 sides towards the north as if cut down by the agency of running 
 water. 
 
 At the upper end of Mu.«iquash Lake a stream flows in 
 which discharges a chain of long and narrow lakes, and these 
 continue for some miles in a depression into the towns' of Horton. 
 Along these lakes, which are surrounded by great n-. is s of sand 
 the action of waiter is very evident. Some of them are long and 
 very narrow but have a depth of over a hundred feet, though only 
 a tew chains in width. They present all the features of an old 
 river channel which has been blocked up by great deposits of sand, 
 gravel and boulders, so that the original channel is now defined 
 simply by the line of the depression and the remnants of the old 
 river left in the narrow series of lakes. 
 
 This depression extends out to the river again, reaching it 
 near what is known as the Chenaux rapids, about four miles below 
 the junction of the two chanueSs which surround Calumet Island, 
 
36 
 
 TxK Ottawa NTatiraust, 
 
 par. of ,he di^ance .hrou^^, °Z hed 'T"' """ '"^ "" •"«« 
 bmh sides of ,he Hver b t^; 'r'\°' T"" ""ich s„„w „„ 
 
 'h^ee miles eas. of the .o„, " / .^'""'^ ^"P"'^ """ ^•alls about 
 -de opposite Sand Poin" a ,d h/ ''""' "■"' ■*""" "" "" "-.h 
 "f .he Honnech6re Riv." i i, ""^J !" " P^"' "PPo-'e the .out,, 
 ■'well seen a, Norway f,a 'X- T"'"' """ "'" •■" '"" 
 
 ""ore line for some 'dis Lee "„tnd ,"'' "' ""' ''""' '"^ 
 '"^^ely developed ,o the east" '"'■'""„ '''^° '"e. ■ deposits are 
 e^eat thickness of day wl ich ^*"'*""'' "here they overlie a 
 -"re^of erysta.hn. ^o^J " "'^"''^- ""^"^--^ '« .he main 
 
 granite -hich'"c'uts^across7he"rr^n'^ ," '"^'''^ ''>'« °' ^^'''i-h 
 -" Whit. Lake bcit, here e' a 1'"""'°" "' "' ''"'P^'- 
 •-•■■^amongthemostbeautifulonth ""'" """'• "T"' f""" 
 -hole breadth of the stream Jlil; "''"'"^ """^^ "■« 
 •""•■dth. The total rise from the fit f K 7 " "" "'•^ ■"''- 
 Chats Lake is about (itty ,S "' '""^ '° ""^ -a'ers of 
 
 -.i^'^:::r ^t ^;:v" -v"-^ ^'^--^-■"- Of 
 
 - Height and this rests Jnt'clfe/o^T """"' ^°"^ '- 
 "poses on the gneiss and crvst»n . ''''''""''^' "hich in turn 
 
 ^^\ These newer rocks re ,": TT: "' "■' f""' "^ '": 
 .„ The Carp river enters theo," T "'" "' "" ^-"■ 
 
 v.llage, and has a course of abll. , " """' ""'""« ''-'"»■ the 
 westerly against the general cour iT^ ""'"■ " ="» ""ws 
 "■-ugh the northern par of tHe to h""'^" '" ^ "^P^-" 
 F-.-oyandisonthe whole a verv ,1 ", '^ °' """"^^ -""< 
 m.'es above its mouth there is a ral^ ^^'"^ J""'"'"- "^"out four 
 Elsewhere the bed of the tream is'l '^'' ""^^ °^ S-"'- 
 -shy .o its source, which is iZ ll'^.'^- i".P'-" -ry 
 
 
 of 
 
 ; northern i 
 
igol] 
 
 Ells— Ancient Channels. 
 
 »7 
 
 Between the Carp and tlie present ch .,.| „til, • 
 defined nd,e of c.,M«,.ine l,s 1^.,:\: ^7":^^ 
 v.c,n,ty of Filzroy to within nine mile, of Ot.au ,-, , 
 «.nks down n. ,rly ,o the level of the Hver ^ d be '" " 
 
 over with Potsdam sandstone. 1^ ZT7T T'^' 
 -rked h,. a we,, defined ,ine of n.u,t which U^ tm^^l^l^^ 
 ,imestones .gainst the crystahine rocks 1, ;. ""'• "'''y'' R'ver 
 
 ^-''-- °'^ cha , tr the ;,:::'„ j;;;rri''T:' 
 
 depression in which the Ca,p River now ,,es. '" "^'•' 
 
 To the norlh of the rrv*:tHiiin« ,™ i ■ i 
 
 »econd,inecf depression :-r'r:::.ht;r^::r": 
 
 separated Irom it by another rocl< ridge formed of cl 
 and iimestone. In this depression lies r I / ' ''"- 
 
 Constant Creek flows thence ^r "rd 'tTthe O.;. wlir 'i' d'"' 
 depression known as Sand Bay. The elevation he JrkZ 
 Lake ,s but a few feet above the present ,evel of ,l! " 
 
 waters being sluggish throughout, and he dtn / ' "" 
 
 --=.d through a swamp> t^act i.o t^ Z^ ZT.;:;^::^ 
 Bay a few miies west of Britannia. Great areas oil" v t ' 
 occupy the shores of the Ottawa about h ";:;:''"' ■^''"'' 
 Creek and for several miles to the east and west ""'"'"' 
 
 The north side of the Ottawa between Hull and . „ ■ . 
 n.iles west of the Chats Falls, practically as far we 'as th'.O.r'"' 
 opposite the east end of Calumet Island near cZpLu'l^T'' 
 Bry.son, is generally low and largely occupied bv gr t dep J^ of 
 clay or s_and. Occasionally well defined blaches-are se n as ,he 
 area to the north-wes, of Quyon near the village of Nc - h 0„lw 
 where they are crossed by the road betw.e.f these two^ J ' 
 Occasional ridges of rock occur, as in the relr of ,h .'^'""^ 
 Aylmer and north of Bristol station, but Im,:' :H:re:rti;' 
 nver was at one time undoubtedly marked out by the g elt r dl 
 ^rgely composed of reddish grey granite which risesT K ine 
 Mountam, west of Chelsea, and eMends we«...rl. f ^ 
 
 ^rmn^ the northern limit ;f the gr^; Oti::: h.^ '"'"' "'"'' 
 
 The lower part of the Ottawa mj: t : ...e been at nn, ,■ 
 -ch broader and more delta shaped than at /rl "I'Z 
 north .,dc the range of the crystalline rocks must have de! 
 fined the r.ver much as at present, as far as the mouti of the 
 
18 
 
 Thr Ottawa Natumalint. 
 
 [April 
 
 Rouge River, hul below this place :he hill rHnge trends off more 
 to the north east and a broad plain occupied partly by sand and 
 lar^tely by clay, extends southward to the St. Lawrence. The 
 northern part of this ana is treverscd by the North River, which 
 between St. Jerome and the town of Lachule ha,s but lit'le current 
 and follows a westerly course till the latter point is reached when 
 it bends abruptly to the south and meets the Ottawa near the 
 village of St. Andrews, near the upper end of the Lake of Two 
 Mountains. 
 
 To the south ol the North river and east of f achute a r k 
 ridtje formed of 'he Potsdam and Calciferous rocks comes in iiid 
 extends ea.stward for some miles. South cT this a broad well 
 terraced valley extends across to the lower portion of the Ottawa, 
 but this area is again traversed by a granite ridge which 
 rises just to the east of St. Andrews and extends eastward for 
 four to five miles. Between these two ridges .he depth of clay 
 and gravel is great. At one point several borings have been 
 made, one ot which reached a depth of over 120 feet without 
 touching the underlying rock, so that the bottom of tils o;d 
 channel is many feet below the pre.sent level of the river. 
 
 On the south side of the Oitawa below Ottawa city, the 
 country between the river and ihe St. Lawrence is generally level 
 or broken by low ridges, sometimes ol rock but often of gra> el or 
 boulders which have come from the north side of the Ottawa. 
 Over a large part of this area great deposits of clay, overlaid in 
 places by sands and gravels, are seen, and a peculiar feature of 
 these deposits is noted in the fact that while the clays arc undoubt- 
 edly of marine origin they rarely show marine fossils, while the 
 overlying .sands and gravels contain these in immense quantities 
 at very many places. These marine shells however apparently 
 cease west of a line drawn from Smith's Falls to Prescott or have 
 not yet been noticed in the western area, though there is no 
 apparent break in the character of the surface deposits in this 
 (direction. 
 
 South of the Ottawa also the evidences of an old river channel 
 are very clear. A large number of borings have been made in the 
 last half dozen years both in the vicinity of the river itself and in 
 the area 10 the south. Some of these are in Jhe course of the east 
 
i9oi| 
 
 Hli.9— Ancirnt Ciiannbui. 
 
 29 
 
 and weM stretch of the Niition river. The holeN were Hunk only 
 lo the rock in mosl ca»e<, throuffh clay with occuiiional thin 
 deposits ol sand or gravel. The deepest of these wa^ aio (cet, 
 and in the township of Phinta(;enet on the north hank of the 
 Nation, and in Alfred about tw'> and a half miles east, two holec 
 were sunk to the underlying Utica, to depths of 180 and iJWi feet. 
 On a lineextendin^^westwardly along what is known as the Brook 
 in the dirpcllon of Kaslman's Springs a number of similar holes 
 have been bored, the depths of which ranged from 100 to 150 feet, 
 following a fairly direct line. The most easterly of these was put 
 down at Caledonia Springs to a depth in the clay of 13a feet. 
 Beyonu this to the north-east the country is flat and clay covered 
 in the direction of L'Orignat at which point presumably this 
 ancient channel reached the river. Recently in the area southeast 
 of Ottawa cl.y, near Ramsay's Corners, a boring has been made 
 which passed through 186 feet of clay and 18 feet of underlying 
 gravel Jo the Lorraine shali.'s. 
 
 This .'ine of excavation may be the continuation of that already 
 described ft 1' the Carp valley, since in the eastern portion of the 
 Carp area tnere are great deposits of clay, gravel and sand which 
 extend beyond the Rideau a few miles south of Ottawa in the 
 dir^^tion of the deep borings just referred to. The old channel 
 should cross the Rideau not far from the centre of the township of 
 Gloucester and extend towards the Mer Bleue, since rock escarp- 
 ments appear a short distance north of that place in the direction 
 of the Ottawa, and rock ledges are seen to the south in the 
 direction of Bear Brook on the tine of the Canada Atlantic Ry. 
 
 On the lower Ottuwa between Grenville and Lachute the 
 surface is generally flat. Deposits of clay, covered in places with 
 a great thickness of sand, occur in the area between the bold 
 escarpment of the crystalline rocks and the river, and near the line 
 of the Grenville canal the accumulation of yboulders over the 
 surface is very great. The whole area for sooi^ miles is heavily 
 drift covered, a.id great masses of ice must have discharged 
 immense toads brought from the high lands to the north and north 
 east in this direction. These accumulations of boulders are found 
 at intervals over a large extent of country south of the Ottawa, 
 some of the blocks bein^ of immense size. Near Vankleek Hill 
 
Till Ottawa Natuhaliiit. 
 
 [April 
 
 Kr.Ht number, of ,h.„ Kh,« rock. c«n b. „.n, on. of which 
 rnwurea ,o feci by ,5 f„, ,„d i. ^ fe., „„, „f ,h, ^,^„„j 
 
 AmonK chHnn.l, of more rcc.n. date but which .re now 
 clo.cdexc.pt at period, of high w»t.r on the river, two Ht l..»t 
 m.y be nu-ntioncd. Ea.t from Coulon^e village a dcprcion 
 n he .urface extend, to the Ottawa at the north w... angle 
 o( taluntet l.land. The eastern portion of th. deprcion .0 the 
 w.,t of the nver „ known a, the Crand Marai, or Bi^ mar.h • 
 ...d «h,l. at ordinary ,t«ge, of water in the Ottawa much 
 of I-.,, comparatively dry. in the .pring it be. ome, a regular 
 watcr-cour,. cutting off the great point which extend, south-w.,, 
 from t.oulonge village to La Pa.ie. 
 
 Further ea,t below Ottawa at th. mouth of Ih. Nation river 
 a d.pr.,„on al,o occur, forming the bay in front of the village of 
 P«p.ne«uv,lle. ..id separating that place from what i, known a, 
 th.Pr.,4u,le rh„ latter i, a long ridge or tongue of gravel 
 and ,and which extend, ea.t from the mouth of ,h. North Nation 
 River tor about six mil.,. At high wat.r ,.ag., .. .current pa.,.s 
 over the narrow barrier at the we.t end of the Pre.qu'ile Bay and 
 flow, directly past the village. It i, quite po„ibl. that close 
 .nv.stigat,on in the Ottawa basin would disclose other channel, 
 which are now partly filled. 
 
 In this paper it ha, been th. intcntio . indicat. only the 
 rnost prominent of these old channels. That • submergence of 
 he whole basin has been sufficient to cause the -.ters of James 
 Bay to unite with those of the Ottawa basin is indicated by the 
 
 ITr.l 7 ' "■■"""■' """ ""-^ "^P""'' atelevaLn, 
 
 fi uZ "','•• P^'-'«""'«'^'>t of land north of Lake Temiscaniing. 
 
 It IS probably du. to this gr.at spr.ad of inland or ocean waters 
 over this area that the sands and gravels which have been ,0 
 ins rumental ,n choking up the ancient valley of the river , -.re so 
 
 r: : not'^'-' d"'f ■ "■'" •'"' ""''" ""I^^Po-'-fdayandsand 
 have not yielded organic remains is only negative evidence against 
 
 of the Ottawa and St. Laurence basins would not be of marine 
 origin „nce inthe whole stretch north and west of Ottawa citv 
 they yield marine ,ssils only in very lare cases. 
 
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