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Original copioa in printad papor eovora aro fHmad baginning with tho front eovor and anding on tho laat pago with a printad or illuatratod impraa- •ion, or tho bacic covor whon approprioto. All othor original copioa ara filmod boginning on tho firat pago with a printad or illuatratad impraa- sion. and anding en tha laat pago with a printad or illuatratad Impraaaion. (.ao anampioiraa originaux dont la eouvorturo an papior aat imprimdo sont film4a an eommon^nt par Io p r omior plat at an tarminant soit par la damit r a pago qui comporto uno amprainta dl m p r aaa i on ou dlHuatratlon. soit par la sacond plat, s alon Io eaa. Toua laa autraa axampiairaa ori gi n a ua sont filmda an common^ant par la pramiira pago qui comporto uno amprainta dlmpraaaion ou dlliuatration at 1% tarminant par la damiiro paga qui comporto uno toilo amprainta> Tha laat raeordod frama on aaeh microfieho shall contain tho symbol — ^ (mooning "CON- TINUeO"). or tho symbol ▼ (mooning "tNO"), wiiichovor appMM. Un daa symbolaa suhranta apparattra sur la dami4ra imaga do chaqua microfieho. salon Io eaa: Io symbolo — » signifio "A SUIVRE". Io symboio ▼ signifio "RN". Mapa, plataa. elMrts. ate., may bo filmod at diffarant reduction ratioa. Thoao too large to bo entirely included in one enpoeuro aro filmed boginning in tlM upper left hand comer, loft to right and top to bottom, aa many frameo aa required. The following diagrama illuatrato the method: l.aa cartea. planehee. tablaeux. etc.. peuvent ive fHmdo * dee taux do rMuction diffArents. l.oraque Io document eet trop grand pour Atra . raproduit en un soul eiieh*. il est film* i partir do I'anglo supdriour gauche, do gauclie k droite. ot do haut an baa. en prenant la nombre dtmegee ndc e eaa i ra. Laa diagrammae suivants illustrent la mdttiodo. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MKMCOrr RBOUinON TBT CHAIT (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) ■fl^ 1^ itt MSi ■2.2 £ |4£ |2^ 1 £.: 1 1 '8 -r J: 1.4 I 1.6 A /IPPLED IN/HGE Inc 1653 East Uoin Stratt Roch««ttf. rtttw York 14609 USA (716) 462 - 0300 - Phon« (716) 268 - S9S9 - r« IlKOLOalCAI. SURVIT OF CANADA. Vot. XIII., Paw FF, lat« i. MiKlellfd 1)V P. B. I>i)wliiiK. il' Photo w Reliek Map. To sliuw grinral features of are.i dewribeil ill reimrts. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA ROBERT BELL, M.D.. Sc.D. (Caktab ), LL.D.. F.R.8. REPORT OK GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IK INCLUDING MOOSE LAKE AND THE ROUTE FROM CUMBER LAND LAKE TO THE CHURCHILL RIVER AND THE UPPER PARTS OF BURNT- WOOD AND GRASS RIVERS D. B. DowLiNG, B.A. Sc. OTTAWA PRINTED BY S. E. DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1902 No. T8T. 13-fK. 'i • To Dr. RoBKRT Bill, Acting Director, Oflological Survey of Canada. Sir,— I have the honour to prewnt the incloMd report on a portion of the eastern part of the DUtrict of Saskatchewan and parts of the Dutricta of Athabaska and Keewatin. The descriptions of the eastern part of these districto U to be found in the accompanying report by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, and the part for which descriptions are here given is in a general way the western and southern part of the area shown on the accompanying map. Mr. Tyrrell's report was accompanied by tracings of his surveys, but in order to make a map which would extend as far west as does the sheet to the south of it describing the geology of north-western Mani- toba, additional surveys were underUken, but the limited time at my disposal in the field (less than three months) did not enable me to visit all the localities which seemed of interest. To illustrate this report and also that by Mr. Tyrroll, I have com- piled the accompanying map on a scale of eight miles to an inch showiniT '• e -v^ >le area described in both reports. For much of the mforn • ' - i on the eastern portion, I was obliged to consult Mr. 1 -books, but the geology of the country east of the Relsc r! tirely from Dr. Bell's reports. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant. D. B. DOWLINO. Ottawa, February, 1902. 13— FF— li KoTK. — Tlu b«aring$ throughout thi$ report are given with rtferenee to the true meridian. The variation of the magnetic needle in 'he vieinitjf of Lake Winnipeg it IS" E. Thii i$ found to ineretue totvard the north-weet and t* on Eitisting river about 1&' and on the Churchill river 20° E. i ii REPORT on GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS Mem, mmim m IiEeim dismb maxmsu MOOSE LAKB AKD TH> ROUTE PROM CUMDERtAND LAKE TO THE CHUR- CHILL RIVER, AND THE UPPER PABT8 OP BURNTWOOD AND GRASS RIVERS. INTRODUCTION. Earlif Maps and Survey*. The e»rly mapping of the northern part of the area which is shown „ , on the accompanyi..^ ,t, is no doubt due to the l.bouni of David ^& ihompson, while m service of the Hudson's Bay Co His travels 1''"''"i«>n' " T^'^fJ" "^ ^""' ^•'■'■•^•'•' °^t''« Jo-rneys of David Thomp! " son, by J. B. TyrroU,' were commenced in 1799, when he was in hi. twentieth year. He made carefully wimated traverses of all the routes passed over m his journeys, and also checked them by latitude observa- tions It may be interesting to follow the reconi of his journeys in this district. In 1792 he left York Factory and ascended the Nelson river to Sipiwesk lake to spend the winter. On May 2H 1 793 he left Sipiwesk House and crossed to Chatham House on Ci.atham lake which he places in latitude 55° 23' 40 ", and longitude 97° 44' 34' W This is, no doubt, a point on wj t is now called Wintering lake On May 31 he left this place and travelled in a westerly direct on to Burnt- wood river, up which he went to Bur-twood lake, and from the western end he crossed to the Missinippi ,r Churchill river, which he *Proo«dings of the Canadian Inntitute, 1887-88, 3rd Seriw, Vol. VI.. ,,. 135. 6 rt •.URATCHEWAX, ATHABAKKA AMD KBBWATIN by bim. ascended to Duck or 8i«ipuk lake, from whi' he returned and journeyed back to York Factory. In the epring of 1794 he appeftred at Buckingham House, on the Saskatchewan river, above Fort Pitt. Snrrryi nudit From there he made a survey of the Saskatchewan river as far as Cum- berland House, and thence of a route east to York Factory, by which he followed up and surveyed Uoose river and lake, and Athapapnskow lake, then crossing Cranberry portage he followed the Urass river to Reed lake. Here he left one of his atsociatet, a Mr. Ross, probably to build a housr, and then p.-oceeded by File lake and the Burntwood river to York Factory. He returned in the autumn to Reed lake to spend the winter at the new house, whioli he placeii in lat. SS" 40' 36" N., long. 102° 7' 37" N. His meteui nlogic&l register shows that he remained there till May 1797. Shortly after thix he transferred his servicer to the North Went Company and moved to a western field of action. In 1804 he again appeared in this district, to build a house at th narrows of Cranberry lake. He wintered at Granville lake, on Chun. lilll river, and in the spring of 1804 he retraced his steps to Cumberland House. Several minor trips were made to Cranberry laku and one to Reindeer lake in the north, before he went west to cross the mountains. Com|ii1ation of map. Latf-r exiilorstions. The various surveys made by Thompson were compiled by him in 1814 to form a map of the North-west Territories. The original of this is now in the Crown Lands otSce, Toronto. This formed for many years the basis for much of the geographic detail of our gen- eral maps, but it i's now being superseded by the more accurate sur- veys. Lattr Explorations. In 1878 Dr. R. Bell commenced explorations ir. the valley of the Nelson river and in the ne.xt two years the Nelson river, the lower part of the Grass river and parts of the Churchill and Little Churchill rivers. Mr. A. 8. Cochrane, in 1880, 8ur>-eyed the Minago river and part of the Saskatchewan from Moose lake to Cumberland House. The principal instrumental surve lugh this district was that of the Saskatchewan and Nelson rivers, mode in 1884 by Mr. O. J. Klotz, D.T.S. The exploration by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, in the summer of 189C, con- sisted of traverses of several channels of Nelson river and small streams tributary to it on the west side, the waters of Grass river from Cranberry lake to Paint lake, part of Burntwood river from ^ ] onBiAt DHciirnoii 7 rr Th»ee Point Uka to the mouth of ManaMn river, Ooom river and lake and a travenw of part of the shotie of Athapapuskow lake. In the Hummer of 1899, the writer mode traveneaof the upper part of Burntwood river from Three Point lake to iU head near Reed lake. Kiwiwing river was aUo explored by following a route from the north end of Athap«pu»kow lake to iU mouth on Churchill river. Tlie latter ■tream wiis aliio surveyed from above Sisipuk lake, ihown on the western edge of 'he accompanying map, eastward to the end of a Icag ana runtiinjj from Nelson lake. In the southern part of the district traverses were made of several lakes to the west of Mooeelake tt« well as the western part of this latter lake, all of which had not been delineated on any of the former published maps. The series of surveys made by th' 1 .ar parties were in the nature of prt-liminary travernos, but were done with consitlerablo detail. 'i UbNERAL DR.HCRIPTIO?r. The general nature of the country shows a rather low relief. The Gen-ral difference in level between the hiKJier part of the upland surrounding ''|*c"i'«i<>n Cold lake and the lower portion of the Nelson valley in the vicinity ""'""^" of Sipiwesk lake, in but slightly over 500 feet. The most noticeable range of hills is that which crosses the Swkat- chewan river at The Pas. This ri Ige is n.ainly of glaci, I origin and is from twenty up to ninety feet high, but situated as it is in a flat country, it forms a very prominent feature. The escarpment fo med by the outcrop of the PalH-ozoic limestones along the southei -^ edffe of the valley of the upper pars of the Grass river, is another pro0..T,ent feature. This is in the form ol a nearly continuov . = thus the lower parts of such deep folds as penetrated to this level throuL-h the harder crust. It may be suppased that the lines on which »I,p greatest movement would take place would be over such areas as Latirentian Kxten»i\(' 'li'imilutiiin. 10 FP 8A8KATCRBWAN, ATHABA8KA AND KEEWATIN Hiironian. might be still in a semi-plastic condition, and the lower parts of these folds might penetrate areas of uncongealed matter which would digest and remove much of their lower members. The subsequent denuda- tion would reveal at successive depths a lessening amount of the original crust and so it is problematical if any of the original upper beds are to be seen in this area. In the eastern area, reported on by Mr. Tyrrell, the contacts are more nearly conformable and might indicate that their original relation had not been disturbed in the subsequent alteration to which both hnd been subject. In the western part of the district there is a marked difference between the gneisses of the area lying north of Athapa- puakow lake, reaching to near the Churchill river, and those with which they come in contact in the vicinity of the valley of this stream. In going north the first rock met with after leaving the Huronian area is a granite that gradually becomes foliated and appears as if it might be newer than the Huronian. On reaching the vicinity of the Churchill river an apparently older series is noted, which in some instances is separated from the rocks to the south by wide dykes or areas of an eruptive granite of the nature of pegmatite. Beyond this zone of intni - sion there are broad bands of mica schist, garnet-bearing schists and dark gneisses which are a contrast to tlii! generally reddish granitic gneiss to the south. Huronian. To the west of Lake Superior the areas which have been referred to the Huronian and of which detailed studies have been made are those on the Lake of the Woods. As the typical section could not be exactly correlated, the group descril ed by Dr. Lawson was called by him the Keewatin, and a lower and more highly altered part, the Couch- iching, but it is generally accepted that these constitute in the west rocks representative of the Huronian. The small areas of similar rocks found to the north are thus classed as of the same general series, and evidence is not wanting that many of the beds composing their mass have a clastic origin. In the eastern part, as will be seen from Mr. Tyrrell's report, clastic rocks, such as quartzites and conglomerates, are a.ssociated with basic eruptives and greenstones whose origin is volcanic. Parts of the areas to the west are descrilied in the present report and the same character is found as in the rocks to the east, or in the Xelson valley. i '■] DOfruxo.j OEXIIUL OBOLOOT 11 FF C'amhro-Silurian. The outcrop of these rocks along the western shore of Lake Winni- (^ambro- peg IS continued northward and then westward, passing to the south ^"""»"- of the chain of lakes on the upper waters of the Grass river. In the southern part of the Lake Winnipeg basin the section gives a thickness of about 270 feet of limestone belonging to the Trenton, but in follow, ing the escarpment northwanl the beds thin out and the lower mem- bers disappear. The basal member, a sandstone which rests upon the Archaean, appears on the shore of Reed lake, but it is evidently an equivalent of higher horizon than farther south and is immediately below beds which on Lake Winnipeg are called the Upper Mottled The section on Reed lake is described by Mr. Tyrrell. The fossil, collected by him from the sandstones belong to the middle and upper part of the Trenton. A thickness of less than a hundre.1 feet of Tren- ton limestone appears above these lieds, and a reddish band above these IS supposed to indicate a transition to the Niagara Sil, nrxan. Lndisturbed horizontal limestones of about the horizon of the Silurian. Niagara were seen at several low outcrops on Na^new lake to the e«,t of Cumbeiland lake, as well as on Cormorant, Yawningstone and Moose lakes. On Cormorant lake the sequence observed was as follows. The owest beds exposed are of a compact reddish dolomite, above which, five or six feet of similar beds weather very rough on thesurface A thin compact dolomite up to ten feet in thickness forms the upper member. These latter beds are shown in better exposures on Moise lake near the old Indian Reserve and on an island to the north tZ exposure is in a cliff about thirty feet high showing at the base onlv two feet of a granular dolomitic limestone and the remainder of thick beds of a lamellar dolomite apparently of coraline formation The rock IS bu.lt up in thin plates having a crumpled surface from which many saucer-shaped pieces can be broken out. These are possibly re- mams of stromatoporoid corals which form the mass of the^HMjk \o ossils were found in these beds but from a few loose fragments' of a bflowTfTr- *"■?"'"' "^^' P"'^^ "P P'^'^'^'y ''y *»>« i«« from bjow, the following forms were observed : Fragments of a Cyuthophy- Uoid coral like Zaphrentis, Favosit.s, ^v, Strophomena acanthoplra, CoMum decussatnrn, Murchuonia, two species, EncnphalZ, sp. and Gyroceras, sp. These fossils are all common to the Niagara ;ock K,«.,ls il r~^ i 1 '- ; t f j f '' Boeki probably Trenton. 12 FF SASKATCHBWAH, ATHABA8KA AKD KEBWATIN of the Grand Rapid:, of the Saskatchewan and are from rooks probably in place beneath the section given above. The Stromatoporoid beds are also exposed along the shore of this lake southward to the outlet at the present Indian Reserve. Slightly higher beds occur near the Saiikatchewan river below the '' Cut- oft'" and north of the Moose lake branch, in which small shells like Isoehilina or Leperditia are found. These fossils are very scarce and not well preserved but are sufficient to show that the rocks of Cedar lake which are rich in these forms, continue to the north-west. On Namew lake the rocks exposed on the north side are probably Trenton but these are overlain by reddish beds and again by white hard dolomites which seem to belong to the base of the Silurian. Fossils obtained at tho south end of thislake below White whiley narrows, though many are of new species, show a horizon similar tc ' he Niagara of Cedar lake. The extension of the beds north and east to near the edge of the limestone escarpment is quite probable, since on Cowan river they were followed to near the source of that stream. The eastern edge of the foiir.ation is evideiitly drift-covered, so that the definite outline is hard to truce and it is only in a few localities that it is observed. Westward from Cranberry lake the Trenton probably occupies a narrow band with- the Silurian rocks to the south. One exposure on the middle one of the Cranberry lakes shows Trenton beds below a broad red b ind which is no doubt continued to Namew lake as the transitional beds, and above this again are a few beds of dolo- mite which are the representatives of the lower members of the Sil- li Pleintocene, Pleistocene. The rocky surface of all this area is scored and polished by the pro- iiression across it of a great glacial ice-sheet and in the eastern section evidences are found of a second invasion by another sheet from the north-east. The first camo from the north, a part of what is known as the Keewatin glacier. This advanced aouth beyond the boundaries of Manitoba, and on its retirement or when the accumulation of ice in the north ceased, there was still an active progression in the Labrador ice sheet, and its front ultimately passed the eastern border of the district already scored by the Keewatin glacier. The ice fronts of both the Keewatin andLabrador glaciers are supposed to have met in the region through which the lower courses of the Nelson and Churchill rivers now run, and as the general slope of the laud is to the north, the melting of the ice formed a large lake whose western shores were along the face Dowino.] OIXBKAL aioLoor 13 FF ol the ««»rpment lying to the ,.«t of the pre«,nt Mcnitob. lake bwin, the north^tern edge being formed by the ««, of ice both to the e«t and north. Th., lake, of which the preeent lake ba.in. are .mall the district here mapped, tne accumuUtion of lacustrine material''"^'* deposited by the waters of this tempon.,7 l«ke. are found in the eastern part to a^gate in some cases a. much as one hundred feet in thick- ness of a fine clay and clayey silt. The discussion of the character, of it: SZ T 'Ll""'" " "":■ ^^"^"'^ '"p^'*' •« -» " • «»-^^^ St of all the observations for the whole district relating to the also indicated on the accompanying map. The western limit of these stratified clay, is found to run southward th7 rfT\ ^""*'''^ '■'''•' "-^ ""*«' *"« »-- "f ^ "T To the north of thi. lat.r lake instead of a deposit of clay, a sand plain was found on which were numerous beach ridges formed no doubt at asuge of this temporal, lake. Another series of sand and grave beach ndges were al«> noted at C^nbeny porUge. As these ridges are at a much lower elevation than those marking the maximum height of this lake. It must be supposed that the accumulation of l.custr!" material was either added to the basin at a late and lower stage or that during the high and early period this country was still ice cove;e^ and the lake existed only in this locality at a lower level. Over ^^ western portion the rocks .re but thinly covered by a glacial til , and on the higher parts, mainly around Cold lake and in the hills neir the Chur hili river, there ,s very little covering over the rocky surfacT BouiHers are in evidence, but mainly of gneiss and granite of nearTy the same character as the underlying rooks, ^ Recent. Evidence of the recent action of the rivers in forming valley, is not R , well shown in the western part of the district, as the mrut. [j,; „ ^^ other covenng over the harder roc-ks is there very thin and valleys cor sequently follow old courses, but in the eastern part many of Te ? ,'- ■ eys of minor streams have formed new channels. Recent deposits! the valley. „re of small amount, with the exception of the delu of the 8«katchewan nver above Cedar lake. Part of this deposit may have been formed before the recession of the glacial Lake A^^si., ^ut Hi! cJ-;^hatU^er^^ ,, ^..^^^^ J bein. blgh: •Annual R„p,.rt, Gfo!. Surv. Can., vol. I V^T^X.S.) part E. FHt 14 rF BAtKATCHBWAH, ATHABABKA AND KEEWATIN down b; this stream and the largest part is deposited before the water leaves Cedar laku. From analysis of water from several of the streams in the district a comparison of the amount of sediment contained may Le gathered by reference to tb-d following table : — One Imperial gallon contains suspended matter. Rninit. •Nelson River (8«i River fsIlH) 2.065 Reindeer lake 2.02 Churohill river 7.»> Sukatchewan river (near Cumberland lake) 16,60 Small deposits of peat are to be found in varions places, but the most important, from an economic point of view, is the area north of Lake Winnipeg described by Mr. Tyrrell. Along the valley of the Burnt- wood river, where it is cut through the thick clay deposit, the general surface of the terrace is quite level. The drainage near the river is general, but back from the edge of the valley, on the more level parts, there is verj often a wide expanse of swamp covered by a stunted growth of spruce and carpeted by heavy layers of moss. These swamps may at some future time supply peat for Tuel. Agricultural {KMsibilities. Economic Resources. As the area is situated so far north of the boundary of Manitoba, it might be presumed that much of it is unfitted for settlement, but it is discovered that over a large part there is a gouu soil, and the evidence of several gardens at various posts show that for all the ordinary vegetables and coarser grains the climate is not too rigorous. Splendid gardens were found as far north as Nelson House, which is in the northern part of the area here mapped. Proper drainage is however needed to bring much of the surface into a condition fit for agriculture. Along .ae river bar.ksthis is evident, for while the strip bordering the streams produces a great variety of grasses, shrubs and trees, a short distance back this is replaced by a swamp covered by moss a"d stunted spruce. This is more noticeable in the western part of the . I'elson valley, where the country is thickly covered by a coating of clay, and the surface is so uniformly level thut its gradual slope to the east is not sufficient to drain it. The areas to which it would be possible to introduce a system of drainage, would at first be restricted to a narrow margin along the streams. •Report of Progresa, (leol. Surv. Can., 1879.80, p 7 • • ■ mm Mnruao.] BCOKOmc BB80URCBS 19 rr olMaed aa without a «afficieiit soil for Mriculture TM. ^nTv 1.7 "'»'"'«» '« b, outlined a. being coa.po..d of a.. T^t "^ ,yS;^^The "Z^^ '^'"''""• north of he e^^arpment wi.ioh .how, the northern limit of the Tren- ton hmestone. In this the surface is ,«lhng and hilly, the rockt r^Z depZtiltTe?"'"'' '''r'""''" "''""'' -^ --ona/thicS h:dix~ '"' '"^'^'^^ '"'"""' ^''^ '•"""' °^ '•'- To the south the country underlain by limestone has many of the character of the northern part of Manitoba In the vaUey of the Saskatchewan there art large area, of rich soil formed p/ncipally ot silt from the upper part of its valley. The western part of the valley of the Nelson river is covered by a thick lacustral deposit which reaches west to Bumtwood Uke and east to the channel of Nelson river. In this are. good soil is found n almost every part and where drained would no doubt make fair 1 arming land. Timber. black tir'^7 T f /'' ?"'"'=*' ^P'"'=« "' *"'•> '"'^ -hite and Ti.nW. black species is found of fair diameter, but in goi-.- north th,. «,« n«,y decrea^s. Over the major portion !f the Tcly 'con:; Banksian pine js the principal tree, which though not large enough ^ general for timber, might in the future be of use for pulp wood. Peat. Reference has been already made to the deposit of peat north of Peat. ™rfl?rK^5' ' • " " P"""'"*" ^*"" P''^P*""« *^^ ^°' '"*' »«« been perfected this deposit may perhaps be utilized. Minerals. JvTT^ ^'''^" *T "^ ^"'■°"'''" "^^^ •'»'*"' *^« »'««' partly Mineral,, outlined will at some future time be thoroughly prospected, and. as has been the case in neariy all .uch areas, ores of the useful and precious metals are likely to be xound. As it is at pre«snt a very hasty visit has shown that many quartz veins and intrusive dyke - cut these rocks, and indications of the precious metals are not 16 MMATCHBWAX. ATHABASKA AHD XBBWATIH WMtting. In the Pipeatone mnm on the Neleon rirer, miapiokel and oopper-pyritee are recorded by Mr. Tyrrell, m well m a promiaing ■hewing of mica oa the Math nde of the Indian Reaerve island in Croeslake. DbTAILBD DBSCBIPnOHS. SHkatohewan river. Lacustrine deposit not deep. The Sa$kateh«u)«m Biv»r. From the foot-hills to the edge of the second prairie steppe the Saskatchewan river flows through a country underlain by soft easily disintegrated rooks and therefore it has cut a deep channel. From Nepewin toThobin rapids the high banks gradually become lower, until below the latter point the river emerges on a low delU plain yrhich reaches to Cedar lake. In its upper part the stream is still actively cutting in its channel, and its waters are at nil times heavily charged with the denuded material. In the lower \.:r of the delU the process is reversed and the stream becomes the active agent in filling up what seems to have been a chain of lakes. The uppermost one WHS probably partly filled while the hi<;her levels of Lake Agassiz still covered this basin. On its recession to an elevation of about 900 feet iu this vicinity, it is probable that there still remained a lake whose eastern margin reached to the ridge at The Pas. On the further recession of this former lake, the outlet at The Pas was slowly worn down through the boulder clay and parts of the original lake were drained. The eastern end near the outlet seems not to have been so deeply filled by river detritus. Through the plain thus formed, now winds not only the channel of the main stream, but also several other smaller ones. The course followed by the f^ver of late years is by a channel that has been built up so high above the sur- rounding plain that at several points other channels have broken out and connected with streams both to the north and south. Latterly, however, one has been opened to the upper part of Cumberland lake, and now most of the water of the river passes through it, and in this way the lake acts as a new settling basin which will rapidly silt up. Near The Pas ridge the depression is but partly filled and shallow lak appear on either side of the chant 1. That the lacustrine deposit is n^u of very great depth is shown in the fact that boulder clay knolls appear as islands in Saskeram lake and also in a ridge crossing the Saskatchewan below Tearing river, on the south side of which an Indian reserve is located. In the low stage of water at the time of Mr. Klotz's survey of the river, boulders appeared at this ai oowuao.J SASKATCHIWAK RIVER 17 vw locality and tWr occnrrence wm noted m nra for this part of the nver. "^ .Jil' "S' "'"'*''' '**™' *•"" ''"*'™ '^'""^•'7 of the delta-fiUed lake r.iacial above noted, la uneven on its summit and seems to be formed of mor- '*'■''«*'•• a.n,o deposits of varying thickne*, heaped upon the comparatively even floor of .mestona Exposures of the underlying ,xK:ks are wanting w^nd at the north end of the Indian reserve tt-n feet of horizonUl teds are exposed. They are light coloured and, similar to t! ose on Cormorant lake, of the Niagara horizon. On the north side of the Tut . TH ?V ^^^^ """" *"^ P"* °^ '* *''*' » ^'^'ble to the •outh. The Indian reserve includes the western edge and highest of an irregular h.U or ridge running to the north-east. North of this and parallel to it, another ridge runs from north of Watchi lake to the south..es^rn border of Cormorant lako. North of that aga.^ another ndge follows the western side of the valley of Cowan river There u no doubt that south of the Saskatchewan river similar ridges Red Deer nver. An outlying hill belon,nng to the same series was observed on the east side of Cormorant lake. The iowest ga^ in the ridge is that at the outlet of the river. Here side of the plot of groi.nd on which the dwelling belonWng to the mission stands, i, an cid channel, the bottom of wtich i.s no/atab^' the level of the ordinary range of high water. The amount of erc^on l-M , , , ;;: b^n; txrr ^ ^"^^^ '- ^^ ^--^ *^- ^- - p—t The following extract from Mr. Otto Klotz's report of 1885 bears on the same subject : " The action of the water in the course of dm" f«m the banks of the parsonage across the river where it is now four teen cha.^ wide. Within a few years an island upon which the Hudson's Bay Company's powder magazine was kept, h« disapl.^ The banks where formerly houses of the company stood (^wt; approaching the parsonage close by." This has since been moved. On the western bank of thU island where the banks am ,n.r.^ . ■ section of fifteen feet of til, is shown. This consil^ of t^h^raTtn" " " "'• 13— FF— 2 ■I? MM 18 n BASEATCHIWAH, ATHABAIKA AND KBBWATIll Land auiuUe for farming. Probable beach (teixwiU. 3 ■ ■tratified 0U7, oonUining striaMd pebbles and bouldera. The boulden are of limeetone with Moms of .A rchwan gneUs and greenstone. The high ground here cut through by the river extends ouly a short distance to the eastward of the Indian reserve and the only land available for fanning has been taken up by native settlers. Back from the river-bank there is probably yet plenty of good land. The height of the ridge east from the Big Eddy is estimated by Mr. Tyrrell at seventy feet. The following description from his notes gives par- ticulars as to its surface composition : " In ascending it a terrace is met with at the height of thirty feet and the upper twelve feet is as steep as gravel will stand. The ridge, on the summit at least, consists generally of fine rounded gravel with a few rounded boulders. The material is not well asiiorted, varying from fine rock-flour to boulders fifteen inches long. The ridge is wooded with Banksian pine and poplar. As viewed from a distance to the westward the summit of the ridge does not appear to be either regular or horizontal, dipping to the north as it does to the south." In the interval between this ridge and the one to the north there are traces of the thirty feet terrace as well as several ridges like beach deposits. The rise is very little over thirty feet above the lake level — an abrupt slope at the beach of fifteen feet and then a gradual rise to the beach ridges on the surface. To the east the descent to Atika- meg lake is very gradual and the impression is gained that the lake there is at least twenty feet above Watchi lake, but as Atikameg lake is only some twelve feet above Cormorant and Moose lakes, which are at the levf I of the Saskatchewan river twenty miles above Cedar lake, the di£ference in level of the two lakes across the ridge cannot be so large. The hill to the west of Atikameg lake appears to be at least one hundred feet high. Along the eastern face runs what appears to be a terrace of sand and gravel with scarped banks, but as it was viewed from a distance the exect character and height could not definitely be made out. The terrace appeared at about thirty feet above the lake and probably a continuation of that at The Pas. These terraces rep- resent a stage in the level of Liake Agassiz when the waters reached far up the Saskatchewan river and formed a partly inclosed lake. Traces of this terrace or of beaches at a similar level were observed at Cranberry portage and to the north of Reed lake. The beaches on the ridge which separates Cedar lake from Lake Winnipegosis are also at about this levei. i BOVLUre.J MSKATCUIWAir RIVRR 19 rr m«le up of nver deposil. fringed for met of th. dUUnc by J "'"-"- bluff, fort,<,ne nule. below. In low water. lin,e.tone i. reported ou ' cropp.„g tbere. .nd .!«. on the Moo- Uke branch, a wX, to .mairh'l •"'. ^* ""T »"•''*' ^'^-'^-^ -i»e. '."her d wn, a of hme^tone occur A .uiall exposure of the limestone i, ^n in placed butthesurface of thehilli. made up mainly of bouider-olay. The •nd near Cedar lake are just above the water and fringed with willow, showing leM of the river deposit than in th. upper .^Sc Where the bank, are built up above the range of onlinary hiah water they are of very much the nam. character throughout. A^e of trees skirt, the river on both sides and consisU principally oiZ «m p<^UriPopulu,6aUan,iJera, Linn.). .lu.iUln.u.LrLZ Li„^ The latter grows generally either along the edge of the hank or at a tttltTe S .."/'''"k!'^ '*"'^ " """"• ^'^ the shad o^ the forest the Saskatchewan berry. ( Vibur,.um opulus) or "hiph bush wTh .Tw .rTT' '"""''"*'^- ''''' "*'«-^° '' occasionaiiy met w.th as well as black spruce, though the former is generally confined to the higher land on each side of the valley on the dryer .oil it low water-the Unks rise to over si, feet and are appai^ntiy le^^l for a short disunce back from the river, but soon sin'k with a ^r^ a slope to the level of the mar«h or hay flat in the rear. In high general level of the surrounding country, so that anv further rise ! oUowed by a flooding of the hay lands and an eniargen.ent Tthe lakes and marshes adjoining. The water is highly charged with a very flne sediment which gives it a muddy colour' This X a great extent deposited before leaving Cedar lake, and the water issuing^ Lake Winnipeg is therefore fairly clear. ^ The slightly sloping plain through which the lower part of the river flows ,s not so pronounced a lake basin as that above The Pa., A strip of higher land follows at no great distance to the west of tht main channel. To the east and north the margin of the higher counul u much mor, irregular. From the north side of the strait at The pZ Moose lake the dry ground forms a bay to the north^t. approaching tLriv^^'-'-^' again a short distance below what is called the Moose Lake channel i-rom a few miles east of this a wide low flat runs to the north-east to 13— FF— 2J «; i •M n ■AaKATCBEWAV, ATBABAIKA AKO KIBWATtll Effect u{ iiplifti. tb« WMtorn Imj ci Moow Uka, and running throagh thia U found a ■nwll overflow channel draining townrda the lake. Another low plain runa directly eaat to the aonth end of the Uke, and along the northern edge a line of timbered country ia found, in front of which runa another amall overflow channel through a chain of lakea emptying just aouth of the Hudmn'H Bay Companya poat. Be».ween the Mooae Uke ihannel and the main river there is probably another small iMiand of high ground, aa Mr. Cochrane there records an exposure of limeatone. From the eaa» rn bend of the main river a small creek runs to Mooae lake. In this the flow ia in either direction according to the height of the water in the river and Uke reapectively. A amall stream ia reported by Mr. Cochrane as draining from Moose lake to Cedar lake. It ia quite poasible that this stream flows during high water only, or that ..le outflow is over a rocky barrier, aa even a small stream run- ning through soft deposits would soon cut out a sufficiently deep chan- nel to materially affoot the height of Moose lake and thus deflect mora of the water of the Saskatchewan river in that direction. Previous to the silting up of the channel through which the river now Sows, it is quite probable that the relative elevations of the northern and south- ern parts of this basin were somewhat didPerent. The northern uplift which is shown in the beaches of Lake Agassiz had not then probably been completed, so that the low country north of Moose lake might have Ksen much lower than at preMin in which Moo«o lake lies is verv flat «n,l ,1. i • ^ CDmnarafiv»l» lw.l„ .u_ .•. ^ *"'' '"* "hoi*** r we I)c,o„,itic comparafxely little above the wat^r. The contour of the shore line is l""«""r very irreuu ar and is dAt«rinin»< i™ »k • . »""™ iine is f,„„„ ,(^ l-^I „# flat I J , *^*.'*7.'"""^ ''y »»•• remains of portions of a thick »"•' "' Uk.. /! fl«t-y'ng doIom,t.c limestone which overlies aureus and e«Uv erodedbandf rn„ng the fl.«r of the l.ke. Tho«, p„rtL of the Zk bed winch were not removed form the main ,h;re. The shallower clay nave loft many stretche, with low ma«hy mardns ll of thes. marshe. cuts off Cormorant lake from Moose uravL T. .•onnect.,., link a sluggish .tream flowing to Moo,e lak Ztte^ low Htretch run, north-eastward from the north end and by r" Irt extends for hfteen n.iles to the head-waters of Metish to'rUr a l^ranch of Ora.,s r.ver. The land at the south end of the lake , Ils^ vi r„r 'r'^'"* ""•^"--^ "ci«es.i.sp.obahly':,^n^': deposu Ano.h,.rnmr«hy tract extends from the north eat corner of the lake to the head-waters of the Minago river. The Hudson's Bay Con.pany's post is built on a rid.e of flat-lyin., H„ . uTt ThT hV"*"' '"' "' '""^ '»''«■•*-* ^ »'^« west oT^>M-- outlet. The land here is elevated from si.x to eight feet above , he ake and the beds exposed seem to be all of „„ apparently unfos^^ ferous l^e^tone, made up principally of thin lar - Vaving'.ure'il cup-shaped depressions and dome shaped elevations. suggeZe „ 8tromaU,poro.d coral formation. A prominent point Ibou^^x miles north of the post .3 formed by a ridge of iimestor^ similar to hT ta he post. On the north side of a large island north of the nar^ws a chff of lm.esu.ne ,s seen in which .hirty feet of beds are exposed. Th^ lower beds show two feet of a granular dolomite capped by^^k bedl of a lamellar dolomiti. limestone which seems to b^Torga^rori^; though no structure is visible to the naked eye The rock is as 2™ noticed built up in thin plates having an uneven surface 'and tln^ sau^r-shaped pieces can be broken out These are possibly ..maTn« of Stromatoporoid corals which form the mass of\he rock. The 22 n SASKATCHEWAN, ATHABA8KA AND KEBWATIN Fouils. Timoer iKxjr. Oinnorant lake. exposures are very like the clitb at the Grand Rapids of the Sas- katchewan, classed by Mr. Tyrrell as Upper Niagara. The lower members of the formation are exposed near the foot of the rapids and contain as one of the principal fossils the large Conehidium deeuuatum, Whiteaves. No fossils were here found in aitu in the lower beds, but from a few loose slabs, of a lighter and more granular rock, pushed up probably by the ice, the following forms were observed : — Fragments of a Cyathophylloid coral like Zaphrenti», Favosites sp., Strophomena acanthoptera, Conehidium deciiagalum, Murehisonia two species, Euomphalus sp., and Gyroceraa sp. From the top of the cliff, the shore opposite toward the north-west appears low, with a few scattered stunted spruces near the lake, while behind is a low marsh or muskeg, over which can be seen the hills bordering the north shore of Cormorant lake. To the east the shore appears low but covered by spruce and poplar, and is probably underlain by a continuation of the limestone beds here exposed. The north shore is higher and forest- covered. The eastern arm running to the north-east from the outlet was sur- veyed by Mr. A. S. Cochrane in IStO and 1882. Reference to the map will show its general character and its many islands. Of the north shorr, Mr. Co hrane reports that the points are mainly piled high with lime^tone .sbinvle. Exposures of thin-bsdded limestone also occur. Some of these beds are veiy fine-grainerl and resemble lithdl graphic stone. The east shore is much lower though also underlain I y limestone. Low land extends for a short di tauce to the south-east and large bays are founl liehind the islands and points. A high ridge, estimated at 100 feet above the lake, extends to the south-east. Of the appearance of the chores, Mr. Cochrane in his notes says : — ' The t'm! er a!on^ the eastern shore is, genera'ly s[ eaking, very poor, though occasional large sticks are to be seen from fourteen to twenty inches in diameter, very .scattered and far opart. All this ^hore has been burnt over in patches r ■ different times, which gives the timber a very mixed appearance. The 1 each is all low and composed almost entirely of limestone shingle, though in one or two places a short cliff of limestone four to six feet hi^^li is to be seen standing a few feet back from the water's edge.' Cormorant Lake. Ascending the small stream from the north end of Moose lake for about six miles through a swamp, a small crooked bay of Cormor- ant lake is reached. This bends around the north end of an oblong Dowtmo.J CORMORANT LAKE 23 FF hUl r«,ng at ,te highest point to over one hundred feet. It is lying wuh ,ts longer axu, north and aouth and appears to be j^^rtly o^ moraimc origu, similar to that at The Pa* '^ETderneath. ll,^ Le n horizontal beds is exposed. This consists of a .o«gh.;ea"h ril 171 ;T*!' '1^'''' '"«'"'''""• "-^'y-g —hat 3 laZZ' '"'"• '; -•t*'"''"-'' ^••"'^ '' *•>« -»-- ^^y °^ t»>e ou h end H''^": '""' *•' " '^"^ ^'"P "^ ^--Py '-d, but as tl e AtTkal. Ut " 'T •^. "^''•^' "*"«"» " «»»" *"-»- enters fn,m Th?3 * '"■'«• '°'««fne ,s again exposed in cliffs about ten feet high. and T' ""*, r "!;"' "' ^"^ ^""^ ''""'?«'=' '^^'^-''^^ -ithout fossL. and haveashghtd-ptotheenst. To the west, the cliffs rise slightlr add.t>on at the ba«e of five feet of hard whitish dolomite, having a very rough surface and showing numerous joints or cracks filled with a m re ZT^^ /"J ."r' '"''*"" ^'^^^^ ""^ '-'^y "''^ '^^ "-k^ on the north-e.stern extremity of the lake a stream .f dark water tlo« from a narrow bay lymg parallel to the lake to the west, and into thi« part of Cormorant lake, is in reality one of the chain of lakes situated n the above stream The rocks exposed on the shore to the north of th,s m the several cliffs which are there seen, are composed of reddish Ws capped by the firm whitish thick beds The thinL. exposed on the south shore are evidently to be found in tha higher country to the north, but do not show in the cliffs n-ar the lake. .he^'Snts'rffr ";""*'"'" °V'' '•^^'^''* "^"^^ - estimate of SHtion U.e th.ckne s of the section exposed on these lakes is very difficult to '"if'^'' ^ X e t ^f trTf ". ""''? "'' "' '^^•-■'^''bove which are five or X fe t of t!,.ck beds weatherng very rough on the surface. Above tlusare ten to fifteen feet of thin-bedded compact dolomite whil might po3s,bIy be near the hori.on of the Moose lake rocks. Atikameg lake lies to the sou. h-west of Cormorant lake. The water _s very clear and de.p. On the eastern s! ore the Indians have a fi h- •ng eserve and in the autumn resort there to obtain their winter supp^ of whitefish. Twenty.four fathoms is reported as the grelt depth for the waters of the lake, and this would indicate that event summer a good quality of fish would be found if the Indians co.ld set ndge which also t.>„ches the .ctcrn side of Cormorant lake Ths i partly broken through at the south-western end of the lake. Over the ^1 ^j (i i M' 24 n SABKATCHEWAir, ATHABA8KA AND KBKWATIN Cowan river. 'i Yawninst- Btone lake. lower part of the gap a road has been made to a small lake to the west of the ridge and connected with Reeder lake near the Saskatchewan river. The appearance of the country to the east is that of a slightly rolling wooded plain, but it is probably partly underlain by horizontal beds of lime -tone with an occasional swamp. To the south, The Pas ridge is se 'n to extend eastward a few miles and then die away. The shores are generally strewn with boulders, and near the north end limestone s'abs are piled on the beach. At the south-west corner a long point, running parallel to tie south shore, cuts off a narrow bay to the south leading to the portage across tha ridge. This seems to have been a morainic ridge. Cotcan Rive,: The ridge which runs west of Cormorant lake continues in a north- east direction and parallel to this along its eastern slope is a depression which becomes shallower towards the north. In this a small stream flows from a swampy tract a few miles south of Reed lake. On its course are several narrow lakes which together with the stream afford a canoe route to the waters of Grass river. The lake at its mouth is but very little over the level of Cormorant lake, but the next above is about eight feet higher than this level and finds its outlet to the lower lake by two streams falling over a steep s',^. The fall is passed by a portage through a spruce grove on tho east side of the east branch. The lake above is a narrow canal-like body of water about eight miles long, bordered by high banks which, on the west side, show cliffs of hard white and grayish dolomitic limestone similar to the beds at the south end of Cormorant lake. They consist of thick beds which break up into irregular fragments and some of the cliffs are so much broken and shattered that the bedding is not easily made out. The upward continuation of the river enters through a small gap or break in the shore-line on the east side near the north end. At the turn into the river a small projecting cliff has its middle beds so denud- ed as to bear a fancied resembience, when viewed in profile, to a face with wide-open mouth — hence the name of the lake, Yawnin^-stone. The stream is very crooked above this and partly blocked by fallen timber. At the part near the lake some small rapids occur, but fallen timber also blocks it to such an extent that a portage of more than half a mile is made. This leads over a limestone ledge covered by very little soil and a scanty growth of spruce which has been mostly fire- killed. For five miles the river flows through a plain, sloping slightly DOWLWo] COWAS BIVER 25 FF to the south-west. The banks in the lower part are at first four or five feet high, behind which is another slight rise but this gradually dis- appears and in a distance of five miles both banks and the rise behind have disappeared and the stream is running in a very shallow channel. The ndge to the west becomes less distinct though the Indians report a continuous ridge to Reed lake. A small lake on the west branch of Li.ne,t..„.. this stream being situated to the weat of the general course of the val- '"'''"*"'•«■ ley U in a break in the higher ground of the ridge and has on its west- ern shore several exposures of li; estone. These beds are similar to those at the base of the Cormorant lake reddish beds, and are evidently near the base of the Niagara, though no fossils could be found to prove the horizon. Above this lake the country is generally flat and swampy and no exposures of the underlying rocks are to be seen, but on the last portage, which is made to the shores of Reed lake, pieces of red s mdy limestone are found which evidently come from thL shore of the lake and represent the ba.«al beds of the Trenton which must be here very thin. The small hills near the lake seem to be of morainic origin but are probably made up principally of material from the de- nuded edges of the limestone beds beneath. Trp-^ton rocks are found elsewhere on this lake so that their presence here is certain. Of the surface features observed on this stream and Cormorant lake It might be of interest to note that the soil of the country ne^r Cormor- ant lake is thin over the limestone ridges but in the valleys, such as that of Cowan river, a good quality and depth was observed. Between Cowan river and Cormorant lake there is a strip of fair-sized spruce This is seen to extend up the river as far as the banks are high, but above this the principal tree is tamarack (larch). A long strip of country along the eastern face of the high ridge west of tl. ; lake is burnt over and the timber is dead. 1 Mintigo River This stream rises in a low swamp north of the rorth east extremity M.na^o river of Moose lake. The Indians occasionally travel by this stream i**!?™ *^'" from Moose lake to Cross lake and the route thus followed is practic- able for small canoes. A survey of the stream was made by Mr. A. S. Cochrane of this Department in July, 1880, aAd from his notes the following brief description of the upper or that section aljove Hill lake is compiled. The lower portion was visited by Mr. Tyrrell in 1896 and his description is given in part of this report. \% 26 FT SASKATCHEWAN, ATHABAIKA AND KIIWATIN Route from The route from Moose lake to the ^linago river leaves the lake by a Moone lake to gmall openins in a floatinff inuskejj which fills the northern part of a Minain> nvtr. . ..,.., . j -^ narrow bay. This stream or opening is barely wide enough to admit of a canoe being hauled through and in a distance of about a mil> *he shore i* reached. A portage of a mile and a half across the heiglii-oi- land is reported as very bad and through a knee-deep muskeg. In two places however the portage crosses strip'i of flat-bedded limestone of about one hundred and three hundred paces wide and about th;eefeet higher than the water in the swamp. The portage ends at a small stream leading directly into a pond of a mile in length. This seems to be the head of the river and the stream draining it is very small and crooked, blocked by beaver dams and overhanging willows so that por- tages are frequent, including one a mile below the lake of over a mile in length. From Lily lake to Hiil lake the river seems to have a wider valley and more water in the channel, though few entering branches are noted. In this stretch there are several rapids and portages which appear to be made over ledges of flat-lyinr; limestone with a slight dip to the south. The highest exposure on this stream appears to be at about four miles below Lily lake and is of an unfossiliferous limestone. This is probably a bed situated near the top of the Trenton or the base of the Niagara formation. BiiriitwotKl river. R.ink!!>i(in {)ine. Bumttrood River. The upper part of the Burntwood river lies in a rocky depression on the surface of an uneven plain which is situated between the valley of the Churchill river and the wide and rather shallow depression in which the Nelson river runs. In that part which lies above the point at which the portage route from Nelson lake joins the river, upwanl, the fall in the river is trifling and occurs mainly on the short stream near Loonhead lake. Below the point mentione'l, the stream enters the country sloping toward the Nelson river. From Reed lake to these waters there are three routes. From the eastern end of Reed lake a small stream may be ascended to near File lake and a portage made to it, or to another stream entering at the northern side of Reed lake which flows from the west side of Methy lake and affords a fair route with a short portage, ^he third route is by a direct portage from Reed lake to Methy lake. This starts from a sandy bay on the north side of Reed lake and runs directly north through|a sandy country covered in the highest parts by Banksian pine. The trail ascends sradually to gain a series of beach ridges which run parallel to the east shore of Methy P DOWLIHO.] BCRNTWOOD RIVKR 27 PF lake, but from its south end they spread out towards tl.e east to become parallel to the north shore of Reed lake. At Meihy lake it is found that this series of beaches, which are along the margin of a plateau of sand lying to the east, rises in steps to a height of fifty or sixty feet above the lake. By a short excursion to the east it was found that for two miles the surface was nearly level but had a slight fall to the east from the highest beach whicii was only a quarter of a mile from the lake. These beaches appear to have been formed when the Labrador n,. l glacier made a dam across the valley of Grass river and a lake f"rti»'f llllleNtdiie bedn duubtful a second time, fallinK, in two rapids, about aix feet. From here on to Burntwood lake the navigation is hardly interrupted, the channel narrowing occasionally so that there is a noticeable current, but it seems to consist of a succession of narrow lakes bordered by rock" banks, and as Burntwood lake is approached these rise in to hills. Very little Banksian pine was seen. A few groves of small spruce and poplar occupy the low parts where there is a little clay and sand between the rocky knolls. The Hurfaco of the rock is everywhere glaciated, showing striw run- ning S. 20^ W. At a luke about eiglit miles below Loonhead lake whore the river makes a j >g to the east for three miles, the central island and a lonij point reaching out from the south-east, are both found to be composed of light fine-grained dolomitic limestone, dipping along the eastern edge, towards the north-east. As the beds are not all standing in this position but are more nearly horizontal at the south-west side, it is possible that beneath these are sandstones of a friable nature which have been denuded so that the beds have fallen down. There appeared to be no fossils in tho beds with the exception ■ of a few broken crinoid stems, so the exact age could not be decided, but in their general appearance they resemble the beds exposed on Cumberland lake which are of Niagara aga The limestone is fine- grained but pitted by numerous small caviti-js, possibly impressions of salt crystals. This outlier of limestone is the only one known in this district at any great distance from the general outcrop of the Silurian and Cambro-Silurian rocks. The lake in which they are found is generally called Limestone Point lake. From here onward for about eight miles the river runs north-north- west, following the strike of the rocks, which become garnetiferous and generally of a dark colour at the end of that distance. It then turns N. 20 E. till it enters the main body of Burntwood lake, flowing through a succession of narrow lakes connected by deep channels. In this distance the channel cuts occasionally across the strike of the rocks. Those in the upper half of the distance are running N.W. and S.E., b« coming more and more contorted, until at the middle of the course, light reddish gneiss and granite appear with included fragments of the darker rocks. The reddish rocks seem to have been in a plastic state at a later period than the dark gneisses. DOWUXo] BURXTWOOD RIVBR 39 WW The itrike of them later rocks is about eastHtnd-weHt and they con- tinue north to the main body of the lake, approaching which they are seen to be broken into by large dykes of flesh-red granite. Burntwood lake is unlike many of the other lakes of the district as n..n.t« ..hI It IS but a narrow channel, or rather three channels meeting to form a '*'" Y. The southern branch may be said to run as far as within two miles of Limestone Point lake, as the first current is there met. The western arm reaches to near the waters of the Churchill to which there IS an old portage road. This partis more regular in shape than the southern one as well as wider, probably because its course lies nearly along the great break indicated by the flesh coloured granite dykes also noted on Cold lake and part of Churchill river. Near its western end It breaks across through some of the ridges and continues on in the same direction but on a course three miles to the south-west. In this latter part the lake is bordered by high rocky hills The eastern arm broadens out and several large islands are found. The rocks of R.K..ks „f this eastern portion and also down the river (as the outlet is from this '^l branch) as far as the first rapi J, are all striking nearly north-and-south or about N.N.W. and S.S.R They are gray and dark garnetiferous gneisses which show in high ridges on both sides of the valley. The channel runs about north-east but is detlected back and forth along the direction of the gneiss ridges. The outlet of the lake may be said to be situated at the first narrows where there is a strong current This point is only about four miles below the widest part of the lake and about twelve from the inlet of the south branch. From there to the portage from Nelson lake, the river is very much of the .same character as that of the south branch-narrow and with a deep channel flanked by high ridges of gneiss. From the above mentioned portage the river turns to the east, and begins Its de.-scent to the basin of Three Point lake. This basin is situated, by an estimate of the fall in the river, about 150 feet l«low the level of Burntwood lake. In this part of its course the character CUy ,ie,«,it of the surrounding country is of a totally different character owing to "' '^'"'"'™1 a deposit of clay of lacustral origin which is spread over the eastern "" side of the slope lying to the west of the Nelson river. Near Three Point lake the deposit is of considerable thickness as the river has cut out a deep valley which decreases in depth up to Burntwood lake. On the Burntwood lake basin there is but a thin coating of soil of any kind. Small terraces between the rocky ridges appear here and there but as the river is descended these are more pronounced and, as noted at the portage from Nelson lake, form a oi'i);iii. 30 rr BAIKATCRIWAN, ATnABAlEA AND KBIWATIH Timlwr all Hniall. cle6nit« t«rrMe at five or rix feet above the river. The ilope of the underlj'ing rock* w apfiarentl; • trifle steeper than the snrfaoe of the /•'ay as the high ridges of gneiss, which form a prominent feature of the western part of the distriot, are here partially buried by the clay and the summits only appear at a distance from the river. At the various rapids the underlying rocks are generally seen, but elsewheie rock exposures are infrequent. The first portage is at a fsll of eight feet. The trail road is on the south side and is nal'.jd Carrot portage. It is through a fairly heavy bluff of poplar, small spruce and Banksian pine to a small lake or pond at the foot of the rapid. Shortly below this, the Mtream enters a rocky gorge, through which there is another fall of eight feet. There the principal tree is the Banksian pine and the hilU on either side »eem to lie fairly well covered by it. The rocks at the fall are a reddish gneiss striking north-east and dipping 20° to the north-west. Below this fall there appears to be a belt of land with good soil skirting the river for somi' diitance. Occasionally a rocky point protrudes from beneath the clay, though as a rule the banks are fringed with willow indie iting alluvial soil. The timber near the river is mostly poplar but a short distance back it is Banksian pine and spruce, but all very small. Flathill portage, the next below, is at a fall of ten feet. The granite ledge which crosses the river here is seen on each side rising in a high ridge fifty feet aliove the clay terrace. For a short distance below Moose portage the valley is not deep, but at Clay portage the stream falls twenty-five feet into a much deeper channel which for six miles has scarped banks. The channel then widens out and the stream emtrges on what appears to be a lower terrace. Below the fall at Clay portage the rock is a reddish gneiss with bands of mica-schist and garnetiferous gmiss lying nearly horizontal but with a slight dip to the north-east. The banks there are about forty feet high and are composed of sand and gravel with a bed of clay on the surface. For a conaiderable distance below this the river flows through a fairly level country with here and there a boss of the harder rocks protruding through the clay plain. The mantle of clay here covers all the interval between the greater ridges arid the river which in flowing down the slope to the east runs more or less across the direction of these ridges, so that when the valley is worn down to any extent, rapids are nearly always found situated in line with these rocky hills. The stream is more or less a succession of still stretches with deep quiet flow, and shallows and rapids, genera'ly at the points as above noted. Many of these ridges form isolated knolls with their longer axes running in the direction of the strike of the rocks. One of these is noted just above the mojth of Muddywater oovuva.j BURRTWOOO RIVER 31 rr n w Md on the hne of ,U. axL. rapid, appear in the river. At Drift- K.ll. .. wood rapul ther« are two fall, of four and five feet r«i, eotiv.ly over Jr:^*'"-^ reJ gr .nitio gneus striking N. 3u' E. and 8. 20" W. A mile below th.-, at (.nnd^tone portage, the river again falU o.er bed. of .imUar red gneiM. There i» very little fall for the next four mile-, or until it pawe. along the we.t »ide of another rocky rid.e. Then it turn, to .aH r°J \ r **'"'■ ''"' " i"»«'val»of le« than a mile, making ^ , f <"' ''"■*^ '•*'• '^^^ ^"" '» * '»» °' -^••« '««t. "d the e«,nd of eight feet ; the third, Leaf rapid, i. a fall of eight feet, and the la.t. Gate rapid, of seventeen feet. At the fi«t of thin «,ries the r.K:kH are reddish granitic gneii^es with a few band* of included frag mont8 of darker gnein. striking north and «,uth. At the second, the rock IS a contorted garnet-gneiw, follow, d on the east by u porphyritic gran.te-.ne,.. At the third, the rock is .imilar to the second, and the same rocks continue to the fourth. The nver below Gute rapid enters a deeper valley and make, a ben.l to the north. The Unks are sand and clay and before Three-point lake is reached, they have risen to about thirty feet. In tl.is interval several rapids are situated hut the portages are al short. The la,t rapid to be passed befoi-e reaching the lake IS called Moose-nose rapid, where the channel is constricted by «„ out-cop of gneiss which forms on the east .side a bo.s of rock bearing a ru e resemblance to the nose of a moose-hence its name. Below this the channel broadens out and the current is sluggish, except at a few points. Near the lake the valley turns to the north-east and joins the basin ,n which he. Three point lake. Banksian pine Is growing thicklv Ti.nW. on the elge of the valley, but in places large groves of spruce and tamarack appear in the lower parts and along the edge of the stream are groves of black poplar and birch. I f Alhapapuskow Lake. From the north shore, which is profusely dotted with islands, a long .^thapanu,- Uy runs to the north. The shores and islands in the north-eastern ''"" '"'"'• portion of the lake consist of green Huronian schists and fine-grained ma.,s.ve gabbro. About five miles south-west of the head of the river this greemitone is overiain l.y Trenton limestone which soon forms a low escarpment a short distance back from the beach. The southern e::d and part of the north-western shore were not visited. On the south-west shore considerable areas are covered with large white spruce The route to the heaCwaten. of Kississing river is by a stream flowing into the north end of this lake. To reach it the north-east shore was followed from the outlet. The main body of the lake stretches to the south-west and is generally free of islands. HimmiMi rock*. li > 33 n Indian cani|i. ■ASKATOBIWAM, ATHABAaXA AMD KHWATI!! After pMaing * prominaBt point » mil* fnm th« outlet the first rocka noted on the north ihore are of • (Urk-green squeezed eruptive; the lines of str»tifloetion or foliation, though indistinct, run north-eut and south-west. The shore is fringed with small spruces and occasional birches. At five miles west of the outlet, on passing through a narrow channel behind an island two miles long, another bajr is crosned which runs to the north-east with the strike of the rock*, and to the west on one of the islands, is seen a cliff of limestone capping the central part, the lower margin of the shores being of Huronian green- L ..one. Westward from there the north shore is said to be capped by similar limestone. Passing behind another island by a narrow strait, a much larger opening is entered, but at the entrance, two small islands are observed composed of a light reddish-coloured rock. This is found to he a granular granite, partially stained by greenish-coloured min- erals, probably from the nearby conta: t with what seems to be an intruded Huronian moss. The rocks along the shore of the larger islands just passed are more crystalline than those first Keen and appear to be massive. The colour is a dark gray-green, wea hering brownish. The first of a group of islands half-way across the bay to the north is made up of a dark-green squeezed and altered i ranitic gneiss with the foliation liearing N. 36° E. The rocks of the islands and un the point north of this are of a soft fine-grained greenstone, containing many rusty specks and small masses of calcite. On the point to the east of the entrance to the next bay are green schists striking N. 2j° E., but most of the rock in the vicinity is massive in structure. The hills around this bay are partly bare and seem to be of rounded bosses of greenstone. The only timber seen is spruce, with a few birch trees. In the strait, a small level patch on which there is some soil, is the site of an Indian camp where there are a few graves carefully preserved and neatly enclosed by a wooden fence. This camp is occtupied each year by a few families whose hunting ground is at the heightK>f-land to the north. The rock is a pseudo-conglomerate formed most probably by pressure and shearing. The matrix is a fine-grained green schist inclosing angular and sometimes ovoid fragments of a coarser crystalline rock lighter in colour. In a few cases the latter consisted of fine-grained greenstone apparently, broken up dyke material. The foliation was N. 20= E. I|i ■MIITLIIIU ATHAPAPU8KOW I.AKB 33 rr The Pine-root river, which wu aacended, omptie-. into tbr west tide of thin \»y two milot from the entrance. The mouth in hidden in m gramy flat and the vulley throagh which it flows ia not a pmmim>nt feature, an it is crookwi and narrow. It drains three closely connoote«l lakes at elevations estimated at 60, 65 and 75 feet rtspectively above Athapapuskow lake. The lower one is only alwut four miles from the mouth of the stream. Most of the fall occurs near tlm outlet from the lak<^ where several cast-odes make a descent of forty fet-t Lower down smaller rnpids are met, but these are each not over five feet in height. The rocks noted on the r ver are mainly at the several porUge^ K.Kk-ol rim- Near the mouth the stream flows along the eastern face of a ri be glaciated, the striao running down the valley. The rock showing .It the foot of the lowest rapid is a black or dark green fjuartz- porphyry. The particles of .juartz are small and the matii.x very fine grained. At the upper end of the rapid the rock is a .lark quar'tzite- conglomerate with a few small pebbles of a bright red jaj^per. -^ ,is Und lies to the west of the quartz poq.hyry and the river cros. it again a short distance up. Irregular veins of a n.illcwhite quartz appear on a boss r,f rock on Hie „est side of the fall but they seem to be segregations and not fissure veins. At this [ ortage a terrace oi sand and gravel is crossed whieh is about fifteen feet above the water- The strike of the rocks in this part of the valley is v-ry noa.Hy north- Itil^e 'f and south, an.l the first two r.ipids cross and recross a band of con- """''""''•"'• Slomerate which to the north and south forms a distinct ridge The stream cutting through this from the eastward leaves a small bisin in which is a narrow lake. From the i. .rth east corner of this lake to the larger one above, the rocks are all green schist.s striking alon- the course of the stream or about N. 20' E. an.l for most of the way the stream .uns between high rid-es of the schists. At the outlet 'f.om the lake the valley terminates and the water deseends about forty feet ,n a series of cascades. A portage of J mile on the east side passes over a ridge of greenstone and -ireen schist striking N. 12° W. The lake is not above two miles in length and scattered through it \\- ^ k are several small islands lying in rovs parallel to the strike of the '■''^■-'• schists. At the north-east corner a small roun.l lake is sejuirate.! from the main body by a ridge of .lark-green rock, partly schistose over which the water of the upward continuation of the stream flows 13— FF— 3 34 FF SASKATCHEWAN, ATHAUA8KA AXDK KKW ATIJf Houw Ir '.wii!'. lliirtininn riK-k. making a fall of two or three feet. At the east side across the pond is the mouth of a ^mall quiet stream which connects with the middle lake. There is a small well-built house on iti hanks, the winter home of one of the families of Indians who hunt in this vicinity. The middle lake is not as large as the lowest but longer and rather narrow. About tbo middle of the distance up this lake to the inlet of the stream above, the strike of the rocks, which for a short distance had been difficult to make out owing to their massive character, w.vs clearly ob- served to lie nearly at right angles to that on the lower Inke. They are here striking east-and-west, nearly vertical, but at the inlet of the small stream from the upper lake, where there is a short portajie, there is a semblance to a dip of W. 38 S. <40'. The rock is dark-coloured, miissive in structure and very mucl weathered or pitted on the sur- face. Some of it which is dark gray is soft enough for pipeston*". The stream from the upper lake is only some 500 yards long and as it leaves the lake it falls ten feet over a ridge of dark serecito schist striking across the stream in a rlirection W. 28° S. or E. 28' N. dip- ping at an angle of 70" to 80' southwards. On the upper lake the Kuronian greenstones come in contact with Laurentian granite-gnei.ss and the line of contact occurs along the longest diameter of the lake. All the large islands appear to be of Huronian rock. On one near the contact this appears to be partly recrystallized giving the rock the aspect of a diorite. The surface is rough and many grains of quartz appear throughout the rock. < )n the north-west side of the lake the rock is a finegrained granite with few inclusions or patches of dark hornblende- rock in it. There 13 a slight foliation running N.E. and S.W. A crooked clianiiel leaves the lake at the north end and runs with a general north-west direction for two miles, ending in a small round pond into which only a rivulet runs. This is just to the south of the height-of-land. river. KiKsinsing River. The portage over the height-of-land i.s three-quarters of a mile in length, and the direction followed from the south side is generally about N.N.W. At the south end the rocks are reddish-gray gneiss striking north-east. The northern half of the portage is through mus- keg, but rocky ridges occur here and there showing gneisses and schists dipping steeply to the north-west. Before reaching the north DOWI.INU. KiSMINSINO KIVKR ari KK on.i the trail descends a steep hill, the boundary of a basin in which lies a small lake. Muskeg extends from this hill out t<} the eclne of the water and the outer edge is mo • or leas a floating bog. It"^wu» estimated that this lake is 1 , •■, tliu.^ fl —60 . The river leaving this lake is wide, and with sluggish current. For two miles it passes through a muskeg through which here and there app..ar ridges of rock. It was (luite evident on entering the stream that the small creek by which we reached the lake did not form a very important branch, but that the head-waters must be situated much farther to the west and a stream of larger size will probably be found to enter at i he western end of the lake. At the outlet from Kisseynew lake there is a small fall of llircf feet, above which is a gray gneiss striking east and west and nearly vertical. The river is wide and deep for nearly two miles down, but then suddenly turns to the north and runs through a small break in a ridge of gneiss, falling eight feet to follow foi a short distance its previous easterly course. At this fall the gneiss is striking E. 10' S. and in it are granitic inclusions or segregations of feldspar and (luartz drawn out into long stringers. A little soil here covers the rock, and below the fall the river banks are found to have a low terrace of five to eight feet of sand. On the ridges Bauksian pine is the principal lakr. ' KimiiHiiDg Uke. Lako traveiwtl t4i imtli't. 36 PF liASKATCIIEWAN, ATIIABA8KA AND KEKWATIN timber and in the valley below to near Cold or Kissiasiiig lake this tree is found in tall grooves on the sandy terrace. A few scattered spruces are slIm seen. Kissistxng Lake. bearing the lake the valley broauens out to half a mile between the line of trees on either side and the stream winds in a very crooked course through grass and reeds. At the south-west end of Kississing lake the stream falls into a long bay, the shores of which are low and the water a dark yellow. No timber, except small spruce and Bank- siau pine, is seen on its shores. On the first island the rock is mostly light-coloured pegmatite, containing fragments uf schist. Light- coloured rocks appear on the east shore, probably belonging to the same intrusion. North of the island gray-gneiss appears in nearly horizontal, wavy bedci, which have a slight dip to the north-west. In the strait leading to the larger part of the lake the gneisses containing a few veins of [tegmatite, dip about ^0 north-east and on the bank there is exposed about six feet of sand with a light soil on the surface containing a few boulders. Entering the larger part of Kississing lake it is found to be so thickly dotted with islands that any extended view is limited to an occasional glimpse between them. The hills on the east side are very thinly coated with timber and a few of the islands have a little spruce on them. The lake was traversed on a direct line through the islands to the outlet. As the country to the north-west is rather low the main, land in that direction could not very well be made out. On the east a range of hills, bare and rocky, forms the ea^t shore and the limit of the lake in that diiection was seen to be about four miles, keeping nearly parallel to tiur course. As the several rock-exposures noted are all on the islands and not easily identified a few notes are given on these localities with their distance from the outlet. At 10'8 miles from the outlet, the rocks arc gray micaceous horn- blende gneisses dipping to the north-north-east at angles of 10' to 20°. A third of a mile north-east on a large island a wide dyke of (legmatite breaks through hornblende-gneiss and schist, which in places are liber- ally charged with pyrites. The contact with the intrusive mass has oxidized some of the pyriUjs so that the surface in the vicinity is stain- ed with rust. The dip is not constant and the beds are somewhat wavy, but the average inclination is \V. 30' N. at an angle of 40". UOWLIXu] KISSISSINU LAKE 37 FF Three miles from tlu outlet the rocks are light-coloured gneisses con- taining quartz and very little feldspar with specks of biotite. Small garnet crystals also appear in a few of the beds which arc dipping N 30 E. at an angle of SO". At the outlet, the gneisses are gray in Kississing river lielow Ki; colour and dip N. 20^ E. at an angle of 20". this lake is much larger than the stream above. Its course is at first in ["k a northerly direction, passing over several ridges of gneiss with sanay terraces near the stream. The course of the river is then detl«ctcd more to the east, and at half a mile falls eight feet over a ledge of gneiss Below this for two miles the stream flows due east between rid"es of gneiss parallel to the strike, falling at last over several smull rapids The central one of these has a fall of over five feet and a portage is made for seventy-five paces past it. A sudden turn U. the north reveals another fall of ten feet over a rocky bed, past which it is neccs- sary to portage for a distance of 400 yards. Clay is observed un the portHge road, which ri^es ten feet above the water at the upper cud. The upper surface has the appearance of a terrace but mostly of .sa d. This is another small rapid with two feet fall a short distance below this, when the valley is seen to open out and the view ahead is of almoH bare rocky hills, a continuation of the ridge forming the eastern bound- ary of Cold lake. As the river approaciies this ridge it is deflected to the north-ea.st and .soon, bare and rocky hills appear, on the north side the timber having been burnt over. The course of the river from the edge of the ridge to Takkin- ., is in the form of % long curve to the nonh east. In this dista.- lid of four feet was run at five miles from the lake, where the cc ,e river crossed the strike of banded red and white g.ioiss and a f. y thin belts of mica-schist dippin" no. th at an angle of 10. Below the rapid the course of the stream is with the strike of the rocks. The hills on either hand seem to reach an < -m elevation of somewhat less than one hundred feet. The whole country li',"' ' 111*,' riv( r luliiw appears to be covered by small Banksian pines of four or tive years growth. A ridge of red granite rises on the north side of the valley tluei' miles from the lake and is probably the same as tiiat which crosses again below the lake. The valley broadens out and the stream flows with a very crooked course and little current through grassy Hats before reaching the lake. Between the ridges on the side of the valley small terraces of sa.u' gravel with a little clay, rise to fifteen feet above the wat.;r and the F,anksian pines become much taller in patches and are associated with a sprinkling of spruce. piiii'. 3.S vr HAMKATCiieWAN, ATIIAIIAHKA AND KEKWATIN '3 mi Inland of sriiriiftift'roiw ^rnci-ts at lliav.T fall. Takkipy lake lies ia a basin aun-ounded hy nearly bare hills. The outlet flows from the north end of a narrow arm where the river breaks through a ridge of reddish granite-gneiss, with a fall of eight feet. A portage of one hundred paces is made over heavy Ijedded gneiss dip- ping north-east at an angle of 30" to 40\ The valley below this fall continues in the same northerly direction but soon narrows to a canyon with steep rocky sides through which the river falls fifteen feet in u distance of two hundred yards. At the lowtr end of the portage is a small thicket of poplar and spruce, but the timber on the higher parts, both at the portage and on the surrounding hills, consi.sts of small Bank- sian pine only. From below the fall the northern edge of the high rocky country which surrounds Takkipy lake runs to the west, but on the east it is not so definite, as rocky ridges extend to the north. From a valley on the north a small branch enters and half a mile below this the river falls about four feet in small rapids. The rocks iire quite massive and appear to be nearly horizontal but dip slightly to the north. After passing a small round hill on the west side, a branch, the largest yet seen, joins the stream from the west. From this to Beaver fall the stream is fringed with rushes and the current is sluggish. At Beaver fall the river divides and falls fifteen feet nearly perpen- dicularly on each side of an island of garuetit'erous gneiss. A portage is made across the island over bare rocks to the foot of the fall, a dis- t-incc of about tweiity-fivo yards. The rocks are nearly horizontal. Before reaching the portage they appear to l)e dipping slightly to the south but iit the foot they are dipping rilightly to the north. The beds are of garnetiferous gneiss interstratified with alight red j,i-anite-gneiss. Prot>iCted .-urfanps show glacial striae running S. 39" W. On the banks there is some good soil on which is growing fair sized timber, mostly poplar. The area of good land in this jiiirt of the valley must be small as the rocky hills are but a short distance Ijiick from the river. The lake into which Kississing or CoUl river enters is on the same level as the Churchill river, with which it is connected by a narrows at Shaving puint. It occupies a deep rocky valley d'jtted with many islands. Along the sides of the valley and covering the summits of the islands is found a deposit of clay in which are noticed many small concretions somewhat similar to those from the clay of the Nelson River valley. It is confined here, however, to a narrow strip along the valley of the Churchill. ] LOWER HART KI8SI88INO RITER 39 FP The character of the rocks in a great measure contrasts with those Cliar.irti are here hrokon "*""■ into by large dykes of a salmon-colourod granite and the dip is increased to a high angle, becoming almost perpendicular. At the south end of the lake the salmon-colouietl gianit«s are much in evidence and form large patches on the prominent points. Near the mouth of Kississing river they are seen in the cliiTs tr. l)e generally interstratified with darkf r gneiss. A short distance to tho north there are many examples of bead- ed gneiss in which the daiker rocks are very much altered and d.awn out in irregular forms. Many of tho beds are very much seamed and broken by dykes of tho pegmatite and the fragments show greater alteration and squeezing. The direction of the dykes is about parallel to the strikp of the gnoiss or W. .lO" N. and E. -W 8. .ill I 'I'fKiiiatitf ilykcs anil «i|iiilv.ii1 (Iiiiiss and ScliiKt Churchill RinT. J. -9i 40 FF 8>8KATC«BWAN, ATHABA8KA AND KEBWATIBf i I , i fl.iml.ill tiwr. Churchill Rxv:r. The uneven n«tu« of the «>cky floor of the v.Dey i, seen in the .nany «^nd.«tudded lake, .long it« cou«e. F,x,m Shavin« p„ „I s.-onrrd\^?"u •'•'"' *" -"tractions the current beco.no Htrongerand at two or three places for short distances reaches four n,.re, an hour. On the lake the gneisses seem to be ^nn nTertind itrrtr::;:"-^"^-^"^^-™- — i-^trt At the foot of Pukkatawaganfall the n^ks ar, .ontorted .^arnet- fe ous gray gnei«. .hich seea,s to have been so much c..n^pxTlx contorted as t.. have lost all general strike. On the lower part oTk" ." "utZ li "f?" r-^r"^-- -'»-««»"• At the fall there is a 1' InlrTh f 1 t"/""^ ""''"■ ^" '*"°*''«'- <='■--' -hi-h runs n.th atananglLf thirty Tgls^b'^LlntrLf^'^X' l.ar';e red granite dykes. ' ^ " venty-five feet The portage r«ad on the north-east side runs ovor a ght^race and po.nt of rock for 600 paces coming down to a l.n.l •n the r,ver below the rapid. On the terr.^e the soH is clay with !k,u dors and upon this and the slopes near the river are small grov 7of poplar. The hgher parts are sandy and thinly covere.l by BaZa" Tth 'r t*'" '"'"''"^^ this level are quite bare. tOZZ at the fall are horizontal thick-bedded red granite-gneiss. Near the Churchill river the valley is almost free of timber, except a httie on the slopes of the hills and near the mouth. The rodcs In .nass.ve gramte-gneisses with aslight dip to the north. At thetoutl, the rocks are ma.,sive granites with contorte.l inclusions of Trker .,K.s._ Wherever there is any foliation it is east-and-west wiu'l Above the fall the river expands again into another lake which con- ■ nues on to the west for six miles and then turns to the north west r...,..„ p.... for alx,ut the same distance. On the north side, near the Lnd the -J MASKATCHF.WAN' RIVKR 41 FF Hudson's Biy Co. have a winter trading post. There are several houses and a Roman Catholic mission building. These u-e all built Kuman on the surface of a terrace of clay ten feet above the lake, and J;,"'»ion" although there did not seem to be any gardens attached, there were several potato patches on the islands in the vicinity. The rocks above the fall are light gray massive gneiss, and on the islands two miles to the west thev are mostly of 'he light salmon-coloured peg- matite. At the post the rocks are a light-gray gneiss, nearly horizontal, but with a slight variable dip to the north. On the part of the lake running to the north-west the strike of the gneisses follows the direc tion of the lake. About the centre of this part of the lake the strike is nearly north-and-south, with a dip of only 30' to the east. At the western end of the lake the strike has again changed to east-and-west. The depression filled by the lake, thus seems to follow very closely the line of the strike of the foliation of the gnei.-ises as well as that of the great break or breaks now filled by the light-reddish granite. On Bonald lake the rocks are mostly of the light granite with in- clusions or streaks and patches of dark gneis.s, rimniiii,' in msinv direc- tions. The hills are clothed mostly with Banksian pine, but occasional liiuiksinn groves of black spruce with a few tall trees of white spruce are seen. '""" ' At Bloodstone full jjray gneisses running east-and-west and dipping to the north are cut in the vicinity of the portage trail on the south side of the river, by wide dykes of a coarse red granite. The name of the fall is possibly given on account of the re I granite. A few i,'Hrnets are to be found in the gneisses but these are not so prominent or large as at Fukkatawagan fall. Sisipuk lake occupies the upward continuation of the valley in .si,ip„u i.,k. which the river flows from Bloodstone fall to the inlet to Fukkatawa- gan lake. On the south, skirting the shores of the lake, ri.«es a prominent line of hills. To the north lietween the lake and the river the country is not so elevated. The rocks at the east end run east-and- west with a, slight dip to the north. They are mostly of gniy gneiss with lighter-coloured streaks of granite. Towards the middle of the lake the rocks are garnetiferous gneisses. On the islnnils leading northward to the mouth of the river the rocks strike north-west and south-oast, dipping to the northea.st, and show niiiny examples of the striped rocks such as aro seen in the lower part of the river. A snort distance north of the lake the river divides passing around a large island. On the smaller branch the fall is at two and a half miles from the turn. This is a chute aljout forty feet wide, "ust this the iiort- 13— FF— + ^ li 43 pp SABKATCRBWAN, ATHABA8KA AND KBEWATIN I lii ' Portage Ui Hisipuk lake from Moun- tain lake. age trail is over a clay terrace rising ten feet above the water and lying between two hummocks of rock. Above this fall the chi. .nel broadens out, and running to the west, joins the main body at the south end of Loon lake. The gneisses i.ere trend nearly north-and-south, with a high dip to the east and many granite veins cut throu:?h them. On one of the small islands in the channel the exposure has the appearance of a patchwork of dark fragments inclosed in a light granito. Above Loon lake the river again pas.ses on each side of a large, high island f.,r eleven miles. The channel on the east side is narrow and in a few of the narrower places a slight current is observed, other- wise all this part is of the nature of a straggling lake. The strike of the rocks gradually swings around from a north-and south direction on Loon lake to east-and-west in the narrow channel above mentioned, and on Mountain lake, from which tho portage to Sisipuk lake starU,' the strike is south-west and north-east. The portage to Sisipuk lake measure three-quartersof a mile through gap in the hills, leaving Mountain lake at a terrace of .sand fifteen feet high, on the surface of which there h some good soil. Most of the distance is through small spruce to a marshy inlet from the west end of the lake. AI)ove this the river issues from a narrow gorge in the ran^re of hills which runs along the south side of .Sisipuk lake, "ihe usual course taken in ascending this part of the stream is to follow a channel on the east parallel to the main river, and portage over a rid^e to Doctor lake above. Descending from Doctor lake, the rapids may be run by keeping close to the shore on the west sid . At tho foot of the rapids the gneisses are generally liaht in colour and contain many dark fragments of contorted schists. On Doctor lake the strike is north-and-south with a dip to the west. The Sturgeon Stone is a steep cliff over 100 feet high at the entrance to Doctor lake. Several small islands of sand and clay are seen in the centre of the channel and on the sides of the valley traces of a terrace still remain. Alwve this Hw stream was not examined, but its course is from the west and i.s said to \^- very rough with many rapids and falls as far as the mouth of Deer river. The hilly country to the .«outh of Sisipuk lake and north-west of Loon lake is not well timbered bot the lower land between the two and on the islands is fairly well covered by groves of small spruce. m BOWLWO.] RABKATCilBWAir RIVER 43 rr Ih! H 7 I ^ '""« "*'•' "'■ ''^•"'='> «' N'l'wn lake to ne«r ji' '^•■-' river for rf ""' ^ "''"' "" P"^*-**^- ^""^ «»--« Po^t "e """"^ nver for a du.Unce .s flowing in . narrow crooked channel Tn which chann bro« ens out to I.k.like dimension., in which are ...atter^I many large «l.„d,. The ,o.k. are generally light-gray and whitS ir.cuson> One long string of schist was observed to have been entirely foded back on itself. All these a., again cut by fleshlolo^r^ g«nue .n large dykes. The general strike of the rois leeTtlt about north-west and south-east. The hill, hei-e again becol no nment and there are still on s<..ne of the islands and I sheltered ^ tr^es of a terrace deposit of .sand and clay. A .hort porUge wL made across a narrow neck at the centre of a long in-egTlar island post for winter trade on an island just within the narrow strait and to the east are hght-coloured granites and gray and dark-colou !5 hrfrba'T^-ir"'-^"^""' ''°"''-^^^*- o-LionaiX :i: ^ uaa ot the bare hills running ai n is much'short Id generally foHowed by canoe parties. Two miles east from the present post the rock ,s a mass of granite dykes inclosing irregular Irea, and ^?rt 'f '""" ^*"'''"« '" — ' dir^ction^ At thT first tervairt: fn Z^yT^lsoVZZTV ''"' "'«^ '''""^ "" •"" ceil rocKy 1 iges ot light<;oloured gran te and gneiss Rnf ». 2^^^.:^^ "' "'""^-^'^ '^"«*''-^''« «- «^ y-^^ andT sefoni The portage to Burntwood river starts tr^.« . n . «^s from t^ east and enters thlUlr ^^^ ^X l:^:: iS -^^- abo^e thrx,ugh a gap m the ridge which bounds its southern shore It ""' begins in a willow swamp but soon gains a rocky ridge irha'fa mil 44 rr 8AHKATCHRWA!t, ATIIABABKA AND KRBWATIN and again dips through a swamp. Half a mile farther a higher ridge is ; ned and from there on to the river there is a long clay slope or terrace covered by Banksu>n pine. At the river bank the vegetation is riciier and in the tall gnus is found the wild pea vine. Poplar trees replace the pine. It seems prolmble that the better drainage of the river bank makes the soil warmer and so encourages earlier growth