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McConni ., Obputt Mimr.KR. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY i MEMOIR 82 I No. M, Gkolooical Series Rainy River District, Ontario. Surficial Geology and Soils BY W. A. Johnston OTTAWA GoysBMiuMT Purhno Bureau 1915 No. 1572 Xi--' ;«. -!'-<•' ^i-: '■iy.BFr ^iP !^i. v:. ( M^^x'^m :t^ ■% .■s .•• \i ■■-|>-^:^--: ■■>- 7": .^'':-;w V'^-ri*^^ .a,«vi^»4.^. :i:ii: rd-- it:-^'?^.^ 1 I I e3 •eg .5 '' e CANADA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon Lovif CooBBM, Miniitim: R. C. McConnux, Dbpvtv MiNimi. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ■^^1^-^f'^liVl No. M, GeoLooKAL Slim Rainy River District, Ontario. Surficial Geology aPv^ Soils W. A. Johnston OTTAWA GovnNHBNT Punting Bukbau 1915 No. 1572 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PACK Introduction j General statement 1 Field work and acknowledgments 3 Location and area 3 Geographical relations 3 History 4 General history 4 Previous work 5 CHAPTER II. Development and general character of district 8 Development g General statement 8 Population 9 Land areas 9 Agriculture 9 Lumbering 10 Climate 1q Vegetation I5 CHAPTER III. Summary and conclusions 17 Physiography I7 Surfidal geology 17 Soils 19 Future possibilities 21 CHAPTER IV. Physiography 22 General statement 22 Detailed account 23 Relief .........'.'. 23 Drainage 24 General statement 24 Rainy river 25 Minor drainage 27 Lakes and swamps 29 Glacial erosion and deposition 32 a CHAPTER V. PAGI Deicriptive geology 34 General statement 34 Quaternary system 38 Pleistocene series 38 Old calcareous drift of Keewatin glacier 38 Red drift of Labradorean glacier 38 Red till 38 Fluvioglacial deposits 39 Grey or calcareous drift of Keewatin glacier 40 Glacial (calcareous) till 40 Terminal moraines 43 Stage of glaciation 44 Deposits of pro-glacial Early Lake Agassiz 45 Glacio-lacustrine clays 45 Boulder deposits 48 Pro-glacial Early Lake Agassiz 50 Deposits of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz 51 Lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine depositt 51 Fossils 54 Littoral deposits 56 Recent series 60 Alluvium 60 Dune sand and beach sand 60 Muck and peat 61 CHAPTER VL Historical geology 62 Quaternary period 62 Pleistocene epoch 62 Succession of events 62 Genesis of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz 64 Earth crustal warping 70 Recent epoch 70 CHAPTER VII. Economic geology 72 Water resources 72 Lakes and rivers 72 Ground-water 73 Wells and springs 74 Water-powers 75 Clays 75 Sands and gravels 78 PAOI Pe»t 79 Sails 79 General character of aoil* 80 DUtribution of loila 82 Detcription of aoib 82 Muck and peat 82 Dune land and beach sand 83 Silty clay loam of stream alluvium 84 Gravelly sandy loam of old lake beaches 84 Fine sand of lacustrine deposits 84 Clay loam and clay of lacustrine deposits 85 Gravelly loam and gravelly clay loam of glacio-lacuatrine deposits (wave-washed) 86 Gravelly fine sandy loom of calcareous till (wave-washed) . 87 Gravelly loam of calcareous till (wave-washed) 89 Red drift soils 89 Bed-rock outcrops with little or no soil 90 Drainage of swamp landx 90 CHAPTER VIII. Bibliography 93 Index 119 ILLUSTRATIONS. PACK Map 132A, No. 1379. Map of Rainy River district showing surficial geology and soils (In pocket) Plate I. Looking down Rainy river from north side, 8 miles below Fort Frances; showing steep banks and trench-like character of valley Frontispiece * II. New road cutting in Wild Land Reserve; showing dense character of forest growth 97 * III. Glaciated rock surfaces with little or no soil covering, formerly timbered, but now barren as result of forest fires; west side of Rainy lake 99 * IV. Glaciated rock surfaces. West side of Rainy lake 101 " V. New road and ditch across muskeg, sparsely timbered with spruce and tamarack 103 " VI. Section in gravel pit 1 J miles west of Fort Frances, show- ing calcareous till overlying stratified sand 105 " VII. Section in gravel pit 1 J miles west of Fort Frances, show- ing, at the bottom, stratified and ripple-marked sand passing upwards into laminated clay, and, at the top, calcareous till 107 PAGE Plate VIII. Section in gravel pit 1) mile* west of Fort France*, show- ing stratified sand minutely folded and overthnist by overriding d ice-sheet; till occurs in the upper right hand portion of the section. The rule in the middle distance is 7 inches long 109 " IX. Section exposed on bank of Rainy river below the dam at Fort Frances, showing character of sandy and gravel- ly, foasiliferous, lacustrine clays of pro-glacial Lake Agassir m ' X. Section showing a thickness of 12 feet of stratified and cross-bedded sand and gravel (containing freshwater shells) in beach deposit of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz; near north bank of Rainy river, 8 miles below Fort Frances 113 * XI. Section exposed on south shore of Lake of the Woods, showing at the bottom calcareous till passing upward into glacio-lacustrine, laminated, stony clays uncon- formably overlain by fluvio-lacustrine clays. The contact is a wave-cut plain " XII. Section exposed on south side of Buffalo point, Lake of the Woods, showing thin peaty bands interbedded with stratified sand. The peaty beds are one-half to 1 inch thick 117 Figure I. Index map showing location of area 2 Rainy River District, Ontario. Surficial Geology and Soils. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. GENERAL STATEMENT. Rainy River district has long been known to form an exceptional portion of the generally rocky and inhospitable country lying between Lake Superior and the fertile plains of Manitoba, in that it is essentially an agricultural region. It was known that the area was deeply covered with drift deposits which, for the most part, conceal the solid rock, and that a considerable part of the drift consists of calcareous material forming soils of exceptional fertility, it was also known that the greater part of the district had been at a former period covered by the waters of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz, an immense Uke which, at the close of the Glacial period, occupied Red River valley and the adjoining regions; and that lacustrine sediments laid down in this lake have added to the fertility of the soils. Very little field work has been done in the distrirt •mce the work of Dr. A. C. Lawson in 1886 and 1887 At that time the greater part of the district was practically inacces- sible on account of the absence of roads or other means of travel so that httle was learned as to the extent and character of the drift deposits and their geological history. The purpose of the present investigation has been to deter- mine the distribution and character of the different soils of the region and to learn something of the geology of the various unconsolidated rocks of the drift deposits upon which the differ- ent soils have been developed. The object of the present report and accompanying map is to set forth, as clearly as possible, the results which have been obtained. Fig. !■ Index map showing location of area. The map which accompanies this report is on the scale of 2 miles to 1 inch and has been coiipUed in the office of the Survey from the township plans of the district and from other sources of information. The colours shown on the map represent the different soils and also the unconsolidated rocks upon which the soils are developed. The descriptive names of the different soils are based on the relative proportions of the various sized particles comprising the soil, as determined by mechanical analysis. The classification of soil material as adopted by the United States Bureau of Soils has been followed. FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The field work upon which the present report is based was done, in greater part, during the field season of 1913. A canoe trip was made in the eariy part of the season down Rainy river from Fort Frances to Lake of the Woods and around the lake, foUoo "ng the southwesteriy and westeriy shore to the northern end of the lake and returning along the eastern side. In the autumn of 1914 about six weeks were spent in the field by the writer. Special acknowledgments are due to Mr. Frank Leverett, of the United States Geological Survey, for advice and infor- mation during the prosecution of the field work. Thanks are also owing to many individuals in the district, whose assistance in supplying information was always freely given. LOCATION AND AREA. The district described in the present report lies along the International Boundary, about midway between the western end of Lake Superior and Red river of Manitoba. It includes the greater part of that portion of the province of Ontario lying between Rainy lake and Lake of the Woods. The total area of the district, not including the township of Mathieu, the Indian Reserves, and the unsubdivided portion, is 1,051 square miles, of which 755 square miles were mapped. Considerable informa- tion was gained dso regarding the remaining portion. The area is bounded on the south by Rainy river which connects Rainy lake and Lake of the Woods and forms, for a distance of 82 miles, the International Boundary between the province of Ontario and the «eratures are high and the sunshine averages neariy 50 per cent of the highest amount possible. Seasons of exceptional dryness occasionally occur, during which there is danger from drought; but the facts that a large proportion of the annual precipitation comes in the growing season and that the ground-water level over much of the region is near the surface, largely offset the dan- ger from drought. Exceptionally dry summer seasons are stated to have occurred in 1886. 1896, and 1910, and in these years considerable damage to standing timber was done by forest fires. During these seasons, it is stated, many of the swamps were dry, but general crop failures did » it occur. VEGETATION. A large part of the area is clothed with a dens« growth of arboreal vegetation. The abundant forest growth is favoured, in spite of the comparatively small amount of rainfall and occa- sionally dry seasons, by the nearness to the surface of the ground- water level over a large part of the region. The flora of the northern, more rocky, and more sandy portion of the district resembles that characteristic of the great 16 'i! Laurentian Plateau region of Canada. The majority of the forest trees are coniferous, the Banksian or scrub pine occurring most abundantly. Red and white pine formerly were widely distributed over the rocky areas and to a less extent in the south- ern drift covered portion of the district, but have been largely removed by lumbering operations or destroyed by forest fires. Several groves of young pine occur in Mathieu and Dewart townships, and. in the Wild Land Reserve in the southern portion of the district, there are also a few groves of virgin, white and red '''"^"in the southern portion of the district deciduous trees more commonly occur. The aspen and balsam poplar are the most abundant and grow to a considerable size. They occupy for the most part the clayey areas, in compar with the kindred species Cottonwood and balm of Gilead. The sandy and gravelly ridees are generally marked by groves of birch and scrub pine, with occasional trees of red or white pine. The poorly drained areas which constitute a large proportion of the district are gener- ally clothed with cedar, tamarack, and the spruces Cedar and spruce most frequently occur where the surface drainage is poorly developed and where the subsoil is sandy and not deep y covered with muck or peat. The deeper bogs are clothed mainly with tamarack, except in their central portions, which are fre- quently treeless and covered with grasses or moss. Elm, oak. and box-elder or ash-leafed maple occur sparingly m the better drained areas and most commonly along the banks of the streams In certain portions of the region where, because of the slight relief, surface drainage is developed only sufficiently to prevent swampy conditions, neariy all the more common species of trees of the district may sometimes be seen growing withm a radius of 100 or 200 feet. 17 CHAPTER III. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. PHYSIOGRAPHY. Rainy River district lies just at the margin of the great Laurentian Plateau region of Canada. Although underlain for the most part at least by Pre-Cambrian rocks, the district is generally deeply covered with glacial and lacustrine deposits has very little relief, and slopes in general towards the west 80 that It really forms part of the eastern margin of the wooded portion of the prairie plains of Manitoba and northern Min- nesota, from which it is separated by the shallow basin of the lower portion of Lake of the Woods. The waters of pro-glacial (glacal-marginal) Uke Agassiz at their maximum extension covered nearly the whole area, and the deposition of lacustrine sediments lessened the relief and gave part of the surface the character of a plain. A large part of the area, however, where till or boulder clay forms the surface, is gently undulating but even m these areas the general relief is slight. Notable features in the character of the surface are the general absence of lakes due to the evenly aggraded character of the drift de- posits, and the large swampy areas where drainage is pooriv or not at all developed. Owing to the recency, in geological time of the disappearance of Lake Agassiz, the process of de- nundation of the drift covered areas has just begun and the region IS still in Its physiographic infancy. The rocky areas which border the district on the east and northeast have little or no drift coyenng and present features in common with the great laurentian Plateau region, the general character of which is that of an uplifted, slightly dissected and intensely glaciated plain, with a surface generally devoid of prominent elevations, but hummocky and irregular (Plates III and IV). SURFICIAL GEOLOGY. A considerable portion of the superficial deposits of the region consists of calcareous till or boulder clay containing a ! 18 large proportion of limestone. Bitnilar to that which outcrop, near Winnipeg in Manitoba. Thi. »"»*««* "^P*" ^* areas in the «)uthem portion of the region, but ..entirely absent in the northern portion, and in the eastern part doe. not extend farther than Fort France.. That thi. t II wa. brought mto the rcKion by a lobe of the Keewatin glacier advanang from the direction of Manitoba i« .hown. a. Dr. Uwson concluded, by the character of the drift and by the fact that «outhea.terly and easterly bearing .tri« occur in the district at numerou. pla<^ and as far east as the vicinity of Fort France.. These str« cross older, southwesteriy bearing stria.-, but were not seen to be themselves crowed by later .tria. . , . . , . ..,^ The calcareous or grey till » underiam m places by r«l drift." consisting of non-calcareous till and fl"vio-glac.al^nd. and gravels, derived from an ice sheet advancing from the north- e^t. ir^ a region underlaid by Pre-Cambrian crystalhne rocks. Hence the red drift contains no limestone. At one locality the red drift was seen to be underlain by a still older deposit of calcareous drift which was, presumably, derived from thTnorthwest. Closely associated with the ^ careous till is a series of glado-lacustnne strongly lamina^ clays They were deposited in a lake ponded between the mar- gin of a lobe of the Keewatin glacier, which brought in the ad- Leous till, and the higher ground to the south. The^/a^ frequently contain striated stones and boulders and were ev^- dSy deposited in standing water and at no great distance from ''' trttn aU these deposits are the lacustrine and littoral deposits of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz. They ^^^^PJ .^^^'^^^ ^1 are^ in the district and occur through a range of almudes of nearly 100 feet. Their maximum thickness is, in places, at ''"^remarkable feature in connexion with these lacust™« deposits is that they are separated from ^^e underlying glaao- la^trine clays and calcareous till by a marked unconformity showing an interval of erosion. During this erosion period suZ valleys of considerable size were formed and vegetation hadTo some extent obtained a foothold. The unconformity 19 •t the baM of the lacustrine deponto extends throughout the vertical range of these deposits Tyrrell has shown (15) that the latest advance of gladal ice in the region lying to the south and west of Hudson bay was from the northeast and that the junction of this glacier (Ubradorean) with the Keewatin glacier, which after retreat- ing well towards its source had again slightly readvanced. blocked the drainage towards the north and caused the ponding in the valleys to the south. This last advance of the ice from the northeast, apparently never reached as far as Rainy River district, for no red till was found to overlie the calcareous till The lacustrine deposits, in their lower portions, contain numerous freshwater shells and occasionally, small amounts of peaty material. Some of the beach ridges also, contain similar snells in considerable abundance. Below the contact of the lacustrine deposits and the under- lying glacio-lacustrine clay and calcareous till, the latter are m niany places deeply weathered, and it was evident from the thickness of the overiying deposits, that the weathering must have taken place before the deposition of the lacustrine sedi- ments. Stream valleys had been cut in the till to a depth of at least 25 feet, and later filled wiili lacustrine sediments. Hence it IS evident that subsequent to the deposition of the calcareous till, a considerable interval ensued, during which there was com- paratively free drainage to the north and that, as Tyrrell has maintained (15), the waters of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz had a rising stage during part of their history. The pro-glacial lake in which the glacio-lacustrine clays were laid down was associated with the lobe of the Keewatin glacier which brought in the cal- careous till; but this lake preceded Uke Agassiz and was at least partly, if not wholly, drained before Lake Agassiz came into existence. SOILS. A large proportion of the soils of the district is developed upon calcareous drift. Such soils are highly prized for agricul- tural purposes because of their general fertility. The soils of Ramy River district form no exception to this rule. Their natural fertility is also attested by the crop records; and the 20 general favourableneM of climatic conditions is shown by the fact that even in seasons of exceptional dryness the crops were not a failure. The total area mapped in the district includes about 7SS square miles. Of this area a region of approximately 240 square miles is poorly drained and generally swampy in character, and requires artificial drainage before it can be utilized for farm purposes. Much of the surface soil consists of muck or peat one foot or more in thickness, but in general not exceeding 3 feet. The greater portion of the swampy areas can be drained and ren- dered available for farm lands. Up to the present very little attempt has been made to utilize the swamp soils. The soils which have been most widely utilized are the gravel- ly fine sandy loam, loam, clay loam, and clay soils developed upon the calcareous till and glacio-lacustrine deposits. TheM soils occur in areas where the surface is of a gently rolling character and where drainage is naturally better developed than in the flatter areas. These soils occupy a combined area of 307 square miles. Much of the soil is still virgin and is generally highly productive. The soils developed upon the lacustrine deposits, usually occur along the valleys ri the streams, or near their mouths, and consist of fine sand, clay loam, and clay soils. The fine sand soil occupies an area of 32 square miles and the clay loam and clay soils f"< square miles. These soils are, for the most part, drained naturally in the areas near the streams and are among the most productive and longest utilized soils in the region. The soils developed upon the old beach ridges consist of gravelly sandy loam, generally excessively drained and poorly productive. They occupy an area of 10 square miles. Small areas of alluvial clay loam occur along some of the streams on their overflow terraces. They occupy an area of 12 square miles, and are subject to overflow by the stream in time of flood. In thr northern portion of the district the soils are largely developed upon non-calcareous drift and are more variable in character, but usually consist of gravelly sand and gravelly sandy loam. They occupy an area of 38 square miles. 21 The bed-rock area* in the di«trict upon which there is little or no soil, cover an area of 27 square miles. The region lying to the north and northeast of the district largely consists of barren rocky ridges. Dune sand and beach sand, which form unprotluctive soils, occupy only small areas on the islands and along the shores nea- the mouth of Rainy river. In addition to the area mapped, it is stated that a large proportion of the surface of Sutherland, Richardson, PotU. Fleming, and Dance townships consists of land suiuble for agriculture. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES. Lumbering and allied industries in the re«non have been, and are still, of Injportance. Considn able supplies of timber and especially pulp-wood still exist, but agriculture is becoming of mcreasing importance and it seems probable that in the future, the district must largely depend on its agricultural resources, for its economic development. The district embraces an area of approximately 1,050 square miles, exclusive of the Indian Reserves, the township of Mathieu (not open to settlement), and the unsubdivided areas. Of this area approximately 250 square miles consist of swampy muck and peat lands, much of which can be drained. The area of waste land is approximately 100 square miles. The occupied land in 1911 was 33-2 per cent of t.ie entire area, and 13-4 per cent of this was improved. The improved land, which forms only 4-6 per cent of the total area, in 1911 aflforded support for a rural population of 4,430. Even leaving out of account the swampy areas and waste land, it is evident that the soils of the region are capable of producing sufficient crops to support several times the present population. Nearly all the unimproved land is forested to some extent. Clearing of the land, it is stated, costs from $10 to $50 per acre. One of the most pressing neeJ . of the district, besides the construction of highways, is to im- prove the drainage. Many of the streams are blocked in numer- ous places by accumulations of drift wood and also by occasional rock barriers in their beds, which prevent free drainage. The removal of the obstructions in the streams should be the first step in undertaking drainage projects. 22 CHAPTER IV. PHYSIOGRAPHY. GENERi^i. STATEMENT. Rainy River district may be considered as forming part of the eastern m'irgin of the wooded portion of the prairie plains of Manitoba and northern Minnesota. It lies at the border of the rocky upland region stretching westward from the head of I^ke Superior, and its eastern edge is about 150 miles west of the watershed separating the Lake Superior drainage from the Hudson Bay drainage. The general altitude of this divide is nearly 1,600 feet and the general altitude of Rainy River district, about 500 feet lower. Hence Rainy lake forms a collecting basin for the drainage of a large region lying to the east, the av^trage slope of which does not greatly exceed 3 feet per mile. The slope of the rocky plateau region is apparently continued beneath the drift deposits of Rainy River ilistrict, which differs essentially from the adjoining rocky region, in that the drift deposits are of sufficient thickness to conceal for the most part the solid or bed-rocks. In general the drift becomes thicker and the bed-rock outcrops fewer towards the southwest, but outcrops of bed-rock do occasionally occur even around the south- ern end of Lake of the Woods. These rocks are all, so far as known, Pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks, and no positive evidence was found in the district of the occurrence of younger rocks in place. The character of the surface of the district is for the most part that of a well wooded plain, the general level of which is slightly lower than that of the rocky plateau region. Several factors have been operative in producing the plain-like character. Well borings show the drift to have a maximum thickness in places of 100 feet and occasionally rocky knobs rise 100 feet above the general level of the plain. This amount of relief of the rock floor corresponds to the general maximum relief 3J of the adjoining rocky plateau. The average relief i. still leM and t i. evident that the g,.neral low relief of the .urface of the under- lying roclu wan one factor in the production of -.he plain-like •urface. *^ A contidtrablc part of the aurfacr of the plain is occupied by calcareous tHI with only a aliRht covering, a few inches in thickne*. of lake ..It. and has a slightly undulatinR character, for the till wa, disposed, in Rreater part, as ground moraine and has very sl.Kht nlief. Terminal moraine, are not at all con- spicuous and in most cases the slight ridges of till which do occur are due to the nearness to the surface of the underlying rocks which frequently outcrop along these ridges. Near the eastern hm.t of the calcareous till a somewhat definite ridge, possibly marking a terminal moraine, occur, and in the north- eastern part of the district forms the divide for several miles but even in this case the relief is only a few feet above the sur- rounding country. Wave action during the lifetime of I..ke Agassiz served to plane of! many of the irregularities of the surface and the deposition of lacustrine sediments still further decreased t ie relief Since the disappearance of the lake, deposits of swamp muck and peat have filled many of the shallow depressions and occupied much of the surface where natural drainage is. as yet. pooriy developed. The deposits conceal minor irregularities and give an appearance of extreme flatness to much of the plain surface. ^ ,. T''*'.,*'';';''"''^'' «^ 'he region ia consequent i" character, that IS. If all the valleys made by recent erosion were filli-d up and the original surface restored, the directions of drainage would be practically the same as at present and would be con- sequent upon the general slope. In general the stream valleys are few in number and small in extent. Large interstream areas are virtually untouched by stream erosion and as a whole the region is just beginning a new cycle of denudation. DETAILED ACCOUNT. RELIEF. Rainy lake, at the eastern end of the district, has a present mean elevation of neariy 1,106 feet above sea-level and Uke of the Woods, at th v, extern tr , 1,060 feet, as determined from bench-marks esta. ' 'i ' \, he United States Geological Survey (25). The highest portions of the drift covered area lying between the lakes are along a poorly defined ridge extending from a point 6 miles west of Fort Frances in a northwesterly direction for about 20 miles. This ridge forms a watershed separating the streams tributary to Rainy river draining south- westerly, and those draining north and northeast'jrly. The altitude of the divide varies from 1,175 feet near the eastern portion, to about 1,250 in the northwestern portion and occasion- ally rocky knobs rise nearly 100 feet higher. The maximum relief of the district does not greatly exceed 300 feet and the aver- age relief is very much less. Rainy river flows, throughout the greater part of its course, in a markedly trench-like valley with relatively high steep banks. The average slope of the up- land bordering the river is less than one foot per mile. The general slope in a southwesterly direction towards Rainy river is somewhat greater, but the slope is interrupted by isolated areas nearly as high as the highest portion forming the divide. In the western portion near Lake of the Woods the relief is dis- tinctly less. In a traverse northward from a point on Rainy river, 20 miles east of Lake of the Woods, the highest point was found to be only 75 feet above the lake and the greater portion of the area lying to the west of this line is still lower. DRAINAGE. General Statement. Notable features in the surface of the plain are the general absence of lakes, due to the evenly aggraded character of the drift deposits, and the large, swampy, undrained areas. A few small lakes or ponds occur, but in most cases the original de- pressions in the surface of the drift were so shallow that they have been filled by the growth of vegetation. The swampy, poorly drained areas are due mainly to the low surface gradients, the nearly impervious character of the sub-soil, and the growth of a dense mat of vegetation which holds the water like a sponge so that the run-off is mainly by ground-water and hence exceed- i jiri 25 ingly slow. In some cases beach ridges and barriers behind which lagoons formerly existed, act as dams and prevent natural drainage. Extensive areas are practically untouched by stream erosion, partly because of the youthful :ta?e of the cycle of erosion and partly because the hea w^u, jrrowch of streams IS effectually checked by the mat of . egctation ;ind by the near- ness to the surface of the ground-wa.vr I vel. Rainy River. Rainy river, the principal stream of the region, is a remark- fp, "yr '^.^^^^ '* "^''"'y ^*' '^^ ^'^"^y ^"d ^^^ ^ew meanders ^nate I). Throughout much of its course, the banks rise abruptly on both sides almost from the water's edge, and. except where active undercutting is going on, the banks have generally rounded smooth, grass-covered slopes. In the upper part of its course the immediate banks are generally from 25 to 35 feet high and this height is frequently reached within a few yards of the water's edge. Above this height faintly terraced slopes rise somewhat higher, but at many points the valley in which the river flows IS not greater than two or three times the width of the river Itself. The river, although it has a very slight gradient, has ew meanders and very little flood-plain even in its lower portion Long, straight stretches frequently occur and the artificial ap- pearance of the waterway in these stretches, resembling a great trench cut through the drift deposits, is striking. The average width of the river is about 200 yardsandits depth in mid-channel except at rapids, varies from 10 to 20 feet. In its lower portion' near Lake of the Woods, the immediate banks are generally only 10 to 20 feet high and are for the most part being rapidly under- cut. In this part the terraces corresponding to stages of former levels of Lake Agassiz are better developed than in the upper portion of the river. At some of the more pronounced bends in the nver, active erosion of the bank on the outside of the curves is going on and deposition taking place on the inside, resulting in short stretches of valley flats which are sometimes one-quarter mile wide, but are not extensively developed. Although the river has a very small gradient, it has a strong current because of its volume. Below the dam at Fort Frances 26 where the river may be said practically to begin, since the water above the dam is only a few tenths of a foot below the level of Rainy lake, there are only two obstructions to the flow of the river, causing rapids. The first occurs at Manitou rapids 35 miles down stream from Fort Frances, where a rocky barrier causes a constriction of the channel of the river to about half its normal width. The fall here is only about 1 J feet at the mean stage of the water. Seven miles farther down stream the Long Sault rapids begin. They are caused mainly by boulders in the bed of the stream and extend for nearly 2 miles, with an esti- mated total fall of 5i feet. This estimate was checked by deter- mining the altitude of the surface of the river at points above and below the rapids from bench-marks set in connexion with the precise levels taken by the United States Geological Survey, and is probably not over 1 foot out. The altitude of the water surface of the river below the dam at Fort Frances, as deter- mined from the ben'-h-mark established by the United States Geological Survey in the town of International Falls, across the river from Fort Frances, was found to be 1,077-5 feet in July, 1913, the river being apparently at a medium stage. At the railway bridge near the town of Rainy River, 70 miles down stream from Fort Frances, the altitude of the water, as deter- mined from a bench-mark of the United States Geological Survey at the bridge, was found to be 1,062-5 feet, giving an average gradient for the surface of the water of i i inches per mile for 70 miles. Neglecting the two rapids, this is reduced to li inches per mile. Below the town of Rainy River the grad- ient was found to be still less, averaging only 1 inch per mile for 12 miles. In spite of the very slight slope the river has a noticeably ..rong current. In the upper part the slope of the river varies greatly from time to time. When flood waters are brought down by tributaries and enter the river above Manitou rapids, they are unable to escape freely at the rapids, and thus "back up" and raise the level of the river several feet at the foot of the dam at Fort Frances. The consequent character of Rainy river is well shown by the course which it takes. The river was initiated on the plain which formed part of the bed of Lake Agassiz, immediately upon mmam 27 the withdrawal of the lake waters, and furnished an outlet for the waters of which Rainy lake formed a collecting basin. After flowing west from Fort Frances for 3 miles the river turns abruptly southward for 3 miles, then flows westward, and farther down again flows northward. In each case the abrupt turns were made because the river sought out the lowest portions of the original surface of the plain. It quickly entrenched itself in Its valley and the remarkable canal-like character of much of Its course appears to be due. principally, to the soft character of the materials which it had to excavate and to the great volume of water with which the river was supplied, giving greatly increased efficiency for downward cutting over lateral erosion. There is evidence also, that the valley of Rainy river was m part at least, excavated by stream erosion oefore Lake Agassiz came into existence, and was partly filled by deposition of sedi- ments during the existence of the lake. These sediments have been in large part removed by the present stream, but at many points they were seen to form portions of the sides of the valley and to rest unconformably on the underlying drift deposits. The present stream appears for the most part to have followed the course of the previous stream, but it is not known if it did so entirely. Minor Drainage. The tributaries of Rainy riv. nesota side are generally much largr side, as they have greater drainage a _ v... u.c v,anaa.an side nvP«""Tr/-^ ""^""^ ^'' ^^ ^^"^' Sturgeon, and Pine nvers. The tributaries m the lower portions of their courses have much the same general character as Rainy riv^r. Their banks are generally high and steep, their channels relatively broad and deep and sunk sharply below the genera! level of the plain. This character, however, extends up the tributary streams only a short distance and in their middle portions they l^,^rK'"f'"^,!^'^ *°'*"°"' ^''^ '^^ ^' ^^P'dly becoming lower, but they are generally high enough to prevent over- flowing m times of flood. In their upper portions, where the streams frequently traverse swampy areas they often overflow ■■ enter from the Min- hose on the Canadian On the Canadian side I! r-ii lii?; 28 -nd in some cases natural levees are formed along the banks. Sly oTThe smaller tributaries, where they enter RamV rvve • ha^ the appearance of streams of considerable size withw.de. S channX but their toUl length is ^-q-ntly not oveM or 2 miles. Swampy, undrained areas sometimes ^ ^^^» one-auarter mile of Rj».iny river and at a height of 40 feet aDcve rXr t1 tribuurii easily and deeply erode iheir channels S the areas within which the ground-water level has been lowe.^ by the nearness to the trunk stream, but ^ the Pound-water level approaches the surface of the ground, the power of he stlms'to erode diminishes and the dense ^^-^h of veg ta^^^ serves also to prevent headwater growth. The result is that TeTmany of the tributary streams, while they may have a wide S channel at their mouths, frequently have a much st^Pe"^ wadient in their upper portions and are very short; so that fxe^s^le swampy ar^ occur virtually -^ouch^^y stre^ erosion. In many cases rock ridges form "^^^'^^if™ ° '^ base-levels of erosion on the tributary streams. The markedly Sng character of many of the tributary streams m contrast To the general straightness of Rainy river, may be due to these Sell dams which prevented the streams from cxjttmg down he. channels, and to the fact that the volume of the waters of the tributaries was relatively small. .„j t ittip In the northeastern part of t. uistnct. B.g Grassyand Little Grassy rivers drain westward into Lake of the ^oods. Both Sriv"^ in the lower portions of their courses are charactenzed bv^latively broad . deep channels cut for the most part .n the soft Kri^e days. n the case of Little Grassy river the mam ^^am near its mouth is 200 to 300 feet wide a„d 4 m.les up ^eam is still 100 to 200 feet wide and 8 to !« feet^-P ^ '^ nrpsent average stage of the water. The level of Lake ot tne Ss e'ends up sweam .bout 5 miles to the first po.nt. where ^S^^o^k outcrop in the bed of the stream. AW th. P^t the stream rapidly diminishes in size and becomeb markedly to^ous! whereas'lhe lower portion has relatively ^w meanders^ The banics of the lower portion of the stream are generaUy s^eep on either side, becoming pro^essively h^her "P stream ^ing only 2 to 3 feet above the water near the mouth, but 15 to 20 29 feet high 4 to 5 miles up stream. The water commonly fills the valley nearly from bank to bank, and the valley as a whole is merely a trench cut in the plain. Within the valley, however, there is a narrow, winding channel bordered by a small flood- plain which is submerged generally to a depth of 2 to 3 feet at the present average stage of the water. This feature, giving an appearance of drowning, which is common to practically all of the larger sized streams, entering the southern portion of Lake of the Woods, is apparently due to former low stages of the lake, for it is known that the lake has varied greatly in level from time to time. Big Grassy river, which enters the lake about 10 miles farther north, has much the same general character except that because the drift deposits were not so abundantly or evenly deposited in the area through which it flows, small lake-like expanses occur along its course, due to uneven disposition of the drift and not to subsequent erosion. In the highest portion of the area, near the headwaters of some of the tributary streams, the general character of the stream valleys is in marked contrast to the very youthful appearance of the greater portion of their courses. In some instances, as in the headward portion of Pine river in Mather township, the stream valley is wide, with gently sloping sides, in contrast to the narrow, steep-sided lower portion, showing a marked topographical unconformity. This appears to be due partly to stream erosion during the existence of Lake Agassiz, when the waters stood at a slightly lower level than the general level of the headwater region of these streams, and partly to stream erosion before the rise of the waters which brought Lake Agassiz into existence. Lakes and Swamps. The two largest lakes of the district are Rainy lake and Lake of the Woods, which may in a sense be considered as diminutive successors of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz, which formerly covered nearly the whole region. Lake Agassiz was, however, an ice-bound lake in its northern portion, while these lakes are partly rock-rimmed, and in their southwesterly portions dammed by drift deposits. 30 Lake of the Woods, which lies at the western margin of the district, has a maximum length in a north and south direction of nearly 70 m. es and a maximum width in the southern portion of about 40 miles. The lake, as has been pointed out by previous writers, is naturally divided into two distinct portions, a northern portion characterized by a very irregular, rocky coast-line and having its surface thickly dotted with islands, and a southern portion generally free from islands and bounded by low, sandy or marshy, shores with gently curving outlines. The southern portion of the lake or that portion lying to the southwest of Bigsby and Big islands is for the most part shallow and represents a flooded portion of the deeply drift-covered plain. The water is frequently not over 20 feet in depth at a distance of H miles from shore and it is stated that throughout the greater portion of the southern part of the basin the maximum depth does not excec J 50 feet. In the northern portion of the lake the greatest depth found by Dr. G. M. Dawson in a number of soundings was in Rat Portage bay near the outlet of the lake, where the water wa.« four.d to have a depth of 84 feet (9, page 204). In the south- em portion of the lake, the deepest part is near the northern fringe of islands and the shallowest around the south and south- western sides. The land bordering these shores is generally low and marshy with occasional higher areas and outcrops of crystalline rocks. Southwestward from the lake the summit of the divide separating the waters which drain westward to Red river and those draining into Lake of the Woods is generally composed of drift deposits, is swampy in character, and for some distance is not over 30 feet above the lake. Hence the wooded plains of Rainy River district and the southern portion of Lake of the Woods are practically continuous with those of northern Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba. Lake of the Woods was found to have an altitude of 1,061 feet in July, 1913, as determined from the bench-mark established at Warroad, Minn., by the United States Geological Survey. A water mark which is visible on the rocks in sheltered places around the shores of the lake has an altitude of 1,062-5 feet. It is stated that during the past ten years, the lake has had a maximum variation in altitude of about 5 feet. During previous 31 years it is probable that the variations in level were still greater. Dr. Lawson stated that the lake "had a rise and fall through a range of ten feet" (10, page 18 CC). Rainy lake with its island dotted surface and ragged, rocky shores, rebcmbles the northern portion of Lake of the Woods. The lake has a maximum length of about 50 miles and is very irregular in outline. It embraces a total area of nearly 350 square miles, about 40 square milesof which is taken up by islands. The maximum depth of the lake, as found by Dr. Lawson in a number of soundings, is at a point 2 miles south of Little Rocky narrows, where the water was found to have a depth of 110 feet. The average of 51 soundings gave a mean depth of 47 • 4 feet, which Dr. Lawson states is probably not far from the average depth (11, page 16F). The lake occupies a basin which if probably in part a rock basin, but is also partly dammed by drift deposits at its southwestern side and represents a slightly flooded portion of the glaciated rocky plateau country. The shallowness of the lake and the great number of islands, the mean altitude of which above the water does not greatly exceed the average depth of the water, well illustrates the general low relief but irregular, mamillary character of much of the sur- face of the glaciated rocky plateau. Rainy lake was found to have an altitude of 1,110 feet in June, 1913, the water being at a high stage. It is stated that water in the lake is ponded to a depth of 4 feet by the dam on Rainy river at Fort Frances by which the outflow is regulated. Former low stages of lake level are suggested by the deep and flooded character of the channels of the lower portion of some of the streams entering the lake, as in the case of the strean« at the southern end of Stanjikoming bay. The large swampy, undrained, areas are marked features of the district (Plate V). In some cases on the surface of the plain, the swamps occupy original, shallow depressions which are not naturally drained. In other cases, beach ridges formed during the existence of Lake Agassiz act as dams and prevent free drainage. The wet swampy condition of the surface is also in many cases due to the very gentle gradients of the surface, the nearly impervious character of the sub-soil, especially the 32 calcareous till, and the slight development of stream valleys. The swamps are generally well timbered, but the central portions are often nearly treeless and consist in most cases of mosa- covered muclc or peat bogs to which the term "muskeg" is more particularly applied. These bogs, which occupy a relatively small part of the swampy areas, are usually deep and frequently form quaking or floating bogs which are wet throughout the summer months, except in unusually dry seasons. The quaking bogs represent portions of shallow lake basins which have been partly or wholly reclaimed by the gradual growth of vegetation from the shores towards the middle. In some cases, ponds of open water varying in extent from a few acres up to half a square mile still exist and all stages in the process of filling may be observed. The depth of peaty material is sometimes as much as 20 feet, but over much of the swampy areas, the average depth is not over 3 to 4 feet. Owing to the almost continuous wet character of many of the bogs little chance for aeration or oxidation of the vegetable accumulation is afforded, with the result that most of the material is only partially decomposed and is peaty in character. Near the margins of the bogs and along streams which overflow their banks considerable mineral matter is in- troduced and oxidation is more complete, giving the material a mucky character. 11^ GLACIAL EROSION AND DEPOSITION. The whole region has been intensely glaciated by ice-sheets advancing froir. different directions, at different tim?a, during the Glacial period. The dominant direction of glaciation as shown by glacial striae, grooves, etc., was toward the southwest. This glaciation appears to have produced the greatest erosive effects and its i. irks are generally well preserved. Another advance of the ice was made in a more southerly direction or in a south-southwesterly direction. Whether this advance was later or earlier than the movement towards the southwest, could not be definitely determined. Another set of stnae which cross these nearly at right angles show an advance of the ice, in a southeasterly to easterly direction. These striae were seen only in the southern part of the district where the calcareous till 33 occura. In aome cases, these stria were seen to cross grooves made by the ice which had previously advanced from the north- east and they were not seen to be themselves crossed by later stri'?, except possibly in one or two cases near the northern boi er of the calcareous drift. In these cases it is possible that the easterly bearing stria refer to an advance of the ice from the Keewatin centre which was the earliest of all, as old calcareous drift does occasionally occur in the district underlying the red drift. The erosive effects produced by the ice-sheets are shown by the marked development of rocttes moutonn^ surfaces over much of the rocky plateau region (Plate III). In the northern part of the district there is generally very little drift covering and large areas occur where there is scarcely any mineral soil. Bare, rounded domes and ridges of rock, scraped and polished by the ice, frequently protrude. On their surfaces, striae are sometimes preserved, even where there is no drift covering. The ice-sheet which brought in the calcareous till from the northwest produced comparatively little erosion in the district, but deposited a considerable amount of material, in contrast to the small amount transported by the ice-sheet advancing from the northeast. 34 CHAPTER V. N DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. GENERAL STATEMENT. The solid rocks or bed-rocks of Rainy River district con- sist, so far as known, of rocks of Pre-Cambrian age (11). These rocks are overlain unconformably by superficial deposits of Quaternary (Pleistocene and Recent) age. The former do not outcrop extensively, except in the northern portion of the district. The superficial deposits or unconsolidated rocks consist, in part, of drift boulders and glacial till or boulder clay deposited through the agenr" of the vast continental glaciers which once covered the regii-... another part consists of stratified fluvio-glacial deposits formed by streams associated with the ice sheets; a third part consists of lacustrine deposits laid down in lakes formed during the retreat or melting away of the ice sheets at the close of the Pleistocene or Glacial period. The superficial deposits also include Recent dej.t .. consisting of flood-plain alluvium, wind-blown sand, and av > i v muck and peat. At least two distinct till sheets occur in the district. One of these till sheets, which is characterized by the presence in it of considerable quantities of limestone boulders and by a high percentage of clay, was deposited by a lobe of the Keewatin glacier ad' ^.ncing from the northwest. This till sheet is under- lain in places by till which is generally sandier in character and contains no limestone boulders similar to those found in the overlying till. This till was brought into the district by a lobe of the Labradorean glacier advancing from the northeast. Small quantities of calcareous drift underlying the non-calcareous till also occur in the district and form the oldest of the drift deposits. This old calcareous drift was, apparently, derived from the northwest, but the evidence as to its character and origin is not clear, owing to the poorness of the exposures. The calcareous till is overlain and in places also underlain by strongly laminated calcareous clays, which frequently contain i t 35 •mall stonea and occasionally bouldeni. Thcae claya were de- poMted in a pro^lacial (glacial-marginal) lake ponded in front of the lobe of the Keewatin glacier which brought into the district the calcareous till, and were mainly derived from material in process of transportation by the ice sheet. These stony, lam- inated clays may be referred to as glacio-lacustrine deposits, in order to distinguish them from the later lacustrine deposits which were mainly derived from erosion of land surfaces and deposited in I ike waters at a considerable distance from any ice margin. The pro-glacial lake in which the glacio-lacus- trine clays were deposited is herein referred to as Early Lake Agassiz. This lake was largely drained and a period of erosion ensued before the later pro-glacial Lake Agassiz came into existence. The calcareous till and glacio-lacustrine clays are uncon- formably overlain by the lacustrine deposits of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz and these are in turn followed by Recent deposits of alluvium, wind blown sand, and swamp muck and peat. The following table shows the succession of events and the character of unconsolidated rock formations which unconform- ably overlie the Pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks. The uncon- solidated rocks will be described in the order of their age begin- ning with the oldest. 36 raM( if F tr mMi tn i . SyMcm. Quatc-' nary Serict. Recent SuccMdon ol event*. Recent eroeion and depoei tion following the dii»p- pearance of pro-glacial Lake Agawi. Pleistocene or Glacial Lithotogy and general character o( depoiita. Swamp muck and peat, chiefly organic material; littoral tandf and gravcia, and wind-blown land along ihorca of preeent lake*; brown to black ■ilty clayi of the k>w overflow terrace* of aome portion* of preeent ■trcam*. Advance of ice-theet* in the region lying to the north, blocking of northward drainage, and ponding of pro-glacial Lake Agaiaiz; eroMon and depoeition during the rising stage* of the lake and also dur ing the subsiding r:age*, following the final retreat of the ice-sheets; crustal upwarping during the subsiding stage* of the Uke. Littoral land* and gravela, atratified and cro«*-bed- ded, in place* containing freshwater ahells; lacus- trine and fluvio-lacua- trine atratified sands, silta, and clays generally cal- careous and yellowish in colour, in places contain- ing thin beds and lenae* of gravel and in their lower portions freshwater shells and occasionally small quantities of organ- ic material; iceberg de- liosits of boulders ? (rare- ly occurring). Disappearance of pro-gia cial Early Lake Agassiz at least in part; interval of weathering and erosion. No deposits recognized. 17 TabU of FarmaHont—' Sytlem. Scrict Quater- nary Pleistocene or Glacial SucccMion of event!. Advance of Keewatin |la cier from the northweat ponding of pro-glacial Early Lake AgaMii along margin of ice-theet; dc- poaition in lake of mater' iai derived chiefly from the ice-front; overriding by the ice-theet of lake depoaitt formed in ad- vance of the ice; retreat of Keewatin glacier and depoaition in lake during retreat. Interval of erovion, prob- ably short, intervening between retreat of Labra- dorean glacier and ad- vance of Keewatin glacier. Advance of Labradorean glacier from the north- east over the whole re- gion. Litholoty and general character of depoaitt. Grey or calcareoua drift consisting of glacial (calcareous) till or boulder clay, unaaaortcd material, yellowish ia cokiur where weathered, and bluish-grey where unweathered; gtacio-la- custrtnc well laminated calcareous silty clays gen- erally bluish-grey in colour and in places con- taining stones and bould- ers; boulder deposits, the product of floating ice. No deposits known. Red ilrifi , non-calcareous till or boulder clay and aasociated fluvio-glacial sands and gravels. {Interval of erosion. Probable advance of Kee- watin glacier from the northwest. No deposits known. Old calcareous drift, sand, and gravel, partly strati- fied, and much oxidiacd and leached. 38 QUATERNARY SYSTEM. PLEISTOCENE SERIES. k ■'! OLD CALCAREOUS DRIFT OF KEEWATIN GLACIER. The old calcareous drift is not known to occur at the surface in the district, but is exposed in one section near the middle of Carpenter township. In this section a few feet of reddish sand and gravel containing limestone pebbles arc exposed at the base. The sand and gravel deposit is poorly stratified, and highly oxidized and leached throughout the thickness exposed, which is only about 6 feet. It occurs in a protected position near the base of a rock knob and is overlain by a boulder deposit 2 to 10 feet in thickness, generally free from limestone and apparently belonging to the red drift. The boulder deposit is overlain on the sides of the hill, at lower levels, by glacio- lacustrine clays. It is not known to what stage of gladation or deglaciation the old calcareous drift belongs. The calcareous character of this old drift seems to show, however, that it was associated with an early advance of the ice from the north- west, i.e., from the Keewatin centre of glaciation. RED DRIFT OF LABRADOREAN GLACIER. The term red drift has frequently been applied to the glacial till and fluvio-glacial deposits derived from regions underlain by Pre-Cambrian rocks. In Rainy River district this portion of the drift deposits is generally reddish in colour in its upper weathered portion only, the lower portion being usually grey. Red TiU. The glacial till of the red drift was brought into the district by a lobe of the Labradorean ice-sheet which advanced from the northeast, as is shown by the trend of glacial strix developed on rock surfaces underlying the till. The till contains no lime- stone pebbles or boulders, since the glacier traversed a region in which no limestone bed-rock is known to occur, at least for a 39 distance of several hundred miles, in a northeasterly direction. The glacial till of the red drift consists of unassorted material composed of angular, subangular, and subrounded fragments of rock of all sizes up to several feet in diameter, set indiscrim- inately in a matrix of sand and silt or rock flour, with a small amount of material as fine as clay. Many of the boulders and smaller fragments of rock show well developed facets which are often polished and striated. The till occurs at the surface most abundantly in the northern portion of the district, but is generally small in amount and in many places forms merely a thin veneer over the solid rocks. In the southern part it is generally concealed by a thick covering of calcareous drift and is rarely exposed except in sections. One of the best sections seen in which the red drift occurs is in a cutting along the Cana- dian Northern railway, near the west side of Rainy lake. This section shows at the bottom 5 to 20 feet of till containing no limestone. Fluvioglacial Deposits. Forming a portion of the red drift is a series of irregularly bedded sands and gravels of fluvioglacial origin. They are generally exposed only in section, because they underlie the cal- careous till. Their widespread occurrence is shown by the numerous well borings which, after penetrating the calcareous till, usually find water in underlying sand and gravel. The sands and gravels are well exposed in section in a large gravel pit 1 J miles west of Fort Frances. They overlie and are wrappied around a well glaciated knob of crystalline rock, showing striae trending in a southwesterly direction. They originally occurred in the form of a crag and tail kame deposit, the top of which waa planed off by wave action, while sands and gravels were red .-posited on the sides, the latter beds showing a discordant relation to the underlying deposits. Nearly 30 feet of the sands and gravels are exposed in section in the pit. The sand and gravel consist of well water-worn material derived from crystal- line rocks and contain no limestone so far as seen. Much of the material is fine, but many small boulders also occur and a few large ones, the great proportion being well water-worn. The bedding is generally steeply inclined, and also shows quaqua- 40 vereal dips. Somewhat similar deposits were seen in the gravel pits near Farrington and Mine Centre. No fluvioglacial deposits were noted as occurring associated with the calcareous drift; their absence being probably due to the fact that an ice- marginal lake was ponded in front of the ice lobe which deposited the calcareous till. Hence the outwash deposito from the glacier were glacio-lacustrine in character. GREV OR CALCAREOUS DRIFT OF KEEWATIN GLACIER. if ¥ Gladal {Calcareous) Till. The calcareous till was brought into the district by a lobe of the Keewatin glacier advancing from the northwest, as is shown by the trend of striae on rock surfaces, which underlie the till, and by the character of the material composing the till. Much of the material consists of ground-up limestone, sandstone, and shale dervied from the sedimentary rocks which occur as bed-rock formations in the province of Manitoba. Fossils collected by Mr. A. C. Lawson from a mass of limestone, occurring about 6 miles west of Fort Frances, were determined by Mr. P. E. Raymond as belonging to the Richmond limestone (upper Ordovician) (17, page 110). The mass of limestone referred to by Mr. Lawson as a possible occurrence of limestone in place was found on excavation by the writer to be merely a large boulder included in the drift. Fragments of shale and coal occasionally occur in the till, together with large boulders and smaller angular and sub- angular fragments of limestone and also of crystalline rocks. The most striking characteristics of the till are the high propor- tion of silt and clay and the fewness of the boulders scattered through the mass. In sections, the till is seen to consist of unstratified silty and clayey material containing angular, subangular, and subrounded pebbles and boulders arranged heterogeneously. The boulders comprise many varieties of rocks derived both from the Pre-Cambrian and from sedimentory rocks of later age. In some sections, the limestone boulders were found to be the most numerous. Much of the till, however. 41 contains comparatively few boulders and a high percentage of clay. Where unweathered, the till is bluish grey in colour. On weathering it becomes yellowish and sometimes develops a rude columnar structure due to shrinkage. Where surface draining is poor or swamp conditions prevail, oxidation of the iron content has been prevented and the colour remains bluish- grey or becomes blackened by introduction of organic material. The till is nearly impervious because of its high content of clay and in some cases is leached only to a very slight depth from the surface. In one case a sample of the till taken at a depth of one foot from the surface of the ground was found, when treated with dilute, cold ' '"^-chl-ric add, to lose 26-5 per cent of its constituents. ' r- ti' . from a depth of several feet below the surface was. .. .^ lose 27-5 per cent. The high percent- age of soluble constituents in the till is in part due to the large amount of ground-up limestone which it contains, and in general to the method of derivation; for the glacier derived a portion of the material which it transported from unweathered rocks, and little opportunity for weathering was afforded either during the time of transportation or after deposition. The mechanical composition or texture of the material less than 2 millimetres in diameter, composing the till, is shown by the following table, in which the figures represent percentages. Description h II i E a e It •II S6 Fine sand 0-25— 01 mm. Very fine sand 01— 005 mm. E i t CUy 0- 005mm .— Unweathered till. Weathered till. . . 2-4 5-6 2-7 4-7 2-5 4'8 7-9 13-4 10-3 20-6 34-8 32-2 39-4 18-7 The high percentage of material as fine as clay, in till, which is the result mainly of mechanical processes, is exceptional and is apparently due to the derivation of much of the material from the soft Cretaceous shales which outcrop in Manitoba. 42 The process of weathering has reduced the quantity of day and to a less extent the silt, with a consequent increase in the proportions of the sands. An examination of the sands shows a large proportion of minerals other than quartz. In the weath- ered portion the quartz is slightly in larger quantity than in the unweathered portion. The light colour, generally some shade of yellow, of the weathered till, shows that the iron in the un- weathered till is in the ferrous state and of small amount. The silt is largely "rock flour," that is, it is the result of mechanical disintegration rather than chemical decomposition. The boulders contained in the till are dominantly angular or subangular in shape and frequently show well polished and striated facets. A less proportion of the smaller fragments of rock also shows faceted and polished surfaces. Crystalline rocks are probably more numerous, but limestone boulders are also abundant. In some cases masses of cream-coloured, bedded limestone, 8 feet square and 3 to 4 feet thick, were observed. One of the most remarkable features about the calcareous till is that it, ipparently, does not greatly reflect the character of the underlying rocks. It is possible that small isolated areas of limestone or shale occur as bed-rock in the region, but it is at least certain that the greater portion of the district is under- lain by Pre-Cambrian rocks, as indicated by their numerous outcrops even in the southwestern portion of the district. Out- crops occur at various places around the southern end of Lake of the Woods and on the southwestern side near the Manitoba boundary. Hence it is evident that the ice advanced for more than 100 miles over a region underiain dominantly by crystalline rocks; yet the greater portion of the material, especially the finer part, was derived from sedimentary rocks. A probable expla- nation ««ms to be that the sedimentary rocks in Manitoba, because of their easily credible character, supplied an abundance of material to the glacier; in Rainy River district the crystalline rocks offered greater resistance to erosion and the glacier was depositing rather than eroding. The calcareous till occurs throughout the greater portion of Rainy River district and occupies the surface over an area 43 of at least 190 square miles, with only a slight covering, a fe>v inches in thickness, of lacustrine sand and silt. In places it has a maximum thickness, as shown by well borings of neariy 100 feet, but the average thickness is much less. Sections show- ing more than 10 feet of the till rarely occur in the district. Numerous sections occur along Rainy river, especially in its lower portion below the town of Rainy River, exposing 10 to 20 feet of the till. Fresh cuttings made in the construction of high- ways also afford sections. One of these cuttings, 1^ miles east of the town of Rainy River, exposes 10 feet of the weathered yellow till overiain by 4 feet of glacio-lacustrine and lacustrine days. A similar road cutting recently made one-quarter mile northeast of the village of Emo, exposes 8 feet of bluish-grey unweathered till, overiain by 3 to 8 feet of yellow till and bluish- grey glacio-lacustrine clays. A good exposure of the calcareous till was also seen in the section exposed in the gravel pit IJ miles west of Fort Frances, where till 6 feet in thickness occurs at the surface, overlying stratified sand and clay (Plate VI). The stratified sand is seen in places to have been minutely folded and overthrust by the overriding of the ice-sheet (Plate VIII) and masses of the underlying laminated cl' • were ploughed up and included in the till. This occurren> » till is near the easterly limit of its extension in the districv. calcareous till was seen to occur east of Fort Frances or in tht ..orthem portion of the district. Terminal Moraines. Most of the calcareous till in the dis- trict was deposited in the form of ground moraine. The fact that much of the till was transported a considerable distance and is not local in character seems to show, that it was largely englacial material. The till of the ground moraine exhibits very little irregular thickening except in general to mask the uneven surface of the underlying rocks. In places, the under- lying rocks form ridges which are in part concealed by a veneer of till. Near the eastern edge of the calcareous till area, however, a broad ridge occurs which presents slight undulations not due to the irregularities in the surface of the underlying rocks. This ridge or series of low swells, generally rising not over 10 44 if' to 20 feet above the adjacent country, extends in a northwesterly direction from a point a few miles west of Fort Frances and forms the divide between streams draining northeasterly and south- westerly. In some places the limit of the extension of the till is fairly closely defined by the ridge and it may be considered as a terminal moraine of the lobe of the Keewatin glacier which brought the calcareous till into the district. No definite evi- dence was noted of moraines formed later, as the ice withdrew. The very low relief which the areas of the till present is doubtless partly due to the fact that an ice-marginal lake was ponded by the ice-sheet and that a portion of the material was deposited through the agency of floating ice; this would probably result in a more even distribution of the material than in the case of deposition by ice-sheets on land. Much of the material was probably also engladal in character and was left as the ice melted, without being concentrated in restricted areas. Wave action, also, during the existence of the gladal-marginal lakes, was effective in planing off the surface to some extent and re- ducing the relief. Stage of Glaciation. Both the red till and the overlying calcareous till are referred to the Wisconsin stage of glaciation (possibly early Wisconsin), for it has been generally held that the Wisconsin ice-sbr-et extended far south of Rainy River district. No evidence was found of erosion or weathering of the red till having taken place before the deposition of the calcareous till, and the time interval between the deposition of the two till sheets was probably not long. There is evidence, however, of weather- ing and of erosion by stream action subsequent to the deposition of the calcareous till and associated glacio-lacustrine silty clays of Early Lake Agassiz and before the deposition of the lacustrine sediments of Lake Agassiz. The weathering of the calcareous till extends to a depth of 6 to 8 feet in places where it was evident, because of the thickness and impervious character of overlying beds, that the weathering must have taken place before the deposition of the overlying lake clays of Lake Agassiz, but no great amount of leaching took place and it is possible that the time interval was not very long. Tyrrell has shown (16), as already stated, that the last advance of the ice was from the 45 northeast and that the Keewatin glacier had retreated well towards its source before this took place. The advance from the northeast was also met by a slight readvance of the Keewatin glacier. It is possible that these advances, however, which brought pro-glacial Lake Agassiz into existence, merely marked the closing stage of Wisconsin glaciation and preceded the final disappearance of the ice-sheets. Deposits of Pro-Glacial Early Lake Agassi*. Glacio-lacuslrine Clays. These clays are characterized by being well laminated. The laminae consist of alternate bands of diverse character and colour. One is greyish-white in colour and consists dominantly of silt or rock-flour, while the other is bluish-grey in colour and consists dominantly of material as fine as clay. The clay bands are generally much thicker than the silt bands and both vary in thickness in different portions of a section. An average foot of the section contains about SO of the greyish-white bands and 50 of the bluish-grey bands. The bands are generally much thinner in the upper part of the section than in the lower portion. Scattered pebbles and more rarely boulders, occur in the clays, especially in the lower portion. The following table shows the mechanical composition of samples of the two bands of the clay in percentages: Description Greyish-white band Bluiah-grey band 11 Ml OS 0-7 a e Jl OS 0-3 i E •s t 0-6 OS i? U. o 3-4 IS 6-2 20 5 E § 4 68-8 too ><9 U o 200 850 The days are generally highly calcareous and effervesce freely in acid. Soluble material was found to be present in some cases in nearly equal amounts in the clay band and in the silty band. The upper portion of the beds frequently contains 46 ooncretioiiaiy nodule* oompoMd principally of calcium carbonate. The concretion* are irregular in shape, but as a rule, are roughly almond-shaped, with their longer axes parallel to the planes of bedding. Where the concretions occur, the dividing planes of the silty layers are hardly distinguishable and the bedding is commonly disturbed and bulged around the concretions, apparently due to the expansive force exerted by the concretions in making room for themselves. The glado-lacustrine clays were found in some cases to underlie the calcareous till as well as to overlie it. One of the best sections occurs in the gravel-pit IJ miles west of Fort Frances. The section exposed here shows cross-bedded and ripple-marked sand, gradually passing upward into laminated clay which is overlain at the top by compact calcareous till, 6 to 8 feet in thickness (Plate VII). It is evident that the ice- sheet which brought in the calcareous till advanced into an ice-marginal lake, overrode the glacio-lacustrine clays deposited there and deposited the till upon them. The clays are in places disturbed and ploughed up by the ice and included in the over- lying till. At other poinU in this section the clays are absent and the till rests on stratified sand which is, in places, minutely folded and over-thrust by the overriding of the ice-sheet (Plate VIII). The laminated glacio-lacustrine clays also occur overlying the calcareous till and occupy a surface area in the district of over 100 square miles, but they are usually only a few feet thick. In many sections there is a gradual transition upwards from the calcareous till into the clays, that is, in the upper portion of the till, thin bands of clay occur separated by material which has the general character of the underlying till, except that it contains less fine material. The bands of clay at the base in some cases are nearly a foot apart, with the intervening material unstratified and resembling till. P U.i. -lacier. In thia lake the glado-lacustrine clays of ' f r'tsiir^. .vere deposited. The presence of occasional boul '- ^ un tt!v surface of the lacustrine deposits of Lake Agassia, wi^> ti • .< tat r formed by an advance of the ice from the northeast ' -jsii n ■ P >nding ard rise of the waters, seems to imply the pref :i re >'^ du .ting icr in the lake. The bouklera more frequently or~ac\is- ir within probable dnit was Iter than "verlying ice did responding to high sUges of the lake. trine deposits are generally free f ro r their body or on their surface. It, u. retort, i>c that during the higher stages of the .: o 18-2 I 46-6 ><9 J? U e 20-2 S3 The upper portion of the delta and shallow water deposits in places consists of fine sand, varing in thickness from a few inches to 2 or 3 feet. An average sample of this material was found to contain 87 per cent of fine, and very fine, sand, con- sisting largely of quartz; but with a considerable percentage of feldspar and other minerals. Most of the particles are angular; but some of the quartz grains are rounded. The peculiar character of the lacustrine and fiuvio-lacustrine deposits, simulating to some extent that of flu"ial deposits, is due to the fact that they were in part laid down during the rising stage of the water. The presence of the thin beds of gravel is due to wave action planing away gravel beach ridges, as the waters rose, and spreading the gravel out in a thin layer over the shallow bottom near shore. The rise of the waters also explains the ripple-marked sandy beds occurring below clay beds in many of the sections. A portion of the deposits was laid down during the rising stages of the waters, and a portion during the subsiding stages. The lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine deposits occupy a surface area in the district of at least 120 square miles, or about one-sixth of the totel area, and probably underlie much of the muck and peat deposits which make up nearly -ne-third of the total surface. Numerous sections exposing the clays occur along Rainy river and its tributaries. Just below the dam at Fort Frances a section shows 12 feet of the yellowish-grey, •ilty, and gravelly clays which form a portbn of the valley- fill (Plate IX). The total thickness of the clays here is at least 25 feet. They partially fill a stream valley which was eroded before the deposition of the clays took place. At the brick-yard on the river bank 1§ miles below Fort Frances a thickness of 10 feet of fluvio-lacustrine clays free from gravel or boulders was found to be exposed. This deposit also forms a portion of the valley-fill, the greater part of which has been eroded by the present stream. A short distance back from the river calcareous till comes to the surface. Numerous sections also occur along the lower portion of Rainy river, but generally with only thin beds of the clays exposed. A widespread delta and shallow water deposit occurs in the northwestern portion of the district. This 54 depont has been trenched by Little Grassy river and its tribu- taries and a portion of its material has been removed to form a sub-aqueous delta at a lower level in Lake of the Woods. The surface of the old delta slopes gradually from a height of 2 to 3 feet above the water at the lake, up to a height of 30 feet above the lake at a distance of 4 to 5 miles inland. The first strong beach which marks the stage of the water during the tinje when most of the material in the delta was deposited is nearly 65 feet above the lake. The maximum thickness of the delta depoats is not known, but they are in places at least 30 feet thick. A large proportion of the material was apparently deposited in water varying from 30 to 60 feet deep. Some of the clays and sands derived from wave erosion of the shores were deposited in water of still less depth. An important factor in causing the deposition of the clays in shallow water is calcium bicarbonate in solution, as it tends to flocculate the day, forming larger granules which settle quickly. It was noted that after the cessation of a storm in Lake of the Woods the water cleared within a few hours. Much of the material held in suspension is calcareous. The great amount of material held in suspension during a storm also causes quick deposition, as the coarser material carries down the finer with it. This explains why the clays derived from wave erosion were deposited in relatively shallow water; for much of the material eroded was coarse in character and very abundant. No evidence was noted of subaSrial deposition of the delta material. Fossils. Fossil freshwater shells occur in considerable numbers in some portions of the lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine deposits and in some of the littoral deposits of Lake Agasatz in Rfliny River district. Fossil shells have also been found in Lake Agassiz deposits at other places in the basin. Upham stated (14, page 237) that fossils shelU had been found in the deposits of Lake Agassiz at two localities; in the Campbell beach about 6 miles southwest of Campbell, Minnesota, at an elevation approximately 985 feet above the sea; and in the Gladstone beach one-half mile northeast of Gladstone, Manitoba, about 875 feet above the sea and 165 feet above Lake Winnipeg. Fossil shells were also found in numerous places in deposits 55 which Upham regarded as post Lake Agaasiz fluvial sediments (14, pages 201 and 253). In Rainy River district, fossil shells were found by Lawson in a gravel beach ridge at the first rapid on Pine river, also in the beds on Rainy river at the confluence of Pine river, and at various points below this, particularly in the bedded sands and clays at the mouth of Baudette river (II, page I72E). Fresh- water shells were also found by A. P. Coleman in Lake Agassiz clays near Fort Frances (24, page 147). Fossil freshwater shells were found by the writer to occur in Rainy River district at five different localities in sand and gravel beaches of Lake Agassiz and at numerous places in the lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the lake. They occur abundantly in the sandy and gravelly stratified clays which are exposed in section on the bank of the river at Fort Frances (Plate IX). In this section the shells are most abundant in the sandy and gravelly thin beds and lenses. In the clays exposed at the clay pit on the bank of the river 1} miles below Fort Frances an occasional large Unio occurs. In the sections exposed along Rainy river below the town of Rainy River the fluvio-lacustrine clays contain numerous shells in their lower portion. These are more abundant in the sandy layers, although they also occur scattered through the clays. Fre- quently there was seen to be a line of Unios in the sandy bed at the base of the clays and along the contact with the under- lying calcareous till or glado-lacustrine clays. The Unios are neariy always poorly preserved and fall to pieces on removal from the matrix, due to their aragonitic character which renders them easily susceptible to leaching. Sections of the fossiliferous sands and clays are well exposed along the bank of the river about a mile below the railway bridge at the town of Rainy River. In the upper portion of the fluvio-lacustrine deposit, or in that portion which was apparently laid down during the subsiding sUges of Lake Agassiz, no fossil shells WL-re found. Fossil shells also occur in some of the beach ridges and not in others. A strong beach which occurs near the north bank of Rainy river at a point about 8 miles below Fort Frances contains numerous shells. There is exposed in the beach a 12-foot 56 section of stratified sand and gravel, cross-bedded in places, and containing shells near the bottom and in various layers up to 11 feet from the surface of the ground (Plate X). The altitude of the crest of thn ridge is 1,149 feet above sea-level, or 40 feet above the level of Rainy lake and 88 teet above Lake of the Woods. Fossil shells were also found in beach sand and gravel in section 3 of Crozier township, at an altitude of 1,141 feet; li miles northwest of Emo at an altitude of 1.141 feet; near the southwest corner of Aylesworth township at an altitude of 1,118 feet; and in section 33 of Dilke township. In some instances beaches which had apparently been formed at halts during the rising stage of the water were partially cut away as the water rose and the sand and gravel were spread out laterally. In some cases, also, beach sand and gravel are overlain by clay a foot or so in thickness. It was not deter- mined whether fossil shells are confined to the earlier or later set of beaches. In one case, however, fossil shells were found in a spit which was, apparently, made during the rising stage of the water. Littoral Deposits. The littoral deposits of pro-glacial Lake Agassiz in the dis- trict consist of beach sand and gravel disposed generally in the form of long and relatively narrow even crested ridges. The material composing the beach ridges, barriers, spits, etc., contains a large amount of limestone gravel derived from the erosion of the calcareous till. In some cases quartzose and feldspathic sand is the most abundant material. The beach ridges vary in height from 2 to 15 feet, and in breadth from 50 to 500 feet, or even more in places where the rising waters enabled the waves to plane away part of the deposit and spread it out over the shal- low bottom. In such cases, however, the deposit was in part formed sub-aqueously. The bedding of the material composing the beaches is in general conformable to the surface contour of the ridge. In places the beds are diagonal or cross-bedded; the greatest thickness observed was 21 feet; the average thick- ness is considerably less. The greatest thickness occurs in places where spits were built into relatively deep water or where deposition continued during the rise of the waters. 57 The beaches occur at irregular vertical intervals. Some of the intervals are large and there is comparatively little evidence of wave action in the intervals between beaches. Owing to the slight relief of the region, sand and gravel ridges are the dom- inant features of the shore-lines and shore cliffs are poorly developed, or absent. Much of the material in the beaches wm derived by wave erosion of the shallow bottom, but boulder strewn terraces are not conspicuous because much of the till eroded contains comparatively few boulders. The correlation of beaches in the region is difficult on account of the densely w^ed character of much of the surface and the consequent difficulty of continuous tracing. There is also the difficulty that strong beaches, spits, etc., were built during the rising stage of the water, and were in some cases preserved and in other cases largely cut away. There is one well-marked strand line in the region, however, which is readily recognized, ♦u il? ^i^ southwestern portion of the district, near Uke of the Woods, a faintly marked beach occurs at a height of 30 feet above the lake and a corresponding terrace extends for some distance up Rainy river. The first strong beach is 56 feet above the lake This is the best marked shore-line in the region and is probably the strong Campbell beach referred to by Upham as one of the best developed beaches of Uke Agassiz (14) This boach IS well developed in Curran township north of the town of Rainy River, in the adjacent portion of the Wild Land Reserve, and in Spohn township. It also occurs with considerable strength 1 J miles east of Sleemans in WorthinR- ton township and northward in Blue, Pratt, and SutheHand townships. The beach extends for some distance up the valley of Rainy river and is developed near Pinewood and also at Bar- wick. The occurrences of the beaches so far up the valley and in restricted portions of the valley, show that Rainy River valley was excavated in part before the lake came into existence. Near the town of Rainy River this strong beach, which is referred to as the Campbell beach, has an altitude of 1.117 feet A weaker beach, or off-shore bars, occurs near the same place at an altitude of 1.110 feet. Eleven miles north of this locality, in Spohn township, the beach was found to have an altitude of S8 i 1,125 feet (barometer). At Gameland, in Pratt township, 10 miles northeast, it has an altitude of 1,125 feet (barometer), and in lot 3, concession I, of Morson township, 24 miles northeast, the altitude was found to be 1,140 feet (barometer). At the latter locality beaches also occur at 1,130 and 1,135 feet (bar- ometer), but none were found at lower levels down to the level of Lake of the Woods. The strength of this beach is in places remarkable. In the Wild Land Reserve, north of the town of Rainy River, the "embankment" of sand and gravel is in places 1,500 feet wide with a maximum thickness of at least 15 feet. This beach appears to mark a long continued stand of the waters of Uke Agassiz both during the rising sUge and again during the subsiding stage; for the beach was partially cut away and spread out and, later, cross ridges were in places built on the surface by wave action. From the data collected in the district, which are not very satisfactory, the direction of maximum upwarping, as shown by the altitudes of the Camp- bell beach in different places, is north 35 degrees east and is at the rate of nearly 1 foot per mile. Higher beaches occur in the district up to altitudes of at least 1,200 feet, but arc not nearly so well developed, and at these higher altitudes the greater portion of the area was submerged. In the northeastern portion of the region, which is the highest portion, at altitudes ranging from 1,225 to 1,275 feet, little evidence of wave action was seen, even in the drift-covered areas where conditions were favourable for the production and preserval of shore-line features. In the still higher rocky region to the northeast so far as seen, beaches also appear to be absent; but, because of the general paucity of drift in the rocky areas, conditions were not very favourable for the making of shore records. In northern Min- nesota beaches occur at altitudes considerably above 1,200 feet (19). Their apparent absence in the northeastern portion of Rainy River district suggests either, that during the highest stages of Lake Agassiz the region to the north was blocked by ice, or, that some of the highest shore-lines, referred to Lake Agassiz, betong to the earlier pro-glacial lake associated with the Keewatin ice-lobe which brought in the calcareous till. Following is a list of altitudes (above mean sea-level) of the 59 crests of beach ridges, spits, etc., of Uke Agassiz, and the local- ities at which they occur. The altitudes were all determined by levelling, and the levels were based on the precise levels taken and oench-marks established by the United States Geolog- ical Survey and Canadian Geodetic Survey in the region (20 and 21). In this list the first three refer to the strong beach which is regarded as the Campbell beach. (1.) Near we« aide of wction 3 of Curran townihip. F«et. Cre»t of stroiiK sand and gravel iptt 1 , 117 Weaker ban \ mile louth 1 , 1 10 (2.) Near middle of aection 28 of Worthington townahip. Great of atrong sand and gravel apit 1 , 116 Great of weak bar 1 ^ 109 (3.) At aouthweat corner aection 36 of Barwick townahip. Great of atrong beach ridge 1 , 113 Great of weak bar 1 105 (4.) In aection 21, Aytesworth townahip, near river road. Great of beach ridge 1 119 (5.) At aouthweat corner of aection 36 of Barwick township. Great of beach ridge 1 IJJ (6.) In aection 33 of Dilke townahip. Great of gravel bar 1 , 133 (7.) Near Rainy river 3 milea below Fort Francea Great of aand and gravel apit 1,131 (8.) In aection 31 of Lash townahip. Great of aand and gravel bar 1 , 133 (9.) In aection 29 of Lash townahip. Great of aand and gravel bar 1 , 140 (10.) In aection 36 of Lash townahip. Great of aand and gravel apit 1 , 141 (11.) Near eaat aide of aection 1 of Shenatone townahip. Great of beach ridge 1 ^ 136 (12.) East side of aection 3, Grozier towni>hip. Great of aand and gravel apit 1 , 145 (13.) Near Rainy river, 8 miles below Fort Francea. Great of atrong aand and gravel apit 1,149 (14.) In aection 22 of Morley townahip. Great of aand and gravel bar 1,177 (IS.) In aection 28 of Devlin townahip. Great of aand and gravel bar 1,200 to RECENT SERIES. ALLUVIini. The alluvium contiats of recent flood-plain depoaits of sand, ■ilt, and clay, whirh border some portions of the stream* of the district. Rainy river has very little flood-plain because the immediate banks are generally sufficiently high to conUin the flood waters. Some of the tributary streams in their upper portions overflow their banks in time of flood, and depont sand, silt, and clay, building up natural levees in places, which help to produce swampy conditions by preventing free drainage. This occurs where the streams have not cut down their channels owing to the presence of a rock barrier in the bed of the stream or where the surface gradients are slight. The alluvium is generally only 1 to 3 feet in thickness and extends in a narrow border, rarely exceeding one-quarter mile in width atong the streams. The material is somewhat sandier near the bank of the stream and more clayey farther away. DUNE SAND AND BEACH SAND. Deposits of wind-blown sand occur near the mouth of Rainy river on the series of wave and current-built bars which extend in a northeasterly direction fo: nearly 12 miles. The material consists mostly of fine to coarse quartzose and feld- spathic sand which has been washed up by the waves, dried on the beach ^nd blown up on the bars to form dunes. In places the dunes rise to a height of 30 feet above the lake. They were formerly more extensive than at present and were in part clothed with a scanty vegetation. In recent years the dunes have been partially destroyed and much of the sand has been blown away and deposited in the lagoon behind the bars. The waves have also cut into the lakeward side of the bars, killing the pro- tecting vegetation and exposing the loose sand to the action oi the wind. Mudi of the material has also been transported northeastward by the wave-induced alongshore currents and the bars are constantly being extended in that direction. :! 61 MUCK AND PBAT. Nearly one-third of the whole area is poorly drained or ■wampy in character, and much of the surface is covered with deposiU of muck and peat, which vary in thickness from 1 to 20 feet, or povubly more in places. The average thicknesn, however, is probably not over 3 feet. Most of the material is peaty in character and consists almost entirely of organic matter in a partially decomposed condition, the fibrous nature and veget- able origin of the material being usually quite apparent. The peat has been formed by the accumulation of the remains of various plants, sphagnum moss being especially abundant in some places, and owes its origin to the undrained character of the surface and the humid conditions which retard the decay of the vegetable matter and enable successive generations of the plants to be preserved by burial. The muck contains a larger percentage of mineral matter than the peat, and decomposition, brought about by better d-ainage and aSratlon, has progressed farther, so that much of the fibrous structure has disappeared. The mineral matter has been largely introduced by streams in time of flood depositing it on their flood-plains or low overflow terraces. 62 i CHAPTER VI. HISTORICAL GEOLOGY. QUATERNARY PERIOD. PLEISTOCENE EPOCH. The Tertiary period, which immediately preceded the Qua- ternary period, was largely characterised by warm or temperate climates throughout the world. At the clo«e of the Tertiary period the warmth of a temperate climate gave way to arctic cold. Great ice-»heett or continental glaciers spread outward from different centres in Canada and extended far south. One of these centres of glaciation was in the region lying west of Hudson bay and has been called the Keewatin centre of glada* tion, and the ice-sheet which spread out from it the Keewatin glacier. Another glacier had its centre in Labrador and has been called the Labradorean glacier. During the Pleistocene epoch or Ice age, various advances of the ice-sheets from the two centres of ice-dispersal were made at various times. There were also intervals of deglaciation, during which rime the ice retreated or melted away from a large part of the regions which it had previously covered. It is not known whether the ice- sheets were entirely melted away from the continent during any of these intervals of deglaciation, but that some of the inter- vals were of long duration is undoubted; nor is it doubted that the duration of the Ice age as a whole was very much longer than the time which has elapsed since the disappearance of the glaciers. Succession of Events. In Rainy River district there is evidence of at least three advances of the ice. Two of these came from the direction of the Keewatin centre of glaciation and at least one from the Labrador centre. This is shown by the trend of the glacial stria impressed on the bed-rock over which the glacier moved and by the character of the material which the glacier transported. It ia concluded from the evidence found in the district that the following aeriea of events took place, beginning with the oldest: (1.) An advance of the ice from the direction of the Kee- watin centre, which brought into the district the old calcareous drift. No stric definitely referable to this ice advance were found in the district, but old calcareous drift was found, at one place, near the middle of Carpenter townsl.ip, to be overlain by drift derived from the northeast. (2.) An advance of the ice-sheet from the northeast or from the direction of the Labrador centre. This is shown by the trend of striae and by the till which contains no limestone. Associated with this ice-sheet considerable fluvio-glacial deposits of sand and gravel were formed by streams derived from the melting of the ice-sheet. (3.) A second advance of the ice from the Keewatin centre, which brought the calcareous till into the district. This is shown by the trend of striae on bed-rock underlying the calcareous till and by the fact that the till contains numerous fragments of limestone and other rocks which occur in place in Manitoba, across which the glacier advanced. A pro-glacial lake (Early Lake Agassiz) into which the glacier advanced was ponded to the south by this glacier. In this lake glacio-lacustrine deposits were made which were in part formed in advance of, and later overridden by, the ice and in part formed as the ice gradually withdrew to the north or melted away. (4.) The pro-glacial lake, referred to as Early Lake Agassiz, in which the glacio-lacustrine clays of the district were deposited, was at least in part, if not wholly, drained away by the retreat of the Keewatin glacier uncovering outlets of drainage to the north, and an interval ensued during which v/eathering of the surface took place, stream valleys were eroded, and vegetation to some extent obtained a foothold. (5.) A last advance, as shown by Tyrrell (16), of a lobe of the Labradorean glacier in the region lying to the north of Rainy River district, was met by a re-advance of the Keewatin glacier, which resulted in the blocking of the drainage to the Ji « I north and pro-glacial Lake AgaaaU cam« into exittmoe. BcaciiM were formed during the rising atagee of the lake and again during the tubMding tuge. Strong beachet were built, while the water level remained nearly stationary for some time during the functioning of certain outlets. Again, the waters rose rapidly as outlets to the north were blocked, or later fell rapidly as lower outleU were uncovered by the retreat of the ice, {mtd- dudng marked intervals between beaches. During the final retreat of the ice-sheets differential elevation of the region took place, so that the shore-lines of Lake Agassis instead of btinf horitonul as when formed, or nearlv so. are now inclined, the maximum amount of crustal upwarping being in a direction approximately north 35 degrees east. That the upwarping was largely accomplished during the existence of the lake ia shown by the facts, as pointed out by Upham (14), that in the northern portion of the basin the beaches split up into series and the lowest beaches of the lake are neariy horizontal. The evidence for the succession of events as outlined in the last two paragraphs is discussed in the following section. Genesis ef Pro-glacial Lake Agassiu. Upham found by his investigations in the basin of Lake Agassis that the lake had for a considerable length of time its outlet to the south by way of Lake Traverse to the Mississippi, that in the northern portion of the lake basin no less than seven- teen shore-lines were formed contemporaneously with thb south- ern outlet, and that during later stages when the overflow was to the north fourteen more shore-lines were formed (14). He believed that the lake at first occupied a comparatively small area in the southern portion of the region and grew as fast as the ice-sheet waned, until at its maximum extension it covered a very large area (14). Tyrrell stated in a paper published in the Journal of Geology in 1896, that he had found evidence in the region lying to the north and east of Lake Winnipeg that the lobe of the Keewatin glacier which had advanced far south in Red River valley had retreated well towards its source before it was met by an ice lobe advancing from the northeast, and that the union of the k 1 09 two cauwd a ponding of the waten which produced Lake Agaiaix. The watera then nwe until they overflowed aouthward into the valley of the MnuiiHppi and, later, gradually declined. More recent inveatigattont by Tyrrell in the region lying south of Hudaon bay. near the headwaten of the Albany and Severn rivet*, have served to confirm thcM condutioni. In a recent paper (16) Tyrrell has shown that the last advance of the ice in this region was by a lobe of the Labradorean glacier coming from the northeast. This lobe had its western front near the Hayes River region, where it was met by a re-advance of the Keewatin glacier from the northwest. A great moraine was formed by the lobe of th«- labradorean glacier on the high land near the source of the Severn river; but whether or not the Labradorean glacier extended south of this great moraine. Tyrrell states is somewhat uncertain. The evidence found by the writer in Rainy River district confirms the conclusion that Lake Agasaiz first had a risirg stage, due to the blocking of the Jrainage to the north, arci that later the waters subudcd as outlets to the north were unco\ered by the retreat of the ice. The lake was not associated directly with the ice-sheets which deposited the till in the region and throughout the great portion of its existence the ice margin was far to the north, while the lake itself was comparatively free from ice. The evidence is based largely on the fact that in Rainy River district the sedimenu deposited in Lake Agasaiz rest uncon- formably on the underiying calcareous till and glacio-lacustrine clays, that is, a period of erosion intervened after the deposition of the till and associated glacio-lacustrine clays and before the lacustrine sediments were laid down. This is well shown in numerous sections exposed along Rainy river and around the shores of the southern portion of Lake of the Woods. Plate XI illustrates the character of one of these sections which has been exposed by wave erosion on the present shore of Lake of the Woods at its southern side. At the base a small thickness of calcareous till is exposed passing up into stony, laminated, glacio-lacustrine clays, which are overlain unconformably by fluvio-lacustrine Lake Agasaiz PI 66 days conuining freahwater •hells. The conUct is a wave-cut plain. The wave-cut plain is not in itself evidence of an unconformity, but the character of the sediments above this line shows that the water must have risen a considerable height. This old wave-cut plain, which is evi''.ence of the exist- ence in Lake of the Woods basin of a lake which preceded Lake Agassiz, can be traced for many miles in sections around the shores of the lake, and in the southern portion of the lake to the east of Long point it is practically continuous for several miles. Gravel beach ridges formed at the same time also occur at several places. One of these is well exposed in section on Buflalo point in the southwestern portion of the lake. The lake, of which this old shore-line forms a fossil record, had its level, as shown by the old beaches in the southern portion of Lake of the Woods basin, about 4 feet above the present level of Lake of the Woods, and may represent a lake which was left in the basin after the retreat of the Keewatin glacier, or an incipient stage of Lake Agassii waters. No records of the lake we.e found in the northern portion of Lake of the Woods basin, so that the relation of its water plane to that of the present lake is unknown. In the southern portion of the basin the old water plane is practically parallel to the present one in an east and west direction. Numerous sections exposed in the district also show that considerable weathering and a certain amount of leaching took place before the deposition of Lake Agassiz sediments. This is well shown in sections along Rainy river at various points from 1 to 3 miles below the railway bridge near the town of Rainy River. In some of these sections calcareous till which is over- lain unconformably by a thickness of 6 to 10 feet of Lake Agassi* clays is also weathered to a depth of 6 feet and is rusty yellow in colour, whereas the colour of the unweathered till is bluish grey. It was also evident in many of the sections that the weathering or oxidation took place before the deposition of the overlying sediments and is not due to recent weathering. Both the weathered and unweathered till contain pebbles and boulders of the cream coloured magnesium limestone which characterizes much of the till. In the weathered portion leaching has been ef- 67 fective in removing a portion of the finer soluble material. A sample of unweathered till was found to sustain a loss of 27-3 per cent when treated with dilute, cold hydrochloric acid. A sample of the weathered till taken at a depth of 4 to 5 feet below the surface of the till, and 8 to 10 feet below the surface of the ground, was found to lose IQ-O per cent, so that apparently it shows no very great amount of leaching. The till is, however, clayey and very compact in character, and consequently is nearly impervious where unweathered. In some places it was also noted that the yellow colour of the weathered till extends down- ward for at least a foot below the present level of the ground- water. In several sections for a depth of 1 to 2 feet below the contact with overlying lacustrine clays, the calcareous concre- tions, which are frequent in the upper portion of the glacio- lacustrine clays, were almost wholly dissolved, leaving only white blotches where they formerly lay ; the clays are of sufficient thickness to effectively prohibit recent leaching. That the weathering and leaching in the till and laminated clays took place to some extent in situ and before the deposition of the overlying lacustrine sediments seems to be evident from the uniform character of the occurrence as outlined above. Post- Lake Agassiz leaching has been effective only to a slight depth. Fragile shells occur in loose sand and gravel ridges in places within 1 foot of the surface of the ground and where drainage conditions are good. A sample of calcareous till taken from a depth of only one foot from the surface of the ground was found to contain 26 ■ 5 per cent soluble material. Stream valleys were also developed to some extent in the district during this interval of erosion. Near Fort Frances fossiliferous Lake Agassiz clays fill a portion of the valley of Rainy river to a depth of nearly 25 feet. A section across the valley of a small creek which enters Rainy river 3 miles below Fort Frances shows on one side of the valley calcareous till and on the other side lake sediments, partially filling the valley which was eroded to a depth of at least 20 feet More the deposi- tion of the lake sediments. The recent valley was apparently developed along the conUct of the till and the more easily eroded and more permeable lake sands and clays. A similar relation was noted in the case of several other valleys. . 68 There » al«) evidence that during the int«rval ^^^ vegetation had to some extent obtained a foothold. The "PP" ^Son of the clay, underlying lake aedimenU «ve"Heet th^^ h in places slightly blackened. In a section exposed on the i;7 r^ of Bu Jo point on Uke of the Wood, pea^ tend. S"e7bedded with sand occur (Plate XII). The P^^ ^^^ ^.^^Sn fragments of wood and water-wom chip. part«dly car- tonLi. No evidence was noted.however of arboreal vegeta. STScurring in situ in the clays below the unconformity at the base of the lacustrine sediments. „ „f ♦!,, ;„♦«■. y ttle inference can be drawn a. to the duration of the inter- val of erosion, but it is evident that such an f '-[J^Ijlid «xur and that it was not of short duration. It is also clear that the ^ters of Lake Agassir rose through a vertical »ntenail inthe A^ltoi aTleast 60 feet above the level of Lake of the Woods; for the lake clays are unconformable on the ^l^V^^^^^'"^^^^ throughout this vertical interval and probably for a much "''TSge part of the lake clays was deposited when the waters of LalTAgasriz stood at the strong shore-lme which has Sn refenSTto as the Campbell beach. This beach i«sse. ^ the l^divide between Lake of the Woods and Red Riv« vXy (19). BO that the clays could not have been depo«ted Tn a fate which was confined to the dUtrict. but in a lake wh. A wa^ wWespr^^d not only over Red River valley but over adjoin- ;^^ regions, and this lake must have been the last great pro- fflacial lake of the region, viz., Lake Agassiz. The rising sta^of the water could not be due to drowning of the southern shores of the lake by progre^ive "Pw^J^K of the northern portion of the lake basin, ^oj. *X° U . olSS lake was at the southern end. Rainy River d«tnct « 150 n«l^ north of the southern outlet and the beaches n the dismct. ^king stages of the lake during which the >ake clays we^ deposited, are upwarped. and are continuous for a >o"K d«stana soJSwesterly (19). The rising stage of the lake was. therefore due to the blocking of the outlets of drainage Jo the "orth It is not known if the lake rose to the '«-« °V''%^t^'^.!!i'":; developed in the region to the south (19) and it is possible, as III 69 already stated, that some of these may belong to the early pro^ladal lake referred to as Early Lake Agassiz, in which the glado-lacustrine clays were deposited. This lake (Early Lak<> Agaasiz) was in part at least drained away before Lake Agassiz came into existence, as has already been shown by the evidence of an interval of land erosion sub- sequent to the deposition of glacio-lacustrine days. There is also a suggestion that the lake was entirely drained away. In Red River valley there is a considerable thickness of sediments which contain in their lower portion freshwater shells and re- mains of vegetation. Upham regarded these sediments as fluvial in origin and stated regarding them (14, page 253): "Thus the occurrence of shells, rushes, and sedges in these alluvial beds at McCauleyville, Minn., 32 and 45 feet below the surface or about 7 and 70 feet below the level of Red river, of sheets of turf, many fragments of decaying wood and a log a foot in diameter at Gllyndon, Minn., 13 to 35 feet below the surface, and numerous other observations of vegetation else- where along tne Red River valley in these beds, demonstrarte that Lake Agassiz had been drained away, and that the valley was a land surface subject to overflow by the river at its stages of flood when these remains were deposited." It is evident that a land surface existed in Red River valley before these sediments were laid down; but it is by no means certain that the sediments are entirely fluvial in origin and were deposited on the flood-plain of Red river after the dis- appearar. c of Lake Agassiz, as Upham concluded. It is possible that they are mainly lacustrine sediments which were deposited in Lake Agassiz either daring its rising stage or later during the subsiding stage, and this appears to be borne out by the character of the sediments. Dawson in describing the section across Red River valley near the International Boundary stated that the valley is floored with a line silty deposit, a portion of the upper layers of which may have been formed by the over- flow of the river itself. He described the typical deposit as of great thickness and consisting of a fine yellowish marly and arenaceous clay, holding considerable calcareous matter, and effervescing freely with an acid (9, pages 248-249). The high rl :li ir" 70 calcam«. ««tent and gr«.t thicknc« of the c^y. «ould^ t^AoTThiA thesi- are not Huvial in character. The shelU ana ^^^^^ur at the 6a,e of the cUy.. At leart .t » ^^r!L» Vhe« cl.y. are in greater part lacurtnne in origin :rSat^»^ t^ b^^th SS. «d.ted M a land .urfa« •p^iy d^hS with veittation before g.adal-marg.n.1 Lake Agaiaiz came mto existence- Emrtk CnuUd Warping. It » known that the beaches of Lake Agassiz are not now horiJ^ ^TrkTdifler^tially. showing a maximum ammurt r^^i- iTa direction approximately north 35 degr«. Tthe'iUon which VZLX^IT.^^^^^^ """^T^^lLi by many «eok^^^ ^^^0^7^ was due to i«M*atic «dj«-t«ent foBowing ^V'^"^^ °* ^t Wen of the icen^heets. « this wa. so .t » evjdent U«t uph t lUged behind ^--;^^i:s^nrthlitortiJ°.Li •eems clear that dmrmg *^f**T JJ^ .he north and uplift ice from the region. SBCBNT EPOCH. t^^i^ti on the'low overflow terraces of thcstreams but^ S^ts are relatively small in amount. Most of the matenal 71 eroded has been laid down as sub-aqueous deposits in Lake of the Woods. VegeUtion. largely arboreal in character, has clothed the surface of the greater portion of the region, and ex- tensive deposiu of muck and peat have formed in places where natural drainage was lacking or poorly developed. Fl 72 3 '.4 U f n CHAPTER VII. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. WATER RESOURCES. The water re«>u«e. of the di^rirt have ^Jr^^^ control of runoff, and for agricultural P"n»r«-^?«S^ Department of Public Work, ha, al«> ^^J^^^^ J^"^ riveTwith a view to improving navigation. Th'i follcwng ^«^^ P" i^oSon April 6. 1910. and 10,600 cubic feet per second on June 23 (23, page 80). n The period of maximum discharge in some years occurs at times when the melting of the snow coincides with heavy rainfall during April and May; in other years high water occurs in June or July. Destructive floods do not occur because of the timber over much of the area, which tends to produce gradual run-off, and because of the slight gradients and relatively deep valleys of the streams. The lakes and streams are generally frozen from the middle of November until the latter part of March. During the winter months thaws rarely occur and ground-water forms the source of supply for the streams. Hence the flow is regular during the winter, but decreases gradually and is generally least rn January or February. The amount of winter flow also depends largely on the amount of precipitation during the preceding summer, which goes to make up the supply of ground-water. During the summer months, the run-off is partly controlled by ground-water, as much of the rainfall sinks into the ground because of the poorly drained character of the surface, and is delivered to the streams largely by springs and seepage. The year 1910 was exceptionally dry, but it is suted that during the greater part of the year Lake of the Woods was main- tai..ed at a high level and in the following year was considerably lower although the rainfallwas much greater. This was apparently due to the fact that the ground-watev supply was deficient during the winter of 1910-1911 and a portion of the following summer. GROUND-WATER. In all humid climates the earth below a certain level is saturated with water, and the upper .surface of the water-filled soil or rock is called the ground-water level or water-table. Above this water-table the soil contains only capillary water. The level of water in wells and, generally, the level of the water in swamps and marshes, mark the ground-water level. In some cases a "crested" ground-water level occurs where the water-saturated soil near the surface is underlain by an imper- vious stratum which is not saturated. In Rainy River district the ground-water level is generally ■ear the surface. .In the areas of very low relief underlain by lacustrne sediments it is frequently, except in the immediate 74 neighbourhood of •tream valleys, within 10 feet of the turface and over much of the swampy areas u generally within 2 to 3 feet of the surface. It is farthest from the surface m areas of slightly greater n-lief underlain by till. At some places the level of the water in the swamps marks a crested watcr-uble. This is well shown in the case of the peat bog near Fort Frances, where a portion of the water from the bog drains into the gravel pit li miles west of the town. The level of the water in tte gravel pit, marking the true ground-water level, is nearly 30 feet below the level of the water in the bog, only a short distance away. The nearness to the surface of the ground-water level over much of the district serves to check the headward growth of streams, for much of the water i&y^et as springs or as seepage along the sides of the valleys. ThU is especially noticeable m the case of the lacustrine clays, as they frequently have inter- bedded gravelly layers along which the ground-water percolates and issues as springs and seepage. The nearness to the surface of the ground-water level fadlitotes greatly the growth of aiboreal vegeUtion and la also favourable to the growth of crops in seasons of scanty rainfall, but renders a lai^ portion of the area unsuitable for agriculture until artificially drained. WELLS AND SPRINGS. Well water is generally obtained in shallow wells. In some areas the calcareous till forms a nearly impervious mass 50 to 100 feet thick, which it is necessary to penetrate in order to obtain well water. The till is commonly underlain by sand and gravel which nearly always hold supplies of water. Flowing wells have been obtained by boring at a number of placw in Croiier, Devlin, Carpenter, and Mather townships. In these localities artesian conditions are furnished by the relativdy impervious calcareous till and underlying water-bearing sands and gravels. The water enters the water-bearing stratum up in the northeastern portion of the district where the calcareous till is absent, and percolates slowly beneath the till down the slope towards the southwest. The flowing welU are located on the southwestern slope and generaUy near the base of low If* 75 till ridges. In most of the borings a thickness of 50 to 7S feet of till was penetrated before reaching the sand and gravel. The water generally rises only a few feet above the surface, but it is of good quality and the flow uniform. As already stated conditions for the obtaining of flowing wells are most favourable on the aouthwestern vlope and near the base of the till ridges, which trend in a northwesterly direction; but much of the western portion of the district is unfavourable owing to the general slight relief and because the till frequently rests on bed-rock. Springs most commonly occur along the sides of stream valleys and, in places, issue from the calcareous till. They are sometimes chalybeate in character as is the spring 2 miles north of Stratton village. Here a cone of ochreous ferric hydroxide has been built up at the surface where the spring water issues. The waters which come from the calcareous till contain consider- able quantities of carbonates in solution and are consequently "hard" waters, but are rendered "soft" by boiling. WATER-POWEBS. The only developed water-power in the district is tnat on Rainy river at Fort Frances and International Falls, where 12,000 horse-power, it is stated, is developed on the United States side and 8,000 on the Canadian side. The power is largely used in operating the paper mills. The only other water-power of importance in the district is that at Long Sault rapids on Rainy river, which is undeveloped. CLA YS. The lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine clays of the district furnish material for the manufacture of common building brick and field drain tile. The distribution of the clays is shown on the map which accompanies this report. The only brick-yard in the district found to be operating is located on the bank of Rainy river, \\ miles below Fort Frances. The clays differ somewhat in general character in different sections and sometimes in different parts of the same section. ; 1 76 owing to divem mode, of formation. In lonir wctions, a« in the cue of the dayt expowd on the bank of Rainy rtver below the dam at Fort Frwicea, thin bed. and lenwa of gravel and tand occur interbedded with the rilty clay layer.. Such depoaita were largely formed by the deporition in relaUvely ihallow water of material derived from wave ermion of the ehorea dunng the rising stage of the lake which formerly covered the diatnct. The gravel in the* depoaita is largely limestone, winch rcndera much of theae clays unsuiuble for the manufarture of bnck or tile unless the gravel is removed in the process of manufacture. The greater part of the clay« U, however, fluvio-lacustrine in origin, that is the material wa-* derived from land erosion and transported by streams, of gradient too slight to transport gravel, to be depowted either as delu depowts in lakes or aa valley-fill along some of the flooded valleys. Theae claya are generally free from pebbles and are less sandy in character. The depowt which occurs at the brick-yard 1) miles below Fort Frances is of this character. The clay is fairly uniform m char- acter. extends to a maximum depth of 14 feet, and is underlam by sand. The clay bums to form a brick of uniform reddish cotour. Clay deposits of similar character occur at numerous other places in the district. Near the town of Rainy River cUy deposiU occur along the bank of the river both above and betow the town. The deposits vary in thickness from 2 tr 10 feet or more and extend back from the river for some distance. They are thick st near the river and gradually thm out away from the river. SecUons exposing the clays occur along the nver. one-half to 3 miles below the railway bridge near the town. In places, the clays are overiain by a thickness of 1 to 3 feet of sand and are underlain by stony till or boulder clay. Samples of the clays from the vicinity of the town of Rainy River were collected by the writer and were examined by Mr. J. Keele of the Department of Mines. Mr. Keele's report is as follows: "Lab. No. 27(J.— Yellowish-grey clay from 1 to 4 feet below the surface, about half a mile below the railway bridge at Rainy "This sample was free from pebbles but contained a smaU amount of coarse grit particles. It requires 23 per cent of water i n to bring it to • good working conaittency. The clay is ratiiar sticky when wet, but has fairly good working properties, and flowed smoothly through a die for making drain pipe. As the drying qualities of this clay are not good, it must be dried slowly after moulding to avoid cracking. The drying shrinkage is about 7 per cent. The following results were obtained in burning: Co«. Fire ibrinkagc Abtorptiofi Colour % % 010 18 Light r«i. 06 IS Salmon. OJ 14 Mo«tM. 1 2 75 Buff. "This clay is suitable only for the manufacture of common building brick or field drain tile, a ^ood hard product of reddish colour being obtained even at as low a temperature as cone 010 (1742 degrees F.). On burning to higher temperatures the red colour gradually disappears and a harder, denser product of buff colour results at cone 03 to cone 1 (2000 degrees to 2100 degrees F.). There is no fire shrinkage until the latter tempera- ture is reached. "The drying and working qualities might be improved by the addition of a small amount of sand, say IS per cent. This clay resembles the brick clays of the Red River valley in Manitoba, and like them appears to be derived largely from dolomite; but the percentage of lime is much lower in the Rainy River clay, as the latter does not effervesce with acid. "The Red River brick clays and the Rainy River clay stand up at a higher temperature without softening than most surface clays, probably due to a fairly large amount of magnesia in their composition. "The development of a buff colour in burning the Red River brick clays is due to the large amount of lime that they MKROCOrV MSOWTION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART Ho. 2) laiz-s |2£ tiS, . H^H ■ 22 u |2£ ^ APPLIED IM/CE I ^•^ 1653 East Moin Str««t r.^ °°f !'•"•'■ N«« Ymk 14609 USA ■^ l716) 482 - 0300 - Phon. ^8 <"6) 288- 5989 -Fox wmam 78 contain, but the buflf colour and low fire shrinkage of the l^Moy River clay was unexpected in a clay that does .iot effervesce with add. "Lab. No. 277. A yellow rusty gritty clay, containing num- erous rock fragments and some pebbles. It underlies clay No. 276 at Rainy River. This clay ^las all the characteristics of one with a high lime content, as it bums to a buff or cream colour, with a slight expansion after firing, instead of shrink^. Some of the pebbles in this clay are limi^tone or dolomite. These pebbles bum to the oxide, then swell on caking up moisture from the air, and invariably burst the brick that contain them. This material is useless for the manufacture of clay products. It is probable that the greater part of clay No. 276 is derived from the erodon and washii^ of iJiis under clay." :t SANDS AND GRAVELS. Sands and gravels useful for stmctural piuposes and for road material occur at many places in the district, usually in the form of ancient littoral or beach deposits. The localities where the beach sands and gravels occur are shown on the accompanying map. The beach deposits in places contain more sand than gravel, and this rendeis much of the beach material of poor quality for road metal unless it is screened. Much of the gravel alfo is limestone; the fragments are small and are not well water- worn. The limestone crashes easily and is soluble to some extent in rainwater, so that it is not very durable. Gravel deposite of fluvio-gladal origin also occur occasionally in tiie district. A deposit of this character, from which large quantities of material for ballast and road metal have been obtained, occurs U miles west of Fort Frances and is connected with the main line of the Canadian Northem railway by a spur line. In this deposit the gravel is of quite a different character. It is free from limestone and consists for the most part of well water- worn gravel derived from the crystalline rocks, and is, hence, more durable and more satisfactory for purposes of road con- stmction than the beach i iterial. No other large deposits of these gravels are known to occur at the surface in the district. They are older than the calcareous till and hence are generally con- cealed by it. 79 Solid rock outcrops cccur at numerous places throughout the district and would furnish material for crushed stone of more satisfactory character for road metal than the gravels. PEAT. The peat deposits of the district have been investigated to some extent by the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines. The peat bog near Fort Frances and another in Crozier township were examined by Mr. A. Anrep of the Department of Mines. The results of his investigations were published in Bulletin No. 8, of the Mines Brapch of the Department of Mines, 1910-11. SOILS. The soil consists of the uppermost stratum of the earth, which has ueen rendered available for the growth of plant life by processes of weathering, by the gradual accumulation in this stratum of animal and vegetable matter, and by the effect produced by organic agencies upon the material comprising the soil. The soil is largely derived from the immediately under- lying substrata, but differs from the substrata in that it is weath- ered. It contains varying amounts of organic matter and has been acted upon by life in some form, so that it is productive. It is often the case, especially in humid climates and when the substratum is composed of glacial till or boulder clay, that material taken from a depth of only 1 foot from the surface is found to be unproductive for several years after exposure on the surface. The presence of a certain amount of organic material in the soil is necessary for productiveness and its accumulation requires considerable time; hence there is a vital necessity for the preservation of the soil from the destructive effects of forest fires and from erosion. The soil may be con- sidered as including the surface soil, or the soil proper, and the sub-soil; the surface soil consists of the uppermost portion a few inches in thickness, which is generally distinguished from the sub-soil by a darker colour. The sub-soil contains less organic matter and haf been acted upon by organic agencies to a less extent than the surface soil. It passes downward 80 without any sharp demarcation into the substrata which may consist either of unconsolidated or solid rocks. On the map which accompanies this report the distribution of the various surface formations from which the soils are de- rived is shown by different colours. The colours also represent the soils derived from the surface formations or unconsolidated rocks. The descriptive names of the soils, e.g., fine sandy loam, are based on the texture of the soils as shown by mechan- ical analyses, following the classification of soil material as adopted by the United States Bureau of Soils. Only the most characteristic soils of the district are shown on the map and the boundaries are approximate. In some portions no differentia- tion of the soils was attempted on account of the densely wooded and inaccessible character of those portions. In this memoir the mode of origin and general physical character of the soils are discussed; but no attempt is made to consider the crop adaptations of the soils or soil management in general, for the discussion of such matters belongs rather to the scientific agriculturist. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOaS. The mode of origin and litliological character of the various unconsolidated rocks or surface formations from which the different soils have been mainly derived, have already been described in the chapter on "General Geology." The soils of the district have for the most part been derived from glacial deposits which are highly calcareous in character, and from lacustrine sediments which were largely derived from erosion of the till; hence as a whole they are calcareous, espec- ially in the sub-soil portions. The surface soil is usually suffi- ciently leached to eliminate most of the carbonate material; but where the calcareous till forms the sub-soil it sometimes contains suffir! ont calcium carbonate to cause the material at less than one foot from the surface to effervesce freely in acid. In general, the sub-soils contain a high percentage of soluble material, a characteristic of soils known ^ve lasting fertility. The calcareous character of the soils, ca^ccially in the case of those that are heavy or clayey, promotes tilth and prevents 81 I acidity. In some places in the district ihe swamp muck and peat soils are acid in character; but this is the case only where these deposits are thick. In general, the soils of the district have the light colour characteristic of the soils of most timbered regions and lack the black colour characteristic of the prairie soils. The muck and peat soils are brown to black in colour, the dark shade being more pronounced in the muck soils, in which the organic matter is more decomposed, but becoming lighter in colour after cultivation. The alluvial soils are generally dark coloured also, owing to their pooriy drained character and to the presence of abundant organic material. The soils of the areas which are naturally drained are generally greyish to brown in colour, the top 2 to 3 inches being of a deeper shade but rarely black. They are not, however, deficient in organic material, except in places where severe burning has taken place, either during the process of clearing the land or from the effects of repeated forest iires. The only "light" soils of importance in the district are the gravelly sandy loam soil of the old beach ridges and the lacustrine fine sand soils. The sandy ridge soils are generally excessively drained and droughty in dry seasons because of the relief of the ridges and low ground-water level, especially after drainage of the adjacent low-lying lands. The lacustrine fine sand areas have slight relief and the water-table is generally near the surface; these conditions tend to prevent excessive drainage. However, the light soils are not so productive, especially in dry seasons, as the heavier soils. A striking feature of the soils of the great portion of the dis- trict is their clayey character in the sub-soil portions. This clayey character tends to produce swampy conditions on the sur- face where adequate drainage is not supplied, but is also of great value in producing lasting fertility of the soils and in retaining the moisture and supplying it to the surface during seasons of scanty rainfall. ■p* S2 DisniBvnoN or soils. The following table gives the areal diitribution of the differ- ent toils mapped in the district. Square milw Muck and peat ^40 Dune taf •" and beach tand (recent depcwitt) I Silty clay >ain of atream alluvium H Gravelly Mndy loam of old lake beacbca W Fine mnA of lacuatrine depoMU 32 Clay loam and clay of lacuatrine dcpoaitt M Gravelly loam and gravelly clay team of glado-laoMtrine clay (wave-wadied) "' Gravelly fine aandy team of cafcareoua till (wave-waahed) 176 Gravelly loam of cateareoua till (wave-waahed) 1* Red drift aoila, undifferentiated 38 Bed-rock outcropa with little or no aoil Jl ToUl area 7S5 DESCSIFTION OF SOILS. Muck and Peat. The muck and peat soils conust largely of organic material in various stipes of decomposition, and vary in depth from 1 to 20 feet or more. The muck differs from the peat in that it con- tains a greater amount of mineral soil and the organic material which comprises a considerable part of it is more decomposed. The soils occupy swampy areas which are deficient in drainage and require to be artificially drained before they can be utilized. The swampy areas are generally well-timbered, except in their central and deeper portions, which are usually tteeless peat bogs. The peaty material contains comparatively little mineral soil and the organic matter is only partially decomposed. This is especially the case in the uppermost 1 to 3 feet, where the fibrous and woody character of the material is still preserved. The undecomposed character of the raw peat is due to the pres- ence of the ground-water near the surface. Drainage, by lower- ing the water level, brings about atmospheric oxidation and decomposition and tends to produce a mucky soil. In areas covered by 1 to 2 feet of peaty material it has been found that S9 •fter drainage the peat largely disappears; for the bulk of the peat is greatly reduced by oxidation, and can be worked into the tub-toil. Near the borders of the swampy areas the soil is gener- ally mucky in character and merely requires drainage to make it productive. The average thickness of the peat and muck in the swampy areas does not greatly exceed 3 feet, and it is probable that a considerable portion of these areas will eventually be drained and be rendered available for agricultural purposes. Up to the preaenc, little effort has been made to utilixe the swamp areas. In some places in the district, however, small areas were seen to be under cultivation and to be producing good crops of timothy and clover. The sub-soil beneath the muck and peat is frequently a calcareous clay loam and sandy sub-soils also occur. Where there are sandy sub-soils and where the peat or muck is thin, the surface is generally clothed with cedar, birtdi, and spruce. The deeper portions of the bogs are either sparsely timbered with tamarack or spruce, or are treeless and clothed with grasses and mosses. The calcareous character of much of the sub-soil tends to counteract the acidity of the peat and muck, but where the peat is thick its acid character is frequently indicated by the coffee-coloured water. In attempting to utilize the peat or muck soils where the material is thick, it is important to consider the effect of too much draim^. Soils which are largely organic in character have little power of capillarity and hence in order to be productive require the presence of ground-water not far from the surface. Too complete drainage would probably also result in danger from fires. It also appears to be true that peaty soils which consist very largely of organic matter require the addition of at least a small amount of mineral soil in order to make them productive for agricultural purpose . Dune Sand and Beach Sand. Ihe dune sand and beach sand deposits of recent origin occupy only small areas along the bars and islands near the mouth of Rainy river and along the main shore of the lake for some 84 distance northeaat of the mouth of the river, which are of no value for agricultural purposes. They form soils Silty Clay Loam of Stream Alluvium. The surface soil consists of brown to black silty clay loam, to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, and contains considerable organic material. The sub-soil is usually somewhat lighter in colour but has nearly the same texture. The soil is developed in narrow strips on the low overflow terraces of the streams and has for the most part poor surface drainage. GraveUy Sandy Loam of Old Lake Beaches. The surface soil consists of yellow to brown, gravelly sandy loam from 6 to 10 inches deep, and is underlain by yellowish gravelly sand. The soil is generally excessively drained, and poorly productive in dry seasons. It occupies the surface of relatively long and narrow ridges which were formerly clothed with pine. At present the timber growth consisto largely of birch and aspen with scattered trees of white pine and Banksian pine. In some places the beach soils were the first to be culti- vated as the land was easily cleared and was higher and drier than the surrounding lands; but after clearing and draining of the adjacent lands, it was found that the ridge lands were excessively drained because of their relief and the lowering of the water level by drainage. Fine Sand of Lacustrine De- The surface soil consists of grey to in ■ " fine sand 6 to 8 inches deep, with the top 1 to 3 incht .a by organic matter. The sub-soil consists of grey or yeiiow fine sand to fine sandy loam and clay loam and rarely contains any stones or boulders. The day loam sub-soil occurs in areas along the stream valleys. The areas occupied by the lacustrine fine sand are well timbered with a growth of aspen and balsam poplar, balsam fir, and birch, with a dense undergrowth of shrubs, wild pea-vine, etc. White and Norway pine was formerly ii I ts atMuidant, but has been largely removed or destroyed by forest fires. In the poorly drained areas the spruces am firs are more abundant and "mixed timber" is the rule. The ine sand areas are of low relief and, because of the nearness to the surface of the water-table, are usually not excessively drained. In some of the poorly drained areas the surface is covered by muck, peat, or forest litter to a depth of a few inches to one foot; this will largely disappear or become mixed with the soil after clear- ing and drainage of the land. The following Ubie shows the mechanical composition in percenuges of the surface soil of the lacusfr-'ne fine sand. No. 10.. Detcription. Surface soil II 00 J! 0-4 II 0-5 : SO-2 If 371 1 (7) 6 5-4 U < 6-4 Clay Loam and Clay of Lacustrine Deposits. The surface soil consists of brown to black loam or clay, 6 to 8 inches deep, underlain by sub-soils generally of nearly similar texture but lighter m colour. The heavier clay soil occupies restricted areas in some of the valley fill deposits and in places forms a sticky "gumbo" so.l difficult to work when wet. The clay loam soil is more widespread and is less tenacious and more easily worked, because of the greater proportion of sand which it contains. This soil very rarely contains any stones or boulders. In places the sub-soil contains thin layers of fine gravel, which aid in underdkainage. The areas occupied by these soils have very low relief and the drainage, except in areas near the streams, is usually poor on this account and because of the heavy character of the sub-soil. Swampy con- ditions prevail in places and the surface is frequently covered with peat or muck a few inches in thickness. Poplar and balm 86 m of Gilead, which are often of large ^zt, are the moct abundant treei of the day loam d clay areas. In the poorly drained areas the spruce and fir trees also occur. Along the streams, where drainage is well esublished. oak and elm are the most characteristic trees, together with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and vines which often form a nearly impenetrable mass of veg- etation. The clay loam and clay soils have been developed and util- ized to a considerable extent for farm purposes in areas along the streams where natural drainage is well developed. Large undeveloped areas also occur, especially where surface drainage is poor. These areas are generally densely timbered. The following table gives the results in percentages of mechanical analyses of surface soil and sub-soil of the lacustrine clay loam soil. No, 11. No. 12. Detcriptkm. Surface toil Sub-wil h 0-9 1-3 J! 2-3 1-6 II So 3-9 1-7 ii 7-9 5-7 9 > e 18-2 19-8 46-6 3fl 20-2 3i-8 Gravetty Learn and Gravelly Clay Loam of Glacio-lacuslnne L ••5tns of the area. In these portions the surface is generally covered with muck or peat to a depth of several inches. The fine sandy loam areas have been in large part burnt over several times. The last extensive forest fires occurred during the exceptionally dry summer of 1910. Destructive forest fires are reported tJ have occurred also in 1886 and 1896. The extensive swamril roiihists o' • > n brown loam 5 to 6 inrhet deep, the upper 1 to 3 inches bein; , .lerally of a somewhat darker colour. Thesub-soilconsistsof yellow orgreyclay. Scattered stones and boulders occur, but not abundantly. The soil in general resembles the fine sandy loam soil, but contains leM fine sand and silt in its upper portion. In small areas the surface soil 18 a day loam, and in general differs from the fine sandy loam •.n being heavier and more difficult to work, especially when wet. It occupies comparatively small areas, in which the general relief is slight. The following table gives the results in percentages of nje- chanical analyses of the loam soil of the wave-washed calcan-ous till. Det.iptioii. jl No. 17..: No. 18..i Surface soil Sub-soil it .17 3-2 2-4 1 E a E J! 4-6 2-7 So 4-6 25 •a o 161 7-9 21 10 i 9 38'2 34-8 c E js 8 u 6 131 39-4 Red Drift Soils. The soil? of the "red coniferous than those in the southern portions. The sandy and rocky areas were formerly clothed with white and Norway pine and in some [Xirtions consideralile stands of young pine still tKcur. Banksinn pine occurs more abundantly, however, together with hirch, spruce, and balsam fir. The soils of this iK)rtion of the district have not been differentiated. Bed-rock Oukrops with Little or No Soil. Small areas » rt ^ o bJU •a U a; •^ Urn s 15 c s # c ?i tf) 'S c c r3 ^ ^", a •a c •» rf r*! •M r e % c .2 J? 109 117 119 INDEX. A. PAGE Acknowledgments 3 Agassiz, Early Lake .' . .35, 44, 50, 63, 69 " lake 1, 17, 44 " pro-glacial Early Lake, deposits of ' '45 " " lake 19, 64 ' « ;; deposits 18, 51 genesis of 64 Agriculture 9 Albany river 65 Alluvial plain 6 Alluvium .60, 84 Altitudes of beach ridges, list of 59 Anrep, A 79 Area ]] 3, 9 Aylesworth township 56 B. Barwick 57 Baudette $ Beach deposits 7 " ridges ]...!!!! 20, 66 sand 21, 60, 83 Beaches 54, 56, 70, 78, 84 Bed-rock 22 " outcrops 90 Bibliography 93 Big Grassy river 28, 29 Bigsby island 49 „, " J.J-. :;:::::;:::::: s Blue township 57 Boulder clay 17, .^4 " deposits 4g Brick 75 Brick-yard 75 Buffalo point 66 C. Calcareous clays 34 " drift. . ! ; ] ; 18, 19 "of Keewatin glacier 40 ^ • „ till. 17,20,23.65.89 Campbell beach 54. 57, 68 Canadian Northern railway 4 8 Pacific " 4 Carpenter township 38, 63. 74 Character of district 8 Clay, fluvio-lacustrine 75 " glacio-lacustrine 18. 45. 65 * lacustrine 75 " loam 85 * of lacuBtrine deposits 85 f 120 C. — Continued PAnE Clays 75 Climate 10 Coleman A. P 55 Communication 8 Conclusions 17 Concretions 46 Cretaceous shales 41 Crozicr township 56, 74, 79 Curran township 57 D. Dance township 21 Dawson, G. M 5, 30, 69 Delta S3 Deposition 32 Deposits, boulder 48 " fluvioglacial 34,39 " " -lacustrine 51 " glacio-lacustrine 20, 35 lacustrine 18, 20, 34, 35, 51, 84, 85 " littoral 56 Devlin township 74 Dewart " 16 Dilke " 56 Drainage 23, 24 " minor 27 " of swamp lands 90 Drift boulders 34 " red 18 Dune sand 21, 60, 83 F. Farrington 40, 48 Field work Fleming township 2. Flood-plain alluvium 34 Flora 15 Fluvioglacial deposits 34, 39 " " gravels 18 " sands 18 Flavio-lacustrine clay 75 " " deposits 51 Fort Frances 4, 8, 55, 67, 72, 75, 79, 91 Fossils 19, 54, 66, 69 G. Gameland 58, 91 Geology, descriptive 34 " economic 72 " historical 62 " surficiat 17 121 G.~Conlinued PAGE Glacial drift 6 " (Calcareous) till 40 " erosion 32 Glacial period 32 Glacio-lacustrine clays 18, 45, 65 " " deposits 20, 35, 86 Gladstone beach 54 Gllyndon, Minn 69 Gravelly clay loam of glacio-lacustrine deposits 86 " sandy " old lake beaches 84 Gravels 78 " fluvioglacial 18 Ground-water 73 H. Hayes river 65 History 4 Hudson's Bay Company 4 Hungry Hall 4 I. International Falls 8, 72, 75 K. Kame deposit 39 Keele, J 76 Keewatin glacier 18, 34, 38, 40, 45, 62, 63, 64 Kenora 4 L. La Vallee river 27 Labradorean glacier 19, 34, 38, 62, 63, 65 Lacustrine clay 75, 85 deposits 18, 20, 34, 35. 51, 84, 85 Lake of the Woods 4, 23, 30, 54, 65 Lakes 24, 29, 72 Laurentian plateau 17 Uwson, A.C 1, 6, 18, 31, 40, 55 Leverett, Frank 3 Limestone debris 6 " drift 6 Little Grassy river 28, 54 Littoral deposits 56 Loam of calcareous till , 89 Location 3 Long point 66 " Sault rapids 26, 75 Lumbering 10, 21 122 M. rxoB 69 McCauIeyville, Minn 26 Manitou rapids -j^ Mather township jg 21 Mathieu " 40* 48 Mine Centre .• ■ ■ • • • 72 Minnesota and Ontario Power Company ^3 55 Moraines '43 Moraines, terminal 5g Morson township ^j g2 Muck N. 4 Northwest Angle inlet O. Old calcareous drift of Keewatin glacier P. ... 10 ^.™ ^■.■.■.■:::::::;.;::^•■■■■•■•■•••••■••20'23. 34. 61, 79,82.91 Physiography 27. 29, 55 Pine nver 57 Pj"?"""^ .■.'.■.■.34. 38. 62 Pleistocene series 9 Population 21 Potts township \'i' '77' U 42 Pre-Cambrian 1/. z^. «, « Pratt township 5 Previous work 21 Pulp-wood 0. 34,38.62 Quaternary system R. „ . , . 23.31,72 Rainy lake. ............... . ; ;"• / ■ ' / ; ; ••.•.•.•.•.■.4. 25. 43. S3. 55. 65. 66. 72 " River, town ' 4 Rat Portage 40 Raymond, P.E ■34. ^ 35,^ 60, 70 Recent series ; ' 33 Red drift of Labradorean glaaer gg " " soils « „;t;ii ;:;;; H Relief 21 Richardson township 7 40 Richmond limestone '72 Rivers 78 Road mccal g Roadt 123 Sand of lacustrine deposits. Sands fluvioglacial Severn river Silty clay loam of stream alluvium . Soils description of * distribution of " general chat :ter . Spohn township Spooner 19, PAGE 84 78 18 65 84 79 82 82 80 57 8 74 31 75 32 Sturgeon river 27 Summary 17 Sutherland township 21, 57 Swamps 24, 29, 90 T. Table of formations 36 Terraces 20, 25, 49 Tertiary period 62 Tile 75 Till, calcareous 17, 20, 23, 65, 89 Springs. Stanjikoniing bay. Stratton village. . . Striae. 6. 18, red. " sheets. . . . Transportation . Traverse lake. . . Tyrrell, J. B. .. 38 34 8 64 .19, 44, 63, 64 U. Unconformity 18 Unios 55 United States Bureau of Soils 3, 80 Upham, W 54, 57, 64, 69 Upwarping 58, 64 Vegetation. 15 W. Warpir^, earth crustal 70 Water-powers 75 Water resources 72 Wave-cut plain 66 Wells 74 Wild Land Reserve 16, 57, 58 Wind-blown sand 34 Wisconsin stage of glaciation 44 Worthington township 57 LIST OF R?;CENT REPORTS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Since 1910, reports issued by the Geological Survev have been called memoirs and have been numbered Memoir 1, Memoir 2, etc. Owing to delays incidental to the publishing of rcporta and their accompanying maps, not £<11 of the reports have been called memoirs, and the memoirs hav» not been issued in the order of their assigned numbers and, therefore, the following list has been prepared to prevent any misconceptions arising on this account. The titles of all other important publications of the Geological Survey are incorporated in this list. u Memoirs and Reports Published During 1910. REPORTS. Report on • geological reconnaiiiance of ti-e rr^on travcned by th« National Transcontinental railway between Lai : Nipigon and CUv lake, Oiit.— by W. H. ColUni. No. 10S9. Report on the geological poiition and characteriatict of the oil-shake depouts of Canada— by R. W. Ella. No. 1107. A reconnaissance across the Mackeniie mountains on the Pelly, Roaa, and Gravel rivers, Yukon and North West Territoriea — by Joseph Keele. No. 1097. Summary Report for the calendar year 1909. No. 1120. MEMOIRS-GEOLCX}ICAL SERIES. Mbmoib 1. No. J, Ceohtical Seriti. Geology of the Nipigon basin, Ontario —by Alfred W. G. Wilson. Mbmoib 2. No. 2, Giolofical Striet. Geology and ore deposits of Hedley mining district, British Columbia — by Charles Camsell. Mbmoib 3. No. 3, Gtohticai Seriti. Palteoniscid fishes from the Albert shales of new Brunswick — by Lawrence M. Lambe. Memoir S. No. 4, Ceohtical Series. Preliminary^ memoir on the Lewea and Nordenskietd Rivers coal district, Yukon Territory — by D. D. Cairnes. Memoir 6. No. 5, Geological Series. Geology of the Haliburton and Ban- croft areas. Province of Ontario— by Frank D. Adams and Alfred E. Barlow. Memoir 7. No. 6, Geolotical Series. Geologv of St. Bruno mountain, pfov> ince of Quebec — by John A. Dresser. MEMOIRS— TOPOGRAPHICAL SERIES. Mbmoib U. No. 1, Topotraphieal Series. Triangulation and spirit levelling of Vancouver island, B.C., 1909— by R. H. Chapman. Memoirs and Reports Publislied During 1911. RF.ORTS. Report on a traverse through the southern part of the North Woat Territories, from Lac Seul to Cat lake, in 1902— by Alfred W. G. Wilson No. 1006. Report on a part of the North West Territories drained by the Winisk and Upper Attawapiskat rivers — by W. Mclnnes. No. 1080. Report on the geology of an area adjoining the east side of Lake Timiakam- ing — by Morley E. Wilson. No. 1064. Summary Report for ihe calendar year 1910. No. 1170. MEMOIRS— GEOLOGICAL SERIES. Mbmoib 4. No. 7, Geological Series. Geological reconnaissance along the line of the National Transcontinental railway in western Quebec— by W. j. Wilson. Mbmoib 8. No. 8, Geological Series. The Edmonton coal field, AlberU— by D. B. Dowling. HI MiMOii 9 MiMOIK 10. MiMoia 12. Miuoiii IJ. Memoir 16. Mbmom U. Ne. 9, Ceotopeat Strits. Bighorn coal bwin, Albtru— by C. S. Malloch. No. 10, CtohtUal S*ries. An inttrumenul turvey o( tht ihore-linei of the extinct lalces Algonquin and Nipining in •outhweatern Ontario — by J. W. GulJihwait. No. II, Ctoloticat Series. Insects from the Tertiary lake deposits of the southern interior of British Columbia, col- lected by Mr. Lawrence M. Lambe, in 1906— by Anton Handlirsch. No. 12, Ceototieal Series. On a Trenton Echinoderm fauna at Kirkfield, Ontario — by Frank Springer. No. 13, Geological Series. The clay and shale deposits of Nova Scutia and portions of New Brunswick— by Heinrich Riet assisted by Joseph Keele. MEMOIRS-BIOLOGICAL SERIES. No. I, Biohgical Series. New species of shells collected by Mr. John Macoun at Barkley sound, Vancouver istancl, British Columbia— by William H. Dall and Paul Bartich. Memoirs and Report* Published During 1912. REPORTS. Summaiy Report for the calendar year 1911. No. 1218. MEMOIRS— GEOLOGICAL SERIES. geoloey and ore depoaitt of British Colunbia— by O. E. Mkuoir 13. No. 14, Geolotical Series. Southern Vancouver island — by Charles H. Clapp. Mbmcm 21. No. 15, Geolotical Series. The Phoenix, Boundary district, LeRoy. Mbmou 24. No. 16, Geolotical Series. Preliminary report on the clay and shale deposits of the western provinces — by Heinrich Riea and Joseph Keele. Memoir 27. No. 17, Geological Series. Report of the Commission appointed to investigate Turtle mountain, Frank, Alberta, 1911. Memoir 28. No. 18, Geological Series. The Geology of Steeprock lake, Ontario — by Andrew C. Lawson. Notes on fossiU from limestone of Steeprock lake, Ontario — by Charles D. Walcott. Memoirs and Reports Published During 1913. REPORTS, ETC. Museum Bulletin No. 1 : conuins articles Nos. 1 to 12 of the Geological Series of Museum Bulletins, articles Nos. 1 to 3 of the Biological Series of Museum Bulletins, and article No. 1 of the Anthropological Serras of Museum Bulletins. Guide Book No. 1. Excursions in eastern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, parts 1 and 2. Iv Guide Book No. 2. ExrurMons in the Eaitern 1 ownthipt of Quebec and the eastern pirf or Ontario. , ul u j . .. ■ j Guide Boole No. J. bxcuruuM in the neighbourhood of Montreal and Ottawa Guide Book No. 4. Guide Book No. J Manitoulin iaiand. Guidn and Churchill rivers — by Williuni Mclnnes. No. 41, Geological Strits. Gold fields of Nova Scotia — by W. Malcolm. No. JJ, (jtolotical Striti. Cieology uf the Victoria and Saanich niap-areas, Vancouver island, B.(!. — by C. II. CLipp. No. 42, Ctolotical Strits. (°ie I Hi ' M M * — A^.Mndmiri»^ i jy f la m . < Z C !c 3 O- ty»niii •• *■»»« » . M Til ifc iiinitr fiMii.a mJO ■ndlacoatxteB mH< ancl-clnr ■!••. Mm m MitmimtiMt Kn0 ■■ad i PLCISTOCeNC on OLACIAL a^rJcMOL and clagr liwii iiadliwli fl I I If 1 I I l| ■w «tMr,«l»»«%««m^ lan m ill ■■ OnaiaOfdfaia.MBiAfloaa. (SanUltill booldT-clCTdian ■■■i>«ll) ^ 1 • — 1 1 % .- .—*... ] ^ 'i 1 11 9 1 I 4 HON. MArrm Bu»»til, NliiitMtn; RCkCCoNNCa. Deputy MiNittm OCOUMICAL SURVKV William M'Innes. DiKccriNO Gcoioeisr 84Vw W --wr flMiHiiiMiM ((JhI'ImJ till I f-nlf- MTMnia ' (ir hinilrl«*i>«*ll«Vi «nw«>«n«akM4 • ^Z-'Hi" a^ UlUmi Hfcl ilrifl tHttidnn^ttutml till m milxvop l^f^^tmmtHmn) H^mholii (UaHal >tria4 9wBnqiTiirvaa (ir f j>i M< iii»>;' ir»»imi lilt It . fVirj ft «M«vM*yM#Mr MmmamJr kr ftA^^iitmstmn ttM M .^.., (j^iifi «if?R*-5 *-«-? V ,, A "ft^ ^i^^- -iT-:" iXS «iii^ Jiiyiib V ' ^jr "^ i^k.. Mil m f^ : ^m^'i '"^Miom^L'Mf tiMt J — ♦-- 3 mjmm '*? [tS*l 2 * ^1.1 ^P'^ ^ n*t: mai f^*i --J ^ rx-1^ -..^r^it I< MILCa TO I INSH itoMMi Mlfe PiUili'rntiati H° l;n9 OEOLOOV Ki«..MMM#rOM, iia-H 6SOORAI»HV m$i.»mtTM, imt-*T utrmmiMnatiAi. joittr eommtauof mta-tt atmr or LAMoa.romttn, 4 mmtt, oirrjutio aa^T or mpiAn ArrAimo •mpr or mAium»vo amo omuu.* A.joAmt», eommtut