﻿1848. OBSERVATIONS. 135 



to Dunvegan, a distance of about six hundred and 

 fifty miles " (250 geographical miles in a straight 

 line), " there occurs but one inconsiderable fall, and 

 a few rapids ; the bed of the Peace River preserves a 

 nearly uniform inclination, in which it rises three 

 hundred and ten feet. The stream is, however, more 

 rapid above Fort Vermilion than below it. The 

 depth of the bed of the river below the surround- 

 ing country increases with great uniformity as we 

 ascend the river. A defile, very similar to that called 

 the Ramparts on Mackenzie's River, but on a finer 

 scale and with far more picturesque features, occurs 

 about eight miles above the river Cadotte, in long. 

 117°; and here the river has cut 'a passage through 

 cliffs of alternating sandstone and limestone to a 

 bed of shale, through which it flows, at a depth 

 of two hundred feet (by estimation) below their 

 summit. The general elevation of the country, 

 however, still continues to increase, and at Dunve- 

 gan, it is six hundred feet above the bed of the 

 stream ; yet even at this point, except on approach- 

 ing the deep gorges through which the tributaries 

 of Peace River join its waters, there is little indica- 

 tion of an elevated country ; the Rocky Mountains 

 are not visible, and no range of hills meets the eye. 

 A rough trigonometrical measurement gave five 

 hundred and thirty-eight feet as the elevation of 

 Gros Cap, a bold hill behind Dunvegan, above the 



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