CHAPTER II 
NORTH EASTERN NORTH AMERICA 
Crossing Davis Strait from southern Greenland to 
Labrador, we land in a country whose barren headlands look 
just as stern and uninviting as those on the opposite side of 
the Strait. But whereas the west coast of Greenland pre¬ 
sents a shore-line varying between rugged precipices and 
undulating plains, the whole sea-front of Labrador, for over 
a thousand miles, rises abruptly from sea-level to a height 
of about 1,000 feet or more. Labrador presents an irregular 
plateau with a general elevation of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet 
above sea-level (see Fig. 1). It forms part of the oldest 
known land on the continent of North America, and, so far 
as we know, it has never been entirely covered by the sea 
since very remote geological times. The rocks are largely 
metamorphic with ancient igneous intrusions greatly resem¬ 
bling those of Greenland, which, like Labrador, is a fragment 
of that ancient continent to which Professor Suess applied 
the name “ Laurentia.” * 
A cold current of water loaded with icebergs from the 
Arctic Ocean sweeps down the east coast of Labrador. Off 
the coast of Newfoundland it meets a branch of the Gulf 
Stream, thus producing the dense fogs so characteristic of 
the Grand Banks. This arctic current is mainly responsible 
for the inhospitable nature of the Labrador coast. 
The vegetation is mostly stunted in character. The dwarf 
birch (Betula nana), the mountain-ash, alder and some 
willows here and there form small woods, while many of the 
familiar Greenland flowers reappear. Yet the flora is dis¬ 
tinctly richer than that of Greenland. Even close to the coast, 
in sheltered ravines, occasional specimens of the white spruce, 
which is more hardy than the black spruce, are noticeable. 
* Suess, E., “ Autlitz der Erde,” Yol. III.2, p. 2S4. 
