258 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



is undulating. The forest cover is 

 fairly open with many patches of prairie 

 anil " meadow land. The forest is an 

 extension of the Rocky Mountains 

 coniferous forest but is mingled to a 

 certain extent with the Northern Conif- 

 erous forest which extends southwards 

 from the Lesser Slave Lake region. 

 May be reached from EdsonJ or En- 

 trance on the C. N. Ry. west from 

 Edmonton** (h). 



Proposed Embarras Forest Reserve. 

 (B2.) Area 700 sq. mi. A proposed 

 extension to the Rocky Mountains 

 Forest in the Coal Spur district south 

 of Edson on the main line of the C. N. 

 Ry. west of Edmonton. Rocky Moun- 

 tain coniferous forest. Outfit at Edson. J 

 Proposed Lac La Biche Forest Reserve., 

 (B2.) Area 1400 sq. mi. This area lies 

 northeast from Lac La Biche and is 

 traversed by the A. & G. W. Ry. from 

 Edmonton to McMurray. The country 

 is rolling with an average elevation of 

 1800 ft. Northern coniferous forest. 

 Good hotel at Lac La Biche. Camp 

 outfit and pack ponies required. 



Proposed Pelican Mountain Forest 

 Reserve. (B2.) Area 700 sq. mi. Situ- 

 ated at the east end of the north block 

 of the Lesser Slave Forest. A rough 

 highland reaching elevations of 3000 ft. 

 Northern coniferous forest. May be 

 reached by pack trail from AthabascaJ or 

 by canoe by means of the Athabasca and 

 Pelican rivers. The canoe route is 

 very interesting and not difficult with 

 the exception of the portage at Pelican 

 Settlement. 



Proposed Peace River Forest Reserve. 

 (■B2.) Area approximately 1000 sq. mi. 

 This tract is in three blocks which lie 

 immediately south of the Peace River 

 at the western boundary of Alberta. 

 The country is a high rolling plateau 

 averaging 2500 ft. in elevation. North- 

 ern coniferous forest. May be reached 

 from Spirit River j on the Grande Prairie 

 branch of the C. P. Ry. from Edmon- 

 ton** fh) or (c). Also by boat up the 

 Peace River from Peace River Crossing^. 

 Proposed Clear Hills Forest Reserve. 

 (A2.) This is a large area comprising 

 over 1000 sq. mi. lying north of the 

 Peace River at the western boundary of 

 the Province. The hills form a rough 

 rolling elevation rising to 3500 ft. 

 Northern coniferous forest with patches 

 of open country. Peace River Crossing^ 

 C. P. Ry. from Edmonton. Pack ponies 

 and camp outfit required. Trails are 

 rough and poor. Little travel in this 

 region. 



Proposed Wapiti River Forest Reserve 

 (B2.) Area 200 sq. mi. A small area 

 of northern coniferous forest at the j unc- 



tion of the Wapiti and Smoky Rivers 

 and south of the Grande Prairie settle- 

 ment. Four miles south of the town of 

 Grande Prairief on the C. P. Ry. north 

 from Edmonton. The northern bound- 

 ary of the area may be reached by{w) 

 or (a), but the interior is accessible with 

 pack ponies only. 



Available areas 



North of the Athabasca River and Lac 

 La Biche Alberta is very thinly settled 

 with the exception of the Peace River 

 settlements west from Peace River 

 Crossing, t The bulk of this immense 

 area is little travelled except along the 

 main waterways. 



Lake Athabasca is easily reached from 

 Edmonton to McMurray over the A. & 

 G. W. Ry. and thence by boat down the 

 river to Fort Chipewyan. The country 

 about the western end of Lake Atha- 

 basca is very low and marshy. It is 

 one of the notable localities for water- 

 fowl in the north. The eastern portion 

 of the lake lies within the boundaries 

 of the Laurentian plateau. 



The Peace River is reached from 

 Edmonton via C. P. Ry. to Peace River 

 Crossingl. Regular steamboat service 

 down the river to Fort Vermilion, Lake 

 Athabasca and Fort Smith on the Slave 

 river. Hay River may be reached with 

 pack ponies north from Vermilion. 

 Fort Vermilion may also be reached 

 from Athabasca by way of the Wabisca 

 and Loon rivers. 



13. SASKATCHEWAN 

 By John Smith Dexter 



Saskatchewan, the middle one of the 

 three "Prairie Provinces" of Canada, 

 lies between the 49th and the 60th 

 parallels of latitude, and between ap- 

 proximately the 102nd and the 110th 

 meridians west of Greenwich. It is 

 more than 750 mi. from north to south; 

 and along the southern boundary, its 

 width from east to west is some 388 mi. 



The surface is comparatively level, 

 though gently rolling. The altitude is 

 markedly higher in the southwest 

 corner, where the Province approaches 

 the foothills of the Rockies. In that 

 region (the Cypress Hills) its highest 

 elevation is 4243 ft. Wood Mountain, 

 150 mi. farther east, reaches 3371 ft. 

 The average elevation in the southwest 

 part of the province is above 3000 ft., 



