Geological Papers. 119 



CANALS. 



If the people of this region were a water-going people, like the 

 Hollanders, they would have canals running over the country in 

 every direction. A canal connecting the Nooksack and Fraser 

 rivers through the Sumas river and lake route could be easily con- 

 structed, large enough to accommodate large gasoline boats ; and by 

 the use of locks still larger vessels could be used. Another canal 

 could be almost as easily cut from the bend in the Nooksack river 

 west of Lynden to Blaine through the Dakota creek. 



WATER POWER. 



No attempt was made at an investigation of this subject. It is 

 very evident, however, that both the Nooksack river and the stream 

 that drains Lake Whatcom — a stream about forty feet wide and 

 having a fall of 318 feet in about three miles, would furnish a great 

 amount of water power. The writer was told that the Bellingham 

 Bay & Eastern railway has a power plant of 10,000 horse-power 

 near Nooksack falls, about fifty-two miles by rail from the city of 

 Bellingham ; also that mills were operating on Whatcom creek, in 

 the suburbs of Bellingham. For a complete discussion of this 

 subject, see Professor Landes's report. ^'^ 



WATER. 



The water of the Nooksack river and of Lake Whatcom is good 

 drinking water, and also good water for use in boilers. The water 

 in the swampy regions is dark, similar to the color that water has 

 in a barn-yard drain. It is very unwholesome. The water in all 

 the wells near the seashore or in low areas, except in the Nook- 

 sack-Sumas prairie region, is brackish, and unfit for use. All 

 the wells in the Sumas valley that have their source in the under- 

 lying quicksand and gravel are soft and potable, and most always 

 good water for use in boilers. The water at several places in the 

 Bertrand prairie was found to contain considerable iron and was 

 "hard on boilers," to use the common phrase. All the spring-water 

 examined was pleasant to the taste. 



SPRINGS. 



The springs are found along the foot-hills and at the heads of 

 the streams having their sources in this region ; also in the Moun- 

 tain View country and in and at the edge of the highland east of 

 Blaine. All the springs are small and none possess medicinal 

 properties. 



13. Loc. cit., part V, pp. 32, 33. 



