igii] The Coppermine Country 201 



THE COPPERMINE COUNTRY. 

 By J. B. Tyrrell, M.A., F.G.S., F.R.S.C. 



(Read 4th November, 1911.) 



The Coppermine country is situated about the centre of the northern 

 coast of North America, just south of the Arctic Ocean, the shores of 

 wTilch are low, shallow and covered with ice nearly all summer. 



Whaling ships now regularly navigate the Arctic Ocean from Beh- 

 ring Strait as far eastward as the mouth of the Mackenzie River, but 

 frpm this point eastward navigation becomes more difficult and more 

 impeded with ice, so that it has rarely been possible for such vessels to 

 reach the mouth of the Coppermine River. 



The country here considered is of unknown area, but speaking gen- 

 erally, it lies near the mouth of the Coppermine River and would appear 

 to extend one hundred miles or more westward from "it along the Arctic 

 Coast and about two hundred miles eastward from it. Taking its cen- 

 tre as a point on the Coppermine River about thirty miles above its 

 mouth, this centre lies nine hundred miles northwest of Fort Churchill 

 on Hudson Bay, five hundred and fifty miles west-northwest from the 

 head of Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay, three hundred miles north of 

 Fort Rae on the north arm of Great Slave Lake, and fifty miles east of 

 Great Bear Lake. 



At the present time the easiest method of reaching it is to descend 

 the Mackenzie and Athabasca Rivers from Athabasca Landing to the 

 mouth of Great Bear Lake River, to ascend this river to Great Bear Lake, 

 cross Great Bear Lake, and thence strike across the country eastward 

 from Great Bear Lake to the Coppermine, but the main difficulty in 

 this route is caused by the fact that Great Bear Lake, which is very large, 

 having an area of 11,800 square miles, is only open throughout its whole 

 extent for about two months of each year, from the first of August to the 

 first of October. 



A canoe route leads north from Great Slave Lake (area 10,700 square 

 miles) to the East end of Great Bear Lake, and thence to the Coppermine 

 River. It is available for a little longer time than the other, in fact 

 from the time when Great Slave Lake opens on the first of July until it 

 freezes again on the first of November. 



