[225] 
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF 
PETROLEUM IN THE NORTH-WEST 
TERRITORIES, 
WITH NOLES ON NEW BOIGALTTIIES. 
BY ROBERT BELL, M.D., F.G.S. 
Senior Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. 
The existence of petroleum at several places on the Athabaska 
River has long been known. Numerous details on the subject are 
to be found in Sir John Richardson’s Journal of a Boat Voyage in 
1848. Some of these localities are also described by Professor 
Macoun, Botanist to the Geological Survey, who passed through the 
same region in 1875, and noticed an additional locality on the Peace 
River, about 100 miles west of its junction with the Slave River. 
Last autumn I was informed of the occurrence of petroleum in some 
new localities further north than those hitherto known, by Mr. 
Hardisty, formerly resident at Fort Simpson, who kindly gave me 
particulars in regard to them. In 1877, I was able to establish the 
Devonian age of the rocks lying to the south of James’ Bay, and 
one of my assistants discovered indications of petroleum in these 
strata about fifty miles from Moose Factory. 
All these oil regions have certain geological relations in common. 
Having collected together all the notes by explorers who have written 
about such matters, as well as any information which I could gain 
from other travellers, I propose to offer a few remarks upon the sub- 
ject. I shall first refer to the localities in the Athabaska-McKenzie 
Valley, enumerating them in their order from south to north. 
In following the ordinary route of travel from the southward, this 
valley is entered by a sudden descent of 600 feet to the Clear-water 
River at the north end of the Methye Portage, which leads across 
from the head-waters of the Churchill River. The Clear-water is a 
small stream flowing westward to the Athabaska. The first known 
