

CAXAI'A 



I 



The chief of tlMn U the very heavy poutd two!! which prevail, in 

 tonar weather in exmamuo*; of the shallownM* of the water*. 

 Srral elongated potato stretch from the north shore into the lake. 

 Tfc* CM* caMpicuou* are Feint P*M* or South Foreland, Point SMX 

 Pin* or I-aadfuard, Long Point or North Foreland, and Point Abino. 

 The southern ahorai brlonring to the United State* are in general 

 low, except between Cleveland and the mouth of the river Ilunm, 

 where the olift rwt almost perpmdicnlarly nearly 80 feet abore the 

 waawlvrei. TUt shoe* ha* totav hartxmn for small vennel*. There 

 r *rr*ral small Ulaii.U scattered over the wet end of the Uke, only 

 one of which, Point Pel** Island, i. inhabited ThM island* have 

 also in acne plaeee good anchorage and ahelter for imall vessels ; and 

 on Cunniughun 1 * Island, which belong* t .. tli.- United State*, there i* 

 a AIM harbour called Put-in BUT. which ha* 12 feet of water, and i* 

 wall sheltered. The bata of 'thU lake doe* not receive any great 

 river except at it* west and ea*t extremities. At iu went end it 

 receive* the Detroit and the Mianw*, which flow in the territorie* of 

 the I'nited State*; and at it* ea*t end the OUM or Grand Uivor. 

 whoae mouth nuke* the be*t harbour on the north shore. 



The waten of Lake Krie deaoend to Ontario by the Niagara River, ! 

 which commence* at the extreme north-east point of Lake Erie, and ' 

 334 mile*, measured along it* course, in a general direction from 



oath to north. Iu breadth varies from half a mile to one mile and 

 more. It divides several times into two branches, including some 

 island* ; of which the largest. Grand Island, belonging to New York, 

 contains 11,200 acres. A little to the north-west of Grand Island is 

 Xavy Island, noted for having been taken possession of by the Cana- 

 dian rebel* under Dr. Mackenzie in 1837. Below Grand Island the 

 river is above one mile wide, and turn* to the west, in which direction 

 it flows to the Great Fall*, 84 miles distant, and 20 miles from the 

 beginning of the river. In this distance its waters fall 66 feet, of 

 which they descend 51 feet in the space of the half mile immediately 

 above the falls, so that the river is navigable to the village of Chippewa. 

 The Great Falls are formed where the river suddenly tums to the 

 north-north-east Above them the banks of the river ore very little 

 elevated above the water's edge; but below the falls the current 

 flows rapidly in a bed several hundred feet deep, and walled in on 

 both aide* by perpendicular rocks. The cataract consists of two falls, 

 divided from each other by a small island called Goat Island. The 

 fall on the American side is 162 feet high and 375 yards wide; that 

 on the Canadian side, called from its shape the Horseshoe Fall, is 700 

 yards wide and 149 feet high. The face of Goat Island measures 830 

 yard*. The whole breadth of the river at this point is 1405 yards, 

 and the mass of water projected each minute over the precipice is 

 estimated at 710,000 tons. Four miles lower down is a very strong 

 eddy, called the Whirlpool ; and 4 miles below it the river emerges 

 from the rock-bound chasm, and flows in a deep and gentle current 

 between banks of moderate elevation. As more than one-third of the 

 Niagara is not navigable, the navigation of Erie and Ontario has been 

 united by the Welland Canal. 



Lake Ontario extend* nearly west and east in an elliptical shape, 

 measuring in length 172 miles, and in extreme width nearly 60 miles; 

 it* circuit is stated to be 467 miles; the depth varies from 18 feet t<> 

 800 feet, except in the centre, where it averages 8000 feet, but is said 

 to be in some places beyond the reach of soundings. Its surface 

 is 234 feet above the tide-water in the Atlantic. Its shores round the 

 wet end arc of moderate height, they rise higher east of Toronto 

 when they assume a lofty character, but subside gradually as they 

 approach the peninsula of Prince Edward. The remainder of the 

 Canada side up to the beginning of the river Cataraqui is low, and in 

 many place* marshy. The southern shores are in general low or 

 venr little elevated ; at the east end of the lake is a good harbour at 

 Hacket*. The Canadian shores have two excellent harbours for 

 YMM!* of a middling size at Toronto and Kingston : the bays of 

 Quint.'' and I'.urlington are also remarkable for extent and security. 

 Two Urge rivers fall into the lake from the south, the Genessee and 

 th* Oswego or Onondaga ; on the northern side the Trent falls into 

 the May of Quinto". There are some small islands at the east extre- 

 mity : the large* is Wolfe Island, opposite Kingston, at the efflux of 

 the Cataraqui or St. Lawrence, by which two channel* are formed 

 leading to the river; the northern channel is called the Kingston 

 Channel, and the south the Carleton Channel. 



The St, Lawrence ismim from Lake Ontario by the two channels 

 which urro.md Wolfe Island, but iu this part and generally above 

 Montreal it is called Cataraqui. The part of the river immediately 

 below Wolfe Island present* the appearance of a Uke, and is studded 

 with a multitude of small islands varying greatly in extent, shai. , and 

 appearance, whence it i* called the Lake of the Thou-an.l I 

 Th number of them island* i* 160J. About 40 miles fr..m Uke 

 Ontario the channel gradually become* narrower and the current im- 

 perceptibly increases, but continue* gentle 10 miles farther down to 

 Preacott Six miles below this place a woks of rapids commences, 

 which 1* almost uninU-rrupted to the head of IxJce St Francis, imme- 

 diately below 45* N. Ut The greatest impediment* to navigation 

 occur between Johnston and Cornwall, where the river in 89 milrs 

 falls 75 fe*t, Mid rjr violent rapid* are formed by the heary volume 

 of the waters. 



The lake* of St Francis and St Louis, which follow, are only 



expansion* of the river. St Francis is 25 milus long by 54 mile* 

 where widest ; St Louis, which is formed by the junction of the 

 Uttawas or Ottawa River with the Cataraqui, is 12 miles long and 6 

 mile* broad at it* greatest width. Between the two lakes lie the 

 rapids of the Coteau, the Cedars, and the Cascades, at the last of 

 which a sudden declivity in the bed of the river, obstructed by rocks 

 in some place*, and scooped into cavities in others, produces a moat 

 singular commotion. The waters precipitated with great velocity 

 down the declivity are thrown up in sphericsl figures, and driven 

 with the utmost violence back again upon the current At the junc- 

 tion of the Ottawa and Lake St Louis there are four considerable 

 island* formed by the different channels of the river Montreal, Isle 

 Jeans, Bizarre, and Parrot. Montreal, the largest of them, is a beauti- 

 ful island of a triangular chape, and contains the city of the same 

 name. The surface of the inland is nearly level, with the ex> 

 of a mountain (Coteau St. Pierre) and one or two hills of slight 

 elevation, from which flow numerous stream* and rivulet*. Isle Jesus, 

 separated from the north-west of Montreal by the Riviere des Prairies, 

 is 21 miles long by 6 miles broad, and is level and admirably cultivated. 

 Off its south-west end is Isle Bizarre, about 4 miles in length and 

 nearly oval, well cleared and tenanted. Isle Perrot, 7 miles long by 

 3 miles broad, lies off the south-west end of Montreal ; it is level, 

 mndy, and not well cleared. The small islet* De U Paix arc annexed 

 t > the seignior} 1 of Isle Perrot, and serve for pasturages. The principal 

 channel runs between the Island of Montreal and the south bonk, first 

 due east and afterword* nearly due north. Where it turns to the 

 here is a picturesque rapid called Sault St Louis, which is very 

 dangerous and almost impassable for boats and vessels, on account of 

 the great rapidity of the current. A canal called Lachine has been 

 cut through the south-east part of the Island of Montreal, which is 

 rather more than 8 miles long, extending from the village of Upper 

 Lachine to Montreal. The Sault St. Louis is the hut considerable 

 impediment iu the navigation uf the St. Lawrence. Some magnifi- 

 cent works have been constructed within the last 12 yenrs for the 

 purpose of improving the navigation between Lake Ontario and 

 Montreal. The series of shorter rapids occurring in the first 83 miles 

 below Preecott has been overcome by means of six locks and four 

 short lateral cuts, measuring collectively 94 miles. The Cornwall 

 Canal, terminating at the town of Cornwall, is 114 miles long, with a 

 fall of 48 feet distributed through seven locks, and avoids the most 

 violent rapids on the St. Lawrence. The Keauharnois Canal i* situated 

 on the south side of the river ; it is 1 1 \ miles in length, has nine 

 locks, and unites lakes St Francis and St Louis. These canals give 

 10 feet depth of water with a width of 80 feet at the bottom ; the 

 locks are 45 feet wide, 200 feet long, and give 9 feet depth of water. 

 The Lachine Canal has been enlarged to the same dimensions. -Through 

 the new channels thus provided first class vessels run up from 

 Montreal to Toronto and Hamilton, and through the Wetland Canal 

 to lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron. 



Though Montreal is 580 miles from the Gulf of St Lawrence, 

 vessels of 600 tons get up to it with very little difficulty. Bolow 

 Montreal the width of the river varies from 8 to 4 miles, till after 

 receiving the river Richelieu at Sorel or William Henry it expands 

 into Lake St Peter, which in 25 miles long and above miles wide. 

 Groups of islands cover about 9 miles of it surface at its upper end ; 

 and farther down shoals stretch from both banks, which are low. far 

 into the lake, so that only a narrow passage from 12 to 18 feet deep is 

 left in the middle. About 10 miles from the lower end of this lake, 

 the St Lawrence is joined by the river St. Maurice, near the town of 

 Three Rivers, where the tides are sometimes perceptible, though they 

 are generally not much felt for several miles farther down. Three 

 Rivers is 432 miles from the head of the island of Anticosti. 



Iticheliou Rapid, the last in the St. Lawrence, occurs 52 miles 

 below Three Rivera. The bed of the river is here so much contracted 

 and obstructed by rocks that it leaves only a very narrow channel, in 

 which at ebb tide a rapid is formed that cannot be passed without 

 great care. But when the ocean swell is at its height the ra| 

 appears, as the tides rise here from 15 to 20 feet At Quebec, 

 180 miles below Montreal, the river if only 1314 yards wide, but the 

 navigation is completely unobstructed ; and just below the narrow 

 channel lies a deep basin 4 miles wide, formed by the head 

 isKnd of Orleans, and serving as a harbour for the city. Below that 

 ixland the St Lawrence expands continually till it enters the Gulf. 

 At the mouth of the river Saguenay it is 18 miles, and at Cape des 

 Mont* or Mont Pelee 25 miles across ; but bore the left bank trends 

 suddenly almost north, so that at the Seven Islands the banks are 

 73 miles apart The distance between Cape Roziere and Mingan 

 ..nt. on tli Labrador shore is very near 105 miles. This may 

 be considered as the embouchure of the St Lawrence. Its waters 

 begin to be brackish 1!1 miles below Quebec and they are perfectly 

 alt at Kamouraska, 75 miles lower down. Several islands occur in 

 the lower and wider course of the river, of which the largest is the 

 island of Orleans, about 10 miles below Quebec, which is about 

 18 miles long, 5 miles wide, and well cultivated. At the mouth of 

 the river is the large island of Anticosti. 



If we consider Lake Superior as the true source uf the Si. I/iw- 



the course of tin- river is between 600 and 700 miles shorter 



than that of the 



