IK. kin 



WAll.K IH)\\I KS 



ha- .in estimated \\aUi aie.i <! 1^5.755 square miles, ui 

 nearh t\\ and a half times tin- water area of 5-'.''.>o M|. miles 



possessed by tlu- I'nited Si i'he wait- i the province of 



( Milano ^|. miles, cxcln.su e "l" am par! of the I in/at Lakes 



Of of an\ arm of the *ea, and th: g per rent, of the 



or area of the United State , apart from external posses- 

 This i> >in#;estivc of iinnien-e eiicr^\ in the province, so far 

 as area goes. But water is not necessarily \vater-jxjwer or it> mm 

 >tricted availability when exigent. Depth of water, descent, -till 

 water intervals, rainfall, e\ap< ration, ice, and MU h interests as ; 

 gation and municipal water-supply, have all to he o>n>idered in the 

 .iate of available energy. General statements implying that " the 

 aggregate amount of water-power must he great because the total 

 water area, or watershed area, is so great," or " because there are BO 

 many lakes and rivers," are, for reasons given by experts, generalities 

 f \ery little value. One of the chief dangers of such generalities 

 is to create, in the popular mind especially, a feeling of unwarranted 

 assurance that, even though desirable water power rights are being 

 granted by a government, yet there is so much left that no appre- 

 hension may be entertained regarding the amount of power ri^ht- 

 beinjj parted with. Many people forget that the dissemination of 

 Mich generalities is too often part of a plan to make easy the acqni- 

 i. by interested parties, of the most coveted privileges. It take- 

 years of observation and study to enable experts to furnish approx- 

 imately reliable data. Hence a government's slow and deliberate 

 action is of deeply significant value. 



There is, however, one exceedingly valuable feature very likely 

 to be associated with extensive water areas, and that is the exist- 

 of vast natural reser\<>ir>. where the run-off from precipitation 

 is imjMUinded. and subsequently discharged grad-.ially thrnn^hont 

 the \ear. Thus, water-po\\ ited within the range of the 



direct influence of such natural storage reservoirs may be of in- 

 comparably greater value than other water-powers not so favored. 

 In the matter of easily developed water storage systems, no other 

 large territory on the continent of Ameri< highly favored a- 



c Dominion of Canada. 



The water powers of Ontario, estimated upon the basis of the 

 minimum horse-power or the mean lw-watcr discharge, are as 

 follows: 



