NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



115 



common. The narwhal once abundant 

 along the coast is now disappearing. 

 The killer whale is abundant, as are the 

 grampus and porpoise. 



ROUTES OF TRAVEL 



Newfoundland is readily accessible 

 as a field for study, either by the Inter- 

 Colonial Railway or by steamers from 

 America and Europe. The island itself 

 is difficult of traverse, particularly 

 toward the northwest, because of the 

 bogs, rocky hills, and barrens, without 

 roads or even trails. The rivers are 

 navigable only by canoes. Most parts 

 of the island are accessible only by boat 

 from the sea; the southern half may be 

 studied fairly well from the main railway 

 and the spurs built out from it. Mos- 

 quitoes and deerflies are so annoying 

 as to hinder field work and special pre- 

 cautions for comfort and relief are 

 necessary. 



6. THE MACKENZIE WATERSHED; 

 NORTHERN HUDSON BAY REGION, 

 UPPER YUKON REGION, AND THE 

 ARCTIC ISLANDS 



BY EDWARD A. PREBLE 



I. GENERAL CONDITIONS 



1. General topography of the entire region 

 The region treated in the present 

 sketch includes a vast area in the north- 

 ern interior of North America, between 

 latitude 50 and 78 N., and extending 

 from longitude 85 west to 115 at the 

 south, and from 80 west to 141 at the 

 north. The Arctic Ocean washes its 

 northern shores and islands; Hudson 

 Bay marks its eastern limit, and its 

 western border includes the headwaters 

 of streams which enter the Pacific from 

 middle British Columbia to Bering Sea. 

 Its physiography is very much varied. 

 At the south grassy plains, interspersed 

 with small patches and tongues of forest, 

 are succeeded as one goes northward by 

 a forest that is almost unbroken save 

 by the rivers and the lakes, which are 

 numerous and sometimes very large. 

 Because of differences in geology, the 



lakes are more numerous in the eastern 

 portion. North of the great forest lies 

 a large area which for climatic reasons is 

 treeless, but still has a rich and varied 

 flora. The southern and eastern parts 

 of the region are rolling, with only a few 

 hilly areas. At the extreme northwest, 

 however, it includes the northern part 

 of the Rocky Mountain chain, here lower 

 than farther south, and its foothill 

 ranges. These are forested on their 

 lower slopes but hold large alpine areas, 

 the flora and fauna of which have close 

 affinities with the treeless Arctic. 



North and northeast of the continen- 

 tal portion of the region, above briefly 

 described, lies the Arctic Archipelago, 

 including a number of large islands 

 similar in topography, flora, and fauna 

 to the treeless part of the mainland. 



The region is exceptionally well- 

 watered, mainly by the great Mackenzie, 

 which ranks second in size of basin, and 

 third in actual volume, among North 

 American rivers. Northwestwardly, the 

 region includes areas watered by streams 

 which enter the Pacific Ocean and Bering 

 Sea, this lying, of course, west of the 

 Continental divide. 



For transportation, the naturalist 

 must depend largely on boats of some 

 kind, supplemented by dog sled if it is 

 desired to enter the region before the 

 opening of navigation, or if the freeze- 

 up should overtake him en route. To 

 reach the northward flowing streams 

 several rail routes are possible. For 

 most direct access to the lower Atha- 

 baska and the Mackenzie, the Alberta 

 and Great Waterways Railway, running 

 north-northeastward from Edmonton, 

 Alberta, takes one to navigable water 

 on the lower Clearwater. From here 

 steamboat travel, interrupted only at 

 one point, the 16-mi. Smith portage, is 

 afforded to the mouth of the Mackenzie. 

 From many points on this 1500-mi. 

 route a great number of canoe routes 

 lead to all parts of the immense region 

 now treated, to thousands of lakes, 

 streams, and mountains unknown ex- 

 cept to the wandering native. Alter- 

 native railroad lines leading to the north 



