Canadian Forestry Journal, July, 1919 



303 



Where Canada's Forest Stops CroTving. 



On the Coppermine River, Nortli West Territories, in "Arctic Canada' 



been partly Ivilled by forest insects. 



Photo by F. Johansen. 



Many of tlie trees have 



THE FOREST'S LOSING FIGHT IN ARCTIC CANADA 



By Frits Johansen, Geological Survey, Ottawa. 



Intense Cold of Changing Climate Has Killed 



Young Trees — Remainder an Easy 



Prey to Insects. 



The general outline of the northern Hmit 

 for white spruce in Canada has long been 

 known. It is found in the greater part of Un- 

 gava (Labrador Peninsula) and comes fairly 

 close to the west side of James and Hudson 

 Bays. North of Fort Churchill the line runs in- 

 land and follows roughly the Aylmer Lake- 

 Coppermine River watersheds and makes a big 

 bend north of Great Bear Lake to the Mac- 

 kenzie River delta. North of this lake, how- 

 ever, many of the rivers which flow into Hud- 

 son Bay or the Arctic Ocean have spruce growth 

 along their courses and thus carry the line of 

 trees farther north. Much additional informa- 

 tion is needed upon this point, and hardly any- 

 thing general can be said about it except that 



the trees are scarcer and more stunted the 

 nearer one comes to the river mouths or as one 

 goes higher up their slopes, and (to a less de- 

 gree), according to latitude. The character of 

 each river is important, whether :t runs through 

 an open valley or lies deeper down with ?lecp 

 sides the amount of protection from the sweep- 

 ing winds being the deciding factor. 



In the region in question (south of Coronation 

 Gulf) the observations embodied here were 

 made by the Southern Party of the Canadian 

 Arctic Expedition; but it should naturally not be 

 forgotten that several other expeditions and ex- 

 plorers investigated the country earlier and have 

 given us our main information about it. I refer 

 to the accounts of Samuel Hearne, Sir John 



