76 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



was planted alongside a wooden post at a point in tlie east boundary of 

 Block 10, a little above bigh water mark of Deception Lake. This iron 

 post was marked "G.T.E. Block 10" on the west side. At the northwest 

 and southwest corners of the Block similar iron posts were planted and are 

 marked "G.T.R. Block 10" on the side facing the Block. 



Block 10 is well w^atered by a number of large lakes and rivers. Sturgeon 

 River crosses the east boundary about a mile and a half north of the south- 

 east corner and flows in a southwesterly direction to Abram's Lake. 

 Sturgeon Eiver is a large stream of fairly clear water, flowing with a slug- 

 gish current, and is navigable for small steamers throughout the limits 

 of the survey and for a considerable distance east. 



English River flows through the block in a general north and south 

 direction. It is a large stream of fairly clear water, and is extremely irre- 

 gular in outline. Vermilion River is entirely within the block, from where 

 it leaves Big Yermilion Lake in the south-western portion of the block to 

 where it empties into Pelican Lake. It is a beautiful stream of clear water 

 about a chain in width, and flows with a moderate current. The largest 

 lakes are Lost Lake, Pelican Lake, and Abram's Lake. These are really 

 expansions of the English River, and are extremely irregular in shape, 

 and are large in extent. Abram's Lake is nearly all outside the block, 

 a portion of the northeast bay being the only part which crosses the south 

 boundary. In addition to these, are a number of smaller lakes, all tribu- 

 tary to English River or its lake expansions. There are two water powers 

 of importance. Pelican Falls at the outlet of Pelican Lake is ihe larger, 

 and a splendid power can be developed here. The total fall is about fifteen 

 feet and consists of two cascades a short distance apart, of which the lower 

 one is the higher. The distance across the portage around the two cas- 

 cades is about a quarter of a mile. A very large volume of water passes 

 here and as the present intention appears to be to locate the junction of 

 the Thunder Bay Branch of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway with the main 

 line of the National Transcontinental Railway very near here, the water 

 power which can be developed will be of very good value in the future, as 

 there is an immense amount of pulpwood which can be easily driven to this 

 spot. There is also a smaller power on Vermilion River about a half a mile 

 below the point where the river leaves Big Vermilion Lake, This fall 

 consists of an almost perpendicular drop of about twelve feet. The volume 

 of water is not nearly so large as in the case of Pelican Falls, but a power 

 can be developed which will undoubtedly be of some importance in the 

 future. 



The general characteristics of block 10 as regards land and timber, are 

 very similar to blocks 8 and 9. There is no agricultural land worth men- 

 tioning. The country is largely drift covered sand and gravel with stony 

 land being very much in evidence. 



There are also considerable areas of muskeg. The rock exposures are 

 frequent, the ridges being usually not more than sixty feet in height. The 

 prevailing formation is granite and gneiss, although there is a considerable 

 area of Huronian rocks consisting of traps and schists along the Vermilion 

 and Sturgeon Rivers and extending south for some distance. A number 

 of mining locations have been surveyed in this belt, principally along the 

 Vermilion River. No economic minerals were met with, however, in run- 

 ning any of the lines. There tis considerable local magnetic variation along 

 the west boundary of block 10 south of Lost Lake and also on the east boun- 

 dary between Sturgeon River and Botsford Lake. Elsewhere the magnetic 

 variation remains fairly constant at about 5 degrees 30 minutes east. 



