This, the second of the three natural provinces which abut 

 onto the tundras and barren lands of the Arctic, is of enormous 

 extent but is one of the most homogeneous on this continent. 

 Approached from the north, it is a vast plateau that rises 

 steadily southward to about an average of 2500 feet from the 

 Arctic shore line and the west and southern shores of Hudson 

 Bay. Physiographic maps show it dotted with numerous 

 highlands that are called "mountains," but one can fly, drive, or 

 walk over these without ever knowing that they are areas of 

 comparatively greater altitude than the surrounding flat country. 

 They are, in fact, simply groups of huge low domes: so big 

 that even from their "summits" (as determined by survey) no 

 views are obtained unless many acres of the massed spruce 



trees that cover the land have been cleared away. Then the 

 world seems simply to drop away slightly to the horizon 

 all around. 



This province is very clearly defined on all but its narrow 

 eastern side. Its northern boundary is the tree line that rims 

 from the mouth of the great Mackenzie River in the northwest 

 almost due southeast to Button Bay on the west coast of Hudson 

 Bay just about the port of Churchill. After that it follows the 

 south coast of Hudson Bay to Moosonee at the bottom of James 

 Bay. Its western border is even more clearly defined, being no 

 less than the great barrierlike easterti face of the Rockies. 

 This barrier follows the western bank of the Mackenzie River 

 from the Arctic Ocean (here the Barents Sea) south to its 

 confluence with the Hard River, and then runs almost due 

 south to the headwaters of the Peace River in central British 

 Columbia. 



The southern boundary of the province is plainly marked on 

 almost any map. however crude, that purports to show the 

 distribution of vegetation. Yet it is not easy to define, since 

 there are very few place names along its length. It is equally 

 difficult to outline precisely in the field because, although it is a 

 radical change-over line, half a dozen subbelts are here 

 compressed into a very limited strip of territory. This boundary 

 marks the transition from the northern boreal forests to the 

 great prairies, but the latter extend much farther north than is 

 generally realized. This dividing line runs almost exactly 

 southeast from Fort Nelson to Winnipeg, thence due east to 

 Port Arthur on Lake Superior. 



The narrow eastern boundary of the province is arbitrary 

 but runs from Heron Bay northeast to Moosonee. The "break" 

 here is actually, as shown on the accompanying map. that 

 between the great clay belt which surrounds James Bay. and the 

 ancient rocks of the Laurentian Shield. On the latter, maples 

 become prominent, whereas they are absent or insignificant 

 in the province under discussion. 



where they abut onto the prairie. In the far north, on the other 

 hand, the forest sort of "peters out" — the trees becoming ever 

 more scragglyand standing wider apart, and finally becoming very 

 tattered in appearance and growing isolated in a sea of tundra. 

 Only along the shallow valleys do they finger out onto the 

 barren lands in mass, and even then they are usually stunted 

 and look very forlorn. Yet, as seen by one tramping down from 

 the north, they signify something that is very dear to the hearts 

 of all of us, except perhaps the Eskimos. 



It is not until one visits these lands that one comes to realize 

 just how much trees mean to us. In both the tropics and the so- 

 called temperate zones there are great deserts, but, even to people 

 raised in those, the vision and significance of trees is inborn. The 

 impact of a solid mass of trees such as we find in the Northwest 

 Territories thus, at first sight, comes as somewhat of a shock, for 

 their pure "massiveness" is really awe-inspiring. For hundreds 

 of miles they stand, their branches inextricably interwined like — 

 and indeed forming — a great barrier. However, almost a third of 

 this province is covered with water. This consists of lakes vary- 

 ing in size from some of almost sealike dimensions — the Great 

 Bear and Great Slave, for instance — to lesser ones of all sizes 

 down to ponds only a few feet in diameter. And then there is 

 the muskeg. 



By most people other than Canadians, this term is often con- 



fused with tundra. Tundra is open land without trees, the vege- 

 tative covering of which is composed of mosses, lichens, and tiny 

 stunted plants of other sorts growing to only a few inches in 

 height — though moss domes may be several feet deep. Muskeg, 

 on the other hand, while having a ground cover similar to but 

 much deeper than the tundra, is also clogged with rushes, sedges, 

 grasses, and either continuous stands or clumps of thin-branched 

 bushes, such as willows, varying in height from a man's knee 

 to about the top of his head. Muskegs are swamps and in most 

 cases probably filled-in ponds and lakes, and they meander 

 through the taiga or spruce forest in every conceivable shape, 

 and form sort of vegetational lakes in its midst. 



The whole of the northern belt of this province lies upon 

 frozen soil, though the depth of this and its nearness to the 

 surface varies greatly. In winter the soil is of course frozen right 

 up to the surface and the whole is covered with snow. However, 

 the spruce forests are often so dense that the snow forms a great 

 blanket-like roof over the top and the ground surface may 

 remain quite bare and, because of the blanket of snow above, 

 may not, in exceptional cases I am told, even freeze. In the 

 muskegs, however, everything congeals and the snow lies 

 directly on the ground. In summer, conditions are almost exactly 

 reversed in that the soil surface under the trees, being sheltered 

 from the sun's rays, remains cold, while the open muskegs thaw 



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