112 PAPERS ON ZOOLOGY OF MICHIGAN. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WHITEFISH POINT REGION. ^ 



The Whitefish Point Region is considered bj' this survey to include 

 that part of Chippewa County which hes north of the Shelldrake River 

 and east of a Hne drawn from this to the Chippewa-Luce County hne 

 at Lake Superior (Plate XI). It lies between 46° 40' and 46° 46^ 

 north latitude and between 84° 7' and 85° 15' west longitude. 



In the short time spent in the field at Whitefish Point all of its bodies 

 of water could not be visited so special attention was given to the fish 

 near Vermilion, this place being headquarters for the work. This 

 limited region, fortunately, was very diversified and appeared to have, 

 wthin a radius of two miles, fish habitats typical of the whole area 

 (Fig. 3). 



Topography. 



Country of two distinct kinds exists in the Whitefish Point Region: 

 (1) forested upland with sandy soil, recently burnt over almost ever,y- 

 where, (2) lowland Avith tree-covered sand ridges running in general 

 parallel with the Lake Superior shore and separating large areas of low 

 and level open marsh and wooded swamp land containing a number of 

 small lakes. The upland and lowland areas are sharply demarcated 

 by a steep slope or bluff. This is about seventy-five feet high near 

 Vermilion where it runs in a general east and west direction and is 

 located nearly a mile back from Lake Superior. Some distance east 

 of Vermilion it is much farther from the lake than this; and west of this 

 place, it approaches \vithin a few hundred feet of the lake. The bluff 

 represents the shore line of the old Lake Nipissing. The lowland about 

 Vermilion was thus once covered by the water of Lake Nipissing, so 

 it is newer than that of the more remotely submerged upland. Along 

 Lake Superior lies a broad, sandy beach with scant vegetation and much 

 drift strcAvn upon it and with a pebble zone several feet wide close to the 

 water's edge (Plates XII, XIII and XIV). The shoal is here broad 

 with a firm sandy bottom, without evident plants, and with a sub- 

 merged pebble zone in the shallowest part. The small lakes of the belt 

 of marsh land (called marsh lakes in this paper) are surrounded by 

 sedge marshes and wooded swamps; they lie with their long axes general- 

 ly parallel with the shore of Lake Superior and the sand ridges. They 

 are all shallow, probabty nowhere over seven feet and in most places 

 less than three feet (Plate XVII and Fig. 3). The Shelldrake River 

 cuts through the upland some two miles south of Vermilion, expanding 

 into a lake, called Shelldrake Lake (Plate XI, XXV and Fig. 3). Con- 

 ditions about this lake, except a few marked vegetal differences, are 

 quite similar to those about the marsh lakes. 



