THE HAMILTON RIVER AND THE GRAND FALLS 149 
Above the Minipi the valley soon widens, and varies 
from one to two miles across the bottom. The rocky walls 
rise from seven hundred feet to nine hundred feet above the 
water, while the glacial drift in the valley has been cut 
by the river into terraces, which are seen flanking the walls 
at heights ranging from twenty feet to two hundred and 
fifty feet. The navigation is good for the next forty miles, 
the even current of the river being broken only by a few 
short rapids not difficult to ascend. A number of very 
beautiful stretches are seen along this portion, where the 
channel is divided by islands covered with thick green 
forest, giving contrast with the bare rocky walls down 
which a number of small tributaries tumble in feathery 
cascades. The valley again contracts, and for eighteen 
miles, to its outlet from Winokapau Lake, the current is 
swift, and the river broken by a number of rapids, making 
the ascent difficult, but probably entailing portages only at 
a few short pitches. 
The entrance to the lake is impressive; the walls of the 
valley are less than a quarter of a mile apart, and tower 
in sheer cliffs for a thousand feet above the stream. The 
change from the foaming rapids of the outlet to the quiet 
surface of the lake is especially pleasing to the somewhat 
wearied traveller. 
Winokapau Lake is thirty miles long and varies from one 
mile to two miles and a half in width; its waters fill the 
valley from wall to wall. The lake is remarkably deep, 
isolated soundings giving over four hundred feet; only 
a few soundings were made during our passage, as the ice 
was then four feet nine inches thick, and two hours of hard 
work were required to put a hole through it. The upper 
