46 THE VERMILION IRON-BEARING DISTRICT. 



foTind to be deep. These are the lakes in which the trout and bass are 

 most abundant and show best their fighting qualities. A maximum depth 

 of 60f meters (199 feet) was found near the center of Lake Gobbemichi- 

 gamma. The writer did not have a chance to sound in some of the other 

 lakes of the district, in which, if one may judge from the character of the 

 water and of the surrounding shores, even greater depths would be found. 

 The soundings taken are recorded on the accompanying maps. The points 

 at which the soundings were made were located approximately by a rough 

 system of triangulation, and are indicated on the maps by dots, adjacent to 

 which are placed the figures giving the depth in meters. 



Plankton. — During the season of 1899 a seining apparatus was carried 

 and collections of the plankton of thirty of the lakes of the Vermilion dis- 

 trict were made. The lakes from which the specimens were taken were 

 scattered from the western to the eastern part of the district, and, it would 

 seem, should give a fair idea of the general character of the plankton of 

 this district. These collections were given to Dr. E. A. Birge, of the 

 University of Wisconsin, for study. He reports as follows: "The col- 

 lections made by Mr. Clements have been examined. They contain very 

 few Crustacea and no species except those whose presence in these lakes 

 would be a matter of course, since they belong to genera and species very 

 widely distributed on this continent. In view of these facts, a more 

 detailed report does not seem advisable." 



EXPOSURES. 



In spite of the glacial drift, the rocks are very well exposed. This 

 is due to the fact that, as before stated, the drift was originally not very 

 thick, and that since its deposition it has been considerably removed. It 

 is also due to the presence of the great number of lakes, excellent exposures 

 of the rocks appearing around their shores and upon the small, rocky islands 

 dotting their surfaces. For example, within the immediate vicinity of 

 Vermilion Lake, on the islands within this lake, and around its shores, 

 where drainage has been "especially effective, the rocks rise up in bare 

 hills. The eastern jDart of the district beyond Moose Lake contains also 

 vast areas in which clean rock surfaces are exposed nearly everywhere, 

 and many of these exposures are of very large size. Between Tower and 

 Moose Lake there are a number of square miles in which the drift deposits 



