Fisure 2-16. — The beach at Kiska. 



is not a continuous chain but is made up of individual mountain 

 groups including the De Long, Baird, Schwatka, Melville and 

 Endicott mountains to the south, and the Franklin, Romanzof and 

 Davidson mountains to the north. Between these groups there 

 are low gaps forming passes both east-west and north-south. The 

 mountains are treeless except for small willows growing in the 

 canyons and ravines. Mosses, lichens and small plants cover most 

 of the area. 



WESTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC 



The coastal plain is narrow or absent over most of the Western 

 Canadian Arctic with the exception of the Mackenzie River valley. 

 The delta fills an area about 125 miles long and 50 miles wide. On 

 the east the low Caribou Hills mark the edge of the delta and on 

 the west the plateau of the northern Yukon mountains abruptly 

 rises from the river flats. The delta has innumerable lakes and dis- 

 tributaries. The main channel of the Mackenzie River keeps to 

 the eastern side of the delta. Silt carried by the river is deposited 

 at the mouth, thereby changing the shoreline and island detail. 

 The banks along the channels are low and the delta is for the most 

 part a marshy area, difficult to traverse. Separated from the 

 delta by a narrow channel is Richards Island whose undulating, 

 lake-dotted surface rises to 50 feet or more, considerably higher 

 than the level of the delta. The entire area has been glaciated. 



52 



