of heavy ice extended along the eastern edge of the Grand Banks 

 to block the east-west routes south past latitude 45° N. In June 

 a detached field of heavy ice drifted into the Strait of Belle Isle 

 to keep that route closed until about the 25th, approximately 10 

 days after the eastern approaches had cleared. The approaches 

 into Hamilton Inlet were blocked until the last few days of June, 

 but the entire Labrador coast had cleared by the end of July. It 

 is estimated that a minimum of 700 icebergs drifted south of lati- 

 tude 48° N., as compared to the yearly average of 431 during the 

 period 1900 to 1946. The bergs scattered to normal limits. The 

 peak of the season apparently occurred in late April or early May, 

 somewhat earlier than usual, and at least a month earlier than in 

 1943. 



CANADIAN ARCTIC AREA 



In mid-July the eastern entrance to Hudson Strait was still 

 filled with heavy broken pack such as would prevent through pas- 

 sage of any but strongly ice-reinforced vessels. East of Resolu- 

 tion Island the approach to the strait was clear, the southern tip 

 of the heavy Baffin Bay pack having receded north of 62° 20' N. 

 Southeast of Resolution Island pack ice extended seaward about 80 

 miles and continued as a coastal belt of that width past Cape 

 Chidley and along the Labrador coast. Coverage in lower Fro- 

 bisher Bay to the barrier of islands near 63° 15' N., averaged 

 about four-tenths heavy broken pack. At the island barrier a 

 2-mile-wide strip of compact ice blocked the channel. North of 

 the barrier some unbroken sheets to a mile or two in diameter 

 remained but these were rotting rapidly. The head of the bay 

 was less than one-tenth covered, no fast ice remaining. The con- 

 dition of the ice indicated that the bay would be practically clear 

 within 2 weeks. In Ungava Bay all fast ice had broken loose, but 

 the coverage was more compact averaging about eight-tenths, 

 with some sheets still exceeding 1,000 feet in diameter. A shore 

 lead of open water of 30 miles maximum width extended with one 

 break from the mouth of Payne River around the southern end of 

 Ungava Bay to the Button Islands. This lead was not suitable 

 for navigation at that time owing to the not too well known and 

 treacherous nature of the coastal water. That much open water 

 in the bay, however, with all fast ice broken loose, and the larger 

 sheets broken meant that the ice would waste rapidly during the 

 following 2 weeks. The entrance to Hudson Strait between the 

 Button and Resolution Islands was blocked by a belt of broken 

 dense pack 5 to 10 miles wide. Inside this barrier the strait 

 averaeed about five-tenths coverage to the limit of visibility in the 

 vicinity of Big Island. Ice conditions in the eastern half of the 

 strait made navigation impractical for any but ice-protected ves- 

 sels. The Hudson Bay Company vessel, Nasrople, negotiated the 



57 



