-C23 



1854.] 



ON THE PERIODICAL RISE AND FALL OF THE LAKES. 



293 



e Canute SnnritaL 



TORONTO, JULY, 1854. 



On t3ie Periodical Rise and Fall of the Jjal&ea. 



By Major Lachlan, Montreal. 



Few countries can boast of objects of more imposing natural 

 grandeur, or deeper philosophical interest, than are presented in 

 Canada — in the vast extent and other striking peculiarities of its 

 magnificent inland fresh water seas, and their noble connecting 

 rivers and unrivalled cataracts, coupled with the singularly ano- 

 malous nature of its climate and seasons, compared with Euro- 

 pean countries in the same parallels of latitude ; and an addi tional 

 geographical interest may be considered as attaching to it, in the 

 magnetic meridian passing through it — the line of " No varia- 

 tion" curving through part of its mediterranean waters.* 



The investigation of the causes and effects of these great phy- 

 sical- phenomena might well engage the attention of a whole life 

 of patient observation and study ; and such, doubtless, will at 

 no distant day, be the case; but in the present state of things, 

 in so young a country, all that can be expected is the occasional 

 contribution of the unpretending philosophical gleaner; and, as 

 sucli, I now venture to lay before the Canadian Institute the 

 following desultory observations on the periodical rise and fall 

 of our great Lakes, in the hope of strengthening the arguments 

 adduced by me in the Paper which I had lately the honour of 

 submitting to it, in advocacy of the establishment of a system of 

 simultaneous meteorological and tidal observations throughout 

 British America — as not only a great philosophical desideratum, 

 but also likely to prove of substantial service to the country, were 

 it only to make us better acquainted with the great benefits de- 

 rived and derivable from the climatic influence of our mighty in- 

 land waters.;]; 



In the introduction to my former paper, I was led to remark 

 that it is now seventeen years since my attention was first attracted 

 to these interesting philosophical subjects, by remarking the great 

 difference in the newspaper reports of the temperature, direction 

 of the winds, and state of the weather in different parts of the 

 Province at the same time, as compared with each other, and by 

 having at my residence on the banks of Lake Erie been for seven 

 years in the habit of noticing the constant extraordinary fluctua- 

 tions in the level of that noble Lake; at times consisting only of 

 slight irregularly recurring oscillations; at others, showing a 

 sudden change of level, apparently caused by the temporary im- 



* To do justice to the subject treated of in this Paper, a good map of 

 British America should be at hand to be referred to, and, above all others, 

 that graphic " Map of the Valley of the St. Lawrence," constructed by 

 T. C. Reefer, Esq., in which the striking connection of the whole system 

 ot Lakes is so well pourtrayed. 



f As a remarkable instance of the tempering influence of the proximity 

 of the Lakes, it may here be mentioned, that in the immediate vicinity of 

 Cleveland, the temperature during 10 years has in no instance fallen below 

 Zero, while at Colombo, Lunicella, and Cincinnati, from 1 20 to 1 50 miles far- 

 ther south, it has frequently sunk to 5 deg. and 10 deg. below it ; and that in 

 Northern Ohio, generally, the tender vegetation is usually cut down within 

 five days of the 25th October, whereas the Lake shore remains untouched 

 for two weeks later ; and during the winter, when deep snow falls else- 

 where, there is comparatively little near-lhe Lake. — American Journal of 

 Science, 2d Series, vol. 13, pp. 215 to 219. 



Vol. II. No. 12, July, 1854. 



pulse of passing storms ; at others, evincing a longer continued 

 state of elevation or depression, in evident accordance with the 

 more enduring influence of winds blowing from the same quarter 

 for days together; and at others, and more especially and unac- 

 countably, of a longer maintained rise of several feet above the 

 usual level, sometimes lasting for a whole season, or even more, 

 as was the case during the memorable years, 1838-39 — regarded 

 at the time by some of my neighbours as the traditional seven 

 years' flood. 



Being much struck with these singular phenomena, and yet 

 not being sufficiently at leisure, as well as feeling myself other- 

 wise disqualified for attempting a scientific investigation of their 

 causes, I nevertheless naturally felt a strong desire to ascertain 

 what had been, or might, from time to time be written on the 

 subject by more able philosophical observers; and I accord- 

 ingly made a practice of taking notes from all such published 

 works, and other sources of information, as referred to them, as 

 they happened to fall in my way, until I had, in the course of 

 years, accumulated a mass -of miscellaneous memoranda — not to 

 call it testimony — on the subject, of so conflicting a character as 

 frequently rather to add to the perplexity than promote the 

 elucidation of the object in view; and the consequence was, 

 that, after vainly attempting to classify and reconcile the inform- 

 ation therein contained, regarding the rise and fall of the Lakes 

 generally, and comparing it with my own passing observations 

 and enquiries respecting Lake Erie in particular, I came to the 

 conclusion that there was still much room for further investiga- 

 tion, as all the Lakes did not appear to be always governed by 

 simultaneous influences ;* and, therefore, that the only chanco 

 of arriving at a correct knowledge of the state of the whole mat- 

 ter would be the adoption of some such course of long-continued 

 meteorological and tidal observations throughout the country, as 

 that which I ventured to propose in my last paper. 



Having in that communication enlarged principally on the 

 value of a wide-spread series of simultaneous meteorological ob- 

 servations, as the more important branch of the great object in 

 contemplation, I propose to confine myself, on the present 

 occasion, to the no less interesting, though minor, part of the 

 undertaking — aiming at the institution of a simultaneous record of 

 the daily variations in the level of the great Lakes, with the view 

 of throwing light on, and, if possible, deciding the three following 

 doubtful points: 1st, How far there is any foundation for the 

 traditional report, that there is a septennial rise and fall in the 

 waters of the Lakes, and -if so, to what height; and whether 

 such phenomenon takes place in all the Lakes simultaneously or 

 otherwise. 2d, The amount of the better known annual varia- 

 tions in the level of the different Lakes; and how far these 

 changes occur in each at the same time; and whether they are 

 solely due to the annual amount of the rain and snow in the 

 surrounding country, compared with that of the evaporation 

 during the summer months, or to any other cause therewith 

 combined. And 3d, How far the daily or other more frequent 

 oscillations, or irregular tides, observable in the different Lakes, 

 are general, and arise from the temporary force and direction of 

 winds passing over their surface, or are peculiar only to certain 

 localities ; and whether they are in any sensible degree influ- 

 enced by atmospheric pressure, or lunar attraction, or otherwise. 

 All which, it is hoped, would in the course of time be satisfac- 

 torily decided, by a daily record of the actual level of the Lakes, 

 combined with that of the prevailing winds and weather, at a 



% This will be found patiently illustrated in a tabular view of the Rise 

 and Fall of Lake Erie, incorporated in this paper. 



