

1854.] 



GEOLOGY OF WESTERN CANADA. 



±9 



TORONTO, OCTOBER, 1854. 



Geology of Western Canada.— Uo. 11.'^ 



{From the Report of Alex. Murray, Esq., Assistant Provincial 

 Geolo(/ist, dated Montreal, January 1849.) 



WESTERN AND HURON DISTRICTS. 



General DcscrijJtlou of the Coast. 



Of tli3 cast side of the promontory separating Georgian Baj' 

 from the main body of Lake Huron, a general descriptioQ 

 was given in the Report of last year. The west side is marked 

 by characteristics similar to tho.se which in the same Report 

 were stated to belong to the south side of the great JLmitoulin 

 Island. At all parts from Cape Hurd to Riviere an Sable 

 (north) the coast is low, rocky and rugged, and scantily clothed 

 with a dwarfish growth of evergreen trees. It is deeply in- 

 dented by numerous bays and creeks, and at intervals, bouud 

 by groups of small, low and usually barren islands of limestone. 

 As is the case on the southern shores of the Manitoulins, these 

 bays, though frequently capacious, rarely constitute good 

 harbours, the approach to them being at times extremely dan- 

 gerous, even for vessels of small draught, owing to the shallow.s 

 which extend for a long distance out into the lake, consequent 

 upon the low westerly dip of the calcareous sti'ata composing 

 the promontory. Safe and commodious places of resort, how- 

 ever, for vessels navigating the lake, are not altogether wanting, 

 and among these probably the best is the harbour of Tober- 

 mory, near Cape Hurd, well known to most persons who have 

 frequented this part of the coast. Boats can find shelter in 

 many places, either in coves or creeks, or among the islands, 

 and at the mouth of the Riviere au Sable (north), there is an 

 excellent boat harbour, but a sand-bar at the entrance effec- 

 tually prevents the admission of vessels drawing over three feet. 



Losing its rocky nature, a decided change takes place in the 

 character of the coast, at the Riviere au Sable (north), about 

 the mouth of which, and for sevcial miles south, sand dunes 

 prevail ; and farther on, a beach of sand, strewed over in parts 

 with boulders, extends some distance bej'ond the Sauguine. 

 Between the two rivers there is no harbour of any description, 

 and with strong northerly or westerly winds, it is next to 

 impossible to effect a landing, in consequence of the barriers of 

 boulders which lie along the shore Vit considerable distances 

 from the land, the shallowness of the approach, and a heavy 

 surf which rolls in from the lake. Bordering the lake along 

 the sandy tract there is no amelioration in the timber, which 

 consists for the most part of a mixture of inferior evergreens, 

 with small white birches and cedars, until approaching the 



■^ In tho August number of this .Journal we puliUslied a Geological 

 Map of .1 consiilerablo portiou of Western Canada, by W. E. Logan, 

 Esq., F.ll.S. & G.S., Provincial Geologist. We now propose to funiisli 

 montlily abstracts of tlio.se portions of tlio Geological Reports which 

 describe the physical sti-uoture of the country comprehended within 

 the limits of the Map. Wo are induced to adopt this method of dis- 

 seminating information respecting the Geology of Canada, not only on 

 account ol'its intrinsic value, but also because it is a matter ofextrcme 

 difficulty to meet with copies of the earlier Reports, in consequence of 

 tlie destruction of the reserve during those disastrous conflagrations 

 which dcstroycil tlio Parliament Buildings at Montreal and Quebec. 



^\>^.. 111., No. 3, OcTOBKR, 1854. 



Sauguine, where a gradual but evident improvenjcnt in the 

 nature of the soil is indicated by the more frequently rccnrring 

 presence of good sized pines, accompanied with maple, elm and 

 birch. The mouth of the Sauguine affords a good harbour for 

 boats and small cral't, but as is the case with all the rivers of 

 the coast, a bar is formed across its entrance, over which a 

 heavy sea breaks when the wind is at all strong from any point 

 between south west and north : its entrance, under such cir- 

 cumstances, is difficult, and attended with considerable danger. 

 At a very short distance up from its junction with the lake, the 

 river becomes rapid and is no farther navig-able except for 

 canoes or small boats, and rapids occur at intervals to the 

 highest part we reached, which might be about five miles from 

 tlie mouth. In these five miles the river flows between banks 

 of clay, gravel and sand, frequently lising boldly to heights of 

 between twenty and a hundred feet over the water; the surface 

 of the country on both sides is flat or gently undulating, and 

 while in many parts it bears a heavy growth of pine timber, in 

 others it yields maple, elm, ash, and other hardwood trees of 

 good size. About two miles from the mouth, on the right 

 bank of the river, there is an Indian settlement, from which a 

 portage has been cut across the peninsula to the Indian Village 

 of Neewash, at the head of Owen's Sound. The territory to 

 the North of the portage being exclusively an Indian Reserve, 

 remains in its primeval .state of wilderness; and with the e.x- 

 ception of a building which was raised some years ago by a 

 fishing company at Gaheto, or Fishing Island, there is not a 

 single dwelling liouse on any part of the coast all the way to 

 Cape Hurd, a distance of nearly sixty miles. 



Following the coast south from the Sauguine, the land is low, 

 with a beach alternately of sand and boulders, for about six or 

 seven miles, beyond which occasional ledges of rock appear, 

 until reaching the Little Pine River, which enters the lake to 

 the south of Point Douglas. Beyond the Little Pine River 

 the land becomes more elevated, and the character of its forest 

 proclaims a still further improvement in the soil. At .the out- 

 let of a stream, dignified, though a mere brook, with the name 

 of the Big Pine River, in which the epithet Big, however, is 

 probably intended to cjualify the wood rather than the water, 

 the surface is thickly grown over with pine of large size, and 

 before reaching Point Clark, some nine miles fartlier, the in- 

 terior consists chiefly of excellent hardwood land. A beach of 

 fine sand skirts the shore for the whole distance. From Point 

 Clark, the coast which, from the mouth of the Riviire au Sable 

 (north), has a general bearing about S.W.^by W., turns due 

 south, and maintaining this course to Port Frank, in the 

 Township of Stephen, a distance of fifty miles, presents to the 

 lake, in almost all parts, steep and lofty clifi's of clay, the sum- 

 mit of which spreads back into an extensive level couutrj", 

 producing a luxuriant vegetation of the heaviest description of 

 hardwood trees. At Port Frank the trend of the coast changes 

 to south west, and again with the adjacent country becomes 

 sandy, presenting innumerable sand dunes, which extend several 

 miles back, and in many instances rise to the. height of a 

 hundred feet and more over the surface of the lake. This 

 character prevails to the month the Riviere au Sable (south,) 

 and beyond it to within a short distance of Cape Ipperwa.sli or 

 Kettle Point, which is about fifteen miles from Port Frank. 

 Kettle Point displays a few flat rocks coming to the water's 

 edge, but bej'ond it a fine sandy beach, with high difis of clay 

 rising at a .short distance back, hold the coa.st line to witliiii 

 two miles of the entrance of the St. Clair River, where the 

 country again appears to a.ssumc an arenaceous character. 



In the direction in which we proceeded along this coast, 



