126 E. BELL NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 



up in its place. Rock maple, red oak, black birch and other hard woods 

 form considerable groves in some sections. The general elevation of this 

 tract is probably between 800 and 1,000 feet above the sea. 



The construction of the Canadian Pacific railway in 1882 led to the dis- 

 covery of nickel and copper, besides various other metals, in this part of the 

 province, and now the Sudbury district promises to become of great impor- 

 tance as a mining region. It may be remarked in passing that Sudbury is 

 not the name of a political division but is merely a convenient designation, 

 in connection with mining, for the territory lying partly in the district of 

 Nipissing and partly in that of Algoma. 



The Geology of the District. 



As a preliminary to the proper understanding of any account of the nickel 

 and copper deposits of the Sudbury district, some remarks on the geology of 

 the region w^ll be necessary. The district is situated in the course of the 

 best known and perhaps the longest Huronian belt in Canada. Beginning 

 in the west, the general northerly boundary of this great belt commences 

 at the promontory of ^Namainse'^ on the east side of Lake Superior and 

 runs approximately parallel to the shore of that lake, the St. Mary's river 

 and the north shore of Lake Huron as far as Spanish river, leaving a border 

 of Huronian rocks of varying width between the water and the Laurentian 

 nucleus to the north. Near Spanish river the dividing line between the two 

 systems turns inland and runs northeasterly nearly to Lake Wahnapitse, 

 whence it trends northward and northwestward till it gains a point lying 

 northeast of Michipicoten on Lake Superior, thus almost surrounding a 

 large elliptical area of Laurentian rocks. 



The boundary between the Huronian trough and the Laurentian system 

 along its southeastern side leaves the shore of Lake Huron at Shibaonaning 

 (" Killarney ") and runs in a tolerably direct line to the foot of LakeTemis- 

 caming at the great bend of Montreal river, and thence it continues in a 

 somewhat zigzaging course nearly to the southern end of Lake Mistassini, 

 335 miles due north of Montreal, or a total distance of 600 miles from the 

 commencement of the belt on Lake Superior in a general course, or 700 

 miles, following the axis of the trough. Lake Wahnapitse lies at the upper 

 extremity of the contracted portion of the Huronian belt after it has turned 

 northeastward from Lake Huron, but beyond it these rocks spread out 

 widely to the northward. 



Within the general limits of the Huronian region just sketched, we find a 

 good many iuliers of gneiss and red quartz-syenite, some of which correspond 

 with Laurentian types of these rocks, and it is uncertain whether they are 



* Meaning, little sturgeon ; often improperly spelled Mamainse. 



