INTRODUCTION 349 



on the southeast side he omits two large islands shown on Doctor Gil- 

 bert's map. My own work of mapping in detail the part of the beach 

 within the province of Ontario was practically completed two years ago, 

 but publication was delayed in the hope that the shore might be traced 

 farther to the northeast than Havelock, the last point near which it had 

 been found with certainty. 



Several visits to the region between Campbellford and Havelock, on 

 the north side of Trent river, and also to the hills north of Madoc, which 

 rise high enough to receive the beach and are in part covered with 

 boulder clay suitable for beach cutting, gave negative results, and the 

 conclusion has been reached that the old shore either ends near Have- 

 lock or is too poorly marked to be followed beyond that point. 



Except where broken by river valleys, the old shore can be followed 

 with scarcely an interruption from New York state round the west end 

 of lake Ontario to Hamilton, and then northeast as far as Trenton, where 

 it bends to the north, forming a great bay with many islands. The ex- 

 treme northeast point of the shore, so far as known, is on a small island 

 near West Huntingdon, on the Madoc railway, and the most northerly 

 point is just north of Trent river, near Trent bridge. 



Over long stretches the beach is occupied by main roads or by rail- 

 ways, and in those parts is easily studied ; but toward the northeast, as 

 it rises higher along the flanks of the great range of morainic hills ex- 

 tending toward Trenton, it leaves the better settled parts of the province 

 and must be followed on foot, owing to the often rough and wooded 

 character of the country. 



The best maps to be had in Ontario are the old county maps prepared 

 long ago, often before many of the railways and highroads were made ; 

 so that in some cases there is difficulty in fixing points on them. In 

 such instances positions were determined by pacing or time allowance 

 to some known point. In general, however, the maps proved better 

 than could have been expected, and the shore could be located quite 

 accurately on them. Unfortunately no contoured topographic maps 

 have yet been prepared of the province, so that elevations had always 

 to be determined from known levels, such as lake Ontario or points on 

 railways or canals. At a distance from such bases the aneroid was 

 used, but in all important determinations the hand level or a surveyor's 

 level was employed. The railway levels are not absolutely reliable, 

 however, Davenport station, northwest of Toronto, having been proved 

 to be 8 feet lower than the published altitude. 



In the mapping special attention has been given to the main shore 

 and the bars continuing it across the mouths of bays, but the shore of 



