l6c Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1918-18 
it is practically restricted to the creeks and typical valleys, where it is many 
feet. deep, levelling the river beds to the surrounding banks and covering up 
even high willows. Caves are often hollowed out by the wind in this deep, 
hard-blown snow. In narrow and deep river beds not protected from the 
prevailing winds, the snow lies as described, but in protected creek valleys or in 
those which are sufficiently broad to allow free passage for the east to west 
winds much snow is also seen on the hill slopes, mostly as a uniformly distributed 
layer, while plants, e.g., grasses and willows, are seen protruding from the snow 
above and below. The tops of the hills have very little snow, exposed as they 
are to the full sweep of the winds. Where the surface is very uneven on account 
of so-called ‘‘nigger-heads,”’ the snow correspondingly is unevenly distributed. 
The temperature for March, according to the Canadian Arctic expedition 
records, ranges from 36°F. above to 46°F. below zero; but temperatures below 
—50°F. have been recorded by Leffingwell. The month of March has often 
violent snow storms of long duration and with rather low temperatures, especially 
in the first half of the month. It should be recorded, however, that there are 
generally not more than a total of fourteen days with a temperature of —40°F. 
or below in the four midwinter months, i.e., December to March inclusive. 
According to the records of the Canadian Arctic expedition, the tempera- 
ture at Collinson point ranged from 45°F. above zero to 32°F. below during 
April. A decided rise of the temperature to above zero takes place at the end 
or, some years, at the middle, of the month. As in March, snowfalls are fre- 
quent, but generally not accompanied by storms and the total amount of snow 
is probably offset by the almost daily evaporation. Generally speaking the 
back of the winter may be considered broken at the middle or end of March, 
the temperature only exceptionally going much below zero from then on. 
The last days of April, 1914, the sun had already melted the snow on the 
south side of the foothills of the mountains, about a dozen miles back of Demarca- 
tion point, up to an elevation of several hundred feet. New leaf buds were 
beginning to appear on the plants there, so that the whole scenery had a far 
more spring-like appearance than on the north side of the foothills and on 
the Coastal plain below. 
The ground squirrels come forth from their underground dwellings, and 
the first spring birds appear from the end of April on; but it is first in the middle 
of May that the great majority of the migratory birds, waders and sea birds, 
come back. 
The temperature at Collinson point for May 1914 ranged from zero to 
64° F. above (May 13), but the thermometer went down to —15°F. on May 
2nd. The minimum temperature was above 32°F. on only one day (May 4), 
and on 23 days the maximum temperature was above 32°F. Some snow, 
mostly wet, falls during the month. 
It may be of interest here to refer to some of my field observations about 
the weather and the appearance of the ground during this month, the records 
for the first three weeks referring to Demarcation point, and for the last week 
to Collinson point and the intervening part of the coast. 
May lst was hazy or clear with cold wind; temperature at 2-40 p.m. 0-5°F. 
Taken as a the whole appearance of the coastal tundra was wintry; the moun- 
tains back of Demarcation point also looked very wintry from the distance. 
The ponds and lakes were covered with a firm layer of snow, and nowhere 
had the freshwater ice begun to melt, even where the wind had swept it free 
of snow. There was only a little snow on the whole stretch of the coastal 
tundra, for the winter winds had taken the snow away from the level ground 
and deposited it in river and creek beds, bluff-gullies, and among the rough 
sea ice. Over the whole tundra the dead upper parts of larger plants such as 
grasses and willows were protruding, and here and there around these plants the 
melting of the snow had begun and the ground had thawed out a little. But 
immediately below the surface the earth was frozen and full of ice, and no green, 
