a forest working plan. 379 



Topography. 



The block is characterized by generally broken topography. Long ridges, 

 trending generally east and west, extend partly or entirely across each of the 

 townships, making, with the lesser hills, a number of watersheds. 



The slopes of the ridges are usually steep — in some places precipitous. They 

 are for the most part covered with forest, although on a few of the exposed and 

 wind-swept summits the vegetation is reduced to shrubby growth or gives place 

 to bare rocks. 



Many of the broader valleys contain ponds, which are gradually being 

 transformed into swampy land by the growth of moss and other vegetation. 

 This development is illustrated by the open pond, the one in which the sphagnum 

 moss has begun to encroach, the quaking bog, the haymarsh, with its fringe of 

 tamaracks, and the swamp, thickly studded with balsams. 



Rock and Soil. 



The prevailing rock on these townships is granitic in character. It is overlaid 

 more or less deeply by a covering of glacial drift and in the swamps and low 

 valleys by alluvial deposits. Throughout the forest there is a fairly deep layer 

 of humus. The mineral soil, when exposed, is usually a sandy gravel. 



The Watersheds. 



The streams draining the three townships form parts of four important 

 drainage systems: The Raquette River, the Moose River, the Fulton Chain and the 

 Cedar River. 



The extreme northeastern corner of Township 41 is tributary to the Shingle 

 Shanty Brook on Township 39, a stream belonging to the Beaver River watershed. 

 Only a small area is so inclined, and from this the timber could easily be hauled 

 back into the Big Moose watershed. It will not therefore be considered further. 



Raquette River Svstem. — The Raquette River System is the most important 

 on the block. In it are included all the streams tributary to Raquette Lake, 

 which is, in turn, drained by the Raquette River, flowing north into the 

 St. Lawrence. There are five principal streams in this system on Townships 5, 

 6, and 41. 



The most important of these is South Inlet. This empties into South Bay of 

 Raquette Lake, draining a good share of Township 6 and part of Township 5. 



