24 

 INTRODUCTION. 



The excursion will proceed by Grand Trunk Railway 

 from Toronto to the town of Orillia, which is situated near 

 the narrows between Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe and 

 distant from Toronto in a northerly direction about 85 

 miles (136.8 km.). 



En route, after reaching the Lake Simcoe basin, the 

 Algonquin beach may be seen from the train at several 

 points along the railway. After a closer inspection of the 

 beach at the town of Orillia, a trip will be made by motor 

 to the Longford quarries on Lake St. John about 8 miles 

 (12.9 km.) in a northeasterly direction from Orillia, where 

 a good section may be seen of the Lowville (Birdseye) 

 limestone with basal series of shales, sandstone, etc., 

 resting unconformably on the Pre-Cambrian crystalline 

 rocks. Returning from Longford along the Monck road 

 about 7 miles (11. 3 km.) from Orillia, a section may be 

 seen shewing a glacially transported, large boulder or mass 

 of bedded Lowville limestone underlain by till. 



The Algonquin beach is well developed in the Lake 

 Simcoe district, where it forms a record of the abandoned 

 shoreline of the immense body of water which occupied 

 the Huron and Michigan basins at the close of Glacial 

 time. In this district, as well as in the northern portions 

 of the Huron and Michigan basins, the beach has an upward 

 tilt towards the northeast. Around the southern ends of 

 Lakes Huron and Michigan, the beach becomes horizontal 

 at an altitude of about 600 feet (182.9 m.) and maintains 

 that height over a considerable area [1]. Hence it is 

 supposed that the water of Lake Algonquin stood at this 

 altitude viz. 600 feet (182.9 m -) above sea level. 



The lowest point reached by the beach in the Lake 

 Simcoe district is in the valley of Holland river about 15 

 miles (24. 1 km.), south of the extreme head of Lake Simcoe, 

 where trie beach has an altitude of 724 feet (220.6 m.), or 

 only 6 feet above Lake Simcoe. It gradually rises to a 

 point about 6 miles (9.6 km.) northwest of Orillia where it 

 has an altitude of 883 feet (269.2 m.), the highest altitude 

 attained by the beach on the west side of Lake Simcoe 

 basin. 



About 20 miles (32.2 km.) east of Orillia, near the 

 village of Kirkfield, where for a time the waters of Lake 

 Algonquin discharged eastward into the valley now occu- 



