12 c 



GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP CANADA. 



St. Lawrence 

 and Ottawa 

 waters. 



Hardness. 



Dr. T. Sterry Hunt found the clear water of the St. Lawrence at the 

 Cascades to contain ll ,f 74 grains of solids to the gallon, while the 

 brown water of the Ottawa at St. Anne's contained only 4*84 grains, 

 the colouring being due to a minute quantity of vegetable matter 

 derived from swamps at the head waters of the river, while the invis- 

 ible impurities of the St. Lawrence consisted mainly of mineral salts. 



The hardness of the St. Lawrence at the Cascades was found by Dr. 

 Edwards to be 3*5°, and of the Ottawa at St. Anne's 2*5°, while that of 

 the mixed water of the two rivers supplied to Montreal varied from 2° 

 to 3° according to the season of the year. The Assiniboine and the 

 Eed Eiver waters, although harder than those of the St. Lawrence or 

 Ottawa, are not much worse in this respect than much of the water 

 supplied to towns in England, as shown by the following examples 

 taken from Dr. Wanklyn's treatise on Water Analysis .-—The Thames, 

 above London, 14° ; Castle ton, Derbyshire (water supply), 11° ; Oxton, 

 Birkenhead, 11-9 ; Chelmsford, Essex, 13*3° ; Kirbyshore, Westmore- 

 land, 22° ; Chatham, 24°. 



Geological and General Description op the Eegions Explored. 



Owing to the uniformity in the geological character of large areas of 

 the region which I passed over, and the total absence for long distances 

 of any rocks older than the drift, this report may be shortened and 

 simplified by including a notice of the geological observations in the 

 general account of the season's operations. This will be arranged in 

 the order in which the work was performed, as already indicated. 



The track-survey which I made in 1878 of the upper part of the 

 Nelson Eiver, terminated at the Goose-hunting Eiver, about half way 

 previous survey from Lake Winnipeg to the sea. On my way to the Churchill Eiver I 

 r resumed the survey of the Nelson at this point, and continued it to 

 Split Lake, the direction being nearly north and the distance about 

 nine miles. Grand Eapid occurs at four miles in a straight line before 

 coming to the lake, and has a descent of about fifteen feet in the form 

 of a steep chute. This is apparently the onlv formidable obstruction 

 to the navigation of the Nelson Eiver from the south-west extremity 

 of Sipi-wesk Lake, or from Eed Rocks Eapid, on another channel, all 

 the way to the foot of Gull Lake, a distance of about 160 miles. A 

 portage of less than 200 yards in length, over a steep ridge of clay and 

 rock, leads past this chute, at the foot of which the river makes a short 

 western "jog" and receives the Grand Eiver on the left side. At a 

 mile and a half below the "jog " the Nelson gives off a lai-ge channel 

 or discharge to the right, which flows north-east into Split Lake. The 



The Grand 

 Rapid. 



Navigable 

 stretch. 



