26 c 



GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



Fossils 

 examined by 

 Mr. Whiteaves, 



Nelson River 

 and Manitoba 

 dolomites of 

 Utica age. 



River for 43 

 miles below 

 Gull Lake. 



Gull Rapids. 



Six rapids 

 above Twelv( 

 feet Chute. 



Islands. 



Bend in the 

 river. 



Guli Lake. 



SliKlit rai.ids. 



have been examined by Mr. Whiteaves, and his report upon them 

 is given as an appendix. From this it will be seen that we 

 liave here most of the species characteristic of tlie dolomite which 

 occurs along the Eed Eiver in Manitoba, and which Mr. Whiteaves 

 regards as equivalent to the lead-bearing limestone of the Western 

 States or about the horizon of the Utica formation. In passing through 

 Manitoba on the way home, 1 made a considerable addition to our col- 

 lection of fossils from the banks of the Ked River, in the parish of St. 

 Andrew's, and some from the same parish were presented by Mr. 

 William Murdock, C.K. 



From the Twelve-feet Chute to the foot of Gull Lake, the distance, 

 in a straight line, is forty-three miles, and the bearing a little south of 

 west. The River in the interval is of very unequal width. Ra|)ids 

 occur in many places, and numerous portages require to be 

 matle. In the last four, or live miles before entering Gull Lake 

 the worst rapids in the whole course of the Nelson River 

 are encountered. They may for convenience be called the Gull 

 Rapids. The lower chute of this interval has a descent of about fifty 

 feet in less than half a mile, and requires a portage of 900 paces to be 

 made in order to get past it. The upper portion of the Gull Rapids is 

 divided among islands, but its total fall must amount to more than 

 that of the lower chute. Six principal rapids occur between the 

 Twelve-feet Chute and those just described, and the whole ascent in 

 the river in this space cannot be far from 100 feet. About mid-way 

 down this section, the river divides among islands, the largest of 

 which may be about four miles long. Just above these islands, the 

 upward course of the river makes a bend to the southward of about 

 six miles, and then resumes its former course. Nine miles above 

 the Twelve-feet Chute, a brown-water river falls in from the south, 

 which appears to be the largest tributary from that side below Split 

 Lake. 



Gull Lake is merely an expansion of the river, and runs with its 

 general course, which has the same bearing (a little south of west) all 

 the way from the commencement of the Laurentian gneiss to the head 

 of Split Lake. It is twelve miles long and four wide in the middle, 

 and contains a few islands. The distance from the head of Gull Lake 

 to the outlet of Split Lake is eighteen miles, and the average width of 

 the river is nearly one mile. An easy rapid, two miles in length, 

 occurs at the outlet of Split Lake, and two short ones about mid-way 

 between the two lakes. An occasional bank of clay is seen along the 

 section of the river under descrij^tion, but, as already stated, the country 

 in the neighbourhood has a generally level appearance, the only excep- 



