40 THE SECOND ZONE. 



northerly course. Towards the north, about twenty miles 

 from the lake, is situated the well-known Selkirk settlement. 

 To the west of the lied River commences a broad belt of 

 prairie land which extends here and there, rising into wooded 

 heights and swelling hills, with several large rivers flowing 

 through it, to the very base of the Rocky Mountains. As we 

 advance westward we find it extending considerably to the 

 north, where the large and wide river Saskatchewan, rising in 

 the Rocky Mountains, flows eastward into Lake Winnipeg. 

 Along the southern border of this region the Assiniboine 

 River, also of considerable size, flows into the Red River at 

 Fort Garry, in the Selkirk settlement. The prairie country 

 indeed extends further than the Red River, up to the Lake of 

 the Woods. The name of the Fertile Belt has been pro- 

 perly given to it. Commencing at the Lake of the Woods, it 

 stretches westward for 800 miles, and averages from 80 to 

 upwards of 100 miles in width. The area of this extra- 

 ordinary belt of rich soil and pasturage is about 40,000,000 

 of acres. Including the adjacent fertile districts, the area 

 may be estimated at not less than 80,000 square miles, or 

 considerably more fertile land than the whole of Canada is 

 supposed to contain. It rises gradually towards the west, so 

 that the traveller is surprised to find how speedily he has 

 gained the passes which lead him over the Rocky Mountains 

 into the territory of British Columbia on their western side — 

 often indeed before he has realized the fact that he has crossed 

 the boundary-line. The Fertile Belt is considerably more to 

 the south than the British Islands, though, as the western 

 hemisphere is subject to greater alternations of heat and cold 

 than the eastern, there is a vast difference in temperature 

 between the summer and winter. While in winter the whole 



