1908.] 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY GREAT BEAR LAKE. 



43 



stream, to the bottom of Keith Bay, from whence the P>ear Lake River issues, 

 and has a direction of N.E. to S.W. The transverse diameter has a direction 

 from N.W. by W. to S.E. by E., through Smith and M'Tavish Bays, and is 

 upwards of one hundred and twenty miles in length « M'Vicar Bay, the fifth 

 arm of the lake is narrower than the others, and being a little curved at its 

 mouth, appears less connected with the main body of water. The light l)luish- 

 coloured water of Great Bear Lalve is everywliere transparent, and is i)articu- 

 larly clear near some primitive mountains, which exist in M'Tavisli Bay. A 

 piece of white rag, let down there, did not disappear until it descended fifte(Mi 

 fathoms. The depth of water, in the center of the lake, was not ascertained; 

 but it is known to be very considerable. Near the sliore, in ^M'Tavish Bay, 

 forty-five fathoms of line did not reach the bottom.^ 



Great Bear Lake, according to the Canadian Geological Survey, 

 has an area of approximately 11,400 square miles and lies 391 feet 

 above the level of the sea. Its shores, with the exception of parts of 

 MacTavish Bay, are rather low. Its southern and western shores are 

 well wooded, while its northern and eastern borders are more thinly 

 forested. The immediate shores are mainly of sand or gravel and 

 are usually devoid of trees, but are well clothed with willows and 

 various eri^aceous shrubs and herbaceous plants. In most places 

 along the south shore this treeless stretch is only a few hundred yards 

 in width, and in the bays the forest extends to the water's edge. In 

 the vicinity of Leith Point, however, a treeless area stretches from 

 near MacTavish Bay to Mc Vicar Bay, and extends inland for several 

 miles (see PI. XVI, fig. 3, facing p. 118). On this area the faunal and 

 floral conditions are practically those of the Barren Grounds. 



The junction between the primitive or granitic rocks and the lime- 

 stone formation crosses Great Bear Lake near its eastern extremity. 

 To the eastward of the dividing line the shores are higher, especially 

 around MacTavish Bay, where the mountains approach closely to the 

 shore. The Grizzh^ Bear Mountain, which occupies the peninsula 

 between Keith and McVicar bays, is upwards of 900 ^ feet high and 

 several hundred feet of its upper portion are devoid of trees. On the 

 opposite side of the lake, between Smith and Keith bays, a broad 

 peninsula is occupied by the Scented Grass Hills, of about the same 

 height and similar in structure to the Grizzly Bear Mountain. The 

 moimtains which border MacTavish Bay are so rocky that it is diffi- 

 cult to trace the limit of timber on their sides. 



The northern shores of Great Bear Lake are described as mainly 

 low and thinly wooded, although the country at some distance inland 

 is better wooded. 



" In reality about one hundred and fifty. 



* Narr. Second Exp'd to Polar Sea, Appendix, p. ii, 1828. 



^The altitudes of mountains given in this paper are mainly taken from pub- 

 lished narratives, but being largely estimates, can be regarded only as approx- 

 imate. Thus Grizzly Bear Mountain, stated by Richardson to be 900 feet high 

 (above the lake?), appeared to me to be higher than Mount Charles on Bear 

 River, stated by Bell to be 1,500 feet high. 



