1908.] 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY ^BAKREN GROUNDS. 



47 



lower Anderson the boundary of the woods is not well known. The 

 north shore of Great Bear Lake is thinly v/ooded and tongues of 

 timber follow the northward-flowing rivers well into the Ijancn 

 Grounds, on the Wilmot Horton to latitude 69°. The tree line 

 crosses the Anderson to the northward of the Same parallel, and 

 thence extends northwestward to the mouth of the Mackenzie, prob- 

 ably dipping to the soutliAvard in the interval, as is usually the case 

 in the areas between rivers. West of the timbered delta of the 

 Mackenzie a considerable area of treeless country occurs. 



In describing briefly the region whose southern boundary is thus 

 roughly indicated, a part of MacFarlane's description of the Ander- 

 son River region may be quoted. He says : 



The belt of timber wliicli at Fort Anderson extends for over tliirtj^ miles to 

 the eastward, rapidly narrows and becomes a mere fringe along the Anderson 

 River and disappears to tlie northward of the 69th parallel of latitude. The 

 country is thickly interspersed with sheets of water varying in size from mere 

 ponds to small and fair-sized lakes. In travelling north-eastward toward 

 Franklin Bay, on the Arctic coast, several dry, swampy, mossy and peaty plains 

 were passed before reaching the Barren Grounds proper. The country thence 

 to the height-of-land between the Anderson and the deep gorge-like valley 

 through which the Wilmot Horton River (MacFarlane River of Petitot's map) 

 flows, as well as from the " crossing " of the latter to the high plateau which 

 forms the western sea-bank of Franklin Bay, consists of vast plains or steppes 

 of a flat or undulating character, diversified by some small lakes and gently 

 sloping eminences, not dissimilar in appearance to portions of the north-west 

 prairies. In the region here spoken of, however, the ridges occasionally assume 

 a mound-like, hilly character, while one or two intersecting affluents of the Wil- 

 mot Horton flow through valleys in which a few stunted spruces, birches and 

 willows appear at intervals. On the banks of one of these, near the mouth, we 

 observed a sheltered grove of larger growth, wherein moose and musk-oxen had 

 frequently browsed, * * * 



The greater part of the Barren Grounds is every season covered with short 

 grasses, mosses, and small flowering plants, while patches of sedgj^ or peaty 

 soil occur at longer or shorter distances. On these, as well along the smaller 

 rivulets, river and lake banks, Labrador, tea, crow-berries, and a few other 

 kinds of berries, dwarf birch, willows, etc., grow. Large flat spaces had the 

 honey-combed appearance usually presented in early spring by land which has 

 been turned over in the autumn. There were fev/ signs of vegetation on these, 

 while some sandy and many other spots were virtually sterile."' 



This description applies fairly well to the entire region north of 

 Great Bear Lake and Avest of the Coppermine, as far as it is known. 

 To the eastward of the Coppermine, within the region of the crystal- 

 line rocks, the country is much more rugged and rocky. Thousands of 

 lakes dot its surface, and they are often bordered by grassy plains 

 and gentle slopes, on which, during the short summer, the bright 



« Canadian Record of Science, IV, pp. 52, 53, 1890. 



