294 SIR RODERICK I. MURCHISON’S ADDRESS— CANADA. [May 24, 1858. 
The exploration of fresh countries like large tracts of Canada, 
or the new territories of the United States, offers continual illus- 
trations of the dependence of geology on geography; for the 
geologist is often obliged to map the ground topographically 
while conducting his own labours. Canadian rivers and lakes 
previously unknown have been thus laid down with precision, and 
many merely indicated before have been reduced on a series of 
maps which occupy 22 large plates, filling a quarto volume'. These 
surveys were conducted by Mr. Alexander Murray, and embrace a 
vast tract of country between the north and east shores of Lake 
Huron and the river Ottawa. This territory is traversed by the 
river Myanatawan, which runs westward through a chain of small 
lakes, and empties itself into Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. Again 
the Muskoka river passes in a winding course of about 150 miles 
through a series of lakes to Burnt Island Lake, about d half way 
between Lake Huron and the Ottawa. Near this point the Pete- 
wahweh rises, and flows north and east, emptying itself into the 
Ottawa at Upper Allumette Lake. On the north shore of Lake 
Huron large rivers of the same character are now for the first time 
accurately mapped, called respectively Spanish. Eiver, White Fish 
River, and Wahnapitae River, which unites the lake of the latter 
name with French River, about ten miles from one of its mouths. 
This French River is of great geographical importance, uniting as it 
does by several channels the north shore of Georgian Bay of Lake 
Huron with Lake Nipissing, which is about 50 miles long by 20 in 
breadth. The eastern shore of Lake Nipissing is only a few miles 
distant from Upper Trout Lake, which, through the Mattawa river, 
communicates with the Ottawa in latitude 46° 18' 12". It is in con- 
templation by the Canadian Government, if practicable, to construct 
a ship canal through these rivers and Lake Nipissing, so as to unite 
the Ottawa and Lake Huron. This would shorten the distance 
from the east to Chicago by 600 miles. 
In the year 1856, on the same survey, an exploration of the 
island of Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was made by Mr. 
J. Richardson. This island is about 140 miles long by 35 in breadth, 
and consists partly of Lower Silurian rocks, but chiefly of a series 
of limestones called the Anticosti group by Sir William Logan, con- 
taining as they do a suite of fossils somewhat peculiar and inter- 
mediate in character between those most characteristic of the Lower 
and Upper Silurian rocks, like those of the British strata to which I 
have assigned the term Llandovery rocks. Mr. Richardson walked 
