PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, the smallest province of the Dominion of Canada, lies between 45° 58' and 47° 7' N. and 62° and 64° 27' W. The island lies in a great semi-circular bay of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which extends from Point Miscou in New Brunswick to Cape North in Cape Breton. From the main land it is separated by Northumberland Strait, which varies from 9 to 3o miles in width. Structurally, however, it is a continuation of northern plain of New Brunswick and on the island the Red Rocks again appear (Permian with Triassic outliers). In the main the rocks consist of soft red micaceous sandstone and shales, with interstratified but irregular beds of brownish-red conglomer ates containing pebbles of white quartz and other rocks. There are also beds of hard dark-red sandstone with the shales. Bands of moderately hard reddish-brown conglomerate, the pebbles being of red shale and containing white calcite, are seen at many points; and then greenish-grey irregular patches occur in the red beds, due to the bleaching out of the red colours by the action of the organic matter of plants. The soft red rocks have allowed rapid denudation, especially by the sea, and consequently the island is extremely irregular in shape; deep inlets and tidal streams almost divide it into three approximately equal parts ; from the head of Hillsborough river on the south to Savage Harbour on the north is only one and a half miles, while at high tide the distance be tween the heads of the streams which fall into Bedeque and Richmond Bays is even less. North of Summerside the land nowhere rises more than 175 ft. above sea-level; but between Summerside and Charlottetown, especially near north Wiltshire, is a ridge of hills, running from north to south and rising to a height of nearly Soo ft. From Charlottetown eastwards the land is low and level. Beds of peat, dunes of drifted sand, alluvial clays and mussel mud occur in and near the creeks and bays. The north shore, facing the gulf, is a long series of beaches of fine sand, and is a favourite resort in summer. On the south, low cliffs of crumbling red sandstone face the strait. The oceanic
influences make the climate of the province milder than that of the neighbouring mainland. The mean January temperature is 16° and the mean for July a little over 65°. The winter and sum mer rainfall is about the same being between 3 and 5 ins. in January and July respectively. Fogs are much less common than in either New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.