LABRADOR, the N. E. peninsula of the North American continent, lying be tween Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, extending from lat. 49° to 63° N., and from lon. 55° to about 79° W.; greatest length from the Strait of Belle Isle to its N. cape, Wolsten holme, 1,100 miles; area, 120,000 square miles; pop. about 4,100, collected chiefly at the Moravian missionary stations— Nain (1770), Okkak, Hebron, Hopedale, etc. The Atlantic coast is stern and pre cipitous (1,000 to 4,000 feet high), en tirely destitute of vegetation, deeply in dented with narrow fjords, and fringed with chains of rocky islands. The inner parts have been but very imperfectly ex plored; the greater part consists of a plateau, mostly covered with fine forest trees, firs, birches, etc. Numerous lakes, including Mistassini, also exist inland, and, connecting with the rivers, afford in summer continuous waterways for great distances. The only inhabitants of this interior plateau are Cree Indians, nomads. There are numerous rivers. The Grand Falls on Grand river are be lieved to be among the largest in the world. These rivers abound in fish, es
pecially salmon and white fish. The principal fur-bearing animals are bears, wolves, foxes, martens, otters, beavers, lynxes, etc., which are trapped by the inhabitants in winter. Of the mineral resources little is known; but iron and LABRADORITE (q. v.) are certainly abun dant. The climate on the coast is very rigorous, owing mainly to the ice-laden Arctic current which washes the shores. The summer lasts three months. The winter is dry, bracing, and frosty. Since 1809 the coast region has been an nexed for administrative purposes to Newfoundland. The remaining parts of the peninsula are designated the North east Territory. By far the most im portant wealth of Labrador is its fish— cod, salmon, herring, and trout. As many as 30,000 fishermen from New foundland, Canada, and the United States visit its fishing grounds in the season. In 1500 a Portuguese navigator, Cortereal, seems to have visited Labra dor, and to have given it its name, which means "laborers' land."