The crystalline rocks which form the peninsula belong to the earliest crust of the earth, the newest dating back to Huron ian time. Since then the plateau has stood con tinuously above the level of the sea and has been subjected to the degrading action of at mosphere and stream. Great thicknesses of rock became rotten and rains and small streams removed much of the loose material from the heights to the depressions while the larger rivers cut deep valleys into the granites and other hard rocks. In recent geological times a thick cap of ice covered the peninsula moving slowly outward from the interior. This motion of the ice removed the rotted rock from the hills and deposited it in the valleys, thus block ing many of the deep river valleys and reducing the surface of the interior to a general level with a gentle slope toward the coasts. No physical changes have occurred since the melting of the ice-cap and the interior country is still slightly undulating with low ridges of rock, or of glacial drift separated by wide, shallow v alleys.
Myriads of lakes, great and small, occupy the lower parts of the valleys and are connected by networks of streams so that canoe travel is possible in any direction. Mistassini and Michigamau having areas exceeding 500 square miles are the largest, while dozens of others range in surface-area from 50 to 250 square miles.
rivers in the central portion flow in the depressions without distinct valleys and in fact are chains of lake-expansions con nected by short stretches of rapids. As they approach the coast they fall into their ancient valleys cut deep below the surface of the plateau. The descent is usually abrupt and is often accompanied by a great development of power and beauty. The Hamilton River, one of the largest streams of Labrador, falls from the surface of the plateau into its ancient valley about 200 miles above its mouth. The descent of 900 feet is accomplished in a distance of less than 10 miles and includes one direct fall of 315 feet where the river shoots from a gigan tic trough into a circular basin at the head of a narrow canyon in which the last part of the descent is made. A rough estimate of the energy developed by the water in this descent gives the enormous sum of 9,000,000 horse power. This wonderful display of energy and the grand beauty of the fall and canyon place the Grand Falls of the Hamilton among the marvels of the world. With light rock-cuttings the river might be diverted into a side channel, where, passing through small lakes, it would fall sheer 700 feet into the ancient valley; this actually happens on a small scale when the river is in freshet.
The climate of Labrador varies from cold temperate in the south to Arctic on the northern highlands and about the shores of Hudson Strait; it is generally so rigorous that it is doubtful if the country will ever be fit for agriculture except in the southern val leys and on the low lands fronting the southern part of Hudson Bay. In the interior the mer
cury often drops to —50° F. during the winter.
The southern half of the penin sula is included in the sub-Arctic forest belt, which contains the following trees: White birch, aspen, balsam, poplar, cedar, banksian pine, white and , black spruce, balsam fir and larch. The forest is continuous over the south ern interior; to the northward of latitude 54° N. the higher hills are treeless, open glades appear and the trees branch from the ground. Proceeding north the size and number of the treeless areas increase rapidly until trees to tally disappear on the northern third. At least one-half of the forests has been destroyed by fires.
Resources.—Among the resources of peninsula are the fur-bearing animals, all prized for their dark glossy pelts and all fairly nu merous throughout the region. Of these the most valuable are the silver fox, marten, otter, mink, beaver, cross, red and white foxes and white and black bears. The barren-ground caribou of the interior and seals along the coasts are the chief source of animal food for the natives.
The cod and salmon fisheries of the Atlantic coast have long been sources of wealth to Newfoundland. The fisheries of Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay are still unde veloped, but enough is known of them to pre dict their future great value. All the lakes and streams of the interior swarm with su perior food fishes, including land-locked sal mon, lake and brook trout, whitefish, pike and pickerel.
The mineral wealth of the pen insula is totally undeveloped. Immense depos its of valuable iron ore have been found in the interior and along the northern and western coasts. Over great areas are found rocks simi lar to those from which the more precious met als — gold, silver, copper and nickel — are taken in southern parts of Canada and they only await discovery by the prospector.
The total population is about 14,000, of which 8,000 are whites, living along the southern and eastern shores. The remain ing 6,000 are Indians and Eskimos, the former being confined to the wooded country, while the Eskimos live along the northern coasts and on the northern barrens of the interior.
strip of land along the Atlantic coast, extending from Blanc Sablon on the Strait of Belle Isle to Cape Chidley, is un der the jurisdiction of the government of New foundland. The province of Quebec has juris diction over the remainder of the peninsula.
A. P. Low, Of the Geological Survey of Canada.