LAB'RADOR. A name applied to the whole cf the northeastern peninsula of British North .;\ meriea, lying between the Gulf of Saint Law tenet. and Hudson Bay (Map: Canada. S 5). Politically, however, Labrador is a territory be longing to the British Colony of Newfound land. It extends along the northeastern coast of the peninsula from the Strait of Belle Isle to ( ape Chidley, at the eastern entrance to Hudson Strait. Tha western boundary of the territory is indefinite, but may be taken as roughly coin ciding with the 115th degree of west longitude. The southern part of the peninsula is a part of the Canadian Province of Quebec, and the whole 'western half forms the Territory of Ungava (q.v.).
The coast of Labrador Territory is similar to that. of Norway or Greenland. It is indented with numerous hays and fjords. behind chains of small, rocky islands, and it presents an abrupt wall of rocky cliffs from 1000 to 6000 feet in height. The interior, like that of Trnemva, con. sists of a plateau showing everywhere signs of glacial action, with numerous lakes and streams, and overspread with boulders. The prineipal stream is the Hamilton. or Grand Iliver. which empties into Hamilton Inlet, the largest fjord on the coast, and whose Grand Falls (q.v.) exceed Niagara in height. though not in volume, The scntier!' parts of the interior are covered with extensive forests, which gradually diminish into the hare tundras of the north. The climate in the coast region is very severe, cold and stormy; hut the winter climate is nevertheless, on account of its dryness, bearable and healthful. ( For the flora
and fauna of the interior, see UNGAVA.) There are no agricultural products, though cabbages and potatoes can be raised. Of mineral products the most important are iron ore and labradorite, which are plentiful. The chief wealth and portance• of the Territory lie in its fisheries, which rival those of Newfoundland, and are ex ploited eveey .wason by 30,000 fishermen from Canada., Newfoundland, and the United States. Cod, salmon, and trout are especially abundant, and the annual value of the catch sometimes exceeds $4,001000. The inhabitants of Labrador Territory number a little over 4000, and consist chiefly of Eskimo in the north and Indians in the south, who live by fishing, hunting, and trapping fur-bearing animals. There are a few whites scattered along the coast settle ments, among which are a number of Moravian missionaries, who have had stations here for more than .t century, and have succeeded in con verting most of the Eskimo to Christianity.
The coast of Labrador Was visited by Nags') eettlers of Greenland early in the eleventh cen tury, and by them called 'lentil:Ind—the land of rocks. About 1500 Corteral landed on the coast and gave it its present name. which means 'la borer,' because he expected it to supply the slave trade. It was visited by the French, and later by the English, and became a part of Can ada. In 1763 the present territory beenme a. dependency of Newfoundland.