ed shores of Lake Huron bound this vast valley to the west; the
same mountain range extends along the northern shore of Lake Superior;
beyond lie great tracts of fertile soil, where man's industrious hand
has not yet been applied.

Canada may be described as lying between the meridians of 57 deg. 50' and
90 deg. west; from the mouth of the Esquimaux River on the confines of
Labrador, to the entrance of the stream connecting the waters of Lake
Superior and the Rainy Lake, bordering on Prince Rupert's Land. The
parallels of 42 deg. and 52 deg. inclose this country to the south and north.
The greatest length is about 1300 miles, the breadth 700. A space of
348,000 square miles is inclosed within these limits.

The great lakes in Canada give a character to that country distinct from
any other in the Old World or the New. They are very numerous; some far
exceed all inland waters elsewhere in depth and extent; they feed,
without apparent diminution, the great river St. Lawrence; the tempest
plows their surface into billows that rival those of the Atlantic,[118]
and they contain more than half of all the fresh water upon the surface
of the globe.[119]

Superior[120] is the largest and most elevated of these lakes: it is
crescent-shaped, convex to the north; to the southeast and southwest its
extremities are narrow points: the length through the curve is 360
geographical miles, the breadth in the widest part 140, the
circumference 1500. The surface of this vast sheet of fresh water is 627
feet above the level of the Atlantic; from various indications upon the
shores, there is good reason to conclude that at some remote period it
was forty or fifty feet higher. The depth of Lake Superior varies much
in different parts, but is generally very great; at the deepest it is
probably 1200 feet. The waters are miraculously pure and transparent;
many fathoms down, the eye can distinctly trace the rock and shingle of
the bottom, and follow the quick movements of the numerous and beautiful
fish inhabiting these crystal depths. No tides vary the stillness of
this inland sea, but when a strong prevailing wind sweeps over the
surface, the waves are lashed to fury, and the waters, driven by its
force, crowd up against the leeward shore. When in the spring the warm
sun melts the mountain snows, and each little tributary becomes an
impetuous torrent pouring into this great basin, the level of the
surface rises many feet. Although no river of a