Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1902-09-04
cANADA's GREAT FOREST.
A vast Timber BELT 1000 Miles Long
That Stretchers Across the
Entire Continent.

MANY persons have wondered it the
stories are true about an immense
northern belt of timber stretching
across Canada from the Atlantic 10
Alaska. 1t is said that none OF this
forest has yet been utilized by man.
though it has immense resources ID
pulp wood and other timber, according
to a lumber journal.
There is no doubt that the timber Is
there, and that it is great reserve.
source of future wealth. One may
easily trace this belt of timber 1af
across Canada on any map.
The east end of the belt almost
overhangs Atlantic waters to the
north of the Strait of Belle Isle, anu
touches the waters of the Gulf OF st.
Lawrence, south of that strait. IL
sweeps westward round the southern
prolongation of Hudson bay, known
as James bay, northwest between
Hudson BAY and Lake Winnipeg, to
beyond the Churchill river, and then
on across the lake regions OF inc
northwest territories and still farther
to Alaska.
This mighty belt of trees is about
1000 miles long, and has an average
width of 700 miles. Of course, the
trees tend to become smaller in the
north.
Probably DR.. Robert Bell, the we'll
known geologist, who has been con-
nected with the Canadian geologlcal
survey for many years, has written
more about this northern forest than
any other man. He has been study
ing the geographical distribution OF
the Canadian forest trees for 40 years.
and his maps are often used to sho"
the extent of the Canadian timber
lands.
One of his maps, published in the
Scottish Geographical Magazine in
1897, shows the northern limits OF the
principal trees in the four original
provinces (the eastern provinces) OF
Canada.
The great northern forest belt has
everywhere the same characteristic
features. The trees, as rule, are not
large, and consist for the most part
of nine species-black and white
spruce, Banksian pine, larch, balsam
fir, aspen, balsam poplar, canoe birch,
and bird cherry, with several kinds OF
small willows. The spruces spread all
through the belt, thrive farther to the
north than any of the other varieties.
There are great forest fires in this
Af HON
They are mostly due to lightning in
the summer time, for during1 the hot,
dry season lightning is very frequent
in all parts of Canada.
The conditions are then perfect for
great forest fires, the pitchy trees
burning with almost explosive rapid
ity. Some of the fires have been
known to run over $50 miles in ten
hours, or at the rate of Is miles an
hour.
These fires account for the patchy
appearance of the great northern for.
ests. If a person stands at height
where he can look over wide region
he sees that all through the forest are
different shades of green covering
larger or smaller areas.
These shades of color represent
growths of different ages, beginning
after forest fires of different periods.
This process of growth and destruc-
ton is going on all the while.
Sometimes the areas destroyed EN-.
brace thousands of square miles. On
the whole, however, it is believed that
the new growth fully replaces the de-
struction, so that the amount of tim.
Der in the forest belt is about the same
from year to year.