NATURALIST'S GUIDE
TO THE AMERICAS
From the collection of the
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THE NATURALIST'S GUIDE
TO THE AMERICAS
NATURALIST'S GUIDE
TO THE AMERICAS
PREPARED BY THE
COMMITTEE on the PRESERVATION of NATURAL CONDITIONS
of THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
with assistance from numerous organizations and individuals
ASSEMBLED AND EDITED BY THE CHAIRMAN
VICTOR E. SHELFORD
University of Illinois and Illinois State
Natural History Survey
PUBLICATION EDITOR
FORREST SHREVE
Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution
ASSOCIATES AND SPECIAL EDITORS
E. LUCY BRAUN CLARENCE F. KORSTIAN
University of Cincinnati Appalachian Forest Experiment Station
Botany Forestry
Assembled and Edited Assembled ana Edited
parts on parts on
National Parks and Monuments National Forests of the
of the United States United States
LEE R. DICE ROBERT B. MILLER
Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan Illinois Natural History Survey
Mammals Forestry
LYNDS JONES HELEN T. GAIGE
Oberlin College Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan
Birds Reptiles
FRANK C. BAKER
Natural History Museum, University of Illinois
Zoology
BALTIMORE
THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COMPANY
1926
COPYRIGHT 1926
THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COMPANY
Made in United States of America
Published February, 1926
COMPOSED AND PRINTED AT THE
WAVERLY PRESS
FOR
THE WILLIAMS & WILKINS COMPANY
BALTIMORE, MD., XJ. 8. A.
CHAIRMAN'S PREFACE
The Ecological Society of America is a national organization of approxi-
mately 500 members, the majority of whom are connected with universities,
colleges, and other educational or research institutions. The membership
includes a larger proportion of persons interested in the preservation of
natural conditions for research in pure science and for educational work
than any other of our national scientific societies. It publishes the jour-
nal Ecology, which is largely devoted to contributions on the original
flora and fauna and on their conditions of existence.
In 1917 a committee was charged with the listing of all preserved and
preservable areas in North America in which natural conditions persist.
The original committee included about twenty-five members, scattered
throughout the United States and Canada. The first work was to make
the list and when this had made some progress, to urge the reservation of
such important areas as demanded immediate attention. The whole
problem of securing the preservation of areas, which is one of the objects
of the committee work, is very complex. At the outset the committee
felt the lack of any definite guides in carrying on the work. The organiza-
tion which produced the Naturalist's Guide has been a growth; committee
membership is limited to those willing to do some kind of work, and
includes about seventy-five members. It is a committee on the preserva-
tion of nature. Its efforts are directed toward the preservation of natural
areas with original flora and fauna (or as nearly so as may obtain) and the
maintenance of the natural biotic balance in existing preserves.
During the preparation of the present volume the committee aimed to
have two members in each state (and province of Canada) . These mem-
bers (1) supplied information relative to natural areas, etc. in their terri-
tory and (2) undertook to interest one local organization concerned with
pure science, e.g., a state academy or natural history society, in the preser-
vation of natural areas, commonly indicated by the appointment of a
committee. This constitutes a permanent organization charged, among
other things, with the keeping of the guide up to date. Other members
were engaged in investigating certain topics and writing reports, in interest-
ing pure science organizations to support the work of publication and dis-
tribution of information, and in selecting natural areas within existing
public forests.
The present volume has been prepared with the aid of various institu-
tions and organizations. The National Research Council granted $300
in 1921-1922 which aided greatly in financing the requests for manuscripts
vi CHAIRMAN'S PREFACE
and also increased the interest in the project. The American Society of
Zoologists and the Botanical Society of America contributed $25.00 each
toward the classification of areas as to degree of modification from the
original condition.
The establishment of cooperation with the United States Forest Service
greatly reduced our financial and clerical burdens.
Acknowledgments are due the following institutions for encouraging
their staff members in editing or contributing to the work: United States
Forest Service; United States Biological Survey; University of Michigan
Museum; University of Illinois, Department of Zoology and Natural
History Survey; University of Cincinnati, Department of Botany; Oberlin
College, Department of Ecology; Northwestern University, Department of
Botany; New Hampshire College, Department of Zoology; and the Car-
negie Institution.
The following rendered important service in reading and correcting
manuscripts:
H. A. Gleason, New York Botanic Garden
H. Burrington Baker, University of Pennsylvania
A. H. Wright, Cornell University
C. C. Hamilton, University of Maryland
Vernon Bailey, U. S. Biological Survey
P. L. Kicker, U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry
A. H. Howell, U. S. Biological Survey
W. L. McAtee, U. S. Biological Survey
H. P. Loding, Mobile, Alabama
F. L. Mulford, U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry
W. L. Bray, Syracuse University
W. H. Osgood, Field Museum, Chicago
E. A. Goldman, U. S. Biological Survey
I. H. Blake, University of Maine
Samuel Eddy, James Millikin University
The associate editors did very much to improve the general character of
the work, but credit should be especially given Dr. E. Lucy Braun who read
the entire manuscript on states and provinces, making important general
criticisms. She added greatly to the plant material and verified the
scientific names. Dr. L. R. Dice made a similar careful study of the
manuscript on states and provinces and contributed materially to the
accounts of mammals.
Several questionnaires regarding the nomenclature to be used for the
various communities and concerning the mapping of natural regions were
sent out. The names of the contributors of these subjects are in connec-
tion with the lists of natural regions and maps of them.
The taxonomic nomenclature for plants in the states and provinces
is mainly according to Sudworth's Check List for trees, and for other
CHAIRMAN'S PREFACE vii
plants follows Britton and Brown's Illustrated Flora, Coulter and
Nelson's Manual, Piper's Flora of Washington, and other state floras.
Common usage has been deemed more important than adherence to
supposedly universal codes of nomenclature. The nomenclature on am-
phibians and reptiles in the states and provinces is after L. Stejneger and
T. Barbour: Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles,
second edition. Names of mammals are from G. S. Miller, Jr. : List of
North American Recent Mammals, 1923, U. S. National Museum Bulletin
128; and those of the birds follow the American Ornithological Union
check list. In the case of most animals and plants, scientific name and
common name are used together the first time the name of the species
appears in a state or provincial account, thereafter in the same article, the
common name stands alone. The birds are an exception to this, as scientific
names of species breeding or resident north of Mexico are used only in the
list at the close of the volume. The common names of birds are fully as
well established as the scientific ones.
The absence of data on invertebrate or lower vertebrate life is, of course,
striking all through the guide. This is perhaps unavoidable. The princi-
pal users will be students of mammals, birds, or general ecology including
plants. As a matter of fact, little work has been done on the invertebrates
as regards ecology, excepting in aquatic work, which is seldom mentioned
by the authors. As regards the Mollusca, F. C. Baker states that little
work has been done except in certain states, state lists being usually syste-
matic, and not ecologic. He has added here and there a note on inverte-
brate life, but little can be done at present to strengthen this side of the
zoology.
The data included in the guide had been brought together in the form of
manuscripts during seven years of more or less continuous effort, and when
turned over to the Publication Editor, the principal task appeared to be
rendering of nomenclature and organization somewhat more uniform. The
extent and character of the Publication Editor's work is indicated in the
second preface.
V. E. SHELFORD.
Champaign, May 7,
PUBLICATION EDITOR'S PREFACE
The manuscript of the Naturalist's Guide first came to my hands in an
advanced stage of preparation, after the members of the compiling com-
mittee had given several years and much hard work to the planning of its
scope, the selection of contributors, and the arrangement of the material
secured.
My own part of the production of the Guide has been the small one
of reading the manuscript with reference to the coordination of certain
features of the treatment, and the unification of typographic style. While
many minor changes have been made, it has seemed best to preserve in
each chapter the individuality of style and treatment of each of the various
authors, chosen for their recognized familiarity with the areas which had
been assigned to them. Nothing has been done by way of attempting to
recast into a uniform mould all of the chapters which relate to regions of
such diverse character, known with such varying degrees of completeness.
The latest work of incorporating rewritten and fresh material, as well as
the final revision of the manuscript, has been in the hands of Dr. V. E.
Shelf ord, by whom the project of such a guide was conceived, and to whom
the major share of credit will belong for the hoped-for utility of this
product of many hands.
FORREST SHREVE.
Tucson, January, 1925.
IX
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION. V. E. SHELFORD <4
II. USES, VALUES, AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL AREAS 5
A. Artistic and Literary Uses * 7
1. The Value of Natural Areas to Literature and Art. S. L. WHIT-
COMB, University of Kansas 7
2. The Value of Natural Preserves to the Landscape Architect.
S. H. WHITE, University of Illinois 8
B. Scientific and Practical Uses and Values 10
1. The Value to Silviculture of Reserved Areas of Natural Forest
Types. W. W. ASHE, United States Forest Service 10
2. The Value of Aquatic Preserves to Fisheries. A. S. PEARSE,
University of Wisconsin 11
3. The Importance to Geography of the Preservation of Natural
Areas. S. S. VISHER, Indiana University 12
4. The Importance of Natural Areas to Biology and Agriculture.
V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois 13
C. Forces Making for the Destruction or Preservation of Natural Areas. . 15
1. Forest Laws and Regulations and the Preservation of Natural
Conditions. R. B. MILLER, Illinois Natural History Survey. . 15
2. The Preservation of Natural Conditions in the National Forests.
C. F. KORSTIAN, United States Forest Service 17
3. Permanent Sample Plots in the National Forests. C. F. KOR-
STIAN, U. S. Forest Service 19
4. National Parks and National Monuments. E. LUCY BRAUN,
University of Cincinnati 20
5. Museums and Nature. F. C. BAKER, University of Illinois.... 27
6. Game Preserves as Illustrated by Pennsylvania's Experience.
JOHN M. PHILLIPS, Pennsylvania Game Commission 28
7. The Relation of Shrubs and Trees to Wild Birds (.Quoted). F.
SMITH, University of Illinois 31
8. Grazing in the National Forests. C. F. KORSTIAN, United
States Forest Service 33
9. Fires in Relation to the Biota. R. H. WOLCOTT, University of
Nebraska 34
10. The Effect of Pollution on Animal Life. F. C. BAKER, Uni-
versity of Illinois 38
D. Interests and Management 42
1. Union of Interests and Management of Natural Areas. V. E.
SHELFORD, University of Illinois 42
E. Administration of Wild Life 45
1. The Administration of Wild Life in State and National Parks
(Quoted). CHAS. C. ADAMS, New York State College of
Forestry 45
F. Duty of Scientific Men 62
1. The Duty of Scientific Men in Conservation. H. S. GRAVES,
Yale University 52
xi
xii CONTENTS
III. ORIGINAL BIOTA OP THE AMERICAS NORTH OF THE AMAZON ............... 55
A. Introduction. V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois ............... 57
B. Descriptive List of North American Biota. V. E. SHELFORD, Uni-
versity of Illinois, L. JONES, Oberlin College, and L. R. DICE, Uni-
versity of Michigan ............................................... 60
C. Life Zones. V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois, and G. T. JONES,
Oberlin College ................................................... 76
D. Descriptive list of Middle American Biota. FORREST SHREVE, Desert
Laboratory, and V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois ............ 77
, E. Provisional Table of Landscape Aspect and Life Zone Equivalents.
E. A. GOLDMAN, United States Biological Survey .................. 80
F. Bibliography. V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois .............. 81
IV. NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS ........................................... 83
A. General Plan. V. E. SHELFORD, University of Illinois .............. 85
B. Natural Regions and Natural Areas ................................. 87
Section 1. Northern North America: Ice Covered Areas, Tundra and
Northern Coniferous Forest ......................................... 87
1. Northwest Greenland. W. ELMER EKBLAW, Clark University. 87
2. Danish Greenland. W. ELMER EKBLAW, Clark University ..... 90
3. The American Arctic Archipelago. W. ELMER EKBLAW, Clark
University ........................................ ' ........... 98
4. Ungava and Labrador. W. ELMER EKBLAW, Clark University. . 102
5. Newfoundland. W. ELMER EKBLAW ........................... Ill
6. The Mackenzie Watershed; Northern Hudson Bay Region,
Upper Yukon Region, and the Arctic Islands. E. A. PREBLE,
U. S. Biological Survey ..................................... 115
7. Alaska. W. H. OSGOOD, Field Museum ...................... 141
8. The National Forests of the Alaskan District. JOHN D.
GUTHRIE, United States Forest Service ..................... 147
Section 2. Southern Canada and the United States ....................... 150
A. States, Provinces and Forest Districts, Chiefly Coniferous Forest ____ 150
1. British Columbia. JOHN DAVIDSON, University of British
Columbia, P. Z. CAVERHILL, Provincial Forest Branch,
EDWARD A. PREBLE, United States Biological Survey, and
A. H. HUTCHINSON, University of British Columbia ........ 150
2. Washington. G. B. RIGG, University of Washington, L. R. DICE,
HELEN T. GAIGE, University of Michigan and HORACE GUN-
THORP, University of Washington .......................... 168
3. Oregon. THORNTON T. MUNGER, United States Forest Service,
WILLIAM E. LAWRENCE, Oregon Agricultural College, and
HOWARD M. WIGHT, Oregon Agricultural College ............ 181
4. California. H. C. BRYANT, University of California ........... 193
5. National Forests of the North Pacific District (6). J. V. HOF-
MANN, Pennsylvania Forest School .......................... 202
6.|National Forests of the Northern District (1). J. A. LARSEN,
Iowa State College .......................................... 208
7. National Forests of California. Vegetational Types. E. N.
MUNNS, United States Forest Service ........................ 216
8. National Forests of the Intermountain District (4). F. S.
BAKER and S. B. LOCKE, United States Forest Service ........ |224
9. National Forests of the Southwestern District (3). G. A.
PEARSON, United States Forest Service ...................... 232
10. National Forests of the Rocky Mountain District (2). C. G.
BATES, United States Forest Service.. . 237
CONTENTS xiii
11. Idaho. R. A. MUTTKOWSKI, University of Idaho 249
12. Alberta. A. B. CONNELL, Dominion Forestry Branch 253
13. Saskatchewan. JOHN SMITH DEXTER, College of Porto Rico.. 258
14. Manitoba. A. B. CONNELL, Dominion Forestry Branch 263
15. Minnesota. C. O. ROSENDAHL, University of Minnesota 267
16. Wisconsin. A. S. PEARSE, University of Wisconsin 284
17. Ontario. C. D. HOWE and J. R. DYMOND, University of Toronto 288
18. The Province of Quebec. G. D. FULLER, University of Chicago,
and BRO. MARIE- VICTORIN, College de Longueuil 293
19. New Brunswick. B. E. CLARIDGE, University of New Brunswick 299
20. Prince Edward Island. Committee Notes 302
21. Nova Scotia. A. H. MACKAY, Nova Scotia, Department of
Education 303
22. Maine. A. O. GROSS, Bowdoin College, and A. H. NORTON,
Portland Society of Natural History 305
B. States Chiefly Deciduous Forest 314
1. New Hampshire. K. W. WOODWARD and C. F. JACKSON, New
Hampshire College 314
2. Vermont. GEO. P. BURNS, University of Vermont 316
3. Massachusetts. ANNA M. STARR, Mount Holyoke College 318
4. Connecticut. GEO. E. NICHOLS, Yale University 326
5. Rhode Island. MARION D. WESTON, Rhode Island College of
Education 330
6. New York. W. L. BRAY, Syracuse University 332
7. Pennsylvania. JOHN W. HARSHBERGER, University of Pennsyl-
vania 338
8. West Virginia. W. E. RUMSEY, West Virginia University 341
9. Tennessee. R. S. MADDOX, Tennessee Bureau of Forestry 347
10. Kentucky. A. R. MIDDLETON, University of Louisville, W. R.
JILLSON, F. T. MCFARLAND and M. A. ANDERSON, JR., Uni-
versity of Kentucky 349
11. Ohio. E. LUCY BRAUN, University of Cincinnati, and LYNDS
JONES, Oberlin College 354
12. Indiana. WILL SCOTT, Indiana University 372
13. Michigan. L. R. DICE, University of Michigan, LYNDS JONES
and HELEN T. GAIGE, University of Michigan 377
14.' National Forests of the Eastern District. E. H. FROTHINGHAM,
r. : , j UnitedJStates Forest Service 387
C. States with Deciduous Forest, Southeastern Coniferous Forest, and
Large Swamp Areas 394
1. New Jersey. T. C. NELSON, Rutgers College 394
2. Delaware. FRANK MORTON JONES 398
3. Maryland. C. C. HAMILTON, N. J. Agricultural Experiment
Station 401
4. Virginia. IVEY F. LEWIS, University of Virginia 410
5. North Carolina. Z. P. METCALF and B. W. WELLS, North
Carolina State College 413
6. South Carolina. PHILIP LUGINBILL, United States Bureau of
Entomology 418
7. Georgia. HENRY Fox, U. S. Bureau of Entomology 422
8. Florida. J. R. WATSON, University of Florida 427
9. Alabama. R. M. HARPER, Alabama Geological Survey, M. S.
JOHNSON, University of Minnesota, and A. H. Ho WELL, United
States Biological Survey 440
xiv CONTENTS
10. Mississippi. GLADYS HOKB, Converse College 454
11. Louisiana. G. W. GOLDSMITH, Carnegie Institution, LENTHALL
WYMAN, United States Forest Service, and H. H. KOPMAN,
Louisiana Department of Conservation 460
12. Arkansas. JOHN T. BUCHHOLZ, University of Arkansas 464
Texas. (See page 502.)
D. States Chiefly Oak Grove Savanna 469
1. Illinois. T. H. FRISON and R. B. MILLER, Illinois Natural
History Survey 469
2. Iowa. L. H. PAMMEL, Iowa State College 480
3. Missouri. A. C. BURRILL, Missouri Resources Museum 485
4. Oklahoma. H. H. LANE, University of Kansas 490
Texas. (See page 502.)
E. States Chiefly Grassland or Steppe 502
1. Texas. A. R. CAHN, University of Illinois 502
2. Kansas. J. W. McCoLLOCH, Kansas State Agricultural College. 515
3. Nebraska. R. H. WOLCOTT, University of Nebraska 519
4. Colorado. F. RAMALEY and W. W. ROBBINS, University of
Colorado 524
5. Wyoming. JOHN W. SCOTT, University of Wyoming 529
6. Montana. M. J. ELROD, University of Montana 537
7. North Dakota. J. T. SARVIS, United States Bureau of Plant
Industry, and J. E. SWITZER, Indiana University 544
8. South Dakota. E. J. PETRY, South Dakota State College, and
S. S. VISHER, Indiana University 548
F. States Chiefly Desert and Semi-Desert 556
Oregon. (See under Coniferous Forest.)
California. (See under Coniferous Forest.)
1. Utah. C. F. KORSTIAN, United States Forest Service 557
2. Nevada. C. F. KORSTIAN, U. S. Forest Service 560
3. Arizona. G. A. PEARSON, U. S. Forest Service, E. A. GOLDMAN,
United States Biological Survey, FORREST SHREVE, Carnegie
Institution, and CHARLES T. Vorhies, University of Arizona 562
4. New Mexico. A. O. WEESE, University of Oklahoma 570
Section 8. The Tropics North of the Equator 574
A. Mexico and Central America 574
1. Mexico. E. W. NELSON and E. A. GOLDMAN, United States
Biological Survey 574
2. Guatemala. WILSON POPENOE, United States Department of
Agriculture 596
3. British Honduras. KARL P. SCHMIDT, Field Museum 600
4. Honduras. KARL P. SCHMIDT, Field Museum 601
5. The Republic of Salvador. PAUL C. STANDLEY, U. S. National
Museum 602
6. Nicaragua. LUDLOW GRISCOM, American Museum of Natural
History 604
7. Costa Rica. LUDLOW GRISCOM, American Museum of Natural
History 607
8. Panama. E. A. GOLDMAN, United States Biological Survey, and
JAMES ZETEK, Custodian of the Barro Colorado Island Labo-
ratory, United States Bureau of Entomology 612
B. Northern South America 623
1. Colombia. FRANCIS W. PENNELL, Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia .623
CONTENTS xv
2. Venezuela. H. PITTIER, Caracas, Ven, and H. B. BAKEB, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania 637
3. The Guianas. WM. BEEBE, New York Zoological Society, and
H. A. GLEASON, New York Botanical Garden 649
4. Ecuador. WILSON POPENOE, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
and H. E. ANTHONY, American Museum of Natural History. . 662
5. The Amazon Valley. ORLAND E. WHITE, Brooklyn, Botanic
Garden 674
C. Islands in the Atlantic and Adjacent Waters 681
1. Bermudas. (Committee Notes.) 681
2. Bahamas. (Committee Notes.) 682
3. Cuba. BROTHER LEON, Colegio de la Salle, Havana 682
4. Haiti and Santo Domingo. G. KINGSLEY NOBLE, American
Museum of Natural History 695
5. Jamaica. FORREST SHREVE, Carnegie Institution 698
6. Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. N. L. BRITTON, New York
Botanical Garden, G. N. WOLCOTT, Porto Rico Experiment
Station, and others 700
7. Dutch West Indies. H. B. BAKER, University of Pennsylvania. 707
D. Pacific Islands 709
1. Galapagos Islands. (Committee Notes.) 709
2. Philippine Islands. F. T. MCLEAN, Rhode Island College,
Kingston, Rhode Island 709
V. LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS INTERESTED IN THE PRESERVATION OP NATURAL
CONDITIONS 721
A. List of State and Territorial Representatives. W. G. WATERMAN,
Northwestern University 723
B. Local Organizations. W. G. WATERMAN, Northwestern University. . 727
C. National Organizations. C. F. JACKSON, New Hampshire College... 736
VI. Indices 741
1. Index of Scientific and Common Names of Birds 743
2. Index to Authors and Localities .. 759
I. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
BY V. E. SHELFORD
Biology has been characterized by
waves of interest in special fields cor-
responding to fads and similar phe-
nomena in human activity generally.
One of these fields of special interest
is, or has been, evolution. One can
hardly help agreeing with writers who
state that it retarded the progress of
biology (botany and zoology). This
was due to the fact that it happened
to turn attention to types of work that
could be done in the museum and in the
laboratory. The doctrine of the sur-
vival of the fittest was accepted with,
none but the crudest ideas of what
constitutes fitness. Most backward of
all was the knowledge of the environ-
ment. This, together with the ease
with which morphological features could
be fitted into the doctrines set forth
by Darwin, led to a period of empirical
speculation concerning adaptation,
coloration, mimicry, etc., which con-
tributed so little of scientific value
that much of it will be quite generally
ignored or forgotten in the near future.
In connection with this work observa-
tions which would show the function
or fitness of the parts of features specu-
lated about, were rare if not wanting.
The uses of the structures or colors were
often entirely assumed. We perhaps
know less about fitness than any other
biological subject. The "survival of
the fittest" as usually employed means
merely the survival of the survivors.
There can be no adequate knowledge of
fitness to environment without knowl-
edge of environment.
Knowledge of habitats and the rela-
tions of organisms to them cannot be
said to have seriously reached the ears
or constituted a part of the training of
more than a few of those engaged in the
older lines of botany and zoology.
Studies of genetics, evolution, physi-
ology, embryology, cytology, parasi-
tology and entomology still proceed
largely or at least far too often without
reference to the habitat relations of
the organisms studied.
Warming, who studied the plants of
the sanddunes of Denmark, discovered
orderly sequences and established the
fact that habitats and environment
may be interpreted by putting the
results of his studies into scientific
order. He thus answered the epithet
of a famous contemporary zoologist
who closed a discussion of habitats with
the words "developing hodge podge."
Modern ecology has shown that the
environment is orderly, proceeding in
a particular direction for long periods.
One of its outstanding and original
features is the study and orderly inter-
pretation of the habitats of organisms
and the organisms themselves. Further
experience has demonstrated what
Warming indicated: That knowledge
of habitats can be organized into science.
A branch of biological science which
obtains its inspiration in the natural
order in original habitats must depend
upon the preservation of natural areas
for the solution of many problems.
It was the conviction of many mem-
bers of the Ecological Society soon
after its organization, that the society
should take steps to make available
for study as much of the original biota
of North America, as possible. An
inventory of available areas and the
extent to which they are modified is
naturally one of the early steps in the
preservation of suitable areas for eco-
logical study.
3
II. USES, VALUES AND MANAGEMENT
OF NATURAL AREAS
A. ARTISTIC AND LITERARY USES
1. THE VALUE OF NATURAL AREAS
TO LITERATURE AND ART
BY SELDEN LINCOLN WHITCOMB
Some few early American poets wrote
of the skylark and the nightingale.
They followed the easy path of inherited
literary tradition, and did not seem to
realize the wealth of new natural ma-
terial at their very doors. Other poets,
however, very soon discovered the
poetic values of the whippoorwill, the
passenger pigeon, and the ruby-throated
humming-bird. Freneau, poet of the
American Revolution, has a well known
poem on the honeysuckle. A little
later Bryant's poem on the yellow violet
almost marks an epoch in the poetic
treatment of American flowers. Alex-
ander Wilson may be considered, in a
sense, as the last of the pioneers among
the American writers on American
nature. In his poetry, as well as in
his letters and his American Ornithol-
ogy, he has left wonderful records of
his personal observations of birds,
plants, and landscapes over a very
large section of the region east of the
Mississippi River. 1
From the days of Wilson to the pres-
ent time, there has been, on the part
of American writers, an alert and
continuous interest in the varied as-
pects of American nature. Perhaps
no literature is richer than ours in the
literary presentation of local nature.
The "nature essay" is a very charac-
teristic and practically indigenous
literary type in this country. As
American territory expanded, our
writers accompanied or soon followed
1 For a fairly extended treatment of "Nature in
Early American Literature," see the writer's article
in The Sewanee Review, 1894.
the pioneers of the new regions. Our
literature now offers us entire volumes
of nature lore from the region Where
Rolls the Oregon (Dallas Lore Sharp)
to that of A Florida Sketch-Book (Brad-
ford Torrey) and from The Maine
Woods (Thoreau) to The Land of Little
Rain (Mary Austin). Dr. Neil E.
Stevens has an interesting article in
The Scientific Monthly for February,
1921, on "The Botany of the New Eng-
land Poets." There is abundance of
material for analogous articles on the
botany or the zoology of writers for
every section, yes, for every state of
the Union.
The student of American literature
welcomes any reasonable movement
to preserve, in as nearly the original
state as possible, as many as possible
of the regions which have been observed,
loved, and described by our authors.
The present writer has visited the site
of Thoreau's famous cabin at Walden
Pond, and has followed the path of
Thoreau, with Cape Cod in his hand,
for miles and miles along the Cape.
(Incidentally, as the writer lay on high
land tracing the route from the book,
an unsuspicious fox came trotting to
within two yards or so of him.) Man-
kato, Minnesota, is a typical and beau-
tiful prairie town and it was the western
limit of Thoreau's only western trip.
Mankato has a wonderful system of
natural parks. The student of litera-
ture hopes that a section of prairie or
woodland, known to have been visited
by Thoreau, may yet be located and
preserved.
Among other places of somewhat
similar interest in American literary
biography, in the Middle West, these
may be suggested : haunts in Wisconsin,
8
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
which inspired James Gates Percival
(poet as well as geologist) ; places in or
near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, which
stimulated the pen of Washington
Irving; certain environs of Osage and
Clear Lake, Iowa, which were of notable
significance in the development of
Hamlin Garland, etc.
Here and there in the prairie country,
one finds small areas of open ground
still in their natural state. This is
sometimes the case with the railroad
right-of-way. Here may be found
plants, and, to a lesser extent, animals
which seem to have passed from the
neighboring regions. Such areas are
especially welcome to the lover of
literature. If their natural phenomena
are not yet known to our literature
proper, let us not destroy the oppor-
tunity for the writers of the future.
The natural forest edge also let us
preserve as many sections of it as
possible. Here, where the prairie
meets the woods, were the original
haunts of many of our familiar herbs
and shrubs and birds spring migrants :
white-throated sparrow, hermit thrush,
etc.; summer residents: thrasher, cat-
bird, Bell's vireo, etc. ; winter visitants :
juncoes, tree sparrows, the great north-
ern shrike, etc.
We have already destroyed much
which cannot be replaced. No sane
student of literature will deny the
national importance of the lumber
industry or of the greatest possible ex-
tension of grain producing land. But
the same student is anxious to prove to
himself and to the world that America
is not entirely commercial in spirit.
He hopes for and believes in the Ameri-
can artist painters, musicians, and
writers of the near and of the distant
future. For these artists and for those
thousands if not millions of citizens
whose lives are to be enriched by these
works of pen and brush, we should
preserve, all over the country, carefully
selected, representative areas, as nearly
in the primitive condition as is now
possible.
2. THE VALUE OF NATURAL PRE-
SERVES TO THE LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECT
BY STANLEY WHITE
Inasmuch as one of the chief interests
of landscape architecture is the pres-
ervation of beautiful landscapes, noth-
ing can be more evident than the im-
portance to the profession and to those
deriving benefits from its works of
this movement to save various natural
regions from possible injury or de-
struction. Landscape architects have
always maintained a keen interest in
such movements: as private practi-
tioners in urging the development of
organizations interested in natural pre-
serves, and through their national
professional society in formally support-
ing the movements in defence of our
great national reservations against im-
proper exploitation.
Frederick Law Olmsted, in speaking
of our national parks, says:
The National Parks are set apart
primarily in order to preserve to the
people for all time the opportunity of a
peculiar kind of enjoyment and recrea-
tion, not measurable in economic terms
and to be obtained only from the re-
markable scenery which they contain
scenery of these primeval types which
are in most parts of the world rapidly
vanishing for all eternity before the
increased thoroughness of the economic
use of land. In the National Parks
direct economic returns, if any are
wholly secondary to the one dominant
purpose of preserving essential esthetic
qualities of their scenery unimpaired as
a heritage to the infinite numbers of the
generations to come.
One of the most notable achievements
in this direction was the creation of the
Boston Park system, with its rich
natural and semi-natural preserves
largely through the original idea and
subsequently the active work of Mr.
Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect,
concerning which there is an excellent
account in his biography. 1 Many other
instances could be cited, as the design
1 Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect, by C. W.
Eliot.
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
of public areas is a considerable part
of the regular work of the profession.
President Emeritus Charles W. Eliot
of Harvard University, at the meeting
of the American Society of Landscape
Architects, Boston, 1911, made the
following remarks :
If I were asked to mention the most
important public movement of the last
twenty years, I should say it was the
movement to obtain for all classes of
society indeed, for the entire popula-
tion better means of health, rational
enjoyment, and real happiness. Much
sympathy has been expressed in these
later years for the unhappy condition
of large elements of the population.
Something more than economic remedies
must be found for the great evils which
beset modern society, and particularly
for the diseases, physical and moral,
which are caused by congestion of popu-
lation. This profession is called upon
to deal with all these problems of con-
gestion. You must take account of the
desires and hopes, tastes and purposes
of the population to be relieved; and
these sentiments and emotions will all
be found to be closely related to that
pursuit of happiness in which a free
people is always engaged in accordance
with their tastes and inclinations.
. . . The Declaration of Independ-
ence declares that all men have a right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. Now it is the pursuit of
public happiness which, I think, should
be the main standby of this profession
in urging the public to use the landscape
art, to seek its benefits, and to employ
its artists.
But the preservation of natural
beauty is not the only object sought
in saving the untouched tracts. Not
that their beauty is not a sufficient
object in itself, but other factors, not
less important but simply less apparent,
can be justly ascribed. The training
of the landscape architect begins not
only with pictorial composition and
practical design, but also with the
study of plants, of soils, of bodies of
water and of all the great natural forces
and influences that have shaped and
given character to the physiognomy
of the land and its vegetation. Now
the original sources of the literature in
all these vast fields of special sciences
have come from the many investigators
who have utilized the natural areas
not as an accessory to their mode of
study but as the supreme fundamental
basis of all determinations. Unlike the
investigators in other than the so-called
"Natural Sciences" whose laboratories
are often merely specially equipped
ordinary buildings, these workers
must depend on all out-doors for their
laboratories and particularly on the
few portions of the earth's surface still
remaining as an original record of the
earth's history. The plea of this work
is that these original tracts are so
rapidly becoming modified that steps
should be taken to save their destruc-
tion before too late. From the stand-
point of the landscape profession their
loss would be not a mere sentimental
misfortune, but a real catastrophe
reaching into every branch of science
which contributes to the development
of landscape study.
From these great sources of natural
beauty comes all our inspiration; from
them comes the unlimited store of fine
examples teaching us the arrange-
ment of our materials ; from them comes
the lesson of growth, development and
natural strife that shows the way to
a permanent landscape; and finally,
from them comes the suggestion to the
layman of the value of beauty and the
desire for it in the surroundings of
human habitations. It is not enough
that we grow fine floral displays, well-
clipped hedges and smooth lawns. We
must bring to the most humble cottage
in all parts of the land at least a sug-
gestion of nature's charm, power and
delicacy, the inspiration for which,
unless these natural preserves are
secured, will disappear for all times in
spirit and in fact.
B. SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL USES AND VALUES
1. THE VALUE TO SILVICULTURE OF
RESERVED AREAS OF NATURAL
FOREST TYPES
BY W. W. ASHE
The setting aside of vestigial units
of the various forest types has three
important objects in view: First, to
supply the means for studying the
laws which control the distribution
of different species of trees. Second,
to ascertain the factors which deter-
mine forest types. Third, to note the
changes in such types induced by the
artificial conditions which result from
exploitation and silvicultural practice.
The practical silviculturist is princi-
pally concerned with the last named
of these objects. It is his function to
modify natural conditions, often to a
profound degree, in the interest of
increased yields of commercially de-
sirable species. In this, however, he
is constantly taking a chance, since his
crop is a slow growing one and he is
unable to wait for the results of the pains-
taking research, extended through the
life of a stand of timber, needed to sup-
ply the accurate results under which he
could proceed with complete confidence.
By determining these factors of dis-
tribution and using these vestigial
units as check plots, however, it may be
possible for him to prevent mistakes or
to rectify errors which may be made
through deviating too far from the
normal.
It is reasonable to suppose that each
site, the biotic corollary 1 of which is
the forest type, bears in its natural
condition (unless modified by fires)
the heaviest stand which the native
species are capable of producing on
lAshe, W. W. "Forest Types of the Appala-
chians and White Mountains." Journal of the
Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, 37: 183-198. 1922.
that site. That is, nature has already
established that species or association
of species which is best suited for grow-
ing under the limiting edaphic and
meteorological conditions which are
termed site, among the most important
of such conditions being soil acidity,
rate of nitrification, maximum mois-
ture content, number and length of
critically dry periods, depth of soil,
and available heat units and their
distribution. The species forming the
type reproduce themselves, not invaria-
bly in a definite proportion, but definite
within a certain latitude, the oscilla-
tion of the type, 2 and utilize the full
resources of the site, which is capable
of producing annually (or on an average)
a fixed amount of wood material (eel
lulose). Silviculture seeks to modify
or increase this natural yield by cul-
tural methods. There may be an at-
tempt to concentrate increment in a
few select individuals or to simplify
the composition of the natural stand
by eliminating from it certain of the
components which are economically
or silviculturally less desirable; or to
replace the native species in whole or
in part with other species or by a single
species which is regarded as more desir-
able economically or silviculturally.
The problems which arise in connec-
tion with such changes can be met in
two ways. They can be solved empir-
ically for each site, as in connection
with the introduction of foreign species,
by experimental planting with a view
to determining what species or combina-
tion of species is more advantageous
than those in the original type. The
establishment of final conclusions by
this method may require many dec-
ades, during which time a portion of
the land might not be producing to
2 Op. cit.
10
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
11
its full capacity or many irreparable
and costly errors may have been made.
This was the method employed in
testing the adaptability of certain
species in the plantations on the Bilt-
more Estate at Asheville, N. O. For
example, wild black cherry (Prunus
serotina) was planted with a view to
its possibly becoming a timber tree.
We now know from a careful study of
the forest types within which this tree
attains commercial proportions that
there is no site on the Biltmore Estate
on which this species can be expected
to attain first size or to be more, in
fact, than a straggling slow growing
tree.
The other method of meeting these
problems is by a study of the funda-
mental factors which control each
forest type within the type itself. Some,
if not all, of these factors should be
determined on sites on which the type
is unmodified or least modified, for
whenever it has been materially modi-
fied, especially for a long period, there
has been an accompanying, though
possibly slight and temporary, modifi-
cation of the site.
When types formed of mixed stands
are cut over it is difficult and at times
impossible to determine their original
composition. For these reasons it is
urgently desirable that such unmodified
units of the different forest types be
located before the silvical conditions
are altered by repeated fellings and
that they be reserved for the study of
their controlling factors. In a few
years such vestigial units purposely
reserved will be the only unmodified
remnants of many of the forest types.
It will be only by the setting aside now
of such unmodified areas that there
can be any assurance of having these
plots of the various forest types availa-
ble for conducting such studies.
As has been stated in a previous paper
on this subject 3 it is eminently unde-
sirable that there should be a possi-
Ashe, W. W. "Reserved areas of principal
forest types as a guide in developing an American
silviculture." Journal of Forestry, 20: 276-283.
bility of the development of American
silviculture being hampered by the
failure to reserve such vestigial units
of the important forest types as fields
for research, and as check plots by
means of which it will be possible to
note the changes which take place in
the same types under the stress of ex-
ploitation and silvical development.
As a prerequisite for making the highest
use of such reserved units and the
studies which may be made in them,
the areas of the different forests' types
should be carefully mapped after the
types have been standardized. Only
this procedure will establish similarity
of conditions and will permit the ex-
tension to them of the laws which are
found to control on the vestigial units.
The study of the unmodified areas,
in connection with those which are
modified, will indicate the extent to
which it will be possible to deviate from
the normal and yet retain the equilib-
rium necessary for maintaining the
factors of the locality. Such studies
will determine whether it will be pos-
sible economically to replace one species
by another; whether it will be advan-
tageous to substitute a pure coniferous
stand for one of mixed hardwoods, or
if not, as to what proportion of the
stand the conifers can occupy. The
natural areas must in large measure
serve as the means of developing our
silviculture; their elimination from
exploitation and their preservation is
essential to that end.
2. THE VALUE OF AQUATIC PRE-
SERVES TO FISHERIES
BY A. S. PEARSE
There are few "natural" environ-
ments for freshwater fishes in the
United States. Artificially stocked
streams, lakes, and ponds seldom pro-
duce such desirable fishes as are found
in localities where the wilderness has
not been disturbed by man. Great
natural preserves like the Great Lakes
and the Mississippi River should be
12
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
kept as near their original condition
as possible.
In general the larger a fish preserve
is, the better. It is highly desirable
to keep the environmental complexes
furnished by great rivers and lakes as
complete as possible. Variety of habi-
tats is necessary because many species
do not carry on their cycles of activities
in the same habitat. The bass feed
largely among plants, but require bare
bottom for spawning. The cisco lives
in the deep cool waters of lakes, but
comes into shallow water on stony
bottoms to breed. Many young fishes
frequent shoals, even though they live
elsewhere as adults.
Attempts to rear fishes in small
bodies of water are often without
success. In general the ecological suc-
cession in ponds eliminates the species
most desirable for man. A pond left
to "run" according to "nature" chokes
with aquatic vegetation and becomes
a swamp, populated by mud minnows,
sticklebacks, and bullheads. If game
fishes are desired, bare bottom is es-
sential. Fishes confined year after
year in a restricted area may be over-
run by parasites. One of the trout
hatcheries of the Wisconsin Conserva-
tion Commission is situated in an ex-
cellent locality and has an adequate
supply of fine spring water, but is of
little value because the trout are heavily
infected with a parasitic copepod.
Pollution may easily destroy the
value of a fish preserve. Poisons may
be introduced from natural sources or
from the byproducts of the industries
of man. Substances which use up oxy-
gen or produce other injurious gases
may be present. Minerals may be
precipitated from or dissolved in the
water by substances not in themselves
injurious to fishes.
If fishing is permitted in a preserve,
it should not be so restricted as to catch
certain fishes and allow others to in-
crease unduly. If angling only is
practised in a lake the game fishes
are most often caught and undesirable
species, like the carp, sucker, and dog-
fish, which seldom take a hook, become
too numerous. The restricted use of
fyke nets or seins for the capture of
the latter fishes is desirable in such a
locality.
It is doubtful if the suitability of a
body of water as a fish preserve can
ever be judged by any single criterion.
Two lakes may be of the same size and
depth. The one may be "plankton
poor," have a scanty bottom fauna,
contain undesirable mineral constit-
uents, lack oxygen, and have barren
shores, while the other furnishes a
favorable environment in all these es-
sentials. A river may change its whole
character as a habitat for fishes on
account of the introduction of factory
wastes, the building of a dam, or some
other apparently unimportant change
in a locality. Rush Lake, Wisconsin,
has abundant food and shelter and
furnishes excellent breeding grounds,
but is so shallow that its oxygen is
used up when it is covered by ice in
winter, hence it contains no large fishes.
The important features for a fish pre-
serve are: (1) sufficient size to permit
variety in habitats and to lessen the
dangers from contamination and rapid
fluctuations in temperature, (2) ade-
quate resources in the way of food,
shelter, and breeding grounds to main-
tain a sufficient number of fishes to
make the preserve profitable.
3. THE IMPORTANCE TO GEOG-
RAPHY OF THE PRESERVATION
OF NATURAL AREAS
BY STEPHEN SARGENT VISHER
At least four of Geography's several
sub-divisions will be aided by the pres-
ervation of natural areas. These are
(1) Descriptive Geography, (2) His-
torical Geography, (3) Ecological Geog-
raphy, and (4) Economic Geography.
Descriptive geography is concerned
not alone with describing relief features
and the cultural additions. It con-
siders likewise the vegetation and
the characteristic animals. Preserved
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
13
areas, where natural conditions can
be studied readily facilitate good geo-
graphic descriptions in two ways. First
they afford examples of natural con-
ditions. Only after type areas have
been studied can a really good descrip-
tion of a region be written. Second,
the setting aside of definite areas for
preservation results indirectly in in-
creased information about the location
of typical areas, the methods of reaching
them, and other significant facts con-
cerning them. Fairly full information
is gathered and made available con-
cerning very few privately owned tracts
partly because the work and expense
entailed may soon have been in vain.
The owner may decide to keep out
even the most worthy scientists, or
else the natural biota may be largely
destroyed as by the cutting of the tim-
ber or otherwise altering the conditions.
Thus _ although many nearly natural
areas still remain, few geographers
know just where to go, how to get there,
and what they will find when they
arrive.
Teachers of descriptive geography
will benefit, also, from the presence
of preserved areas especially near
cities, for in such areas their students
can learn much in a short time about
natural conditions, the conditions the
pioneers encountered.
This leads to the advantage to his-
torical geography of the preservation
of natural areas. The specialists who
interpret the historical development of
any region must have a full appreciation
of conditions as they were in earlier
times. Carefully preserved natural
areas will aid greatly in understanding
primeval conditions.
Ecological geography differs from
plant and animal ecology chiefly in
being more comprehensive, including
both, and as the advantages to each
have been discussed at length elsewhere,
it is not necessary to consider the nu-
merous advantages to this phase of geog-
raphy which would result from the
preservation of numerous typical natural
areas. However, there are many prob-
lems which special students of either
plants or animals have not adequately
investigated but which the geographer,
with his more inclusive view wishes to
study. For example, the influence of
geographic factors which because of
their rareness, have not been considered
significant, such as the "free-air foehn,"
or the hurricane, need to be investi-
gated. The native flora and fauna may
show far plainer adjustments to such
influences than do the recently intro-
duced forms. Since it is probable that
in the future there will be a great in-
crease in the number of ecological
studies carried on by geographers, it
is advantageous to geography that
many areas be preserved now before
it is too late.
Economic geography with its interest
in all products of commercial impor-
tance is interested in the preservation
of natural areas especially because of
the probability that in the future new
uses will be found for native plants and
animals not now very useful. If many
are exterminated, as will surely result
unless numerous natural areas are pre-
served promptly, all possibility of their
ever being of economic importance will
have disappeared. After a form is
extinct, or practically extinct, it will
be very distressing to learn that it had
potentialities of great value had they
been taken advantage of. Until every
living form is well known, none should
be allowed to become extinct. Eco-
nomic geographers join with agricultur-
ists, physicians and students of many
other sorts, therefore, in advocating the
setting aside of areas where the native
forms can continue to live and can be
advantageously studied.
4. THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL
AREAS TO BIOLOGY AND
AGRICULTURE
BY V. E. SHELFORD
Some biological subjects are of course
only remotely related to habitat ques-
tions; others can hardly proceed to
certain conclusions without reference
14
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
to habitat relations. An adequate in-
terpretation of evolutionary relations
can hardly be made without knowledge
of environment. This is true even if
natural selection operating on charac-
ters which arise from internal causes,
is assumed to be the only cause of the
origin of new forms. The geneticists
have rarely separated environmental
effects from purely hereditary phenom-
ena. It is safe to assume that a
considerable part of the phenomena
described as hereditary is some form of
environmental effect. The results of
genetical study can hardly have impor-
tant evolutionary bearing until rela-
tions to environment have been brought
into it.
The relations of physiology to ecology
are more intimate under present condi-
tions; the general physiologists are inter-
ested in and are appreciative of ecological
work. The interpretation of physiolog-
ical characters in connection with en-
vironmental relations is a growing field.
Medical physiology is less intimately
related to environmental subjects but is
far from as remote as the present status
of various other biological subjects.
The purpose of pointing out the rela-
tions of the various branches of biology
to ecology and the study of natural
habitats, and of calling attention to
neglected relations is merely to indi-
cate that present interest in the pres-
ervation of natural habitats for scien-
tific purposes is far less than it may be
expected to be in the near future. It
is safe to predict that when the neglected
field of habitat relations comes to
attention a little more, not merely
ecologists, but all biologists will re-
quire preserves of natural conditions
in connection with their various scien-
tific interests. The relations of the pure
science of biology to natural conditions
is believed to be much more important
to future research than is generally
recognized.
Agricultural problems include the
development of new kinds of cultivated
plants and domestic animals, and the
destruction of pests of all kinds. In
understanding conditions which most
favor pests a knowledge of their original
habitat is often very important and
will save years of work on the part of
investigators. For example the chinch
bug was originally found on grasses
in waste places along the coast of the
Carolinas. Rainy, hot seasons similar
to those found in the original area are
favorable to the chinch bug. Knowl-
edge of the climate and other condi-
tions in the original habitat would
have saved much useless speculation
and misinterpretation. Knowledge of
the original conditions under which a
pest lives is usually important. Ac-
cordingly preserves of natural conditions
are important from the standpoint of
insect pests and equally important for
other plant and animal pests.
Domestic animals, especially sheep,
have been studied in relation to climate.
After thousands of years of domestica-
tion sheep still require conditions simi-
lar to those in which they are said to
have originally occurred mountain
grassland and failure to supply these
conditions is one of the causes of diffi-
culty in the sheep industry. A reserva-
tion with sheep of the wild sort in their
natural conditions would have facili-
tated this study greatly. There are
many species now in a wild state which
may be utilized in the near future for
domestication or crossing with domestic
species and they should be preserved
in their native haunts for this purpose.
C. FORCES MAKING FOR THE DESTRUCTION OR PRESERVA-
TION OF NATURAL AREAS
1. FOREST LAWS AND REGULA-
TIONS AND THE PRESERVATION
OF NATURAL CONDITIONS
BY R. B. MILLER
I. POSSIBILITY OP PRESERVING NATURAL
CONDITIONS UNDER PUBLIC AS COM-
PARED WITH PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
While perhaps no state or national
forest laws deal directly with the pres-
ervation of natural conditions, there
are many forces working indirectly
to that end. At least, natural condi-
tions have a much better chance of
being preserved under public than under
private ownership, coupled as it is
with the danger of changing policies,
with fire, grazing and over-cutting.
In fact, the failure of private initiative
to properly protect its holdings is one
of the main reasons given for increasing
our acreage in national, state, county
and municipal forests.
Since the relation of fires to plant and
animal life is discussed by Wolcott
(page 34) and Korstian deals with
grazing on the national forests, (page
33) we may say just a word about
cutting regulations and their effect
upon the preservation of natural con-
ditions. On state forests there are
usually some restrictions as to the size
of trees which may be cut and certain
laws as to brush-disposal, leaving of
seed trees or size of trees to be cut.
Naturally, cutting by the shelterwood
and selection methods do much less
damage to soil and reproduction by too
sudden exposure to the drying effects
of the sun and wind than does clear
cutting, which in some cases may be
the wisest financial policy.
On the national forests, cutting regu-
lations are enforced by a workable
policy- the requiring of the operator
to pay an additional price for his timber
when he does not conform to the pro-
visions of the timber-sale contract,
with the cancelling of the agreement
in extreme cases of violation of the
cutting regulations.
If the purchaser of timber does not
wish to follow Forest Service regula-
tions, he has the choice of doing his
logging elsewhere, probably paying
more for his stumpage while he is not
assured of a perpetual supply of timber
for his mill as he is when he depends
upon government owned timber. As
Korstian 1 points out, the forester will
soon be dealing almost wholly with cut-
over timber lands and to him the great-
est value of preserving natural condi-
tions lies in setting aside the best of
these tracts, which nature has left.
The chief purpose of these natural
areas will be for comparison and stand-
ardization. The chance for having the
greatest number of such tracts for
object lessons lies in national and
state ownership of timber in many
typical regions.
II. EXTENT TO WHICH FOREST LAWS
MAKE POSSIBLE PERMANENT
SAMPLE PLOTS
It is generally recognized that per-
manent sample plots are essential to
good forestry practice, serving not only
as places for carrying on certain lines
of research such as experiments in cut-
1 Korstian, C. F. "The preservation of natural
conditions in the national forests." This volume,
p. 17.
15
16
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
ting by different methods, the study of
succession after fires and the study of
reproduction and growth but also as
demonstration areas having a certain
educational value.
Speaking of the use of school forests
as research centers and the need of pro-
tection Prof. James W. Tourney, of
the Yale Forests School says: "Such
forests cannot perform their best ser-
vice as research stations unless they
are under a management which will
afford the greatest protection to per-
manent sample plots and make it rea-
sonably certain that investigations,
once begun, can be carried through."
The same may be said of private tracts.
While no special provision is made
for the protection of sample plots
outside of the enforcement of the usual
fire laws prevalent on state forests,
the setting aside of certain tracts to
serve as demonstration areas is a part
of the forest policy of many states and
is sometimes carried on in cooperation
with private owners. It stands to
reason that such cooperation under
state control will be a valuable aid in
protecting sample plots within such
demonstration forests from destruction.
These demonstration forests, says
Secretary Wallace, "might be estab-
lished in certain "key areas," where
Federal or state ownership would be of
special value in protecting stream
sources and giving the local people
a practical demonstration of fire pro-
tection and good forest management."
Korstian 2 discusses the permanent
sample plots on the National Forests
(page 17) and their value to the fores-
ter, the biologist and the ecologist. He
divides these into silvicultural plots,
where succession and the effects of
different grades of cutting and thinning
can be studied; and plots which have
been established in connection with
range management to determine the ef-
fect of severity of grazing both upon
* Korstian, C. F. "The preservation of natural
conditions in the national forests." This volume,
page 17.
herbaceous, shrubby and tree repro-
duction.
While the Conservation Commission
of Canada has ceased to function, this
organization must be given great credit
for the establishment of sample plots
in the various provinces under the
leadership of their forester, Mr. Clyde
N. Leavitt, assisted in the supervision
of field parties by Dean C. D. Howe,
of the Faculty of Forestry of the Uni-
versity of Toronto. These plots were
established in cooperation with some
of the provinces, lumber and paper
companies and on military reservations
so that they still have a good chance of
being perpetuated. It can be said
that the Commission went into greater
detail in measuring the individual
trees on these plots and recording the
data than any other organization which
preceded it, affording a stimulus to the
provinces and private companies in
sample plot work which cannot be over-
estimated.
On such plots, by periodically measur-
ing and recording the increase in size
of all specimens, from small saplings up
to mature individuals which have been
numbered and measured, figures can
be obtained which will be of great value
in making yield tables for pure or mixed
forests, while incidental changes taking
place in the life-history of the stand
can be accurately studied and recorded.
It is true that these plots are more or
less exposed to fires and windstorms
but under the frequent inspection of
foresters they stand a very good chance
for permanency.
III. EXTENT TO WHICH FOREST LAWS
AFFECT THE ESTABLISHMENT AND
MAINTENANCE OF GAME PRESERVES
While excellent fishing and game pre-
serves have been established by pri-
vate individuals, such as the Whitney
tract in the Adirondacks and the vari-
ous fishing clubs and game clubs both
in Canada and the United States where
restrictions are made regarding fires
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
17
and poaching, with the land and streams
patrolled by guards and wardens, it
stands to reason that the preservation
of fish and game can best be accom-
plished on a broad scale under state or
national departments, with settled
policies and greater power for law
enforcement.
To what extent game protection shall
be connected with forestry is an unset-
tled question. Foresters may object
because where forests, fish and game
are combined into a large department
they feel that forestry is very likely to
receive secondary consideration. In
some of the states and Canadian prov-
inces, however, forestry and game
interests are associated under one de-
partment, either merged into a large
Department of Conservation, a Depart-
ment of Lands and Mines, or a Forest,
Fish and Game Commission as it was
for a long time in the state of New York,
this, however, having been superseded
by a Conservation Commission. In
the province of New Brunswick, for
example, all registered guides under the
Department of Lands and Mines are
sworn in as deputy fire wardens while
foresters and sealers also report viola-
tions of the game laws of the province.
New Brunswick has set aside about
600 square miles of territory on the
Nepisiguit River not only to serve as an
experimental area where the effects of
different methods of cutting may be
studied but also to serve as an immense
game refuge. Game preserves have
also been established by the state of
Pennsylvania and it has already been
demonstrated that these tracts serve
as breeding grounds whence game
flows over into contiguous areas. The
linking up of the state game preserves
with state forests is of great impor-
tance to lovers of wild life since the
protection of such tracts from fire under
the state forest fire laws will protect
not only animals and birds but fish
since it has been shown that fish have
been killed in large numbers by ashes
washed into streams by heavy rains.
2. THE PRESERVATION OF NATU-
RAL CONDITIONS IN THE
NATIONAL FORESTS
BY C. F. KORSTIAN
No fact in connection with the devel-
opment of our country is more evident
than the tremendous change which has
taken place in the original vegetation.
Many areas once covered with virgin
forests are now either productive farm
lands or are waste and desolate as the
result of lumbering and fire. We still
have left vestiges of the original growth;
but even these are threatened.
It is a trait of mankind to preserve
antiquities. Museums for their safe-
keeping and display are liberally main-
tained. Universities and scientific
schools of today must have them for
research in important fields. It is
just as true of our original forest con-
ditions, including all their biological
implications, as of any other of the
relics of the past, that science as well
as human interest demands the pres-
ervation of these samples. They can-
not be brought to the museum; they
must be their own living museums.
They are as necessary for the sound and
progressive development of the biolog-
ical sciences as they are for the art
and science of forestry. The education
of future generations demands them.
The forester will soon deal almost
wholly with cutover timberlands, yet
as has been clearly pointed out by
Ashe 1 and Pearson 2 if the highest
ideals of silviculture are to be attained
the forester must not be deprived of
the basic facts which Nature records
in the virgin forest. The practicing
forester, in the interest of the highest
use to the public through increased
production of the most valuable species,
often profoundly changes the natural
conditions and, as has been stated else-
where in this volume, these conditions
may also be readily modified by graz-
1 Ashe, W. W. "The value to silviculture of
reserved areas of natural forest types." This vol-
ume, pp. 10.
8 Pearson, G. A. "Preservation of natural areas
in the National Forests." Ecology, 3: 284-287.
1922.
18
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
ing. 8 Timber exploitation also has a
disturbing effect on the animal life of
the forest, but under proper manage-
ment and control of predatory animals
the forester contends that the game
animals will increase. So far as the
forester is concerned, the main reason
for preserving natural areas is to retain
a standard of accomplishment of Nature
alone, to serve as a guide by which the
correctness of the forester's efforts to
improve on Nature may be gauged.
In addition to the justification of
these natural areas as objects of re-
search in forestry and other biological
sciences, there is another valid reason
for the preservation of representative
natural conditions in the National
Forests. This is the rapidly increasing
appreciation of such areas for scenic
and recreational purposes. It is the
aim of the United States Forest Service
in administering the National Forests
to devote every tract of forest land to
its highest use. It is not unduly
stretching the spirit of this announced
purpose to assume that it will embrace
the appropriate treatment of areas
which are chiefly valuable for scientific
study, esthetics or recreation.
For utilitarian reasons it is evident
that the Forest Service cannot be ex-
pected to satisfy every requirement
with natural virgin forest conditions.
The National Parks and National Monu-
ments, on the contrary, do in many
cases meet these requirements. The
forests embraced in them will undoubt-
edly be preserved, and the opportunity
is presented for establishing in them
definitely located study areas, subject
to the policy of administration. A
study of the accompanying map (figs. 1
and 2) will show that the reserved areas
are widely distributed over the country.
Doubtless areas representative of widely
prevailing natural conditions can be
found in them. This will make it pos-
sible to limit the number of such areas
within the National Forests to a scale
consistent with their administrative
8 Korstian, C. F. "Grazing in the National
Forests." This volume, pp. 33-34.
policies, selecting only such locations
as will preserve and maintain typical
virgin conditions, and offer a home to
all forms of wild life within the forest
itself and yet not interfere materially
with important timber sales or other
large commercial developments. Be-
cause of their diversity of conditions
and types, National Forests offer to
ecologists untold opportunities for study.
Within the 157 million acres of
National Forests there are many areas
of wilderness of rugged and diversified
topography which have no great eco-
nomic importance for timber or forage,
but which possess high value both
for recreational and scientific purposes.
The Forest Service policy of best and
most appropriate use includes the
building of trails through these areas,
partly for fire protection and partly
to make them more accessible for just
such purposes as those mentioned. An
important step toward adequate pro-
tection of game would be the legisla-
tion long urged by game conserva-
tionists for the establishment, by
Presidential action, of federal game
refuges in the National Forests. Still
another important list of areas, on
which natural conditions are already
being preserved, are the municipal
watersheds, protected as sources of
city water supply. Furthermore, be-
cause of economic inaccessibility or
other such factors, vestiges of virgin
forest will doubtless remain untouched
indefinitely, although they may not be
formally incorporated in specifically
reserved areas.
With proper cooperation between the
various "wild life" and "natural con-
ditions" advocates the greater part of
their needs could be adequately met
without the reservation of a prohibi-
tively large acreage. The present quota
of National Parks, municipal water-
sheds and other forest areas which are
safeguarded against exploitation and
depredation are not wholly adequate.
There is still need for a few more areas
in each forest region which must be
carefully selected to insure a proper
3FUHW
G3VPL.
I
AREAS WITHIN NATIONAL FORESTS WHERE
NATURAL CONDITIONS ARE PRESERVED
OR ARE PROPOSED FOR PRESERVATION
AREAS NOW IN NATURAL CONDITION UNDER PRESERVATION
AREAS IN NATURAL CONDITION PROPOSED FOR PRESERVATION
FIG. 1
NATIONAL FORESTS
ESS3 STATE. FORESTS
E???3I INDIAN RESERVATIONS
nrnrm NATIONAL PARKS
o NATIONAL MONUMENTS
2 DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
AND NUMBERS
MILELS
100
200
FIG. 2
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
19
representation of all important forest
types. Such areas may now be found
in the National Forests. The longer
their economic use and development is
continued, the further will they depart
from a primeval condition.
The descriptions of the National
Forests in the following pages are
grouped according to the eight adminis-
trative districts. The forest types vary
widely between districts and also within
some of these districts. The accompany-
ing map (figs. 1 and 2) gives a general
idea of the location of the National
Forests and the approximate number of
areas on which the forest conditions are
being preserved in their natural and
semi-natural states. The areas within
the National Forests which are being
preserved in their natural condition are
chiefly those closed to grazing, timber
sales, and other commercial exploitation
because they possess unusual scenic
features, are the sources of important
municipal water supplies, or are for-
esters' permanent sample plots located
in virgin timber as a check on some
artificial cultural operation. The areas
being preserved in a semi-natural con-
dition comprise the federal and state
game preserves, the majority of the
permanent sample plots, experimental
forests, and areas on which some forms
of use are prohibited and others
permitted.
It is greatly to be regretted that, on
account of the prohibitive cost, the
Committee found it absolutely impos-
sible to publish the excellent maps
submitted by some of the contributors.
The map accompanying this paper
(figs. 1 and 2) is necessarily on too small a
scale to show these areas with the pre-
cision and detail of classification they
deserve. Anyone desiring to visit any
of the National Forest areas, whether
for study or for pleasure, should com-
municate with the nearest District
Forester at the address given on the
map, who will gladly supply the desired
information in much more detail than
it could possibly be given here. Many
of the National Forests are reached by
highways, while good mountain roads
are available for extensive trips into
the higher portions. For the regions
inaccessible by automobile, trails are
available which extend throughout the
mountains in such a way as to bring the
greater part of them within reach.
Camping equipment is often necessary
and always desirable. Information re-
garding roads, means of transportaion
and subsistence can always be secured
at the office of the local Forest Super-
visor or from the Forest Rangers at the
ranger stations in the National Forests.
Few restrictions are imposed upon natu-
ralists in the National Forests and the
local Forest Officers are always willing
to give additional information as to
routes and methods of travel.
3. PERMANENT SAMPLE PLOTS IN
THE NATIONAL FORESTS
BY C. F. KORSTIAN
Within a few decades a large part of
our natural wild woods will be cut over
and the forest products needed in every-
day life will be supplied by second-
growth forests. It is, therefore, im-
portant to know what tree species these
lands are capable of growing and how
much timber they will yield. In order
to answer these questions the forester
must determine what kinds of trees are
coming in naturally, how fast they are
growing, the loss due to various causes,
including natural shading out of the
smaller and weaker trees, what may be
expected from those which live, and
whether the natural reproduction is
adequate to insure satisfactory stands
of valuable species of timber trees or
whether it needs to be supplemented by
artificial planting.
Some of the first permanent sample
plots in the National Forests were
established on the Coconino and Tu-
sayan Forests by the Fort Valley Forest
Experiment Station, about 16 years ago,
for the purpose of obtaining basic
scientific data on these questions.
There are now many such plots on the
National Forests throughout the West,
20
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
and also some on the less extensive
eastern Forests. In addition to these
silvicultural sample plots, hundreds of
permanent sample plots have been estab-
lished in the National Forests in con-
nection with the study of range manage-
ment. On these are being recorded the
changes occurring in the herbaceous
and shrubby vegetation and timber
reproduction as a result of total pro-
tection from grazing or the type of
grazing management in practice.
Relatively few of the permanent
sample plots on the National Forests
are in virgin forest and the silviculturist
cannot imagine keeping all of them in
such a condition, even if they are now.
A few plots, however, will be retained
in natural stands as a check on the
cultural operations of the forester.
Such plots in the virgin forest would be
valuable chiefly from the standpoint of
studying the natural succession of forest
vegetation and competition in its broad-
est sense, as between individuals, spe-
cies, and associations. Thus, while
permanent sample plots in the National
Forests will be primarily for silvicultural
purposes, there remains a huge problem
which will require intensive study by
the ecologist on areas left in a natural
condition.
Since the silviculturist is working in
part on such utilitarian problems as
the effects of different methods of
cutting or thinning and slash disposal
on the subsequent growth of the uncut
trees and on natural regeneration, the
reason why his permanent sample plots
must be located largely outside of
virgin forests is apparent. As a matter
of fact, most of these plots are on culled
or cutover lands where the conditions
are at most only semi-natural. In many
cases the original forest type is in time
re-established and in others a sub-climax
replaces it. These plots, however, will
ultimately prove extremely interesting
to the biologist because the forester
maintains a detailed record, through the
periodic measurement and examination
of the trees and the vegetation on the
areas, of all the changes taking place
between the time of the cutting of the
original stand and the maturity of the
subsequent crop. Protection from other
disturbing factors is usually provided.
These plots will give the ecologist the
complete history of the successional
phenomena recorded, which will enable
a more exact analysis and correlation
of the results by eliminating the neces-
sity for much interpolation and specula-
tion concerning some of the intermediate
phases.
It is therefore evident that the per-
manent sample plots in the National
Forests, although they may not all be
important from the standpoint of the
preservation of natural conditions, will
supply the forester, the ecologist, and the
biologist with much valuable scientific
information which cannot be secured in
any other way.
4. NATIONAL PARKS AND NA-
TIONAL MONUMENTS
BY E. LUCY BRAUN
The United States government has,
by the establishment of national parks
and monuments, taken a foremost posi-
tion in the preservation of one of our
great economic and social assets
unusual and superlative natural scenery.
The establishment of Yellowstone Na-
tional Park in 1872 marked the begin-
ning of a project which has grown to
great importance, and which has become
a world-wide influence in the establish-
ment of national reservations in other
parts of the world.
The first effort at conservation was
made in 1832, when Congress set aside
the Hot Springs Reservation, which has
since (in 1921) been made a national
park. From the establishment of Yel-
lowstone to the present time, the na-
tional park system has constantly
grown. It was not, however, until 1916,
that the National Park Service was
established as a separate bureau of the
Department of the Interior. There are
now under its control, 19 parks having a
total area of 11,372 sq. mi., and 29
monuments with total area of about
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
21
1820 sq. mi. In addition to these,
there are 7 national military parks and
3 monuments administered by the War
Department, and 13 national monuments
administered by the Department of
Agriculture .
A national park is created by act of
Congress, and yearly appropriations
made thereafter for its upkeep and
development. A national monument is
set aside by presidential proclamation;
no direct provision is made for its
development. Small yearly appropria-
tions are now granted by Congress for
protection and maintenance of the
national monuments. National monu-
ments are often, though not always, of
lesser importance and smaller area than
national parks. Areas of extreme im-
portance in remote areas are sometimes
set aside as monuments and later the
status changed to park. This was true
of the Grand Canyon and of Zion Can-
yon. The desired object preservation
is accomplished in the establishment of
the monument. A number of the na-
tional monuments have been established
to preserve relics of archaeological and
historical interest, as Montezuma Castle
and Gran Quivira; others, as Muir
Woods and Rainbow Bridge, preserve
natural features.
National monuments administered by
the Department of Agriculture, as
Mount Olympus, are situated in national
forests. That is, they are reservations
within national forests, where natural
conditions are to be preserved.
The integrity of the national parks
has been attacked time and time again.
Desire of commercial 'exploitation of
water resources for power and irrigation
projects, of grazing resources, and of
timber, by local interests more con-
cerned in their own financial advance-
ment than in the interests of the Nation,
must constantly be combated.
The act of Congress in 1916 establish-
ing the National Park Service, was a
distinct step in advance. In this act is
contained the following statement:
The service thus established shall
promote and regulate the use of the
Federal areas known as national parks,
monuments, and reservations herein-
after specified by such means and meas-
ures as conform to the fundamental
purpose of the said parks, monuments,
and reservations, which purpose is to
conserve the scenery and the natural
and historic objects and the wild life
therein and to provide for the enjoy-
ment of the same in such manner and by
such means as will leave them unim-
paired for the enjoyment of future
generations.
As Congress still has the power to
modify park boundaries, and to grant
easements within the park boundaries,
it behooves the citizens of the United
States, to whom the parks belong, to
take an interested part in all questions
relating to our national parks, and to
express their disapproval of any plan
violating the purpose for which the
parks and monuments were created.
Irrigation and water power interests
have made the most insistent demands
for utilization of park resources. Yel-
lowstone, Glacier, and Yosemite have
been attacked. The Sherburne irriga-
tion reservoir at Glacier and the de-
struction of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in
Yosemite, should be an object lesson in
the results of irrigation and water power
developments. The amendment of the
Federal water-power act (March, 1921),
which removed the national parks and
monuments already established from the
operation of the provisions of the water-
power act, makes difficult but not im-
possible, future projects of this sort.
A bill now pending calls for the erection
of a dam across the Yellowstone River,
which will raise the level of Lake Yel-
lowstone, thus flooding surrounding
land.
Grazing concessions present a question
of great importance. While damage
inflicted by grazing is not as irreparable
as that produced by the building of
dams, it is nevertheless very serious.
Natural reproduction of trees and other
plants is hindered or prevented; erosion
is favored. Herbaceous growth is most
affected, which means that the flower
display is curtailed or entirely wiped
out. The fodder of native grazing
22
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
animals, as deer and elk, may be reduced
to the point where survival in periods of
extreme drought or in severe winters
may be difficult. And last, but not
least, sanitation is affected and the
water supply may be impaired. That
grazing has affected the appearance of
the Grand Canyon National Park is
evident from the report of the Director
of National Park Service for 1923.
"The park floral display below the
rims of the canyon is extremely varied
and beautiful in successive seasons, but
the lack of such display on the rims is
largely due to cattle grazing." Sheep
grazing is prohibited in all national
parks; cattle grazing is permitted in
some areas.
The national parks and monuments
comprise only one-third of one per cent
of the total area of our country. "Cer-
tainly as a Nation we are rich enough to
preserve from spoliation such a small
amount of native America intact for the
enjoyment of posterity.' 1
National parks and monuments differ
radically from national forests. The
parks and monuments are intended to be
true preserves, where every effort should
be made to maintain natural conditions.
Timber cutting and grazing are not
permitted except in certain instances
and should be wholly prohibited. Hunt-
ing, except predatory animals, and
removal of any natural object by visitors
is prohibited, except that a certain
amount of angling is permitted. The
addition to any national park of plants
or animals which are not native should
not be permitted, for the addition of
foreign plants or animals would cer-
tainly not be in keeping with one of the
established purposes of the parks and
monuments the conserving of the wild
life therein- which should be inter-
preted to mean native wild life. This
question has been considered by the
Ecological Society of America (see
"Resolutions," Ecology, vol. Ill: 170).
The national forests, on the other hand,
are a valuable measure toward con-
servation, not complete preservation,
except in limited areas. Cutting of
mature timber is permitted, and thus the
composition of the forest is changed.
Tree planting is resorted to improve the
stands, or to increase the percentage of
commercially desirable trees; hunting
is permitted; grazing is general, even to
the point of over grazing. Outside
activities in the national forests are
regulated by the Forest Service. Thus,
while the national forests are great
conservers of our national resources,
it is in our national parks and monu-
ments that natural conditions are best
maintained at present.
The national parks policy, as an-
nounced in 1918, and reaffirmed recently
by Secretary Work, should maintain
our parks as the preserves of wild life
that they now are. Its three funda-
mental prnciples are: "First, that the
national parks must be maintained in
absolutely unimpaired form for the use
of future generations as well as those of
our own time; second, that they are set
apart for the use, observation, health,
and pleasure of the people; and third,
that the national interest must dictate all
decisions affecting public or private en-
terprise in the parks."
Following is a list of national parks
and monuments, arranged in order of
date of establishment. Descriptions of
most of these will be found in the state
accounts; the distinctive features of the
less important are given here. 1
NATIONAL PARKS ADMINISTERED BY THE
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Hot Springs, Arkansas; 1832; 1| sq. mi.;
46 hot springs.
Yellowstone, Wyoming, Montana, and
Idaho; 1872; 3348 sq. mi.; Wyo.,
page 532.
Sequoia, California; 1890; 252 sq. mi.;
Calif., page 197.
Yosemite, California; 1890; 1125 sq. mi.;
Calif., page 197.
General Grant, California; 1890; 4 sq.
mi.; Calif., page 197.
Mount Rainier. Washington; 1899; 324
sq. mi. ; Calil., page 175.
Crater Lake, Oregon; 1902; 249 sq.
mi.; Ore., page 191.
1 All quotations from Seventh Annual Report of
Director of National Park Service. 1923.
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
23
Wind Cave, South Dakota, 1903; 17 sq.
mi.; S. D., page 555.
Platt, Oklahoma; 1902, 1904; H sq. mi.
Contains sulphur and other springs
of medicinal value; wooded area with
wild flowers and birds.
Sullys Hill, North Dakota; 1904; H
sq. mi.; N. D., page 547.
Mesa Verde, Colorado; 1906, 1913; 77
sq. mi.; Colo., page 527.
Glacier, Montana; 1910; 1534 sq. mi.;
Mont., page 539.
Rocky Mountain, Colorado; 1915, 1917;
397 sq. mi.; Colo., page 527.
Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands; 1916, 1922;
186 sq. mi., in three separate areas.
Lassen Volcanic, California; 1916; 124
sq. mi.; Calif., page 198.
Mount McKinley, Alaska; 1917, 1922;
2645 sq. mi.
Grand Canyon, Arizona; 1908, 1919; 958
sq. mi.; Ariz., page 568.
Lafayette. Maine; 1916, 1919; 8 sq. mi.;
Me., page 310.
Zion, Utah; 1909, 1918, 1919; 120 sq. mi.;
includes former Mukuntuweap Na-
tional Monument; Utah, page 559.
NATIONAL MILITARY AND OTHER PARKS
ADMINISTERED BY THE WAR
DEPARTMENT
Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Georgia
and Tennessee; 1890; 6543 acres.
"Beautiful natural park. Embraces
battle fields of Chickamauga and
Missionary Ridge and scenes of other
conflicts of the Civil War fought in
the vicinity of Chattanooga during
1863."
Antietam Battle Field, Maryland; 1890;
50 acres. "Scene of one of the greatest
battles of the Civil War."
Shiloh, Tennessee; 1894; 3546 acres.
"Natural park embracing the battle
field of Shiloh near Pittsburg Land-
ing."
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; 1895; 2451
acres. "Beautiful natural park.
Scene of Civil War combat. Probably
better marked than any other battle-
field in the world."
Vicksburg, Mississippi; 1899; 1323 acres.
"Beautiful natural park. Scene of
the siege and surrender of Vicksburg
in 1863 during the Civil War."
Lincoln's Birthplace, Kentucky; 1916;
"Contains the log cabin and part of
the farm where Lincoln was born."
Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina;
1917; 125 acres. "Near Greensboro.
Scene of one of the great battles of
the Revolution; fought in 1781."
NATIONAL MONUMENTS ADMINISTERED
BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Devils Tower, Wyoming; 1906; 1152
acres. "Remarkable natural rock
tower, of volcanic origin, 1200 ft. in
height."
Montezuma Castle, Arizona; 1906; 160
acres. "Prehistoric cliff-dwelling
ruin ... of scenic and ethnologic
interest."
El Morro, New Mexico; 1906, 1917; 240
acres. "Enormous sandstone rock
eroded in form of a castle, upon which
inscriptions have been placed by
early Spanish explorers. Contains
cliff-dweller ruins. Of great historic
scenic, and ethnologic interest."
Petrified Forest, Arizona; 1906, 1911;
25, 625 acres. "Abundance of petrified
coniferous trees, one of which forms
a small natural bridge."
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico; 1907;
20,629 acres. "Numerous cliff-dweller
ruins."
Muir Woods, California; 1908, 1921;
426.43 acres. (See Calif.)
Pinnacles, California; 1908, 1923; 2653.46
acres. (See Calif.)
Natural Bridges, Utah; 1908, 1909, 1916;
2740 acres. (See Utah.)
Lewis and Clark Cavern, Montana;
1908, 1911; 160 acres. Temporarily
closed to the public. "Immense lime-
stone cavern of great scientific in-
terest, magnificently decorated with
stalactite formations."
Tumacacori, Arizona; 1908; 10 acres.
Ruin of Franciscan mission.
Navajo, Arizona; 1909, 1912; 360 acres.
"Numerous pueblo or cliff-dweller
ruins, in good preservation."
Shoshone Cavern, Wyoming; 1909; 210
acres. "Cavern of considerable ex-
tent, near Cody."
Gran Quivira, New Mexico; 1909, 1919,
560 acres. Early Spanish mission
ruins and pueblo ruins.
Sitka, Alaska; 1910; 57 acres. "Park of
great natural beauty and historic
interest as scene of massacre of
Russians by Indians. Contains 16
totem poles of best native workman-
ship."
Rainbow Bridge, Utah; 1910; 160 acres.
"Unique natural bridge of great
scientific interest and symmetry.
Height 309 feet above water, and span
is 278 feet, in shape of rainbow."
Colorado, Colorado; 1911; 13,883 acres;
"Many lofty monoliths, and is won-
derful example of erosion, and of
great scenic beauty and interest."
24
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Papago Saguaro, Arizona; 1914, 1922;
1940.43 acres. "Splendid collection
of characteristic desert flora and
numerous pictographs. Interesting
rock formations."
Dinosaur, Utah; 1915; 80 acres. (See
Utah.)
Capulin Mountain, New Mexico; 1916;
681 acres. "Cinder cone of geologi-
cally recent formation.
Verendrye, North Dakota; 1917; 253.04
acres. Includes Crowhigh Butte
SeeN.D.
Casa Grande, Arizona; 1889, 1909, 1918;
480 acres. "These ruins are one of
the most noteworthy relics of a pre-
historic age and people within the
limits of the United States. Dis-
covered in ruinous condition in 1694."
Katmai, Alaska; 1918; 1,088,000 acres.
"Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes."
Scotts Bluff, Nebraska; 1919; 2053.83
acres. "Region of historic and sci-
entific interest. Many famous old
trails traversed by the early pioneers
in the winning of the West passed over
and through this monument."
Yucca House, Colorado; 1919; 9.6 acres.
"Relic of prehistoric inhabitants."
Fossil Cycad. South Dakota; 1922;
320 acres. "Area containing deposits
of plant fossils."
Aztec Ruin, New Mexico; 1923; 4.6
acres. "Prehistoric ruin of pueblo
type containing 500 rooms."
Hovenweep, Utah-Colorado; 1923; 285.8
acres. "Four groups of prehistoric
towers, pueblos and cliff dwellings."
Pipe Spring, Arizona; 1923; 40 acres.
"Old stone fort and spring of pure
water in desert region."
Carlsbad Cave, New Mexico; 1923;
719.22 acres. Immense cavern; see
Nat. Geog. Mag., January, 1924.
NATIONAL MONUMENTS ADMINISTERED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE
Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico; 1907;
160 acres. "Numerous cliff-dweller
ruins of much interest and in good
preservation." In Gila National
Forest.
Tonto, Arizona; 1907; 640 acres; similar
to Gila Cliff Dwellings. In Tonto
National Forest.
Jewel Cave, South Dakota; 1908; 1280
acres. "Limestone cavern of much
beauty and considerable extent, limits
of which are as yet unknown." In
Harney National Forest.
Wheeler, Colorado ; 1908 ; 300 acres. ' 'Of
much interest from geological stand-
point as example of eccentric erosion
and extinct volcanic action. Of much
scenic beauty." In Cochetopa and
Rio Grande National Forests.
Mount Olympus, Washington; 1909,
1912, 1915; 299,370 acres. Contains
many objects of great and unusual
scientific interest, including many
glaciers. Is summer range and breed-
ing ground of the Olympic elk." In
Olympic National Forest.
Oregon Caves, Oregon; 1909; 480 acres.
"Extensive caves in limestone of
much beauty; magnitude not entirely
ascertained." In Siskiyou National
Forest.
Devil Postpile, California; 1911; 800
acres. "Spectacular mass of hexag-
onal basaltic columns, like an immense
pile of posts. Said to rank with
famous Giant's Causeway in Ireland."
In Sierra National Forest.
Walnut Canyon, Arizona; 1915; 960
acres. "Contains cliff-dwellings of
much scientific and popular interest."
In Coconino National Forest.
Bandelier, New Mexico; 1916; 22,075
acres. "Vast number of cliff-dweller
ruins, with artificial caves, stone
sculpture, and other relics of pre-
historic life." In Santa Fe National
Forest.
Old Kasaan, Alaska; 1916; 38.3 acres.
"Abandoned Indian village in which
there are numerous remarkable totem
poles and other objects of historical
interest." In Tongass National
Forest,
Lehman Caves, Nevada; 1922; 593.03
acres. "Limestone caverns of much
beauty and of scientific interest and
importance." In Nevada National
Forest.
Timpanogos Cave, Utah; 1922; 250
acres. Limestone cavern. In Wa-
satch National Forest.
Bryce Canyon, Utah; 1923; 7440 acres.
"Box canyon filled with countless
array of fantastically eroded pin-
nacles. Best exhibit of vivid coloring
of earth's materials." In Powell
National Forest.
Extensions of a number of parks are
advocated by the Director of the Na-
tional Park Service: Crater Lake to
include Diamond Lake; Yellowstone to
include the Teton Country to the south;
Rainier to include Ohanapecosh Hot
Springs, to the southeast ; and the much
discussed extensions of Yosemite and
Sequoia, which involve elimination of
land now park territory, and inclu-
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
25
sion of scenic areas now outside park
limits.
The enlargement of Sequoia National
Park by the creation of Roosevelt-
Sequoia National Park, involves not
alone addition of desirable territory,
but exclusion from the park boundary of
parts of park territory. The addition
includes some of the finest Sierra coun-
try Mt. Whitney, the Kings and Kern
Canyons and Tehipite Valley. The bill,
as it now stands, retains all but a small
part of the 3 southern townships whose
exclusion met with so much opposition
among naturalists. Most of the Sequoia
groves are retained. The inclusion of
the headwaters and canyons of the
Kings River, one of the finest valleys
of the Sierras, is meeting with strong
opposition from local irrigation districts.
The proposed change in Yosemite
National Park also involves the acquir-
ing of a section of the High Sierras, and
the exclusion of certain private lands
(10,959.89 acres) along the western
boundary. These private holdings cause
administrative difficulties, because of
grazing problems and the cutting of the
timber. In both cases, the territory
(not now privately owned) excluded
from the parks comes under the control
of the Forest Service.
Proposals for new parks and monu-
ments are constantly being made. All
must be investigated for availability and
desirability. The area must be one of
national, not merely local interest.
Areas of great local interest should be
taken care of as State parks. Only one
national park, Lafayette, is situated
east of the Mississippi River. It seems
desirable that the park system be in-
creased in this section of the country if
suitable areas can be secured. Among
proposals here, are Sand Dunes, 2 Mis-
sissippi Valley, Appalachia, Everglades,
Mount Katahdin, and Mammoth Cave.
In the West, where scenic features of
merit are more numerous, many propo-
2 "Report on the Proposed Sand Dunes National
Park, Indiana." Stephen T. Mather, Director of
the National Park Service. 1917. 113 pp.
sals have been made prominent among
which is the Glacier Bay region of
Alaska. Many worthy areas have also
been proposed as national monuments.
Proposals presented to the Sixty-
eighth Congress, include the following:
Mount Katahdin (Maine).
Killdeer Mountain (North Dakota).
Roosevelt (North Dakota).
Mammoth Cave (Kentucky).
Mississippi Valley (Wisconsin, Iowa).
Utah (Utah).
Appalachia (Virginia) to include sum-
mit of High Knob Mountain.
Wonderland (South Dakota).
Lincoln (Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee)
to include High Pinnacle Moun-
tain and Cumberland Gap.
Nicolet (Wisconsin) an abandoned
military reservation; 1046 acres.
Battle of Bear's Paw (Montana) as a
national monument.
Grand Coulee (Washington).
Yakima (Washington) to include Mt.
Adams and surrounding territory.
Blue Knob (Pennsylvania).
An area in a National Forest reservation
in Georgia.
Many other bills to establish national
parks and monuments have been pre-
sented. All such areas have been or are
being investigated.
There has recently been appointed by
Secretary Work, a Southern Appalachian
Park Committee. This committee is
"to undertake a thorough study of the
Southern Appalachian Mountains for
the purpose of selecting the most worthy
site in that range as a national park,
in order to conserve the scenery and the
plant and animal life under established
national park policies for the use and
education of our people." They have
since recommended two areas, the
Shenandoah in Virginia and the Great
Smokies in Tennessee and North Caro-
lina.
The national park system will doubt-
less continue to expand, and to increase
in value as its parks and monuments
become increasingly popular as rec-
reational areas, and as natural areas
in which the study of native fauna and
flora may be carried on to advantage.
26
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
LITERATURE
Almost every periodical dealing with
travel or nature contains articles on one
or more of our national parks. The
following are of a more general nature :
A Guide to the National Parks of
America. Edited by Edward Frank
Allen. Robert McBride and Co.,
New York, revised edition, 1918.
338 pp., map and illustrations.
The National Parks Portfolio. Robert
Sterling Yard. 248 pp., 306 ill.
Gov. Pr. Office.
Your National Parks. Enos A Mills.
Glimpses of our National Parks. R. S.
Yard. 72 pp., 31 ill. Gov. Pr. Office.
General Information regarding the
National Monuments. (Contains
descriptions of all national monu-
ments administered by the Depart-
ment of the Interior, the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, and the War
Department.) Gov. Pr. Office.
(Out of print.)
Information Circulars for individual
parks. Free on request to Director,
National Park Service. (Available
for Crater Lake, Grand Canyon,
Hawaii, Hot Springs, Mesa Verde,
Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain,
Sequoia and General Grant, Wind
Cave, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.
Automobile Road and Trail Maps.
Director, National Park Service.
Annual Reports of the Department of
the Interior and of the National
Park Service.
The Relation of Wild Life to the Public in
National and State Parks. Charles
C. Adams, Proc. 2nd Nat. Conf.,
State Parks, 1922.
Glacier National Park
Flora of Glacier National Park. Paul
C. Standley. Contr. U. S. Natl.
Herb., vol. 22, pt. 5. 1921.
Wild Animals of Glacier National Park.
The Mammals. Vernon Bailey ; The
Birds. Florence Merriam Bailey.
210 pp., 94 fig., 37 pi., 1 map. 1918.
Origin of the Scenic Features of Glacier
National Park. M. R. Campbell.
42pp., 25 ill. 1914. Gov. Pr. Office.
Glaciers of Glacier National Park. W.
C. Alden. 48 pp., 30 ill. 1914.
Gov. Pr. Office.
Some Lakes of Glacier National Park.
M. J. Elrod. 32 pp., 19 ill. 1912.
Gov. Pr. Office.
Glacier National Park. A Popular
Guide to Its Geology and Scenery.
M. R. Campbell. U. S. Geol. Surv.,
Bull. 600. 54 pp., 13 pi., map.
1914. Gov. Pr. Office.
Glacier National Park, Its Trails and
Treasures. Mathilde Edith Holz
and Katherine Isabel Bemis.
Tenting Tonight. Mary Roberts Rine-
hart. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1918.
Yellowstone National Park
Geological History of Yellowstone
National Park. Arnold Hague. 24
pp., 10 ill. 1912. Gov. Pr. Office.
Geysers. Walter Harvey Weed. 32 pp.,
23 ill. 1912. Gov. Pr. Office.
Fossil Forests of Yellowstone National
Park. F. H. Knowlton. 32 pp., 15
ill. 1914. Gov. Pr. Office.
Fishes of the Yellowstone National
Park. W. C. Kendall. 28 pp., 17
ill. 1915.
The Big'Game^Animals T of Yellowstone
National Park. Edmund Heller.
Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin, vol. 2,
no. 4: 405-467. 1925.
The Food of Trout in Yellowstone Na-
tional Park. Richard A. Muttkow-
ski. Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin,
vol. 2, no. 4: 471-497. 1925.
The Birds of the Yellowstone National
Park. Milton P. Skinner. Roosevelt
Wild Life Bulletin, vol. 3, no. 1.
192 pp. 1925.
Grand Canyon National Park
The Shinumo Quadrangle, Grand
Canyon district, Arizona. L. F.
Noble, U. S. Geol. Surv., Bull. 549.
1914.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Geologic Story of Rocky Mountain
National Park. Willis T. Lee.
Mountaineering in Rocky Mountain
National Park. Roger W. Toll.
Lafayette National Park
The Sieur de Monts National Monu-
ment as a Bird Sanctuary.
The Coastal Setting, Rocks and Woods
of the Sieur de Monts National
Monument.
An Acadian Plant Sanctuary.
The Sieur de Monts National Monument
as commemorating Acadia and early
French influences of Race and Set-
tlement in the United States.
Natural Bird Gardens on Mount Desert
Island.
(All the above from Director of N. P.
Service.)
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
27
Yosemite National Park j
A Yosemite Fora. Hall.
Sketch of Yosemite National Park and
an Account of the Origin of Yose-
mite and Hetch Hetchy Valleys.
F. E. Matthes. Gov. Pr. Office.
Forests of Yosemite, Sequoia, and
General Grant National Parks. C.
L. Hill. Gov. Pr. Office.
The Secret of the Big Trees Yosemite.
Sequoia, and General Grant National
Parks. Ellsworth Huntington.
Mount Rainier National Park
Features of the Flora of Mount Rainier
National Park. J. B. Flett. Gov.
Pr. Office.
Forests of Mount Rainier National
Park. G. F. Allen. Gov. Pr. Office.
Mount Rainier and Its Glaciers. F. E.
Matthes. Gov. Pr. Office.
Mount Rainier, a Record of Explora-
tions. Edmond S. Meany. ^
Crater Lake National Park
Geological History of Crater Lake. J.
S. Diller. Gov. Pr. Office.
Forests of Crater Lake National Park.
J. F. Pernot. Gov. Pr. Office.
5. MUSEUMS AND NATURE
BY FRANK COLLINS BAKER
Many well informed people have
thought that the elaborate habitat
groups in the modern museum can take
the place of first hand contact with the
animals in their natural environment.
These groups are indeed wonderfully
life-like, and in many cases faithfully
portray the life as it may be seen in
nature, and when scientifically accurate
and constructed with due regard to the
psychology of the museum visitor they
have both a value to ecology and an
interest for the visitor. But these
groups, good as they are, only interpret
certain phases of the life of the animals,
giving the average person a birds-eye
view of some of the phenomena which
go to make up the every-day occupation
of wild life. Such groups as the Vir-
ginia deer in the four seasons, on exhibi-
tion in the Field Museum of Natural
History, give the student a good idea
of the changes that take place in the
form and fur of these common animals:
'but this simply interprets these phe-
nomena and cannot take the place of the
wild deer in their native haunts.
These museum groups, however, have
a real ecological value, not only in-
terpreting nature to those who may be
fortunate enough to be able to visit the
national parks and other wild places of
nature, and so make these visits of
more profit and pleasure, but they also
give to those individuals (who unfor-
tunately are in the majority) who cannot
leave the big centers of population and
enjoy wild life at first hand, a glimpse
of wild animal life as it is, or more
often, as it has been, before man took
complete possession of the land, lake,
and forest for his personal, and too often,
selfish use.
The preservation of natural areas for
the maintenance of wild life is emphati-
cally desired by, and necessary for,
the modern museum, for only by a
study of these natural areas can these
wonderful groups be made. It is be-
coming increasingly difficult to find
places near the cities where even the
smaller life can be studied for such
purposes. Lakes and streams adjacent
to towns and small cities (to say nothing
of these near the large metropolitan
cities, where almost everything is de-
spoiled) are either heavily polluted and
the fauna and flora killed or so changed
by modern life of the suburbanite as to
completely destroy all vestiges of origi-
nal wild life. The preservation of small
natural, more or less virgin, areas near
small towns and cities is imperative
and must be accomplished soon, or all
such places will be lost forever.
The large museums of the big cities
as well as the smaller museums of towns,
small cities, and those connected with
universities, are in a position to aid
the movement for the preservation of
wild life sanctuaries by the intelligent
display of their material so that visitors
may become interested in wild life, and
thus be led to add their influence when
constructive legislation is urged by the
many societies fostering this subject.
28
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
The museum habitat group has now
become one of the chief features of in-
terest in all museums, and many very
good examples of this new art are scat-
tered over the country from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, notably at New York,
Pittsburg, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver,
San Francisco, and other places, and
the tourist may happily visit these
places and later visit the native haunts
of the animals exhibited. The auto-
mobile has brought the city and the
wild places closer together, and one may
often pass in a few hours from the
museum halls to the wilds of a national
or state park. The modern museum
seeks to interpret the lives of wild
animals for the benefit of all people,
rather than to simply store up vast
hordes of material for the specialist,
though the latter work must be carried
on also for the advancement of our
knowledge of life in general. The
museum is now, and always has been,
the champion of the conservation of
wild life.
6. THE GAME REFUGES AND
PUBLIC SHOOTING GROUNDS
OF PENNSYLVANIA
BY JOHN M. PHILLIPS
Member of the Board of Game Commis-
sioners of Pennsylvania, 1905 to 1924
Some 30 years ago, the thinking sports-
men of the State of Pennsylvania be-
coming alarmed at the rapid disap-
pearance of wild game generally in this
State, awoke suddenly to a realization
of the fact that if it was to be saved for
posterity immediate action was neces-
sary to secure its protection and pres-
ervation. It was recognized that in
order to attain results, a head to direct
and guide the efforts of the sportsmen
was necessary. After considerable agi-
tation, in 1895, by an Act of Legislature,
the Game Commission was created,
empowered to collect data and to recom-
mend legislation relating to the subject
of game and wild bird preservation, and
to enforce such laws as might be enacted.
The Commission was to consist of six
sportsmen, appointed by the Governor,
without regard to their political affilia-
tions, as it was intended to keep the
Game Commission a non-partisan body
and out of politics; the Commissioners
were to serve for love of the work and
without remuneration.
The cause was particularly fortunate
in the first Commission, as the men
appointed were enthusiasts on the
subject of wild game conservation;
besides, they had had considerable ex-
perience in protecting birds and animals
upon lands under their control. Soon
after taking office, the Commissioners
realized that in order to accomplish
results something more than good game
laws and their enforcement was neces-
sary, for while this might take care of
the game left in the State, no provision
was made for increasing the supply.
Having in mind the magnificent results
achieved by the Federal Government
through the establishment of National
Parks and Game Refuges in various
parts of the United States, and the
experiences of those in our State who
owned private game preserves, the Com-
missioners, some years later, hit upon
the idea of establishing in various parts
of the State, refuges or sanctuaries
into which game of all kinds and song
and insectivorous birds could retreat
and find safety when harassed by ene-
mies. It was thought that freedom from
disturbance, especially during the breed-
ing season, in an area where predatory
animals and birds could be extermi-
nated, and where a closed season would
be maintained perpetually, would result
in a marked increase in the birds and
animals in those sanctuaries.
A careful investigation of the subject
of game propagation satisfied the Com-
missioners that efforts to raise in cap-
tivity our native game birds, such as wild
turkey, ruffed grouse and quail had not
as yet met with material success. An-
other point that was seriously con-
sidered was that just as the introduction
of the English Sparrow and the German
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
29
Carp had resulted disastrously to the
Nation, so might the importation of
foreign game birds and animals result
in more injury than good to the State.
After considering all phases of the
question, the idea of a game farm was
abandoned, and the Commissioners
turned with renewed conviction to the
refuge or sanctuary idea, by which
our native game birds and game could
multiply without assistance from man,
other than the systematic extermination
of predatory forms and the absolute
protection afforded by a perpetual closed
season.
Happily for the purpose of the Com-
mission, the movement for the conserva-
tion of our forests and water-supply was
well under way. Our State Department
of Forestry had already acquired large
tracts of land, located almost without
exception in our mountain counties,
at the head-waters of streams, consti-
tuting a forest reserve area and rec-
reation ground for our people, which,
at the present time, aggregates over a
million acres distributed over almost half
of the 67 Counties of the State. The
area of these forest reserves vary, ranging
from 1176 acres in Wyoming County to
128,085 acres in Clinton County.
By an Act of Legislature of May 11,
1905, the Game Commission was au-
thorized, with the consent of the Com-
missioner of Forestry, to establish Game
Refuges or sanctuaries upon the State
forest lands. The Legislature of 1907
limited the area of these Preserves to 9
mi. in circumference, while those of
1911 and 1915 increased their size and
provided that the greatest transverse*,
dimension should not exceed 10 mi. nor
should the area of the preserve exceed
| of the total area of the tract of land
of the forestry reservation upon which
the preserve was located. In 1919, an
Act was passed, backed by the sports-
men, authorizing the Game Commission
to purchase with the surplus from the
Resident Hunters License Fund, lands
near our large centers of population,
where the Forestry Commission did not
already possess lands, for the purpose of
establishing game sanctuaries and hunt-
ing grounds, similar to those on State
lands. Also, an Act allowing the Game
Commission to provide auxiliary game
preserves of not less than 250 acres or
more than 4000 acres through the con-
sent of the owners or by lease. These
auxiliary preserves may consist of farm
lands.
These wild cut over and burnt over
lands, although, in the main, unsuit-
able for agriculture, are the natural
homes of the game it was desired to
attract and propagate and possess
the necessary summer and winter
feed, streams and cover for our birds,
bear, deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc.
Chestnuts, beech-nuts, acorns and many
other nuts, wild-grapes, haws and other
fruits, are abundant, together with an
almost endless variety of berries. So
long as the ground remained bare feed
would be plentiful, and with the coming
of the snows and ice many of the birds
could feed upon the buds of the beech,
birch and other trees, and, if necessary,
could be fed by the Preserve keepers.
Besides, some of the tracts possessed
waters upon which wild water-fowl
might find a resting place, at least in
their migratory flight.
Rather than establish a few Refuges
of large dimensions, it was deemed
advisable to create numerous small ones
of about 3000 acres each in extent, and
to locate them, as nearly as possible, in
the center of the forest reserves in
different counties. The purpose of so
locating the sanctuaries was to make
sure that the game propagated therein
would first spread to the State land
or land purchased with the sportsmen's
funds rather than to the property of any
individual or organization which might
be posted to prohibit hunting. In this
way, the game refuges would produce
an unending supply of game which would
naturally and inevitably spread to the
public forest lands from which no hunter
is barred.
It is thought wise to locate the ref-
uges in sections where the game had
formerly been plentiful but had been
30
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
practically exterminated, to gain by
such action the support and assistance
of the hunters in that region, rather
than to locate in territory containing
plenty of game, thereby incurring the
resentment of the hunters who would
feel that their best hunting grounds
has been taken away.
When the location of the Refuge has
been decided upon, the first thing nec-
essary is to exterminate the predatory
species, which destroy more game than
the hunters. The wildcat, weasel, fox,
skunk, mink, crow, hawk, owl, and the
prowling house-cat are, through the care-
ful use of strychnine, and by other
means, killed off. The next step is to
guard against the danger from fire, and
the brush is cleared from a strip of land
15 to 20 ft. wide around the outside of
the Preserve. In some instances, where
the danger from fire is pronounced, it is
also crossed with fire lines, thus creating
open roads where fires may be met and
extinguished.
Predatory animals having been ex-
terminated and provision made for
fighting forest fires, we next surround the
refuge with a single marking wire,
fastened to trees or posts, about waist
high on a man, the object being not to
enclose the game but to define the limits
of the refuge. This wire is usually
nine miles long and is placed inside the
fire lines surrounding the Refuge. At
frequent intervals, notices printed upon
muslin are tacked up along the line of
wire, fastened to trees or posts, calling
attention to the fact that the lands
inside the wire are a State refuge for
game, and asking for the cooperation
of all in seeing that the game is not
disturbed. The sanctity of these Pre-
serves, in almost 15 years, has only been
violated once, and then, it was claimed,
by mistake, showing that our sportsmen
appreciate their value.
The Refuge is now ready for the
game, and if it is not already, sufficiently
stocked, game of various kinds, such as
deer, elk, wild turkeys, fox squirrels,
etc., are purchased and placed in it. A
State Game Keeper is in charge of each
Refuge. His duties are to fight fires,
see that the Game is not molested, keep
the Refuge free from predatory ani-
mals, on which, as an incentive, he is
paid the regular bounties. In order to
supplement the natural feed in the
Refuges and attract and maintain wild
life, he is instructed to plant walnuts,
hickory nuts, mulberries, wild cherries,
mountain ash, apples, wild grapes and
other nut, fruit and berry producing
trees and shrubbery, buckwheat and
other grains. In addition to this, he
plants barberries, spruces, pines, etc.
for shelter and winter cover.
There are no fences around the Pre-
serves and, as stated above, the wire is
intended only as a marker, so that the
game is not confined in any way, but
can enter and leave the Refuge at will,
it being intended to reproduce as nearly
as possible the conditions under which
animals and birds thrive in a wild state.
Naturally, the herds and flocks inter-
mingle at pleasure and there is no in-
breeding with the consequent loss in
stamina that would occur in a fenced
enclosure.
Provided dogs and guns are left out-
side the wire, our Refuges are open to
the public except during the open season
for game when no person, save the officer
in charge, is allowed within the wire,
the purpose of this provision being to
prevent the driving of deer and other
game outside the Preserve onto the
Forest Reserve, where it may be killed
in the open season.
We now have 33 Game Refuges of
about 3000 acres each with a large area
^urrounding them upon which men may
hunt. Ten of these Refuges were pur-
chased by the sportsmen's funds. Owing
to the almost universal posting of farms
against hunting and the hunter being a
tenant-at-will on State lands, the for-
ward-looking sportsmen of Pennsylvania
are now asking for an increase in the
Resident Hunters License Fee. This
increase to be used exclusively for
purchase of Game Refuges and Pub-
lic Shooting Grounds, preferably in
10,000 acre tracts, scattered throughout
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
31
the State, and to be under the absolute
control of the Game Commission, for
the purpose of propagating wild life and
bringing back our forests and waters.
The results attained have been so
evident and so uniformly successful
in all our Refuges as to demonstrate
beyond any question the value of this
idea. Our Preserves are no longer an
experiment. The steady increase in the
supply of game in them, on the large
public hunting-grounds surrounding
them, and in their neighborhood, has
been remarkable. The large northern
deer imported from other States and
placed in these Refuges have thrived
and multiplied so that localities in which
they were formerly plentiful but had
been exterminated are again populated
with these beautiful and useful creatures
of the woods.
Many stories are told regarding the
instinct or sagacity of the deer, espe-
cially old bucks, in eluding their pur-
suers by seeking safety in these refugees.
The grouse and turkeys are quick to
take advantage of these sanctuaries,
especially the former.
To our minds, this system of game
propagation in its habitat and environ-
ment under absolutely natural condi-
tions with protection from hunters and
predatory animals, is infinitely superior
to any plan which involves the breeding
of game in confinement. In fact, the
Pennsylvania Game Commission con-
siders it a patriotic duty to bend all its
energies and apply all its resources to the
conservation and perpetuation of our
native and useful wild life rather than
to import from foreign countries at
great expense birds and animals of
doubtful values.
Through the adoption of Pennsyl-
vania's constructive Game Refuge
policy, the million acres of State Forest
Reserve, on which a few years ago wild
life was almost extinct, are being gradu-
ally made into the greatest hunting
and recreation grounds ever contem-
plated for the benefit of the people of
any State.
7. THE RELATION OF OUR SHRUBS
AND TREES TO OUR WILD
BIRDS 1
BY F. SMITH
Anyone who pays even slight attention
to the citizens of our bird world knows
that they show preferences for certain
kinds of surroundings. For some kinds
of birds one must go to the open fields;
for others, to the woodlands; while
many shore and water birds must be
sought along the water courses and in the
swamps. A somewhat further acquain-
tance leads to the knowledge that birds
of a given species may frequent very
different kinds of situations for feeding,
for nesting, and for refuge. Some spe-
cies, as the robins and grackles which
feed in the open fields, seek refuge and
nesting sites in the woodlands and in
shade trees. Still others, which may
feed and nest on the ground in open
fields, do not get very far from some
protecting shrubbery or hedge to which
they fly when disturbed.
Although certain kinds of birds are
ready to adapt themselves to quite
extensive changes in their surroundings,
others will simply disappear when such
changes occur. The cutting away of
the forests of several northern states is
known to have been followed by a
decrease of some of the forest-loving
species and an increase of those that
prefer the open fields or the shrubby
areas incident to new clearings. Re-
ports on the birds of several different
states are confirmatory of this statement.
When one learns the habits of all the
birds which are to be found during the
year in any one of our ordinary Illinois
localities and then makes a list of those
which are not dependent in any way on
trees or shrubs for food, nesting sites,
1 From "Arbor and Bird Days," Illinois Cir.
No. 83, Springfield, 1915.
W. L. McAtee states that there exists in most parts
of the United States either a superstition, a con-
viction, or a legal requirement that roadsides be
shorn of their vegetation at least once a year. So
far as the effect upon birds is concerned, there can
be no doubt that suppression of roadside vegeta-
tion is a potent factor in restricting their numbers.
"Attracting Birds to Public and Semi-public Reser-
vations," U. S. D. A. Bull. 715.
32
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
or refuge, the list is found to be rela-
tively short, especially if the locality is
distant from a river or lake. From
several locality lists available to the
writer, each including from 85 to 170
species, it is evident that about 75 per
cent of the species listed are in one way
or another dependent on trees or shrubs.
Since, of course, the same ratio may not
hold for the number of individual birds
found, it is desirable to ascertain, if
possible, what share of the bird popula-
tion of an average Illinois locality is
independent in every way of trees and
shrubs. Fortunately a pretty close ap-
proximation to such knowledge is ob-
tainable from the very extensive and
useful data accumulated by Prof. S. A.
Forbes from the work of expert ornitho-
logical assistants in 1906, 1907 and 1909.
Two such observers, traveling in
straight lines and always 30 yards
apart, recorded all the birds flushed on
a strip of land 50 yards wide and those
that crossed the strip within 100 yards
ahead. They recorded also the char-
acter of the fields traversed and the
distances in each. Heavy timber in
which there was little chance of a com-
plete count was disregarded/and the
record was, of course, deficient for water
birds. This work was carried on during
all seasons of the year and was nearly
equally distributed between the north-
ern, central and southern parts of the
state. The results show the numbers
and kinds of birds in samples of the
various sorts of environment in the
state, equivalent to a strip of land fifty
yards wide and over two thousand miles
long. Among these results we have
record of 48,558 birds from 39,940 acres.
There were 9199 English sparrows and
546 birds were not positively identified.
Deducting these latter two classes, we
have record of the identity of 38,813 wild
birds as distributed over farm lands,
orchards, and shrubby areas and open
woodlands. One hundred and seventy
species were represented, 44 of which
may be regarded as independent of
trees and shrubs able, apparently, to
get along perfectly well without them.
Of these latter 24 species are birds of the
open field and the others are shore birds
or water birds. Of the remaining 126
species many will eventually disappear
altogether, and the others will be rep-
resented in reduced numbers in locali-
ties where trees and shrubs are de-
stroyed. About 69 per cent of the
individual wild birds recorded by the
foregoing observers belong to this group.
These ratios correspond very closely
with those from other available records
based on more limited data. Fully two-
thirds of the wild birds of ordinary
Illinois localities are in some way de-
pendent on trees and shrubbery. The
reasons for this dependence differ
greatly for various species. Many, in-
cluding some of the woodpeckers, are
wholly dependent on trees for food,
nesting sites and places of refuge. In
most cases the insects associated with
the trees supply the food, although to
some extent the seeds, buds and even
the cambium layer (in case of trees
visited by the yellow-bellied sapsucker)
may be eaten. Numerous other species,
while getting their food from the ground
or from the flying insects of the air,
depend on trees or shrubbery for nesting
sites or refuge or for lookout stations.
Here, again, there is great diversity,
since some kinds frequent mostly the
upper parts of the trees, others prefer
the lower parts, while still others are
limited to those woods in which the
ground is more or less covered with a
thick undergrowth. Comparatively few
species prefer the interior of the heavy
forest, but many more frequent the
forest margins or open woodlands, es-
pecially those with thickets. Shrubby
fields and hedges are preferred by a
number of species.
A large majority of the birds that pass
the winter with us and of those that
come from the south in the early part
of the spring migration are of the
thicket-and shrubbery-loving kinds. To
find them we must seek them in the
environment they prefer along hedges,
in neglected berry patches, in shrubby
pastures, or in woods with plenty of
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
33
under growth. When such places are
all "cleaned up" the majority of the
winter birds and early spring migrants
disappear.
8. GRAZING IN THE NATIONAL
FORESTS
BY O. F. KOKSTIAN
The policy which governs the adminis-
tration of the National Forests includes
not only the insurance of a perpetual
supply of timber and the preservation
of a forest cover to regulate the flow
of streams, but also the development
of the other resources contained in the
Forests for the greatest permanent good
to the general public. Of all these the
production and harvesting .of the timber
crop is the most important primary
purpose denned by Congress. The for-
age resource, however, is of such im-
portance in many parts of the West that
its development through regulated graz-
ing is one of the necessary functions of
administration of the National Forests.
Its extent is determined by the other
objects of administration. The general
policy therefore involves the develop-
ment of the grazing resource to the
extent compatible with that of the other
National Forest resources and with a
view to maximum production of meat
and other animal products and maximum
stabilization of the livestock industry.
The grazing of livestock obviously
cannot be practiced without some modi-
fication of natural conditions. It may
either retard or promote the develop-
ment of the vegetative cover and cause
either retrogression or progression, but
in any case it tends to modify the types,
depending chiefly upon the closeness
with which the herbage is kept grazed
annually and upon the time of grazing.
In some instances unregulated grazing
has seriously interfered with the regener-
ation of the forests by consuming tree
reproduction along with the shrubby and
associated species. Continued grazing
of the range too early in the season or to
too great an extent not only favors
degeneration of the cover and ultimately
the destruction of the vegetation, but
also tends to impair the fertility of the
soil by favoring erosion. These extreme
adverse modifications of natural con-
ditions, however, are the results of the
abuse of the range.
Under scientific range management
these abuses will be practically elimi-
nated through the proper regulation of
grazing. The writer has reviewed else-
where 1 in some detail the consensus of
opinion of range management specialists
on the trend of grazing practice on the
National Forests in relation to the
preservation of natural conditions. The
composition of the herbaceous plant
associations will not, of course, be quite
the same as though no grazing had
occurred. The effects of grazing upon
plant succession depend not only on the
character and intensity of grazing, but
also upon the type of vegetation. Pro-
gressive succession is favored by the
system known as "deferred-and-rota-
tion" grazing; that is, the grazing of
parts of the depleted range only after
the maturity of the better forage and
the eventual extension of this practice
in rotation to all parts of the range.
This system is practiced in order to
maintain the ranges at their highest
producing capacity, as well as to revege-
tate the depleted ranges, since ordinar-
ily by its use more ready establishment
of valuable vegetation is secured than
by total protection from grazing. The
regulated grazing policy of the Forest
Service is to keep the areas in the climax
type of vegetation from the standpoint
of maximum meat production consistent
with the protection of watersheds and
timber reproduction. This may mean
occasionally a sub-climax ecological
stage of the shrubby and herbaceous
vegetation. Usually in the West, how-
ever, it will mean a climax ecological
stage of the shrubby and herbaceous
vegetation. This should offer little or
no hindrance to the development of the
1 Korstian, C. F. "Grazing practice on the
National Forests and its effect on natural condi-
tions." Scientific Monthly, 13: 275-281. 1921.
34
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
climax forest type or association since,
when necessary, cut-over forest areas
are closed to grazing during the regener-
ation period. Further, grazing has in
many cases aided regeneration of the
forest by improving the seed bed,
trampling the seed into the soil, and
lessening the competition through crop-
ping of associated species. The aid to
more rapid revegetation by properly
regulated grazing has assisted in les-
sening erosion and in improving water-
shed protection.
Regulated grazing in the National
Forests is further supported by the
strong argument that it is beneficial in
the control of forest fires. The value
of grazing as a means of fire protection
is realized in the utilization of the annual
growth of grass which, if not so disposed
of, becomes dry and inflammable and a
serious fire hazard. The extensive work
in forest fire prevention and suppression
on the National Forests is a very im-
portant factor in promoting and main-
taining climax types of forest vegetation.
In rendering the secondary uses com-
patible with the primary uses of the
National Forests, and in harmonizing
the secondary uses, it frequently be-
comes necessary to close areas to graz-
ing as, for example, watersheds which
comprise important sources of munic-
ipal water supply; recreational areas
and those of unusual scenic attractive-
ness, such as the National Monuments;
areas on which the forage on the range
is needed for important game animals;
and some forest areas in the course of
regeneration. Many of the areas shown
on the map of the National Forests
(figs. 1 and 2) are in a semi-natural condi-
tion and fall within this category.
9. FIRES IN RELATION TO THE
BIOTA
BY R. H. WOLCOTT
For a long time previous to the de-
velopment of ecology as a science fires
have been recognized as an important
ecological factor. Many scattered ref-
erences to their effects upon animal
and plant life are found in all kinds of
literature, but few of these are based
upon exact data or represent the results
of continued observations.
A very full discussion of forest fires
as to their kind, occurrence, causes,
and methods of prevention will be
found in Chapter VII of Graves' Prin-
ciples of Handling Woodlands or in Chap-
ter XV of R. C. Hawley's The Practice
of Silviculture. At the end of these
chapters there is given a very excellent
bibliography on forest fires so that an
enumeration of these points seems out
of place here.
The damage caused by forest fires on
this continent is enormous. Plummer 1
makes the statement that
Forest fires in the United States have
caused an annual loss of about seventy
human lives, the destruction of trees
worth at the very least $25,000,000 and
the loss of stock, crops, buildings and
other improvements to the amount of
many millions more. To these must be
added enormous losses from the destruc-
tion of young tree growth, deterioration
of the soil, damage to water courses and
adjacent property by low water and
flood, interruption of business and de-
preciation of property.
When to the loss by forest fires is
added the loss from prairie and other
fires it is seen that the total loss to this
continent from fires up to the present
time amounts to several billions of
dollars.
As to the injuries due to fires, we may
mention first, the destruction of the
plants themselves with whatever loss
that entails; second, the destruction of
the humus in the soil with the resulting
loss of fertility; third, the destruction
of lumber or other valuable products;
and fourth, the accumulation of dry
material which may serve to feed suc-
ceeding fires. In many of the forested
parts of the country the debris which
has accumulated from one fire after
another has resulted in the periodical
burning over of areas for long periods of
time.
1 Plummer, Fred G. Forest Fires, Bull. 117,
U. S. Forest Service, Washington, 1912.
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
35
There are certain benefits which may
be attributed to fires including: first,
favorable effects upon certain plants
which find a greater abundance of
nutrients in burned over tracts, such as
blueberries and huckleberries; second,
the improvement of forage by the re-
moval of the stiff stems of the previous
year's growth, permitting grazing ani-
mals to get at the young and succulent
herbage; and third, improvement of
reproduction by burning off grass or
heavy leaf litter, thus giving a better
chance for the germination of tree seeds.
Even "light burning" which has been
advocated by some in order to keep the
forest floor clean of litter, as a safeguard
against more serious fires, upon investi-
gation has been shown to bring about
injury due to removal of nitrogen from
the soil, change in soil texture, in-
creased evaporation, and the scarring
of trees, which paves the way for the
attacks of fungi and wood-boring in-
sects. It is decidedly a question if
fires can serve any useful purpose in
forestry, while on the other hand they
constitute an ever-present menace.
The relation of fires to plant succession
is obvious, but varies according to many
conditions. If the fire has been such
that the destruction of the vegetative
cover is complete there may occur
stages in its replacement corresponding
to a complete succession beginning with
the pioneer plants, but these are much
condensed if the soil is not destroyed.
This is most often observed after a gen-
eral and a very destructive forest fire.
In the destruction of bogs the soil may
be largely consumed.
Invasion from the adjacent areas may
occur and if the vegetation of these is
similar to that destroyed the result may
be the reestablishment of the former
conditions in a relatively short time. But
actually it must be understood that
any replacement takes many years. If
the destruction is not complete and roots
and seeds remain from which to develop
a new growth, the invaders from sur-
rounding areas may take possession at
first, but these are gradually replaced
by the species which were destroyed
until finally the vegetation assumes the
character which it possessed before the
fire. In the case of forests, these in-
vaders serve to protect the more tender
forest vegetation until it has become
established, when they are replaced
by it.
If the fire affects only the secondary
species such as herbs and shrubs in a
forest in any plant formation then the
succession operates only within those
forms, and as a result the stages are
short and not well defined.
It is possible for the fire to do so little
damage, especially in grassland, as to
destroy none of the members of the
formation and give rise to no succession.
It has been remarked by others that
succession after fires usually operates
within water-content groups, due to
the fact that the alterations of the soil
are slight, except on slopes where the
burning of the vegetation allows erosion
to occur. Grasslands are replaced in
most cases by grasslands and forest
usually by forest.
The immediate effect of fires upon
animal life, as well as upon plant life,
is always destructive. Only those forms
escape that are of large size and have
effective means of rapid locomotion.
Before the advancing flames is driven a
horde of larger animals which under the
influence of terror lose all fear of man
and even invade towns and cities, while
the smaller and weaker forms perish if
exposed to the fire. Aquatic animals
are not exempt from destruction for it
is stated that in the great Miramichi
fire in New Brunswick in 1825 fish in the
streams were killed in such numbers as
to be afterward found in heaps on the
river banks.
The completeness of this destruction
of animal life varies with the character
of the fire. Since fires usually occur
when the soil is dry, earthworms and
moisture-loving forms will have re-
treated below the level affected or will
have resorted to wet places where the
fire is less severe. The numerous forms,
especially insects, which live in the sur-
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
face stratum will be affected in propor-
tion as this stratum is involved, while
those that hide beneath the trash which
litters the ground are almost sure to be
destroyed. In less severe fires, how-
ever, many species and numerous in-
dividuals escape by being hidden within
and beneath fallen logs, where neither
the flames, the heat, nor the poisonous
gases generated in the fire reaches them.
In the case of surface fires these three
agencies (heat, etc.) destroy many forms
in the forest canopy above but also
spare many, especially if these are pro-
tected by being in the crevices of the
bark, beneath it, or in cavities within
the trees.
Fires also affect animal life by remov-
ing the cover behind which they find
concealment, by destroying their nests
and young, or the animals themselves
in early stages of development, and by
eliminating their food supply. At the
same time a limited number of forms
that live upon dead organic matter may
find their opportunity in the half-
destroyed remains of animals killed by
the fire.
Succession operates among animals,
as among plants, and corresponding
invasion occurs. The succession is very
short in the case of grassland, where the
original conditions are more speedily
restored, but in the case of woodland
the succession is more extended and
occurs by several stages. First, in
forest regions, animals of open ground
may invade the burned area, later those
resorting to thickets find congenial sur-
roundings, and last the forest forms
themselves return. Here again, how-
ever, certain of the original species may
have disappeared never to return. For
a short time after a forest fire a fauna
flourishes, the existence of which is due
to the presence of dead standing timber.
This includes wood-boring insects and
the predaceous forms which prey upon
them. Woodpeckers find now both food
and nesting places in the dead trees,
while raptorial birds find the devastated
area a favorable hunting ground.
Not only is animal succession after a
fire dependent upon plant succession,
but in certain respects the latter is
affected by the former. For instance
forest-dwelling mammals such as squir-
rels, and also certain woodland birds,
which feed upon the seeds of coniferous
trees, being excluded, the cones within
the area which have escaped destruction
may open and reproduction begin by
means of the seeds which they have
enclosed and protected, whereas in the
undisturbed forest these would have
been found opened, and the seeds eaten
by the animals. In other cases seeds
buried by rodents are the only ones
left.
To one interested in the conservation
of wild life, forest and prairie fires are
sources of profound regret, not alone
because of the destruction of life, but
also because of the fact that the areas
burned over are rendered incapable for
some time of supporting an abundant
and varied fauna and flora. To the
ecologist fires mean the destruction of
the evidence upon which may be based
conclusions as to the history of the past
succession of both plant and animal
life, and the creation of new conditions,
which, though they present many in-
teresting problems, do not yield data of
general or fundamental value in the
determination of the principles of
ecology.
Fires due to natural causes are un-
avoidable and unpreventable but these
may be limited by constant watchfulness
especially on the part of fire wardens.
Those which are incendiary can only be
reduced in number by the faithful co-
operation of all the members of a com-
munity in the detection and bringing
to punishment of the persons responsible
for them. Those due to carelessness,
which constitute by far the largest
number, can be avoided in the degree
to which the public generally is aroused
to a realization of the damage resulting
from fires and educated to the need of
legislation and of care on the part of
every individual.
It is absolutely essential, if bird and
game refuges and all tracts set aside for
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
37
wild life conservation or for ecological
study are to fulfil the aims of those who
have established them, that fires be
entirely prevented. Aside from the ac-
tual loss of game animals which attends
a fire of any extent, if even a small fire
occur during the breeding season, there
is the destruction of nesting birds,
their eggs and young, the removal of
the grassy or shrubby "cover" upon
which they depend for concealment, and
the elimination of the carpet of decaying
leaves and rotting fallen logs which
create conditions favorable for the
development of a myriad of insects and
lower forms upon which birds and other
higher animals depend more or less
directly for food. Those who resort to
these preserves to satisfy their love of
nature or for scientific investigation
neither need nor desire the construction
of roads, paths, and clearings within the
tract, and such areas should be free from
the intrusions of all others and carefully
safeguarded from the danger of fires.
For the pleasure-loving public gener-
ally which desires opportunity for field
sports and games, picnicking, etc.,
numerous and well distributed parks
should be provided. The National Gov-
ernment is doing a service of inestimable
value to our citizens and of far greater
significance to future generations in the
establishment of large national parks so
situated as to include and preserve areas
of great scenic interest. The states
should supplement this effort by the
establishment of state parks so disposed
as to be accessible to the greatest num-
ber of people. Cities have long since
come to appreciate the economic and
social value of parks and every pro-
gressive community has a system of
public parks with carefully devised plans
for future expansion. Interest in birds,
wild flowers, and all wild life is aroused
and rapidly increasing and all such
parks, whether national, state, county
or municipal should offer opportunities
for the exercise of that interest. All
parks should, therefore, contain a cer-
tain proportion of wild land, which may
well include hill slopes, ravines, creek
valleys, and other tracts difficult to
cultivate. This part should be left in
a strictly natural state, with the native
vegetation, shrubbery, fallen leaves, rot-
ting logs, etc. , undisturbed. With proper
care in landscaping, such areas could be
made very attractive, and would fur-
nish a refuge and breeding place for
birds which are most valuable in the
destruction of tree pests. The more
open portions of parks should never be
burned over and the greatest care should
be taken that fires made for the burning
of refuse or by picnickers be kept at a
safe distance from growing forests.
Liberal posting of notices and constant
watchfulness on the part of attendants
in local parks and by fire wardens in the
state and national parks will be neces-
sary to reduce the number of fires to
the minimum. -.
Earnest and continued efforts should
be made by all persons and associations
interested to educate the public gener-
ally, and especially campers and hunters,
in regard to the destructive results of
fires and the necessity of always ex-
tinguishing camp fires before leaving
them. The Boy Scout organizations can
do effective work here. In any region,
where there are extensive areas of public
lands or lands in a wild state, wise and
effective legislation is necessary, in-
cluding the enactment of proper regula-
tions, the posting of notices and the
development of an efficient fire warden
service.
All citizens should be urged to limit
the burning over of land and to dis-
courage unnecessary burning off of road-
sides, waste areas, groves, and wood-
lands, because of the injury done to
bird life and the damage to the soil
due to the destruction of humus and
consequent exposure to drying. It is
sometimes necessary to burn over grass-
land to destroy pests but in very many
cases at least the result may be more
perfectly attained by ploughing. From
the standpoint of the farmer it would
be well if every bit of the land not
under cultivation were occupied by
grassland, shrubbery, or woodland.
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
While the burning over of land may be
the only practical method of cleaning
it under some circumstances, it should
be recognized that this involves a re-
duction in the future fertility of the
soil and is a method to be avoided so
far as possible. Unless scattering of
brush is necessary to prevent drying
out of the soil or to favor reproduction
it should be collected in piles and burned
in the late fall or winter. Railroads in
timbered country, operators of portable
saw mills and men using power logging
should be induced to adopt such safe-
guards as would prevent the occurrence
of fires or restrict the damage caused by
those which may occur from their
negligence. If necessary the aid of the
law should be invoked to these ends.
In conclusion, attention should be
called to the desirability of careful in-
vestigations on the precise changes in
the ecological conditions due to fires in
various types of habitat; to the need of
exact quantitative as well as qualitative
studies on succession in such habitats;
and especially to the almost untouched
field afforded by studies upon the fauna
in these tracts. Every student of
ecology who has available for study a
burned over area has in it an opportunity
which should not be neglected.
10. THE EFFECT OF POLLUTION ON
ANIMAL LIFE*
BY FRANK COLLINS BAKER
Stream pollution may be broadly
divided into two main divisions: con-
tamination by organic sewage from
cities and towns and by chemical wastes
from factories and mines. Both are
inimical to life but the latter is espe-
cially fatal to animal life, causing wide
stretches of otherwise fertile streams
to become veritable deserts. Organic
sewage, in a crude or highly concen-
trated form, is also very injurious,
effectually eliminating most forms of
life from the polluted body of water.
1 The greater part of this topic is condensed from
a paper read before the Illinois State Academy of
Science, and published in Vol. XIII, of the T.rans-
actions of that Society, pp. 271-279, 1920.
The importance and seriousness of
the problem of stream pollution in its
effect on the life of the rivers and
streams into which the contaminating
material is discharged has not, until
very recently, been given the attention
the subject demands. The diminishing
fish supply, and in many places the
very objectionable physical character
of the polluted waters, have caused the
authorities of several states to pass
laws governing the discharge of these
wastes into streams and the establish-
ment of penalties for disregarding these
laws. New York and Massachusetts
have led in the framing of these laws
and other states are following the good
example set by these two older com-
monwealths, where the conditions seem
to have reached a maximum of harm-
fulness (see Ward, 1918, 1919).
During recent years stream pollution
has enormously increased and the prob-
lems arising from this condition have
been investigated by many biologists
and sanitary engineers. The former
have studied the problem from the
viewpoint of its effect on the useful
animal life, especially fishes and river
mussels, and this phase probably bears
as close a relation to human welfare as
any other. Of course, from the stand-
point of health, the polution problem
is of paramount importance because of
its bearing on such diseases as typhoid
fever which may be caused by a pol-
luted water supply.
Perhaps the worst effect of chemical
pollution is to be found in the streams
of western Pennsylvania, where mine
water heavily loaded with oil or acid
water from coal mines is permitted to
flow into the rivers and streams of this
part of the state. Studies by Ortmann
(1909) show that whole stretches of
the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela
rivers have been made into deserts,
as far as the animal life is concerned, by
the large amount of poisonous sub-
stances discharged into these streams
by the mines, oil industries, and chemi-
cal and other factories that border
these rivers. In the Susquehanna
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
River the same condition prevails in
many places (Leighton, 1904). Such
pollution causes a complete extermina-
tion of the fauna (and largely of the
chlorophyl-bearing flora) and leaves
the stream in such condition that re-
stocking by either natural or artificial
means is practically impossible, and
if attempted is a waste of money.
Pollution by sewage, when the pol-
luting material is of small percentage
as compared with the pure water of
the stream (as 200 to 1), causes little
inconvenience to the animal life and
is doubtless of some benefit because of
the additional food material that is
added (Forbes and Richardson, 1919,
p. 146). But the streams seldom remain
long in this innoxious condition, the
sewage becoming more and more concen-
trated and- less diluted until the whole
stream may be supersaturated with
noxious substances, the amount of
oxygen in saturation reduced, and
the biota finally driven out or killed.
Pollution is worst and usually most
deadly to animal life during periods of
low .water and in winter when the
amount of water in the stream is small
and the decomposing organic material
has less water to deprive of its dis-
solved oxygen. During times of floods
the putrescent material is also carried
down stream for many miles and con-
taminates areas not previously af-
fected.
While all clean-water forms of ani-
mal life are more or less affected by
sewage pollution, the decomposition of
the organic matter abstracting dissolved
oxygen from the water and rendering
it unsuitable for aquatic life, the fish,
river mussels, and crayfish are partic-
ularly affected, most fish being es-
pecially sensitive to contaminated water.
Some fish (as the brook silversides,
Labidesthes sicculus] are notably sensi-
tive, while others (as the black bull-
head, Ameiurus melas) will endure
water that is badly polluted (Shelford,
1918, p. 27; Wells, 1918, pp. 562-567).
Young fish are relatively more sensitive
than adult fish. It is noteworthy that
the more resistant species of fish are
inhabitants of sluggish bodies of water,
as ponds and shallow lakes, while the
least resistant species live in running
streams. It seems to be a question
of the amount of oxygen necessary for
the well being of the fish.
The ill effect of sewage pollution is
most marked on the bottom of bodies
of water, where a sludge is formed,
often of great thickness (as much as
10 ft. in several cases), consisting of
a mass of soft, black, sediment, with
a high content of organic matter, in
which only a few organisms, normally
inhabitants of polluted streams, can
live (e.g., septic Protozoa and Rotifera,
foul-water algae, and slime-worms,
Tubificidae). This effect on the bot-
tom is perhaps the most serious phase
of stream pollution because the septic
condition of this area continues in
operation long after the original source
of contamination ceases to operate.
This sludge formation renders the
bottom unfit for clean-water life upon
which many fish depend for food. The
time necessary for the recovery of the
normal biota of such a stream will in
most cases be of long duration, and in
the case of a stream polluted with
wastes from mines and chemical manu-
facturies, there may never be a return
to the original condition.
In the case of the Genesee River at
Rochester, N. Y., we have a striking
example of the history of a polluted
stream and its effect on one group of
the animal life. Previous to the stage
of great pollution there is a varied
fauna of mollusks very numerous in
individuals. In the course of 11
years the gill-bearing species are forced
out and after a lapse of 14 years
all molluscan life ceases to live in this
part of the river. Seven years later
the greater amount of sewage is diverted
to another outlet. Two years after
this change we find that the mollusks
have returned in as great numbers as
before the maximum stage of pollution.
The significance of all this lies in the
fact of the early return of this life, and
40
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
strikingly indicates that streams may
become restocked with life in a short
period after pollution has ceased to be
of an unfavorable character. At the
present time the sturgeon, which for-
merly resorted to the river to feed and
breed, and had been driven out by the
polluted condition of the stream, has
returned, which is another indication
of improved conditions. It is quite
probable that the large fall in the river,
some 60 feet in height, has had a marked
effect in the return of these favorable
conditions.
A study of the Salt Fork of the Big
Vermilion River, indicates that all
clean water life, including mussels and
crayfishes, has been excluded from this
stream for a distance of fourteen miles,
and a normal fauna of these animals is
not encountered until a distance of
twenty miles has been traversed. The
shallowness of this stream has evidently
provided a sufficient supply of dissolved
oxygen and it is apparent that in a
deeper stream the ill effects of sewage
pollution would be experienced for a
much greater distance.
Ecological reports from different
states show that wherever towns, cities,
mines, or manufacturing plants are
located near a stream, that body of
water sooner or later becomes polluted.
Little definite work has been done to
bring together all of the data concerning
river and stream pollution. That which
is available indicates a truly alarming
condition of affairs.
In South Carolina the fertilizer fac-
tories discharge wastes of many kinds,
including sulphuric acid, into the
streams, and oil-burning steamers per-
mit oil to run into the water of harbors
and bays. The State is taking action
against this practise.
In Idaho and Montana mine water
pollutes some of the streams. In West
Virginia, as in Pennsylvania, the lower
parts of the streams are polluted by
refuse from coal mines, pulp and paper
mills, chemical plants, and sewage
from cities and towns. In Ohio, large
streams are polluted by sewage and
mine wastes. Iowa and Missouri
streams are reported as badly polluted.
In Arkansas, in the Poteau River, fish
are being killed by mine wastes charged
with iron salts, whose rapid oxidation
suffocates the fish. In Minnesota, the
large streams are polluted by sewage
from the large cities. In Wisconsin,
sewage is polluting Lake Winnebago
from which the water supply of Osh-
kosh is derived. Manufacturing wastes
.from match factories and paper mills
also pollute the waters of the Fox River.
These examples might be indefinitely
extended. The survey of present con-
ditions indicates that wherever stream
pollution occurs the clean-water ani-
mals are sooner or later driven out or
killed. Such a condition seriously af-
fects our food and game fishes, which
form so large a part of the meat of our
population, and the situation demands
immediate attention and early remedy.
It is a matter of great satisfaction to
scientific men that the authorities are
awakened to the seriousness of such
conditions and that in many cases they
are providing remedial measures.
LIST OF REFERENCES IN THE TEXT
Baker, Frank Collins
1920. Animal Life and Sewage in the
Genessee River, New York.
American Naturalist, LIV, pp.
152-161.
1922. The Molluscan Fauna of the Big
Vermilion River, Illinois.
With Special Reference to its
Modification as the Result of
Pollution 1 by Sewage and
Manufacturing Wastes. Illi-
nois Biological Monographs.
VII, pp. 1-126, 6 pi.
Forbes, S. A., and Richardson, R. A.
1913. Studies on the Biology of the
Upper Illinois River. Bull.
III. State Lab. Nat. Hist.,
IX, pp. 481-574.
1919. Some recent changes in Illinois
River Biology. Bull. Ill Nat.
Hist. Survey, XIII, pp. 137-156.
Leighton, Marshall O.
1904. Quality of Water in the Susque-
hanna River Drainage Basin.
Water Supply and Irrigation
Paper, No. 108, U. S. Geol.
Surv., pp. 1-76.
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
41
Ortmann, Arnold E.
1909. The Destruction of the Fresh-
water Fauna in Western Penn-
sylvania. Proc. Amer. Phil,
Soc., XLVIII, pp. 90-110.
Shelford, Victor E.
1918. Ways and Means of Measuring
the Dangers of Pollution to
Fisheries. Bull III. Nat.
Hist. Surv., XIII, pp. 23-42.
Ward, Henry B.
1918. The Elimination of Stream Pol-
lution in New York State.
Trans. Amer. Fisheries Soc..
XLVIII, pp. 1-25.
1919. Stream Pollution in New York
State. A Preliminary In-
vestigation of the Problem
from the Standpoint of a
Biologist. Report to N. Y.
Conservation Commission, pp.
1-79.
Whipple, George C.
1913. Report on the Sewage Disposal
System of Rochester, N. Y.
By Edwin A. Fisher, City
Engineer, pp. 179-200.
Wilson, Charles B., and Clark H. Walton,
1912. The Mussel Fauna of the Mau-
mee River. Bureau of Fisher-
ies. Document No. 757.
1912. The Mussel Fauna of the Kan-
kakee River. Bureau of Fish-
eries, Document No. 758.
D. INTERESTS AND MANAGEMENT
1. UNION OF INTERESTS AND
MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL
AREAS
BY V. E. SHELFORD
With the growth of population, the
destruction of forest and other original
types of vegetation, and the modifica-
tion of streams and lakes progresses
rapidly. We have no royalty or nobil-
ity whose hunting and fishing pre-
serves are being withheld from exploita-
tion. Many more reserves are needed,
but each year it becomes more difficult
to secure them. Such reserves as are
already created are continuously threat-
ened with partial exploitation.
Probably the only effective way to
retain all the features of existing re-
serves and secure an adequate number
of new ones is to create and maintain
a public interest in each reserve as well
as in reserves in general. The public's
knowledge of the uses of preserves is
scanty. The interests which may com-
bine in one reserve have been too little
emphasized and may be classified as
follows :
A. INTERESTS IN PRIMEVAL AREAS
7. Scientific interests
1. Biology. There is a growing
tendency to make use of reserves of
original character as a check on various
laboratory operations, and in the study
of ecology, as well as in the older taxo-
nomic and natural history work.
2. Forestry. Natural areas will be
valuable to foresters as object lessons,
for comparison and standardization of
forestry practice. They will serve as
a standard of accomplishment of Nature
alone and as a guide by which the cor-
rectness of the foresters' efforts to
improve on Nature may be gauged.
Permanent sample plots, corresponding
to the "quadrats" of the ecologist, are
left in their original conditions for
comparison with adjacent plots vari-
ously treated, so that changes in the
composition, growth, and history of
natural forest stands, as compared
with modified stands, may be noted.
On some of the National Forests a
number of permanent plots are also
maintained for the study of herbaceous
vegetation and principles of range
management in order to compare con-
ditions on grazed and ungrazed areas.
3. Geography. Geographers require
a knowledge of original vegetation
and animals to interpret existing cul-
tures, to generalize on various climatic
and economic questions.
4. History. Historians require in-
formation similar to that sought by
the geographer, in the interpretation
of historical facts, and especially in
interpreting the events of pioneer
days.
II. Literary and artistic interest
1. Many pieces of literature cannot
be interpreted without a knowledge of
the original vegetation. Bryant's poem
"The Prairies" is an example. Not a
few teachers of literature make use of
preserves.
2. Many artists who are students of
nature use natural subjects.
777. Recreational interests
I. Sportsmen desire to increase the
amount of game and in many states
certain areas are set aside as game
sanctuaries. In Pennsylvania a game
sanctuary has a single wire stretched
around it and is kept carefully guarded
by wardens. No hunting is allowed
inside the wire. The game is allowed
42
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
43
to reproduce unmolested and overflows
into the surrounding territory where
hunting is permitted. The game in
the area is not likely to become very
much more numerous under such condi-
tions than it was originally with its
natural enemies, such as wolves, etc.,
roaming about. Thus perhaps within
the sanctuary the conditions of balance
of animal life is as nearly like the
original one as could be hoped.
2. Ornithologists are interested in
areas which afford protected nesting
places for birds.
3. Wild flower lovers desire to see
the flowers preserved and accordingly
are interested in natural areas, which
may act as seeding centers.
B. INTERESTS IN MODIFIED AREAS
("SECOND GROWTH" OF
ALL KINDS)
1. Camping and related recreation.
2. Hunting.
3. Forestry operations leading to
the production of lumber and other
forest products.
4. Bird and game refuges.
5. Scientific study of succession of
organisms with the development of a
new biota (e.g., natural reforestation).
C. ECONOMIC INTERESTS
There are often watersheds which
supply water to cities and water for
irrigation purposes which will always
be maintained and are available for
scientific study, sample plots, bird
preserves and perhaps game sanctuaries.
Forestry practice retains some of the
natural features. It is often possible
for several interested groups to combine
and make a strong plea for the setting
aside of areas bounded by natural
topographic features as preserves of
natural conditions to serve all the eight
or more purposes enumerated. The
diversity of interest is an asset which
makes the creation of preserves a far
less hopeless task than many of those
interested think.
/. Management of preserves
1. Subdivision. Areas should be sub-
divided into (a) public park, always
open to the public but kept as nearly
natural as possible, (6) tree growing
areas which if large enough may serve
for hunting and fishing, (c) natural
areas which will serve for the study
of biology, geography, history and art
and as wild life sanctuaries.
The accompanying plan (fig. 1) shows
a 60 acre tract designed primarily for
a preserve of natural conditions. The
entire tract is surrounded by a drive
to prevent fires. The drive margin is
set with native shrubs such as grow at
the edges of woods, etc., designed to at-
tract a maximum number of birds.
The front portion adjacent to the public
highway containing about 14 acres, is a
public forest park with 3 circular drive-
ways within which fires may be built.
Behind is the preserve and this is an
area (with the keeper's house at the
center) surrounding it, designed for
silviculture, the chief object of which
is the demonstration of farm woodlot
forestry. This is open to the public
with some restrictions. The central
area is a preserve open only to those with
special interests and designed as a
game sanctuary, center of seeding,
for wild flowers, a bird sanctuary, etc.
Larger tracts may be similarly divided
following topographic features (fig. 2)
and even small city parts may maintain
natural areas.
2. Rotation and policing. Natural
parks are most easily obtained when
the recreational interests support the
project strongly. Two natural parks
in two different states illustrate this
point. The movement to secure them
in each case was started by artists and
nature lovers and only when the recrea-
tional possibilities were realized by
politicians was the project pushed
through the legislature. No plans of
management were suggested and the
parks were practically turned over to
hotel and amusement concessionaires
and naturalists now maintain that the
44
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
original beauty will soon be ruined.
Granting that most reserved areas must
serve either for tree growing or recrea-
tion, or both, all proposed legislation
should provide for management. This
includes subdivision, coupled with a
complete scheme of rotation of natural
areas .
There should be a resident officer
charged with caring for and guarding
the park and instructing the public in
the prevention of fires.
Natural Area B
<4
O
Tree
Growing
5
1
Natural
Area
2
<3
la
c
3
Tree
Growing
j
i
><l
Public Natural Park
Building
PLAN FOR PARK SUBDIVISION INTO TREE
GROWING, RECREATIONAL AND
NATURAL AREAS
A, Open to the public for the year
1920, closed in 1921 and 1922.
B, Open 1921, closed 1922 and 1923.
C, Open 1922, closed 1923 and 1924.
E. ADMINISTRATION OF WILD LIFE
1. THE ADMINISTRATION OF WILD
LIFE IN STATE AND NATIONAL
PARKS 1
BY CHAS. 0. ADAMS
The administrative aspect of the
wild life in our parks is a large and im-
portant subject. The problem of prop-
erly caring for and using wild life to
the best advantage in our parks is be-
coming increasingly more serious and
difficult. With the increasing number
of park visitors new problems are com-
ing up all the time. By decreasing the
congestion by enlarging the parks
or by temporarily closing other parts
as intensive use threatens to wear them
out recovery can be secured, but the
general drift, with increasing popula-
tion, is always to encroach upon the
wilderness. Thus we see that to main-
tain park wildernesses can only be
accomplished by a struggle, and the
eternal vigilance needed to preserve our
liberty is the same price which must
be paid for the free wild nature of the
wilderness. The wilderness, like the
forest, was once a great hindrance to
our civilization, but now the tide has
turned and wildernesses and forests
must be maintained, even at much
expense, because human society needs
them. Not infrequently have I talked
with enthusiastic friends of our parks,
who feel that in this struggle the odds
are so much against the parks and their
wild life, that there is perhaps no use
to continue what they feel to be a losing
fight. But it seems to me that this
is only another aspect of that constant
struggle for any high ideal the only
kind worth striving for; this is not at
1 Extracted from "The Relation of Wild Life to
the Public in National and State Parks." Pro-
ceedings of the Second National Conference of State
Parks. 1922, pp. 129-147, 1923. Revised edition,
Roosevelt Wild Life Bull., Vol. 2, pp. 371-402. 1925.
all a peculiar feature of our park prob-
lems.
European experience furnishes us
with a number of examples of the value
of wild areas because so little of the
original conditions now remain there.
But in spite of the unfavorable condi-
tions the appreciation of these original
conditions has not yet died out. This
is worthy of special mention because
of the fear one hears expressed that this
is a hopeless cause. In several Euro-
pean countries there are active organi-
zations, endowments devoted to this
cause, and even governmental bureaus
devoted exclusively to it (cf. Ahrens,
1921; Conwentz, 1909).
Some of the main administrative prob-
lems concerned with wild life are, the
maintenance of this resource, including
all protective aspects of vegetation and
its animals, the formulation of policies,
the education of the public on wild
life, and the perpetuation of its ideals.
MAINTENANCE
The maintenance of wild life in the
park, in a normal, healthy state, is a
relatively new art in America. This
involves proper protection, by rules,
rangers or police, and by all educational
devices available. But this protection
is not all a question of restrictions, for
there is the productive and construc-
tive aspect. Favorable conditions must
be maintained, so that the animals
will breed normally. If fishing is
permitted, the maintenance of the
stock in the streams must be looked
after continuously, and the supply
maintained. Careful supervision of all
this must be given and definite policies
followed or great blunders will be made,
and much damage will be done. A
competent park official should super-
vise all this fish work.
45
46
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
At present, administrators are in a
difficult position because of the lack of
definite ideas, policies, and public
sentiment to support definite programs,
and the frequent changes of officials
favor a lack of continuity in policies ; and
furthermore, with such a wobbling
policy little is learned from experience.
EDUCATION OF PARK OFFICIALS
At present parks suffer to a large
degree because they are necessarily
in the hands of administrators who,
because of their lack of special training,
we must consider as amateurs. We
have had no profession for this line
of work, and some who have had the
most training are feared to a correspond-
ing degree, because of preconceived,
formal ideals, which they with almost
religious zeal slip into the wilderness
parks. The ideal of a wilderness park
is beyond their ken, because their
approach has been from another
angle. These persons are welcomed
in formal city parks but in our large
National and State parks they are
liable to be a menace. In the training
of such men there has been no adequate
recognition of the wild life problems.
Another source of difficulty is the
lack of trained rangers, and nature
guides in our parks. These men are
needed not only with a special famil-
iarity with a special subject matter,
but as well with the ideals of parks.
Until very recently we have had no
provision for such a training in our
educational system, and not until
adequate provision has been made
can we expect the detailed work in the
parks to be wholly satisfactory. A
whole technical staff is needed for our
parks, but this fact must be generally
appreciated before men will devote
themselves to it, and the public ap-
preciate it fully enough to provide for
it in the appropriations.
NEED OF FORMULATING POLICIES
At present our parks are in great need
of definitely formulated policies, even
if they are of a provisional nature
(cf. Waugh, '18). A broad, general
policy is not enough; it should be com-
prehensive but as well, it should be
worked out in as much detail as is
possible, so that in time we will have
for our National Parks, a manual cor-
responding to the Use Book of the
Forest Service. Each State Park or
park administration should have a
similar policy, which should be pub-
lished and made a part of the educa-
tional data available to the public.
It will then be available for criticism
and improvement. Of course, as many
park executives are without adequate
help, are liable to political interference,
and their tenure short, they are fre-
quently liable to neglect the formula-
tion of these policies, and depend solely
upon the laws establishing these parks.
Without general policies we can not
expect detailed, well-worked-out plans
for wild life. Today we have no such
published program for the wild life of
our National Parks, not even for the
fish, which might be expected to pre-
cede that of other kinds of animals.
The attitude of the U. S. Fish Com-
mission, in the early days, had no con-
ception whatever of the Yellowstone
as a wilderness park, with the fish life
maintained as nature left it and for
this reason the Commission was favor-
able to stocking the waters with a
variety of exotic fish, and of stocking
the streams thoroughly above all falls
uninhabited by fish, and likewise the
isolated lakes. The idea that forests
with big game animals should be main-
tained as a wilderness, and that there
was an advantage in natural wild waters
was beyond their conception. The
attitude o the present U. S. Bureau of
Fisheries, and of the Park Service itself
has improved somewhat, but still it
has in the main adhered to the older
policies and standards of making
angling available everywhere, rather
than to maintaining a wild preserve. I
have no doubt that this has come about
or grown up without much deliberation,
and certainly not after considering the
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
47
value, in the remote future, of large
areas for the educational and scientific
value of true wilderness waters. Some
of the same persons who are very eager
to maintain a wilderness forest about
their homes have never realized that
others are equally interested in an
aquatic wilderness untouched by man.
THE WILDERNESS POLICY
The Council of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science,
at the Toronto meeting, December,
1921, passed the following resolutions,
which have a very direct bearing on
the policy of our National and State
Parks in maintaining their native
plants and animals in natural condi-
tions. These resolutions read (Science,
N. S., Vol. 55, p. 63, 1922):
Whereas, One of the primary duties
of the National Park Service is to pass
on to future generations for scientific
study and education, natural areas on
which the native flora and fauna may be
found undisturbed by outside agencies;
and
Whereas, the planting of non-native
trees, shrubs or other plants, the stocking
of waters with non-native fish, or the
liberating of game animals not native
to the region, impairs or destroys the
natural conditions and native wilderness
of the parks;
Be It Resolved, That the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science strongly opposes the introduc-
tion of non-native plants and animals
into the national parks and all other
unessential interference with natural
conditions, and urges the National Park
Service to prohibit all such introduction
and interferences.
If parks are to be managed so as to
pass them on to future generations un-
harmed, they must in the main remain
wild. No one can safely assume that
he is able to tell how valuable these
regions, when properly stocked, will
become in the future. When once a
plant or an animal becomes extinct
it is beyond human power to restore
it.
Although there are considerable areas
of the National Forests which are likely
to remain virgin wilderness this is not
a sufficient guarantee that we will have
all that we need. The chances are that
in the near future foresters will, with
increasing emphasis, strive to retain
valuable examples of representative
virgin forests within our National
Forests and State Forests, in a virgin
condition for special study. These
areas will also act as preserves for
many animals but they will not neces-
sarily provide for the larger animals
unless they coincide, as they well
might, with wild life preserves. Some
foresters have already observed the
need of the forest "wilderness" as a
part of the recreational policy of the
National Forests (Leopold, 1921), and
others for the purpose of teaching and
investigation (Ashe, 1922), and if such
areas give complete protection to both
plants and animals great progress will
be made. The grazing of domestic
animals must be restricted or excluded
from such preserve areas or the her-
baceous vegetation will soon be greatly
modified (Korstian, 1921). The ex-
periences in the National Forests clearly
show just what will certainly happen
in our National Parks if they are not
strictly guarded, from the wilderness
point of view. These experiences also
clearly show the great caution that
must be exerted even with the present
customary grazing in our National
Parks. No doubt this should now be
under the closest supervision of a
forage ecologist. The same ideas apply
even to living and dead trees, that at
any time may be cut in these parks.
At present we have only one official park
forester in any of these great National
Parks, and very few connected with
State Parks and not all of these are
fully alert to the value of virgin forests.
European experience (Oonwentz, 1909,
pp. 118, 131), has clearly shown that
clear cutting of the forests is very harm-
ful to many kinds of native plants,
and this is equally true for many ani-
mals, for we know that the vegetation
exerts a powerful influence upon most
forest animals. (Of. Pearson, 1922.)
In certain State Parks commercial
48
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
forest management is conducted, and
this is very desirable under certain
circumstances, which properly limits
the commercial forests and the pre-
serves, and provides for a corresponding
management. At present great caution
will be needed not to confuse the
management of these two types of for-
ests. A proper balance should be
secured and then the income from the
commercial forest might well be made
a source of revenue for the maintenance
of the whole park. In time the pre-
serves themselves may find it necessary
to charge a small fee for their use, and
a forest park with funds from the tim-
ber and from a fee or license for the
use of the preserve, might secure enough
revenue to do much more constructive
work than one depending solely upon
taxation and gifts. This possibility
is so important that it deserves more
attention than it has received in the
past. The new Allegany State Park
in New York was planned upon such a
program.
The time has come when we must
begin an educational campaign for
large endowments for the educational
and scientific work in our National and
State Parks. Of course, much can be
done by cooperation with various in-
dividuals, the colleges, universities,
and scientific societies, particularly
with some of the State universities,
especially if urgent requests are made
to them for cooperation. They are
likely to respond best when sought.
But it is likely to take some time for
these institutions to become acquainted
with this phase of work, as most of them,
even today, have but a faint realization
of outdoor biological problems, and their
application to parks. Fortunately there
are a few marked exceptions.
The parks need these funds primarily
for three purposes:
1. They need a technical scientific
staff to solve their own scientific prob-
lems as much as they need lawyers and
engineers. The need exists but it is
only slightly realized and in the main
only those who are taking a broad view
of the situation are aware of the con-
ditions.
2. They need an educational staff to
build up their local museum-library,
as nature guides, and to supplement
and aid in the training of rangers
who should also be trained men. This
staff should be the mainstay for popu-
lar lectures, lantern and moving picture
lecturers who will arouse intelligent
appreciation of the resources of the
parks.
In general, the scientific and educa-
tional staffs must be distinct because
the two kinds of work can not be done
at the same time and the staff can not
be expected to divide its attention suc-
cessfully. An executive does not expect
his lawyers or engineers to drop their
work at any moment and give a popu-
lar talk or to conduct other extraneous
work, and the same applies to the scien-
tific staff.
The educational and scientific staff
should be large enough to include cer-
tain men who could devote their whole
time to the practical and technical
problems that demand immediate at-
tention, closely related to the adminis-
trative, rather than to the educational
aspects of park work. The only reason
for advocating this as a distinct group
is that in practice it is rarely that suffi-
cient funds can be obtained to secure
men who are versatile enough to cover
so large a field; it is therefore safer to
plan for a larger staff.
It is generally difficult in adminis-
trative circles to appreciate that first-
class research men can only rarely be
secured, who are willing to have their
work continually interrupted by all
sorts of administrative breaks. These
men must, to get the results, be pro-
tected from such interruptions.
3. The wild life of the parks requires
constant, all-year-round attention. A
great number of our parks will be-
come more and more patronized the
year 'round when the people are edu-
cated to it. With this increasing pat-
ronage there will constantly develop
new problems for solution and supervi-
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
sion. It is only such a staff that can
be expected to present, in the best popu-
lar form, the natural history resources
of the parks. These popular accounts
must be presented from many angles of
approach, if a large public is reached
to advantage. It is a common error
to assume that there is only one popular
form of approach; a multiple approach
should be carefully cultivated by dif-
ferent types of students and authors.
There are certain problems of ad-
ministration that must first be solved
as scientific problems, and then executed
under technical supervision, such as
care of fish, game, birds, mosquito
control and the management of the
forests. These are examples of the
problems, which, with increasing use,
the natural resources will require. This
is a kind of supervision which the
average executive can not be expected
to know, and yet these are just the
points that a special staff will know
about, and their advice and help are
thus necessary.
In concluding these remarks on the
need of endowments it is important
to emphasize that wild life is a more
or less elusive subject for the public
and the administrator to understand,
and cannot be understood merely by
inspection it must be known inti-
mately, and therefore great damage
can be done before it is realized.
The real difficulty is that wild life
suffers just as the human animal does
in our democratic system of environ-
ment. As Walter Lippmann has re-
cently said: "For the troubles of the
press, like the troubles of representative
government, be it territorial or func-
tional, ... go back to a com-
mon source: to the failure of self-
governing people to transcend their
casual experience and their prejudice,
by inventing, creating, and organizing
a machinery of knowledge.
SUMMARY
In concluding this discussion, I wish
to summarize my main points as follows :
1. We will derive benefit from wild
life in our parks in a direct relation to
what we devote to them. We need to
recall that they are living organisms
and respond readily to fair treatment.
2. In general, wild life can only pros-
per with the parks as a whole.
3. Wild life is a very valuable re-
source in any wild park and is generally
so recognized by the public.
4. The National Parks should remain
a virgin wilderness for educational and
scientific purposes.
5. State parks should retain wilder-
ness areas, as well as contain commer-
cial forests, depending somewhat on
local conditions.
6. In relating the wild life to the
public a variety of experimental popu-
lar publications is advocated. Techni-
cal reports are needed for Park officials.
We need a distinctive park literature.
7. Field excursions conducted by
trained guides are advocated, to de-
velop trails and a trail literature.
8. A museum-library, devoted ex-
clusively to the particular park, should
be equipped for exhibits, lectures, dem-
onstrations, lantern slides and moving
pictures, to arouse interest primarily
in the local park. This should be the
headquarters for the guide service.
9. A local zoological garden of the
park animals only should stimulate
interest in those in the park.
10. The maintenance of a virgin
wilderness park is very difficult, but
not a hopeless problem, if proper public
sentiment is developed in its behalf.
11. The education and training of
park officials of all kinds is urgently
emphasized. As a means to this end
park policies should be formulated and
published with a full explanation of
park ideals.
12. The far-reaching importance of
preserving original habitat conditions
for plants and animals from an educa-
tional aesthetic and scientific standpoint
is strongly emphasized. The value of
State Parks in this plan is very impor-
tant.
13. To develop public appreciation
and utilization of parks, large endow-
50
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
ments are needed to supplement public
support. The greatest progress is made
where public and private aid is com-
bined with high and practical idealism.
A movement should be started for en-
dowments for educational and scientific
work in both National and State Parks.
14. Park endowments are perhaps
one of the best means of developing a
technical staff for our parks. The
preservation of wild life requires such
supervision by specialists.
15. The wild life problem suffers
from the major defects of our democratic
system of control, and its welfare de-
pends fundamentally upon improve-
ments in this.
REFERENCES TO LITERATURE
Adams, Charles C.
1908: The Ecological Succession of
Birds. The Auk, Vol. 25, pp.
109-153.
1908a. Some of the Advantages of an
Ecological Organization of a
Natural History Museum.
Proc. Assoc. Museums, Vol. 1,
pp. 170-177.
1910. The Relation of Field Excur-
sions to the Activities of
Local Museums. Proc. Amer.
Assoc. Museums, Vol. 4. pp.
112-124.
1913. "The Value and Method of
Ecological Surveys." Guide
to the Study of Animal Ecol-
ogy, pp. 23-35. N. Y.
1919. An Ecological Survey of the
Palisades Interstate Park.
Empire Forester, N. Y. State
College of Forestry, Syracuse.
Vol. 5, pp. 12-18.
1920. The Relation of Natural History
and Ecology to Public Forest
Parks. N. Y. State College
of Forestry, Syracuse, Bull.
No. 10, pp. 11-14.
1921. Delights of the Wild Forest
Trail. State Service (Maga-
zine), Vol. 5. pp. 100-103.
1921a. Suggestions for the Manage-
ment of Forest Wild Life in
the Allegany State Park, New
York. Roosevelt Wild Life
Bull., Vol. 1, pp. 62-74.
Adams, Charles C., Hankinson, T. L.,
and Kendall, W. C.
1919. A Preliminary Report on a
Fish Cultural Policy for the
Palisades if Interstate Park.
Trans. Amer. Fish Soc. } Vol.
48, pp. 193-04.
Ahrens, Theodor G.
1921. Aims and Status of Plant and
Animal Preserve Work in Eur-
ope, with Special Reference to
Germany including a List of
the Most Important Publica-
tions on These Preserves.
Roosevelt Wild Life Bull.,
Vol. 1, pp. 83-94. *
Ashe, W. W.
1922. Reserved Areas of Principal
Forest Types as a Guide in
Developing an American Silvi-
culture. Jour. Forestry, Vol.
20, pp. 276-283.
Brown, Edward F.
1920. Social Aspects of Park Admin-
istration. N. Y. State College
of Forestry, Syracuse, Bull.
No. 10, pp. 47-66.
1920a. Camping Facilities in the Pali-
sades Interstate Park. N. Y.
State College of Forestry,
Syracuse, Bull. No. 10, pp.
67-79.
Buxton, Edward North
1884. Epping Forest. Pp. 1-147.
London.
Conwentz, H.
1909. The Care of Natural Monuments
with Special Reference to
Great Britain and Germany.
Pp. 1-185. Cambridge, Eng-
land.
Graves, C. Edward
1919. A Plan for a Nature Library.
Library Journal, Vol. 44, pp.
707-710.
Grinnell, Joseph
1914. Bird Life as a Community Asset.
Calif. Fish and Game, Vol. 1,
pp. 1-3.
Grinnell, Joseph, and Storer, Tracy I.
1916. Animal Life as an Asset of
National Parks. Science, N.
S., Vol. 44, pp. 375-380.
Hahn, Walter L.
1913. The Future of the North
American Fauna. Pop. Sci.
Monthly, Vol. 83, pp. 169-177.
Haddon, A. C.
1903. The Saving of Vanishing Data.
Pop. Sci. Monthly, Vol. 62, pp.
222-229.
Heller, Edmund
1925. The Big Game Animals 'of
Yellowstone National Park.
Roosevelt Wild Life Bull, Vol.
3, pp. 405-467.
Jessup, Elon fl
1919. The /Strangest Camp in the
World. Outing, Vol. 75, pp.
155-160.
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
51
Korstian, Clarence F.
1921. Grazing Practice on the Na-
tional Forests and its Effect
on Natural Conditions. Sci.
Monthly, Vol. 13, pp. 275-281.
Leopold, Aldo
1921. The Wilderness and its Place in
Forest Recreational Policy.
Jour. Forestry, Vol. 19, pp.
718-721.
Mills, Enos A.
1920. The Adventures of a Nature
Guide. Pp. 1-271. New York.
Pearson, G. A.
1922. Preservation of Natural Areas
in the National Forests.
Ecology, Vol. 3, pp. 284-287.
Safford, W. E.
1919. Natural History of Paradise Key
and the Near-by Everglades
of Florida. Smithsonian
Report for 1917, pp. 377-434.
Shelford, Victor E.
1920. Preserves of Natural Conditions.
Trans. III. State Acad Sci..
Vol. 13, pp. 37-58.
Silloway, P. M.
1920. Guide to the Summer Birds of
the Bear Mountain and Harri-
man Park Sections of the Pali-
sades Interstate Park. N.
Y. State College of Forestry,
Syracuse, Bull. No. 11, pp.
1-105.
1920a. The Palisades Interstate Park:
A Study in Recreational For-
estry. The N. Y. State Col-
lege of Forestry, Syracuse,
Bull. No. 10, pp. 15-45.
Skinner, M. P.
1925. The Birds of Yellowstone Na-
tional Park. Roosevelt Wild
Life Bull, Vol. 3, pp. 1-189.
Smith, Harlan I.
1914. Handbook of the Rocky Moun-
tains Park Museum, Dept. of
Interior, Canada, Dominion
Parks Branch. Pp. 1-126.
Sumner, Francis B.
1920. The Need for a More Serious
Effort to Rescue a Few Frag-
ments of Vanishing Nature.
Sci. Monthly, Vol. 10, pp. 236-
1921. The Responsibility of the Biol-
ogist in the Matter of Pre-
serving Natural Conditions.
Science, N. S., Vol. 54, pp.
o9 4o.
Waugh, Frank A.
1918. A National Park Policy. Sci.
Monthly, Vol. 6, pp. 305-318.
1922. What is a Forest? Jour. For-
estry, Vol. 20, pp. 209-214.
F. DUTY OF SCIENTIFIC MEN
1. THE DUTY OF SCIENTIFIC MEN
IN CONSERVATION
BYH. S. GRAVES
The conservation movement of a
few years ago crystallized and brought
to public attention a great principle,
one so far reaching that its real sig-
nificance and scope are even today not
generally grasped. Regardless of how
the term may be defined, the problem
of conservation involves the whole
question of the relation of our natural
resources to the economic life and up-
building of the country. We have to
do not merely with the prevention of
waste and economical use of our re-
sources, but also with the problem of
how these resources may render their
highest service in building up local com-
munities, maintaining our industries,
and contributing to a strong civiliza-
tion.
We can point to considerable progress
in certain features of conservation
during the past decade. Scientific men
have conducted research of great value
that already is resulting in new uses of
various raw materials, in more eco-
nomical methods of handling them, and
in improved methods of perpetuating
those resources which are renewable;
engineers are giving more attention
than formerly to the problem of pre-
venting unnecessary losses in the ex-
ploitation of raw resources; the more
far-sighted leaders of industry have an
increasing appreciation of the relation
of natural resources to the permanence
of their own enterprises. And yet, the
conservation principle is making very
slow headway, when viewed from the
larger aspects of the economic needs of
the country. The loss through un-
necessary waste is still appalling, un-
economic methods in the use and de-
velopment of various of the resources
continue, and the interests of industries
and communities are already in many
cases jeopardized by the depletion of
local sources of raw material.
Among the obstacles to the more
rapid application of the principles of
conservation are ignorance and indif-
ference on the part of those engaged
in developing natural resources, un-
willingness to change old methods, and
selfishness of individuals who are will-
ing to sacrifice even the interests of
their own industry to immediate gains.
But there are also obstacles of an
economic and public character, that
are retarding progress. These relate
to the character of ownership and con-
trol of natural resources, to the existing
organization of certain of the industries
to problems of transportation, and in
some cases to questions of taxation
and the relation of the public to
industry.
Scientific research furnishes the foun-
dation of conservation. Education will
solve the problem of ignorance and indif-
ference. The economic and political
obstacles, however, can usually be
overcome only through action by the
public. Thus it is that those who are
engaged in promoting the principles of
conservation in their respective fields
are urging legislation in the federal
Congress and in state legislatures,
seeking public aid for private owners of
resources and for the industries, public
cooperation in marketing and distri-
bution, public action in road building
and other transportation problems,
and in some instances public control
over the basic resources themselves,
over their exploitation, or over the
distribution of their products.
The efforts in conservation today are
scattered among a large number of
52
USES OF NATURAL AREAS
53
institutions, organizations, and in-
dividuals. There is a lack of unified
purpose and direction in the movement.
Workers in separate fields fail to give
adequate consideration to the bearing
of the problems of other resources upon
their own. Oftentimes there is an
actual conflict of interests in the use
and development of two or more re-
sources that is not being adjusted and
is leading to public injury. In the
field of public policy many proposals
are being made, each perhaps with a
good purpose, which are not in harmony
as to principle and often are in conflict,
with resulting confusion to the public
and frequent failure to secure the legis-
lation requested.
Today there is no central agency,
governmental or otherwise, that is
considering our natural resources as a
whole in their relation to our economic,
industrial, and social development.
There is no leadership in conservation in
its larger aspects, that defines objectives,
assembles and interprets | the basic
data regarding our resources, works out
the principles of harmonizing conflict-
ing interests in resource development;
that furnishes, in short, the economic
background for conservation and the
principles that must underlie the public
action necessary to make our natural
resources render their best service, and
there is no agency equipped to organize
the educational work that should be
introduced into our colleges and schools
aside from popular education in conser-
vation.
It must be clear to every student of
the natural resource problem that there
is an undertaking in conservation of
great magnitude awaiting leadership
and organized effort. There is an op-
portunity and, in my opinion, a duty
for the great national organizations of
scientific men to join hands in assuming
this leadership. They are in a position
to bring into harmony the objectives,
the policies, and the efforts of those
working in the several branches of
natural resources. Under their guid-
ance and inspiration there could be
assembled the available information
regarding our natural resources, and
the interpretation of the problems of
conservation from the broad view-
point of the relation of all resources
to our national development. The
scientific organization would thus be
able to contribute to the formulation
of public policies, and to aid in bringing
about their adoption, and finally it
would be possible for them through
existing agencies to carry out an edu-
cational plan for the introduction of
appropriate studies in conservation in
our schools and colleges, and to for-
ward a far-reaching campaign of popu-
lar education.
The appointment of conservation
committees by the National Academy
of Sciences, the National Research
Council, and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, and
the meeting of these committees for
the consideration of joint action, should
prove to be the first step in a new leader-
ship that will give power to the con-
servation movement, with the promise
of very large achievement.
In my opinion a very great responsi-
bility rests upon scientific men. We
have an opportunity to organize the
intellectual forces of the country in a
movement that will have a profound
influence upon the future well-being
of the country. Our action may de-
termine the direction of that movement,
and whether it will be effective or lag
behind for lack of leadership. A great
public interest depends upon our fore-
sight and vision, upon our ability to
plan with wisdom.
III. ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
NORTH OF THE AMAZON
A. INTRODUCTION
BY V. E. SHELFORD
The early naturalist travellers de-
scribed the regions which they visited
in terms of the vegetation landscape
aspect. Brehm and others wrote on
tundra, steppe, desert coniferous forest,
etc., and described the behavior charac-
teristics and mode of life of their larger
animals. Of the Arctic fox Brehm
says: "Of the slyness and ingenuity,
the calculating craft, the never failing
presence of mind of his congeners he
evinces hardly a trace. His disposi-
tion is bold and forward, his manner
officious, his behavior foolish." Many
other naturalists made observations
of this type relative to the animals of
natural vegetation landscape aspect
regions.
With the acceptance of evolutionary
doctrine attention turned to the seeking
of facts which supported doctrines of
origin, migration, modification, and
adaptation, and naturalistic observa-
tions relative to behavior, mode of life,
etc., of animals received little attention
from travellers, naturalists, and col-
lectors. The description of vegetation
in relation to climate, etc., however,
received a less serious check. In recog-
nizing natural regions these landscape
aspects still serve as a general guide in
modern ecology but the limits of areas
may be made on the basis of climax
communities whenever investigations
have demonstrated the facts. A cli-
max community may occur only locally,
for example within the coniferous forest
of southeastern United States, which
is commonly regarded as giving way to
a deciduous climax. In this case there
are two landscape aspects and only one
climatic climax. The nature of the
climax communities has been deter-
mined only for a few regions in tem-
perate latitude. Accordingly landscape
aspect must serve as the chief guide
and plant ecologists of necessity ap-
proach the subject of plant geography
from the standpoint of the landscape
aspects and physiological characters
of the plants of the larger plant com-
munities. Animal ecologists recognize
the value of such a viewpoint as applied
to animals, but so far they have made
little progress with it largely because
little investigation has been done. As
a rule zoogeographical discussions have
proceeded along the line of refinements
of Wallace's faunistic ideas, of tracing
paths of migration for particular groups
of species or genera, etc. The point
of view of those using life zones based
largely on temperature is largely de-
scriptive, but has been related to fau-
nistic (i.e., evolutionary) work rather
than physiology. They have made
few or no attempts to find differences
in physiological life histories, habits,
etc., between animals in different re-
gions, or similarities of those in like
regions. The ideas of modern ecologi-
cal geography are known to but few
zoological investigators.
The ecology of animal communities
which is the basis of modern animal
ecology has received little attention.
While much zoological work is referred
to as "ecology," especially among
economic entomologists, analysis shows
that it is largely the ecology of par-
ticular species and individuals (aute-
cology). In other words it is a con-
tinuation of the old natural history
under the new name. Where com-
munity studies are made, too often only
a part of the animals are considered so
that we find such misnomers as "Insect
Associations," etc. Though the es-
sential principles were recognized by
a few early zoologists (Mobius, 1877
57
58
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
and 1880) there is nothing in zoological
literature representing the essence of
modern synecology as do Clements'
two works on plants. (Succession, 1916,
and Plant Indicators, 1920.) Clements
has for some time recognized the im-
portance of considering animals in
plant ecology. Plant ecologists in gen-
eral are prone to describe formations
and associations, often without giving
a comprehensive idea of the nature of
an area as an animal habitat. For
example the combination grassland and
streamside and grove forest of the
Mississippi Valley which, on account
of animal movement, seems best named
savanna, was referred to in several
manuscripts as deciduous forest and
prairie without any statement as to
arrangement and relative area of the
two. Many of the original large and
small animals of this region, charac-
teristically divided their time (usually
seasonally) between the two plant
communities or lived at the shrubby
border between them. Plant ecologists
appear to have recognized the symbiotic
relation of plants and animals in com-
munities only to a small degree. Ani-
mal ecologists have of course not con-
tributed their share of knowledge for
reasons already noted. Movement of
animals from one small plant community
to another may be as important to the
general biota as is number of dominants
or at least secondary considerations
concerning plants in communities.
While faunistic zones agree with
vegetation in some cases, those who use
life zones often divide regions with
similar climate and uniform vegetation
into two or more zones because the
species are different, though physiolog-
ical relations may be supposed to be
similar (Chapman, 1917). It may be
said that floristic and faunistic geog-
raphy including life zone work rests
on a background of evolution and migra-
tion, while ecological plant and animal
geography have a similar relation to
(climatic) conditions and physiology.
No one doubts that the life zones as
used mainly by zoologists are a correct
representation of certain facts of rela-
tionship, and are worthy of scientific
recognition. They do, however, vio-
late two important principles or methods
of modern ecology. In the first place
they fail to separate the local communi-
ties determined by soil, water, etc.,
from the extensive communities which
are commonly regarded as determined
by climate. Life zone index organisms
are as likely to belong to local areas
such as stream margins or other early
stages in succession as otherwise.
Second, the life zones sometimes divide
a uniform climax association into two
or three parts as in the case with de-
ciduous forest and mixed prairie. In
much of the United States life zones
are separated by east and west lines
and plant communities by north and
south lines. To the north in Canada
the two appear to be in better agree-
ment. In the Rocky Mountains they
are sometimes in agreement and some-
times not. In the tropics most of the
life zone studies have been carried on
in mountainous regions. While the
work is largely descriptive, the expres-
sion of the viewpoint is found in Chap-
man's introduction, in which he states
that "To determine the boundaries of
zones and faunas as they are manifest
by birds and mammals is our first aim
. . . and trust that we may throw
some light on laws governing the origin
of species. . . ." This is not the
object of modern ecology, which is on
the contrary concerned with symbiosis
(sense broad) succession, climax types,
and physiological relations to the
physical environment and its rhythmic
phenomena, etc.
However, it is true that the life zones
pointed out by investigators in Central
and South America do consist of one
or more landscape aspect areas. The
investigators along this line possess an
excellent knowledge of the landscape
aspect types. Accordingly, a measure
of agreement has been reached for the
tropics; though starting from two quite
different viewpoints, it is evident that
agreement cannot be general. Parallel
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
tables have been developed to show the
relations of the two kinds of regions.
I. NORTH AMERICA NORTH OP MEXICO
The accompanying maps (figs. 1, 2,
and 3) show the more important exten-
sive habitats drawn so far as practicable
on the basis of dominant landscape
aspect conditions. In differentiating
the areas, plants, animals, and climate
were considered.
a. Plants and animals
From the standpoint of the larger
animals the following are of much im-
portance and should tend to outweigh
minor botanical considerations:
Is the forest evergreen or do the
leaves fall, thus accentuating the sever-
ity of adverse seasons?
Are grasses or other plants present
which afford dry food in cold or dry
seasons?
Is the vegetation of such height and
density as to afford shelter for larger
animals, or is it short-stemmed and
inconspicuous, or scattered and non-
shade producing?
b. Climate
The most important question about
climate is probably the character of
the annual march of rainfall, of tem-
perature, and of other factors.
The accompanying maps 1 are very
generalized. Figure 1 is based largely
on Shreve's map for the United States,
on the maps of Schimper and of Hardy
on Koppen's Classification of climate,
and Bartholomew's Atlas. The de-
scriptions of vegetation are modifica-
tions of Shreve's. Some modifications
of the plant regions have been made
because of facts about animals. For
instance, an area like the Snake River
Plains which once supported herds of
bison should hardly be called desert.
1 Submitted to the members of the committee.
Suggestions by B. E. Livingston, F. Shreve, W. E.
Lawrence, H. C. Cowles, G. B. Rigg, G. E. Nichols,
C. D. Howe, E. N. Transeau, J. W. Harshberger,
G. P. Burns, C. O. Rosendahl, E. Lucy Braun, R.
M. Harper (botanists) and J. R. Watson, W. G.
Van Name, A. S. Pearse (zoologists) were adopted
and are as represented in figure 3 and those parts
of the United States shown in figure 4.
B. DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIOTA (SOUTH TO
CENTRAL MEXICO)
BY V. E. SHELFORD, L. JONES AND L. R. DICE
1. ARCTIC TUNDRA, OR BARREN GROUND
BIOTA (ARCTIC TUNDRA OP
CLEMENTS)
Extensive areas in the northern part
of the continent have long cold winters
and little rainfall. In the more north-
ern localities the ground thaws only
at the surface and a growth of herba-
ceous plants springs up in the summer.
There are dense growths of grass, many
miniature shrubs, shown in black on
the map, considerable areas of high
tundra, especially in Alaska. Large
areas of perpetual snow are included.
It supports muskoxen (Ovibos mos-
chatus subspp.), barren ground caribou
(Rangifer spp.), arctic hare (Lepus
arcticus group), arctic fox (Alopex spp.).
The chief local conditions are swamps
and ponds, which support hordes of
mosquitoes.
The breeding birds 1 include the fol-
lowing: willow ptarmigan, rock ptar-
migan, white gyrfalcon, gray gyrfalcon,
gyrfalcon, black gyrfalcon, snowy owl,
horned lark, pallid horned lark, Green-
land redpoll, hoary redpoll, greater
redpoll, snow bunting, Lapland long-
spur, Alaska longspur, Smith's longspur,
Alaska yellow wagtail, and pipit.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gen-
erally a local condition, include the
following: yellow-billed loon, Pacific
loon, red-throated loon, pomarine jae-
ger, parasitic jaeger, long-tailed jaeger,
red-breasted merganser, old-squaw,
Harlequin duck, Steller's eider, spec-
tacled eider, King eider, Pacific eider,
scoter, white winged scoter, snow goose,
white-fronted goose, whistling swan,
1 English names conform strictly to the A. O. U.
Check-list, unless otherwise specifically noted.
red phalarope, northern phalarope,
long-billed dowitcher, stilt sandpiper,
knot, purple sandpiper, pectoral sand-
piper, white-rumped sandpiper, Baird's
sandpiper, least sandpiper, red-backed
sandpiper, semipalmated sandpiper,
western sandpiper, sanderling, Hud-
sonian godwit, yellow-legs, buff-
breasted sandpiper, Hudsonian curlew,
Eskimo curlew, black-bellied plover,
golden plover, Pacific golden plover,
semipalmated plover, turnstone, ruddy
turnstone, and black turnstone.
la. ALPINE STEPPE OR HIGH TUNDRA
(PARAMOS OP PENNELL) (APLINE SUM-
MITS, SHREVE) (APLINE MEADOW CLI-
MAX, CLEMENTS)
Sedge, grass, and herb covered areas
in high mountains. The large mam-
mals include bighorn sheep (Ovis cana-
densis subspp.), and Rocky Mountain
goat (Oreamnos americanus subspp.).
Rosy finches and white-tailed ptarmigan
are characteristic birds.
2. NORTHERN CONIFEROUS FOREST BIOTA
(NORTHERN MESOPHYTIC EVERGREEN
FOREST, SHREVE)
"This extensive region is characterized
throughout by a pure or nearly pure
stand of needle-leaved evergreen trees,
among which deciduous trees are often
present either as minor components of
the forest or else as trees of lower
stature. Virgin stands of this forest
range from 60 to 125 ft. in height and
vary from open park-like formations to
heavy forest with a completely shaded
floor. The heaviest stands are almost
devoid of shrubby undergrowth, but the
more open ones are accompanied by
deciduous shrubs and under-trees. In
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ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
61
spite of the essential identity of this
forest from the Pacific to the Atlantic
it is nevertheless made up of a large
number of tree species. Very many
extensive areas are formed by a single
species and many others by an admixture
in which not more than three or four
species are involved. In the eastern
portion of the area the white pine
(P. strobus), the hemlock (Tsuga can-
adensis}, the jack pine (P. divaricata} ,
and the balsam fir (Abies balsamea),
are the most common species."
Northern localities with cold wet
winters and usually as much as 50 in.
of snow in winter.
The open marshes and margins of
lakes are the favorite haunts of the
moose. The chief local conditions are
ponds and marshes of various types,
which are important to migratory birds.
The mammals include the moose
(Alces spp.), woodland caribou (Rangi-
fer spp.), elk (Cervus canadensis subspp.),
black bear (Ursus americanus group),
wolverine (Gulo luscus), Canada lynx
(Lynx canadensis group), Canada wood-
chuck (Marmota monax canadensis},
and red squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus
The breeding birds include the fol-
lowing: Hudsonian spruce partridge,
Canada spruce partridge, Canada ruffed
grouse, Nova Scotia ruffed grouse,
passenger pigeon (extinct), turkey vul-
ture (southern), swallow-tailed kite
(formerly), marsh hawk, sharp-shinned
hawk, Cooper's hawk, goshawk, red-
tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk,
broad-winged hawk, rough-legged hawk,
golden eagle, duck hawk, pigeon hawk,
sparrow hawk, long-eared owl, barred
owl, great gray owl, Richardson's
owl, saw-whet owl, screech owl, great
horned owl (eastern), western horned
owl (central, northerly), arctic horned
owl (northern), pale horned owl (cen-
tral, southerly), Newfoundland horned
owl (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Lab-
rador), hawk owl, yellow-billed cuckoo
(south part), black-billed cuckoo (south
part), northern hairy woodpecker, New-
foundland woodpecker, downy wood-
pecker, Newfoundland downy wood-
pecker, Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
American three-toed woodpecker, yel-
low-bellied sapsucker, northern pileated
woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker,
northern flicker, whippoorwill, night-
hawk, chimney swift, ruby-throated
hummingbird, kingbird, crested fly-
catcher, phoebe, olive-sided flycatcher,
wood pewee, yellow-bellied flycatcher,
least flycatcher, black-billed magpie,
blue jay, Canada jay, Labrador jay,
crow, cowbird, Baltimore oriole,
bronzed grackle, evening grosbeak,
pine grosbeak, Newfoundland pine gros-
beak, purple finch, crossbill, white-winged
crossbill, white-throated sparrow, chip-
ping sparrow, clay-colored sparrow,
goldfinch, pine siskin, Harris' sparrow,
white-crowned sparrow, slate-colored
junco, song sparrow, Lincoln's sparrow,
fox sparrow, towhee, rose-breasted gros-
beak, black-headed grosbeak, scarlet
tanager, purple martin, cliff swallow,
barn swallow, Bohemian waxwing, cedar
waxwing, red-eyed vireo. Philadelphia
vireo, warbling vireo, yellow-throated
vireo, blue-headed vireo, black and
white warbler, golden-winged warbler,
Nashville warbler, orange-crowned
warbler, Tennessee warbler, northern
parula warbler, Cape May warbler,
black-throated blue warbler, Cairn's
warbler, myrtle warbler, magnolia war-
bler, chestnut-sided warbler,bay-breasted
warbler, black-poll warbler, Black-
burnian warbler, black-throated green
warbler, Kirtland's warbler (central
Michigan), pine warbler, oven-bird,
mourning warbler, Wilson's warbler,
Canada warbler, redstart, catbird,
brown thrasher, house wren, winter
wren, brown creeper, white-breasted
nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch, chick-
adee, Hudsonian chickadee, Acadian
chickadee (eastern) ,golden-crowned king-
let, ruby-crowned kinglet, wood thrush
(south part),, veery, gray-checked thrush
(western), Bicknell's thrush (east),
olive-backed thrush, hermit thrush,
robin, and bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
generally limited to the pre-forest or
62
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
other early stages of succession include
the following: tree sparrow, field spar-
row, swamp sparrow, indigo bunting,
northern shrike, white-rumped shrike,
migrant shrike, yellow warbler, pine
warbler, palm warbler, and yellow
palm warbler.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or swamp,
include the following: tree swallow,
bank swallow, rough-winged swallow,
northern water-thrush, GrinnelFs water-
thrush, Connecticut warbler, and north-
ern yellow-throat.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water,
generally a local condition, include the
following: bald eagle, osprey, belted
kingfisher, and northern raven.
2a. MOUNTAIN CONIFEROUS FOREST
(MONTANE FOREST CLIMAX, THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN MONTANE FOREST, THE
SIERRAN MONTANE FOREST, CLEMENTS,
(HUDSONIAN AND CANADIAN ZONES)
In the western half of the area the
yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), the
lodgepole pine (P. murrayana), and the
red fir (Pseudotsuga mucronata) are the
trees which dominate the most exten-
sive stands.
In the montane forests are found such
characteristic mammals as the yellow-
bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris
subspp.), red squirrel (Subgenus Tamia-
sciurus), deer-mouse (Peromyscus spp.),
red-backed vole (Evotomys), chipmunk
(Eutamias), and flying-squirrel (Glau-
comys sabrinus subspp.).
The breeding birds include the fol-
lowing: dusky grouse (Utah and south),
Richardson's grouse (Wyoming and
north), Alaska spruce grouse (Mt.
McKinley range), Franklin's grouse
(Idaho and north), gray ruffed grouse
(Utah and north), band-tailed pigeon
(Utah and south), sharp-shinned hawk,
Cooper's hawk, western goshawk, western
red-tail, golden eagle, pigeon hawk,
Richardson's pigeon hawk, desert
sparrow hawk (lower mountains), long-
eared owl, Richardson's owl, saw-whet
owl, MacFarlane's screech owl (west
mountain slope), Rocky Mountain
screech owl (east mountain slope),
flammulated screech owl (Colorado
and south), dusky horned owl, hawk
owl, Rocky Mountain pygmy owl,
Rocky Mountain hairy woodpecker,
Batchelder's woodpecker (British Co-
lumbia and south), Nelson's downy
woodpecker (Alberta and north), Arctic
three-toed woodpecker, Alaska three-
toed woodpecker (northerly), Alpine
three-toed woodpecker (southerly), red-
naped sapsucker, Williamson's sap-
sucker, northern pileated woodpecker,
Lewis' woodpecker, red-shafter flicker,
Stephens' whippoorwill (Arizona and
south), western nighthawk, black swift,
white-throated swift, black-chinned
hummingbird, Rivoli's hummingbird
(Arizona and south), blue-throated
hummingbird (Arizona and south),
broad-tailed hummingbird (Idaho and
south), rufous hummingbird, calliope
hummingbird, white-eared humming-
bird (Arizona and south), broad-billed
hummingbird (Arizona and south),
sulphur-bellied flycatcher (Arizona and
south) olivaceous flycatcher (Arizona
and south), olive-sided flycatcher
(Arizona and south), Coues' flycatcher,
western wood pewee, western flycatcher,
Hammond's flycatcher, Wright's fly-
catcher, gray flycatcher (Arizona
and south), buff -breasted flycatcher
(Arizona and south), magpie, long-
crested jay (Wyoming and south),
black-headed jay (Wyoming and north),
Rocky Mountain jay, western crow,
Clarke's nutcracker, pinyon jay, western
evening grosbeak, Rocky Mountain pine
grosbeak, Cassin's purple finch, cross-
bill, white-winged crossbill, pine siskin,
white-crowned sparrow, Gambel's spar-
row, western chipping sparrow, white-
winged junco (Rocky Mountain
region), Shufeldt's junco (northerly),
Montana junco (northerly), pink-
sided junco (southerly), Ridgway's junco
(Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New
Mexico), Arizona junco (Arizona and
south), red-backed junco (Arizona and
south), gray-headed junco (Wyoming
and south), mountain song sparrow,
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
Lincoln's sparrow, slate-colored fox
sparrow, Arctic towhee, green-tailed
towhee, black-headed grosbeak, Lazuli
bunting, western tanager, hepatic
tanager (Arizona and south), purple
martin, cliff swallow, barn swallow,
Bohemian waxwing (northerly), cedar
waxwing (southerly), red-eyed vireo,
(low elevations), western warbling vireo,
Cassin's vireo (north and west), plum-
beous vireo (east and south), Virginia's
warbler (southern), orange-crowned
warbler, Tennessee warbler, olive war-
bler, Hoover's warbler, Audubon's warb-
ler, black-fronted warbler, Grace's
warbler, black-throated gray warbler,
Townsend's warbler, Macgillivray's war-
bler, long-tailed chat, pileolated war-
bler, redstart, painted redstart, red-
faced warbler (Arizona and south), cat-
bird, rock wren, western house wren,
western winter wren, Rocky Mountain
creeper, Rocky Mountain nuthatch, red-
breasted nuthatch, pygmy nuthatch,
gray titmouse, long-tailed chickadee,
Mexican chickadee, mountain chickadee,
Hudsonian chickadee, chestnut-backed
chickadee, lead-colored bush-tit, western
golden-crowned kinglet, ruby-crowned
kinglet, Townsend's solitaire, willow
thrush, olive-backed thrush, Audubon's
hermit thrush, western robin, northern
varied thrush, western bluebird, azure
bluebird, chestnut-backed bluebird,
mountain bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
generally limited to the preforest or
other early stages of succession include
the following: pale goldfinch, western
tree sparrow, northern shrike (north-
erly), white-rum ped shrike (low eleva-
tions), and yellow warbler.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following : tree swal-
low, northern violet-green swallow,
bank swallow, rough-winged swallow,
Grinnell water-thrush, and western
yellow-throat.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally a local condition, include the fol-
lowing: nothern bald eagle, duck hawk,
osprey, and dipper.
3. NORTHWESTERN MOIST CONIFEROUS
FOREST BIOTA (NORTHWESTERN HYDRO-
PHYTIC EVERGREEN FOREST, SHREVE)
(INCLUDES THE LARCH-PINE FOREST
AND THE CEDAR-HEMLOCK FOREST;
CLEMENTS) (THE COAST FOREST CLI-
MAX, CLEMENTS)
The climate is mild with some rain in
all seasons but especially in winter.
This is "a well-marked type of forest
characterized by density of stand and
by the size of its trees, which commonly
reach 100 to 125 ft. in height and are
often in excess of this. The floor of the
forest is heavily shaded and supports
relatively few deciduous under-trees,
although there is usually a rich growth
of shrubs and of ferns, mosses, and other
herbaceous plants. The trees which
characterize this area are the Douglas
fir (Pseudotsuga mucronata), redwood
(Sequoia sempervirens), western hem-
lock (Tsuga heterophylla) , canoe cedar
(Thuja plicata), grand fir (Abies grandis)
and others."
The mammals include the elk (Cervus
canadensis occidentalism black bear
(Ursus americanus group), bob cat
(Lynx fasciatus group), and black-
tailed deer (Odocoileus columbianus
subspp.).
The breeding birds include the fol-
lowing : mountain quail, California quail,
sooty grouse, Oregon ruffed grouse,
band-tailed pigeon, dusky mourning
dove, marsh hawk, sharp-shinned hawk,
Cooper hawk, western goshawk, western
red-tailed hawk, Alaska red-tail (South-
east Alaska), golden eagle, Peale's
falcon, black pigeon hawk, sparrow
hawk, spotted owl, saw-whet owl (ex-
cept Queen Charlotte), island saw-whet
owl (except Queen Charlotte), Ken-
nicott's screech owl (Oregon and north),
Brewster's screech owl (Oregon and
south), dusky horned owl, Vancouver
pygmy owl (Vancouver Islands), coast
pygmy owl (Washington and south),
California pygmy owl (Montery, etc.),
California cuckoo (Washington and
south), Harris' woodpecker (north),
white-breasted woodpecker (south),
Sitka hairy woodpecker (Southeast Al-
64
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
aska), Gairdner's woodpecker (British
Columbia and south), Valdez downy
woodpecker (British Columbia and
north), red-breasted woodpecker (Cali-
fornia), northern red-breasted sapsucker
(California and north), western pileated
woodpecker, California woodpecker
(Oregon and south), northwestern flicker,
Pacific nighthawk, black swift, Vaux's
swift, white-throated swift, rufous hum-
mingbird, Allen's hummingbird, olive-
sided flycatcher, western flycatcher,
Traill's flycatcher, Hammond's fly-
catcher, Steller's jay (Washington and
north), coast jay (Oregon and south),
California jay (south), Oregon jay,
western crow (Washington and south),
northwestern crow (Washington and
north), Bullock's oriole, Brewer's black-
bird, western evening grosbeak, Kadiak
pine grosbeak, California purple finch,
crossbill, pine siskin, Oregon vesper
sparrow, Nuttall's sparrow (British
Columbia and north), golden-crowned
sparrow (British Columbia and north),
western chipping sparrow, Oregon junco,
Point Pinos junco (Monterey district),
rusty song sparrow (Washington and
north), sooty song sparrow (Alaska
coast), San Diego song sparrow (Mon-
terey region), mendocino song sparrow
(Oregon to San Francisco), Forbush's
sparrow (Alaska coast), sooty fox spar-
row (British Columbia and Washington),
Kadiak fox sparrow (Cross Sound and
north), Townsend's fox sparrow (Cross
Sound and south), Oregon towhee
(British Columbia, Washington, Oregon),
San Francisco towhee (California), black
headed grosbeak, western martin, cliff
swallow, barn swallow, western warbling
vireo, Cassin's vireo, Anthony's vireo,
Calaveras warbler, lutescent warbler,
Alaska yellow warbler (Vancouver
Islands and north), California yellow
warbler (Washington and south), Audu-
bon's warbler, Townsend's warbler
(northerly), hermit warbler (southerly),
Macgillivray's warbler, golden pileo-
lated warbler, rock wren (Oregon to
Vancouver Islands), western house wren,
western winter wren, California creeper,
slender-billed nuthatch, red-breasted
nuthatch, Oregon chickadee, chestnut-
backed chickadee (Sonoma County,
California and north), California chicka-
dee (Sonoma and Marin Counties),
Barlow's chickadee (Monterey region),
bush-tit, coast wren-tit (Oregon to
Humboldt Bay, California), ruddy wren-
tit (Humboldt County and south),
western golden-crowned kinglet, sitka
kinglet (British Columbia and north),
Townsend's solitaire, russet-backed
thrush, Alaska hermit thrush, dwarf
hermit thrush, Monterey hermit thrush,
western robin, varied thrush, northern
varied thrush, western bluebird, moun-
tain bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
generally limited to the preforest or
other early stages of succession include
the following : western meadowlark, wil-
low goldfinch, and western tree sparrow
(north).
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: north-
western red-wing, bicolored red-wing,
tree swallow, northern violet-green
swallow, bank swallow, rough-winged
swallow, and Pacific yellow-throat
(British Columbia and south').
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally local condition, include the fol-
lowing : northwestern coast heron (Wash-
ington and north), California heron
(Washington and south), spotted sand-
piper, bald eagle, northern bald eagle
(north), osprey, northern belted king-
fisher, northern raven, and dipper.
4. XEROPHYTIC CONIFEROUS FOREST
BIOTA (NOT INDICATED ON THE MAP)
(WESTERN XEROPHYTIC EVERGREEN
FOREST, SHREVE) (THE WOODLAND
CLIMAX : PINE JUNIPER FORMATION, CLE-
MENTS) (INCLUDES PINYON CEDAR WOOD-
LAND; OAK-CEDAR WOODLAND ', PINE-
OAK WOODLAND IN PART, CLEMENTS)
This type lies between the northern
coniferous forest and the desert and
semi-desert areas in the United States
and northern Mexico. It does not
cover an extensive area.
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
65
It is "an open forest of low stature, the
trees seldom exceeding 40 ft. in height.
The needle-leaved and scale-leaved
evergreens are the dominant trees, but
the forest is everywhere accompanied by
shrubbery and by some succulent or
semi-succulent plants, and is carpeted in
many localities by an open growth of
perennial grasses. Along the Mexican
boundary this forest merges into the
encinal, or evergreen oak type. The
dominant species of the Xerophytic
Evergreen Forest vary from state to
state but are in almost all cases either
junipers or pinyons."
Among the characteristic mammals
are the woodrats (Neotoma spp.), deer-
mice (Peromyscus spp.), and cottontail
rabbit (Sylvilagus audubonii subspp.).
The breeding birds include the fol-
lowing: white-checked goose, plumed
quail (Ventura County and north),
San Pedro quail (San Ber. and San Gab.
Mountains), Sierra grouse, band-tailed
pigeon, western mourning dove, Cali-
fornia vulture (Santa Clara County,
south), turkey vulture, sharp-shinned
hawk, Cooper's hawk, western goshawk,
western red-tailed hawk, golden eagle,
desert sparrow hawk, spotted owl,
Pasadena screech owl, Pacific horned
owl, pygmy owl, Sierra woodpecker,
Cabanis woodpecker, Nuttall's wood-
pecker, white-headed woodpecker, Si-
erra three-toed woodpecker, red-naped
sapsucker, red-breasted sapsucker, Wil-
liamson's sapsucker, northern pileated
woodpecker, Lewis' woodpecker, red-
shafted flicker, western nighthawk,
black swift, white-throated swift, black-
chinned hummingbird, broad-tailed hum-
mingbird, rufous hummingbird, cal-
liope hummingbird, ash-throated fly-
catcher, olive-sided flycatcher, western
wood pewee, Hammond's flycatcher,
Wright's flycatcher, gray flycatcher,
blue-fronted jay, California jay, gray
jay, Clark's nutcracker, pinyon jay,
tricolored blackbird, Bullock's oriole,
Brewer's blackbird, western evening
grosbeak, California pine grosbeak,
Cassin's purple finch, Mexican crossbill,
green-backed goldfinch, pine siskin,
white-crowned sparrow, Thurber's junco,
western chipping sparrow, black-chinned
sparrow, mountain song sparrow, Lin-
coln's sparrow, thick-billed fox spar-
row (northerly), Stephens 1 fox sparrow
(southerly), spurred towhee, green-
tailed towhee, black-headed grosbeak,
Lazule bunting, western tanager, west-
ern martin, western warbling vireo,
Cassin's vireo, gray vireo (Cajon Pass
and south), Calaveras warbler, hermit
warbler, lutescent warbler, Audubon's
warbler, black-throated gray warbler,
Townsend's warbler, Macgillivray's war-
bler, golden pileolated warbler, Cali-
fornia thrasher, rock wren, dotted
canyon wren, western house wren,
western winter wren, Sierra creeper,
slender-billed nuthatch, red-breasted
nuthatch, pygmy nuthatch, gray tit-
mouse, mountain chickadee, lead-col-
ered bush-tit, western golden-crowned
kinglet, ruby-crowned kinglet, Town-
send's solitaire, Sierra hermit thrush,
western robin, western bluebird, moun-
tain bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is gener-
ally limited to the preforest or other
early stages of succession include the
western vesper sparrow and the Cali-
fornia yellow warbler.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally a local condition, include the follow-
ing : merganser, hooded merganser, wood
duck, Harlequin duck, spotted sand-
piper, and dipper.
5. POPLAR GROVE SAVANNA BIOTA
("PARK STEPPE" OF HARDY)
A narrow strip skirting the coniferous
forest on the west and south in Min-
nesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba, Saskat-
chewan and Alberta. It consists of
groves of poplar or low shrubs, the
former with characteristic forest edge
lying in a mesophytic prairie. In
some localities the grassland forms
islands. The mammals include forest
bison (Bison bison athabascae), mule
deer (Odocoileus hemionus*), skunk (Me-
phitis hudsonica), raccoon (Procyon I.
lotor), and red fox (Vulpes fulva).
66
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
6. DECIDUOUS FOREST BIOTA
Occupies areas with rainfall through-
out the year, especially in spring.
"The extensive area chiefly east of the
Mississippi and south of the Great
Lakes, which was formerly occupied by
an almost unbroken forest of a score or
more of deciduous trees. A few prairies
occur in the southern portion of the area
and evergreen needle-leaved trees occupy
bluffs and shallow soil in the mountains.
The commonest trees are species of
oak (Quercus), hickory (Hicoria), chest-
nut (Castanet, beech (Fagus), maple
(Acer), walnut (Juglans), tulip (Lirio-
dendron], and ash (Fraxinus) ."
The mammals include the Virginia
deer (Odocoileus virginianus subspp.),
black bear (Ursus a. americanus) , bob-
cat (Lynx r. ruffus), gray fox (Urocyon c.
cinereoargenteus) , red fox (Vulpes fulva),
opossum (Didelphis v. virginiana), cot-
tontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus
subspp.), and gray squirrel (Sciurus
carolinensis subspp.).
Breeding birds include the following:
ruffed grouse, wild turkey, passenger
pigeon (extinct), mourning dove, turkey
vulture, black vulture (south), swallow-
tailed kite, white-tailed kite, Mississippi
kite (south), marsh hawk, sharp-
shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, red-tailed
hawk, red-shouldered hawk, broad-
winged hawk, pigeon hawk, sparrow
hawk, barn owl, long-eared owl, barred
owl, saw-whet owl, screech owl, great
horned owl, Carolina paroquet (for-
merly), yellow-billed cuckoo, black-
billed cuckoo, ivory-billed woodpecker
(south), hairy woodpecker (north),
southern hairy woodpecker (south),
southern downy woodpecker (south),
downy woodpecker (north), red-cock-
aded woodpecker, pileated woodpecker
(south), northern pileated woodpecker
(north), red-headed woodpecker, red-
bellied woodpecker, flicker (south),
northern flicker (north), Chuck-will's-
widow (south), whip-poor-will, night-
hawk, chimney swift, ruby-throated
hummingbird, kingbird, crested fly-
catcher, phoebe, wood pewee, Acadian.
flycatcher, blue jay, crow, fish crow
(southeastern), cowbird, orchard oriole,
Baltimore oriole, purple grackle (Atlan-
tic Coast south), chipping sparrow,
Bachman's sparrow, song sparrow, tow-
hee, cardinal, rose-breasted grosbeak,
blue grosbeak (south), painted bunting
(south), scarlet tanager, summer tanager
(southerly), purple martin, cliff swallow,
cedar waxwing, red-eyed vireo, warbling
vireo, yellow-throated vireo, white-
eyed vireo, black and white warbler,
worm-eating warbler, Bachman's war-
bler (south), blue-winged warbler,
golden-winged warbler, parula warbler
(south), northern parula warbler (north)
pine warbler, oven-bird, Kentucky war-
bler, yellow-breasted chat, redstart,
mockingbird, catbird, brown thrasher,
Carolina wren, Bewick's wren, house
wren, white-breasted nuthatch, brown-
headed nuthatch (south), tufted tit-
mouse, chickadee, Carolina chickadee
(south), blue-gray gnatcatcher, wood
thrush, robin, southern robin, and
bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is gener-
ally limited to pre-forest or other early
stages of succession include the follow-
ing: upland plover, killdeer, bob-white,
goldfinch, vesper sparrow, field sparrow,
indigo bunting, loggerhead shrike
(south), migrant shrike (north), yellow-
throated warbler, and prairie warbler.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: boat-
tailed grackle (southeast), swamp spar-
row, tree swallow, bank swallow, rough-
winged swallow, prothonotary warbler,
Swainson's warbler (south), sycamore
warbler, Louisiana water-thrush, Mary-
land yellow-throat, northern yellow-
throat, hooded warbler, and short-
billed marsh wren.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally a local condition, include the follow-
ing: merganser, wood duck, great blue
heron, egret (south), snowy egret
(south), little blue heron (south), green
heron, black-crowned night heron, yel-
low-crowned night heron (south), sand-
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
67
hill crane, king rail, Virginia rail, sora,
yellow rail, black rail, purple gallinule
(south), Florida gallinule, coot, wood-
cock, Wilson's snipe, solitary sandpiper,
spotted sandpiper, piping plover, duck
hawk, osprey northern raven, red-
winged blackbird, and long-billed marsh
wren.
7. OAK GROVE SAVANNA BIOTA (PARK
STEPPE OF HARDY IN PART) GRASSLAND-
DECIDUOUS FOREST TRANSITION,
SHREVE; SUBCLIMAX PRAIRIE, CLE-
MENTS)
An area with little rainfall in winter
and late summer and heavy rainfall
in June.
The rather ill-defined belt in which
the Deciduous Forest emerges from the
flood-plains and river margins and
occupies a portion of the upland. On
the western edge of the belt there is a
high percentage of grassland, while in
the eastern portion the deciduous forest
becomes nearly continuous. The prin-
cipal trees of this region are the bur,
white, and black oaks (Quercus macro-
carpa, Q. alba, Q. velutina); the principal
grasses, beard grass (Andropogen fur-
catus), Indian grass (Sorghastrum
nutans}. and dropseed (Sporobolus cryp-
tandrus).
The forest edge is a very important
habitat for a few mammals, birds and
many insects ranging eastward. The
Franklin ground-squirrel (Citellus frank-
linii}, and many birds and insects are
restricted to it. Steppe animals in-
vaded the grass covered areas while
the wooded parts supported the Vir-
ginia deer (Odocoileus virginanus mac-
rourus), elk (Cervus c. canadensis} ,
raccoon (Procyon I. lotor), gray squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis leucotis), and cot-
tontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus
mearnsii).
The species that occur in the decidu-
ous forest are, for the most part, also
found in the oak grove savannas. But
a few species that are confined to the
southeastern part and the northeastern
part of the deciduous forest do not find
their way into the oak grove savannas.
The oak grove savanna thus become a
westward extension of the deciduou*
forest like arms into the grasslands.
Breeding birds that occur in the oak
grove savannas are as follows: upland
plover, turkey vulture, black vulture,
swallow-tailed kite, Mississippi kite,
sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk,
red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk,
broad-winged hawk, bald eagle, duck
hawk, sparrow hawk, great horned owl,
barn owl, long-eared owl, barred owl,
saw-whet owl, screech owl, Carolina
paroquet (formerly), yellow-billed
cuckoo, black-billed cuckoo, hairy
woodpecker, downy woodpecker, yellow-
bellied sapsucker, red-headed wood-
pecker, red-bellied woodpecker, north-
ern flicker, whip-poor-will, nighthawk,
chimney swift, ruby-throated hum-
mingbird, kingbird, Arkansas kingbird
(west), crested flycatcher, wood pewee,
yellow-bellied flycatcher (north), Aca-
dian flycatcher, least flycatcher, blue
jay, raven, crow, cowbird, orchard
oriole, Baltimore oriole, bronzed grackle,
goldfinch, vesper sparrow, chipping
sparrow, field sparrow, song sparrow,
towhee, cardinal, rose-breasted gros-
beak, painted bunting (south), scar-
let tanager, summer tauager, purple
martin, cliff swallow, barn swallow,
cedar waxwing, loggerhead shrike
(south), white-rumped shrike, red-eyed
vireo, warbling vireo, yellow-throated
vireo, black and white warbler (oc-
casionally), worm-eating warbler, blue-
winged warbler (occasionally), cerulean
warbler, chestnut-sided warbler (oc-
casionally), prairie warbler, oven-bird,
yellow-breasted chat, redstart (north),
mockingbird, catbird, brown thrasher,
Carolina wren, Bewick's wren, brown
creeper, white-breasted nuthatch, tufted
titmouse, chickadee, blue-gray gnat-
catcher, woodthrush, veery (east), willow
thrush, robin, and bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
generally limited to the pre-forest or
other early stages of succession include
the following: prairie chicken, bob-
white, short-eared owl, prairie horned
lark, bobolink, meadowlark, grasshopper
sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, lark spar-
row, dickcissel, and indigo bunting.
68
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: green
heron, black-crowned night heron, sand-
hill crane, king rail, Virginia rail, sora,
yellow rail, black rail, purple gallinule
(south), Florida gallinule, marbled god-
wit (north), spotted sandpiper, marsh
hawk, osprey, belted kingfisher, phoebe,
Traill's flycatcher, savanna sparrow,
Nelson's sparrow, swamp sparrow, tree
swallow, bank swallow, rough-winged
swallow, prothonotary warbler, Swain-
son's warbler (south), yellow warbler,
sycamore warbler, Louisiana water-
thrush, Maryland yellow-throat, hooded
warbler, short-billed marsh wren.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally a local condition, include the follow-
ing: bittern, least bittern, great blue
heron, snowy egret, little blue heron,
yellow-headed blackbird, red-winged
blackbird, and long-billed marsh wren.
8. SOUTHEASTERN CONIFEROUS FOREST
(SOUTHEASTERN MESOPHYTIC EVER-
GREEN FOREST, SHREVE) (PROBABLY
INCLUDES THE SOUTHEASTERN EVER-
GREEN-DECIDUOUS TRANSITION, SHREVE)
Copious rain in summer. Frequent
fires an important environmental factor.
The coastal plain forest is of evergreen
needle-leaved trees, with a subordinate
admixture of evergreen broad-leaved
and deciduous species. "Extensive
areas of this forest are pure stands of
longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), or
Cuban pine (P. caribaea} in open forma-
tion, with a clear floor nearly devoid of
shrubs and carpeted with grasses and
herbaceous plants." The mammals are
in part similar to those of the deciduous
forest, which is probably the climax
type over most of the region. For a
list of mammals and reptiles see account
of Alabama.
Breeding birds include the following:
wild turkey, passenger pigeon (extinct),
mourning dove, ground dove, black
vulture, swallow-tailed kite, Mississippi
kite, Cooper's hawk, Florida red-
shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, broad
winged hawk, sparrow hawk, barn owl,
Florida barred owl, Florida screech owl,
great horned owl, Carolina paroquet,
yellow-billed cuckoo, southern hairy
woodpecker, southern downy wood-
pecker, red-cockaded woodpecker, pile-
ated woodpecker, red-headed wood-
pecker, red-bellied woodpecker, chuck-
will's widow, flicker, Florida night-
hawk, chimney swift, ruby-throated
hummingbird, kingbird, crested fly-
catcher, wood pewee, blue jay, southern
crow, fish crow, cowbird, orchard oriole,
Baltimore oriole, purple grackle, pine-
woods sparrow, Bachman's sparrow,
chipping sparrow, Alabama towhee,
cardinal, blue grosbeak, summer tana-
ger, purple martin, red-eyed vireo,
warbling vireo, yellow-throated vireo,
white-eyed vireo, black and white
warbler, black-throated green warbler,
pine warbler, Florida yellow-throat,
yellow-breasted chat, Kentucky war-
bler, mockingbird, catbird, brown
thrasher, Carolina wren, Bewick's
wren, Florida white-breasted nuthatch,
brown-headed nuthatch, tufted titmouse,
Carolina chickadee, blue-gray gnat-
catcher, wood thrush, southern robin
and bluebird.
Breeding birds whose habitat is gener-
ally limited to the pre-forest or other
early stages of succession include the
following: bob-white, goldfinch, logger-
head shrike, and prairie warbler.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp include the following: indigo
bunting, prothonotary warbler, Swain-
son's warbler, sycamore warbler, Loui-
siana water-thrush, and hooded warbler.
Breeding bird whose habitat is limited
to the presence of water, generally a
local condition, is the bald eagle.
9. GRASSLAND BIOTA (GRASSLAND,
SHREVE) (GRASSLAND CLIMAX, CLE-
MENTS) (INCLUDES TRUE PRAIRIE;
MIXED PRAIRIE; SHORT-GRASS PLAINS;
BUNCH-GRASS PRAIRIE OF THE NORTH-
WEST, CLEMENTS)
Areas with rain chiefly in spring and
early summer. Dry season late in
summer. Winters cold and dry.
The vast plains area, covered ' by a
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
more or less closed sod of perennial
grasses, distributed as follows:
Tall grass prairie west to central
Dakotas, eastern third of Nebraska
and central Kansas; tall and short
grasses forming sod in all of grassland
north of central Kansas and Colorado,
west to Rockies, except in sand or where
overgrazed. South of this is mostly
scattered grass steppe; west of it mostly
bunch-grass steppe. Bunch-grass oc-
curs regularly in sand. A scattering
representation of desert forms is present,
particularly in the "bad lands," shrubs
are locally present, in portions of the
area (bush steppe) and the evergreen
forests advance from the west onto
hills and rocky soil, while the Deciduous
Forest encroaches from the east through
the valleys of the largest streams. A
number of species of herbaceous peren-
nials are found in all parts of the Grass-
land, being chiefly Composities. The
leading grasses are the gramas (Boute-
loua), buffalo grass (Bulbilis dacty-
loides], and prairie grass (Koeleria
cristata) .
The mammals included immense herds
of bison, large herds of pronghorn
antelope (Antilocapra americana), wolf
(Canis spp.), coyote (Cam's spp.),
white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus town-
sendii subspp.), kit fox (Vulpes velox},
and "towns" of prairie-dogs (Cynomys).
Breeding birds include the following:
upland plover, killdeer, bob-white, Flor-
ida bob-white (Florida prairies), prairie
chicken, lesser prairie chicken, prairie
sharp-tailed grouse, western mourning
dove, turkey vulture, marsh hawk,
Swainson's hawk, ferruginous rough-leg,
prairie falcon, duck hawk, sparrow
hawk, desert sparrow hawk, burrowing
owl, poor-will, western nighthawk, Sen-
nett's nighthawk, scissor-tailed fly-
catcher, kingbird, Arkansas kingbird,
phoebe, Say's phoebe, prairie horned
lark, desert horned lark, dusky horned
lark, magpie, cowbird, meadowlark,
western meadowlark, southern meadow-
lark, Bullock's oriole, Brewer's black-
bird, goldfinch, chestnut-collared long-
spur, McCown's longspur, vesper
sparrow, western vesper sparrow, Oregon
vesper sparrow, savanna sparrow, west-
ern savanna sparrow, Baird's sparrow,
grasshopper sparrow, western grass-
hopper sparrow, Florida grasshopper
sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, western
Henslow's sparrow, Leconte's sparrow,
Nelson's sparrow, lark sparrow, western
lark sparrow, western field sparrow,
western chipping sparrow, clay-colored
sparrow, Brewer's sparrow, song spar-
row, Dakota song sparrow, dickcissel,
lark bunting, purple martin, cliff swal-
low, barn swallow, white-rumped shrike,
migrant shrike, Sprague's pipit, western
house wren, robin, western robin, and
bluebird.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream, in-
clude the following: tree swallow, bank
swallow, rough-winged swallow, Mary-
land yellow-throat, western yellow-
throat, northern yellow-throat, and
short-billed marsh wren.
Breeding birds whose habitat is
limited to the presence of water, gener-
ally a local condition, include the follow-
ing: sandhill crane, Wilson's phalarope,
avocet, Wilson's snipe, marbled godwit,
solitary sandpiper, western willet, spot-
ted sandpiper, and long-billed curlew,
prairie marsh wren.
10. TEMPERATE DESERT-GRASSLAND
BIOTA (INCLUDES DESERT- GRASS
LAND TRANSITION, SHREVEJ DES-
ERT PLAINS, CLEMENTS; THE NORTH-
ERNMOST EXTENSION OF THE GREAT
BASIN MICROPHYLL DESERT, SHREVE)
A region intermediate in character
between the grassland and the deserts
of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and
Idaho.
An open carpet of perennial grasses
and ephemeral or root-perennial her-
baceous plants, with a more or less
sparing representation of succulent and
semi-succulent forms. The leading
Grassland plants (in southern localities)
are the gramas (Bouteloua) and galleta
grass (Hilaria), and the chief desert
plants are p%lmilla, amole, and a small
group of cacti.
70
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
The Snake River plain with sage-
brush among which grasses grow up in
spring and with local areas of grass,
is included here.
The mammals originally included
bison, pronghorn antelope, badger
(Taxidea taxus subspp.), ground-squir-
rels (Citellus spp.), black-tailed jack-
rabbit (Lepus californicus group),
pocket-mouse (Perognathus), and kan-
garoo-rat (Dipodomys).
Breeding birds include the following:
sage hen, western mourning dove, turkey
vulture, marsh hawk, Swainson's hawk,
ferruginous rough-leg, prairie falcon,
desert sparrow hawk, short-eared owl,
MacFarlane's screech owl, burrowing
owl, California cuckoo, Sierra wood-
pecker, Batchelder's woodpecker, red-
shafted flicker, poor-will, western night-
hawk, black-chinned hummingbird,
broad-tailed hummingbird, kingbird,
Arkansas kingbird, Say's phoebe, west-
ern wood pewee, western flycatcher,
desert horned lark, magpie, Woodhouse's
jay, western crow, cowbird, western
meadowlark, Bullock's oriole, Brewer's
blackbird, house finch, green-backed
goldfinch, western vesper sparrow, Ne-
vada savanna sparrow, western grass-
hopper sparrow, western lark sparrow,
western chipping sparrow, Brewer's
sparrow, desert sparrow, sage sparrow,
MerilPs song sparrow, spurred towhee,
black-headed grosbeak, lazuli bunting,
purple martin, cliff swallow, barn
swallow, California shrike, yellow war-
bler, long-tailed chat, and sage thrasher.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: raven,
bobolink, northern violet-green swallow,
bank swallow, western yellow-throat,
and tule wren.
11. EXTREME DESERT (CALIFORNIA MI-
CROPHYLL DESERT, SHREVE) (THE
WESTERN DESERT SCRUB IN PART,
CLEMENTS)
"An extremely low and open stand of
microphyllous (small-leafed) shrubs,
chiefly evergreen but partly deciduous;
very poor in grasses and in succulent
plants. The dominant plants are creo-
sote bush (Covillea tridentata), and sand
bur (Franseria dumosa)."
Mammals, small burrowing forms and
diurnal reptiles are present.
For list of mammals see account of
Mexico (Sonoran District) page 592.
Breeding birds 2 include the following:
Gambel's quail, western mourning dove,
desert sparrow hawk, prairie falcon,
road-runner, Texas woodpecker, Gila
woodpecker, poor-will, western night-
hawk, Texas nighthawk, Costa hum-
mingbird, Say's phoebe, vermilion fly-
catcher, Sonora horned lark, western
raven, Sonora red-winged blackbird,
western meadowlark, Scott's oriole,
California purple finch, black-throated
sparrow, desert song sparrow, Abert's
towhee, western blue grosbeak, phaino-
pepla, white-rumped shrike, least vireo,
Lucy's warbler, western mockingbird,
Bendire's thrasher, Leconte's thrasher,
crissal thrasher, cactus wren, rock wren,
verdin, and plumbeous gnatcatcher.
12. SAGEBRUSH DESERT BIOTA (GREAT
BASIN MICROPHYLL DESERT, SHREVE)
(THE SAGEBRUSH CLIMAX, AND IN-
CLUDES THE BASIN SAGEBRUSH AND
POSSIBLY THE COASTAL SAGEBRUSH,
CLEMENTS)
(The northern portion is classed under
$ 10 on account of desert grassland
animals present.)
"An open stand of shrubs, sometimes
nearly closed; varying from place to
place in stature; usually poor in grasses
and succulents. The dominant plant
is sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata),
locally accompanied by other forms."
Among characteristic mammals are
the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra
americana), black-tailed jackrabbit (Le-
pus californicus subspp.), pygmy rabbit
(Brachylagus idahoensis), cottontail rab-
bits (Sylvilagus spp.), ground-squirrels
2 Aquatic birds have been omitted from the desert
list because of the extreme scarcity of their habitat
in such regions. Many of these birds do not nest
on the ground but in the thinly forested areas along
streams, in canyons, among the rocks, in mesquite
or cacti. No effort is made to distinguish ground
nesting birds from others.
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
71
(Citellus spp.), kangaroo-rats (Dido-
domys spp.), and pocket-mice (Perog-
nathus spp.).
Breeding birds include the follow-
ing: upland plover, killdeer, Columbian
sharp-tailed grouse, sage hen, western
mourning dove, turkey vulture, sharp-
shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, western
red-tail, red-bellied hawk, Swainson's
hawk, ferruginous rough-leg, prairie
falcon, Richardson's pigeon hawk, des-
ert sparrow hawk, short-eared owl,
spotted owl, burrowing owl, California
cuckoo, Sierra woodpecker, Batchelder's
woodpecker, red-shafted flicker, poor-
will, western nighthawk, black-chinned
hummingbird, broad-tailed humming-
bird, kingbird, Arkansas kingbird, cas-
sin kingbird, ash-throated flycatcher,
Say's phoebe, western wood pewee, west-
ern flycatcher, TrailPs flycatcher, desert
horned lark, dusky horned lark, black-
billed magpie, woodhouse jay, raven,
western crow, bobolink, cowbird, yellow-
headed blackbird, San Diego red-wing,
Nevada red-wing, western meadowlark,
Bullock's oriole, Brewer's blackbird,
house finch, green-backed goldfinch,
western vesper sparrow, western sa-
vanna sparrow, western grasshopper
sparrow, western lark sparrow, western
chipping sparrow, desert sparrow, sage
sparrow, mountain song sparrow, Ne-
vada towhee, black-headed grosbeak,
lazuli bunting, western tanager, purple
martin, cliff swallow, barn swallow,
white-rumped shrike, western warbling
vireo, yellow warbler, long-tailed chat,
sage thrasher, western mockingbird,
rock wren, canyon wren, western house
wren, lead-colored bush-tit, western
gnatcatcher, western robin, and western
bluebird.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: spotted
sandpiper, long-billed curlew, snowy
plover, marsh hawk, belted kingfisher,
tree swallow, bank swallow, northern
violet-green swallow, rough-winged
swallow, western yellow-throat, and
western marsh wren.
13. EASTERN (RIO GRANDE) SUCCULENT
DESERT BIOTA (TEXAS SUCCULENT
DESERT, SHREVE) (EASTERN DESERT
SCRUB, CLEMENTS)
"A mixed stand of microphyllous
shrubs and succulent and semi-succulent
plants. The shrubs are either evergreen
(Cavilled) or deciduous (Acacia, Flour-
ensia). The stem-succulents comprise
many species of cacti, chiefly low in
growth; the commonest leaf-succulent is
lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) ; the semi-
succulents include sotol (Dasylirion
texanum), amole, andpalmilla (Yucca)."
For list of mammals see Texas account,
page 502.
Breeding birds include the following:
killdeer, snowy plover, Texas bob-white,
Arizona scaled quail, western mourning
dove, white-winged dove, Mexican
ground dove, Inca dove, black vulture,
turkey vulture, white-tailed kite, Har-
ris' hawk, western red-tail, Texas red-
shouldered hawk, zone-tailed hawk,
Swainson's hawk, Mexican black hawk,
Mexican goshawk, prairie falcon, Aplo-
mado falcon, desert sparrow hawk,
Audubon's caracara, spotted owl, Sa-
haura screech owl, flammulated screech
owl, western horned owl, burrowing
owl, road-runner, California cuckoo,
Texas woodpecker, cactus woodpecker,
Stephens' poor-will, Texas nighthawk,
broad-tailed hummingbird, Cassin's king-
bird, ash-throated flycatcher, dwarf cow-
bird, Rio Grande meadowlark, thick-
billed red-wing, Scott's oriole, Bullock's
oriole, housefinch, Arkansas goldfinch
western lark sparrow, desert sparrow,
rufous-winged sparrow, Scott's sparrow,
Arizona pyrrhuloxia, western blue gros-
beak, varied bunting, barn swallow,
phainopepla, white-rumped shrike, black-
capped vireo, Stephens' vireo, least vireo,
Sonora yellow warbler, western yellow-
throat, long-tailed chat, western mock-
ingbird, curve-billed thrasher, crissal
thrasher, cactus wren, canyon wren,
Texas wren, Sennett's titmouse, verdin,
and plumbeous gnatcatcher.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
72
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
swamp, include the following: marsh
hawk, duck hawk, white-necked raven,
rough-winged swallow, and bank
swallow.
14. WESTERN SMALL TREE AND SUC-
CULENT DESERT BIOTA (ARIZONA SUC-
CULENT DESERT, SHREVE) (WESTERN
DESERT SCRUB, IN PART, CLEMENTS)
"A mixed stand of microphyllous
shrubs or small trees, either evergreen
or deciduous, and of succulent forms,
chiefly the stem succulent cacti. The
leading shrubs are creosote bush and
cat-claw (Acacia) ; the commonest small
trees are palo verde (Parkinsonia) and
palo fierro (Olneya). The succulents
comprise large columnar forms (Car-
negiea), branching aborescent forms
(Opuntia), and many smaller types."
Mammals include the black-tailed
deer (Ododoileus), black-tailed jack-
rabbit (Lepus californicus group), cot-
tontail rabbit (Sylvilagus audubonii
group), coyotes (Cam's spp.), badger
(Taxidea), and many species of rodents.
Breeding birds include the following:
killdeer, snowy plover, masked bob-
white, GambeFs quail, western mourn-
ing dove, white-winged dove, Mexican
ground dove, Inca dove, turkey vulture,
Harris' hawk, western red-tail, zone-
tailed hawk, Swainson's hawk, Mexican
black hawk, Mexican goshawk, prairie
falcon, Aplomado falcon, desert sparrow
hawk, Audubon's caracara, Arizona
spotted owl, Mexican screech owl, spot-
ted screech owl, western horned owl,
burrowing owl, road-runner, California
cuckoo, Chihuahua woodpecker, cactus
woodpecker, Gila woodpecker, gilded
flicker, Stephens' poor-will, Texas night-
hawk, Costa hummingbird, broad-billed
hummingbird, Arizona crested fly-
catcher, ash-throated flycatcher, oliva-
ceous flycatcher, buff-breasted fly-
catcher, vermilion flycatcher, beard-
less flycatcher, scorched horned lark,
bronzed cowbird, Sonora red-wing, Rio
Grande meadowlark, Scott's oriole,
orchard oriole, house finch, Arkansas
goldfinch, western lark sparrow, desert
sparrow, botteri sparrow, rufous-winged
sparrow, Scott's sparrow, desert song
sparrow, Arizona cardinal, Arizona
pyrrhuloxia, western blue grosbeak,
beautiful bunting, Mexican cliff swallow,
barn swallow, phainopepla, white-
rumped shrike, Stephens' vireo, least
vireo, Lucy's warbler, Sonora yellow war-
bler, western yellow-throat, western
mockingbird, Palmer's thrasher, Ben-
dire's thrasher, Leconte's thrasher,
crissal thrasher, cactus wren, Baird's
wren, verdin, and plumbeous gnat--
catcher.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: marsh
hawk, duck hawk, white-necked raven,
rough-winged swallow, and bank
swallow.
15. MESQUITE SEMI-DESERT BIOTA
(TEXAS SEMI-DESERT, SHREVE)
"An open or closed stand of small trees
and shrubs, chiefly deciduous, with
local areas of grassland and a represen-
tation of succulents. The dominant
tree is mesquite (Prosopis glandulosd) ;
the principal shrub, huisache (Acacia
farnesiana)."
Mammals include white-tailed deer
(Odocoileus texanus}, wolf (Cam's rufus~),
opossum (Didelphis marsupialis texen-
szs), peccary (Tayassu), and armadillo
(Dasypus novemcinctus texanus}.
Breeding birds include the following:
killdeer, Mexican jacana, chestnut-
bellied scaled quail, Attwater's prairie
chicken, Rio Grande turkey, chachalaca,
red-billed pigeon, western mourning
dove, white-winged dove, Mexican
ground dove, Inca dove, white-fronted
dove, black vulture, turkey vulture,
Harris' hawk, western red-tail, zone-
tailed hawk, Swainson's hawk, Sennet's
white-tailed hawk, Mexican black hawk,
Mexican goshawk, prairie falcon, Aplo-
mado falcon, desert sparrow hawk,
Audubon's caracara, spotted owl, Texas
screech owl, burrowing owl, groove-
billed ani, road-runner, California
cuckoo, coppery-tailed trogon, Texas
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
73
kingfisher, Texas woodpecker, cactus
woodpecker, golden-fronted woodpecker,
Stephens' poor-will, MerriPs parauque,
Texas nighthawk, Reiffer's humming-
bird, buff-bellied hummingbird, Couch's
kingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, Mex-
ican crested flycatcher, Derby fly-
catcher, vermilion flycatcher, beardless
flycatcher, Texas horned lark, green
jay, white-necked raven, red-eyed cow-
bird, Vera Cruz red-wing, Rio Grande
meadowlark, Audubon's oriole, Sen-
nett's oriole, Bullock's oriole, great-
tailed grackle, house finch, Arkansas
goldfinch, Texas seaside sparrow, west-
ern lark sparrow, black-throated spar-
row, botteri sparrow, Cassin's sparrow,
Texas sparrow, gray-tailed cardinal,
Texas pyrrhuloxia, western blue gros-
beak, varied bunting, painted bunting,
Sharpe's seedeater, lesser cliff swallow,
gray-breasted martin, rough-winged
swallow, phainopepla, white-rumped
shrike, small white-eyed vireo, Texas
vireo, Sennett's warbler, Florida yellow-
throat, Rio Grande yellow-throat, west-
ern mockingbird, Sennett's thrasher,
curve-billed thrasher, cactus wren, lo-
mita wren, black-crested tit-mouse,
verdin. and plumbeous gnatcatcher.
Breeding birds preferring a moist
habitat, generally near a stream or
swamp, include the following: snowy
plover, Wilson's plover, and marsh
hawk.
16. BROAD THICK-LEAVED EVERGREEN
SEMI-DESERT BIOTA (WINTER RAIN
REGION) (PACIFIC SEMI-DESERT,
SHREVE; CALIFORNIA CHAPARRAL, AND
WOODLANDS OF MEDITERRANEAN TYPE,
HARDY; COASTAL CHAPARRAL AND PINE-
OAK WOODLAND IN PART, CLEMENTS)
"A region of great topographic diversi-
ty in which the vegetation varies locally
from encinal (open oak forest, chiefly
evergreen), through chaparral (a closed
scrub of evergreen shrubs), to desert
(ephemeral herbaceous plants, small
perennials, local succulents). . . .
The principal chaparral plants are
chamiso (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and
species of manzanita (Arctostaphylos)."
The mammals include black-tailed
deer (Odocoileus columbianus scaphiotus),
coyote (Canis ochropus), and black-
tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus
subspp.).
17. MAGNOLIA, BAY, HOLLY, "HAM-
MOCKS* (TEMPERATE
RAIN FOREST)
Various correspondents contend that
there is no forest of this type in the
Americas. Various others have mapped
the areas in the states adjacent to the
Gulf of Mexico, especially Florida, as
of this type. Pittier is inclined to con-
sider some of the South American
forests in high altitude as coming under
Schimper's definition. From diagrams
of the distribution of temperature and
rainfall in the Australian and Asiatic
areas commonly called temperate rain
forest localities, there is evidently no
climatic reason why this type should not
occur in some localities in the southern
states. The botanical objections to
considering the magnolia, bay, holly
"hammocks" temperate rain forest
seems to be the sclerophyll character
of the leaves. This may be another
case where more consideration of the
animals and lower plants should be
allowed to dictate. So far as the ani-
mals living under the forest cover are
concerned the failure of the leaves to
fall is more important than the char-
acter of their covering. For lists of
animals see under the Florida account,
page 427.
18. TROPICAL HAMMOCKS (SUBTROPICAL
RAIN FOREST)
Some small areas in southeastern
Florida have sufficient rainfall correctly
distributed to give a tropical rain forest.
Some areas of this type have reached a
climax which may be considered as a
less luxuriant type of rain forest. Their
small size does not permit them to
afford shelter to the larger tropical
animals but the biota is generally taxo-
nomically related to the biota of the
West Indies.
74 NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
For lists of animals and further dis- The swamps composed of evergreen
cussion see the Florida account page 427. and deciduous trees in great variety,
the bald cypress and tupelo gum being
19. LOCAL AND EDAPHic BIOTA tne commonest species. The marshes
are widely varying areas of grasses,
All the waters, sand areas, rock slides, sedges, and immersed aquatic plants,
etc., belong here but swamps and Mangrove swamps border shores in
marshes cover most extensive areas. southern Florida.
C. LIFE ZONES
BY V. E. SHELFORD AND G. T. JONES
In this book an attempt has been made
to use natural features: climate, land-
scape aspects, and the characteristic
plants in designating and describing
areas. Various authors of local ac-
counts use "afe zones" to designate
areas. Without a glossary the names
do not suggest the landscape aspect
types. It is necessary in such a work
that natural features be used in order
that the traveler may identify his loca-
tion. The characteristic plants were
substituted by the compilers for "life
zones" wherever mentioned by contrib-
utors in temperate America. This was
done in accord with the table below.
Approximate correspondence of Vegetation and Merriam's Life Zones
(Prepared by George T. Jones)
Vegetation type
I. Tundra and Alpine Sum-
mits
A. Arctic Tundra
B. Paramos or Alpine
Meadow
II. Coniferous Forest
A. Northern Coniferous
Forest
B. Mountain Coniferous
Forest
1. Rocky Mountain
Forest
2. Sierran Sub-al-
pine Forest
3. Rocky Mountain
Montane For-
est
4. Sierran Montane
Forest
5. Larch-Pine For-
est of North-
west
C. Northwest Moist
Coniferous Forest
III. Eastern Forests
A. Mixed Coniferous and
Deciduous
B. Temperate Deciduous
C. Southeast Coniferous
Forest
D. Gulf Coast Forest
Composition
Lichens and herbs
Sedges, grasses and
herbs, dwarf willows
Red, black and white
spruces, balsam fir
Engelmann spruce and
alpine fir
Mountain hemlock, firs,
white-bark pine
Western yellow pine,
Douglas fir, white fir,
lodgepole pine
Sugar pine, western
yellow pine, incense
cedar, white fir, Doug-
las fir
Western white pine,
western larch, western
hemlock, Engelmann
spruce, giant cedar
Redwood, douglas fir,
western hemlock, giant
cedar, Sitka spruce
Beech, birch, maple,
hemlock, white pine
Beech, maple, oaks,
hickories, tulip tree,
sassafras
Longleaf pine, loblolly
pine, slash pine, mag-
nolia, live oak, bald
cypress
Southeast Coniferous
Forest with under-
growth of Palmetto
75
Merriam's Life
Zone
Arctic-Alpine
Zone
Arctic-Alpine
Zone
Hudsonian
Canadian
and
Hudsonian and
upper Canadian
Hudsonian and
upper Canadian
Canadian and
upper Transition
Canadian
Transition
and
Canadian and
Transition
Canadian and
Humid Transi-
tion
Alleghanian
Carolinian
Austroriparian
Sabalian or Gulf
Strip
76
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
IV. Temperate Rain Forest
V. Sub-tropical Rain Forest
VI. Poplar Savanna
VII. Oak Savanna
VIII. Rocky Mountain Forest
Margin
A. Chaparral
B. Woodland
IX. California region of various
vegetation with Summer
drouth and Winter Rain
A. Chaparral
B. Woodland
C. Coastal sagebrush or
"chaparral"
D. Bunch-grass plains in
valleys (cultivated)
X. Grassland
A. Prairie
B. Steppe (Brush grass-
land in part)
XI. Bush-Steppe
1. Semi-desert
west
2. Semi-desert
west
XII. Temperate Desert
North-
South-
XIII. Subtropical Desert
A. California Microphyll
Desert
B. Succulent Desert
XIV. Thorn Savanna
"Hammock" Country,
Florida
Very rare frost, south tip
of Florida
Mixture of poplars and
tall grasses
Mixture of oaks and tall
grasses
Brush, as dwarf oak
(Quercus undulatus)
and Mountain mahog-
any (Sercocarpus par-
vifolius)
Pinyons and junipers
Brush, as Manzanita and
Buck brush
Evergreen oaks, jun-
ipers, etc.
"Old Man" (Artemisia
californica) and Salvia
Tall grass in bunches
Largely included in
Savanna VI and VII
Grasses in open sod.
Bare ground between
plants, or rather short
grasses forming sod
Mixed grass and sage-
brush
Mixed Grass and desert
shrub
Sagebrush -Atriplex-
rabbit brush
Creosote bush and Sand-
bur
Cacti, mesquite, etc.
Thorn bushes and grass
Sabalian Zone
Tropical Zone
Transition and Al-
leghanian
Alleghanian, Car-
olinian and
Austroriparian
Arid Transition
Upper Sonoran
Arid Transition
Upper Sonoran
Upper Sonoran
Upper and Lower
Sonoran
Arid Transition
and Upper Son-
oran
Upper Sonoran
Upper Sonoran
Upper Sonoran
Lower Sonoran
Lower Sonoran
Lower Sonoran
The maps of Southern North America
and Northern South America are the
results of the circulation of three pre-
liminary maps. The earlier maps were
criticized by T. Barbour, L. Griscom,
G. K. Noble, A. G. Ruthven and others.
A much larger scale map was then
planned with the aid of Dr. W. H. Os-
good, drawn and circulated. Most of
the contributors of tropical accounts
made important suggestions and Mr.
E. P. Killip of the National Museum
added his knowledge of several countries.
Florida may be used to illustrate diffi-
culties in mapping^ the vegetation of
areas. It is covered largely by long-
leaf pine, and is commonly mapped as
coniferous forest. Detailed study
shows, however, that on well-developed
soils in stable physiographic situations
such as the highest terraces of flood
plains, other types occur which indicate
future dominants. Thus Professor Wat-
son shows northwestern Florida to be
deciduous forest, much of central
Florida to be temperate rainforest
(evergreen), southeastern Florida to
be tropical rainforest, and the remain-
ing parts are represented according
to present dominants because neither
the knowledge nor conditions make
possible prediction of the coming type.
1
'
TEMPERATE Deciouous FOREST
;|:|il:li|i|i|!|l S.E CONIFEROUS FOREST
ARID CONIFEROUS FOREST
CONIFEROUS FOREST
MOIST CONIFEROUS FOREST
PARAMOS AMD HIGH MT FOREST
*e* e @ SuceuLtNT DE SERT
ffifiHl SH^TREE SEMI-DESERT
LUXURIANT TROPICAL
RAIN FOREST
SUB ALPINE
EVERGREEN FOREST
TROPICAL RAIN FtRtsT
CLIMAX
Y//////\ DRIER IROPICAL 1 o o \ | A/o DECIDUOUS \ f !':' : >1 ,,
^^ ^^r l:^^d ^r fcgimd ^^*^o
W-/fy%/ty)( M NTAH E M k.* ...'|^| DECIDUOUS THORN I V *o *o* *
Yy^Xy/WA CLOUD FOREST FV. oovol FOREST |^ 4^0/0*0*^
GRASS SWAMP
BROAD-LEAFED
EVERGREEN SEMI-DESERT OF\A!INTER RAIN REGIONS
FIG. 4. BIOTIC AREAS OP SOUTHERN NORTH AMERICA, MEXICO AND
CENTRAL AMERICA
D. DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF MIDDLE AMERICAN BIOTA (CENTRAL
MEXICO TO THE AMAZON)
BY FORREST SHRBVE AND V. E. SHELFORD
(Names in parenthesis are synonyms used in published works or in the manu-
scripts submitted)
1. LUXURIANT TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST
BIOTA (RAIN-FOREST; LOWLAND TROP-
ICAL FOREST; HEAVY FOREST; HEAVY
HUMID FOREST)
This forest occupies regions with
uniform mean monthly temperature and
a heavy and well distributed rainfall.
The forest is composed of a great number
of different species and genera of trees
of different stature and of shrubs and
vines. The dominant trees are ever-
green, or nearly so, and their leaves are
relatively small and thick, while those
of the subordinate trees are broad and
thin.
The animal life is also represented by
a vast number of species. Termites
which build nests on trees, leaf carrying
ants, military ants and gaudy butter-
flies characterize the insect population.
Frogs and lizards are numerous. The
snakes include some of the constrictors
and poisonous coraline and crotaline
species. Most of the birds are of com-
mon neotropical types, many being large,
grotesque or gaudy. Monkeys are most
numerous here many rarely coming to
the ground. Cats large and small,
squirrels, and opossums are plentiful,
Arboreal anteaters and sloths are char-
acteristic. Tapirs are nearly always
present.
2. DRIER TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST BIOTA
(LOWLAND RAIN-FOREST)
This type of forest is similar to the
luxuriant tropical Rain-Forest, but is
not so heavy, the trees are not usually so
tall nor so numerous in species, and the
abundance of epiphytes and lianas
depends upon local conditions, tending
to be less numerous than in the Luxu-
riant Tropical Rain-Forest. The ani-
mal life is similar to that of the luxuriant
forest but poorer in species and with
many species different.
3. ARID DECIDUOUS FOREST BIOTA
(MONSOON FOREST; SEMI-
DECIDUOUS FOREST)
This forest is similar to the drier rain
forest in the wet season, but exhibits
partial leaf fall in the dry season. It
is rich in epiphytes of bromeliad type,
but relatively poor in lianas. The
shrubs are chiefly evergreen.
The monkeys, opossums, and ar-
boreal anteaters drop out or become
much less numerous than in the tropical
rain forest. Peccaries, forest rabbits,
foxes, and deer are more numerous. It
must be borne in mind, however, that
trees adjacent to streams often retain
their leaves and that monkeys, tapirs,
etc., ordinarily found in rain forest
may occur here. In general, however,
the species in the deciduous forest
proper are quite different in the case of
animals.
4. DECIDUOUS THORN FOREST BIOTA
(XEROPHYLOUS FOREST; THORN
FOREST; CAATINGA)
Deciduous Thorn Forest occupies
some of the more arid portions of South
America. It consists of a more or less
close stand of large shrubs, small trees
and succulents. The majority of the
dominant plants are leafless in the dry
77
78
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
season. The animal life is scanty, Rats, mice, and ground-squirrels are
armadillos, forest rabbits, and foxes the dominant animals, though pec-
being dominant mammalian types. caries, deer, and coyotes also occur.
5. GBASSLAND BIOTA (PRAIRIES; LLANOS ;
CAMPOS; PAMPAS; PAJONALES)
The diverse grassland areas of tropi-
cal America are alike in the tall coarse,
character of the grasses and in the
occurrence with them of numerous
shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants.
In some localities the vegetation is low
and open, as on the limestone mesas of
Venezuela ; in others it is more luxuriant
and more nearly perennial in its activity.
Only restricted areas of grassland are
without trees. Little distinction can
be made between the animal life of the
Grassland and Savanna due to the lack
of information, particularly as to the
smaller forms.
6. SAVANNA BIOTA (ARID GRASSLAND;
GALLERY SAVANNA)
The Savannas are tropical grasslands
occupied by greater or less numbers of
trees or shrubs, growing singly or in
groups, and being chiefly deciduous ex-
cept in the case of the palms. The
grasses vary in density and stature, up
to 1 m. in height.
The Savannas of South America are
characterized by two or three species of
savanna deer and brocket, tayra, skunks,
savanna foxes, peccaries, etc. Monkeys
live in groves of trees in some localities
and may move from grove to grove
through bushes when they occur.
7. SEMI-DESERT BIOTA
The principal area of Semi-desert is in
the lower valley of the Rio Grande and
in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas
others occurring on the coast of South
America. Thorny deciduous shrubs and
small trees make up the principal part
of the open vegetation together with
evergreen shrubs, cacti, scattered bunch
grasses, and herbaceous plants of sea-
sonal activity.
8. DESERT BIOTA
The Desert areas of Tropical America
are chiefly in northern Mexico and on
the Pacific Coast of South America.
They are alike in the low stature and
open stand of the vegetation and in the
restriction of its activity to the rainy
seasons. They differ in the density of
their shrubbery and in the relative
abundance of succulent and non-succu-
lent plants. There are both deciduous
and evergreen shrubs; grasses are of
local occurrence.
The Deserts are characterized by
numerous reptiles, usually diurnal and
conspicuous and numerous nocturnal
rodents, particularly small ones able to
hide. Jack-rabbits and coyotes are
common except in extreme deserts.
The following birds breed in the
Mexican Plateau desert: Mearn's quail,
Merriam's turkey, chachalaca, black
vulture, zone-tailed hawk, Sennett's
white-tailed hawk, Mexican black hawk,
Mexican goshawk, flammulated screech
owl. prairie falcon, Aplomado falcon,
Audubon's caracara, Mexican screech
owl, burrowing owl, ferruginous pygmy
owl, thick-billed parrot, grooved-billed
ani, road-runner, California cuckoo,
cactus woodpecker, Arizona woodpecker,
ant-eating woodpecker, Stephen's poor-
will, Texas nighthawk, Rivoli hum-
mingbird, blue-throated hummingbird,
black-chinned hummingbird, Lucifer
hummingbird, white-eared humming-
bird, broad-billed hummingbird, scissor-
tailed flycatcher, Cassin's kingbird,
Derby, flycatcher, sulphur-bellied fly-
catcher, Mexican crested flycatcher, ash-
throated flycatcher. Coues' flycatcher,
gray flycatcher, buff-breasted flycatcher,
vermilion flycatcher, scorched horned
lark, blue-eared jay, Arizona jay, white-
necked raven, San Diego red-wing,
Scott's oriole, Arkansas goldfinch, Wor-
then's sparrow, black-chinned sparrow,
desert sparrow, Cassin's sparrow, Scott's
sparrow, canyon towhee, Abert's towhee,
western blue grosbeak, hepatic tanager,
Cooper's tanager, Mexican cliff swallow,
phainopepla, Stephen's vireo, least vireo,
gray vireo. olive warbler, Sonora yellow
warbler, black-fronted warbler, long-
hlMlililii -S-E CONIFEROUS FOREST
O O + O t o * * I -I
.Vso" ^! TREE
PARAMOS AND HIGH Mr FOREST
LUXURIANT TROPICAL ^y^^J^^-^/
RAIH FOBF.IT W-fr/tf/'.-S.Z'
SUB ALPINE
fvFflffff/V F<ifte$T ::':
MAST GRASSLAND
w///,
DRIER JROPICAL to 0o / o0 o
RAIklFoRFST EOO O O?OO
ARID DECIDUOUS .. '. r. ; . ;-;. >
FOREST '?;' '';".;"
DRY GRASSLAND
$%m!>
MONTANE OR k^o^v"o ?o *
CLDUH FqarsT P.o?o'c- *.o^.
DECIDUOUS THORN B^^- ^ o-s^
p/jf;T I^'.'P-?^-':-'* '-J? ; :;;0
MOIST SAVANNA
' f
EXTREME DESER T ' .* '.* ." . ' :
/?5F/?r ^^/.V
ARID TREE oa
BUSH SAVANNA
Fia. 5. BIOTIC AREAS OF FLORIDA AND NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA
ORIGINAL BIOTA OF THE AMERICAS
79
tailed chat, western mockingbird, Pal-
mer's thrasher, Bendire's thrasher, cris-
sal thrasher, white-throated wren,
bridled titmouse, lead-colored bush-tit,
Lloyd's bush-tit, verdin, plumbeous
gnatcatcher, L. Jones.
9. MONTANE FORESTS BIOTA (CLOUD
FOREST; TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST;
LOWER MOUNTAIN FOREST)
This forest occurs at various eleva-
tions in tropical mountains where
clouds, fog, and heavy rainfall produce
very moist conditions. The trees are
not so tall as in the Luxuriant Tropical
Rain-Forest, but in other respects the
Montaine Forests rival the luxuriance
of the former. Ferns form a conspic-
uous element in the vegetation as
epiphytes, lianes and terrestrial plants,
while tree ferns are conspicuous among
the subordinate trees. The trees are
evergreen, mostly with small leaves;
but solid stands of conifers are also
found, depending upon soil conditions.
In Central America the fauna of
the Montane forest is in part highly
peculiar. Endemic genera of birds are
numerous. North American temperate
zone plants and animals here reach
their limit also. In parts of South
American the conspicuous animals are
about the same as in the rain forest.
10. SUBALPINE EVERGREEN FOREST
BIOTA (UPPER MONTANE FOREST)
The mountains rising above 9000 ft.
are clothed with a temperate and de-
ciduous broad-leaved forest of ever-
green trees or conifers. Monkeys and
other tropical rain forest species are
excluded from this belt. Numerous
small rodents characterize it, however.
11. ANDINE BUSHLAND BIOTA (AN-
DINE BRUSHWOOD)
The Andine Bushlands are just below
timber-line, being frequently broken
by small areas of grassland (paramillos).
Tree shrubs and dwarfed trees form a
low but compact stand, which becomes
lower and more open at still higher
altitudes. Deer, wild-cats, wolves,
bear, and forest rabbit occur in this
belt.
12. ANDINE MEADOW BIOTA (PARAMOSJ
ALPINE MEADOW)
Lying above the uppermost shrubby
vegetation, chiefly over 12,000 ft. ele-
vation, are the Andine Meadows, which
are composed of grasses, sedges, many
species of composites, notably of the
genus Espeletia, and scattering repre-
sentatives of various genera of tem-
perate relationship. Plants with hoary
tomentum are conspicuous in this
vegetation, as are also areas of sphag-
num. Deer, wild-cats, forest rabbit,
and numerous small rodents occur in
this belt.
13. MANGROVE SWAMP BIOTA
The Mangrove Swamps of tropical
America consist of nearly pure stands
of Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia nitida
or A. tomentosa, occupying the coast,
the shallow saline or brackish waters
of bays and lagoons. The interlocking
prop-roots of these trees make the
Mangrove Swamps very difficult to
penetrate from either land or water.
There are characteristic insects, birds,
etc., but the fauna of the swamps varies
in different regions on account of their
wide geographical range.
E. PROVISIONAL TABLE OF LANDSCAPE ASPECTS AND LIFE
ZONE EQUIVALENTS
BY E. A. GOLDMAN
Mangrove Swamps (Tropical Zone as
a whole, but as mangrove swamps are
not dependent upon rainfall, they occur
within the arid or humid divisions of
the Lower Tropical section).
Flood Plain Forest (low altitudes)
Lower Tropical Zone.
Luxuriant Tropical Rain Forest
Humid Lower Tropical Zone.
Drier Tropical Rain Forest Humid
Lower Tropical Zone.
Montane or Cloud Forest Humid
Upper Tropical Zone. It includes
conifers and oaks in Central
America.
Subalpine Evergreen Forest
Temperate Zone. (In Central
America.)
Ecuador and British Honduras, rang-
ing in altitudes from 6000 to 7000 ft. in
the former country and to 1000 to 4000
ft. in the latter.
The areas in British Honduras ex-
tending from 1000 to 4000 ft. altitude
would be within the Lower Tropical
Zone, associated with an immense num-
ber of tropical species. Areas at 6000
to 7000 ft. altitude in Ecuador would
probably be assigned to Sub-tropical
or Upper Tropical.
Partially Deciduous Forest Arid
Lower Tropical Zone.
Deciduous Thorn Forest Arid
Lower Tropical Zone. In Mexico
and in Panama this can not satis-
factorily be separated from the
preceding, as the regions are
coastal plains crossed by streams;
and along the streams the vege-
tation may be only partially
deciduous, or near the water line
evergreen, while it is completely
deciduous away from the water.
(Shrub) Desert Sonora and Lower
California. Lower Austral Zone.
Semi Desert Lower Austral Zone.
Extreme Desert Lower Austral
Zone. Desert District Vizcaino.
Gallery Savanna Arid Lower Trop-
ical Zone. A mixture of mon-
soon forest and savanna. Arid
sometimes corresponds to the
Lower Tropical Zone.
Grassland, Dry Grassland Arid
Lower Tropical Zone.
Andine bushland Paramillos
Paramo Zone.
80
F. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BY V. E. SHELFORD
Adams, O. C.
1920 Zoogeography of Northeastern-
most South America (after
Chapman) . Geog. Rev. , 10 :101-
107.
Brehn, A. E.
1890 North Pole to Equator, London
Batholomew, J. G.
1917 Advanced Atlas of Physical and
Political Geography (Oxford
Press).
Clements, F. E.
1916 Plant Succession. Carnegie Inst.
of Wash., Pub. 242.
1920 Plant Indicators, Cam. Inst.
Wash. Pub. 290.
Chapman, F. M.
1917 Distribution of Bird Life in
Colombia. Bull. Am. Mus.
Nat. Hist., 36: 1-729.
Goldman, E. A.
1920 Mammals of Panama. Smith-
sonian Misc. Coll., Vol. 69,
No. 50: 1-309.
Hall, H. M., and Grinnell, J.
1919 Life Zone Indicators in Califor-
nia. Proc. Cal. Am. Sci., 9:
37-67.
Hardy, M. E.
1920 The Geography of Plants. (Ox-
ford Press)
1913 An introduction to Plant Geog-
raphy. (Oxford Press.)
Livingston, B. E. and Shreve, F.
1921 Distribution of Vegetation in
the U. S. as related to Climatic
Conditions. Carnegie Inst. of
Wash., Pub. 284.
Mobius, K.
1880 The Oyster and Oyster Culture.
U. S. Com. Fisheries Report
1880 (Part VIII): 683-751.
Merriam, C. H.
1898 Life Zone and Crop Zones.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Biol. Surv.,
Bull. 10.
Sanders, E. M.
1921 The Natural Regions of Mexico.
Geog. Rev., 11: 212-26.
Schimper, A. W.
1903 (Translation by W. R. Fisher.
Plant Geography on a Physio-
logical Basis. Oxford.
Shreve, F.
1917 A Map of the Vegetation of the
United States. Geog. Rev. 3:
119-125.
Ward, R. DeC.
1919 A New Classification of Climates
(Koppen's). Geog. Rev., 8:
188-199.
Van Dyke
1919 Distribution of Insects in West-
ern North America. Ann.
Ent. Soc. of America, 12 : 1-12.
Shelford, V. E.
1911 Physiological Animal Geo-
graphy. Jour. Morph., 22:
551-618.
Strohl, J.
1921 Physiologische Gesichtpunkte
in der Tiergeographi. Vier-
teljahresschrift der Naturforsch.
Ges., Zur. 46: 1-22.
81
IV. NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
A. GENERAL PLAN
BY V. E. SHELFORD
The primary object of this volume is
to locate natural areas so as to make
them available to naturalists. Every-
one who learns the location of a natural
area through this volume should realize
the moral obligation to keep the area
as it is. Using an area described in
this book to satisfy one's selfish desires
for possession is a violation of a trust
placed in the nature-loving public.
Convenience of treatment divided
the territory covered into three sec-
tions: (1) Northern tundra and ice-
covered regions; (2) Temperate America
including the southern tier of Canadian
provinces and the whole of the United
States; (3) Tropical America, including
the areas between the southern bound-
aries of the United States and the
Amazon River and adjacent islands.
In the first and last divisions the great-
est latitude was permitted the authors
and no attempt to map or classify areas
was made. The meagre character of
the available knowledge forbade at-
tempting anything of the kind. The
name of the person preparing the ac-
count for each territory stands at its
head as the one responsible for the
completeness and accuracy.
The materials on the States and
southern tier of Canadian provinces
are divided into (1) a general account
of biotic conditions of the territory,
and (2) specific descriptions of natural
areas.
The general account describes the
territory as it was before modified by
civilization. General physiographic
features are described and geographic
and local plant and animal communities
briefly outlined. The names of Mer-
riam's life zones are used only in paren-
theses following the names of the
plants commonly used to designate
them. The original conditions of the
biota are then contrasted with the
present modified condition; the com-
munities and conspicuous plants and
animals which have been destroyed
are enumerated. Some authors have
enumerated polluted and unpolluted
waters.
In specific descriptions, the existing
natural areas are in part arranged ac-
cording to the natural subdivision
recognized in the general account. All
preserved areas and areas available for
study, in natural condition, preserved
areas in a semi-natural condition, such
as forest preserves, bird and game
sanctuaries, and second growth areas
undergoing succession, are as a rule
included and properly designated in so
far as they were known to the authors.
The National Forest were treated
separately by members of the United
States Forest Service. The National
Parks and Monuments are included in
the state accounts.
ABBREVIATION AND SYMBOLS
a. In locations of areas which appear
abbreviated, words in brackets have
been omitted:
[From] Chicago, [111. go] 12 mi.
west [via] C. B. & Q. R. R. or La Grange
Electric, to Riverside [and walk] (W)
$ mi. N. W. [From] Riverside, III.
b. Modification of areas. As com-
pared with their condition at the time
of the discovery by America by Euro-
peans in the fifteenth century all areas
have doubtless suffered considerable
modification. The degree of modifica-
tion varies greatly in the various natural
reservations, and in those areas avail-
85
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
able for study and proposed for pres-
ervation. It was the opinion of the
committee, that to publish an extensive
list without at least an estimate of the
degree of modification would give an
entirely erroneous idea of what is
available for scientific study and of
desirable policies relative to the im-
provement and maintenance of existing
preserves and the acquirement of more.
The conditions of the vegetation are
indicated by capital letters. The orig-
inal conditions are indicated by A,
and degrees of modification by C, D,
etc.
The conditions of the fauna are in-
dicated by Arabic numerals. The orig-
inal natural conditions are indicated
by 1 (one) and degrees of modification
by other figures, 2, 3, 4, etc.; 10 would
indicate a cultivated field, though the
plan is only carried to H8, e.g., single
trees in parks or pastures.
Symbols, etc.
* (in front of the name of an area) :
Preserved that is, areas held in
a natural state as parks, forest
preserves, etc.
** Preserved for scientific purposes
p (in front of the name of an area)
indicates that it is proposed for
preservation.
Areas not designated by either of
these symbols are available for
study.
J Hotel or boarding-house facilities.
|| Hotel or boarding-house during
tourist season only.
f Especially important; should be
preserved unmodified.
Camp outfit desirable; necessary.
Figures in ft. indicate elevation above
sea level.
Letters in parentheses indicate desir-
able means of reaching the area
as follows: (w) on foot; (a) by
automobile; (h) horseback; (c)
canoe.
M
FIG. 6. PBESEBVED AND AVAILABLE ABEAS IN WESTEBN NOBTH AMEBICA
'fa AREAS
TO SCALE
4- SMALL AVAILABLE
AREAS
AVAILABLE AREAS
TO SCALE
m DOMINION FORESTS
PROPOSED DOMIHIOH
FOREST
p DOMINION PARKS
NATURAL ARID AREA
;'.".'.'.* SAND AREAS
'*** in Mexict
FIG. 7. PRESERVED AND AVAILABLE AREAS IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
eM*,JU*A J"-
I
B. NATURAL REGIONS AND NATURAL AREAS
Section 1. Northern North America; Ice Covered Areas, Tundra,
and Northern Coniferous Forest 1
1. NORTHWEST GREENLAND
BY W. ELMER EKBLAW
PHYSIOGRAPHY
Northwest Greenland embraces the
broad peninsular region fronting west-
ward upon Kane Basin, Smith Sound,
and Baffin Bay, between Humboldt
Glacier on the north and Melville Bay
on the south. This peninsular region
extends over 3 latitude, from about
76 to 79 N. and over 8 of longitude,
from about 64 to 72 W.
The high narrow plateau between
the ice-cap and the sea is bisected by
Inglefield Gulf, a deep indentation with
several tributary fjords. Wolstenholme
Sound again bisects the southern half
and Foulke Fjord bisects the northern
half. The northern portion from Foulke
Fjord northward, and the southern
portion from Wolstenholme Sound
southward are Laurentian gneiss and
granite, in places capped by later
sedimentaries; the area between Wol-
stenholme Sound and Foulke Fjord is
Huronian sandstones, limestones, and
shales, intersected by dark traps and
diabases.
The Huronian coastline is much
indented, with narrow beaches at the
mouths of the valleys and along the
gentler slopes; the land-surface is
varied, with high sharp mountains and
deep canyon-like valleys in places, and
lower, rounded hills and broad valleys
in other places. The Laurentian coast
line is smoother, with very few beaches;
the land-surface is more uniformly high
1 This section was not edited as the others were.
All accounts were read by Messrs. Preble and Ek-
blaw and a part by Dr. Osgood. F. C. Baker read
the zoology of the entire section.
and deeply dissected. Everywhere the
topography is comparatively rugged.
The coastal belt between the ice-
cap and the sea which becomes free of
ice and snow in summer is from 2 to 40
mi. wide. It is intersected by numerous
glaciers, most of which reach the sea,
though some do not. Areas separated
by these glaciers vary in size from small
tracts of a few acres, to large regions
several hundred square miles in extent.
CLIMATE
With the large extent of open water
along the coast even in midwinter, the
temperature rarely drops down to more
than 50F. below zero, much higher
than extreme winter temperatures in
Siberia or Canada. Even with an
extensive ice-lay the temperature is
modified by the water, through crevices
and open pools, though if the ice be
deeply and generally covered by heavy
snow the temperature is lowered. The
highest summer temperature is 55 to
60 above zero Fahrenheit. Along some
of the high cliffs the temperature is
raised adiabatically when the air drops
down from the ice-cap, so that in cer-
tain favorable localities the temperature
never falls below 40 below zero Fahren-
heit.
The temperature rises high enough
about mid-June to melt the ice and
snow; melting ceases about mid-August.
By mid-September the sea-ice begins
to form permanently in the fjords and
deeper bays. The bays and fjords are
generally occupied throughout the sum-
mer by drifting fields of ice; rarely
are they free of icebergs.
Snow falls in every month of the
year, but the first snows of summer
87
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
that do not melt are those of late August
or early September. The depth of snow,
even after a winter's accumulation,
is rarely over 2 or 3 ft., because the
relative humidity is frequently so low
that a great deal of snow evaporates
even in the coldest weather. When the
snow begins melting in June under the
continuous sunlight, every canyon and
valley holds a roaring torrential moun-
tain stream which flows with heavy
volume until melting ceases. Rain
rarely falls; yet when the chinook comes
down off the ice-cap, rain may fall
even in January. The region is one of
general low humidity.
The winds are cyclonic in character.
The heaviest storms come from the
southwest with destructive on-shore
winds. In the bays and fjords the
winds invariably blow down to the sea
from the ice-cap, no matter what the
wind may be above the plateau. Sud-
den winds sometimes sweep down off
the plateau or from the ice-cap and
drive the shore-ice out to sea even in
mid-winter.
The period of continuous night be-
gins about mid-October and ends about
mid-February. Continuous sunlight
begins about mid-April and lasts until
mid-August. Between mid-February
and mid-April the days lengthen and
the nights shorten; between mid- August
and mid-October the days shorten
and the nights lengthen. The night
is rarely so dark as to stop traveling
or sledging entirely, and throughout
the moon-lighted periods during which
the moonlight is continuous, all activ-
ities can be carried on without diffi-
culty. During the period of continuous
sunshine, noon and midnight do not
differ greatly in temperature or inten-
sity of light. The air is always fresh
and clean.
BIOTA
Because of the short growing season
and the long dry cold period no trees or
shrubs grow in the homeland of the
Polar Eskimo. The tallest tree is the
Arctic willow, a scant three inches in
height. Over a hundred species of
vascular plants grow in the region.
The sedges, blue grasses, and similar
grassy plants grow luxuriantly. Two
are particularly abundant Poa pra-
tensis and Alopecurus alpinus. On
some of the talus slopes manured by
nesting birds, the mat of grasses is
thick and heavy. Mushrooms are com-
mon and lichens clothe the rocks.
Flowering plants, though small and
relatively inconspicuous, grow in dense
mats on favorable slopes where the sun
shines warmly, and moisture is ample.
Due in large measure to the rich
carbon dioxide content of the water
and the continuous sunlight, the plank-
ton development in the sea is incredibly
rich throughout the summer, and the
heavy growths of laminaria and other
sea weeds on every shoal ledge are
particularly luxuriant.
The bird life is incredibly abundant,
not in species but in individuals. Of
the land birds the ptarmigan and snow-
bunting are the most common. Shore-
birds, ravens, snowy owls and falcons
are rather numerous. The redpolls,
wheat-ear, and Lapland longspur all
nest in the area. The ptarmigan,
ravens, and snowy owls are permanent
residents. Of the sea-birds the dove-
kies are the most numerous. They
nest in suitable slopes of easy gradient
along the entire coast in such numbers
that they cover the sea when feeding
and darken the sky when in flight.
Almost as numerous as the dovekies
are the murres, that nest on the ledges
of the steeper shore cliffs along the
coast. The old squaw is common, the
red-throated loon frequents the inland
pools, and the merganser and green-
winged teal are occasionally seen along
the coast. The eider duck frequents
the coast in thousands, and the black
brant is common. Kittiwakes, guille-
mots, gulls, jaegers and the fulmars are
numerous. All the seabirds find an
abundant supply of food in the small
life of the cold, well-lighted waters off
the shore.
Animal life on land is relatively scarce .
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
The muskox (Ovibos moschatus wardi)
is extinct along the Greenland shores
of Smith Sound though still common
in Ellesmereland, Grantland, and west-
ward. The caribou (Rangifer groelandi-
cus), though still fairly abundant, is
generally restricted to a few isolated
areas not readily accessible. The fact
seems fairly well established that the
caribou migrate across the ice-cap to
Northwest Greenland from the east
coast and the regions to the north.
The Arctic hare (Lepus groenlandicus)
is widely distributed and common.
The blue fox and the white fox (Alopex
groenlandicus') are abundant in the
bird-cliff localities where they feed
upon both the eggs and the birds. They
are color phases of one species, both
occasionally being littered by the same
dam. The Arctic wolf (Cam's tundrarum
is almost extinct, and the lemming and
the ermine do not frequent this part
of the Greenland Coast. Ti e muskox,
caribou and hare feed upon the willows,
grasses, and small herbs; the wolf and
fox feed upon the muskox and the
caribou.
The sea animals, because of the ample
supply of food, are very numerous.
Four species of seal- the ringed seal,
the bearded seal, the hooded seal, and
the harp seal are all rather common,
though the ringed seal is by far the
most abundant. The walrus frequents
the coast during the whole year, es-
pecially when the mussel-shoals furnish
good feeding grounds. The narwhal
and the white whale are numerous.
The killer whale and the bowhead, and
occasionally the right whale, visit the
coast. The sleeper shark feeds over
the deeper bottom. Fish are few.
Salmon are caught along shore and in
some of the inland lakes.
Mollusks are particularly abundant
and number upwards of 72 species.
These are all marine, no land or fresh
water species having been reported from
this part of Greenland. These are all
of Arctic forms, including Buccinum,
Astarte, and Saxicava as leading types.
The polar bear (Thalarctos m. mari-
timus), an animal of both land and
sea, is as much at home out on the
open sea among the icebergs as along
the shore. He avoids all habitations
of man, particularly when, there are
dogs about. Keen of scent and of all
perceptions, as well as of intelligence,
the polar bear is certainly the most
superb animal of the North, though
not nearly so dangerous as the walrus.
NOTES
Northwest Greenland is accessible
almost every year between July 20 and
September 10. The outermost capes
and islands may be reached by ships
as early as July 1, but the innermost
bays and fjords do not open up before
August 1.
The plant life may best be studied
from Etah on Foulke Fjord; Kangerd
luksuah deep within Ingle field Gulf;
Keatek on Northumberland Island at
the mouth of Inglefield Gulf; and at
Umanak on North Star Bay, in Wol-
stenholme Sound.
Of these places Umanak is probably
best, though because of the very loca-
lized occurrence of many species, a
complete collection is impossible from
any one point. For a critical study of
the Arctic Drabae in the field, Umanak
is unexcelled, since nearly every species
of far northern distribution is found
there in abundance. For a study of
the immigration of American species,
Etah is probably most favorably situ-
ated. It is interesting that at Etah,
Pedicularis hirsuta and Pedicularis
capitata are abundant; but Pedicularis
lanata is entirely lacking; at Lifeboat
Cove only 5 mi. north, Pedicularis
hirsuta and Pedicularis lanata are num-
erous, but Pedicularis capitata is quite
absent. The carices may be best
studied at Kangerdluksuah.
The sea-animals may be best studied
from Akpat on Saunders Island or from
Keatek on Northumberland Island.
The land animals may be best studied
from Etah. Umanak affords the most
favorable base for the ornithologist
to study both land- and sea-birds;
90
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
but Etah is better for the study of
the dovekies, the eider, the ptarmigan,
and the snow-bunting. Foulke Fjord,
Inglefield Gulf, and its tributaries, and
Wolstenholme Sound all offer fascina-
ting fields for dredging the bottom life
of the sea.
The entire region offers an interesting
field for the physiographer, but two
tracts are particularly promising; the
shores of Grenville Bay, a tributary
of Wolstenholme Sound, for a com-
parative study of glacier forms and
phenomena; and Prudhoe Land, lying
north of Etah, for a study of the possi-
ble relationships between the oscilla-
tion of the sea level, as shown by coastal
terraces, the recession and advance of
glaciers as indicated by serial terminal
moraine, and the development of the
drainage systems. A careful study of
these two areas might throw much
light on the phenomena and history
of glaciation.
ROUTES OF TRAVEL
Except in rare years of exceptionally
heavy ice-lay, the Northwest Greenland
may readily be reached by well-built
ships with dependable motive power.
The route lies across the lower reaches
of Baffin Bay from the Labrador Coast
to the vicinity of Sukkertoppen, or
Godthaab, Greenland, and thence north-
ward fairly close into shore to avoid the
heavy pack which occupies the middle
portion of Baffin Bay, as far as Uper-
nivik; thence the route must be deter-
mined by the situation of the middle
pack if it lies off-shore the course may
be laid northward inshore to Cape
Seddon, thence northwestward to Cape
York and thence along the coast around
Conical Rock, and Northward; if the
ice lies inshore the course must be
laid out beyond the pack.
The ice is generally not open enough
for navigation in those far northern
waters before mid-July, though the
mid-western Danish Greenland coast
is accessible even in early May. The
southern portion of the west-Greenland
coast is almost continuously barred
by the heavy ice that comes out of the
Arctic Ocean, drifts down along the
east coast, and swings around Cape
Farewell, then sweeps up along the
west coast for some 500 to 600 mi.
By mid-September the ice is again
freezing thick and heavy in the bays
and fjords and along the shores of
Northwest Greeland, so that a ship
may find herself frozen in for the winter
if she remains beyond that time. Navi-
gation is frequently open along the mid-
west Danish Greenland coast until
mid-November.
Northwest Greenland constitutes a
readily accessible, fruitful field for
study of far arctic life and habitats,
and will richly repay further research.
2. DANISH GREENLAND
BY W. ELMER EKBLAW
INTRODUCTION
Greenland, the earth's largest island,
lies just to the northeast of the North
American continent, of which it is a
detached part. North and south it
extends from 60 N. at Cape Farewell,
to 83 37 N. at Cape Bridgeman, about
24 of latitude, or 1650 mi. East and
west it is roughly 650 mi. wide over its
northern three-fifth of extent; its south-
ern two-fifth gradually narrows to a
point at Cape Farewell.
The area of Greenland is 850,000 sq.
mi., of which about three-fourths is
occupied by the ice-cap, a frozen desert
of age-old ice, thousands of feet thick;
while the other one-fourth is comprised
in the narrow coastal belt which becomes
generally free of ice and snow every
summer, so that the terrain itself is
there exposed.
The north coast is washed by Kane
Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin,
and Robeson Channel, constituting the
straits between Ellesmereland and Green-
land, and the ice-bound Arctic Ocean;
the east coast is washed by the Arctic
Ocean, the Greenland Sea, Denmark
Strait, and the Atlantic Ocean, in all
of which the cold Greenland current
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
91
with its continuous sheet of ice- floes
and bergs sweeps the Greenland coast;
and the west by Davis Strait, Baffin
Bay, and Smith Sound a branch of
the Greenland current sweeps around
Cape Farewell and northward as far
as the Arctic Circle. All these waters
are studded with bergs from the glaciers
and covered with vast fields of pan-ice
from the multitudinous fjords and bays
of the coast.
GEOLOGY
The portion of Greenland lying south
of the seventieth parallel, so far as
known, is composed of pre-Cambrian
granites, gneisses, and schists of which
the gneisses are most widely distrib-
uted with later intrusives, both acidic
and basic, and a few isolated areas of
sedimentaries of doubtful geologic age.
Along both the mid-eastern and mid-
western coasts are widespread areas of
Tertiary basalt, which have locally
preserved from erosion the fossiliferous
Tertiary and Cretaceous sedimentaries
of the west coast, and the Tertiary
sedimentaried of the east coast. This
belt of basalts separates the pre-Cam-
brian area of the south from the north-
ern extent of similar gneisses, granites,
and schists.
This northern area of pre-Cambrian
rocks, like the southern, is the north-
eastward extension of the old Canadian
shield, and though locally affected by
tectonic disturbances at various periods,
is generally quite similar throughout
its extent. It slopes toward the north
and west. Along its northern and north-
western boundaries it is overlapped by
Paleozoic sedimentaries from the Cam-
brian to the Carboniferous, some of
the formations being richly fossiliferous.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
Outline
Throughout its entire length of thou-
sands of miles, the coast-line of Green-
land is almost a continuous series of
long, deep, narrow fjords and bays
separated by long, narrow, peninsulas
and headlands, and bordered by innum-
erable skerries, islets, and islands
probably the most extensive develop-
ment of fjords and skerries in the world.
Generally, these fjords and the sounds
between the islets are bordered by such
high steep cliffs that landing upon them
is impossible, but in some localities the
shore is a low, sloping foreland that in
most places leads rapidly up to steep
slopes or cliffs. Many of the fjords are
so narrow and cliff-walled as to be
veritable canyons, into which the sun can
shine only when they open out toward it.
A barrier of ice lies along most of the
coast of Greenland. The heavy ice of
the Arctic Ocean is swept along the north
and east shores of the island and even
around Cape Farewell, and northward
hundreds of miles along the west coast.
This Arctic ice-pack is of heavy solid
fields and floes, and numerous great
bergs. The Smith Sound Region be-
comes relatively open in summer.
Baffin Bay holds three great fields known
as the south pack, the middle pack, and
the north pack respectively, which bear
in upon the Greenland shore whenever
the wind so drives them.
For ten months of the year, from
September first to July first, practically
the entire coast of Greenland is inac-
cessible because of the ice that freezes
over the sea throughout the entire
extent of the coast. Only for a few
hundred miles along the mid-west coast,
from Godthaab northward to Proven,
is the open season longer, but here it
sometimes begins in May and continues
to November. The entire east coast,
except for a small extent about Sermilik
Fjord, at the mouth of which is situated
the Eskimo village, Angmagssalik, is
often icebound even in summer. From
Cape Farewell northward almost to
Godthaab, and from Upernivik north-
ward to Cape York, the coast is more or
less icebound also, much of the summer.
The Smith Sound region is relatively
free of ice for the two summer months,
and some of the outermost headlands
like Cape Alexander are free of ice
throughout the year.
92
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Four kinds of ice form the barrier
to the coast the Great Ice from the
Arctic Ocean; the West Ice from the
Arctic Archipelago ; the Winter Ice formed
in the fjords, bays and sounds of the
Greenland coast itself; and the ice-bergs,
the discharge of the glaciers debouching
upon the sea from the ice-cap.
Relief
Greenland considered as a whole,
is essentially a plateau, the elevated
surface of an old peneplain, with two
central points of maximum elevation,
from which the ice-cap slopes away on
all sides. The northern center of eleva-
tion, over 9000 ft., lies on the seventy-
third parallel, approximately half-way
between the east and west coasts; the
southern center, 7500 ft., is an elongated
divide half-way between the coasts,
from 64 N. to 68 N. latitude. Both the
northern and the southern portion of the
plateau tilt toward the north, so that
the southern slopes are steeper and
shorter than the northern slopes. The
northern slope of the northern block
extends roughly over ten degrees lati-
tude. Isolated peaks, and tracts of
considerable size, rise above the general
level of the interior plateau, and along
the coast at several points, cordilleran
areas rise far above the average marginal
elevation.
Because the general level of the coastal
belt of ice-free land is very high, except
along the northern shore, and deeply
dissected, the scenery along most of the
coast is exceedingly wild and pictur-
esque. Precipitous cliffs and headlands
rise sheer out of the sea thousands of
feet to form the entrances and walls of
fjords and bays and gulfs of exceeding
grandeur. Deep cleft-like valleys; low
narrow forelands; small deltas at the
mouths of streams; majestic snowcapped
peaks and domes rising above the pla-
teaus; picturesque, rocky skerries and
islets innumerable; satin-white glaciers
discharging colossal bergs into the sky-
blue sea in summer these are the
elements of a landscape^that surpasses
in wild beauty the most scenic spots
of the rest of the world.
The coastal belt is generally rugged
and rough with steep slopes of angular
scree, or precipitous cliffs with narrow
ledges. At places, even where the relief
is highest, broad valleys, probably
carved out by active glaciers when the
ice mantle was more extended than at
present, lie between the table-lands of
the headlands, and along considerable
stretches of coast, forelands of varying
width lie between the sea and the higher
lands behind.
Drainage
Though Greenland is a large land, it
has no streams of any size, and such
streams as there are, are frozen for
almost ten months of the year. In the
short summer every gulch and valley
bears a torrential rushing streamlet, fed
by the rapidly melting snows of the
coastal land-belt, and by the marginal
ice of the ice-cap. The ice-cap does
not melt very far back from its edge,
generally not within the 4500 ft. eleva-
tion in the northern part, and the 6000
ft. contour in the southern part; as a
consequence no great rivers are formed.
The many brooks and smaller stream-
lets are turbulent and impassable after
the summer melting begins, and the
freshets sweep before them great vol-
umes of detritus. Those streams that
have their sources in the ice-cap, and
flow considerable distances across the
coastal border-land, often augmented
by tributaries from local neve on the
marginal plateau-tracts, or from snow-
beds along the valley, may become river-
like in volume and burden of material
carried, and sweep torrentially seaward
the sand, gravel, and boulders that fall
or roll into their currents.
The Ice-cap
The ice-cap, the dominant feature of
the Greenland landscape, as well as the
dominant factor in the environmental
complex, is the largest remnant of the
great mantle of ice that lay over the
northern part of the northern hemi-
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
93
sphere during the maximum develop-
ment of the Pleistocene glaciation.
Here the balance between precipitation
and refrigeration on the one hand, and
evaporation and melting and run-off
on the other, is so nice that in the cen-
turies that the ice-cap has been under
observation, little change in its extent
or volume has been noticed.
The interior of the ice-cap is relatively
level, conforming to the general slope
and elevation of the plateau on which
it lies, but cast into drifts and domes
like sand-dunes by the prevailing winds.
Thus the highest places on the ice-cap
are the two centers of elevation, on the
seventy-third para lei and the sixty-
fifth parallel. The ice-cap in the in-
terior portion is composed of thousands
of feet of thicknesses of ice in the lower
strata, and of recrystaliized snow near
the surface. The surface snow of the
interior portion of the ice-cap does not
melt and become running water, and
then freeze to ice, but recrystallizes
slowly into ice.
Along the margin of the ice-cap, where
the ice annually melts, and forms water
that either freezes again, or runs off
the surface in the thousands of brooks
and streamlets that flow turbulently
and torrentially to the sea in the short
summer season, the surface is exceed-
ingly broken and rough, and isolated
peaks and tracts of bare rock, called
"nunataks" project from the ice. The
very edge of the ice itself may be a
perpendicular wall, revealing the strati-
fication of the ice-mass; a gentle slope
that spreads out over the plateau on the
bed of a valley; or it may be concealed
under some of the local neve of the
outer headlands.
Glaciers, varying in width from a few
hundred feet to hundreds of miles, move
forward from the ice-cap itself along
every valley and cleft. Some of these
glaciers reach the sea and discharge
vast and numerous ice-bergs; others
move so slowly that they melt back as
fast as they advance, and so do not
yield any bergs; others do not reach the
sea at all, and melt away back from the
coast, the so-called "dead" glaciers
Climate
The climate of Greenland is char-
acteristically arctic not only because of
the high latitude, but also because of
the pronounced influence of the ex-
tensive inland ice-cap and the ice-
burdened waters that border the entire
island. The great masses of ice tend
to lower the temperature in both sum-
mer and winter, but along the coast the
tempering influence of open leads and
pools of water in relative proximity to
most of the coast modifies the rigor of
the climate in winter and makes it
more equable in summer.
The seasonal variations in tempera-
ture are not so wide as in a great un-
glaciated land mass like Siberia, but
sudden fluctuations due to varying
winds, and to the combined effect of
wind-direction and topography, are as
great in range as anywhere in the world.
Winds
Whenever the wind blows off the ice-
fields and the cold waters from the north,
west, or east, the temperature falls;
whenever it blows from the south and
southwest off the warm waters of the
Gulf Stream the temperature rises fast.
Whenever the "fohn," that wind pecu-
liar to certain alpine or plateau regions
like Alpine Europe or the western part
of the United States begins to come
down off the plateau heights of Green-
land, the temperature rises incredibly
fast and suddenly; and since both the
east and west coasts of the island are
topographically favorable to the de-
velopment of the "fohn," its char-
acteristic occurrence is frequent and
effective. The "fohn" may continue
for only .a few hours, but it may prevail
for several days. Under the influence
of this warm, drying wind, the tempera-
ture may rise as much as 80 in a day,
or as much as 45 in an hour, sometimes
evaporating several inches of snow
during its continuance.
Temperature
The mean temperature in southern
Greenland is only a half degree above
94
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
freezing; at Umanak, about halfway
between the southernmost and north-
ernmost points, it is 11 below, and
along the northern coast it is probably
35 below freezing. The mean winter
temperature is successively lower along
the coast as the latitude increases, but
this is not true of the mean temperature
of summer. Due to increasing effect of
the continuous sunlight the mid-west
Greenland coast in summer has a higher
mean temperature than Cape Farewell;
thus Holsteinsborg, lying along the
coast in latitude 76 N. has a mean
summer temperature of 45 while Nanor-
talik, on the sixtieth parallel, 7 farther
south, has a mean summer temperature
of 42.
The lowest temperature reported from
the neighborhood of Cape Farewell is
20; from the mid- west coast, 45;
and from the northern portion, 70;
the highest temperature reported from
the southern portion is 75; from the
mid-west coast, 70; and from the
northernmost portion, 65. From year
to year the temperature in any period
may vary widely; for instance the highest
temperature for February, 1891, at Uper-
nivik, in 72 54' was -4; for February,
1892, 57; for February, 1894, 2; and
for February, 1895, 60.
The average number of days below
freezing increases from north to south
successively at Cape Farewell 208; at
the sixty-fifth parallel, 244, at the
seventieth parallel, 257; at the seventy-
fifth parallel, 300. Except in the south-
ernmost portions and at the heads of
the deep fjords between the sixty-
fifth and the seventieth parallels, frost is
likely even in midsummer.
Precipitation
The precipitation varies considerably
in character and amount. The northern
portion has a relatively small precipita-
tion, almost all of which falls as snow,
rain being very exceptional; snow falls
every month of the year. Along the
western coast the precipitation de-
creases from Cape Farewell northward.
At Cape Farewell with about one
hundred days of precipitation, it is
over 45 in. annually; at the sixty-fifth
parallel it is 27 in. in one hundred
seventy days of precipitation; at the
seventieth parallel it is 10 in. in one
hundred days; and thence decreases
slowly northward. The precipitation is
heaviest in summer, next in fall, then in
spring, and least in winter. Snow con-
stitutes about half the precipitation in
the southern portion, about two-thirds
in latitude 73 N. Fog is rather com-
mon, especially along the coast in sum-
mer. In some localities along the
southern coast almost a third of the
days are foggy.
Pressure
The mean barometer for the southern
point of Greenland is 754.7 mm.; for
the mid-western part 759 mm. The
pressure may vary greatly and rapidly.
At Ivigtuk along the southern coast,
the lowest barometer is 709.2 mm.; the
highest is 758.8 mm. The average wind-
velocities are small and calm weather is
frequent. In summer the prevailing
winds along the west coast are souther-
lies and westerlies; in winter easterlies
prevail. In the fjords the winds usually
blow strong from the ice-cap to the sea,
even though at right angles to the
direction of the wind on the plateau
above. Except along the southernmost
stretches of coast the southerly winds
bring the worst storms, from seven to
ten a year; in the southern portion the
north and west winds bring storms, as
many as twenty a year.
The inner reaches of the fjords differ
from the coastal headlands and the
skerries in having a higher summer
temperature and lower winter tempera-
ture; the humidity is considerably less,
so that bright, clear weather often
prevails while the coast is cloudy or
foggy; the days are more often calm;
and the snow melts away earlier.
Day and night
One of the most important factors in
the climate of Greenland is the sue-
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
95
cession of day and night. This factor
is equally important in the character,
distribution, and development of the
plant and animal life. Since all except
the southernmost point of the island
lies within the Arctic Circle, nearly its
whole extent has periods of continuous
sunshine and continuous nighfc. The
period without sunlight is six weeks
long in latitude 70 N.; thirteen weeks
in latitude 75 N.; and eighteen weeks
in 80 N. The period of continuous
sunlight is slightly longer. The sudden
development of the plant life, and the
rich life of the sea are in considerable
measure due, to this period of continuous
light.
BIOTA
Plant life
The plant life of Greenland includes
some 400 species of vascular plants,
600 mosses, 700 fungi, 300 lichens, 500
algae, and 600 diatoms. More of the
lower species will doubtless be dis-
covered, but the list of vascular plants
is probably almost complete. The long
stretch of Greenland coast, through
varying physiographic and climatic con-
ditions, would suggest a richer flora than
that represented by only a few more than
400 species, even with the rigorous
arctic climate; but the flora is quite
post-glacial in origin, and since Green-
land is an island swept almost exclu-
sively by polar currents, and having its
nearest point of approach to other
lands at its northern extremity, where
conditions for plant migration are most
unfavorable, the immigration of plants
since the dispersal of the ice-sheet has
been exceedingly slow.
The flora of Greenland offers some
interesting problems in distribution and
immigration. Some species are highly
localized. Some are European in rela-
tionship, some are American, and a
very few are endemic. Some are cir-
cumpolar high latitude species, some
are from the Canadian zone. How have
they come to Greenland, and how have
they established themselves? The an-
swer has been only partially given, and
many a controversy has raged over the
solution of these problems.
Fifty families of vascular plants are
represented in the Greenland flora, of
which the Cyperaceae, Graminae, Ca-
ryophyllaceae, Cruciferae, and Com-
positae are the largest. The genera
richest in species are Carex, Saxifraga,
Pedicularis, and Draba. Many of the
genera are represented by one species,
the average ratio of genera to species
being 2:5. The southernmost part of
the island about Cape Farewell has a
flora of almost 300 species; the Smith
Sound region almost 20 farther north
and within 15 of the pole, has almost
150 species.
The entire island is beyond the north-
ern limit of true trees, and though
isolated small tracts far within the land
near the head of the fjords of the south-
ern west coast may bear a tree-like
growth of birch, willow, alder, and
conifers, the entire land is unforested,
Even well developed shrubbery is rare.
Generally all tree-growth and shrubbery
are dwarfed to creeping or prostrate
form alder, willow, juniper, vaccinium,
and birch. Even the arctic and alpine
forms are pauperate or dwarfed as the
northern reaches of the coast are
approached.
The "Feldmark" is the most widely
distributed type of vegetation, the
first to appear on moraines from which
the ice has retreated, or wherever new
land appears to afford opportunity for
new plant growth. In this association
the plants are so far apart that the
spaces between are much larger than
the spaces occupied. The struggle is
not among one another, but against the
rigorous conditions. Among the plants
taking their place thus as pioneers are
the arctic poppy, a number of the saxi-
frages and cresses, dryas, some of the
cinquefoils, a number of the cresses,
and a few others.
Where the soil is relatively dry the
heath-association covers the terrain.
It is composed of the small shrubs
junipers, Vaccinium, Salix, Betula, Cas-
siope, Empetrum, Dryas, Rhododendron,
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
and others, and numerous herbs, grasses,
and sedges. Potentilla, Draba, Pyrola,
Arnica, Pedicularis, Campanula, Anten-
naria, Festuca, Poa, Carex, and nu-
merous others belong in this group.
In the moister, damper places a moor-
vegetation frequently establishes itself,
with wet-soil grasses, sedges, cotton-
grasses, and rushes, forming hummocky
turf with mosses, and liverworts grow-
ing all over the soil between. Here
grow Montia, several species of Ranun-
culus, Oxyria, Tofieldia, Licopodium,
Equisetum, and others.
Though almost no high trees or heavy
growth of shrubbery are found, the land
seems rich in plant growth during the
short summer, and wherever a plant can
establish itself on cliff or slope or rocky
ledge, one is usually found.
The plant life of the sea is well de-
veloped, and Laminaria, Agarum, Ala-
ria, and others form a rather rich sea-
growth wherever conditions permit.
The cold seas with their high content of
gases support an incredibly rich plank-
ton life, so dense at times during the
continuous summer sunshine as to color
the water. It is from this abundant
plankton life that the multitudinous
bird and animal life of the Greenland
seas derive their ultimate sustenance.
Animal life
Three thousand species of animal life
have been reported from Greenland and
its adjacent waters of which all except a
very few are lower forms. Of the higher
forms 30 are mammals; 150 are birds,
and 100 are fish.-
The land mammals are the muskox,
" confined to the northern and north-
eastern coasts; the caribou, which,
though once distributed throughout the
coastal lands, is. now rather limited to
certain favorable stretches of coast;
the arctic hare, common along the
entire coast; the lemming, occupying
approximately the same range as the
muskox; these 4 are herbivores, feeding
upon the low, hard vegetation. The
carnivores are 3 in number- the arctic
wolf, now almost extinct except in the
northernmost tracts; the polar fox, both
white and blue phases, rather common
among the whole coast, particularly
where the seabirds nest most numer-
rously; and the ermine, restricted to the
range of the lemming, upon which it
feeds.
The polar bear, frequenting the whole
coast, may be classed as both land-
animal and sea-animal, since he is
equally at home on both, and may bear
his young either on land, or in snow-
drift burrows beside the grounded bergs.
He is generally carnivorous, feeding
chiefly upon the seals that he catches
on the ice or in the sea, but he may, in
times of hunger, feed upon berries
where they are available.
The land-birds nesting in Greenland
are Reinhardt's ptarmigan, common on
every hillside; the Lapland longspur,
frequenting the willow and alder copses;
the snow-bunting, ubiquitous as to
habitat; the Greenland wheat-ear, at
home on the drier, rockier, sunnier
hillsides; the American pipit; the red-
polls (Acanthis hornemanni hornemanni
and Acanthis linaria rostrata) ; the snowy
owl, most common about the haunts of
the lemming; the raven, the gyrfalcon,
and the peregrine falcon, frequenting
the bird-cliffs and the coastal heights.
The ptarmigan, the owl, the raven, may
and often do, remain all year, even in
the northernmost parts of Greenland,
even through the long, dark night.
The gray sea-eagle nests along the
coast; like the polar bear, he frequents
both land and sea, and though preying
largely on the inland salmon, often
captures young seals and sea-birds.
No reptiles are found. Only two
freshwater fish are common Salmo al-
pinus L., and Gasterosteus aculeatus L.
Insects are not numerous, considered
as a group. Four hundred species are
known, of which many have been .in-
troduced. Coleoptera are represented
by about 40 species; Hymenoptera, by
about 70 species, including two bumble-
bees; Lepidoptera, by 50 species, mostly
moths; and the Diptera by about 200
species. Mosquitoes are numerous and
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
97
swarm over both coasts as far north as
75 N. Culex nigripes and Simulium
viltatum swarm over the copses, moors,
and moss-grown slopes and flats; in a
few localities the tiny Ceratopogon
sordidellus is a plague. Six species of
fleas are found. Pediculus capitis, Pedi-
culus corporisj and Phthirius pubis are
probably native, while Pulex irritans
and Cimex lectularius have been in-
troduced. The fur-clad Eskimos are a
paradise for parasites.
The marine fauna is relatively richer
than the land life, and it is largely from
these marine fields that the Eskimos in
large part garner their sustenance
their food from the flesh, their clothing
from the skins and furs, and their fuel
from the blubber of the large sea
animals.
Twenty-two species of mammals fre-
quent the Greenland coastal waters,
not including the polar bear. Of these
the walrus and the seals are most im-
portant. The walrus is found all along
the coast, but is abundant only in a
few restricted localities. Five species
of seal the bearded seal (Erignathus
barbatus), the ringed seal (Phoca foe-
tida), the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina),
the harp seal (Phoca cristata), and the
hooded seal (Cystophora cristata} fre-
quent the coast, the 3 latter being most
common along the southern coast, the
two former along the northern shores.
Of the whale and porpoise families
sixteen species are found in considerable
numbers; the right whale (Balaena
glacialis), and the Greenland whale or
bowhead (Balaena mysticetus), are still
seen along the coast, but are practically
extinct; the humpbacked whale (Megap-
tera nodosa), once fairly common, is no
longer seen; the bottlenose whale,
(Hyperodon restrains) is a rather fre-
quent visitor. The killer whale (Orca
gladiator) is common; the narwhal
(Monodon monoceras) is numerous, and
the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) mi-
grates up and down the coast in huge
schools, often of many thousands.
Though 150 birds have been recorded
from Greenland, only 52 are known to
nest on the island. Of these, 41 species
are shore-birds or sea-birds, frequenting
either the coastal waters or the sea, or
less frequently the pools of the interior.
The loons, eiders, phalaropes, old-
squaws, snow-geese, and mergansers
are often found in these inland pools;
and the sandpipers, knots, plovers,
sanderlings, turnstones, and others of
the shore-bird group frequent the val-
leys and lowlands as well as the coastal
forelands. The barnacle goose and the
black brent are locally common.
But the wealth of bird-life for which
the Greenland coasts are famous is
made up chiefly of the sea-birds. Most
numerous of these are the dovekies
(Alle alle), which nest along the north-
western coasts in incredible numbers;
the murres (Uria troille troille, and
Uria lomvia lomvia) populating nearly
all the high, precipitous forelands; and
the guillemots (Cepphus grylle and C.
mandtii), the latter most common north-
ward, the former abundant southward.
The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
is found locally along the western coast
from 73 N. southward; the puffins,
(Fratercula arctica arctica and F. a.
naumanni), are fairly common; and the
razor-billed auk is locally abundant.
The gulls are numerous the glaucous
gull, the ivory gull, the black-backed
gull, the herring gull, Kumliens gull,
the kittiwake, and Sabine's gull, are all
native to the coast. The Arctic tern
is common along most of the coast.
The fulmars are likewise common. The
jaegers are all found along the Green-
land coast.
The fish fauna is relatively rich in the
south Greenland waters. The sleeping
shark is generally common; the cod and
rock-cod are found off the southern
coast; the halibut, dab, and the related
"hellefisk" (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
Watt)} are also common along the south-
ern portion of the coast. The sculpin is
found everywhere. The caplin, as on
the coast of the Labrador, fills the
coastal waters early in summer.
The lower forms of sea-life are locally
so numerous in the ice-free, sunlighted
98
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
summer seas as to color the water.
They furnish food to the myriads of
bird-life, fish, and sea-animals.
THE DANISH AKCTTC SCIENTIFIC STATION
AND THE PORSILD NATURE RESERVE
Morten P. Porsild, Danish geographer
and naturalist, with more than usual
vision and determination, has secured
governmental support for a scientific
station and base for exploration, at
Godhavn on Disko Island. This sta-
tion, of which he is director, is well
equipped with library, laboratory, and
study supplies, the most advantageously
located base for Arctic research in the
world. Here investigators from all
lands are welcome; here young explorers
are trained in the Arctic technique; and
here Science finds its well-guarded
Arctic frontier.
Porsild has also established a preserve
which includes the areas watered by the
warm springs of Disko Island, where an
exceptionally rich and varied flora and
an unusual invertebrate fauna are
preserved from destruction. This pre-
serve, like the warm spring area itself, is
unique. It is the northernmost station
of many plants, like some of the orchis
family, and a number of invertebrates,
among them two species of earthworms.
ROUTES OF TRAVEL
Greenland is maintained by the
Danish Government as a trade monopoly
for the Danish Royal Trading Company,
and stern restrictions are imposed upon
visitors to the country, discouraging
travel to the land.
The mid-west Greenland coast is
readily accessible by means of the
Danish vessels that ply back and forth
from Copenhagen in the summer
months from May to October. Less
frequently, vessels visit the north-
western coast, and the southern coasts.
Occasionally, a vessel from America
goes to Greenland for a cargo of cryolite,
to fish in the southern waters, or to take
an expedition to the Far North.
The monopoly maintained by the
Danish government and the restrictions
imposed upon travelers are wise, and
beneficial to the Eskimo, who are cared
for in a most paternal and unselfish
manner by the Danish authorities; as
a consequence, the Eskimo population
of Danish Greenland has doubled in the
last century. The Danes, by virtue of
their kindly administration of the affairs
of these primitive people, deserve an
undisputed right to the land.
3. THE AMERICAN ARCTIC
ARCHIPELAGO
BY W. ELMER EKBLAW
INTRODUCTION
The American Arctic Archipelago
comprises that island group or polynia
lying to the northward of the American
continent, of which it forms a part in
that it lies on the same portion of the
earth's continental shelf. It does not
include Greenland. Possible islands
northwestward in the Arctic Ocean, as
yet undiscovered, may be included.
North and South it extends from the
south end of Baffin Land in latitude
62 N. to the north end of Ellesmere
Land in latitude 82 N., a latitudinal
extent of 20, or 1400 mi. It is widest
in the south where it extends from the
sixtieth to the one hundred twenty-
fifth meridian, west longitude. It forms
a rough triangle with its east side almost
due north and south from the northeast
point of Ellesmere Land to the southeast
corner of Baffin Land, and its apex at the
westernmost cape of Banks Land.
GEOLOGY
The geology of the entire archipelago
is only imperfectly known, and merely a
general statement of the areal distribu-
tion of the outcropping formations may
be made.
The southeastern portion of the
triangle, and most of the eastern coasts
throughout, are pre-Cambrian, with
scattered patches of sedimentaries,
mostly Silurian. The Silurian lime-
stones, in many places fossiliferous,
are dominant over the southern portion
of the western corner, principally on
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
99
Victoria Island, Prince of Wales Island,
North Somerset Island, and northwest
part of Baffin Land.
On Banks Land and in the Parry
Islands in the northwest part of the
archipelago, the Carboniferous is the
chief formation comprising the terrane.
The Devonian, so far as known, is
restricted to the northwest corner of
North Devon, and the west part of
Ellesmere Land. Triassic formations
constitute the dominant outcrops in the
Sverdrup Islands and, if the so-called
Cape Raws on series are included with
the Triassic, in a belt across the north
part of Ellesmere Land. A few scat-
tered Tertiary deposits have thus far
been noted.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
Outline
The Arctic Archipelago is made up of
numerous large and small islands, sepa-
rated by sounds and straits of varying
size. The land surface exceeds con-
siderably the water surface of the area.
The larger islands, like Baffin Land
and Victoria Land, and Ellesmere Land,
are cut by a number of deep bays and, in
general, the coast lines of all are rather
irregular. All are continuously bor-
dered by heavy ice for ten months of the
year, and many of the sounds and straits
are always unnavigable, because of
heavy ice, or heavy ice and rapid cur-
rents. Some are open for the passage
of a ship some years, closed others.
Navigation is always hazardous and
doubtful.
Relief
The relief is highest at the north, in
the north part of Ellesmere Land and
gradually decreases southward and
southwestward, being generally lowest
toward the southwest corner of the area.
The United States and Grant Mountains
in Ellesmere Land rise high and sharp,
probably 9000 ft. or even more. Elles-
mere Land and Axel Heiberg land are
both high and rugged lands, and the
eastern part of Baffin Land is relatively
high. Westward the topography be-
comes gradually smoother and more
mature. The shores of the eastern
islands are generally steep and high,
but cut by valleys, and bordered by
forelands, both of which are wider and
flatter toward the south. The general
contour of the islands becomes more
rounded and subdued toward the west;
the hills are not so high nor so steep,
and the valleys are wider and flatter.
Relic ice-caps with projecting gla-
ciers, some of which reach the sea and
discharge icebergs, occupy considerable
portions of the Ellesmere Land, North
Devon, and Baffin Land plateaus.
Practically the entire area of the Archi-
pelago was probably heavily covered
during the Pleistocene glaciation,
though most of the evidence has in
places been obliterated.
Drainage
Throughout the archipelago the drain-
age has been profoundly modified by the
morainal deposits of the glacial period.
In the western portion the drainage has
been fairly well restored, or an adequate
new system developed, but in the east-
ern portions the drainage is still un-
developed. A number of large lakes lie
in the interior of Baffin Land; Lake
Hazen in the north part of Ellesmere
Land is a considerable body of water;
and smaller lakes are found on most of
the islands. Many lakes have probably
not yet been discovered or mapped. No
large rivers are found in any of the
islands, though in the melting season
many of the streams are swollen by the
freshets to turbulent, riverlike torrents.
CLIMATE
The climate of the Arctic Archipelago
can be described only in a general way.
The few definite data available are so
scattered in point of time and locality,
that they can be used only as general
indices of the character of the climate.
The entire archipelago is a region of
long, cold winter, and very short sum-
mer, beginning with mid-June and
ending with the first of September.
The climate in winter is almost con-
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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
tinental since all the water is frozen
over and its modifying effect is negli-
gible; but in summer the climate is
arctic-oceanic, and even with twenty-
four hour sunlight during the summer
months, the temperature does not rise
high because of the depressing chill
off the cold shore waters with their
masses of ice. In northern Ellesmere
Land the lowest winter temperature is
probably 70; the highest tempera-
ture in the interior dales and valleys
sheltered from the sea-winds, probably
rises to + 70. In the southern portion
the temperature does not often drop
below 40, while the interior summer
temperatures do not rise far above +75.
The precipitation is uniformly light.
The rains of summer in the southern
portion and the summer snows of the
northern part are relatively light. The
snowfall over the entire group is not
heavy for the entire winter, but the
accumulation remains until late May or
June, and then the melting furnishes
ample moisture for the rapid growth of
the vegetation through the short,
sunlighted summer. The western coast,
facing the prevalent winds receive the
maximum precipitation. The first frost
comes late in August in the southern
portion, earlier in the same month in the
northern portion. The ground is frozen
throughout the year, except for a thin
surface layer a few inches thick that
opens up for the short summer. Be-
cause of the effect of the twenty-four
hour sunlight, and the protracted inso-
lation, the "summer" period is approxi-
mately the same throughout the whole
north and south extent of the archipel-
ago.
BIOTA
Plant life
The plant life of the Arctic Archi-
pelago has never been thoroughly in-
vestigated. The collections are few,
far scattered, and incomplete. From
none of the islands, except Ellesmere
Land perhaps, has even an approach
been made to an exhaustive and rep-
resentative collection.
The character of the vegetation is
similar to that of Western Greenland,
though in the lower, flatter western
portions of the archipelago, the bog and
moor, or tundra, vegetation spreads
over much greater areas, and the "Feld-
mark" is relatively more restricted.
There are no trees, and few shrubs of
any size, most of the vegetation being
confined to creeping or dwarfed shrubs
and vascular plants particularly grasses
and sedges.
The paucity of the flora of the Silurian
siliceous limestone areas is character-
istic, and seems due principally to the
lack of fine particles in the detritus
resulting from the disintegration of the
limestone. There is no true soil; even
in the flatter expanses of the Silurian
the limestone is riven by frost into sharp
angular fragments that do not afford
proper foothold for plants or for the
absorption and capillary retention of the
necessary water supply. The purer or
more argillaceous limestones of the
other sedimentaries give rise to a more
favorable soil, and on this, as on the
soil derived from the pre-Cambrian, the
vegetation is abundant and more gener-
ally distributed, apparently little
affected by the composition of the soil.
The flora, so far as known, is made up
of slightly more than 200 species, repre-
senting 31 families, of which the largest
are the Graminae, Cyperaceae, Cruci-
ferae, and Compositae, in the order
named. The genera richest in species
are Carex with 12, Saxifraga with 12, Salix
with 10, and Pedicularis with 7. Sixty-
two species are distributed throughout the
archipelago; 18 species extend over the
southern portion; 35 are confined to the
south-western islands; 28 species are
decidedly western in origin and range;
and 23 are distinctively eastern. The
proportion of monocotyledonae increases
northward. The distribution of these
genera and species over the archipelago
raises interesting questions of origin,
migration, and relationship which have
been the cause of much controversy,
involving the extent and continuity of
the Pleistocene glaciation; former land
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
101
connections now submerged, among the
islands themselves and with the main-
land, Asia, and Europe; variations of
the climate in the past; the rise of
endemic species, and modifications of
immigrants; and the effect of trans-
porting agencies.
In the warmer, drier niches of the
rockier slopes where sufficient soil has
accumulated, small heath-growths of
Campanula uniflora, Pyrola rotundifolia,
Arnica alpina, Antennaria alpina, Fes-
tuca alpina, Trisetum spicatum, Carex
incurva, Potentilla Vahliana, and Cala-
magrostis purpurascens are set among
a basic growth of Cassiope tetragona and
Dryas integrifolia, which are distributed
over all the drier tracts.
The seepage-swales along the moss-
grown streamlets of ice-cold water from
melting streamlets are well carpeted
with grasses, sedges, Luzula and Juncus,
with here and there patches of white-
furred Eriophorum and timothy-like
Alopecurus alpinus. In these seepage-
swales the drier margins have scattered
beds of Rhododendron lapponicum, Saxi-
fraga oppositifolia, Oxyria digyna, Ceras-
tium alpinum, the several species of
Draba, Ranunculus nivalis, and Melan-
drium affine.
Silene acaulis, Bray a purpurascens,
Papaver radicatum, Poa, Salix arctica,
Potentilla nivea, Statice maritima, Erige-
ron compositus, Taraxacum, Lesquerella
arctica, and Stellaria longipes, grow over
the windswept, gravely reaches, not
too dry.
The grass- and sedge-grown moors
with an "undergrowth" of moss and
marchantia, hold scattered plants of
Pedicularis hirsuta, Eriophorum Poly-
stachium, Ranunculus sulfureus, Carda-
mine bellidofolia, Equisetum arvense,
Eutrema edwardsii, Ranunculus hyper-
boreus and R. pygmaeus, Tofieldia palus-
tris, and many other moisture-loving
plants.
Cystopteris fragilis, Woodsia, and
Aspidium fragrans are among the ferns
of the archipelago. Hippuris vulgaris,
Dupontia fischeri, Pleuropogon sabinei,
Batrachium paucistamineus, and several
carices grow in the pools or long the
margins.
These are but part of the species that
go to make up the vegetation of the
islands.
Animal life
Except for the mammals and the birds,
the animal life of the archipelago is
most imperfectly known. The lower
forms have been relatively neglected by
the explorers and investigators who have
collected in the polynia.
The muskox (Ovibos moschatus) finds
on the more remote lands of these
islands, notably in Banks Land, Axel
Heiberg Land, and Ellesmere Land, his
last extensive range. Here the last
large herds have thus far been preserved;
on the broad valley-pastures and slopes
of Ellesmere Land, several thousand
still persist, finding there food and safety
from slaughter.
The barren-ground caribou (Rangifer
spp.) ranges over the southern islands,
while in Axel Heiberg Land and in
Ellesmere Land a small species, Rangifer
pearyi finds its home. These small
northern caribou do not gather in large
herds, nor do they migrate extensively.
Along all the coastal stretches and
far out upon the frozen reaches of the
Arctic Sea the polar bear (Thalarctos) ,
the arctic wolf (Cam's tundrarum),
and the polar fox (Alopex spp.) wander
restlessly about, still relatively numer-
ous. The Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus
group) is rather widely distributed.
The lemmings (Lemmus and Dicrostonyx)
and the weasel (Mustela a. arctica}
frequent the grassgrown plains and
moors.
The sea-life is relatively abundant.
Walrus, ring-seal, bearded seal, harp
seal, hooded seal, and harbor seal are
found in the sounds and off the islands.
Narwhal and beluga are common. In
places, several species of whale are
found. The Big Finner, the Little
Finner, the Humpback, the Right
whale, the Greenland whale, and the
Killer are found locally.
The bird-life is numerous, but little
102
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
is definitely known about the distribu-
tion and northern habits of some of the
species.
The pipit and the horned lark are
common among the southern islands.
The lapland longspur, the snow-bunting,
and the redpolls are widely distributed.
The northern raven, the snowy owl,
Reinhardt's ptarmigan, the duck hawk
and the gyrfalcon are rather common
throughout the archipelago.
The Greenland and American eiders
are common toward the east, the Pacific
and Steller's eiders toward the west,
and the king-eider is found in small
numbers throughout the polynia. The
Hutchin's goose, the blue goose, the
Canada goose, the swans, and the snow
geese probably nest on the islands
bordering Hudson Bay on the north.
The hooded merganser, the green-
winged teal, the old squaws, and casu-
ally, other ducks, frequent these islands.
The black-throated loon toward the
west, and the red-throated loon through-
out the archipelago, are rather common.
Shorebirds are numerous. At least
two species of phalaropes breed in the
islands. A number of the sandpipers
and the plovers, the sanderJings and
turnstones, all these frequent the low,
flat valleys, the damp plateaus, with
myriad pools and ponds, and the broad,
shingly shore-land. Even the little
brown crane is found on the southern
islands.
The sea-birds are numerous. Ful-
mars, terns, kittiwakes, Sabine's gull,
Ross's gull, the herring gull, the great
black-backed gull, the glaucous gull,
and the ivory gull nest in the archi-
pelago. Three jaegers course over the
islands and the sounds. The dovekies
are found in the North. Brunnick's
murre, Mandt's guillemot, the puffin,
and the razor-billed auk are other
representatives of the sea-bird group.
Both the plant-life and the animal-
life of the archipelago are relatively
little known. These islands offer a
fascinating field for exploration and
study.
ROUTES OF TRAVEL
The arctic archipelago is generally
difficult of approach. The entire east-
ern coast from Hudson Strait to the
Arctic Ocean is more or less barred by
ice, and accessible only with favorable
ice-conditions, winds, and tides. A
rare fur-trading ship or whaler may
afford passage, but generally a special
ship is necessary for transportation to
the region.
The south side of the archipelago is
more easily accessible in summer by way
of Hudson Bay. The west side is even
more difficult of approach than the east
side. A special ship must be engaged
for the trip, unless a whaler or fur-
trader happens to be bound for those
far arctic waters.
4. UNGAVA AND LABRADOR
BY W. ELMER EKBLAW
INTRODUCTION
Because the great peninsula of Labra-
dor and Ungava offers to the naturalist
one of the most promising fields for
exploration and study, considerable
attention to the geography of the area
is well worth while.
It comprises a great triangular, penin-
sular territory forming the major north-
eastern portion of the North American
Continent. This triangle, broken only
by Ungava Bay, is bounded roughly on
the west by James Bay and Hudson Bay;
on the northeast by Ungava Bay, Hud-
son Strait, and the Atlantic Ocean;
on the south by the Rupert River and
its tributaries to Lake Mistassini, the
Saguenay and its tributaries to the
St. Lawrence, and the St. Lawrence
River and Gulf, and the straits of Belle
Isle. Only that portion lying north of
the 52nd parallel is included within this
account, and in general it does not include
any of the territory drained by the
rivers that flow into the St. Lawrence
system.
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
103
GEOLOGY
Over the greater part of the Labrador
Peninsula, probably nine-tenths the
area, the Laurentian gneisses and
schists form the country rock. These
consist of highly metamorphosed and
foliated clastic and igneous rocks of
great geologic age, all, with a few ex-
ceptions, Pre-Cambrian. More or less
interfolded with these aged Laurentian
rocks are several widely separated areas
of Huronian clastic and volcanic rocks,
and many basic eruptives schists, con-
glomerates, breccias, and others. Rest-
ing unconformably upon these aged
Laurentian and Huronian rocks, sand-
stones, argillites, shales, and lime-
stones, of doubtful age, with bedded
traps and other basic or volcanic rocks,
may constitute an early Cambrian
deposition.
In the long period between the folding
of the Laurentian and Huronian rocks
and the submergence when these sedi-
ments were laid down, the peninsula was
profoundly sculptured and denuded to
the fundamental basic form and physi-
ography it has today the great central
plateau, the lake and valley basins,
and the fjords and inlets.
In relatively recent geologic times this
old original land surface has been con-
siderably modified by glaciation through-
out its entire extent except the highest
mountain areas along the northeastern
coast of the peninsula. The central
neve" from which this glaciation pro-
ceeded, moved progressively northward
in three distinct successive periods of
ice accumulation, with intervening pe-
riods of diminished glaciation. The
earliest ice-flow radiated from a central
gathering-ground between the 50th and
51st parallels near the center of the
peninsula; the second from a point to
the northwest beyond the 54th parallel;
and the latest from a center about a
hundred miles inland from the east coast
of Hudson Bay, between the 55th and
56th parallels.
In the areas of these central neve
the rocks and boulders rest upon rocks
of the same kind and evidently have not
been transported far. As the distance
from these central areas of neve in-
creases, the sculpturing by the ice
becomes more distinct; but in general
the amounts of erosion and change
wrought upon the general surfaces have
not been so great as is generally thought.
Though the ice certainly did erode in
one place and deposit in another to
reduce the surface to a general uniform
level over the most of the plateau, the
evidence does not show that it ever
trenched or plucked out such deep
depressions as it apparently did farther
south along the peripheral edges and
lobes of the ice-sheet.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
Outline
The west coast of the peninsula,
running nearly due north and south for
800 mi. is remarkably straight and un-
broken by any deep indentations,though
bordered by numbers of long groups of
low narrow islands paralleling the shore-
line; the south side of the area covered
in this report corresponds roughly to the
divide between the rivers flowing into
the St. Lawrence and those emptying
westward, eastward, and northward to
Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay, and the
Atlantic. The Atlantic coast is ex-
ceedingly irregular, cut by many deep,
narrow fjords and bays, of which Hamil-
ton Inlet, the southernmost, is the
largest and deepest; and bordered by
islets and skerries innumerable. The
coast of Hudson Strait and Ungava
Bay are relatively regular, bordered by
many islets. The passages between the
islets and the mainland, and between
the islets themselves are locally des-
ignated as "tickles."
Relief
The Labrador peninsula is a gently
undulating plateau which rises abruptly
within a short distance from the coast
line to a general elevation of about
2000 ft., and which slopes rather gently
westward, northward, and eastward to
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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
the rim of the plateau, from a central
crest lying approximately along the
53rd parallel between the 65th and
70th meridians, west longitude. The
plateau is bordered in the northeastern
portion, along the Atlantic seaboard by
ranges of sharp, unglaciated mountains,
beginning about latitude 55 N. and
extending northward to Cape Chidley,
with maximum altitudes of 6000 ft.
inland from Saglek Bay; but elsewhere
the rim of the plateau does not rise
above the general level of the plateau.
The entire inland area of the plateau is
comparatively level, traversed only by
low, rounded, roughly parallel ridges of
crystalline rocks, so that except for a
very few places, there is not in the entire
plateau area 200,000 sq. mi., a difference
of level of more than 400 ft. The general
surface is further modified by low
moraines extending in a general way the
same direction as the slope of the
country, yet appreciably modifying the
preglacial drainage system of the terrain.
Soil
Most of the soil of the peninsula is a
boulder-studded, infertile, glacial till,
derived from the Archean rocks. Over
wide areas it is very sandy. The soil
along the river valleys has been modified
and enriched by redeposition and with a
consequent heavier growth of vegeta-
tion. The richest soils bearing the
best development of vegetation are the
alluvial-topped soils along the coast
and the inlets, and the areas of limestone
and shale outcrops of the supposed early
Cambrian rocks.
Drainage
As a consequence of the damming of
the valleys and basins of the streams
of the Labrador plateau by the masses
of glacial till and moraines, the whole
area is dotted with myriads of lakes and
pools, that occupy at least a fourth of
the entire area. They vary in size from
small narrow ponds to large extensive
lakes hundreds of square miles in area,
most of them relatively shallow, some
deep. In addition to the great lake
areas, large portions of the plateau
are occupied by damp, boggy, tundra
with defective drainage, almost lake-
like in character.
A perfect network of streams connects
these lakes and ponds, all interlocking so
closely that no great distances separate
the headwaters; and since above the
rapids near the coast, the streams and
lakes are generally navigable by canoes,
water travel is relatively easy through-
out the plateau, with few portages more
than 2 or 3 mi. long.
Three principal watersheds comprise
the peninsular north of the Height of
Land. The eastern is drained prin-
cipally by the tributaries of Hamilton
Inlet' the northern is drained by the
Koksoak, the largest and longest river
of Labrador, the George, the Whale,
and the Leaf; the western, the most
extensive of the peninsula, is drained
by the Nastapoka to the north, the
Little Whale and the Great Whale about
the middle, and the Big and East Main
to the south.
The water in the pools, lakes, and
streams is remarkably clear, quite
different from the dark-brown waters
of the Laurentian basin. Because the
summer season is short, the swamps and
tundra from which most of the streams
and lakes drain their water are thawed
only to a depth of 12 to 18 in., and
vegetable decomposition, particularly of
the sphagnum mosses, is negligible.
CLIMATE
The climate of the plateau of Labrador
is generally and distinctly Arctic. Ex-
cept at the heads of the deeper fjords
and inlets of the southern portion of the
east coast, where the diurnal range of
temperature is from 45 to 90, and the
average temperature in summer is
above 50, the temperatures for the
year are characteristically sub-Arctic.
Though situated in the same latitude
as some of the most pleasant and most
productive lands of Europe, Labrador
is chilled by the cold waters of the
Greenland current along its eastern
shore, and^by the prevailing westerly
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
105
winds which come off the cold expanses
of Hudson Bay, and the frigid, icebound
islands of the Arctic Archipelago,
instead of being warmed by the balmy
winds that blow off the temperate Gulf
Stream, as in northwestern Europe.
Temperature
The temperature depends greatly on
the direction of the winds. During the
summer the prevailing winds in the
interior are southerly and southwesterly,
bringing higher temperature and cloudy
skies, often with drizzling rain. The
prevailing westerly and northwesterly
winds of winter are accompanied by
lower temperatures and clear skies.
The northerly and northeasterly winds
accompany heavy storms of rain and
snow, with damp, chilly weather. Clear,
pleasant weather usually comes with
easterly and southeasterly winds, though
fogs along the coast are then most
common.
The temperature in the interior,
even in the southern part of the area,
rarely rises above 80 during the middle
of the day, on more than a few days
during the warm season. The summer
temperature of the Atlantic coast
region is considerably lower than inland,
or along the western coast. The lowest
winter temperatures inland are 55;
along the coast 45, at the head of
Ungava Bay; and at the mouth of
Hamilton Inlet -40.
The interior plateau has but two
seasons, winter from mid-September to
mid-June, and summer rather spring
from mid-June to mid-September. The
summer season begins almost simulta-
neously throughout the interior, with
a suddenness that is surprising. In
the first two weeks of June the snow
disappears, the ice melts off all the
lakes except the larger, the temperature
rises rapidly every day, the trees and
shrubs burst into leaf and early bloom,
and the birds arrive to mate, and to
begin nesting almost immediately. Un-
til the first of July frosf/s are likely to
occur every night and flurries of snow
may come even later. Summer ends
about the middle of September when the
first fall snow falls and the ice forms in
the small lakes. From early in October
the snow remains permanently, and all
the smaller lakes are solidly frozen.
Precipitation
The precipitation over the interior is
relatively light. The summer precipi-
tation is fairly constant though very
light, with few days without drizzles or
thunder-showers. The winter snowfall
varies from 3 to 6 ft., of which the most
is brought by the north and notheast
winds. Three-fourths of the winter
season is clear and crisp with brisk
northwest winds blowing.
BIOTA
Plant life
The vegetation along the coast of the
Labrador Peninsula is distinctly tundra,
with no trace of forests except at the
heads of the deeper inlets, while the
interior is more or less forested according
to the latitude and topography.
The tundra of the coast is almost
continuous over the islands, capes, prom-
ontories, and forelands, being broken
only by ledges of outcropping rock
with no soil covering; pools and lakes;
the low depressions which form moors;
the high rocky summits of the coastal
mountains where broken masses of rock
(typical "Felsenmeer") constitute the
surface; and scattered moist sunny
slopes and protected niches where the
same plants as those of the less favored
localities attain a most luxuriant growth.
In these coastal tundras, the essential
element is the sphagnum moss which
grows in all the damper portions.
Arctic grasse, sedges, rushes, and cot-
ton-grasses form turfy patches where
conditions are favorable. Northern Sa-
liceae and Ericaceae are the common
shrubs, all low-growing Empetrum nig-
rum, Vaccinium uliginosum and V.
Vitis-Idaea, Betula nana, Rubus cha-
maemorus and R. arctica, Ledum, Loise-
luria, Bryanthus that grow in the
tundra and tundra moor. Viola palus-
tris, Diapensia lapponica, Cerastium,
106
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Draba, Saxifraga, Papaver, Epilobium,
Drosera, Pinguicula, Silene, Pedicularis,
and numerous other arctic vascular
plants constitute the more prominent
flowers. On the drier slopes Linnaea
borealis, Rhododendron lapponicum, Py-
rola grandiflora, Campanula, Arnica,
Antennaria, Festuca, Trisetum, and
Calamagrostis characterize an almost
heath-like association of plants.
The interior plateau as a whole is
quite different from the coastal belt,
though large areas within the limit of
the plateau are composed of similar
tundra and tundra-moor vegetation.
The forest is practically continuous
over the southernmost edge of the area
described in this report, only the sum-
mits of the highest, rockiest hills being
bare; but from the 53rd parallel north-
ward, all the higher hills are treeless,
the size and number of barren areas
rapidly increase, and the trees them-
selves grow smaller. In latitude 55
N. more than half the surface is without
trees, forested areas being found only
in narrow belts along the streams and
lakes, and in moist, sheltered recesses
among the hills. The northern limit
of trees extends from the mouth of the
Nastapoka River on Hudson Bay, to
the mouth of Leaf River on Ungava
Bay, thence along the south shore of
Ungava Bay to the mouth of the George
River, thence along the foothills of the
Atlantic coast range to Hebron, just
north of Cape Mugford and south of
Saglek Bay.
The arborescent flora comprises the
following species:
1. Black spruce (Picea mariana'), the
most widely distributed and abundant
tree of Labrador, extends to the northern
limit of trees and constitutes nine-
tenths of the forest. It flourishes on the
sandy soils of the Archean complex and
grows equally as well on the dry hills
of the southern portion as in the boggy
land between the ridges. Farther north
it grows rank and slim in the valleys,
btit on the uplands where it forms open
glades, it spreads out like the white
spruce.
2. Balsam fir (Abies balsamea} is a
more southerly tree than the black
spruce. It grows only along the edges
of the waterways and the shores of the
larger lakes. Its northern limit is the
Great Whale River, and then roughly
eastward across the plateau to Hamilton
Inlet.
3. White spruce (Picea alba} is dis-
tributed throughout the wooded area
but is not so abundant. It is confined
to the scattered areas of rearranged
drift of the river valleys, the marine
deposits of the coast, and to the heavier
soils of the interior. Its size and num-
ber are thus more dependent upon the
soil factor than upon the climate, lati-
tude, or altitude. Its northern limit
approximates the forest limit.
4. Tamarack (Larix laricina], the
largest and the hardiest tree of the sub-
arctic forest belt, grows everywhere
over the Labrador Peninsula, next in
abundance to black spruce. It fre-
quents all the cold bogs; and even to the
northern limit of the forest, where the
black spruce is a mere shrub, the tama-
rack retains its arboreal form and size,
though somewhat diminished.
5. Banksian pine (Pinus divaricata]
occupies the southwestern portion of
the Labrador Peninsula, south of the
Great Whale River and west of a line
that roughly corresponds with the
seventy-first meridian. It grows on dry
sandy ridges and hills, where it is often
combined with black spruce to form the
second growth on fire-swept reaches.
6. Canoe birch (Betula papyrifera)
grows commonly over the southern
portion of the peninsula but is rare and
small toward the north. Its northern
limit lies to the south of the forest
limit, though scattered groups of the
trees are found even in the valley of the
Koksoak river a few miles above its
mouth.
7. Aspen (Populustremuloides^is found
in clumps in the original coniferous
forest, and in company with white birch,
as second growth in many burned-over
areas. It seems most abundant and
widely distributed in the western portion
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
107
of the peninsula on the undisturbed
original till of the drift ridges. Its
northern limit approximates the fifty-
fourth parallel.
8. Balsam poplar (Populus balsami-
fera) grows farther north than the
aspen but it thrives only on the heavy
clay soil of the river valleys or that
derived from limestone and shale rocks.
Its extreme northern limit is near the
head of Ungava Bay, thence south-
eastward to the mouth of Hamilton
Inlet, and southwestward to Bishop
Roggan river on the shore of Hudson
Bay.
At least one-half of the original forest
cover has been burned off, and a second-
ary growth of black spruce, Banksian
pine, aspen, and white birch replaces
the former forest. In many places
only blackened stumps and small second
growth extend for miles over the plateau
and up the river valleys, with here and
there a large thrifty tract of the original
forest to indicate the character of the
former pristine forest covering.
Throughout the forest belt, the low-
lands fringing the streams are covered
over with thickets of low willows and
alders. Toward the semi-barrens north-
ward, these fringes of shrubbery become
wider, and with dwarf birch occupy
much of the open glades. The willows
and birches grow on the hillsides above
the tree-line up to the "Felsenmeer"
and its patches of Sphagnum or Cla-
donia tundra, and form low thickets
through which it is difficult to pass.
North of the tree-limit similar thickets
of Arctic willow, birch, and alder grow
over the lower reaches, but on the hills
they attain only a carpet-like form.
Ledum and Kalmia in tangled masses
form the undergrowth of the southern
forest region, but die out in the semi-
barrens. Sphagnum is the ground car-
pet of the southern regions, being re-
placed by Cladonia to the north, a rich
growth everywhere throughout the
semi-barrens and barren regions.
The semi-barrens and barren moun-
tain-tops and northern tracts are either
areas of "Felsenmeer" with little vegeta-
tion, or tundra or tundra-moor vegeta-
tion such as is found along the coast.
Over 450 species of vascular plants have
been reported, including about 35 Com-
positae, 30 Ericaceae, 30 Cruciferae,
30 Rosaceae, 30 Cyperaceae, 30 Gra-
mineae, 25 Caryophyllace; 20 Saliceae,
20 Saxifragaceae, 20 Ranunculaceae,
and 15 Scrophulariaceae.
During the short summer season the
open places of the peninsula become
dotted with the blossoms of berry-
bearing shrubs and flowering plants.
Nearly all vernal in character, they
burst into bloom abruptly, just as breaks
the summer. Their flowering and grow-
ing season is brief, and they hasten
through their vegetative and reproduc-
tive processes in a rapid, continuous
succession by which the aspect of the
landscape seems often to change over
night. Grassy, sedgy, swales are dotted
with the plants of the moor; gravelly,
clayey slopes become colored with the
heath-plants in every warm sheltered
nook; and every niche and ledge among
the rocks bears a flower, or a bit of fern,
or sedge, or grass. The subarctic land-
scape during the all too brief summer
is far from monotonous.
ANIMAL LIFE
Mammals
Of the land-mammals the barren-
ground caribou is the most significant
form in the whole fauna of the peninsula.
The woodland caribou once abundant,
and the chief reliance for food of the
Nascaupee and Montaignais Indians,
has been almost exterminated, with the
result that a large portion of these
tribes has perished from starvation.
The barren-ground caribou ranges
immense herds over the barren and
semi-barren grounds. These animals
spend the summer season on the barren
highlands near the coast where the
strong winds reduce the number of
flies and mosquitoes that plague all
life. In the autumn they migrate in-
land and southward into the semi-
barrens of the lower lands, * and [re-
108
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
turn to the high barrens in April and
May.
Three distinct herds browse over the
north part of the peninsula. One, on
the Atlantic coast occupies in summer
the mountainous area between the
56th and 59th parallels, and migrates
almost as a unit southwestward toward
the semi-barrens of the inland valleys
and forested lowlands beyond Lake
Michikimau. Hundreds are killed by
the Indians while crossing the George
River about 100 mi. below the lake.
The spring migration is more desultory
in small bands. Another of the herds
frequents in summer the point of the
peninsula between Ungava Bay and the
Atlantic, and migrates to the point
west of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait,
crossing the lower regions of Koksoak
River. The third herd winters about
Clearwater Lake, and migrates north-
ward for summer pasturage to the high-
lands along the divide of the north-
western part of the peninsula.
With irregular periodicity the caribou
remain on the barrens throughout the
winter, not migrating back to the for-
ested inland valleys and lake shore
tracts. Whenever this happens the
Indians are likely to face stress and
starvation and death.
With diminution in number of the
Indian hunters, there is a corresponding
increase in the number of furbearing
animals. Of these the most abundant
are the pine marten (Maries) ranging
through the forested regions, but not
found on the semi-barrens of the high-
lands, or north of the tree-limit; the
wolverine (Gulo) common throughout
the entire extent of Labrador to its
northernmost point; the otter (Lutra)
common throughout the wooded regions
and ranging northward into the barren
grounds; the beaver (Castor), numerous
throughout the forested lands, and rang-
ing into the semi-barrens wherever
the food-supply permits; the weasel
(Mustela), distributed throughout the
wooded regions; the mink (Mustela
vison), rare even in the southernmost
portion of the peninsula; the red fox
(Vulpes) and its variant color phases,
relatively abundant throughout the
peninsula; and the arctic fox (Alopex)
both blue and white forms found most
abundantly in the barren ground to the
north, and ranging farther south along
the coast to the 52nd parallel.
The arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) is
confined to the barren and semi-barren
lands, but the common rabbit (Lepus
americanus) is found in great numbers
throughout the wooded regions, except
that periodically it is almost extermi-
nated by an epidemic infection that
rages through the species. This rabbit
is an essential element in the Labrador
fauna, for many of the carnivoran species
depend upon it for their basic food
supply. The Canada lynx (Lynx cana-
densis), the gray wolf, and many of the
fur-bearing carnivores find the rabbit
the ultimate source of sustenance. It
is said that whenever the rabbits die
from disease, the lynx faces such difficult
food conditions that it does not breed
during the shortage of rabbits. The
gray wolf (Cam's lycaon) preys chiefly
upon the caribou (Rangifer spp.), and
since the woodland form has become
almost extinct, the range of the gray
wolf has been largely limited to the
barrens and semi-barrens, the haunts
of the barren-ground caribou. The
arctic wolf (Cam's tundrarum) is rare,
and found only in the barrens and along
the coast.
Three species of bears are found in
Labrador, the barren-ground bear, the
black bear, and the polar bear. The
barren-ground bear (Ursus sp.), as its
name implies, is northerly in its range,
and is very rare. The black bear (Ursus
americanus group) is common through-
out the wooded country, frequenting
the coast when the great shoals of caplin
are swept in on the beaches; the rapids
and falls of the streams when the salmon
and other fish are "shoaling;" and the
burnt-over areas in the fall when the
berries are ripe. The polar bear (77m-
larctos) is common along all the coast
of Labrador, but most abundant in the
northern portion where it finds seals in
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
109
abundance. It frequents the ice-fields
and bergs, and rarely travels inland
except in winter when the fjord and
inlets are frozen over. The polar bear
is essentially a shore-loving animal,
spending much of its time at sea.
The smaller mammals that frequent
the northern barrens and semi-barrens
include the Labrador deer-mouse (Pero-
myscus} common as far south as the
52nd parallel, particularly about build-
ings and huts; the small and large yel-
low-faced Phenacomys of rather far
northern distribution; the Ungava red-
backed mouse (Euvotomys ungava) re-
stricted to these northern barren and
semi-barren areas; the small Labrador
vole (Microtus); two species of lem-
ming (Lemmus and Dicrostonyx), most
common about the grassy, sedgy moors
and bogs; and the Labrador shrew (So-
rex), found from Fort Chimo 'south.
The small mammals that are of more
southern range, found principa llyin
the wooded lands are as follows: the
porcupine (Erethizon), ranging north-
ward into the semi-barrens; the north-
ern red squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus)
of the same range; the Labrador flying
squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus makkovi-
kensis), rare even in the southernmost
portions; the large Labrador vole com-
mon throughout the wooded regions and
penetrating into the semi-barrens; the
Labrador rock vole and Labrador jump-
ing mouse (Zapus), rare along the
coast; the Hamilton Inlet red-backed
mouse and the northern jumping mouse,
common in the woodlands to the edge
of the semi-barrens; the Labrador musk-
rat (Ondatra) becoming progressively
less numerous from the heavily-wooded
tracts in the south to the semi-barrens
as far north as Fort Chimo, where it is
very rare; and the little brown bat and
Say's bat (Myotis L. Lucifugus and
M. subulatus), that may occasionally
be found in the extreme southern
portion.
In the waters off the coast the walrus
is found along the whole coast, its former
usual range, but now it is common only
along the northern reaches. Six species
of seal frequent the coast; the harbor
seal, common to the coast and low parts
of the rivers all around Labrador, and
plentiful in a number of northern fresh-
water lakes in which they breed and rear
their young, and from which apparently
they never go, having acquired a fresh-
water habit; the ringed seal and harp-
seal, common along the whole coast;
the bearded seal, the gray seal, and the
hooded seal, everywhere and always
rare. The white porpoise or beluga,
and the narwhal, are fairly common.
The humpbacked, the little-piked, the
finback, the sulphur bottom, the killer,
and the bottle-nosed whales are locally
relatively common; while the right
whale, the bowhead, the Pollock whale,
and the sperm whale are rare. The
porpoises and dolphins are common.
Birds
The bird life of Labrador, both inland
and coastal, is numerous and varied,
the number of species of the seabirds
being relatively small, though the num-
ber of individuals in many cases is in-
credibly large; while of the land birds
the number of species is relatively large,
the number of individuals relatively
small.
Of the sea-birds, two species once
common, the great auk and the Labrador
duck, have been quite exterminated.
The puffin, the black, guillemot, and
the Mandt's guillemot, the common
murre and the Brunnich's murre, and the
razor-billed auk, are common summer
residents in the waters off the coasts,
and the dovekies are numerous during
the winter. The skuas, and jaegers,
many gulls and terns, petrels and shear-
waters, fulmars, gannets and cormorants
frequent the coast. The mergansers
and many species of ducks and geese
including the eiders, brant, and the
whistling swan populate the coastal
inlets, fjords, and lagoons.
Along the shores, the fast vanishing
curlew may still be found, though the
oyster-catcher has been exterminated;
the sandpipers, the phalaropes, the
plovers, the ruddy turnstone, the sand-
110
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
erling, and the godwit, all help to make
the coastal skerries and lowlands along
the inlets interesting and lively.
On the inland plateau the loons, the
grebes, the coots, and the Canada geese
nest in numbers about the lakes and
pools, a few herons and rails, harlequin
ducks, and sandpipers frequent the
shores of the streams and ponds, some-
times nesting. In the woods and timber
lands of the interior the northern rang-
ing species of woodpeckers hairy,
downy, black-backed, three-toed, and
the yellow-shafted flicker; the Canada
blue jay, and the Labrador jay; the
yellow-bellied fly-catcher, the raven,
the pine grosbeak, the white-winged
crossbill; the tree sparrow, the waxwing,
the warblers Tennessee, yellow, myrtle
magnolia, black-poll, black-capped yel-
low, the water-thrush, and rarely, a
few others; the northern shrike; the
Hudsonian chickadee; the kinglets;
the live-backed and hermit thrushes;
the American robin; the ruffed grouse
and the Canada grouse; and transient
or casual visitors of other species; all
these form the interior woodland
avifauna.
In the more open glades and on the
barrens and semi-barrens, the willow
ptarmigan and Reinhardt's ptarmigan
are common, the latter migrating north-
ward about mid-April to the northern
barrens, and the islands to the north of
Labrador; the yellow-legs, Wilson's
snipe, and the inland sandpipers are
found on the moorlands; the cow-birds
and rusty blackbirds frequent the
shrubby fringes of the open places; the
red-polls, the longspur, the savannah
sparrow, Lincoln's sparrow, the white-
sparrow, the white-crowned and white-
throated sparrow, the junco, the pipit,
and the horned lark, flit about the
semi-barrens, and the shrub-carpeted
stretches of the barrens; while the snow-
bunting commonly, and the rare wheat-
war, occasionally, make their home
among the rocky ledges and Felsenmeer
of the whole region of barrens and semi-
barrens. The gyrfalcon, the duck hawk,
the bald eagle, and the American gos-
hawk course over the plateau; the osprey
frequents the waters of the southern
portion; the kingfisher darts along the
wooded streams; a number of owls
short-eared, saw-whet, dusky, horned,
and American hawk owls prey on the
small life; and the snowy owl sweeps
down over the plateau in winter,
coming from the high-arctic lands to
the north.
Insects
About 300 species of insects are known
from Labrador. The diptera, many
circumpolar in distribution, and an
almost intolerable feature of the short
Labrador summer, include two species
of botfly that infest the caribou; deer-
flies and horseflies of 10 or 12 species of
which the larvae are aquatic or sub-
aquatic and of which the adult flies are
the torment of the larger land life of
the peninsula; mosquitoes, beyond cred-
ible enumeration, that rise in cloudlike
swarms from the moors and tundra
and hover about the woodlands equally
densely; the minute midges, that help
to make human existence during summer
almost worthless in the woods; and a
few other species "that do not bite."
The hymenoptera number less than
30 species, of which 11 or 12 are leaf-
eaters or saw-flies; two are ants, con-
fined to the southernmost wooded
valleys; two are wasps; and 5 are bum-
ble bees. The bumblebees are far north-
ern species.
One hundred and fifteen species of
lepidoptera have been listed; 18 butter-
flies, including 4 small Fritillaries;
Argynnis atlantis; Papilio turnus; Pon-
tia napi v. frigida; 4 Eurymus; Eugonia
j-album; Oeneis norma v. semidea;
Agriades aquilo; and Lycaena ladon.
Two species of skippers, Pamphila
comma and Hesperia centaureae, have
been collected. Of the moths the
Arctiidae include 4 species; the Noc-
tuidae, 40 species; the Geometridae, 20
species; the Lipariidae one species;
the Hepialidae, two species; the Pyral-
idae, 8 species; the Crambidae, 6 species;
the Tortricidae, 20 species; the Tineidae,
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
111
10 species; and the Trichoptera (caddis-
flies) 5 species.
The Hemiptera include only 4 species;
the Orthoptera number one. Eight On-
donata (dragon-flies) have been found in
Labrador; one Ephemeris, or May-fly;
3 Plecopterids ; several Thysanura or
spingtails; and the snow-flea; all these
have been recorded. Sixty species of
beetles and 11 spiders have been de-
scribed from the peninsula.
fish
The inland waters of Labrador are well
stocked with fish. The sturgeon is
common in many streams; the northern
sucker and the red sucker are common
throughout the peninsula in all the lakes
and streams; the whitefish is everywhere
abundant; the Atlantic salmon enter
all the streams opening on the Atlantic
and Hudson Straits watersheds; the
Great Lake trout, the brook trout, and
the pike are found in most of the
streams; the ling, an important fish
for the Indians because it will take bait
freely during the winter months when
other fish can not be caught and food is
scarce, is abundant in all the deeper
lakes.
The most important fish of the coastal
salt-water is the cod, which comes to the
coast to feed on the immense schools
of caplin that run inshore to feed. The
cod comes to the Labrador coast about
June twentieth, and moves northward
along the coast at the rate of about a
degree of latitude a week, but from
August to September they are spread
along the entire coast. The smaller
cod begin leaving the coast about the
first of October, but the larger remain
until well into November.
The mackerel left the Labrador coast
about the middle of the nineteenth
century and is rarely found there now.
The herring is again abundant after a
long period of relative absence. The
halibut, dab, and rock-cod are common.
The sleeper shark is abundant in all the
inlets and near the coast, a scavenger of
the sea-floor.
Crustacea of many species frequent
the Labrador coast. Crabs, lobsters,
shrimps, amphipods, isopods, copepods,
and barnacles are numerous. The mol-
luscan fauna is distinctly Arctic, largely
of circumpolar species, both lacustrine
and littoral. Land molluscs are rare.
The plankton life, seasonally, is ex-
ceedingly rich.
CONCLUSION
The Labrador is relatively unexplored.
It offers one of the most promising
fields for the explorer and the pioneer
naturalist. The coast may be readily
visited during the summer months by
mail-steamers from St. Johns and by
fishing vessels from Gloucester, Pro-
vincetown, and the Atlantic coastal
fishing towns, where the cod-fleets
have their bases. The interior may be
traversed only by well-organized and
well-equipped expeditions with expe-
rienced guides and leaders.
5. NEWFOUNDLAND
BY W. ELMER EKBLAW
INTRODUCTION
Newfoundland, an island of some
42,000 sq. mi. off the mouth of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, lies between the parallels
of 46 36' 50" and 51 39' north latitude,
and between the meridians 53 37' and
59 24' 50" west longitude. It forms
an equilateral triangle, the distances
between Cape Bauld at the north angle,
Cape Spear at the southeast angle, and
Cape Ray at the southwest angle, being
each approximately 320 mi.
GEOLOGY
Except for a belt composed of the
highest portion of the Long Range
Hills, the entire island has been glac-
iated. Possibly two-thirds of the area
is occupied by Laurentian granites and
gneisses, with considerable tracts of
serpentine; Huronian gneisses and
schists predominate in the eastern
portion; considerable belts of Carboni-
ferous sandstones and shales and scat-
tered tracts of Silurian and Devonian
112
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
limestones are found along the western
coast and in a few places over the pla-
teau. The distribution of the soils
resulting from the disintegration of
these different rocks influences to a
considerable degree the flora and vege-
tation of the island.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
Outline
The northwest coast of the island,
paralleling the fold known as the Long
Range, is fairly regular; the south coast
is much more broken by bays and fjords,
particularly toward the east end; and the
northeast coast is exceedingly broken
and irregular throughout its entire
extent, like the west coast of Norway,
or Greenland. These bays and fjords
occupy the valleys and lowlands of a
peninsular continuation of the eastern
Canadian coast prior to the post-glacial
submergence which left Newfoundland
an island. Numerous islets and islands
occupy the bays and gulfs. Avalon
Peninsula, almost detached from the
main island by Trinity Bay and Pla-
centia Bay, is connected only by a
narrow isthmus.
Relief
The relief, like the shore line, is an
expression of the geologic structure of
the terrain, the ridges and valleys
paralleling the direction of the folds,
N.N.E. to S.S.W. Seen from the sea,
the coast rises steep, 200 to 300 ft. or
even more, like a broad rocky wall,
bleak and apparently barren, to a
plateau dissected to form a rugged
hilly landscape.
Back of this dissected coastal belt,
the plateau is extensive and undulating,
with parallel ranges of hills and moun-
tains, of which the Long Range along
the west coast, with heights of 2000 ft.
or more, is the most important. Avalon
peninsula is rather rugged and rough,
but the highest hills here are not over
1200 ft. in height. Throughout the
region of the interior rolling plateau,
scattered sharp peaks called "tolts,"
serve to identify the various localities
of the island.
Drainage
Consequent upon the disturbance of
the original drainage system by the
general glaciation of the area, New-
foundland is characterized by innu-
merable lakes, pools, ponds, and
marshes, of such extent that one-third
the island is thus occupied by small
bodies of water, lying along the flood
plains of the streams, in hollows along
the slopes of the valleys, in depressions
between the moraines and ridges, and
even in hollows in the tops of the hills.
Three rivers of considerable size
the Humber running west into the Bay
of Islands; and the Gander and Exploits
running northeast into the Hamilton
Sound and Notre Dame Bay respec-
tively and a number of smaller streams
drain the island; but because of nu-
merous falls and rapids, and shallow
riffles they are unnavigable except for
canoes. Extensive bogs occupy much
of the valley areas and the plateau
slopes and levels.
CLIMATE
The climate of Newfoundland does
not merit designation as an oceanic
climate, but it is so modified by the
waters bathing its shores that it is
distinctly more equable and uniform
than that of the neighboring mainland.
The temperature rarely falls below
zero even in mid-winter, and rarely rises
above 80 in summer. The mean tem-
perature for the year, except in the
extreme northern portion where it is
lower, is from 40 to 45. The average
precipitation, about evenly divided
between rain and snow, is less than
60 in.
The average barometer is 29.37 in.
The storms are mildly cyclonic, with
winds varying with the seasons in
general direction and velocity. Winter
sets in late in November and continues
until mid-April. During this period
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
113
a general covering of snow keeps the
frost from penetrating deep. The first
frosts are rather early in places as
early as mid-August and spring is
often tardy, particularly when the ice-
floes and ice-bergs have accumulated
unduly off the coast. July in New-
foundland is like May in New York.
The north, east, and south coasts are
chilly and damp and foggy, because of
the meeting of the cold Greenland-
Labrador current with the warm air
and water of the Gulf stream. There
where the warm, moisture-laden air
off the Gulf stream encounters the
chill air off the cold waters of the Green-
land current, with its fleets of floes and
bergs, the vapor is condensed into
clouds and fogs and mists that charac-
terize the region. The interior and the
west coast, however, have a pleasant,
relatively mild and equable climate,
generally clear and invigorating.
BIOTA
Plant life
The vegetation of the island varies
with the topography of the soil, and the
drainage. The greater part of the
island has been heavily forested, the
dominant type of forest being coni-
ferous, with interspersed areas of decid-
uous woods but great tracts have
been destroyed by fire.
The white pine, once abundant over
the island, has been almost all cut,
surviving only in isolated groves where
it has been intentionally preserved, or
in small tracts remote or difficult of
access. The most abundant coniferous
tree is black spruce, though the balsam
fir or spruce is also common; the tama-
rack is abundant in the bog or tundra;
and white spruce and cedar (low-growing
juniper) are widely distributed. Arbor-
vitae, rather common in New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, is absent.
Scattered about among the coniferous
woods are large tracts of rather pure
growths of deciduous trees, balsam,
poplar, aspen, white and red maple,
birch, elm, mountain ash, alder and a
few others. In places, particularly on
the burned tracts, these are also scat-
tered promiscuously among the new
stands of coniferous trees.
As a rule the forests are found in belts
from two to 10 mi. wide along the
streams and about the shores of the
lakes. The most extensive areas of
timber left standing are in the basins
of the Exploits, Gander, and Humber
Rivers. It is estimated that the acreage
of marketable timber left standing in
Newfoundland is 6,500,000, of which no
small portion is well established second
growth on cut-over or fire-swept areas.
The forests rarely extend above the
1000 ft. elevation and generally cease
considerably lower. The crests and the
rolling tops of the hills are bare of trees,
in many places quite destitute of vegeta-
tion the so-called barrens; in others,
where the soil and moisture are more
favorable the barrens are covered with
scrub willow, alder, and birch and low
evergreens. Thus from east to west,
Newfoundland is a succession of parallel
barren ridges, and forested valleys.
On the plateaus and in the valleys
where the drainage is incomplete, lie
extensive bogs; some of them are for-
ested with black spruce, tamarack,
willow, and alder as dominant trees,
and Labrador tea, dwarf birch, an-
dromeda, kalmia and other low shrubs
forming a rather dense undergrowth on
the wet floor of sphagnum, sedge, and
cotton grass; others are shrubby; but
many of them are open, grassy, and
sedgy moors, with a wealth of flowering
plants and ferns.
The vascular plants of Newfoundland
are many and varied, comprising over
1000 species, some of general distribu-
tion, others confined to certain limited
types of soil, or physiographic divisions.
Berry-bearing plants Rubus, V actinium
Empetrum, and Viburnum are numer-
ous. Flowering plants, both shrubs,
and herbs, and ferns grow in profusion,
except in the driest, windswept portions
of the barrens. Grasses, sedges and
mosses carpet the wet open places.
Reindeer moss (Cladonia) clothes the
114
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
rockier slopes and crests, particularly
in the northwest part.
The flora seems to possess definite
affinity with the sub-alpine life of
Labrador, and with the flora of New
England and New Jersey, but forms
related to those of New Brunswick,
Quebec, and Nova Scotia, are rela-
tively few, probably due to a barrier of
unfavorable soils prior to the post-
glacial submergence of the connecting
lands.
Animal life
The most important feature of the
fauna of Newfoundland is the woodland
caribou, which migrates in March from
the valleys and the more wooded por-
tions of the southern half of the island,
to the Cladonia-covered barrens of the
northwest, there to bear rts young in
May and June, and to browse through
the summer until the first heavy frosts
of October, when it again moves south-
ward. The large herds of this animal
thus moving annually back and forth
over the island are the dominant feature
in the animal life of the land, as the cod
is of the sea.
The gray wolf (Cam's ly'caori), now
very scarce, and the black bear (Ursus
americanus group), frequent the interior.
The red fox and its variants are common.
Beaver, otter, weasel, arctic hare, musk-
rat and bats abound. No reptiles are
indigenous. Frogs have been intro-
duced and thrive well. The moose and
porcupine of the neighboring Canadian
coast are absent. Salmon and trout,
but no pike or pickerel, or other pre-
daceous fish, are found in the inland
streams or lakes.
Bird life, both on land and sea, is rich
and varied. Over 300 species have been
recorded eagles, hawks, owls, wood-
peckers, swallows, king fishers, fly
catchers, thrushes, warblers, ravens,
jays, sparrows, and others inland;
golden plover, sandpipers, curlews and
other shore-birds, but no woodcock;
ducks, geese, loons, coot and others
frequent the many lakes and the coast;
dovekies, gannets, gulls, guillemots,
puffins, murres, and razorbill auks
are abundant in the waters that wash
the shore; on the lower lands the willow
ptarmigan is one of the most distinctive
birds and on the uplands, the rock
ptarmigan. The great auk once fre-
quented the shores and the outlying
islands but has been extinct these many
years.
Insect life is abundant. Mosquitoes
and deerflies are apparently omnipresent
throughout much of the summer. Gay
butterflies flit over the open vales and
barrens; moths of many species frequent
both open and woodland.
And in the sea adjacent to Newfound-
land, particularly on the Grand Banks
to the south and southeast, the aquatic
fauna is one of the richest in the world.
In this meeting ground of the Green-
land current with the Gulf Stream, both
bearing heavy loads of pelagic algae
and other minute forms, sea life is most
abundant. Echinoderms, molluscs, an-
nelids, and coelenterates innumerable,
feed upon this rich plankton growth,
and in turn yield sustenance to the fish
and larger forms.
About the first of June the caplin,
a small fish, appears on the banks in
incredible millions, and preying upon
them appear the cod. When the caplin
disappear, the squid comes to take its
place as cod-food, and when the squid
leaves the herring appear, thus furnish-
ing the cod with an abundance of food
until mid-October, when it too leaves.
Lobsters are abundant in the off-shore
waters. Mackerel once frequented the
coast in large numbers but disappeared
about the middle of the nineteenth
century, and have not returned.
In spring thousands of harp and a few
hooded seal float south from the Arctic
regions on pan-ice borne by the Green-
land Current, to bear their young on the
floes. They are killed by hundreds of
thousands, both young and old, during
the month of April. Hundreds of whales
are also killed annually, many of them
sulphur-bottoms, finbacks, and hump-
backs. The white whale, or beluga,
one of the porpoises, is occasionally
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
115
common. The narwhal once abundant
along the coast is now disappearing.
The killer whale is abundant, as are the
grampus and porpoise.
ROUTES OF TRAVEL
Newfoundland is readily accessible
as a field for study, either by the Inter-
Colonial Railway or by steamers from
America and Europe. The island itself
is difficult of traverse, particularly
toward the northwest, because of the
bogs, rocky hills, and barrens, without
roads or even trails. The rivers are
navigable only by canoes. Most parts
of the island are accessible only by boat
from the sea; the southern half may be
studied fairly well from the main railway
and the spurs built out from it. Mos-
quitoes and deerflies are so annoying
as to hinder field work and special pre-
cautions for comfort and relief are
necessary.
6. THE MACKENZIE WATERSHED;
NORTHERN HUDSON BAY REGION,
UPPER YUKON REGION, AND THE
ARCTIC ISLANDS
BY EDWARD A. PREBLE
I. GENERAL CONDITIONS
1. General topography of the entire region
The region treated in the present
sketch includes a vast area in the north-
ern interior of North America, between
latitude 50 and 78 N., and extending
from longitude 85 west to 115 at the
south, and from 80 west to 141 at the
north. The Arctic Ocean washes its
northern shores and islands; Hudson
Bay marks its eastern limit, and its
western border includes the headwaters
of streams which enter the Pacific from
middle British Columbia to Bering Sea.
Its physiography is very much varied.
At the south grassy plains, interspersed
with small patches and tongues of forest,
are succeeded as one goes northward by
a forest that is almost unbroken save
by the rivers and the lakes, which are
numerous and sometimes very large.
Because of differences in geology, the
lakes are more numerous in the eastern
portion. North of the great forest lies
a large area which for climatic reasons is
treeless, but still has a rich and varied
flora. The southern and eastern parts
of the region are rolling, with only a few
hilly areas. At the extreme northwest,
however, it includes the northern part
of the Rocky Mountain chain, here lower
than farther south, and its foothill
ranges. These are forested on their
lower slopes but hold large alpine areas,
the flora and fauna of which have close
affinities with the treeless Arctic.
North and northeast of the continen-
tal portion of the region, above briefly
described, lies the Arctic Archipelago,
including a number of large islands
similar in topography, flora, and fauna
to the treeless part of the mainland.
The region is exceptionally well-
watered, mainly by the great Mackenzie,
which ranks second in size of basin, and
third in actual volume, among North
American rivers. Northwestwardly, the
region includes areas watered by streams
which enter the Pacific Ocean and Bering
Sea, this lying, of course, west of the
Continental divide.
For transportation, the naturalist
must depend largely on boats of some
kind, supplemented by dog sled if it is
desired to enter the region before the
opening of navigation, or if the freeze-
up should overtake him en route. To
reach the northward flowing streams
several rail routes are possible. For
most direct access to the lower Atha-
baska and the Mackenzie, the Alberta
and Great Waterways Railway, running
north-northeastward from Edmonton,
Alberta, takes one to navigable water
on the lower Clearwater. From here
steamboat travel, interrupted only at
one point, the 16-mi. Smith portage, is
afforded to the mouth of the Mackenzie.
From many points on this 1500-mi.
route a great number of canoe routes
lead to all parts of the immense region
now treated, to thousands of lakes,
streams, and mountains unknown ex-
cept to the wandering native. Alter-
native railroad lines leading to the north
116
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
are the Athabaska Landing branch of the
Canadian Northern, running 100 mi.
northward from Edmonton, and the E.
D. and B. C. railway running to Peace
River by way of Lesser Slave Lake.
The latter line affords access to the
Mackenzie by way of the lower Peace
and Slave River, or to the upper tribu-
taries of Peace River, in the interior of
northern British Columbia. Another
route to the latter section is by canoe
northward from various points on the
Canadian National railway, which
crosses central British Columbia from
the head of Fraser River to the Pacific
in about latitude 54.
2. Climate of entire region
The climate of a region of such magni-
tude as the one under discussion is so
varied that it seems best to take up this
subject in the account of the various
areas. In general it may be said that
the winters are long and cold, and the
summers short and comparatively warm.
There is a very wide yearly range of
temperature especially over the Conti-
nental portion of the region, the greatly
increased number of hours of sunlight
enjoyed in summers in high latitudes
making up in a measure for the increase
in latitude. This enables the smaller
shrubs and other plants to complete
their reproductive processes within a
comparatively short time.
8. Original biotic divisions
A. Poplar forest and savanna of south-
ern portion (Canadian Zone). This
division occupies most of a broad strip
extending north-northwestward from
Edmonton, passing west of Athabaska
(on the river), thence, including the
basin of Lesser Slave Lake, on to Peace
River, northward down its valley on
either side, and northward nearly to
Great Slave Lake. In a modified form,
it stretches westward to include much
of the Peace River valley, in northeast-
ern British Columbia.
This is the region of transition from
the grassy and treeless Great Plains to
the great northern Forest. Its principal
tree is the aspen poplar (Populus tremu-
loides) which forms groves of greater
or lesser extent on the slopes of the rol-
ling hills. In low areas where the
drainage is imperfect, mossy swamps or
muskegs where the black spruce (Picea
mariana} is dominant are frequent.
Farther north these become more
numerous and become a dominant
feature.
Originally this area was the habitat
of the bison (Bison b. athabascae) and
the elk (Cervus canadensis), but the
latter is long since extirpated here, and
the bison remains only in small numbers
near its northern part. Other mammals
presumably here were the moose (Alces
americanus), Franklin ground squirrel
(Citellus franklinii), thirteen-lined
ground-squirrel (C. tridecemlineatus)
(these two not north of Athabaska
River), Saskatchewan pocket-gopher
(Thomomys talpoides) (southerly), nor-
thern plains skunk (Mephitis hudsonica),
and several mice and voles. Birds are
numerous; a few notable breeders in-
clude the sharp-tailed grouse, upland
plover, and the western solitary sand-
piper.
The only reptile, the northern garter
snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis),
which enters any part of the region is
confined mainly to the savannas of this
subdivision. Scarcely less strictly con-
fined to it are the western toad (Bufo
lentiginosus woodhousei), and the leopard
frog (Rana pipiens). The northern
wood frog (Rana cantabrigensis latire-
mis) and the northern chorophilus (Cho-
rophilus septentrionalis) also are found
in it, but extend their ranges far be-
yond to the limit of trees.
B. Transcontinental coniferous area.
1. Southern heavy timber (Canadian
Zone): Covering most of the region
under discussion is the great transcon-
tinental conifer forest. Its principal
trees are the white and black spruces
(Picea alba and P. mariana), whose
ranges are coextensive with its limits,
and the canoe birch (Betula papyrifera),
tamarack (Larix laricina), aspen and
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
117
balsam poplars (Populus tremuloides
and P. balsamifera), Banksian pine
(Pinus divaricata) (replaced in British
Columbia and Yukon by lodge-pole
pine (Pinus contorta)), and balsam fir
(Abies balsamea), which are common in
the southern part of the belt, and which
terminate, counting from the north,
in about the order given. With these
are associated, generally in the form of
undergrowth, a variety of shrubs, some
of which, also, have a continuous dis-
tribution through the forest zone, while
others are more or less restricted in
range. Some of the more conspicuous
of these are the following: creeping
juniper (Juniperus sabina), low juniper
(J. nana), a large variety of willows
(Salix), one (S. bebbiana) attaining the
dignity of a tree, but most being creeping
shrubs or low bushes, sweet gale (Myrica
gale), two hazels (Corylus americana
and C. rostrata) (southerly), dwarf
birches (Betula glandulosa and B. nana),
alders (Alnus), several currants and
gooseberies (Ribes), red raspberry (Rubus
strigosus), shrubby cinquefoil (Dasi-
phora fruticosa), wild rose (Rosa acicu-
laris), service berry (Amelanchier alni-
folia), cherries (Prunus pennsylvanica
and P. virginiana) crowberry (Empet-
rum nigrum), silverberry (Elaeagnus
argentea) buffalo berry (Lepargyrea
canadensis), dwarf cornel (Cornus cana-
densis), red-osier cornel (Cornus stolo-
nifera), Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandi-
cum), swamp laurel (Kalmia glauca),
wild rosemary (Andromeda polifolia),
leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata),
red bearberry (Arctostaphylos uvaursi),
mountain cranberry (Vitisidaea vitisi-
daea), small cranberry (Oxy coccus oxy-
coccus), bog blueberry (Vaccinium uligi-
nosum), cranberry tree (Vivurnum
americanuni) (southerly), few-flowered
viburnum (V. pauciflorum), and
snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosus)
(southerly). With these are associated
a great variety of herbaceous plants,
many of which bear flowers of great
beauty, a number of ferns, and a great
variety of mosses and lichens.
The more common and characteristic
mammals of the great forest include
the following: 1
Eastern moose (Alces americanus}
Eastern woodland caribou (Rangifer
caribou)
Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)
Canadian woodchuck (Marmota monax
canadensis)
Liard River chipmunk (Eutamias
borealis)
Hudson Bay red squirrel (Sciurus hud-
sonicus)
Hudson Bay flying squirrel (Glaucomys
sabrinus)
Arctic white-footed mouse (Peromyscus
m. borealis)
Mackenzie phenacomys (Phenacomys
mackenzii)
Athabaska red-backed mouse (Evotomys
gapperi athabascae)
Northern lemming vole (Synaptomys
borealis)
Drummond vole (Microtus drummondi)
Chestnut-cheeked vole (Microtus xan-
thognathus)
Northwest muskrat (Fiber zibethicus
spatulatus)
Canadian beaver (Castor canadensis)
Hudson Bay jumping mouse (Zapus
hudsonius)
Canada porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Hudson Bay snowshoe hare (Lepus
americanus)
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)
Gray wolf (Canis occidentalis)
British Columbia red fox (Vulpes
alascensis abietorum)
Black bear (Ursus americanus)
Canadian otter (Lutra canadensis)
Western mink (Lutreola vison energu-
menos)
Richardson weasel (Mustela cicognanii
richardsoni)
Least weasel (Mustela rixosa)
Alaska marten (Martes americana ac-
tuosa)
Fisher (Martes pennantii)
Hudson Bay wolverene (Gulo luscus)
Common eastern shrew (Sorex per-
sonatus)
Richardson shrew (Sorex richardsoni)
Marsh shrew (Neosorex palustris)
Alaska microsores (Microsorex eximius)
Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)
Hoary bat (Nycteris cinereus)
Among birds the following may be
noted:
Horned grebe
Loon
1 These lists do not include certain West Coast
and Rocky Mountain species occurring in British
Columbia and Yukon, and which are listed under
those subdivisions.
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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Pacific loon
Herring gull
California gull
Short-billed gull
Bonaparte gull
Common tern
American merganser
Mallard
Baldpate
Green-winged teal
Pintail
Lesser scaup duck
Ring-necked duck
American golden-eye
Bufflehead
Canada goose
Little brown crane
Sora rail
Yellow rail
American coot
Wilson snipe
Greater yellowlegs
Yellowlegs
Western solitary sandpiper
Spotted sandpiper
Hudsonian spruce grouse
Gray ruffed grouse
Sharp-tailed grouse
Marsh hawk
Sharp-skinned hawk
Goshawk
Western red-tailed hawk
Golden eagle
Bald eagle
Duck hawk
Pigeon hawk
American sparrow hawk
American osprey
Long-eared owl
Short-eared owl
Great gray owl
Richardson owl
Arctic horned owl
American hawk owl
Belted kingfisher
Northern hairy woodpecker
Nelson downy woodpecker
Arctic three-toed*woodpecker
Banded-backed three-toed woodpecker
Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Northern flicker
Nighthawk
Kingbird
Phoebe
Olive-sided flycatcher
Western wood pewee
Alder flycatcher
Least flycatcher
Canada jay
Northern raven
Crow
Cowbird
Northern redwing
Rusty blackbird
Bronzed grackle
Eastern pine grosbeak
White-winged crossbill
Redpoll
Western Savanna sparrow
Intermediate sparrow
White-throated sparrow
Western chipping sparrow
Slate-colored junco
Lincoln sparrow
Swamp sparrow
Fox sparrow
Louisiana tanager
Cliff swallow
Tree swallow
Bank swallow
Bohemian waxwing
Northern shrike
Red-eyed vireo
Western warbling viree
Blue-headed vireo
Black and white warbler
Orange-crowned warbler
Tennessee warbler
Yellow warbler
Myrtle warbler
Magnolia warbler
Bay-breasted warbler
Black-poll warbler
Palm warbler
Ovenbird
Grinnell water-thrush
Wilson warbler
Redstart
Red-breasted nuthatch
Long-tailed chickadee
Hudsonian chickadee
Golden-crowned kinglet
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Olive-backed thrush
Eastern hermit thrush
Robin
2. Northern stunted timber (Hudso-
nian Zone) : Included in the great coni-
ferous forest and bordered on the north
by the Barren Grounds, there is a strip
of country from 100 to 200 mi. wide,
which is covered by forest somewhat
stunted and dwarfed (Hudsonian Zone).
In some places, where areas of fertile
soil, usually the valleys of northward-
flowing rivers, impinge closely on more
exposed areas of rocky ground, the tran-
sition from one type to another is well-
marked, while in others the change is
more gradual.
In the Mackenzie region this belt has
no strictly characteristic mammals,
though the range of a red-backed vole
(Evotomys dawsoni) is practically con-
fined within its limits. Most of the
woodland mammals necessarily have
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
119
their northern limit within it. Such
comprise the following: Rangifer cari-
bou, Alces, Sciuropterus, Sciurus, Castor,
Evotomys, Fiber, Erethizon, Lepus ameri-
canus, Lynx, Lutra, Lutreola, Mustela,
and others. Among birds, the pigeon
hawk, great gray owl, hawk owl, pine
grosbeak, Harris sparrow, tree sparrow
and gray-cheeked thrush breed princi-
pally within it. Its trees are not pecu-
liar, though the Banksian pine (Pinus
divaricata) and balsam poplar (Populus
balsamifera) barely enter its borders.
Its shrubs are mainly species that over-
lap from the adjoining zones. Among
those which seem to reach their greatest
perfection in the belt of stunted trees
may be mentioned Empetrum nigrum,
Ledum palustre, Vaccinium uliginosum,
Vitisidaea vitisidaea, Oxycoccus oxycoc-
cus, Arctous alpina, and Betula nana.
On the southwest shores of Hudson
Bay this zone occupies a strip about 200
mi. in width. Thence its southern
boundary extends inland, passing
through Athabaska Lake, and then
bending northward crosses Great Slave
Lake just east of the mouth of Slave
River. Practically all of the northern
shore of Great Slave Lake lies within
its limits. Beyond here its lower boun-
dary is very uncertain. It is bounded
by a strip of well wooded country,
probably only a few miles in width,
extending northward along the Macken-
zie. This southern influence ceases .to
be effective near the mouth of Bear
River, and the southern limit of the
zone may be considered to cross the
Mackenzie near latitude 65. Thence
it bends southward, following the west-
ern border of the Canadian strip. Here,
as on the eastern side, the position of
the boundary is unknown, but because
of the great altitude of most of the
country west of the Mackenzie and north
of the Liard the southern heavy timber
(Canadian Zone) can not extend far
from the river and the stunted timber
(Hudsonian) must cover nearly the
entire area, exclusive of the alpine sum-
mits of the mountains. A large area
to the south of the Liard, including most
of the country drained by its southern
tributaries, and practically all the
country about its headwaters in north-
eastern British Columbia and south-
eastern Yukon below the timberline,
are also in this class. The latter area
will be considered more fully later.
C. Barren grounds (Arctic Zone}.
North of the Trans-continental Forest
lies an immense area usually called the
Barren Grounds, from its treeless con-
dition, which results from a summer so
short that reproduction can not be
effected. This condition, however, does
not prevent the perpetuation of many
species of shrubby and herbaceous plants
and a rich insect fauna, which together
support a great variety of vertebrate
life.
Shrubby plants are common, Rhodo-
dendron lapponicum, Cassiope tetragona,
Dryas integrifolia, and several dwarf
willows being perhaps the most charac-
teristic. Many other less strictly rep-
resentative plants also are abundant.
The area is further characterized by the
presence of certain mammals, as the
lemmings of the genera Lemmus and
Dicrostonyx, the Arctic fox (Alopex
lagopus innuitus), musk-ox (Ovibos mo-
schatus), Barren Ground caribou (Ran-
gifer arcticus), and Arctic hare (Lepus
arcticus canus). Most of the birds
which characterize this area are mi-
gratory, spending only the breeding
season within its boundaries. They
comprise, among the Anatidae, the
various species of the genus Chen, the
brent geese, and one or two genera of
maritime ducks; and among the Limi-
colae, the genera Lobipes, Phalaropus,
Macrorhamphus, Pisobia and related
genera, Crocethia, Tryngites, Numenius
(hudsonicus and borealis), Squatarola,
Pluvialis and Arenaria. The Gallinae
are represented by willow and rock
ptarmigans, the Raptores by the gyr-
falcons, and the Passeres by the Snow-
flakes, Lapland and painted longspurs
and the pipits.
D. Local conditions. 1. The larger
rivers, the Athabaska, Peace, Slave,
Mackenzie, and Liard, have a moder-
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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
ately swift current and are usually
muddy, especially in spring and at times
of high water, when the clay banks are
cut down by the flood. Their courses
are characterized by a series of long
alternating curves, with cut banks on
the concave sides, and gravel bars
opposite. Spruce trees usually line
the high banks, and willows, alders and
poplars the lower younger shores.
Many islands usually wooded, occur.
2. Lakes are numerous especially in
the area of primitive rocks, and are of
course bordered by rocky and sandy
shores, and contain many islands.
The principal ones form a more or less
connected system, part of a series
extending from Lake Superior to the
Arctic Sea. These lie along the junction
of the primitive or granitic and the
newer limestone formations, usually
heading in the primitive belt and out-
letting in the limestone district. They
are of irregular shape, usually sending
long arms eastward into the primitive
formation and north and south along
the junction of the two systems, though
in some cases the southern arms have
been filled by the sediment-bearing
streams which enter them. In addition
to the large lakes thousands of smaller
ones are scattered over the entire region.
3. Marshes are numerous and in
several cases very extensive. The more
important of these will receive detailed
attention in the proper places.
4. Fire-swept areas are all too com-
mon. In the case of coniferous woods,
a growth of deciduous woods usually
succeeds.
II. PRESENT BIOTA
Apart from the general reduction in
numbers of the game and fur bearing
animals, and the game birds, due to
partial settlement, the changes in the
fauna of the wooded parts of the region
are mainly chargeable to fire, which has
profoundly changed large areas. Some
sections have been reburned, sometimes
repeatedly, and in such the forest cover-
ing may be entirely destroyed, and
grassy prairie may succeed. Coniferous
areas which are burned usually change
to the deciduous type, and this change
in type of forest is of course accompanied
by the ingression of certain birds and
mammals which were originally absent.
The most conspicuous mammalian ex-
amples are the mule deer (Odocoileus
hemionus}, which, within the past
century, has extended its range north-
ward for several hundred miles. The
coyote also (Cam's latrans), aided per-
haps by partial settlement within its
former habitat, has effected an extension
of its range even more notable. Among
birds, it is certain that the rose-breasted
grosbeak (Hedymeles ludoviciana) , has
traveled northwestward upwards of 500
mi., and there is reason to suspect that
several other species of small birds
have entered the region of the lower
Athabaska within historic times. This
ingression, probably caused in part at
least, by the changes referred to, has
not been accompanied by the loss of
any species excepting the elk (Cervus
canadensis), although many mammals,
notably the larger game animals and
especially the fur-bearers, have suffered
great reduction in numbers, and two
others, the northern bison (Bison b.
athabascae} , and the musk-ox (Ovibos
moschatus}, have had their ranges
greatly reduced. These reductions and
losses, however, it should be emphasized,
can not be charged to changes in the
character of the forest cover, but are
rather in line with the usual reduction
of the large animals which follow partial
settlement and the exploitation of the
natural resources of a region.
Along the Arctic coast of Alaska and
Canada, the presence of whaling and
trading ships has resulted in great
diminution of the game animals. Since
about 1896, when the whalers begun to
winter at Herschel Island and Baillie
Island, and a few years later at Langton
Bay and in Coronation Gulf, the effect
has been serious. These vessels depend
largely on the game resources of the
country for subsistence, hiring the
natives as hunters. This has resulted
in the practical extermination of the
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
121
caribou along the entire coast of north-
ern Alaska and Yukon, and great reduc-
tion in their numbers east to the region
of the Coppermine. During the same
period the musk-ox has been extirpated
from most of its former range from Coro-
nation Gulf westward.
III. NATURAL DRAINAGE AREAS AND
PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS
1. The Mackenzie and Upper Yukon
Basins
In any description of northern North
America from the standpoint of the
traveler one must be guided in his
method of treatment by its waterways,
which now, and which probably will for
many years to come, afford almost the
only means available for visiting its most
interesting sections. Thus considered,
the valley of the Mackenzie is by far
the largest and most important of the
natural divisions. Broadened to in-
clude certain areas not actually drained
by this great river system, but which can
most readily be reached by its help, it
comprises a vast region in the northern
part of Canada, with an area of nearly
700,000 sq. mi., bounded roughly as
follows: On the north by the Arctic
Ocean; on the east by the valleys of the
Great Fish, Thelon, Telzoa, and
Churchill rivers; on the south by the
Churchill and Saskatchewan valleys;
and on the west by the main range of
the Rocky Mountains.
For convenience of reference the
Mackenzie basin may be divided into
several areas: The Athabaska Valley;
the basin of Athabaska Lake; the Peace
River Valley, including the Slave; the
basin of Great Slave Lake; the Macken-
zie Valley proper; the basin of Great
Bear Lake; the region to the north of
that body of water, and drained *by the
Anderson and smaller rivers which enter
the Arctic Ocean, and the Liard River
Valley. The areas will be considered in
the order given. These accounts will
be followed by a description of north-
eastern British Columbia and Yukon,
comprising the drainage areas of the
Upper Liard and Yukon rivers, and of
the Stikine and other rivers which reach
the Pacific in middle British Columbia.
A. The Athabaska Valley. The Atha-
baska River rises in the Rocky Moun-
tains near Mount Brown, at an altitude
of about 5700 ft., and pursues a north-
easterly and northerly course for nearly
600 mi. to Athabaska Lake, falling in this
distance some 5000 ft., and being in-
terrupted by several series of rapids.
In the first 300 mi. of its course it falls
about 4000 ft., and receives in succession
Baptiste River from the west, the Mc-
Leod and Pembina from the south, and
the Lesser Slave from the west. Below
its confluence with the last-named stream
the Athabaska turns southeastward for
some 50 mi. and then resumes its north-
erly course. In the course of the next 150
mi. it receives in succession La Biche
River, Quito or Calling River; Big
Mouth Brook; Pelican River; and House
River. Just below the mouth of the last
river the Athabaska strikes a range of
low hills, and in forcing a passage
through them is deflected eastward, and
for a distance of about 75 mi. contains
many rapids, falling in this distance
some 400 ft. At the lower end of this
stretch it receives the waters of Clear-
water River, its principal tributary below
Lesser Slave River. The Clearwater
rises on the height of land between
the Churchill and the Athabaska, and
30 or 40 mi. above its mouth it is joined
by the Pembina, a stream of about equal
volume.
The country drained by the Athabaska
is mainly a rolling plain, and with the
exception of a few areas of semiprairie
land is well wooded with a forest com-
posed mainly of spruce, fir, pine, tama-
rack, poplar, birch, and willow. A large
part of its surface is occupied by mossy
swamps, called muskegs, and hundreds
of lakes, of which Lesser Slave, 70 mi.
in length is by far the largest, occupy its
shallow valleys.
The country lying between the Atha-
baska and Peace rivers, and drained in
part by the latter stream, may be best
characterized by quoting in part the
122
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
account by McConnell, who examined it
in the summer of 1889 :
The country between the Peace and
Athabasca rivers north of Lesser Slave
Lake, comprising an area of about
44,000 sq. mi., . . . may be de-
scribed as a gently undulating wooded
plain, diversified with numerous shallow
lakes, muskegs and marshes. Small
Erairie patches, manifestly due to forest
res, occur north of the west end of
Lesser Slave Lake, at several points
along the Loon and Wabiscaw rivers,
. . . but their total area is relatively
insignificant.
The rolling plains between Peace
River and the Athabasca are relieved
by several high ridges or plateaus, all
of which owe their origin to a differential
denudation of the soft rocks on which
the plains are based. Of these Marten
Mountain is situated northeast of Lesser
Slave Lake, above which it rises to the
height of about 1000 ft. The Buffalo
Head Hills commence abruptly about
50 mi. above the mouth of the Loon
River, with an elevation of about 2500
ft. above the Sea, and running in a
south-southwesterly direction die away
opposite the mouth of Battle River,
while Birch Mountain extends for nearly
90 mi. along the lower part of the
Athabasca, from which it is separated
by a plain 15 to 20 mi. wide. Among
the smaller elevations are Trout Moun-
tain, which is situated north of the
Wabiscaw River, and the Thickwood
Hills, which lie south of Birch Moun-
tain. The uplands of the district, like
the lowlands, are all wooded, and are
dotted everywhere with lakes and
marshes. (Ann. Rept. Geol. Surv.
Canada, V, pp. 6D, 7D, 1893.)
Climatology: The climate of the
Athabaska Valley in common with most
of the country included in the Mackenzie
basin, is characterized by a wide range
of temperature. In winter the mercury
frequently reaches 40, while summer
temperatures of between 80 and 90 are
not infrequent. Its western portion is
subject to Chinook winds, which periodi-
cally temper the climate.
Of vital interest to the traveler, who
must depend so largely on water trans-
portation, are data on the freezing and
breaking up of the rivers. In all
northern rivers navigation is inter-
rupted, before the actual closing of the
stream, by drift ice. This is mainly ice
which has formed in the eddies and
which, by a slight rise of water, the
usual result of its formation, or from the
accumulation of snow upon it, becomes
detached and descends the current, con-
tinually adding to its own volume. This
continues until the increasing cold causes
the mass to jam and become solidly
cemented. After the breaking up of
the rivers in spring the ice, of course,
continues to run for a longer or shorter
period.
The following table shows the dates of
the opening and closing of the Athabaska
at Fort McMurray during a series of
years:
Table showing condition of Athabaska at
Fort McMurray
YEAR
RIVER
OPENED
ICE DRIFTING
RIVER CLOSED
1878
Apr. 18
Oct. 27
1879
Oct. 26
Nov. 1
1880
May 2
Nov. 14
1881
Apr. 21
Oct. 14
Nov. 12
1882
Apr. 24
Nov. 1
Nov. 8
1883
Apr. 25
Oct. 30
Nov. 10
1884
Apr. 27
Oct. 18
Oct. 28
1885
Apr. 9
Oct. 23
Nov. 13
1886
Apr. 16
Nov. 4
Nov. 14
1887
1888
Apr. 27
May 4
Oct. 22
Nov. 3
Oct. 24
Nov. 9
B. Athabaska Lake Region. Atha-
baska Lake is long and narrow and lies
in a general easterly and westerly direc-
tion. Its greatest length is about 195
mi.; greatest width, 35 mi.; and area,
approximately 2850 sq. mi. Its eleva-
tion above the sea is about 690 ft.
The principal tributary of Athabaska
Lake is the river of the same name, just
described. Its capacity for deposition
is so great that, assisted by the Peace,
it has filled up a large portion of what
was originally the western part of
Athabaska Lake, and has isolated several
good-sized sheets of water, the largest of
which, Lake Claire, is some 35 mi. in
length.
The north shore of Athabaska Lake is
mainly rocky and sparsely wooded, and
is broken by the mouths of a number of
insignificant streams, which help to
drain the unexplored country to the
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
123
northward. On its southern side, whose
shores are mainly low and sandy, Atha-
baska Lake receives the waters of Wil-
liam, Grand Rapid, and several smaller
rivers.
Black River, draining a very large area
of rocky, sparsely wooded country,
flows into the extreme eastern end of
Athabaska Lake. Black Lake, the
principal expansion in its lower portion,
receives the waters of Chipman and
Cree Rivers.
The climate of Athabaska Lake is not
radically different from that of other
parts of the Mackenzie region which are
practically removed from the influence
of the warm Pacific winds. Though it
lies at a low altitude, the proximity of
the lake to the Barren Grounds, from
which winds are frequent, keeps its
average temperature rather low. An
occasional warm west wind slightly
tempers the winter climate. The Peace
and Athabaska break up at their mouths
about the 1st of May, but the neigh-
boring part of the lake usually does not
open until about the middle of May, and
the eastern part probably not before
June. The lake usually closes at Fort
Chipewyan some time in November.
C. The Peace River Valley. Peace
River is the largest of the affluents of
the Athabaska-Mackenzie system, and
being in fact much larger than the
Athabaska, may be considered the main
river. It rises on the western side of
the Rocky Mountains and is already a
a good-sized stream when it breaks
through that range.
From the confluence of the Finlay and
the Parsnip, the Peace flows in a general
easterly direction for some 300 mi. to its
junction with the Smoky, falling in this
distance a little less than 800 ft. The
country through which it flows east of
the mountains may be considered as a
plateau, in which it has excavated a
rather deep valley. Back from the
river the country is mainly level or
rolling, and is thinly wooded.
Smoky River is the largest tributary
of the Peace. Its principal branches
rise on the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains, and it drains a large extent
of thinly wooded and prairie country.
Below the mouth of the Smoky, the
Peace turns and pursues a winding
though general northerly course nearly
to Fort Vermilion. It is bordered at first
by steep sandstone cliffs, but its valley
gradually becomes wider and shallower.
Extensive plains, comparatively level
and clothed with grass or a sparse growth
of poplars, border it on both sides.
North of Fort Vermilion this character
of country is said to extend to the valleys
of Hay and Buffalo rivers.
Between Fort Vermilion and the
Peace-Athabaska Delta the Peace is
very broad and contains many wooded
islands. Vermilion Falls, a formidable
rapid, interrupts navigation a short
distance above the mouth of Red
River, and another, usually called the
"Little Rapid," occurs at some distance
below.
The Quatre Fourches, an offshoot of
the Peace, connects that stream with
Athabaska Lake, and few miles below,
Rocher River also joins the Peace.
These streams traverse the Peace-Atha-
baska Delta, and their currents run to or
from Peace River, being dependent on
the relative heights of the water in
Peace River and Athabaska Lake. The
delta is a vast marsh, partially wooded
with poplars and willows and studded
with hundreds of reedy lakes. This
marsh is one of the most important
breeding areas of waterfowl in North
America, and is also one of the principal
resting and feeding places for migratory
wildfowl on their semi-annual journeys.
Of the breeding birds, the following
may be noted: Holboells grebe, horned
grebe, black tern, American merganser,
mallard, baldpate, green-winged teal,
shoveler, pintail, canvasback, lesser
scaup, ringneck, American goldeneye,
bufflehead, Canada goose, little brown
crane, sora, Wilson snipe, yellowlegs,
alder flycatcher, yellow-headed black-
bird, northern redwing, rusty grackle,
Leconte's sparrow, Nelson's sparrow,
Lincoln's sparrow, swamp sparrow,
Alaska yellow warbler, Grinnell's water
124
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
thrush, redstart, and olive-backed
thrush.
Below the delta the combined stream,
here called the Slave, turns abruptly
northward and flows for a distance of
about 70 mi. in a general northerly direc-
tion to the Smith Rapids. It is a broad,
rather deep stream with a moderate cur-
rent, and its low banks are well wooded.
In latitude 60 it cuts through "a gneissic
spur from the Luarentian district to the
east," forming the Smith Rapids, some
16 mi. in length. Below here it flows in a
rather irregular manner for about 175
mi. in a general northwesterly direc-
tion to Great Slave Lake. In this
stretch it has an average width of about
half a mile, and its banks are high at
first, but gradually diminish. The coun-
try bordering it is level and mainly
well wooded, but to the west are exten-
sive tracts of prairie, especially in the
region of Salt River, its principal tribu-
tary. Slave River enters Great Slave
Lake through an extensive delta, in
forming which it has silted up an ex-
tensive arm of the lake. Its breeding
birds are practically the same as those -
of the Athabaska delta.
The Peace River Valley, as here con-
sidered, exhibits the greatest diversity
of climatic conditions at the same
season of any of the regions now under
discussion. Its extreme upper portion,
lying at a comparatively low altitude
and near the Pacific, has a relatively
mild winter climate, while its lower
part at the same season is surrounded by
almost Arctic conditions. Its middle
part, just east of the mountains, seems
to be characterized by violent extremes
of temperature.
Preserved areas: Wood Buffalo Park:
An area lying west of Slave River, partly
in Alberta and partly in Mackenzie,
known by this name, was set aside in
December, 1922, as a Preserve for the
resident herds of the northern race,
known as the wood buffalo, which now
constitute the only wild specimens of
this race in existence. This area, which
includes the entire ranges of the two
aggregations of herds, covers an area of
about 10,000 sq. mi. It covers that part
of the primitive range of this northern
race, formerly much more wide-spread,
on which it has been able longest to
maintain itself against the persecution
attendant on the partial settlement of
the country, and which therefore may be
considered as the most favorable portion
of that range under modern conditions.
It contains considerable wooded and
swampy country, but is mainly charac-
terized by its areas of meadow and
prairie and sparsely-wooded glades.
The number of the animals now remain-
ing is not definitely known, but prob-
ably numbers several hundred. Many
moose, a few woodland caribou, and
many fur-bearers, besides grouse, ducks,
and the usual birds of the country,
abound on this area. These may still be
hunted by the natives.
The buffalo has been protected on this
area for about 20 years, but the estab-
lishment of this preserve, with its attend-
ant warden service, should ensure the
continued increase of these unique
herds, which under the inadequate
protection which has heretofore been
possible, have not increased as they
should.
Slave River Preserve : This area, which
contains about 2200 sq. mi., includes a
broad strip of country bordering the
lower part of Slave River, and adjoining
the Wood Buffalo Park for some dis-
tance. The country is mostly low and
swampy, and comprises the delta of
Slave River and the area between that
and the Taltson, and is the breeding
ground of thousands of geese, ducks,
rails, cranes, and other water birds, and
is also the resort in spring and autumn
of vast numbers of the same and other
species, where they linger to rest and
feed while on their migrations to and
from their more northern breeding
grounds. Natives only are allowed to
hunt on this area.
D. Great Slave Lake. Great Slave
Lake is said by McConnell to have a
superficial area, including islands, of
about 10,400 sq. mi., and thus to
rank fifth among the great lakes of the
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
125
continent. 2 It has a total length of
nearly 300 mi., and is over 60 mi. wide
in its broadest part. Its shore lines
have remained unexplored, especially
as regards its eastern arm, until recent
years. Maps issued in 1923 by the Topo-
graphical Surveys branch show details
of this portion, excepting a few com-
paratively short stretches.
The eastern part of the lake is much
deeper than the western part, and its
water is very clear, as is also that of the
northern arm. The main or western
part of the lake, which receives the
sediment-laden flood of Slave River,
never becomes so clear, although it is
fairly so at its outlet. Its southern
shores are very low; its northern borders
higher. It has few islands, and the rocks
on its shores are largely limestone.
Great Slave Lake lies wholly within
the forested region, though some of its
eastern affluents drain large areas of
treeless country. Its southwestern
shores are well wooded, while the
northern shores, exposed for most of
the year to cold winds from the north
and watered by colder streams, are
poorly wooded. The soil conditions
are more favorable on the southern side
of the lake, exerting a marked influence
on the foresting. In general it divides
the southern heavy timber from the
northern stunted forest.
On the Eastern Arm of the lake, how-
ever, the conditions in this respect are
more nearly uniform. Several streams,
the courses of some of which are practi-
cally unknown, enter this arm on the
southern side. Hoarfrost River, drain-
ing Walmsley Lake, and Lockhart
River, carrying the waters of Mackay,
Aylmer, Clinton-Golden, and Artillery
lakes, which lie almost wholly in the
Barren Grounds, fall into this arm near
its eastern extremity. The country
bordering its northern shore is rocky and
sparsely wooded, and contains a great
many lakes.
The Northern Arm of Great Slave Lake
* It is exceeded in size by Superior (31,500), Huron
(23,000), Michigan (22,300), and Great Bear (11,400).
IMcConnell.]
lies along the junction of the primitive
and the newer formations. Its eastern
shore, therefore, is mainly composed of
granite, while its western border is of
limestone. Yellowknife River enters
this arm on its eastern side. At the head
of the Northern Arm, in an expansion
named Lake Marian, or Lac du Brochet,
Grandin River discharges its waters.
To the westward of the Northern Arm
and north of the main body of Great
Slave Lake lies a low, broad plateau,
dotted with many lakes and muskegs.
It contains no rivers of consequence and
is mainly rather thinly wooded, though
a number of large prairies occur in the
western part, north of the outlet of
Great Slave Lake.
The country south of the main part of
Great Slave Lake is mainly flat and
swampy. Eagle Mountain, a low, iso-
lated range, lies a short distance south
of the extreme western end of the lake.
The principal stream is Hay River,
which rises close to the height of land
between the Nelson and the Peace, far
to the southwest. The region drained by
it is practically unknown, but is reported
to be low and swampy and mainly well
wooded, though it contains much grassy
prairie, Hay River being said to mark
the northern limit of this character of
country.
Ice forms in the bays and along the
shores of Great Slave Lake in late
October, and the whole lake, though
kept open later by the violent winds, is
usually closed by mid-November. The
ice, which attains a thickness of 6 or
8 ft., usually breaks up in the main or
western part about the first of July,
but sometimes remains in the eastern
part until late July.
Yellow Knife Preserve: An immense
area estimated to contain 70,000 sq. mi.,
extending from Great Bear Lake and the
Coppermile River, south to Great Slave
Lake and Marten Lake, and thus in-
cluding much of the hunting grounds of
the Yellow Knife and the Dogrib In-
dians, is now closed to hunting by others
than natives. Its principal large game
are the moose and caribou. Formerly
126
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
large numbers of musk oxen inhabited
the northern and eastern part of this
area, but few, if any, of this notable
species now remain. Large numbers
of a few species of geese and ducks breed
within this area, but it does not abound
in large marshy tracts which form the
favorite nesting places of waterfowl.
E. The Mackenzie Valley proper. The
Mackenzie (taken in a restricted sense
as comprehending only that part of the
river known under this name) has a
course of over 900 mi. from Great Slave
Lake to the Arctic Sea. It averages
over a mile in width and is usually deep,
with a current of from 2 to 6 mi. an hour.
Its general course is to the northwest.
It is bordered mainly by sandy or grav-
elly beaches and occupies a narrow, com-
paratively shallow valley, through which
it flows in a succession of gentle curves.
Many low islands, usually well wooded,
occur throughout its course. Its rocks
are chiefly Devonian.
Issuing from Great Slave Lake, the
Mackenzie first follows a general west-
erly course for nearly 300 mi. The tribu-
taries which it receives in this stretch,
with the exception of the Liard, are of
minor importance. The Horn Moun-
tains, a long low ridge lie at some dis-
tance north of the middle of the stretch.
To the southward occur other lower
ranges, the principal one being Trout
Mountain. These mountains are very
imperfectly known, but they are too low
to support a fauna and flora differing
appreciably from that of the surrounding
country. A large part of the country
bordering this part of the Mackenzie is
swampy, and it is all well wooded.
Nearly all the species of trees of the
great subarctic forest are represented.
A short distance north of latitude 62
the Mackenzie strikes a spur of the
Rocky Mountain system, the Nahanni
Mountains, is deflected toward the
north, and for some distance flows close
to their bases. At the point where the
Mackenzie first approaches them the
nearest peaks are from 200 to 2500 ft.
in height and are sparsely wooded to
their summits. Farther back they rise
much higher, and above an altitude of
2500 ft. are treeless. In early summer
these mountains are capped with snow,
but this disappears entirely beneath the
almost continuous sunlight of mid-
summer.
Near this point the fauna receives an
infusion of Rocky Mountain types.
Among mammals, these include a chip-
munk (Eutamias borealis caniceps) com-
mon in northern British Columbia and
southern Yukon. The Rocky Mountain
shrew (Sorex obscurus] also occurs, but
has reached also the middle Athabaska
and Great Slave Lake, farther south.
The white mountain sheep (Ovis dalli]
occurs in the Nahanni Mountains at
some distance back from the river and
also farther north, but is not found near
the Mackenzie. Among birds the blue
grouse (Dendragapus obscurus), and the
Townsend solitaire (Myadestes town-
sendi) seem to reach their northeastern
limit on the mountains near the mouth
of the North Nahanni. The northern
varied thrush (Ixoreus naeviusmeruloides)
also reaches the Mackenzie near this
point, and follows its valley to the delta.
Continuing northward, the Mackenzie
is bordered on the west by a broad ex-
panse of mountain country, mainly un-
explored. A few low spurs of the same
system cross the river and appear in
the form of isolated peaks or discon-
nected ranges to the eastward of its
valley. The principal western tribu-
taries between latitude 62 and 65 are
the Red Rock and Gravel rivers. In the
same interval the Mackenzie received
several small streams which drain the
country east of the river. One of the
largest of these is the Blackwater
Mount Clark, which is visible from the
river at some distance below the mouth
of this stream, has an estimated altitude
of 3500 ft., and is the highest of the
mountains east of the Mackenzie. The
most conspicuous landmark in the im-
mediate valley is Roche Trempe-Peau,
a limestone mass which rises abruptly
from the water's edge a short distance
north of latitude 63. Bear River,
the principal eastern tributary of the
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
127
Mackenzie, joins it just south of latitude
65. Below its mouth, on the north side
of the Mackenzie, is Bear Rock, 1400
ft. in height.
Below here the Mackenzie resumes
its general northwesterly course. Wol-
verene Rock, 100 mi. below Bear Rock,
is formed, like that eminence, by an
uplight of the Devonian limestone,
and is about 1000 ft. in height. Twenty-
five miles below here a rocky ridge
crosses the river, forming the Sans
Sault Rapid. The next important fea-
ture in the valley of the Mackenzie is
the defile called the "Ramparts."
Here the river contracts from a width
of 2 mi. to about 500 yds., and flows for
about 7 mi. between precipitous lime-
stone cliffs, which in places rise to a
height of 250 ft.
Below Sans Sault Rapid the Mac-
kenzie recedes from the mountains,
and they are not again visible until the
delta is reached. Hareskin River enters
the Mackenzie from the east a short
distance north of the Ramparts. It
drains a large extent of rocky wooded
country between- Great Bear Lake and
the Mackenzie. For a long distance
below here the Mackenzie maintains a
general northwesterly course. In about
latitude 67 40' it turns rather abruptly
at right angles, and for about 50 mi.
follows a course considerably south of
west. It is here bordered, especially
on the north, by high clay banks,
through which several good-sized
streams cut their way. The river then
turns northward again and maintains a
northwesterly direction to the delta.
The defile called the "Narrows" or
"Lower Ramparts" is encountered near
67 40', and at its lower end Arctic Red
River, from the south, discharges its
muddy waters. As far as known the
country bordering this part of the
Mackenzie on both sides is rolling, well
watered, and fairly well wooded. A
few miles below Arctic Red River the
high banks of the Mackenzie gradually
become lower and the river spreads
out into the delta.
The Mackenzie Delta occupies a
triangular area nearly 100 mi. in length
and 50 mi. broad at its widest part.
To the westward of the delta lies a
range of high hills, the northern ex-
tremity of the Rocky Mountains. They
rise to a height of from 1200 to 1500 ft.,
and their lower slopes only are wooded.
The Caribou Mountains, apparently a
continuation of the ridge which crosses
the Mackenzie at the Lower Ramparts,
lie to the eastward of the delta. They
rise to a height of 700 to 800 ft. and are
less rugged than the mountains west
of the delta.
Climatology : The climate of the Mac-
kenzie Valley is fairly indicated by the
tables of temperature which follow.
They were taken in 1900, which seems
to have been a year of about average
conditions.
Summaries of temperatures taken at Fort
Simpson, Mackenzie, during
the year 1900
EXTK
EMES
IB
a
MONTH
3
P 5
*l
a
|
s
a
fc*
a
s
B
^
w S
i
1
o
S
a
X
i
January
-16.2
-33 5
5
-51.0
-24.8
February
-9.2
-33 5
14
-50.5
-21 4
March
12.8
-17.4
39
-50
-2 3
r'l
41.2
52 6
17 8
35.2
60
66
5.0
27
29 5
43.9
...
June
69.3
45 3
80
27.0
57.3
July
69 4
45.7
79 5
31.5
57.6
August
65.0
44.1
78.0
27.0
54.5
September
October
56.8
29.0
34.7
19.2
71.0
40.0
23.0
3.0
45.7
24.1
5 4
8 7
23
-29
1.7
December
-7.3
-20.1
13.0
-48.0
-13.7
Year
80
-51
20.7
The temperatures of the extreme
upper Mackenzie are undoubtedly
slightly lower than those recorded for
Fort Simpson, but comparable data are
not at hand.
Comparable figures for points in the
valley of the lower Mackenzie and for
Herschel Island show that the winter
climate of the upper and lower Macken-
zie varies but slightly, while the summer
climate is considerably cooler to the
northward.
As has been stated, the warm winds
128
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
from the Pacific sometimes exert a
decided though temporary influence
on the climate of the Mackenzie, and
the Liard, opening early, disrupts the
Mackenzie ice below the confluence.
The removal of the icy covering of an
immense river and the blending with its
flood of the waters of a warmer tributary
necessarily affect conditions along its
banks. The ice in the Liard, having
broken its bonds, is forced against that
of the Mackenzie, through which it
opens a passage, and urged on by the
immense pressure behind it breaks its
way seaward, occasionally becoming
dammed and raising the level of the
water until the increased pressure again
clears a channel. At Fort Simpson,
near latitude 62, the ice continues to
drift in quantity for some days after
its disruption. About ten days, on
the average, after the Mackenzie opens
at this point, or about the time that the
breaking ice has reached latitude 65,
the upper Mackenzie opens and the
channel is filled again with floating ice.
Sometimes a third consignment of
floes, from the "Little Lake" or from
Great Slave Lake, fills its current.
Records of the opening and closing
of the Mackenzie at Fort Simpson, kept
between 1876 and 1906 (but not con-
tinuously) show that the river usually
broke up between May 5 and 10 (ex-
treme dates April 29 and May 14),
and closed usually about November 20
v extreme dates November 17 and No-
vember 28). At the mouth of Bear
River the Mackenzie usuall}' opens
between May 15 and 20 (extreme dates
May 9 and May 28;, and closes about
November 10 (extreme dates November
2 and November 18).
Seasonal phenomena in Mackenzie
Valley, 1903-1904: Following is a brief
account of the progress of the seasons
and attendant phenomena as observed
by the writer from October 1, 1903,
to July, 1904. The first three weeks in
October were spent in ascending the
Mackenzie from Fort Norman, at the
mouth of Bear River, to Fort Simpson,
at the mouth of the Liard. The fact
that these notes were taken while the
party was traveling detracts but little
from their value, since the conditions
in different parts of this stretch of river
were nearly uniform at that time. The
period from October 20, 1903, to June 1,
1904, was spent at Fort Simpson, and
the month of June in descending the
Mackenzie to its delta.
When the Mackenzie was reached, on
September 30, 1903, by descending Bear
River, a marked contrast was noted
between the conditions left behind at
Great Bear Lake and those encountered
on the Mackenzie. The temperature
was considerably higher, and several
species of small birds which had practi-
cally disappeared from Great Bear Lake
were common. The high mountains to
the west of the Mackenzie were covered
with snow.
During the first few days of October,
as we were ascending the Mackenzie,
the weather was mostly fine, with south-
erly winds part of the time. The nights
were frosty and ice formed on still
water. The blue flowers of a gentian
(apparently Gentiana acuta\ the latest
flowers observed, were seen on October
3. During the night of October 7 (above
Blackwater River) a little snow fell,
but it disappeared during the following
day. On the night of October 12 (above
Fort Wrigley) 4 in. of snow fell, and on
the night of October 14 another fall of
snow occurred. Some ice was seen
drifting on the west side of the Mac-
kenzie on October 15 (above mouth
Nahanni River). 3 On the following day
the drifting ice had greatly increased in
quantity, and on October 17 our progress
by canoe was arrested. At this time
the last of the tree sparrows and a few
other hardy species left for the South.
Fort Simpson: The Liard was par-
tially closed at its mouth on October
21, but broke away once or twice before
it finally set fast. The weather from
October 21 to 25 was considerably milder
than it had been during the previous
8 It should be noted that the appearance of
drifting ice at this early date was almost unprece-
dented.
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
129
week, and on the 26th and 27th it became
still warmer and the ice practically
ceased running. On October 28, how-
ever, the weather became colder and the
ice again appeared. From this date it
continued to run and the snow steadily
accumulated. The thermometer did not
rise above the freezing point, and con-
sequently there was no thawing, except
to a very slight extent in sheltered
spots directly exposed to the sun. While
the river remained open its expanse of
ice-laden water added greatly to the
intensity of the cold. From the same
cause the trees and shrubs were nightly
loaded with ice crystals. On the night
of November 7 the minimum tempera-
ture recorded was 10, and on the
night of November 15 a temperature of
27 was registered.
During the night of November 18 the
river finally set fast. In this process
the drifting ice accumulates until it
has so filled the river that it jams in
some place where it has partially bridged
the channel. Against this barrier the
oncoming floes, laden with saturated
snow, are pushed by the current, and
becoming lodged in all possible positions
are almost instantly cemented together
by the intense cold. This process con-
tinues upstream, usually without inter-
ruption, until the whole river is closed.
During November and December the
cold steadily increased in intensity and
the snow gradually accumulated. When
no thaw occurs the snow remains so
light and powdery that it does not settle
appreciably. On the shortest days the
sun rose in the southeast about 9.30
a.m. and, after describing a low arc
over the tree tops, set about 2.30 p.m.
Even at midday its heat was scarcely
appreciable. After the middle of De-
cember the thermometer scarcely ever
rose above zero. From January 1 to
March 12, 1904, it rose above zero on
only eight occasions. The lowest tem-
perature recorded was 54, on January
20 and 21. During the third week in
January the average daily maximum
was 30; the average daily minimum
-45.
A grave which was dug on February
26, 1904, afforded an opportunity to
ascertain the depth to which frost had
penetrated. The location was a sandy
knoll somewhat sheltered on the north
by a thick growth of young trees and
open to the south. Snow lay to a depth
of about 3 ft. The frost had reached a
depth of only 20 in., but the excavation
was not carried to a sufficient depth to
reach the permanently frozen sub-
stratum.
On March 26 the temperature first
rose above the freezing point and from
that date did not descend below zero.
When the spring thaw set in the snow
had attained a depth of nearly 4 ft.
The progress of the season at Fort
Simpson from March to June, 1904, as
indicated by the temperatures of suc-
cessive weeks, is shown in the following
table:
Temperatures of successive weeks, spring
of 1904, at Fort Simpson,
Mackenzie River
*g
s
P
M
H
H
FOURTH
WEEK*
Average of daily maxima:
March
-2.8
-2.7
9.5
30.7
April
39.4
42.7
46 4
57.9
Mav
46.0
50.8
59.7
53 2
June
Average of daily minima:
March
62.1
25.4
63.1
-26.8
60.0
-16.0
70.4
3 3
April
May
11.8
30.6
23.4
33.2
23.4
38.8
33.5
34 5
June
39.7
44.4
43.8
48.6
*The "fourth week" includes the last nine or
ten days of the month.
On March 19 a flock of white-winged
crossbills, evidently migrants, was seen.
On March 28 the first hawk owl of the
spring was observed, and snow fleas
(Achorutes) appeared. About the same
time several species of small birds,
which had been seen rarely during the
winter, appeared in larger numbers.
On March 30 the buds and catkins on
the willows and alders imparted a
brown tinge to the hillsides where these
shrubs were common . On the same date
snow buntings, which had been absent
since the middle of December, reap-
130
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
peared. On April 2 many small grayish
moths were seen in the woods. On
April 17 a mourning-cloak butterfly
(Euvanessa) was seen. By April 18 the
snow had nearly disappeared from the
fields. Mosquitoes (Culex annulatus)
first appeared on April 20, and were
biting on April 24, but did not become
troublesome until over a month later.
The sap of the white birches began to
flow freely on April 20. On April 23 a
small space of open water was seen near
the mouth of the Liard. Frogs (Rana
cantabrigensis latiremis) were first ob-
served on April 28.
On April 29 Liard River broke up. Its
advancing flood first opened a channel
nearly straight across the Mackenzie,
forcing the ice with irresistible power
up on the opposite bank in immense
piles. At the same time a mound 60
or 70 ft. in height was formed at the
mouth of one of the channels of the
Liard, several immense cracks opened
in the white expanse before the post,
and the huge sheets were soon broken
up. The stupendous amount of force
exerted by the river upon the broad
expanse of ice, 5 ft. in thickness, as with
a grinding roar it folds and crushes the
mighty sheets like cardboard, reducing
them to powder and forcing them aloft
in great mounds, impresses the beholder,
who is likewise occupied in considering
the possibility of the river being dammed
sufficiently to overflow the ground on
which he stands. Such a catastrophe
has destroyed more than one post on
the Mackenzie in years past.
At this time a few ducks appeared in
open places on the river. On May 6 a
small quantity of snow fell. The leaves
of Ribes oxyacanthoides began to appear
on May 8. By this time the river was
nearly clear of ice below the mouth of
the Liard, but above its mouth the ice
in the Mackenzie was still intact. On
May 10 large sheets of the Mackenzie
ice broke away and floated down, but
the river did not open from above until
May 13. The water then rose and
became filled with ice, but on the fol-
lowing day was nearly clear again and
had fallen. On May 10 the leaves on
aspens and birches were half an inch in
length. About the middle of May blue
violets (Viola albertina) blossomed.
The weather continued warm and vege-
tation advanced steadily. On May 18
Virburnum pauciflorum and Populus
balsamifera put forth their leaves,
and mountain cranberry (Vitisidaea)
was in flower. Birds were now coming
fast and additional species were noted
daily, but on May 21 the weather turned
cold and stormy. This had the effect
of retarding the advance of vegetation
and the tide of bird migration. On May
22 Ribes oxycanthoides and Calypso
bulbosa were in flower. The weather
remained cold and stormy during the
remainder of the month and the condi-
tions of vegetation and of bird migration
remained almost at a standstill. On
May 29 several inches of snow fell.
Mackenzie below Fort Simpson: On
June 1, 1904, 1 left Fort Simpson, and
spent the remainder of the month de-
scending the Mackenzie, my rate of
travel keeping pace in general with the
advance of spring. The weather during
the first few days of June was favorable
and vegetation made good progess.
On June 2, a few miles below Fort Simp-
son, the leaves of the tamaracks were
just coming out. All along the river
more or less ice still lay on the banks,
but a few miles above Fort -Norman
the quantity was astounding. Many of
the stranded cakes were upward of 20
ft. in thickness. On June 17, below
Fort Norman, a small quantity of snow
fell. On June 21, at Fort Good Hope,
the leaves on most of the trees were
about half grown. On the same date
the sun was visible at midnight from a
low hill near the post, and many birds
were in full song at that hour. For
the next three weeks, north of this
point, the sun was continually above
the horizon. Vegetation now advanced
rather faster than our rate of travel
northward, but was not at its height
when we reached the delta of the Mac-
kenzie on June 30.
Preserved areas: Peel River Preserve:
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
131
This recently established preserve, on
which natives only are allowed to hunt,
includes a rather long and narrow area
lying between Arctic Red River and the
Peel River divide north to the Mackenzie
delta, being entirely in the Mackenzie
district. It contains about 3300 sq.mi.
Its principal game animal is the moose.
Many ducks of several species nest
here, but the area is not especially nota-
ble as a wild fowl resort.
F. The Basin of Great Bear Lake.
A short account of Great Bear Lake may
begin with a portion of the description
by Richardson, who examined most of
its shore line in 1825 and 1826. He says:
Great Bear Lake is an extensive sheet
of water, of a very irregular shape,
being formed by the union of five arms
or bays in a common center. The
greatest diameter of the lake, measuring
about 150 mi., runs from the bottom of
Dease Bay, which receives the principal
feeding stream, to the bottom of Keith
Bay, from whence the Bear Lake River
issues, and has a direction of N.E. to
S.W. The transverse diameter has a
direction from N.W. by W. to S.E. by
E., and is upwards of 120 mi. in length.
The light bluish-coloured water of Great
Bear Lake is everywhere transparent,
and is particularly clear near some
primitive mountains, which exist in
M'Tavish Bay. A piece of white rag,
let down there, did not disappear until
it descended fifteen fathoms. The depth
of water, in the center of the lake, was
not ascertained; but it is known to be
very considerable. Near the shore, in
M'Tavish Bay, forty-five fathoms of
line did not reach the bottom. (Narr.
Second Exp'd to Polar Sea, Appendix,
p. ii, 1828.)
Great Bear Lake, according to the
Canadian Geological Survey, has an
area of approximately 11,400 sq. mi.
and lies 391 ft. above the level of the sea.
Its shores, with the exception of parts of
MacTavish Bay, are rather low. Its
southern and western shores are well
wooded, while its northern and eastern
borders are more thinly forested. The
immediate shores are mainly of sand or
gravel and are usually devoid of trees,
but are well clothed with willows and
various ericaceous shrubs and herba-
ceous plants. In most places along the
south shore this treeless stretch is only
a few hundred yards in width, and in the
bays the forest extends to the water's
edge. In the vicinity of Leith Point,
however, a treeless area stretches from
near MacTavish Bay to Me Vicar Bay,
and extends inland for several miles.
On this area the faunal and floral con-
ditions are practically those of the
Barren Grounds.
The junction between the primitive
or granitic rocks and the limestone
formation crosses Great Bear Lake
near its eastern extremity. To the
eastward of the dividing line the shores
are higher, especially around Mac-
Tavish Bay, where the mountains ap-
proach closely to the shore. The Griz-
zly Bear Mountain, which occupies the
peninsula between Keith and McVicar
bays, is upwards of 900 ft. high and
several hundred feet of its upper portion
are devoid of trees. On the opposite
side of the lake, between Smith and
Keith bays, a broad peninsula is oc-
cupied by the Scented Grass Hills, of
about the same height and similar in
structure to the Grizzly Bear Mountain.
The mountains which border Mac-
Tavish Bay are so rocky that it is diffi-
cult to trace the limit of timber on their
sides.
The northern shores of Great Bear
Lake are described as mainly low and
thinly forested, although the country
at some distance inland is better
wooded.
The tributaries of Great Bear Lake
are comparatively few in number.
Dease River, which discharges into the
northeastern extremity of the lake, is
probably the best known of its feeders.
It rises on the treeless height of land
between Dease Bay and the lower Cop-
permine. Several important streams
enter the lake from the north. Several
others, draining a very large extent of
country to the southward, enter Mac-
Tavish and McVicar bays. The latter
receives also the waters of a chain of
large lakes lying north of Marten Lake
(which discharges into Great Slave
Lake). The country drained by the
132
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
southern tributaries is very rough and
rocky, though fairly well wooded, and is
traversed in various directions by
ranges of low mountains.
G. Region north of Great Bear Lake.
North of Great Bear Lake lies an area
of considerable size bounded on the
west by the Mackenzie, on the east by
the lower Coppermine and Coronation
Gulf, and on the north by the Arctic
Ocean, into which flow most of its
rivers. Its southern portion is sparsely
wooded; its barren northern part re-
ceives narrow tongues of forest along
the northward flowing rivers. Its fauna
and flora, therefore, are those of the
northern stunted forest and the Barren
Grounds, about equally divided. Its
surface is mainly rolling with some
ranges of low hills, and many lakes.
Its climate is essentially Arctic.
H. The Liard River Valley. TheLiard
River has its sources west of the Rocky
Mountains, one of its branches rising
within 150 mi. of the Pacific.
In its upper portion the Liard bears a
strong superficial resemblance to the
upper Peace, being formed by large
north and south trending branches which
unite west of the mountains and, like
the Peace, cut eastward through the
main range of the Rocky Mountains.
Fort Nelson River, entering the Liard
from the south, is its principal branch
east of the mountains. It rises near
the headwaters of Pine River (north),
and pursues a very tortuous northerly
course to the Liard. Below the junction
the Liard flows northerly and then
northeasterly, still being bordered on
the western side by spurs of the Rocky
Mountain range. The country east of
the lower Liard is mainly low and
swampy in character. The valley of
the lower Liard is heavily wooded, the
largest tree being the balsam poplar
(Populus balsamifera), which here attains
perfection of habit, and from which the
river is said to take its name. The
other forest trees also are those common
to the whole region.
The upper reaches of the Liard are
most readily reached from the Pacific
side, by ascending the Stikine, and
crossing the low height of land.
The climate of the Liard River Valley,
like that of the Peace, varies widely in
the different sections. The upper part
of the river, lying west of the main
divide, enjoys a climate much tempered
by the warm Pacific winds. The upper
Nelson River also, the principal tribu-
tary of the Liard east of the mountains,
lies far to the southward and sufficiently
near the Pacific to come within its
modifying influence. Unfortunately no
exact data regarding the temperature
of the upper Liard or the Nelson are at
hand; hence the conditions there can not
be compared directly with those on its
lower course. The average temperature
conditions on the lower Liard may be
fairly represented by those taken at
Fort Simpson in 1900. The warm west-
erly winds which reach the valley of the
Liard extend their influence as far as
its mouth and have been known to cause
a pronounced thaw there even in Janu-
ary, the coldest month. This modifying
influence is apparent in the character
and progress of vegetation, the migra-
tion of birds, and in other phenomena.
It is especially manifest, however, in
its relation to the breaking up of the
river and the attendant effect on the
conditions along the banks. Further-
more, the disruption of the Liard ice
starts that in the Mackenzie also, which
thus opens considerably earlier than
would be the case were it not affected
by its warmer tributary. This, of
course, has its natural effect in accelerat-
ing the progress of vegetation on the
banks of the Mackenzie below the Liard.
At Fort Liard, the river freezes up
between the last of October and the
middle of November and usually opens
about the first of May.
/. Northeastern British Columbia and
Yukon. Reference has already been
made to the fact that both Peace and
Liard rivers rise west of the main ranges
of the Rocky Mountains which farther
south form a strict watershed, but which
are here traversed by these great
streams. There results a large area in
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
133
British Columbia which faunally and
florally resembles the Mackenzie Basin,
but which naturally has derived many
of its species from the Pacific slope and
the Rocky Mountains. Northwest-
wardly this area extends to include the
valley of the Upper Yukon, whose upper
branches interlock with those of the
Liard.
The valleys of the Parsnip and the
Finlay, which unite to form the Peace,
lie in the valley referred to in another
account as the Rocky Mountain Trench,
which extends in a general north-north-
west direction from near the northern
boundary of the United States to Yukon
Territory. This great valley was
plainly formed at a time when the
drainage of the region was very different
from the present system. The various
northward and southward flowing
streams which now occupy it are long
and comparatively slow-flowing, so that
one may travel from latitude 49 north-
ward to the Yukon without encountering
any extraordinary differences in alti-
tude. Most of the side tributaries of
these streams, however, are compara-
tively short and swift. Farther north
the ancient valley holds tributaries of
the Liard and the Yukon.
To the west of these rivers lies an
elevated region which besides forming
a nursery for these eastward-flowing
rivers, gives rise to several others enter-
ing the Pacific. The mountains of this
area comprise many single mountain
masses and short ranges disposed in
irregular systems, and the numerous
streams which drain them flow in all
directions. The principal ones on the
upper courses occupy broad valleys
through which they meander over shal-
low gravelly beds, but lower down they
cut canyons as they approach the main
rivers, which occupy deep valleys, some-
times gorge-like in character. This
region, lying between the Rocky Moun-
tains and the coast ranges, is considered
by Dawson (1891) to be an ancient
plateau which has been dissected by
glacial action into a region traversed
by broad level valleys flanked by moun-
tains which are often steep and craggy.
It is evident to the most casual observer
that these wide flat valleys must have
been excavated by some more formidable
forces than the comparatively small
and shallow streams which now meander
through thtm.
The trees and shrubs of this region are
largely those common to the great
transcontinental conifer forest, enumer-
ated on earlier pages. The lodge-pole
pine here replaces the Banksian pine,
however, and certain other trees and
shrubs characteristic of the coast region
or of the Rocky Mountains are present.
Some of these will be noted in the de-
scriptions of the various topographic
features. These may best be considered
under the several river valleys.
Stikine River Valley: The Stikine
River rises in a large irregular mountain
mass in about latitude 57 from which
flow also head tributaries of the Finlay,
flowing to Peace River and the Arctic,
and the Skeena, flowing to the Pacific.
Disregarding its smaller head feeders,
the Stikine may be considered as rising
from a string of three lakes, from which
it flows eastward, or directly away from
its final destination. Traversing valleys
flanked by high mountains it is soon
joined by numbers of small branches,
and in the first one hundred miles of its
course has attained a considerable size,
has turned a half-circle northward and
westward, and is now started fairly
toward its final goal. Here it joins
the Ispatseeza which has risen near
the same place and has flowed north-
ward and eastward. These streams are
of about equal size and divide honors as
the head tributary. From their junc-
tion the combined river turns to the
westward, and receives in succession
the Ketatsil or Pitman from the east,
the Kilicho from the north, the Klappan
from the south, the Tanzilla from the
north, and the Klastline or Second
South Fork and the Mestua, or First
South Fork, from the south. The north-
erly streams mentioned take their rise
close to tributaries of the Liard, while
those from the south rise in ranges which
134
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
give birth also to branches of the Nass,
the Skeena, and the Finlay.
A typical valley, that of the Upper
Ispatseeza, may be described in some
detail. It varies from a mile or less to
several miles in width. Long stretches,
perfectly level, having a gipvelly soil
covered with a good growth of grass,
are frequent, and these often succeed
each other as terraces, with altitudinal
differences of only a few feet, or may
alternate with gently undulating mea-
dows clothed with patches of willows
and dwarf birches, or with stunted white
spruces, which merge gradually into the
fairly well grown forest which covers
the sides of the bordering mountains.
These valleys though largely treeless
correspond to the stunted forest belt
of the Mackenzie and most of their
woody plants are the same. With them
are found also certain Rocky Mountain
plants, including the large blue larkspur
(Delphinium menziesii), western ane-
mone (Pulsatilla occidentalis] , and the
yellow paint brush (Castilleja pallida).
Mammals more or less characteristic
of these broad valleys are the Osborn
caribou (Rangifer osborni), the hoary
marmot (Marmota caligata oxytona],
the Yukon ground squirrel (Citellus
plesius), and the British Columbia
lemming (Lemmus helvolus). The most
characteristic birds are the willow
ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) which
breeds almost entirely on these brushy
meadows, the golden-crowned sparrow
(Zonotrichia coronata), and the western
tree sparrow (Spizella monticola
ochracea).
In these valleys, usually at the sources
of streams, sometimes in the forest, and
sometimes above the timberline, lakes
of clear water occur. About these nest
Barrow's goldeneye.
Bordering the valleys a zone of spruce
usually covers the lower slopes of the
mountains, which are treeless above an
altitude of about 5000 ft. The summits
of the mountains are usually rocky,
sometimes craggy and precipitous, but
hold many gently sloping meadows and
hanging valleys, well-watered and sup-
porting an alpine flora of great beauty.
The fauna of the peaks include the
mountain sheep (Ovis d. stonei) and
the mountain goat (Oreamnos m. colum-
bianus} which usually, but not in-
variably, choose different mountains,
the hoary marmot, the white-tailed and
rock ptarmigan, the pipit, the Alaska
horned lark, and the Hepburn rosy
finch.
Below the level of these broad valley
meadows, where the streams cut their
way down to the deeper canyons of the
main valleys, the trees are those of the
main transcontinental forest, with an
infusion of west coast types. Populus
trichocarpa replaces Populus balsami-
fera, and the red-berried elder is occa-
sional in the damper situations. The
plants, however, are virtually the same
as those of the great interior forest as
far down the Stikine as the Little Can-
yon, below which the flora and fauna
changes abruptly to that characteristic
of the coast region, elsewhere con-
sidered. In these lower valleys and the
adjacent slopes up to about 2000 ft.
(Canadian Zone), certain birds of the
Athabaska-Mackenzie region are com-
mon, including gray ruffed grouse, yel-
low-bellied sapsucker, eastern night-
hawk, Say's phoebe, alder flycatcher,
rusty grackle, Gambel's sparrow, west-
ern chipping sparrow, junco, cliff swal-
low, barn swallow, western warbling
vireo, Tennessee warbler, redstart, olive-
backed thrush, hermit thrush, with
many others. With these are found the
following which are mainly confined to
the Rocky Mountain region: Hammond
flycatcher, Wright flycatcher, violet-
green swallow, Macgillivray warbler,
Myadestes towns endi, and Ixoreus naevius
meruloides.
Yukon: Yukon, stretching through
nearly ten degrees of latitude, and
extending from the Arctic Ocean nearly
the Pacific, lies between Mackenzie,
British Columbia, and Alaska, and sends
rivers of considerable size to all of these
adjacent regions. Its affinities are close
to Alaska, owing to its contributions
to the Yukon, Alaska's main waterway.
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
135
All of the main head tributaries of this
great stream, the Stewart, Pelly, Lewes,
and White, together with the Porcupine,
rise either within Yukon's borders, or
close to them, and drain about four-
fifths of its territory. Most of the area
remaining contributes to the Liard and
Peel.
As might be inferred from the fore-
going discussion of its drainage, the
Yukon River affords the principal
means of access to most parts of Yukon
Territory. From Skagway, at the head
of navigation on Lynn Canal, the White
Pass and Yukon Railway takes one to
Whitehorse at the head of steamboat
navigation on the Yukon, which may, of
course, be easily descended with or
without power. From their junctions
with the Yukon, the Pelly, Stewart,
and many smaller streams may be
ascended by small power boats or by
tracking well toward the main divide,
affording access to alpine areas of large
extent. The Frances Lake region, which
is drained by Frances River and other-
tributaries of the Liard, may be reached
by canoe from the upper Pelly, or from
the Dease Lake region of British
Columbia.
Faunally and florally, Yukon has close
affinities with both Mackenzie and
Alaska. Comparison of lists of plants
of the three sections show very few
differences. Their mammal and bird
faunas are also strikingly alike.
Of the large game animals of Yukon
the mountain sheep, found on both the
eastern (Mackenzie) and the western
slopes of the main Rocky Mountain
range, here generally referred to as the
Mackenzie Mountains, as well as in many
of the ranges to the westward, from
southern Yukon north to the Arctic
watershed, is probably the most interest-
ing. This animal (Ovis dalli), is found
in its typical form in many of the ranges
of northern Yukon. To the south it
gradually becomes darker, finally merg-
ing into the dark race named Ovis stonei
of northern British Columbia. Moose,
caribou, black and grizzly bears, and
(in extreme southeastern Yukon) moun-
tain goats, are also found in some
numbers.
Most of the small mammals show
affinities with both Mackenzie and
British Columbia, in varying degrees.
The chestnut-cheeked meadow mouse
(Microtus xanthognathus) , the Hudson
Bay jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius),
the Rocky Mountain shrew (Sorex
obscurus), and the Yukon chipmunk
(Eutamias b. caniceps) are found in both
the Mackenzie and Yukon regions.
The British Columbia wood rat (Neo-
toma c. saxamans) is a Rocky Mountain
type, extending northward from British
Columbia into southern Yukon.
The avifauna of Yukon, especially as
regards the smaller land birds, shows
close affinities with the Mackenzie
Valley. Conspicuous are the following
species, most of which probably have a
breeding range which is continuous from
Mackenzie to Yukon by way of the low
valleys tributary to the upper Liard
and thus including northeastern British
Columbia. A partial list follows: Co-
laptes a. borealis, Chordeiles virginianus,
Empidonax trailli alnorum, Euphagus
carolinus, Passerculus sandwichensis al-
audinus, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambeli,
Junco hyemalis, Petrochelidon lunifrons,
Hirundo erythrog aster, Tachycineta bi-
color, Vermivora celata orestera, V.
peregrina, Dendroica aestiva rubiginosa,
D. coronata, D. striata, Seiurus auroca-
pillus, S. noveboracensis notabilis, Wil-
sonia pusilla, Sitta canadensis, Pen-
thestes atricapillus septentrionalis, Hylo-
cichla aliciae, H. ustulata swainsoni, H.
a. pallasi, and Ixoreus n. meruloides.
Species which extend northward from
western British Columbia include the
following: Selasphorus rufus, Pica p.
hudsonica, Dendroica townsendi, Empi-
donax hammondi, Zonotrichia coronata,
and Tachycineta thalassina lepida.
Most of these reach the upper Yukon
(Canadian Zone) only.
2. The Barren Grounds (Arctic Zone)
Under this heading will be considered
the great area lying to the north and
northeast of Great Bear and Great
136
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Slave lakes. It is watered by the
Anderson, Coppermine, Great Fish,
Thelon or Ark-i-linik, and many smaller
rivers. With the exception of Great
Fish River all those named are wooded
to some extent on their upper portions,
but by far the greater part of the area
drained by them is treeless. It may be
well to trace the northern boundary of
the great transcontinental forest from
the western shore of Hudson Bay to the
mouth of the Mackenzie.
Starting from the mouth of Churchill
River, Hudson Bay, the tree line follows
the shore closely for a few miles and
then curves gently inland. Thence it
extends northwesterly, crossing Nueltin,
or Island Lake; Ennadai Lake on Kazan
River; and Boyd Lake on the Dubawnt.
Just north of 60 on Artillery Lake is
the next point where we have a definite
dividing line. Between the Dubawnt
and Artillery Lake is the valley of the
upper Thelon, or Ark-i-linik, along
whose banks the forest extends in a
narrow line far into the general treeless
area. This northward extending tongue
of forest will be more fully described
beyond.
From Artillery Lake the line extends
northwestward to Point Lake, curving
toward the southwest in the interval
and crossing Lake Mackay south of
latitude 64. From Point Lake, whose
shores are practically devoid of trees,
nearly to latitude 67, the banks of the
Coppermine are so thinly wooded that
the river may be taken as the approxi-
mate boundary of the woods. Spruces
occur on the Coppermine as far north
as the mouth of Kendall River, but are
absent from the summit of the divide
between there and Great Bear Lake and
reappear on lower Dease River. The
north shore of Great Bear Lake is thinly
wooded and tongues of timber follow
the northward-flowing rivers well into
the Barren Grounds, on the Wilmot
Horton to latitude 69. The tree line
crosses the Anderson north of the same
parallel, and thence extends northwest
to the mouth of the Mackenzie, probably
dipping to the south in the interval, as
is usually the case in the areas between
rivers. West of the timbered delta of
the Mackenzie a considerable area ot
treeless country occurs.
In general the surface of the Barren
Grounds may be described as rolling.
The greater part of its area lies within
the region of the primitive rocks, and
many low granitic hills, some of them
with precipitous cliffs, are found.
Thousand of lakes, many of consider-
able extent, and abounding in lake
trout, dot its surface. There are vast
areas of grassy plains and gentle slopes,
on which, during the short summer, the
bright flowers of a profusion of shrubby
and herbaceous plants lend their beauty
to the landscape, and prove the appella-
tion "Barren Grounds" to be a mis-
nomer, though in many parts, from the
nature of the soil, there is little plant
life. Alders (Alnus alnobetula) occur
in a more or less dwarfed condition in
favorable places well into the treeless
area, and several species of willows,
some of which here attain a height of
5 or 6 ft., border some of the streams
as far north as the Arctic Ocean. These
are the only trees which occur even in a
dwarfed state on the Barren Grounds
proper.
The northward extension of the coni-
ferous forest along the banks of north-
ward-flowing rivers has already been
referred to. The most remarkable ex-
ample of this phenomenon is found on
the Thelon, or Ark-i-linik, a stream
tributary to Hudson Bay. From a
point near latitude 62|, which is as far
south as the river has been explored,
and is within the main area of the Bar-
ren Grounds, a more or less continuous
belt of spruce borders the river as far
north as latitude 64|, a distance of
over 200 mi. by the river. A few species
of woodland-breeding birds follow these
extensions of the forest to their limits.
Climatology: No tables of tempera-
ture taken throughout the year at any
point in the Barren Grounds are avail-
able. The winters are, of course, very
long and the summers short, with the
intervening seasons practically wanting.
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
137
Winter sets in soon after the 1st of
September and persists until May,
with only a short season of spring.
During the short summer the progress
of vegetation is very rapid, but the
seeds and berries are scarcely ripened
before winter again asserts its sway.
Owing to the great thickness of their
icy covering, some of the lakes of the
Barren Grounds are not clear of ice in
backward seasons until July, or even
August, when new ice has usually begun
to form in still water. They generally
break up in late June or early July.
The rivers, having the advantage of a
current, open earlier than the lakes.
During a residence of about five years
at Fort Anderson, on Anderson River,
MacFarlane observed the river to set
fast on two occasions as early as Sep-
tember 10, though once it remained open
until October 10. In 1857 the Anderson
broke up at the mouth of the Lockhart
on June 12. At Fort Anderson the
dates of the opening of the river were
as follows: 1861, about May 15; 1862,
May 19; 1863, May 30; 1864, May 31;
1865, June 2. During the last days of
June, 1864, MacFarlane found nearly all
the lakes on the Barren Grounds still
covered with ice, though the rivers
were open.
In 1821, when Franklin's party started
to descend the Coppermine on July 1,
the lakes on its upper course were still
covered with ice. Apparently the river
had opened only a short time before.
In 1849 Doctor Rae noted the breaking
up of the same river near its mouth on
June 28. At this time the leaves of the
dwarf birches were out, and the leaf
buds of the willows had begun to de-
velop. The lower part of the river
remained blocked with ice until July 13.
Preserved areas: Backs River Pre-
serve: This great area containing up-
wards of 65,000 sq. mi., includes most of
the valley of Backs River and north to
the Arctic Coast, from Bathurst Inlet
east to Backs Inlet. Its natives, chiefly
Eskimo, retain the sole right to hunt.
This area is the breeding ground of great
numbers of the Barren Ground caribou,
some of which remain in winter, though
many migrate southward at that sea-
son. Many musk oxen also are found
here, this being the only one of the
several preserves recently established
which harbors this notable species in
any numbers.
S. The region northwest of Hudson Bay
This section of country has already
been described, in effect, in the account
of the Barren Grounds of the Mackenzie
region. Its rivers excepting those emp-
tying into Chesterfield Inlet, are not
readily navigable. Those parts border-
ing on Hudson Bay can be reached, of
course, most readily by means of that
great inland sea, which is itself reached
either by way of Hudson Strait, or by
means of the several rivers, navigable by
canoes only, which enter it from the
south and southwest. Railroads,
branches of the Canadian National, now
take the traveler several hundred miles
nearer Hudson Bay than formerly, and
as projected will ultimately reach its
shores, but at present the journey must
be completed by canoe or dog-sled. The
waters of Hudson Bay, furthermore, are
scarcely nagivable by means of the frail
canoes by which the passage of these
rapid and shallow streams must be
effected, so that access to the region is
very difficult. Parts of the country
draining into northwestern Hudson Bay,
however, can be reached by canoe from
Great Slave Lake, though the shortness
of the season of open water makes such
a journey a very hurried one.
4. The Arctic Islands (Arctic Zone}
The Arctic Islands, lying to the north-
ward of the continent of North America,
are closely related faunally and florally
to the neighboring mainland. Being
more northerly and surrounded by an
ocean which is frozen over from 6 to 9
months of the year, it follows that both
animal and vegetable life include fewer
species. They are of course treeless,
and their shrubs comprise only a few
creeping species, some indeed, the same
that inhabit more favorable habitats to
138
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
the southward, but which here, in defer-
ence to the influence of the chilling winds
and hard-packed snow against which
they must struggle, cling closely to their
parent earth.
The mammalian inhabitants of the
Arctic Islands are few in number. The
musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) occurs only
on certain ones, the reasons for its choice
being in many cases difficult or impossi-
ble of explanation. Its habitat includes
the peninsulas and islands northward
from the eastern part of its main conti-
nental range northeastward to northern
Greenland. Another island area com-
prises Banks Land, the adjacent part of
Victoria Island, and the southern part of
Melville Island, this aggregate area
being isolated from the remainder of its
present range . The only other ruminant
is the Barren Ground caribou (Rangifer
arcticus and related forms), which
inhabits practically all the islands, for-
saking some of them in winter, but being
a year-long inhabitant of most of the
area in question. The other land mam-
mals include the polar bear (Thalarctos
maritimus], Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus
innuitus), Arctic weasel (Mustela
arctica), an occasional wolverene (Gulo
luscus), the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus},
pied lemming (Dicrostonyx} , and the
brown lemming (Lemmus). All these
are either circumpolar species, or close
relatives of such.
The birds of the Arctic Islands are
more numerous in species, including
most of the genera already listed as
breeding on the continental Barren
Grounds, and a few which are practically
confined as breeders to these uttermost
insular lands.
Most of the Arctic Islands are accessi-
ble only by sea-going vessels, and can
be reached practicably only by way of
Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound, and its
various connecting channels. In this
category may be included all the islands
and peninsulas lying to the north and
east of McClintock Channel and McClure
Strait, and the northern and eastern
shores of Victoria Land and Banks Land.
The southern and western shores of these
latter insular masses may be reached in
ordinary seasons from the west by way of
the Arctic Ocean, and Dolphin and Union
Strait. The reason for this strict divi-
sion is the drift ice that usually chokes
the western entrance to McClure Strait,
which prevented the accomplishment of
the Northwest passage when it was first
attempted in 1819, and has since almost
invariably forbidden the passage of
vessels in either direction. In winter
and early spring, by Eskimo methods of
traveling, these islands are accessible
from the west and south, but this method
is seldom practicable for expeditions
having for their main objective the
collecting of natural history specimens.
Plants. Excluding the ferns, grasses,
and sedges, the plants of the Arctic
Islands include the following:
Tofieldia palustris
Salix arctica
Salix glauca
Salix richardsonii
Salix alaxensis
Salix reticulata
Polygonum viv parum
Oxyria digyna
Silene acaulis
Lychnis apetala
Lychnis affinis
Stellaria longipes
Stellaria humifusa
Cerastium alpinum
Helianthus peploides
A isine verna rubella
Caltha palustris radicans
Anemone richardsonii
Ranunculus hyperboreus
Ranunculus pygmaeus
Ranunculus sulphureus
Ranunculus nivalis
Ranunculus affinis
Ranunculus sabinii
Papaver nudicaule
Draba alpina
Draba nivalis
Draba fladnizensis
Draba hirta
Braya purpurascens
Eutrema edwardsii
Hesperis pallasii
Cardamine digitata
Cardamine pratensis
Parrya arctica
Chrysosplenium tetrandrum
Saxifraga rivularis
Saxifraga cernua
Saxifraga hirculus
Saxifraga nivalis
Saxifraga hieraciifolia
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
Saxifraga decipiens groenlandica
Saxifraga tricuspidata
Saxifraga aizoides
Saxifraga flagellaris
Saxifraga oppositifolia
Dryas octopetala
Dry as integrifolia
Potentilla pulchella
Potentilla nivea
Potentilla rubricaulis
Potentilla vahliana
Potentilla emarginata
Rubus chamaemorus
Lupinus arcticus
Astragalus alpinus
Astragalus aboriginorum
Oxytropis campestris
Oxytropis nigrescens
Oxytropis arctobia
Hedysarum mackenzii
Hedysarum alpinum
Empetrum nigrum
Epilobium latifolium
Epilobium angustifolium
Hippuris vulgaris
Pyrola grandi 'flora
Ledum palustre
Rhododendron lapponicum
Loiseleuria procumbens
Cassiope tetragona
Arctostaphylos alpina
Vaccinium uliginosum microphylla
Primula borealis
Androsace chamaejasme
Androsace septentrionalis
Statice armeria sibirica
Phlox richardsonii
Polemonium boreale
Mertensia maritima
Castilleja pallida
Pedicularis lapponica
Pedicularis hirsuta
Pedicularis sudetica
Pedicularis arctica
Pedicularis lanata
Pedicularis capitata
Campanula uniflora
Erigeron uniflorus
Erigeron compositus
Artennaria alpina
Matricaria inodora grandijlora
Chrysanthemum integrifolium
Petasites frigida
Arnica alpina
Senecio palustris
Senecio frigidus
Taraxacum ceratophorum
Crepis nana
Preserved areas. Within the area here
classed under the term Arctic Islands,
two preserved areas have recently been
created by the Canadian Government.
These cover the entire areas of Banks
Island and Victoria Island respectively.
Like the areas established at the same
time in the Mackenzie Basin and along
Backs River, hunting and trapping by
natives is allowed, but the areas are
closed against hunting by white men.
This will exclude sportsmen but will
still allow the natives to make legitimate
use of the game, a vital necessity since
the areas in question comprise the
hereditary hunting grounds of either
Indians or Eskimo, who are almost
entirely dependent on the chase for their
subsistence, clothing, and equipment.
Banks Island: Banks Island contains
an area of about 26,000 sq. mi. It was
formerly the home of large numbers of
musk oxen, but these are believed to be
now extirpated. Many caribou are still
found, while the Arctic fox is the only
fur bearer of importance. The island
is also the breeding ground of large
numbers of geese, principally snow geese,
several species of the more northerly-
breeding ducks, large numbers of shore-
birds of several species, and ptarmigan.
Victoria Island: The principal large
game of Victoria Island is the caribou.
The muskox appears not to have inhab-
ited the island, at least within historic
times, excepting limited areas near its
northern shores where it is still found.
Victoria Island has an area of over 74,000
sq. mi., and like Banks Island is the
summer home of great numbers of geese,
ducks, and shorebirds.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following list includes a few of the
more important titles referring to
northern North America, excluding
Alaska, Greenland, eastern Franklin,
and the Ungava Peninsula, with special
reference to topography and natural
history. In titles by the author here
listed (1902, 1908), may be found fuller
lists of publications relating to most of
the areas therein treated.
1795. HEARNE, SAMUEL. A Journey
from Prince of Wales's Fort in
Hudson's Bay to the Northern
Ocean. Undertaken by Order
of the Hudson's Bay Company,
for the Discovery of Copper
140
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
Mines, a North West Passage,
etc., in the years 1769, 1770,
1771 and 1772. 4to, pp. i-xliv,
1-458. London, 1795. There is
also a Dublin edition, 8vo, 1796,
and another London edition,
1807.
Contains, scattered through-
out the narrative, many notes
on the mammals and birds of
the region; Chapter X, pp. 358-
458, treats exclusively of the
natural history of the Barren
Grounds, and the Great Slave
Lake and Hudson Bay regions.
1801 MACKENZIE, ALEXANDER. Voy-
ages from Montreal, on the
River St. Laurence, through
the Continent of North Amer-
ica, to the Frozen and Pacific
Oceans; in the years 1789 and
1793. With a preliminary ac-
count of the rise, progress and
present state of the Fur Trade
of that country. 4to, pp. 412.
London.
Mackenzie was the first trav-
eler to descend the Mackenzie
River; and the first to cross
the continent north of Mex-
ico, which he accomplished by
ascending the Peace and de-
scending the rivers west of the
divide. His narratives of these
voyages contain many notes
on natural history.
1826 PARRY, WILLIAM EDWARD; AND
Ross, JAMES CLARK. Journal
of a Third Voyage for the Dis-
covery of a Northwest Passage
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ;
performed in the years 1924r-25,
in His Majesty's Ships Hecla
and Fury, under the orders of
Captain William Edward Parry.
4to, pp. i-xxvii, 1-186; 1-151.
(Appendix on Zoology, Ross,
pp. 1-151.)
The zoological appendix
refers mainly to the natural
history of Port Bowen, where
the expedition wintered, and
other points about Prince
Regent Inlet. A few notes on
natural history occur in the
narrative.
1829 RICHARDSON, J. Fauna Boreali-
Americana. Part First. Quad-
rupeds. 4to, pp. i-xlvi, 1-300.
London.
This work, in which the
material accumulated on the
first two journeys of Franklin
and the early voyages of Ross
and Parry is elaborated, con-
tains a great deal of informa-
tion on the mammals of the
Athabaska and Mackenzie
region.
1831 SWAINSON, W., AND RlCHARDSON,
J. Fauna Boreali-Amencana.
Part Sec9nd. The Birds. 4to,
pp. i-lxvi, 1-524. London.
This publication was for many
years the standard work on the
birds of British America.
1875 PETITOT, E. Geographic de
L' Athabaskaw-Mackenzie et des
Grands Lacs du Bassin Arctique.
Bulletin de la Societe de Geog-
raphic. Pp. 5-42 (July); pp.
126-183 (August); pp. 242-290
(September) ; with a map of the
region from Great Slave Lake
northward.
A geographical and general
description of the region , based
mainly on the explorations of
the author, for many years a
missionary in the Mackenzie
region. Traveling mainly on
snowshoes, he visited many
remote districts never before
explored. The present account
and map may be considered the
official announcement of some
of his geographical discoveries.
1888 GREELY, ADOLPHUS W. Report
on the Proceedings of the
United States Expedition to
Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell
Land. [Report of International
Polar Expedition.] 2 vols.;
pp. 545, 738. Washington.
This expedition left the
United States in the Proteus in
the summer of 1881 and returned
in 1884. Headquarters were
established at Fort Conger.
In Appendix 129 (Vol. II, pp.
1-10) and App. 131 (Vol. II,
pp. 19-37, are given the reports
on mammals and birds, respec-
tively. In connection with the
notes recorded on this expedi-
tion, many recorded by other
northern expeditions are given.
This is particularly true in the
case of birds (Vol. II, pp. 30-37)
where the principal notes made
by several Arctic observers
are summarized in tabular form.
1890 MACFARLANE, RODERICK Ross.
Land and Sea Birds nesting
within the Arctic Circle in the
Lower Mackenzie District.
Transaction 39, Historical and
Scientific Society of Manitoba,
season 1888-9 (1890).
An annotated list of the birds
observed and taken in the
Anderson River region, from
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
141
April, 1862, to June, 1865, in-
clusive; annotations mainly in
reference to nesting habits,
nests, and eggs.
1893 WICKHAM, H. F. Report on an
Entomological Reconnaissance
of Southern Alaska and adjacent
portions of British Columbia.
Bulletin from the Laboratories
of Natural History, Univ. of
Iowa, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 202-233
with 2 maps.
Comparison of the lists of
Coleoptera of the Little Canyon,
and Glenora, on the Stikine,
with those found at the mouth
of the river, and at Fort Simp-
son on the Mackenzie and other
interior points.
1900 OSGOOD, W. H., AND BISHOP, L. B.
Results of a Biological Recon-
naissance of the Yukon River
Region (North American Fauna
No. 19, 100 pages). General
Account of the Region; Anno-
tated List of Mammals, by
Wilfred H. Osgood; Annotated
List of Birds, by Louis B.
Bishop.
Relates to a natural history
expedition made along the
Yukon in 1899.
1902 PREBLE, EDWARD A. A Biological
Investigation of the Hudson
Bay Region (North American
Fauna No. 22, 140 pages).
Annotated lists of the mam-
mals, birds, and reptiles and
batrachians of the country bor-
dering Hudson Bay on the west
and northwest. Account of a
natural history expedition con-
ducted in 1900. Bibliography.
1908 PREBLE, EDWARD A. A Biological
Investigation of the Athabaska-
Mackenzie Region (North
American Fauna, No. 27, 574
pages).
Topographic and historic
description of the region, with
special reference to its natural
history. Annotated lists of
mammals, birds, reptiles, and
amphibians, fishes, and trees
and shrubs; extensive bibli-
ography. Bibliography.
1922 HOLM, THEODOR. Contributions
to the Morphology, Synonymy,
and Geographical Distribution
of Arctic Plants. Report of the
Canadian Arctic Expedition,
1913-18, part B, vol. 5, pp. 4B-
139B.
Includes list of species found
in Arctic North America with
distribution indicated.
1922 SWARTH, H. S. Birds and mam-
mals of the Stikine River region
of northern British Columbia
and southeastern Alaska.
Univ. of Calif. Pub. in Zool.,
Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 125-314.
Results of a somewhat in-
tensive study of the fauna of
the Stikine Valley from its
mouth to Telegraph Creek,
including discussion of zooge-
ography.
1923 DALL, WILLIAM H. Land and
Fresh water Mollusks. Harri-
man Alaska Expedition. Vol.
XIII.
List of land and fresh water
mollusks of Mackenzie, Alaska,
and whole northern part of
British America.
7. ALASKA
BY W. H. OSGOOD
I. GENERAL
Alaska has an area of 590,000 sq. mi.
or about one-fifth that of the United
States. The main part of it lies between
the same parallels of latitude as the
Scandinavian Peninsula. Its shores are
washed on the north by the Arctic Ocean
on the west by Bering Sea, and on the
south by the Pacific. Its coastline is
very long and much indented, and there
are many outlying islands. It is largely
a mountainous region, although flat-
lands of considerable area are found on
its northern coast and about the deltas
and in parts of the valleys of its larger
rivers. In general, the mountains are
in two series, northerly extensions of
the main continental systems. The
Pacific or Coast system follows the coast
and curves southward to include the
Aleutian Islands . The Rocky Mountain
system, continuous from Canadian terri-
tory, is parallel in general trend with the
coast system but separated from it by
a wide plateau through which course
Alaska's two greatest rivers, the Yukon
and the Kuskokwim.
Notwithstanding its great area and
its complex topographic features, in-
cluding the highest mountains in North
America, the greatest glaciers, and
some of the largest rivers and forests,
142
NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS
it is easily divisible into a few general
regions in which biological conditions
are broadly similar. At least four
primary divisions are necessary: (1) the
humid and relatively warm southeastern
or Sitkan region; (2) the intermediate
glacial region lying next to the coast
just northwestward; (3) the wooded
plateau and mountains of the interior,
and (4) the treeless coast of the Arctic
and Bering Sea.
II. REGIONAL ACCOUNTS
1. Southeastern region
A. Topography. This is the so-called
panhandle of Alaska extending from the
British Columbian boundary to the
vicinity of Lynn Canal and including
a narrow strip of wholly mountainous
coast and numerous adjacent islands,
some of considerable size and also moun-
tainous. The mainland is only 20 mi.
in average width and is much dissected
by long fjords bounded on either side by
mountains rising sheer from the water.
These fjords and smaller channels are
very deep and usually navigable for large
vessels. The mountains rise to heights
from 5000 to 8000 ft . with timberlines from
2000 to 3000 ft., the higher elevations
mostly to the northward. One large navi-
gable river, the Stikine, breaks through
the mountain wall. In the northern part
of the region, another river of consider-
able size is the Taku, but although other
streams are numerous, they are all of
small size. At the head of some of the
inlets and on the higher slopes are gla-
ciers of some size, although small as
compared to those found farther north.
The evergreen forests, snow-crowned
mountains and narrow waterways com-
bine to make the region exceedingly
picturesque. The islands of the Alex-
ander Archipelago lie close to the main-
land and are similar to it in character,
but the relief is generally lower and in
many cases the mountains are fully
timbered. Some of the islands are
quite large, Prince of Wales, the largest,
being about 140 mi. long and 40 mi. wide.
B. Climate. The climate of south-
eastern Alaska is relatively mild and,
in general, is similar to that of the Puget
Sound region. In ordinary winters but
little snow falls, and severe cold is
almost unknown. At Sitka, the mean
for February, the coldest month, is 33
and for August, the warmest, it is 57.2.
The region is subject to much rain and
cloudy weather. At Sitka and Juneau,
the annual precipitation is about 90 in.
and at stations farther southeast, annual
rainfall may be as much as 130 in. The
greatest fall is during the months from
September to January and the pleasant-
est months as well as the warmest are
May, June and July. The rains are
usually of the soft gentle variety but
often continuous for many days and
nights at a time.
C. Original biota. Vegetation: Al-
though the region has been inhabited for
many years and has been exploited to
some extent, its general biological condi-
tions are not greatly changed. The
forests are so vast that the consumption
of lumber for local purposes has had
little effect and no great amount of
exporting has yet taken place. This is
partly due to the bringing of over 1000
sq. mi. under federal control in the
Tongass National Forest. The entire
region below an altitude of 2000 ft. is
heavily grown with coniferous forest.
This consists of the giant cedar (Thuja] ,
which is generally distributed; the yel-
low cedar (Chamaecyparis}, mostly scat-
tered except in a few fine stands; the
Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis} , com-
mon throughout; the western hemlock
(Tsuga heterophylla] , very abundant;
the yew (Taxus vrevifolia), locally abun-
dant; and the mountain hemlock (Tsuga
mertensiana) , scarce and local. The
important timber tree, the Douglas
Spruce (Pseudotsuga'), does not occur,
its northern limit being reached in
British Columbia. Underbrush and her-
baceous plants are everywhere very
luxuriant, The principal shrubs are
Alnus, Ribes, V actinium, Viburnum,
Menziezia, Gaultheria, and Echinopanax.
At higher elevations on the mountains
is an alpine flora.
NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS
143
Animals: A characteristic large mam-
mal is the Sitka deer, g 
