Muskeg investigations in Northern Manitoba and Ungava: 1955

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Muskeg investigations in Northern Manitoba and Ungava: 1955

NATIONAL RESEARCH C O U N C I L CANADA

DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH

MUSKEG INVEST I G A T IONS I N

NORTHERN MANITOBA AND UNGAVA :

1955

ANALYZED

h his

Report h a s been p r e p a r e d f o r I n f o r m a t i o n and Record Purposes and i s n o t t o be r e f e r e n c e d i n a n y P u b l i c a t i o n ) Report No. 95 of tht! D i v i s i o n of B u i l d i n g R e s e a r c h Ottawa ~ u l y

1956

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Page

.

1

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s

a t

Cranberry Portage, Manitoba

. . .

1.1.

General

1

1 . 2 .

S i t e CPlM

. . .

1

1 . 3 . S i t e CP2M

. . .

3

. . .

1.4. Local muskeg problems

3

2

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s a t F l i n Flon. Manitoba

2 . 1 .

General

. . .

4

2.2.

S i t e FFlM

. . .

4

. . .

2.3. Local muskeg problems

5

3

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s

a t

Lynn Lake, Manitoba

3 . 1 . G e n e r a l

. . .

6

3.2. S i t e

LLlM

. . .

7

3 0 3

.

S i t e

LL2M

. . .

8

3.4. Local muskeg problems

. . .

8

4

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s a t

B i r d .

Manitoba

. . .

4 . 1 0 General

9

4.2. S i t e

B1M

. . .

9

4.3. S i t e B2M

. . .

10

4 . 4 . S i t e B 3 M

. . .

11

4.5. S i t e B4M

. . .

11

4.6. S i t e B5M

. . .

12

. . .

4.7. Local muskeg problems

1 3

5

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s a t Knob Lake. Quebec

5 . 1 . G e n e r a l

. . .

1 3

5.2. S i t e

KLlM

. . .

14

5.3. S i t e KL2M

. . .

14

5.4.SiteKL3M

. . .

15

5.5. S i t e KL4M

. . .

15

5.6. S i t e KL5M

. . .

16

5.7. Local muskeg problems

. . .

17

6

.

Muskeg f e a t u r e s

-at

Great Whale River, Quebec

6.1. General

. . .

17

. . .

TABLE OF CONTENTS ( Continued ) Appendix A

-

Cranberry Portage, Manitoba

A . 1. Loqation

A.2, S i t e and General F e a t u r e s A .

3.

Population and A c t i v i t i e s Appendix B

-

P l i n Plon, Manitoba

B.1. Location

B.2. Foundat i o n c o n d i t i o n s

B.3. Population and g e n e r a l f e a t u r e s Appendix C

-

Lynn Lake, Manitoba

C. 1. Locat i o n (2.2. S i t e

(2.3.

H i s t o r y C .4. Populat i oh C .5 Administration

(2.6,

The Town

C-7.

Sherritt-Gordon Mines Limited Appendix

D

-

Analysis of Bog Waters

PREFACE

The author i s a r e s e a r c h o f f i c e r i n t h e S o i l Mechanics S e c t i o n of t h e Division of Building Research of t h e National Research Council, where he i s c a r r y i n g out r e s e a r c h on t h e engineering p r o p e r t i e s of muskeg. T h i s r e s e a r c h program i s

being pursued i n t h r e e phases: a l i t e r a t u r e review, l a b o r a t o r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , and f i e l d s t u d i e s .

This r e p o r t i s a summary of t h e observations made by t h e a u t h o r during a t r i p t o n o r t h e r n Manitoba and Ungava during J u l y and August of 1955. The purpose of t h i s f i e l d t r i p was twofold: t o t e s t t h e f i e l d a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e Radforth Class- i f i c a t i o n System f o r muskeg and t o o b t a i n samples of d i f f e r e n t , types of organic m a t e r i a l and muskeg water f o r study i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y

.

I n J u l y

1955

muskeg i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were conducted i n s e v e r a l l o e a t i o n s i n northern Manitoba i n c l u d i n g Cranberry

Portage, F l i n Flon, Lynn Lake and Bird, t h e l a t t e r being on t h e Hudson Bay Railway l i n e , south of C h u r c h i l l . I n August 1955 muskeg i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were conducted i n s e v e r a l l o c a t i o n s i n Quebec-Labrador including Knob Lake and Great Whale River.

From Knob Lake, a v i s i t was made t o two l o c a t i o n s approximately 90 and

150

miles t o t h e west of t h a t town.

Since t r a n s p o r t a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s i n t h e North were

c r i t i c a l , it was p o s s i b l e t o spend only

a

few days a t each p l a c e .

It i s hoped t h a t more d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s w i l l be p o s s i b l e i n subsequent summers,

Ottawa

MUSKEG INVESTIGATIONS I N NORTHERN MANITOBA

AND UNGAVA: 1955 --.

- -

1. Muskeg F e a t u r e s a t Cranberry P o r t a g e , Manitoba _--.-

-1.1 General

Cranberry Portage i s s i t u a t e d i n n o r t h w e s t e r n Manitoba a t 54O 3 5 ' N . , 101" 2 3 ' W . on t h e C . N . R . Line between The Pas and F l i n F l o n . It i s 54 m i l e s n o r t h of The Pas and 39 m i l e s s o u t h e a s t of F l i n F l o n . It i s on t h e E a s t A r m of Lake

Athapapuskow on t h e p o r t a g e r o u t e between t h i s l a k e and t h e F i r s t c r a n b e r r y Lake, w h i c h , i s 11 f e e t h i g h e r t h a n Lake Athapa uskow and about t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of a mile t o t h e e a s t

( F i g . 2 7 . Cranberry Portage i s a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 992 f e e t above s e a l e v e l .

The g e n e r a l t e r r a i n of t h e Cranberry Portage a r e a c o n s i s t s of r o c k o u t c r o p s , s c a t t e r e d d e p o s i t s of g l a c i a l

m a t e r i a l , muskeg, and l a k e s . Except f o r t h e l a r g e r l a k e s , none of t h e s e f e a t u r e s i s c o n t i n u o u s o v e r any g r e a t a r e a . The

v i l l a g e i t s e l f i s b u i l t on a sand r i d g e o r t e r r a c e ( p o s s i b l y a n e s k e r ) running n o r t h and s o u t h . The sand i s f i n e - g r a i n e d and some s i l t i s e v i d e n t . When d r y it i s v e r y d u s t y . Excava- t i o n s r e v e a l numerous b o u l d e r s i n t h e d e p o s i t . T h i s r i d g e i s bounded on t h e e a s t and west by l a k e s , on t h e s o u t h by muskeg and on t h e n o r t h by r o c k o u t c r o p s and muskeg.

Muskeg r e s e a r c h a t Cranberry Portage c o n s i s t e d o f :

a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s of l o c a l i n h a b i t a n t s about muskeg and problems a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t and examining two a r e a s of muskeg ( s i t e s C P l M and C P ~ M ) w i t h i n walking d i s t a n c e of t h e v i l l a g e . F i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were c a r r i e d out w i t h a Hoffer probe and

s t a n d a r d screw-type hand s o i l a u g e r . Chunk samples of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l were o b t a i n e d by means of a c o l l a p s i b l e s h o v e l , and were s u b s e q u e n t l y s e a l e d i n p o l y e t h y l e n e bags. Water samples were o b t a i n e d from a h o l e dug i n t h e muskeg, and s t o r e d i n

1 - l i t r e c a p a c i t y p o l y e t h y l e n e b o t t l e s . pH v a l u e s were measured u s i n g a LaMotte-Morgan S o i l T e s t i n g S e t .

1 . 2 S i t e C P l M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d :

_---

J u l y 20, 1955.

( b ) Location: T h i a a r e a was about 200 y a r d s e a s t of Manitoba Highway

#lo,

a p p r o x i m a t e l y two m i l e s n o r t h of Cranberry

S u r f a c e coverage: The v e g e t a t i o n was predominantly Labrador t e a , l e s s t h a n 2 f e e t h i g h ; a s p a r s e t r e e growth ( s c r u b b y s p r u c e l e s s t h a n 1 5 f e e t h i g h , an o c c a s i o n a l b i r c h , p o p l a r , o r tamarack 15 f e e t o r l e s s i n h e i g h t ) . There was a heavy moss cover (hummocky). The hummocks were r e l a t i v e l y d r y , buL t h e d e p r e s s i o n s between them were v e r y w e t , ponds being observed. T h i s v e g e t a t i v e c o v e r i s c l a s s e d a s

which

i s more o r l e s s t y p i c a l of t h e g e n e r a l a r t a around Cranberry Portage ( F i g . 8 ) . Sometimes t h e t r e e

growth i s d e n s e r ( c l a s s B E I ) o r some t r e e s a r e above 1 5 f e e t h i g h ( c l a s s BAEI o r ABEI) but i n a l l c a s e s t h e g e n e r a l appearance i s v e r y s i m i l a r . Wat was t 0 e r c o n d i t i o n s :

-

D e s p i t e t h e d r y w e a t h e r , t h e muskeg v e r y w e t . A t t h i s s i t e , t h e muskeg d e p o s i t appeared be a pocket w i t h i n a r o c k o u t c r o p , s o t h e r e were no n a t u r a l d r a i n a g e o u t l e t s . Pools of w a t e r were noted a s having accumulated i n t h e d e p r e s s i o n s between t h e moss hummocks. Nearby where t h e hiahwag c r o s s e d a mukeg 'deposit t h e d i t c h e s were wel; f i l l e d v i t h w a t e r 'I'here was no evidence of movement of t n i s w a t e r and i t

i s understood t h a t t h e w a t e r l e v e l remains much t h e same throughout t h e summer. When a h o l e was dug i n t h e muskeg, t h e w a t e r , which was y e l l o w i s h i n c o l o u r , r o s e t o w i t h i n a f o o t of t h e s u r f a c e . No samples were o b t a i n e d , n o r was t h e pH v a l u e measured a t t h i s s i t e . ( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : The d e p t h t o f r o s t was g e n e r a l l y

18 i n c h e s i n t h e moss hummocks and 12 i n c h e s i n t h e d e p r e s s i o n s between t h e s e hummocks. It would a p p e a r t h a t t h e f r o s t l e v e l was f l a t and d i d n o t f o l l o w t h e c o n t o u r of t h e hummocks. There was some d i s c o n t i n u i t y i n t h e f r o z e n muskeg. I n e x t r e m e l y wet d e p r e s s i o n s , t h e muskeg was n o t f r o z e n a t a l l . It was l e a r n e d t h a t

i t i s not unusual f o r e x c e p t i o n a l l y wet muskeg t o remain u n f r o z e n , even n e a r t h e s u r f a c e , a l l w i n t e r .

Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg a t t h i s s i t e was 7 f e e t 6 i n c h e s . It was u n d e r l a i n by a p l a s t i c b l u e c l a y s o i l . The c o l o u r of t h e p e a t was d a r k brown t o b l a c k . Under t h e moss hummocks, it was amorphous g r a n u l a r i n woody f i n e f i b r o u s w i t h woody e r r a t i c s . I n wet d e p r e s s i o n s w i t h a d i f f e r e n t kind of moss c o v e r , t h e p e a t was amorphorous g r a n u l a r i n non-woody f i n e f i b r o u s 2 .

I n t h e R a d f o r t h C l a s s i f i c a t i o s A Suggested C l a s s i f i c a t i o n of Muskeg f o r t h e E n g i n e e r . E n g i n e e r i n g J o u r n a l , Vol. 35,

No. 11, p.1199-1210, November 1952.

R a d f o r t h , N . W . Range of P f r u c t u r a l V a r i a t i o n i n Organic T e r r a i n . T r a n s . Royal S o c i e t y of Canada, Vol. XLIX: S e r i e s

111: S e c . 5: June 1955, p . 51-67 ( A l s o i s s u e d a s Tech. Memo No. 39 Assoc. Corn. on S o i l and Snow Mechanics, N a t i o n a l Research c o u n c i l ) .

1 , 3

S i t e CP2M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : J u l y 21, 1955.

( b ) Location:

_--

Approximately 100 f e e t t o t h e west of t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k a t about one mile s o u t h of Cranberry Portage.

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: The v e g e t a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of tamarack and scrubby spruce ( l e s s t h a n 1 5 f e e t h i g h ) , Labrador t e a i n abundance, o c c a s i o n a l p i t c h e r p l a n t s , a l s o

a l d e r s , (up t o 6 f e e t h i g h ) , moss cover (hummocky, very w e t ) . There were o c c a s i o n a l t r e e s over 1 5 f e e t h i g h . T h i s ve e t a t i v e cover i s c l a s s e d as BED1 o r AEDI

( P i g . 97. Near t h i s s i t e l o c a l i z e d p a t c h e s of g r a s s y muskeg were observed

-

c l a s s C o r C I

-

but t h e s e a r e u s u a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h open ponds o r l a k e s .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : There was no evidence of n a t u r a l d r a i n a g e a t t h i s s i t e . The muskeg was v e r y wet and when a h o l e was dug i n i t , t h e water r o s e t o about a

f o c t from t h e s u r f a c e . Once a g a i n , p o o l s of w a t e r were noted i n some of t h e d e p r e s s i o n s between t h e moss

hummocks. The w a t e r was y e l l o w i s h and had a pH measurement of

6.5.

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : I n t h e d r i e r a r e a s , t h e d e p t h t o f r o z e n muskeg was

18

i n c h e s , where w e t t e r , it was 24 i n c h e s o r more.

( f ) Depth of organic d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg a t

ms s i t e w E 5 e e t 6 i n c h e s . It was u n d e r l a i n by a c l a y e y s i l t , but beneath t h a t was a p l a s t i c c l a y . Rock was encountered a t 10 f e e t

6

i n c h e s . The p e a t was d a r k brown t o b l a c k and was amorphous g r a n u l a r

i n non-woody and woody f i n e f i b r o u s . 1 . 4 Local Muskeg Problems

Such shallow d e p t h s of muskeg do n o t p r e s e n t d i f f i c u l t e n g i n e e r i n g problems except p o s s i b l y t h e problem of t r a f f i c a - b i l i t y of t r a c k e d v e h i c l e s . Much of t h e r a i l w a y l i n e and a l s o t h e highway from The Pas t o Cranberry Portage was b u i l t a c r o s s muskeg a r e a s , but i n q u i r i e s r e v e a l e d t h a t no p a r t i c u l a r

d i f f i c u l t i e s were experienced. It must be a d m i t t e d , however, t h a t t h e s o u r c e s of i n f o r m a t i o n were not p a r t i c u l a r l y c l o s e t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of e i t h e r of t h e s e p r o j e c t s . There i s a s e c t i o n of t h e r a i l w a y l i n e n e a r Cranberry Portage where it was r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e s e t t l e m e n t i s about 1 f o o t each y e a r and t h e roadbed h a s t o be b a l l a s t e d r e g u l a r l y t o b r i n g i t back up t o grade. T h i s phenomenon was not i n v e s t i g a t e d p e r s o n a l l y . but it would appear t h a t t h e muskeg a t t h i s l o c a t i o n i s much deeper t h a n normal.

2 . Muskeg F e a t u r e s a t F l i n F l o n , Manitoba 2 . 1 General

F l i n F l o n i s s i t u a t e d i n n o r t h w e s t e r n Manitoba a t

54"

461 N . , 101" 5 2 ' W . a t t h e end of t h e C . N . R . l i n e from The Pas. The town and mine b u i l d i n g s a r e i n Manitoba j u s t i n s i d e t h e Manitoba

-

Saskatchewan boundary but t h e o r e b o d i e s a r e i n Saskatchewan ( ~ i g . 3 ) . F l i n F l o n i s a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 1098 f e e t above s e a l e v e l .

Although F l i n F l o n i s o n l y 39 m i l e s from C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e , t h e r e i s a c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e t e r r a i n . A t F l i n F l o n , t h e t e r r a i n i s much more r o c k y and rugged t h a n a t C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e . The town i t s e l f i s

s i t u a t e d c h i e f l y on a b a r e r o c k o u t c r o p . T h e r e a r e many l a k e s i n t h e a r e a and p o c k e t s of muskeg i n t h e r o c k o u t c r o p a r e

q u i t e f r e q u e n t , even w i t h i n t h e town l i m i t s .

Muskeg r e s e a r c h a t F l i n F l o n c o n s i s t e d o f : a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s of l o c a l i n h a b i t a n t s a b o u t muskeg and problems

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t ; v i s i t i n g o r g a n i c d e p o s i t s w i t h i n t h e town l i m i t s ; and examining a t c l o s e hand a n a r e a of muskeg ( s i t e F F ~ M ) about 1 0 m i l e s s o u t h of F l i n F l o n . F i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were c a r r i e d o u t w i t h a H o f f e r Probe and s t a n d a r d screw-type hand s o i l a u g e r . Chunk samples of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l were

o b t a i n e d by means of a c o l l a p s i b l e s h o v e l and were s u b s e q u e n t l y s e a l e d i n p o l y e t h y l e n e b a g s . Water samples were o b t a i n e d from a h o l e dug i n t h e muskeg and s t o r e d i n 1 - l i t r e c a p a c i t y p o l y - e t h y l e n e b o t t l e s . p H v a l u e s were measured u s i n g a LaMotte- Morgan S o i l T e s t i n g S e t .

2 . 2 S i t e FFlM

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d :

-

- J u l y 2 3 , 1955.

( b ) L o c a t i o n : Adjacent t o Manitoba Highway No. 1 0 , a b o u t n i n e m i l e s s o u t h e a s t of F l i n F l o n .

S u r f a c e c o v e r a g e : The vegebatian was p r e d o m i n a n t l y t a l l t r e e s ( s p r G G r m u c h o v e r 15 f e e t h i g h , low woody s h r u b s l e s s t h a n 2 f e e t t a l l ( L a b r a d o r $ e a ) , s h o r t g r a s s and some moss c o v e r . The f i b r o u s m a t w a s more g r a s s y t h a n mossy, as i s t h e u s u a l c a s e . T h i s v e g e t a t i v e c o v e r r e p r e s e n t s c l a s s AEFI ( ~ i g . 1 0 ) . The t r e e s i n t h i s a r e a and i n g e n e r a l bppeared t o be l a r g e r t h a n t h o s e observed a t C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r s i t e was n o t t y p i c a l , however, of t h e muskeg d e p o s i t s a s

observed e l s e w h e r e around F l i n F l o n . More u s u a l l y , t h e moss c o v e r i s much more pronounced, making t h e coverage c l a s s A E I o r ABEI. Immediately a d j a c e n t t o

t h e highway was a narrow s t r i p of muskeg where t h e v e g e t a t i o n was t a l l g r a s s , 2 t o

5

f e e t h i g h . T h i s was c l a s s C . It was extremely wet and u n s t a b l e , which I s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h a t t y p e .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : I n t h e AEFI muskeg, t h e p e a t was s a t u r a t e d and when a h o l e was dug, t h e w a t e r came r i g h t t o t h e s u r f a c e . T h i s s i t e was n e a r a l a k e , which

probably helped t o keep t h e w a t e r - t a b l e h i g h . A

samgle of t h e w a t e r was t a k e n and t h e pH measured a t

6 . 3 .

It w a s s l i g h t l y y e l l o w i s h .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : F r o s t w a s not encountered, a t l e a s t down a s f a r a s t h e m i n e r a l s u b s o i l . T h i s was d o u b t l e s s due t o t h e extremely wet c o n d i t i o n of t h e muskeg.

( f )

-

Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : I n t h e AEFI muskeg, t h e d e p t h was about 2 f e e t 6 i n c h e s . Adjacent t o i t , i n type C muskeg, t h e d e p t h of t h e o r g a n i c d e p o s i t was

5 f e e t . The p e a t of c l a s s AEFI muskeg was d a r k brown t o b l a c k and was amorphous g r a n u l a r i n woody f i n e

f i b r o u s . The m i n e r a l s u b s o i l was a p l a s t i c b l u e c l a y .

2 . 3

Local Muskeg Problems _--

The main problem observed i n t h e F l i n Flon a r e a was w i t h t h e main highway l e a d i n g out of town s o u t h e a s t towards

Cranberry P o r t a g e , Manitoba Highway No. 1 0 . T h i s highway i s

paved f o r t h e f i r s t few m i l e s from t h e town l i m i t s . A t t h e edge of town, it p a s s e s over s e v e r a l hundred f e e t of muskeg of c l a s s i f i c a t i o n t y p e BE1 ( r e p r e s e n t i n g scrubby t r e e s

-

spruce

-

low woody s h r u b s and moss ( F i g . 1 1 ) . I n t h e c o n s t r u c - t i o n of t h i s highway (which was paved f o r t h e province by t h e town of F l i n ~ l o n ) t h e customary procedure i n t h e a r e a was followed: t h e l i v e o r g a n i c c o v e r was s t r i p p e d o f f t h e muskeg, a f o o t of t h e organic m a t e r i a l excavated, and t h e n i t was back- f i l l e d w i t h g r a n u l a r s o i l . The embankment t h e n s e t t l e d u n t i l i t a t t a i n e d a c e r t a i n degree of s t a b i l i t y . Although t h e

pavement h a s been l a i d f o r l e s s t h a n two y e a r s , i t i s a l r e a d y b r e a k i n g up v e r y badly, e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e edges.

T h i s would a p p e a r t o i n d i c a t e t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a l s e t t l e m e n t i s s t i l l t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e embankment. It was r e p o r t e d t h a t a t one p o i n t a l a r g e p o t h o l e appeared i n t h e

pavement s h o r t l y a f t e r i t was l a i d down. Subsequent i n v e s t i g a - t i o n s r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e r e was a pocket of p e a t i n t h e g r a n u l a r f i l l which had c o n s o l i d a t e d more r a p i d l y t h a n t h e neighbouring g r a n u l a r m a t e r i a l t h u s c a u s i n g t h e p o t h o l e . The o p i n i o n of one o f f i c i a l was t h a t t h e r e had been i n s u f f i c i e n t compaction of t h e f i l l b e f o r e t h e bituminous pavement was l a i d down.

It was observed t h a t w i t h i n t h e town l i m i t s , a new s t r e e t was i n t h e p r o c e s s of being c o n s t r u c t e d a c r o s s a n

o r g a n i c d e p o s i t . The s t r e e t had been s t a r t e d i n June 1955, a t which time a 6 - i n c h l a y e r of t h e l i v i n g cover had been

s t r i p p e d o f f down t o t h e f r o s t l e v e l . It remained l i k e t h i s f o r a couple of weeks t o a l l o w t h e p e a t t o thaw. Following t h i s , a f o o t of t h e p e a t was s t r i p p e d o f f and t h e e x c a v a t i o n b a c k f i l l e d w i t h a g r a n u l a r s o i l . When t h i s s t r e e t was observed i n J u l y , i t was a g a i n l y i n g dormant, w a i t i n g f o r t h e n e c e s s a r y s e t t l e m e n t t o t a k e p l a c e ( F i g . 1 2 ) . The d e p t h o f t h i s d e p o s i t was n o t determined, but i t i s assumed t h a t it was approximately

5

f e e t deep.

A few b l o c k s from t h i s new s t r e e t a number of houses were being b u i l t i n a muskeg a r e a . The c l a s s i f i c a t i o n t y p e was CD, r e p r e s e n t i n g t a l l g r a s s ( 2 t o

5

f e e t h i g h ) and t a l l woody s h r u b s of t h e same h e i g h t . A t r e n c h f o r t h e i n s t a l l a - t i o n of a sewer l i n e had been dug t h r o u g h t h e o r g a n i c d e p o s i t . The d e p o s i t was

4

t o 5 f e e t deep, and was u n d e r l a i n by a p l a s t i c c l a y ( F i g . 1 3 ) . S i n c e t h e basements of t h e s e houses probably extended t o t h e m i n e r a l s u b s o i l i t i s d o u b t f u l i f t h e muskeg p r e s e n t e d any problem t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e houses beyond a g g r a v a t i n g t h e mosquito s i t u a t i o n d u r i n g t h e summer. It was r e p o r t e d t h a t what i s now Main S t r e e t was o r i g i n a l l y a muskeg d e p o s i t . It was v e r y u n s t a b l e and a boardwalk had t o be

b u i l t over i t f o r p e d e s t r i a n s . T h i s was s u b s e q u e n t l y f i l l e d i n o r excavated and t h e p r e s e n t s t r e e t s and b u i l d i n g s con- s t r u c t e d .

3.

Muskeg F e a t u r e s a t Lynn Lake, Manitoba

3.1 General

Lynn Lake i s s i t u a t e d i n n o r t h w e s t e r n Manitoba a t

56"

5 1 ' N . , 1 0 l 0 0 3 ' W . a t t h c end of t h e C . N . R . 1-ine e x t e n d i n g n o r t h from Cranberry Portage f o r 184 m i l e s ( F i g . 4 ) . Most of t h e t o w n s i t e i s l o c a t e d on a g r a n u l a r d e p o s i t on t h e s i d e of a g e n t l y s l o p i n g r i d g e of bedrock. The lower p a r t of t h e town i s b u i l t on a s h a l l o w muskeg d e p o s i t , up t o

5

f e e t d e e p , o v e r l y i n g sand and s i l t y sand. The town i s bounded on t h e e a s t by Lynn Lake and on t h e west by West Lynn Lake. These l a k e s a r e j o i n e d by a narrow c r e e k on t h e n o r t h e a s t edge of t h e town. The a i r p o r t , which i s about one m i l e west of t h e town, i s b u i l t on a n e s k e r which can be t r a c e d t o t h e n o r t h and s o u t h f o r many m i l e s . The average w i d t h of t h e e s k e r i s 40 f e e t . It f a n s out n e a r t h e iown t o a w i d t h of one-half m i l e . The a i r p o r t i s b u i l t on L h i s w i d e r p o r t i o n . To t h e

e a s t of t h e g r a n u l a r d e p o s i t on which t h e t o w n s i t e i s l o c a t e d i s exposed bedrock and t o t h e west i s muskeg. Lynn Lake i s a t a n e l e v a t i o n of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1195 f e e t above s e a l e v e l .

Muskeg r e s e a r c h a t Lynn Lake c o n s i s t e d o f : a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s of l o c a l i n h a b i t a n t s about muskeg and any problems

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t ; examining a t c l o s e hand a couple of a r e a s of muskeg ( s i t e s LLlM and L L ~ M ) i n t h e r e g i o n mentioned above. F i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were c a r r i e d out w i t h a Hoffer Probe and

s t a n d a r d screw-type hand s o i l a u g e r . Chunk samples of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l were o b t a i n e d by means of a c o l l a p s i b l e shovel and were s u b s e q u e n t l y s e a l e d i n p o l y e t h y l e n e bags. Water samples were o b t a i n e d from a h o l e dug i n t h e muskeg and s t o r e d i n

1 - l i t r e c a p a c i t y p o l y e t h y l e n e b o t t l e s . pH v a l u e s were measured u s i n g a LaMotte-Morgan S o i l T e s t i n g S e t .

3 . 2 S i t e LLlM

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : J u l y 28, 1955.

( b ) Location: T h i s a r e a was between t h e town of Lynn Lake and t h e l a k e it s e l f .

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: The muskeg a t t h i s s i t e had much t h e m e appearance a s t h a t elsewhere i n t h e Lynn Lake

r e g i o n , s o i t may be c o n s i d e r e d t o be more o r l e s s t y p i c a l . The v e g e t a t i o n was predominantly spruce

( w i t h an o c c a s i o n a l tamarack) l e s s t h a n

15

f e e t h i g h , a l t h o u g h t h e r e were many t r e e s o v e r t h a t h e i g h t .

There was a n abundance of Labrador t e a and a heavy moss c o v e r . The moss was hummocky, e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e base of t h e t r e e s . T h i s v e g e t a t i v e c o v e r c o n s t i t u t e s c l a s s BE1 o r c l a s s BAEI ( ~ i ~ . 1 4 ) .

Water c o n d i t i o n s : The muskeg.was u n u s u a l l y d r y and no f r e e w a t e r

was

n o t e d , a t l e a s t down t o t h e f r o s t

l e v e l . T h i s was e s p e c i a l l y t r u e of t h e hummocks, a l t h o u g h t h e d e p r e s s i o n s between t h e hummocks were, much w e t t e r . Except f o r t h e n a t u r a l s p r i n g i n e s s of t h e moss, t h i s muskeg provided a f a i r l y f i r m f o o t i n g f o r walking. A d i t c h had been dug t h r o u g h t h e d e p o s i t and appeared t o be used a s an open sewer. It i s

d o u b t f u l i f t h i s d i t c h had much e f f e c t on t h e m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t of t h e muskeg f o r any g r e a t d i s t a n c e on e i t h e r s i d e . No w a t e r samples were t a k e n a t t h i s s i t e .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : The d e p t h t o f r o s t , when e n c o u n t e r e d , was about 1~ i n c h e s . Frozen ground was not c o n t i n u o u s , e x i s t i n g c h i e f l y i n t h e moss hummocks under t h e t r e e s . No f r o z e n muskeg was noted i n open a r e a s where t h e muskeg was exposed t o t h e d i r e c t r a y s of t h e s u n .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e o r g a n i c d e p o s i t v a r i e d from 18 i n c h e s i n t h e d e p r e s s i o n s t o

36- i n c h e s i n t h e hummocks. The p e a t w a s d a r k brown a l i g h t e r brown a t t h e t o p d i r e c t l y beneath t h e moss.

It was non-woody f i n e f i b r o u s , w i t h woody e r r a t i c s . The muskeg was u n d e r l a i n by sand.

3.3

_- S i t e LL2M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : J u l y 28, 1955.

( b ) Location: T h i s a r e a was a l s o between t h e town of Lynn Lake and t h e l a k e i t s e l f . It was a small l o c a l i z e d

r e g i o n of about 3000 square f e e t i n s i z e , w i t h i n t h e l a r g e r a r e a of S i t e LLlM.

( c ) S u r f a c e v e g e t a t i o n : The v e g e t a t i o n was t a l l g r a s s e s and s e d g e s , 2 _{t o}

5

_{f e e t h i g h , t a l l woody s h r u b s and}

a mat of moss. T h i s r e p r e s e n t s coverage c l a s s C D I

( ~ i g . 1 5 ) . The m a t w a s tough and f i b r o u s and could n o t e a s i l y be p e n e t r a t e d w i t h a s h o v e l .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : I n c o n t r a s t t o t h e BE1 t y p e muskeg, t h i s muskeg w a s e x t r e m e l y w e t , w i t h t h e w a t e r - t a b l e p r a c t i c a l l y a t t h e s u r f a c e . A w a t e r sample had t o be

t a k e n from t h e s u r f a c e because i t was d i f f i c u l t t o d i g a h o l e i n t h e muskeg. T h i s w a t e r was a f a i r l y deep yellow and had a pH measurement of 5.1.

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : F r o s t was not encountered i n t h i s e x t r e m e l y wet t y p e of muskeg e x c e p t a t t h e edges of t h e a r e a where i t was a b i t d r i e r . Here s c a t t e r e d a r e a s of f r o s t were noted a t an 18-inch d e p t h , but o f t e n t h e f r o z e n l a y e r was o n l y a few i n c h e s t h i c k . ( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg was

found t o be 40 i n c h e s w h i c h was d e e p e r t h a n t h e nearby BE1 t y p e . The p e a t was dark brown and was non-woody f i n e f i b r o u s . Underlying t h e muskeg was a t h i n l a y e r of c l a y e y s i l t below which was sand.

3 . 4 Local Muskeg Problems

I n q u i r i e s and p e r s o n a l o b s e r v a t i o n s r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e r e were no p a r t i c u l a r e n g i n e e r i n g problems i n t h e a r e a r e s u l t i n g d i r e c t l y from t h e muskeg c o n d i t i o n s . The BE1 t y p e muskeg o r i g i n a l l y extended p a r t way up t h e s l o p e of t h e r i d g e on which t h e town i s s i t u a t e d . When t h e b u i l d i n g s and s t r e e t s were b u i l t , t h e muskeg was s t r i p p e d o f f . T h i s was e a s y t o do

because t h e o r g a n i c d e p o s i t was shallow. The S h e r r i t t - G o r d o n Mining Company a p p a r e n t l y have no muskeg problems i n connec- t i o n w i t h t h e i r work.

4 . M u s k e ~ F e a t u r e s a t B i r d , Manitoba 4 . 1 General

_--

B i r d i s a r a i l w a y s i d i n g on t h e Hudson Bay Railway a t Mile 347 n o r t h of The Pas. It i s s i t u a t e d a t 56O 3 0 1 N . , 94"

1 4 ' W . ( F i g . 5 ) . The a r e a i n v e s t i g a t e d e x t e n d s a l o n g t h e Hudson Bay Railway from Mile 347 t o Mile 351. B i r d i s a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 308 f e e t above s e a l e v e l . The t e r r a i n i s g e n e r a l l y q u i t e f l a t , w i t h no l a k e s , but i s broken o c c a s i o n a l l y by r i d g e s of m i n e r a l s o i l . Much of t h e t e r r a i n i s f a i r l y h e a v i l y wooded. I n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a r e a , t h e Limestone R i v e r i s f a i r l y c l o s e t o t h e r a i l w a y l i n e . S i n c e it i s i n a deep v a l l e y , t h e s l o p e of t h e l a n d n e a r t h e r a i l w a y l i n e i s f a i r l y s h a r p down towards t h e r i v e r . Much of t h e t e r r a i n i s o r g a n i c , a l t h o u g h t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k i t s e l f i s on a sand r i d g e a t t h i s p o i n t and t h u s problems of c o n s t r u c t i o n i n muskeg had been

l a r g e l y a v o i d e d . P a r t of t h i s r i d g e had been used a s a s o u r c e f o r f i l l m a t e r i a l when t h e r a i l w a y l i n e was b u i l t , s o had been s t r i p p e d of v e g e t a t i o n .

Muskeg i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t h i s a r e a c o n s i s t e d c h i e f l y of walking a l o n g t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k i n b o t h d i r e c t i o n s and making n o t e s of t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of muskeg e n c o u n t e r e d , t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , e t c . F i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were c a r r i e d o u t w i t h a H o f f e r Probe and a s t a n d a r d screw-type hand s o i l a u g e r . Chunk samples of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l were o b t a i n e d by means of a c o l l a p s i b l e s h o v e l , and were s u b s e q u e n t l y s e a l e d

i n p o l y e t h y l e n e bags. Water samples were o b t a i n e d from h o l e s dug i n t h e muskeg and were s t o r e d i n 1 - l i t r e c a p a c i t y p o l y - e t h y l e n e b o t t l e s . pH v a l u e s were measured u s i n g a LaMotte- Morgan S o i l T e s t i n g S e t .

S i t e E1M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August 4 , 1955.

( b ) Location: Mile 347.25, Hudson Bay Railway, n o r t h s i d e of t r a c k .

S u r f a c e coverage: The muskeg t y p e i n v e s t i g a t e d a t t h i s s i t e was c l a s s DFIB. T h i s r e p r e s e n t s t a l l s h r u b s

I

from 2 _{t o}

5

_{f e e t h i g h ) predominantly s h o r t g r a s s e s}

0 t o 2 _{f e e t h i g h ) a moss m a t and o c c a s i o n a l scrubby}

s p r u c e t r e e s , l e s s t h a n 1 5 f e e t i n h e i g h t . The s h r u b s grew i n clumps and u s u a l l y on s m a l l hummocks of moss. T h i s s i t e i s l o c a l i z e d and merges i n t o a n a r e a of c l a s s AEH muskeg, r e p r e s e n t i n g t a l l t r e e s

( s p r u c e ) over 1 5 f e e t h i g h , low s h r u b s l e s s t h a n 2 f e e t h i g h and a mat of l i c h e n o r moss ( F i g .

1 6 ) .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : T h i s s i t e b o r d e r s a small s t r e a m which d o u b t l e s s h a s some e f f e c t on i t s d r a i n a g e , a t l e a s t w i t h i n a few f e e t of t h e s t r e a m . The f i o w of t h e s t r e a m i s n o r t h e r l y towards t h e Limestone R i v e r . The s u r f a c e of t h i s s m a l l r e g i o n a p p e a r s q u i t e d r y and e a s y t o walk o v e r . When a h o l e i s dug i n t h e

muskeg, w a t e r r i s e s t o w i t h i n 18 i n c h e s of t h e s u r f a c e of t h e ground. A w a t e r sample was t a k e n and was a l i g h t y e l l o w . The p H measurement was

6 . 4 .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : Frozen muskeg was e n c o u n t e r e d o n l y i n t h e moss hummocks b e n e a t h t h e s h r u b s and t r e e s . The d e p t h t o f r o s t was 2 f e e t . I n more open a r e a s , no f r o s t was found

.

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg w a s about 40 i n c h e s . It was u n d e r l a i n by a sandy s i l t . The p e a t was l i g h t brown. Near t h e t o p it was f i n e f i b r o u s , non-woody, w i t h woody e r r a t i c s , but below t h e 1 - f o o t l e v e l i t was more amorphous g r a n u l a r i n non-woody f i n e f i b r o u s and a b i t d a r k e r brown. 4 . 3 S i t e B2M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d :

--

August 2 , 1955.

( b ) L o c a t i o n : Mile 347.5 Hudson Bay Railway L i n e , n o r t h s i d e of t r a c k .

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: A t t h i s s i t e , t h e coverage c l a s s i -

f i c a t i o n w a s

Am1

on t h e n o r t h s i d e of t h e t r a c k .

T h i s r e p r e s e n t s a r a t h e r dense growth of s p r u c e t r e e s , predominantly o v e r 15 f e e t h i g h , but some l e s s t h a n 1 5 f e e t , low woody s h r u b s , l e s s t h a n 2 f e e t h i g h , and moss ( ~ i g . 1 7 ) . Hummocks a r e f a i r l y f r e q u e n t as i s u s u a l f o r t h i s t y p e of muskeg. On t h e s o u t h s i d e of t h e t r a c k t h e v e g e t a t i o n was observed t o be a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t i n t h a t t h e t r e e s were a l i t t l e s c r u b b i e r and s p a r s e r . T h i s was c l a s s BE1 muskeg.

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : - No w a t e r sample was t a k e n a t t h i s s i t e . Although t h e r e was no p a r t i c u l a r e v i d e n c e of n a t u r a l d r a i n a g e , t h e r e was v e r y l i t t l e f r e e w a t e r . The t e r r a i n was q u i t e d r y and f i r m t o walk o v e r . ( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : Frozen ground was e n c o u n t e r e d a t a

d e p t h of 18 i n c h e s . Probing r e v e a l e d t h a t i t was t h e g r a n u l a r s o i l b e n e a t h t h e muskeg t h a t was f r o z e n ,

r a t h e r t h a n t h e o r g a n i c c o v e r . The d e p t h of t h e f r o s t p e n e t r a t i o n i s n o t known.

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The muskeg was 18 i n c h e s d e e p . It was u n d e r ' f m b y a s i l t y sand c o n t a i n i n g

small s t o n e s . Below t h e y e l l o w i s h - r e d moss c o v e r , t h e p e a t was b l a c k and was i n a h i g h l y decomposed, amorphous g r a n u l a r s t a t e .

4 . 4 S i t e B3M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August 4 , 1955.

( b ) Location: Mile 347.6, Hudson Bay Railway.

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: A t t h i s s i t e t h e r e a r e small l o c a l i z e d a r e a s of c l a s s C I muskeg on both s i d e s of t h e t r a c k . T h i s c l a s s r e p r e s e n t s t a l l g r a s s , 2 t o

5

f e e t h i g h , w i t h a moss mat ( F i g .

18).

T h i s merges i n t o an a r e a c l a s s BAD1 m ~ s k e g , r e p r e s e n t i n g p r e - dominantly scrubby t r e e s ( s p r u c e ) l e s s t h a n

15

f e e t h i g h w i t h some t a l l e r t r e e s , t a l l woody s h r u b s , 2 t o 5 f e e t h i g h and a moss cover. S e v e r a l such small a r e a s of type C I muskeg occur a l o n g t h e r a i l w a y between m i l e s 347 and 349.

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : The s m a l l a r e a s of c l a s s C I muskeg a r e covered wixh s e v e r a l i n c h e s of w a t e r , and have t h e appearance of f l o a t i n g bogs. It was impossible t o walk a c r o s s them. The w a t e r a t t h i s s i t e was

l i g h t yellow, and had a pH measurement of 7.2. A w a t e r sample was o b t a i n e d from t h e s u r f a c e of t h e muskeg.

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : Since t h i s muskeg would not b e a r t h e weight of a man, probing was impossible. However, i t

i s q u i t e l i k e l y t h a t i t was not f r o z e n a t any d e p t h , due t o t h e h i g h w a t e r c o n t e n t and exposure t o t h e sun. ( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : It was n o t p o s s i b l e t o o b t a i n t h e e x a c t d e p t h of t h e muskeg a t t h i s s i t e , n o r of t h e type of s u b s o i l . The d e p t h i s g r e a t e r t h a n 3 f e e t however. 4.5 S i t e B4M Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August

( b ) Location: Mile 348.0, Hudson Bay Railway.

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: The v e g e t a t i o n a t t h i s s i t e w a s predominantly scrubby spruce ( w i t h dnly a n o c c a s i o n a l t r e e over 1 5 f e e t h i g h ) and a heavy reddish-brown moss c o v e r . There were a v e r y few low woody s h r u b s .

Around t h e bases oB t h e t r e e s were u s u a l l y mossy hummocks, which o f t e n joined t o g e t h e r t o ~ o r m e i t h e r

long r i d g e s o r p l a t e a ~ x . T h i s coverage p a t t e r n r e p r e s e n t s type B I muskeg. Q u i t e f r e q u e n t l y , t h e r e were small l o c a l i z e d a r e a s where t h e mat would be a l i g h t grey l i c h e n r a t h e r t h a n t h e moss. T h i s would be covelage c l a s s BH ( F i g . 1 9 ) . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r s i t e appearea t o be most t y p i c a l of t h e g e n e r a l a r e a around t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n camp, a l t h o u g h t h e coverage p r o p o r t i o n between t h e v e g e t a t i v e elements making up t h e formula may change from time t o t ime

.

I n some p l a c e s , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e r e would be a d e n s e r growth of low s h r u b s , g i v i n g t h e more f a m i l i a r formula of c l a s s B E I .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : There was no evidence of n a t u r a l d r a i n a g e a t t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t , and t h e muskeg was q u i t e wet. I n t h e mossy r e g i o n s , when a h o l e was dug, t h e w a t e r r o s e t o w i t h i n about a f o o t of t h e s u r f a c e . A sample was o b t a i n e d , and was a very l i g h t yellow c o l o u r . It had a pH measurement of 5 . 2 .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : The depth t o f r o s t was about 1 8 i n c h e s . Frozen m u s k e g e x i s t e d c h i e f l y under a heavy moss

cover, e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e hummocks a t t h e base of t h e t r e e s .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg was about 40 i n c h e s . L t was u n d e r l a i n by a s i l t y sand, c o n t a i n i n g small s t o n e s o r pebbles. The p e a t was yellowish-brown, ranging t o a d a r k brown a s it went d e e p e r . It was f i n e f i b r o u s , non-woody w i t h o c c a s i o n a l woody f i b r e s and woody e r r a t i c s .

4 . 6 S i t e B5M

Date i n v e s t i g a t e d :

---

August 3 ,

( b ) Location: Mile 351.25, Hudson Bay Railway, n o r t h s i d e of t r a c k .

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: The v e g e t a t i o n a t t h i s s i t e was scrubby spruce t r e e s , l e s s t h a n 15 f e e t high, t a l l

woody s h r b b s , 2 t o 5 f e e t h i g h , and a l i c h e n mat. T h i s r e p r e s e n t s c l a s s BDH ( ~ i g . 2 0 ) .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : No water sample was t a k e n a t t h i s

site. The t e r r a i n was very wet t o walk on, w a t e r appearing a t t h e s u r f a c e a t each s t e p .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : Probing r e v e a l e d a very t h i n l a y e r of Frozen ground a t t h e t r a n s i t i o n zone between t h e o r g a n i c

l a y e r and t h e m i n e r a l s u b s o i l . T h i s was a t a d e p t h of 30 inches which was t h e g r e a t e s t d e p t h t o f r o s t encoun- t e r e d i n t h i s r e g i o n .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg was

m m c c h e s T - a n d s

u n d e r l a i n by s a n d . Local Muskeg Problems

-

----

P a r t of a r e c e n t l y c o n s t r u c t e d r a i l w a y s i d i n g had been b u i l t i n a muskeg a r e a . The BI and BH c l a s s muskeg was

a p p a r e n t l y q u i t e e a s i l y b u l l d o z e d and t h e embankment f o r t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k s b u i l t on t h e m i n e r a l s o i l b e n e a t h . The muskeg i s q u i t e f i b r o u s and p r o v i d e s a f a i r l y good f o u n d a t i o n f o r l i g h t v e h i c l e s . Because t h e muskeg i s s h a l l o w , i t i s e a s y t o e x c a v a t e .

5. Muskeg F e a t u r e s a t Knob Lake, Quebec _---..---

5 . 1 General _--

The town of S h e f f e r v i l l e ( ~ n o b ~ a k e ) i s s i t u a t e d i n t h e c e n t r e of t h e Quebec-Labrador P e n i n s u l a a t 54* 4 8 ' N . ,

66O 491 W . ( ~ i g . 6 ) a t a n e l e v a t i o n of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1800 f e e t above s e a l e v e l . It i s connected t o Seven I s l a n d s , on t h e Gulf of S t . Lawrence, by a 360-mile-long r a i l w a y l i n e . The s o i l a t t h e t o w n s i t e c o n s i s t s of a few f e e t of c o a r s e sand and g r a v e l o v e r l y i n g h i g h l y c o n t o r t e d s t r a t a of s h a l e and

s l a t e . I n some a r e a s where bedrock i s a t t h e s u r f a c e , i t h a s weathered i n t o f r a g m e n t s t o a d e p t h of s e v e r a l f e e t .

The t e r r a i n around Knob Lake i s p r e d o m i n a n t l y h i l l y and i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e rugged c o u n t r y of t h e Labrador- N o r t h e r n Quebec r e g i o n . I n t h e v a l l e y s between t h e many r o c k y h i l l s and r i d g e s a r e many l a k e s and ponds of v a r y i n g s i z e and d e p t h . Sometimes t h e s t a g e of v e g e t a t i v e development i s such t h a t t h e l a k e o r pond h a s been f i l l e d i n by o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l and i s , t h e r e f o r e , a n o r g a n i c d e p o s i t . Such p o c k e t s of muskeg a s were observed were f r e q u e n t l y q u i t e s m a l l and l o c a l i z e d and w i t h no e v i d e n c e of d r a i n a g e . From t h e a i r , a number of

s t r i r g bogs were s e e n

-

t h o s e p e c u l i a r phenomena known l o c a l l y a s " f s s t o o n e d marshes'' - b u t t h e r e were none s d f i c i e n t l y

c l o s c t o Knob Lake t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d a t ground l e v e l . Muskeg i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a t Knob Lake c o n s i s t e d o f : a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s of l o c a l o f f i c i a l s of t h e B e l l Telephone Company and I r o n Ore Company of Canada about muskeg and prob- lems a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t ; examining a t c l o s e hand t h r e e a r e a s w i t h i n l a r g e expanse of muskeg b e s i d e t h e a i r s t r i p a t Knsb

Lake ( K L ~ M , KL2M and K L ~ M ) , which was t h e l a r g e s t o r g a n i c d e p o s i t observed i n t h e a r e a ; and examining a t c l o s e hand t h e muskeg c o n d i t i o n s a t two l o c a t i o n s a b o u t 90 and 150 m i l e s west of Knob Lake (KL4M and K L ~ M ) . F i e l d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s were

s o i l a u g e r . Chunk samples of o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l were o b t a i n e d w i t h a c o l l a p s i b l e s h o v e l , and were s u b s e q u e n t l y s e a l e d i n p o l y e t h y l e n e bags. Water samples were o b t a i n e d from a h o l e dug i n t h e muskeg, and s t o r e d i n 1 - l i t r e c a p a c i t y p o l y e t h y l e n e b o t t l e s . pH v a l u e s were measured u s i n g a LaMotte-Morgan S o i l T e s t i n g S e t .

5.2

-

S i t e KLlM

( a ) --- Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August 15, 1955.

( b ) Location: A t s o u t h e a s t end of l a r g e muskeg expanse on southwest s i d e of a i r s t r i p , running p a r a l l e l t o i t . c ) S u r f a c e coverage: The v e g e t a t i o n was c h i e f l y s h o r t

sedge g r a s s e s ( l e s s t h a n 1 f o o t h i g h ) growing i n clumps; low woody shrubs ( b l u e b e r r y ) ; very s c a t t e r e d growth of scrubby s p r u c e , about 2 f e e t h i g h ; hummocks and mounds of r e d d i s h - y e l l o w moss a t f r e q u e n t i n t e r - v a l s . T h i s v e g e t a t i v e c o v e r r e p r e s e n t s c l a s s FEI muskeg ( ~ i g . 2 1 ) .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : The muskeg was v e r y wet and soggy; theE5-G-Ti6-57Tdence of n a t u r a l d r a i n a g e . When a h o l e was dug i n t h e t e r r a i n , t h e w a t e r r o s e r i g h t t o t h e s u r f a c e . A w a t e r samples was o b t a i n e d and was a v e r y l i g h t yellow c o l o u r . The p H was measured a t

5.0 as a n average of s e v e r a l t e s t s .

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : No f r o z e n ground was encountered a t t h i s s i t e .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The o r g a n i c d e p o s i t was a b o X - 4 T X d E F i j - Z F 3 h i s l o c a t i o n . The eat was

brownish i n colo;r, q u i t e h i g h l y d e c ~ m ~ o s e d . It was amorphous g r a n u l a r i n non-woody f i n e f i L , ,, IAS

,

w i t h

woody e r r a t i c s . The s u b s o i l was a s i l t w i t h o c c a s i o n a l s t o n e s .

5 . 3

_----

S i t e KL2M

( a )

--

Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August 15, 1955.

( b ) Location: A few hundred f e e t northwest of s i t e K L l M .

( c ) S u r f a c e coverage: Within t h e g e n e r a l a r e a of FEI coverage a r e p a t c h e s of t y p e F I muskeg. The v e g e t a - t i o n c o n s i s t s c h i e f l y of s h o r t sedges o r g r a s s e s , w i t h some low moss hummocks and a v e r y o c c a s i o n a l occurrence of low woody s h r u b s .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : _-. Water f l o o d s t h e s u r f a c e of t h i s t y p e of muskeg. T h i s makes t h e s e p a t c h e s v e r y

t r e a c h e r o u s and d i f f i c u l t t o walk o v e r . The w a t e r was a l i g h t yellowish-brown. No samples were t a k e n . Depth t o f r o s t : F r o s t was n o t e n c o u n t e r e d a t t h i s

s i t e .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The d e p t h of t h e muskeg was =out 6 f e e t . T h Z - m m a t e r i a l was l i g h t brown. The m i n e r a l s u b s o i l was a s i l t .

5.4 S i t e KL3M

( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : _--- August 15,

1955.

( b ) L o c a t i o n : Near t h e s o u t h e a s t edge of l a r g e expanse of meadow-like muskeg s e v e r a l hundred f e e t n o r t h w e s t of s i t e s K L l M and KL2M.

( c ) S u r f a c e c o v e r a g e : The v e g e t a t i o n was p r e d o m i n a n t l y s h o r t g r a s s , a b o u t 6 i n c h e s h i g h and a d a r k brown mossy mat. There were p r a c t i c a l l y no s h r u b s . T h i s r e p r e s e n t s t y p e F I muskeg, even though i t had q u i t e a d i f f e r e n t a p p e a r a n c e from t y p e F I of s i t e KL2M

( F i g . 2 2 ) .

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : Near t h e edge of t h i s a r e a , t h e € Z E % T n i a ~ u ~ e d r y . However, a s one proceeded towards t h e c e n t r e , i t g o t p r o g r e s s i v e l y w e t t e r , becoming e x t r e m e l y t r e a c h e r o u s t o walk o v e r . When a h o l e w a s dug, t h e w a t e r came r i g h t t o t h e s u r f a c e .

A w a t e r sample was o b t a i n e d , which was v i r t u a l l y c o l o u r l e s s , h a v i n g a pH measurement of

5.5.

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : -. No f r o s t was e n c o u n t e r e d a t t h i s s i t e .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The muskeg d e p o s i t was aboGt-6-fZZt-aZSj5-near t h e edge

.

The m i n e r a l s u b s o i l was a s i l t . The p e a t was medium brown c o l o u r , and w a s amorphous g r a n u l a r i n non-woody f i n e f i b r o u s . It was e a s y t o d i g a h o l e a s t h e p e a t h e l d i t s form v e r y w e l l . It had t h e g e n e r a l a p p e a r a n c e of a s t i f f brown "mud "

.

S i t e K L ~ M 5 . 5 - - _ - ( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d : August

16,

1955. ( b ) L o c a t i o n : L o c a t i o n No. 1, a b o u t 9 0 m i l e s west of Knob Lake, Quebec ( F i g . 1 ) .

S u r f a c e c o v e r a g e : The t e r r a i n was q u i t e r o c k y ,

u s u a l l y w i t h a t h i n l a y e r of g r a n u l a r s o i l o v e r b u r d e n c o v e r e d by

3

t o

5

i n c h e s of c r i s p , w h i t e l i c h e n .

The l i c h e n i s wet and soggy u n d e r n e a t h a t t h e p o i n t of c o n t a c t w i t h t h e sand o r g r a v e l ( o r r o c k ) s o t h a t i t i s s l i p p e r y t o walk o v e r . There was a f a i r l y

heavy growth of s c r u b b y s p r u c e t r e e s . T h i s r e p r e s e n t e d c l a s s BH muskeg. P a t c h e s of c l a s s B I E muskeg were

a l s o o b s e r v e d , r e p r e s e n t i n g s c r u b b y t r e e s , a moss c o v e r (hummocky) and woody s h r u b s l e s s t h a n 2 f e e t h i g h . One such a r e a was b e i n g c l e a r e d f o r a c a m p s i t e .

A f u r t h e r a r e a of p r e d o m i n a n t l y t y p e F I muskeg was a l s o o b s e r v e d . T h i s r e p r e s e n t e d c h i e f l y g r a s s e s ,

l e s s t h a n 2 _{f e e t h i g h , growing i n clumps, and moss.}

W i t h i n t h i s small r e g i o n were p a t c h e s of IE muskeg, p r e d o m i n a n t l y moss w i t h o c c a s i o n a l low woody s h r u b s . d ) Water -. c o n d i t i o n s : Class BH muskeg was r e l a t i v e l y d r y ,

e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e s u r f a c e . Class BIE was v e r y wet and soggy, even on a s l o p e . The F I muskeg was i n a d e p r e s s i o n a l m o s t a t t h e l e v e l of a n a d j o i n i n g l a k e and was e x t r e m e l y w e t . There was a pond a t t h e c e n t r e of t h e d e p o s i t . Water came t o t h e s u r f a c e of a h o l e dug i n t h e muskeg. No w a t e r samples were t a k e n . ( e ) - Depth t o f r o s t : No f r o s t was e n c o u n t e r e d a t t h i s

s i t e .

( f ) Depth of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The BH muskeg ( a b o r d e r l i n e c o n d i t i o n ) was o n l y

3

t o 5 i n c h e s t h i c k , u n d e r l a i n by s a n d o r g r a v e l . Class BIE muskeg was a b o u t

18

i n c h e s d e e p , a l s o o v e r l y i n g s a n d . The IE d e p o s i t was a b o u t

3 f e e t d e e p , o v e r l y i n g a s i l t y s o i l . The p e a t of t y p e I E muskeg was d a r k brown, amorphous g r a n u l a r i n woody f i n e f i b r o u s . 5 . 6 S i t e KL5M - ( a ) Date i n v e s t i g a t e d :

_--

August

16, 1955.

( b )

-

L o c a t i o n : L o c a t i o n No. 2 , a b o u t 150 m i l e s w e s t of ~ n o b l ; a k e ( F i g . 1 ) . ( c ) S u r f a c e c o v e r a g e : The v e g e t a t i o n was t a l l t r e e s ( o v e r E T e e t h i g h ) w i t h a l i c h e n m a t , r e p r e s e n t i n g c l a s s AH muskeg.

( d ) Water c o n d i t i o n s : T h i s t y p e of muskeg was v e r y d r y ,

_---

( e ) Depth t o f r o s t : _- No f r o s t was e n c o u n t e r e d .

( f ) De t h of o r g a n i c d e p o s i t : The l i c h e n was o n l y a few - ~ t ~ a s u n d e r l a i n by sand o r g r a v e l .

5.7 _--- Local Muskeg Problems

I n q u i r i e s r e v e a l e d t h a t n e i t h e r t h e B e l l Telephone Company n o r t h e I r o n Ore Coopany a r e e x p e r i e n c i n g any muskeg problems i n t h e a r e a . B u i l d i n g s and r o z d s at Knob Lake and i n t h e immediate a r e a a r e s i t e d on g r a n u l a r s o i l .

6 . - Muskeg F e a t u r e s a t Great Whale R i v e r , Quebec

6 . 1 G e n e r a l

The s e t t l e m e n t of Great Whale R i v e r i s s i t u a t e d a t

55'

1 7 ' N . , 77" 46' W . , on t h e e a s t s h o r e of Hudson Bay a b o u t 90 m i l e s n o r t h of t h e e n t r a n c e t o James Bay ( F i g . 6 ) . The n a t i v e v i l l a g e i s s i t u a t e d on a s e r i e s of beach r i d g e s which form a t r i a n g u l a r sand d e p o s i t on t h e n o r t h bank of t h e

Great Whale R i v e r ( F i g . 2 3 ) . The s e r i e s of p a r a l l e l beach r i d g e s r u n s i n a n o r t h e a s t - s o u t h w e s t d i r e c t i o n p a r a l l e l t o t h e p r e s e n t s h o r e l i n e ( F i g . 2 4 ) . Each i s a b o u t

6

f e e t h i g h and e x t e n d f o r a d i s t a n c e of one o r two m i l e s .

The muskeg observed a t G r e a t Whale R i v e r was of a b o r d e r l i n e n a t u r e . The c h i e f v e g e t a t i v e f e a t u r e of the a r e a was t h e g r e y i s h - w h i t e l i c h e n growth c o v e r i n g t h e sand r i d g e s . Although t h i s i s o n l y 3 t o

5

i n c h e s d e e p , i t may be c o r r e c t l y termed " o r g a n i c t e r r a i n " ( o r s u s k e g ), and i s p u r e c l a s s H . On t h e s u r f a c e , t h e l i c h e n was d r y and c r i s p but was wet and soggy u n d e r n e a t h a t t h e p o i n t of c o n t a c t w i t h t h e m i n e r a l s o i l . T h i s made i t s l i p p e r y t o walk o v e r and r e d u c e d t h e t r a c t i o n

of wheeled v e h i c l e s . O t h e r t h a n t h i s s p e c i a l f e a t u r e , no o t h e r o r g a n i c d e p o s i t s were observed i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e s e t t l e m e n t of Great Whale R i v e r . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The a u t h o r w i s h e s t o e x p r e s s h i s a p p r e c i a t i o n t o t h e f o l l o w i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s and p e r s o n s f o r t h e i r v a l u a b l e a s s i s - t a n c e r e n d e r e d i n t h e c o u r s e of t h e summer's r e s e a r c h program: The B e l l Telephone Company of Canada and i n p a r t i c u l a r ,

M r . B.C. Nowlan, P l a n n i n g E n g i n e e r of t h e S p e c i a l C o n t r a c t s Department; The Royal Canadian A i r F o r c e and i n p a r t i c u l a r , Squadron Leader H.D. Monteith; M r . R.F. Comstock, Town

E n g i n e e r of F l i n F l o n , Manitoba; M r . C . R . Neely, Town

A d m i n i s t r a t o r of Lynn Lake, Manitoba; M r . H.E. Neal, G e o l o g i s t of t h e I r o n Ore Company of Canada L i m i t e d a t Knob Lake, Quebec.

APPENDIX A

C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e , Manitoba

A l . L o c a t i o n

C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e i s s i t u a t e d a t 54O 35IN., 101" 27 'W., on

t h e East A r m of Lake Athapapuskow on t h e p o r t a g e of a n o l d f u r t r a d ? r o u t e between t h i s l a k e and t h e C r a n b e r r y Lakes. It 1s on Manitoba Highway 1 0 , 54 m i l e s n o r t h of The Pas allu 39 m i l e s s o u t h -

e a s t of F l i n F l o n . It i s a l s o on t h e main C . N . R . l i n e from The

P a s t o F l i n F l o n . Lake Athapapuskow has a n e l e v a t i o n of 956 f e e t above s e a l e v e l .

A2. S i t e and G e n e r a l F e a t u r e s

The t e r r a i n i s bedrock, s c a t t e r e d d e p o s i t s of g l a c i a l m a t e r i a l and muskeg, and many l a k e s . C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e i s b u i l t on a sand r i d g e r u n n i n g n o r t h and s o u t h , r i s i n g up from Lake Athapapuskow. Lake Athapapuskow h a s a s h o r e l i n e of 1400 m i l e s and i s

18

m i l e s a c r o s s a t i t s w i d e s p o i n t . To t h e

n o r t h e a s t of t h e town i s t h e F i r s t C r a n b e r r y Lake, t h e e l e v a t i o n of which i s 11 f e e t h i g h e r t h a n Lake Athapapuskow. The C r a n b e r r y Lakes a r e i n t h e C h u r c h i l l R i v e r w a t e r s h e d whereas Lake Athapapuskow i s i n t h e Saskatchewan R i v e r w a t e r s h e d .

The v i l l a g e of C r a n b e r r y P o r t a g e h a s one main s t r e e t l e a d i n g from t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k and i n t e r s e c t i n g Highway No. 1 0 a t r i g h t a n g l e s . A l l t h e b u s i n e s s e s t a b l i s h m e n t s a r e on t h i s

main s t r e e t . S e v e r a l narrow s t r e e t s r u n p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e main s t r e e t , on which t h e p r i v a t e r e s i d e n c e s , c h u r c h e s and

s c h o o l a r e l o c a t e d . The b u i l d i n g s have no planned l a y o u t and t a r p a p e r s h a c k s and l o g c a b i n s a r e a d j a c e n t t o modern frame b u i l d i n g s . The b u s i n e s s e s t a b l i s h m e n t s i n c l u d e one h o t e l w i t h

b e e r p a r l o u r , two g e n e r a l s t o r e s , two c a f e s , two g r o c e r y s t o r e s , two g a r a g e s , shoe r e p a i r shop, poolroom, t h e a t r e , d r T 1 - s t o r e and r a i l w a y s t a t i o n . T h e r e i s a l s o a c u r l i n g r i n k , a community h a l l , two c h u r c h e s ( P r e s b y t e r i a n and Roman c a t h o l i c ) , a p u b l i c s c h o o l

(9

g r a d e s ) and s e v e r a l t o u r i s t l o d g e s . The Department of Mines and N a t u r a l R e s o u r c e s of t h e Manitoba Government m a i n t a i n s a nwnber of b u i l d i n g s on t h e l a k e - f r o m . S e v e r a l

i n s t a n c e s of d i f f e r e n t i a l s e t t l e m e n t were n o t e d b u t t h e s e were due t o d e t e r i o r a t i o n of f o u n d a t i o n s made from u n t r e a t e d t i m b e r r a t h e r t h a n f r o s t a c t i o n o r s o i l s e t t l e m e n t .

A s i x hundred f o o t s t r i p of l a n d a l o n g t h e l a k e - f r o n t (Lake Athapapuskow) h a s been s e t a s i d e as a p u b l i c p a r k . T h i s i s now b e i n g developed i n t o p i c n i c and camping g r o u n d s . Beach f a c i l i t i e s i n c l u d e s w : mning and b o a t r e n t a l s .