Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait.
The territory comprised in this group includes the islands of Southampton, Coats, Nottingham, Salisbury, Charles and Resolution, along with the shores of the northwest part of Hudson bay, and the south shore of Hudson strait.
The geological information concerning this group obtained prior to the present voyage is contained in the reports of Dr. Bell, Tyrrell and the writer.
Crystalline gneisses, schists and granites occupy the eastern and northern parts of Southampton, extending northward from Seahorse point to Frozen strait at the northern end of the island. The rocks near the junction of the Archæan with the Silurian at Seahorse point are largely a very quartzose, light-gray mica-gneiss, associated with bands of rusty-weathering, fine-grained mica-gneiss holding graphite in small flakes, the rusty colour being due to the decomposition of small grains of pyrite disseminated through the rock. This rusty gneiss closely resembles that found in the vicinity of Cape Wolstenholme at the entrance to Hudson strait, and both appear to be similar to the sillimanite gneiss of the Grenville series of southern Canada. Both of the above rocks are cut and twisted by masses of a coarser granite-gneiss pink to red in colour, with pearly feldspar and smoky quartz. All are cut by dikes of feldspathic pegmatite containing much of the pearly feldspar.
The only notes relating to the Archæan area to the north of Seahorse point are those of Parry and Back, both of whom mention the occurrence of granites and crystalline rocks in several places to the northward.
The band of Archæan rocks which crosses the eastern part of Coats island has never been examined closely, and our knowledge of it is confined to observations made from the ship in passing.
The high rocky shores of the eastern and northern sides of Salisbury island were closely followed by the Neptune, so that the red, crystalline rocks forming its cliffs could easily be seen. The prevailing rock was red, or pink, and only occasionally were darker masses seen.
Nottingham, which lies south of Salisbury in the western part of Hudson strait, was visited by Dr. Bell in 1884 and 1885, when he examined the rocks in the neighbourhood of Port De Boucherville, in its southeast part, and he there found along with the common varieties of gneiss a number of patches of fine-grained red syenite.
Charles island is wholly formed of Archæan gneisses. The prevailing rock in the western part is a fine-grained light-gray, or pink mica-gneiss, associated with medium to coarse-grained mica-hornblende granite-gneiss; the latter cutting and altering the light-coloured gneisses.
Resolution island has never been visited by a geologist, and consequently its rocks can only be described from observations made while passing it in the ships. The rocks everywhere appear to be crystalline Archæan, a red variety predominating.