Sir John Franklin, in his description of the country around Fort Franklin on Great Bear lake (1825), wrote:—“The trees at some distance from our fort consisted of black and white spruce, and larch, generally small, though a few of the better grown measured from four to five feet in girth, and were from fifty to fifty-five feet high. Doctor Richardson ascertained, by counting the annual rings, that some of them, in a sound state, were upwards of one hundred and thirty years old, while others which were not much greater in size, had two hundred and fifty rings, but these were decayed at the heart.”
Mr. E. A. Preble of the United States Biological Survey, the most recent scientific explorer of Great Bear lake and its basin, in his report, states:—
“The northern shores of Great Bear lake are mainly low and thinly wooded, 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 Coppermine. Several important streams enter the lake from the north. Several others draining a very large extent of country to the southward enter MacTavish 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 southern tributaries is very rough and rocky, though fairly well wooded, and is traversed in various directions by ranges of low mountains.
“The 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 herbaceous 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 McVicar bay, and extends inland for several miles. On this area the faunal and floral conditions are practically those of the Barren Grounds.”
The Spruce of Great Bear Lake.
According to Mr. Preble, along the southern shore of Great Bear lake, the white spruce “forms the bulk of the forest. In exposed situations near Leith point it is somewhat dwarfed, seldom exceeding a diameter of one foot and a maximum height of forty feet. A few miles back from the shore, in slightly more favourable locations, trees two feet in diameter at the base were seen, but none of these exceeded thirty feet in height. A tree twelve inches in diameter growing in an exposed situation near the shore had two hundred and fifty-seven annual rings. In this specimen the outer layers were exceedingly thin and could be counted only by the aid of a fine-pointed needle. At this rate, the age of a tree of twice this diameter can scarcely be estimated at less than one thousand years. Farther west along the shore the species attains greater perfection of habit, especially in some of the sheltered bays. At Fort Franklin it is the commonest tree, but at present is represented by scarcely any individuals of the original forest, which has been removed for building purposes. Trees over eight or nine inches in diameter are rare. A sapling four feet in height and one inch in diameter, on the site of Fort Franklin, had been growing for thirteen years.”
The Site of Fort Franklin.
“The country about Fort Franklin (which Mr. Preble visited September 16, 1903) is slightly undulating, and except for certain semibarren points near the shores of the lake, is well wooded with spruce, tamarack, willow, and the usual sub-arctic vegetation. Much of the ground is covered with lichens of the genus Gyrophora and various mosses. At the time of our visit the leaves of the tamaracks, willows, and other deciduous trees were falling. The site of the post itself is the summit of a rather steep bank elevated about fifty feet above the shores of the lake. The buildings have long since been destroyed, and only the debris of the stone chimneys and the faint outlines of the sills of the principal houses now remain to mark the spot. The original clearing is partially grown up to willows, but much of the ground supports only a growth of grasses and herbaceous plants. The site overlooks, to the southward, the broad expanse of Keith bay, at the extremity of which at a distance of four or five miles, Bear river has its efflux.
“The banks at the head of Bear river are low, but rapidly increase in height. The bordering country is mainly swampy and is well wooded. The more gently sloping banks are grassy or wooded, and a dwarf willow (Salix reticulata) is a conspicuous shrub for some distance below the lake.”
Mr. Preble reports the Koch tamarack (Larix Laricina) as “rather common along the southern shores of Great Bear lake, where the large stone seen, near Leith point, was about twelve inches in thickness at the base, but was not over thirty feet in height. While travelling along this shore in the autumn of 1903, I first noted the leaves of the species beginning to change colour on September 12, near McVicar bay. Two days later its yellow foliage gave a decided impress on the scenery. On September 18, at Fort Franklin, its leaves were dropping, and soon afterwards the trees were bare.”