Marine terraces are found along the coasts of the northern mainland and islands wherever the conditions are suitable. Fronting the highlands about Wager inlet and Repulse bay, on the western side of Hudson bay, terraces are found cut into the drift deposits up to elevations varying from 500 to 700 feet. The highest terrace seen by Dr. Bell on the north side of Hudson strait had an elevation of 528 feet above the present sea-level. At Cape Wolstenholme, on the south side of the western entrance to Hudson strait the terraces rise to 800 feet above the sea. At Douglas harbour on the same side and near the middle of the strait the highest terraces noted were little over 400 feet. Along the eastern shores of Baffin island terraces were constantly seen, which were estimated to rise from 500 to 700 feet above the sea. Schei found terraces with Post-Pliocene fossils at an elevation of 650 feet along the shores of Ellesmere.

The foregoing evidence shows that at the close of the period of maximum glaciation an uplift occurred to the land throughout the northeastern Arctic region. This uplift is marked by the terraces existing on all the shores, but they fail to agree with the theory that the uplift was greatest where the accumulation of ice was greatest. There appears to be no great difference in the height of the terraces in Ellesmere, where the glaciation, never excessive, remains in nearly the same state as when it was at its maximum thickness and of those about the shores of Hudson bay, where an enormous thickness of ice once covered the land and has now entirely disappeared.

The uplift, which took place in comparatively recent times, geologically speaking, does not appear to be going on at present, as all the historical evidence relating to the Hudson bay region points to a remarkable stability in the coastal regions from the time of the first records dating back to the voyage of Munck in 1619.

The present glacial conditions of the Arctic islands has been noted in another part of this report, and it need only be here stated that the lands fronting upon Hudson bay and Hudson strait are now free from glaciers, the nearest approach being the occurrence of detached snow banks in protected positions, which remain throughout the year. The most southern glacier is the Grinnell glacier situated on the north side of the high land separating Hudson strait from Frobisher bay, and plainly seen crowning the summit of the north shore of Hudson strait for a distance of more than fifty miles. This glacier is not very active, and is said to discharge only a few small icebergs into one of the fiords on the south side of Frobisher bay. Passing northward along the eastern coast of Baffin island, the snow patches upon the hills become larger and more numerous, but it is not until Cumberland gulf is passed that real glaciers appear in the valleys leading down to the sea. These are not very active, and seldom shed icebergs except on the northern part of the island. Active glaciers are found along the southern side of North Devon westward to the neighbourhood of Cuming creek, west of which the ice-cap retreats, and the shores and cliffs are free of ice. The valleys of the eastern and southeastern coasts of Ellesmere are filled with active glaciers that discharge many large icebergs. In the southwestern part the glaciers are not very active, and usually terminate at a considerable distance from the sea.