Little or no attention was given by the earlier explorers to the markings of ice-striae and other glacial phenomena, and the only records of the movement of the glacial ice noted by them was the distribution of erratic boulders. These observations have been summarized by Dawson as follows:

Dr. Bell in his report on the geology of Hudson bay and Hudson strait, 1885, draws attention to the flow of the ice from the land on both sides of the strait into that body of water, while the striÆ on the islands in the strait show that a great stream of ice passed eastward through the strait from Hudson bay into the north Atlantic. These observations have since been confirmed by observations of the striÆ on other islands of the strait.

Tyrrell’s observations on the glacial phenomena of the barren-land region west of Hudson bay show that the country was intensely glaciated; that the centre of glaciation was on a nearly level plain now elevated some 400 or 500 feet above sea-level, there being no evidence to show that it was much more elevated during the period of glaciation. The centre of ice distribution was situated close to the western shores of Hudson bay, and the moisture sufficient to allow of such an accumulation of ice was probably derived from an open Arctic sea. The glacier moved south and southwest from this centre up a gradual grade to Manitoba, where morainic accumulations are found on the summits of the Duck mountains at elevations from 1,800 to 2,400 feet above present sea-level. StriÆ evidently formed by moving ice from this centre have been found by Dr. Barlow and the writer on the branches of the Moose river to the south of James bay, where the movement was from the northwest.

There is little doubt that the ice also moved northward from the centre of glaciation, and that the evidence quoted above of the erratics found in the western Arctic islands is proof of this.

From a study of the different sets of glacial striÆ, Tyrrell concluded that the centre of glaciation was, in the early part of the glacial period, somewhere to the north and west of the head of Chesterfield inlet; that later, when the ice increased in thickness, the centre of dispersion moved to a position southwest of Baker lake; while as the glacier diminished the centre moved nearer the seashore, and the final stage was probably represented by the ice-cap breaking up into a number of distinct glaciers, each with local movement of its own.

These conclusions of Tyrrell as to the southern movement of the centre of glaciation are borne out by the writer’s observations of the striÆ along the shores of Roes Welcome, where as many as six sets of striÆ were found at Whale point, the usual number being three. The oldest set, found only at Whale point, showed that the ice movement was from the northwest. The next in age were from N. 50° E., or almost at right angles to the oldest; following in order of age come striÆ from N. 25° E., N., N. 30° W., and N.W. The last three sets are found in a number of places between Winchester inlet and Whale point; the others only at Whale point. The direction of the above sets of striÆ apparently shows that the earliest accumulation of ice in the region north of the western side of Hudson bay was somewhere to the northwest; this was followed by an abrupt change in the ice-movement, which was next from almost northeast, after which the centre of movement of the ice-cap gradually shifted, by way of north, to northwest. It would also appear that the centres of dispersion were much greater in area than the limits placed upon them by Tyrrell.

This southern movement of the centre of dispersion of the ice is diametrically opposite to what occurred in the case of the ice-cap of Labrador, where the striÆ along the east side of Hudson bay show that the centre of ice-movement changed from a position near the central area of the peninsula, a short distance north of the southern watershed, to one some three hundred miles north, in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Koaksoak river.

The glaciation of Labrador seems to have been later than that of the western side of Hudson bay, as the striÆ from the western glacier are almost obliterated by those from the east and northeast along the rivers south of James bay.

There is a marked difference in the evidence of the intensity of glacial action between the southern regions and the eastern and northern portions of the great area embraced in this report. On the shores and islands of Hudson bay and Hudson strait the crystalline rocks have been denuded of every trace of rotted surface material; they have been smoothed, polished and intensely striated, and their present condition is such that little or no change has taken place since the disappearance of the ice, which once covered them deeply, the striÆ being so fresh as to appear of the formation of yesterday. When the eastern mouth of Hudson strait is left, a change is soon seen in following the eastern side of Baffin island northward. The hills are less rounded, and talus lies on the slopes of the cliffs; about Cumberland gulf and Cyrus Field bay there is evidence of a universal ice-cap having been present, but the rounding, polishing and striation of the rocks are markedly less than to the south and westward. In these places it is exceedingly difficult to find striÆ upon the rock surfaces, and these when found show that the movement was local and from the highlands towards the open sea. In the northern part of Baffin island the hills become more serrated in outline, and many of the higher points appear to have never been subjected to glaciation, the glaciers having only filled the valleys; if an ice-cap existed the ice-movement to the coast was determined by the course of the local valleys, and there is no evidence of a movement not depending upon local conditions as is the case in the region about Hudson bay. At Erik harbour, on the south side of the mouth of Ponds inlet, there is evidence that the glacier which now terminates at the head of the harbour once extended five miles farther seaward, and filled the valley to a height of 400 feet above the present level of the sea. Above that height the rocky walls of the harbour are not glaciated, and are covered by slopes of disintegrated rock. Passing north of Lancaster sound to the south of North Devon, there is little evidence to show that the glaciation was ever much more severe than at present. At Cuming creek, a narrow fiord cut some twelve miles into the limestone cliffs, there is evidence that a glacier once covered its bottom, and rose some two or three hundred feet above the present level of the sea; but it was purely local, and the limestone cliffs everywhere show that they have been long subjected to subaerial denudation, and that the broken rock covering their sides has never been displaced by ice.

Very little time was given to the study of glaciation at Cape Sabine, and the only evidence to show that it was more intense formerly was a low moraine in the rear of Peary’s house at Payer harbour. Schei, who devoted considerable attention to the glaciation of Ellesmere, is of the opinion that the ice covering never greatly exceeded its present limits, if it did so at all.