A Healthy, Bracing Climate 9

As shown in the following table, the Peace itself is some eight hundred
miles in length. It varies in width from three hundred feet at its head to a
mile and a half at the chutes.

TABLE OF DISTANCES, PEACE RIVER*

| |
: | | Miles
Sections From | To (Approx.)
1 | Head (inlaysbiocks) sans ese Head of Rocky Mountain Can-
% Helena O Ly tmbstee tay ieucctonnn ame in ear 72
2 | Head of RockyMountain Canyon| Hudson Hope (foot of Canyon). 20
3 jetludsoniblopese eevee. Rort St. Jolimea. 4. - | St
4 IROVEE SY. OMA. scoscsodossseceul! DUNN, go gsetnnu ssenuacaue: 117
rs) Wunvyer ante yy cers \ eee eye | Peace River Crossing...........) 61
6 | Peace. River Crossing...........| Mouth of Notikewin.......... | 96
7 | Mouth of Notikewin........... CarcajousRointye tee 59
8 jpGatcayouBRointeree teen Bort Vermilionteescss ee | 93
9 otaVermilionene' eee. i Vermilionk@hutesss eerie 50
10 | WermiulioniGhutestvs.. 2 | Mouth Slave River............ 188
| | gee
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*Supplied by Topographical Surveys Branch, Dept. of the Interior, Ottawa.

Climate

The climate of the Peace River district is excellent, and remarkably moderate
considering the latitude. The air is pure and bracing: in winter, clear and crisp;
and, in summer, dry and balmy. Extremes of temperature, sudden changes,
and severe storms are very rare. The winters are by no means mild but are
very dry, with clear skies, little snowfall, and few winds. Blizzards are unknown,
but the mild Chinook winds occasionally sweep through the mountain passes
from the warm Pacific, giving pleasing respites of balmy days to break the mono-
tony of a steady cold. Spring comes early and quickly; the snow soon dis-
appears, and the ground is dry in a few days. Ice on the lakes and rivers breaks
up during the latter part of April or early in May. Seeding usually begins
early in April, sometimes in March, and, at Fort Vermilion, about the first of
May. Most of the rainfall occurs in June and July. The average precipitation
for the full year is about twelve or thirteen inches.

The summers are remarkable for their long days and short nights. For
three months, there is almost continual light, the nights being merely a couple
of hours semi-darkness, except when the sky is overcast. The days are warm.
iat fae At Fort Dunvegan, the last light frost of spring occurs, on the average,
on June 11th, and the first light frost of autumn, on August 25th. At Fort
Vermilion and Peace River Crossing, the corresponding dates are June 16th,
August 13th; and June 24th, August 27th.

Harvest commences about the middle of August. September is an espe-
cially pleasant month. The days are still warm, but the nights grow colder
and the flies disappear. Life in the woods is at its best during this month.

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