i“

Seix nieces

SAKt Et Seok edie

116

number of places lining cracks in nodules, and a tar spring is reported as
occuring near the mouth of Marten river on Lesser Slave lake.?

- Franklin mentions having observed a bituminous liquid trickling down the
steep cliff on the northwest part of Garry island at the mouth of the Mackenzie.”
On the right bank of Peel river, 10 miles below the lower canyon, a 3-foot vertical
fissure cutting across sandstone and shales is filled with a light, soft, carbonaceous
substance which burns readily with a red flame, leaving very little ash. This
substance has its origin probably in the bitumen of the adjacent rocks.

Gas springs are numerous. The most important occurs at the mouth of
Little Buffalo river, a tributary of the Athabaska. The gas “issues from the
surface in numerous small jets distributed over an area fifty feet or more in
diameter. Some of the jets burn steadily when lighted, until extinguished by
heavy rains or strong wind, and afford sufficient heat to cook a camp meal. A
second spring was noticed on the left bank of the Athabaska about thirteen

than at the mouth of Little Buffalo river........ Escaping jets of gas were also
noted at several points farther up the river, but these were mostly small and may
possibly be due to decaying vegetable matter.’

Sulphur springs are of common occurrence. Among the number observed
are those occurring on the left bank of Christina river 12 miles from its mouth,°®
on the north side of Clearwater river 4 miles below Cascade rapid and other
points,® on Firebag river,” cn Jackfish and Little Buffalo rivers west of Slave
river,® at Sulphur point on the southwest shore of Great Slave lake, north of
Bralé point on the north shore of the same lake,® and at La Saline on Athabaska
river.

It was thought that the bitumen of the McMurray sandstone on the Atha-
baska had probably been derived from petroleum by the evaporation of the lighter
hydrocarbons and by chemical changes and that at some distance from the out-
crop this sandstone might carry petroleum. With a view to testing this hypothesis
the Dominion Government undertook boring operations at two points on the

Yiver where it was known that'the sandstone had a considerable depth of covering.
_ Wells were sunk at Athabaska and near Pelican river. -

At Athabaska boring was carried on during portions’ of the summers of 1894,
1895, and 1896, and a depth of 1,770 feet was attained. Great difficulty was
encountered on account of the caving of shale. It was believed that drilling
ceased in the Clearwater shales. Gas in small quantities was struck at several
horizons. .

1 Ogilvie, Wm., Dept. of the Interior, Ann. Rept., 1889, pt. 8, p. 94.
2“Narrative of a second expedition to the shores of the polar sea in the years 1825,
1826, and 1827,” p. 37.
3Camsell, C., Geol. Surv., (Can., Ann. Rept., vol. XVI, p. 47 icc

# McConnell, R. G., Geol Surv.; Can., Ann. Rept., vol. V, p. 64 D.

6 McConnell, R. G., Geol. Surv., Can., Ann. Rept., vol. V, p. 89 D.

6 Bell, Robert, Geol. Surv., Can., Rept. of Prog., 1882-83-84, p. 26 ICC.

7 Dowling, D. B., Geol. Surv., Can., Ann. Rept., vol. VIII, p. 67 D.

8 Camsell, C., Geol. Surv., Can., Ann. Rept., vol. XV, pp. 161 A, 166 A.

®McConnell, R. G., Geol. Surv., Can., Ann. Rept., vol. IV, pp. 69 D315 1D: