Labrador

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the N. E. peninsula of North American continent, the lying between Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, extending from lat. 49° to 63° N., and from lon. 55° to about 79° W.; greatest length from the Strait of Belle Isle to its N. cape, Wolstenholme, 1,100 miles; area, 120,000 square miles; pop . about 4,100, collected chiefly at the Moravian missionary stations- Nain (1770), Okkak, Hebron, Hopedale, etc. The Atlantic coast is stern and precipitous (1,000 to 4,000 feet high), entirely destitute of vegetation, deeply indented with narrow fjords, and fringed with chains of rocky islands. The inner parts have been but very imperfectly explored; the greater part consists of a plateau, mostly covered with fine forest trees, firs, birches, etc. Numerous lakes, including Mistassini, also exist inland, and, connecting with the rivers, afford in summer continuous waterways for great distances. The only inhabitants of this interior plateau are Cree Indians, nomads. There are numerous rivers. murous rivers. The Grand Falls on Grand river are beand river are believed to be among the largest in the argest in the world. These rivers abound in fish, esd in fish, especially salmon and white fish. The principal fur-bearing animals are bears, fish. The wolves animals are bears, , foxes, martens tens, otters, beavers, lynxes, etc., which are trapped by the , otters, beavers, inhabitants in winter trapped by the . Of the mineral Of the mineral resources little is known but iron and LABRADORITE (q. v.) are certainly abun- ; but iron and dant. The climate tainly abunon the coast is very te coast is very rigorous, owing mainly to the ice-laden Arctic current which to the ice-laden washes the shores. The washes the shores. summer lasts three months. The months. The winter is dry, bracing, and frosty. Since 1809 and frosty. the coast region has been annexed has been anfor administrative purposes to rative purposes to Newfoundland. The remaining parts of remaining parts of the peninsula are designated the Northeast designated the North- Territory. By far the most important wealth the most imof Labrador is its fishcod, rador is its fishsalmon, herring, and trout. As and trout. As many as 30,000 fishermen from Newfoundland, men from New- Canada, and the United States and the United visit its fishing grounds in the In 1500 a grounds in the Portuguese season. tuguese navigator, Cortereal, seems to have visited Labranavigator, dor, and to have given ve visited Labrait its name, which means given it its name, "laborers' land." and LABRADORITE ( rom the locality whence first obtained), in minernamed from the loalogy, a member in miner of the felspar group, in which the par group, protoxide bases are lime and soda, ases are lime the sesquioxide base being alumina. oxide base being Colors, gray, brown, greenish; sometimes y, brown, greenish; colorless. The cleavable mas- The eavable massive varieties sometimes exhibit, in the direction exhibit, in the of the second cleavage, a lively vage, a lively play of color, blue and green predominating, predomialso occur. This phenomenon has not yet received a but fire-red and yellow also occur. received a satisfactory explanation. The colored varieties are sometimes used in ke colored jewelry. jewelry. Called also Labrador felspar.