CHAPTER X 
New Quebec or Ungava 
EW Quebec, or the peninsula of Ungava, extends, roughly, north of 
the 52nd degree of north latitude to Hudson strait and Ungava bay. 
It comprises an estimated area of about 290,000 square miles. 
The boundary between the territory under jurisdiction of Newfoundland, 
called the ‘Coast of Labrador,” and the province of Quebec was defined 
by decision of the judicial Committee of the Privy Council on March 1st, 
1927, but no actual surveys have yet been made. 
The surface of New Quebec is rough and rocky in places. The highest 
portion is near the eastern part where hills rise to a height of 6,000 feet. 
In the interior, elevations are over 2,000 feet, but along the Hudson bay 
coast the surface is only a few hundred feet above sea-level. Large rivers 
flow north and west, and the interior abounds with lakes which are con- 
nected by rivers and streams, so that it is possible to travel by canoe 
almost anywhere with a few portages. The size of the lakes varies from 
50 to 500 sauare miles. 
Agriculture.—It is thought that the only part of this territory having 
any agricultural value is the low-lying region to the east and southeast 
of James bay. The temperate climate may be taken to extend to cape 
Jones and to be limited to the shores of James bay. 
The whole interior of Ungava is a high plateau rising, within a few 
miles of the Atlantic coast line, to heights between 1,500 and 2,500 feet. 
The general level of the interior plateau near the central watershed, varies 
from 1,600 to.1,800. Even if the altitude and climate permitted agri- 
culture, the soil on this plateau is thin and poor. The soil at Mistassini, 
which is 1,200 feet above sea level and where there is a Hudson's Bay 
Company post, is reported to be boulder clay. A crop of potatoes is 
raised annually, but, owing to the shortness of the season and the prev- 
alence of summer frosts, they rarely mature without the tops being frozen. 
Along James bay, south of cape Jones, the low land extends inland 
from 10 to 30 miles. The general level is not much over 100 feet above 
sea-level. Here the soil is of clay and sand with alluvium affording good 
land for cultivation. At Fort George, near the mouth of Fort George 
river, crops of potatoes and other roots are grown annually and cattle are 
kept. At the mouth of the Eastmain river the Hudson's Bay Company 
maintained a small trading post where abundant crops of wild hay were 
harvested yearly and sheep and cattle were kept. At Rupert House, 
1190 
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