Kuuvik River Expedition Overview -- A.P. Low

A.P. Low was a scientist that mastered the art of the reconnaissance survey via wilderness travel.  The Canadian nation was formed, and much of its territory acquired from the Hudson Bay Company, while A.P. Low was growing up in Montréal.  In those days comprehensive knowledge of much of the new country’s geography was non-existent.  Inspired to help explore and help document vast areas of Canadian wilderness, A.P. Low studied to become a geologist and then joined the Geological Survey of Canada.  Between 1881 and 1899, in the service of the Crown, Low dedicated 2,500+ days to travelling by canoe and snowshoe amid Canada’s wilds, and was thus able to map and report on over 200,000 square miles of territory -- an area more than twice the size of the United Kingdom -- most of this region has since been alloted to Quebec.  Read Paddling the Boreal Forest for details.

A.P. Low committed his professional career to expanding humankind’s knowledge of the natural world.  During an era when vast areas of North America were yet to be explored, A.P. Low’s duty -- and that of his colleagues at the Geological Survey -- was to fill-in much of the map of Canada.  A.P. Low was a true rock star and his accomplishments, perhaps more than any of his scientific peers, served to fundamentally enhance the collective intelligence of Canadian society.  The Canadian nation of today, in some respects at least, is the ongoing expression of a unique heritage of wilderness exploration, canoeing, surveyed settlement, and partnerships with aboriginal peoples.  Hence it now seems that Mr. Albert Peter Low -- scientist, athlete, explorer -- has a place in Canadian history.