THE PROBLEM OF THE ANTARCTIC ZONE 433 



out this part of the program, the former in consequence of the 

 loss of their ship in the ice, the latter because their ship was hard 

 and fast in the southern ice. The Germans were more fortunate in 

 escaping the ill effects of what was an unusually severe ice season; 

 but the expeditions of the other nations, by the longer stay they had 

 in the frozen regions, were able to return with a much more com- 

 prehensive collection .of information. 



The principal result achieved by the German expedition was to 

 prove that Knox Land and Kemp Land, which appear as separate 

 coasts on the old maps, are really continuous areas. Forcing a way 

 through the pack ice, the "Gauss" found a stretch of open water, 

 rapidly shoaling, and leading to a rugged, steep coast line, in the 

 position which Ross had charted in 1841 as "ice cliffs." Here the 

 ship became frozen into the ice and winter quarters were established. 

 Little work of importance was done, and in the following summer 

 the explorers freed their ship from the ice and returned to Germany. 



The Swedish expedition, sailing in the "Antarctica/" com- 

 manded by Captain C. A. Larsen, was headed by Professor Otto 

 Nordenskiold, the plan being to leave a party of six on the Ant- 

 arctic shores, the ship returning for the winter to the Falkland 

 Islands. The final return was to be in 1903. As it proved, the 

 summer of 1902-3 was the coldest and worst for ice conditions ever 

 recorded in the south polar region, and instead of one winter, the 

 Swedes were compelled to spend two in the ice. 



On February 10, 1902, the vessel was in Sydney Herbert Bay, 

 which formed the hitherto unvisited part of Erebus and Terror 

 Gulf. As it was obviously impossible to get farther to the south, 

 Nordenskiold decided to establish the winter station on one of the 

 islands in this vicinity. A brief visit to Seymour Island did not 

 reveal the wealth of fossil-bearing strata that was expected. Paulet 

 Island was visited and an interesting circular lake was discovered,, 

 lying in a circular range of hills. The banks of the lake bore ample 

 evidences that at one time there had been great volcanic activity at 



