THE WINDS FROM THE "GREAT ICE" 



nent at points farther in toward the central area. 

 These were made by a Swiss scientist, Dr. Alfred 

 de Quervain, within the south central portion; by 

 a Dane, Captain J. P. Koch, within the broadest 

 north-central region; and by another distinguished 

 Danish explorer. Dr. Knud Rasmussen,in the ex- 

 treme northern zone near but south of Peary's 

 transections of 1892 and 1895. 



From all these explorations we have learned 

 that the inland-ice of Greenland, the ice-cap, is 

 in form very simple and best described as shaped 

 like a watch crystal; that is, very flat except near 

 the edges, where its outward slope increases at first 

 gradually and then at greatly accelerated rates. 

 The outline of Greenland closely resembles that 

 of a human left ear, since the straighter side is to 

 the left or west. 



The interior of this northern ice-cap of our globe 

 is probably the coldest region in the northern hemi- 

 sphere, though it is probably surpassed in cold by 

 the interior of the Antarctic Continent. It is a 

 mistake to suppose, as so many do, that the North 

 Pole of the earth represents the maximum of cold. 

 In the winter time it is colder in central British 

 America and in central Siberia than it is at the 

 North Pole, and along both these northern coasts 

 the temperature rises when the wind blows from 



41 



