76 FRANZ BOAS ON 



Nugumiut, and the range of Baffin Bay turn towards the north-east. The islands west 

 of Jones Sound and Ellesmere Land seem to indicate a similar phenomenon, and we call 

 to mind that the western coast of G-rinnell Land is low. The geological structure sus- 

 tains our conclusion from the geographical features, for a wide belt of Devonian strata 

 adjoins the Archaean rocks of the mountains between Lady Franklin Bay and Hudson 

 Strait. 



Another characteristic feature of these mountain ranges is the occurrence of deep 

 chasms, crossing them from side to side. The valleys of Kingnait-Padli, Pangnirtuug, and 

 numerous others, do not exceed a few hundred feet in depth, while the adjoining highlands 

 attain heights of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet. We find a similar formation in South Greenland 

 and North Labrador, and I should mention that they occur in other mountain ranges, e. g., 

 in the Andes of Patagonia. The main body of the mountains of Baifin Land consists of 

 gneissic rocks and coarse granites, which are most frequent on the low islands and hills 

 forming the slopes of the ranges. In some places diorite and trap-granulite occur. Hall 

 found them on Blunt Peninsula. In Cumberland Sound they occur in many fiords of 

 the east coast, and cause the remarkable forms of several mountains of this part of Cum- 

 berland Sound. "West of the Archaean rocks we find a wide basin of horizontally lying 

 limestones. They extend to the east coast at the head of Frobisher Bay, and stretch from 

 there to the eastern part of Melville Peninsula. This basin of flat-lying rocks is appar- 

 ently on all sides surrounded by Archasan rocks. 



The configuration of the coast depends to a great extent on the orography and geolo- 

 gical structure of the country. We find it in all parts intersected by fiords, except where 

 the flat-lying strata form the coast. This is the case from King's Cape to Piling, and 

 on the north and north-west coast of the island. But the character of the fiords is very 

 different in the different portions of the island. This is most striking in those parts that are 

 best surveyed, e. g., on the coasts of Cumberland Sound. On the north-east coast they 

 have the character of true fiords : they are narrow, submerged gorges with deep wall-like 

 sides on a longitudinal coast. The same character prevails between Cape Mercy and 

 Home Bay. All fiords of this area are submerged transversal valleys. On the west coast of 

 the Sound their character is very different. Instead of well-defined valleys, we observe 

 wide bays, filled with numerous islands, which gradually become narrower and lead to a 

 system of basins connected by small valleys. While the fiords of the east side are very 

 deep, these are shallow and full of rocks and islands. The hilly land in which they are 

 situated is very irregular, and we do not know anything of the strike of these mountains ; 

 the character of the fiords, however, makes it probable that they consist of ridges parallel 

 to the system of Cumberland Peniusula. The islands from Pangnirtung to Kingua have 

 the same direction which may be observed in the fiords of the west coast. The upper 

 parts of these fiords run east by west, thus being parallel to the northern part of 

 Penny Highland. These facts are very suggestive, as they shew that the hilly land 

 belongs to the same system as the Baffin Bay range, and that a pressure from the north- 

 east may have been the cause of the origin of this system. However, we can only toiich 

 upon this subject, as too little is known about the geological structure of the country. 

 The fiords of the north and south sides of Kingnait have the same character as those of 

 Cumberland Peninsula. On the north coast we find short transversal valleys, on the 

 south coast wide basins filled with islands, which seem to indicate the existence of hills 



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