78 BOAS ON BAFFIN LAND. 



Mauy of these carry considerable qiiautities of detritus which is probably to a great 

 extent derived from deposits of ancient glaciers. It is very probable that this is the origin 

 of the enormous deposits of mud in Fox Basin, and on the adjoining plains. In order to 

 understand the origin of this basin and its large lakes, the glaciation of the inner side of 

 the mountains surrounding it ought to be studied. 



The influence of the ocean on the formation of the land is also limited by the climate. 

 While in the temperate zones the abrading action of the breakers is one of the most effec- 

 tive means of changing the outlines of the coast, its influence is very limited in the arctic 

 regions, as no swell and waves exist during the greater part of the year in the ice-bound 

 seas. 



I shall add here a few remarks on the land ice which is attached to the coast of 

 Baiïin Land during the greater part of the year. Its extent depends on the velocity of 

 the currents of the sea. Wherever a strong current exists, no land ice is formed. The 

 strong current setting east through Lancaster Sound prevents the formation of ice under 

 the steep cliffs of the land. Sometimes the pack ice consolidates, but a smooth plain is 

 never found. By far the largest floe of land ice is formed between Bylot Island and Cape 

 Dyer. In Home Bay it extends some eighty miles from the mainland, 



The southerly current passing through the narrowest part of DaAas Strait between 

 Cape Walsingham and Holsteinborg, keeps the sea open from Cape Dyer to Cape 

 Walsingham. 



Exeter Sound and the bay of Cape Mercy are covered with extensive floes. The 

 swift tides of Cumberland Sound keep the mouth of the bay open. The coast from Cum- 

 berland Sound to Fobisher Bay is washed by water, but this bay is covered with ice. 

 No extensive floes are found in Hudson Strait and Fox Basin. A. study of the edges of 

 these and of the long cracks formed in spring, shews that they run from the points 

 where the configuration of the land causes a tension of the ice whenever winds and cur- 

 rents tend to set it in motion. This agrees with Dr. Bell's observations on the ice of the 

 large lakes of Canada, in which cracks are formed in such positions and remain open 

 throughout the winter. The land floe begins to form in October, but it does not reach 

 its greatest extent until January and February. In winter the open sea is filled with 

 pack ice. It is not until large areas are open in summer, and the swell reaches the coast, 

 that the ice breaks up. WheneA^er Baffin Bay is full of ice, the land floe remains 

 throughout the summer. In the more southern parts, where the swell of the Atlantic 

 Ocean reaches the coasts, the ice breaks up every year. The large lakes do not freeze 

 over until late in December. 



I have tried to give a brief sketch of the geographical phenomena of Baffin Land. It 

 could only be fragmentary, for the greater part of the vast island is unknown. Need I 

 say that a thorough exploration is desirable ? The much discussed Hudson Bay route, 

 the establishment of meteorological stations in this district by Canada, the annual visits 

 of whalers and traders — all these shew that it is of commercial importance. The scientist 

 does not ask for any proof of the desirability of explorations ; and we hope that arctic 

 explorers will not always confine themselves to expeditions to the exti-eme north, but 

 will try to solve the important problems of the Arctic American Archipelago. 



