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KERGUELEN S LAND. 



The ridges north and south of the broad valley look at tirst 

 glance as if they might be moraines, but their main structure is 

 rock, in its original position, though covered mostly by talus. 

 A similar ridge to the south of the great fjord. Royal Sound, 

 has likewise very much the appearance of a moraine ; but here 

 also the main constituent is volcanic rock in situ. There is 

 nowhere to be seen a free-standing ridge composed entirely of 

 moraine matter ; but about the ilat-topped hills, just described, 

 there are beds of sand and stones that may represent broken- 

 down remains of moraines. 



Resting on the rounded surfaces of the flat-topped hills, and 

 scattered over them in all directions, are immense quantities of 

 stones of all sizes. The stones have all their angles sharp 



ICEBORNE ROCKS RESTING ON GLACIATED SURFACES, NEAR 

 BETSY COVE, KERGUELEN's LAND. 



and unweathered, they rest in all sorts of positions on the 

 smoothed rock, and they have most evidently been dropped into 

 their present position by ice floating over the glaciated surfaces 

 when these were in a submerged condition. 



The summits of the flat-topped hills are formed of caps of 

 basalt, showing usually columnar structure in their cliff faces. 

 These caps of basalt of the several hills appear, undoubtedly, to 

 have formed at one time a continuous sheet. 



Exactly similar flat-topped hills occur everywhere about in 

 Kerguelen's Land, and notably in Royal Sound, which is a deep 

 and grand fjord studded all over with numerous rocky islets, 

 probably loo or more in number. These islets are all flat- 

 topped with erratics on their upper surfaces, and they appear 

 to increase gradually in height towards the head of the Sound. 

 The hills are of the same constitution as those about Betsy 

 Cove, and if the great valley at Betsy Cove were submerged, 

 we should have on its northern side the hills projecting as 

 islands, and giving a miniature representation of those in Royal 

 Sound. 



There can be but little doubt that the whole of these islands 



