190 HEARD ISLAND. 



height of the cHff ; a freshly fallen slab, a longitudinal slice of 

 the glacier, was lying on the beach. 



The fallen ice floats off with the tide. Some stones, which 

 were dredged in 150 fathoms between Kerguelen's Land and 

 Heard Island, were believed by Mr. Buchanan to have been 

 recently dropped by floating ice from Heard Island. The 

 stones in question were as yet not penetrated by the water.* 



The other glaciers in sight cut the shore line at right angles, 

 and thus had no terminal moraines, the stones brought down 

 by them being washed away by the sea. 



The glaciers showed all the familiar phenomena of those of 

 Europe with exact similarity. There are here the same 

 systems of crevasses, more marked in some regions than others, 

 and dying out towards the termination of the glacier, where 

 the surface is smooth and generally rounded. The crevasses 

 were of the usual deep blue colour, and the ridges separating 

 them of the usual fantastic shapes. 



Above, the glaciers were covered with snow, which, as one 

 looked higher and higher, was seen to gradually obliterate the 

 crevasses, and assume the appearance of a neve. The extent 

 of glacier free from snow was very small ; the region in which 

 thawing can take place to any considerable extent being con- 

 fined to a range not far above sea level. 



Here and there were to be seen, on the surface of the glacier, 

 the usual deep vertical pipe-like holes full of water. These 

 were lined by concentric layers of ice, composed of prisms 

 disposed radially to the centres of the holes and produced by 

 successive night frosts. 



Cones of ice covered with sand, and appearing as if com- 

 posed of sand alone, but astonishing one by their hard and 

 resistant nature when struck with a stick, were also to be seen 

 on the glacier. I have seen closely similar cones in Tyrol ; 

 and, when a tyro at alpine climbing, have jarred my hand in 

 attempting to thrust my alpenstock into them. Here the sand 

 was black and volcanic. Small table-stones were not un- 

 common upon the glacier, and, in fact, all the phenomena 

 caused by thawing from the action of direct radiant heat were 

 present. 



The usual narrow longitudinal lines or cracks caused by the 

 shearing of the ice in its differential motion were present, and 

 gave evidence of the grinding together of the closely opposed 

 surfaces forming them. 



The dirt and stones on the surface of the ice were as usual 

 more abundant towards the termination of the glacier and the 

 moraine, but they were not so abundant as usual, and there 



* J. Y. Buchanan, "Proc. R Soc." No. 170, 1876, p. 609. 



