112 



Smithsonian Exploration in Alaska in 1904 



" The accompanying- sketch gives an idea of a section of the bkiff. 



" All along the shore in this locality a peculiar odor from the mass 

 of decomposing vegetable miatter exposed fills the air. This was 

 more noticeable where the decaying vegetation in the clay was more 

 abundant. 



" Toward the eastern end of the face of the bluff on a slightly pro- 

 jecting point I found an old beaver house inbedded in the earth with 

 two feet of vegetable humus on top of it. It was exposed in section 

 by the crumbling of the bank. 



" The base of the nest rested on an alder seven inches in diameter 

 at the butt and the rest of the heap was composed of alder sticks one- 

 half to three or four inches in diameter from six inches to five or 

 six feet long. Nearly all of the smaller sticks had their bark eaten 

 off and manv still retained the marks of the teeth. All showed the 



Figure 3.— Section of so-called " Ice-cliff " at Elephant Point, Kotzebue 

 Sound, Alaska. 



[After E. W. Nelson MS.] 



1-2. Sea level. 



3-4. Approximate surface of displacement along face of frozen silt bluffs. 

 4-5. Top of terrace 100-400 yards wide composed of about 4 feet of peat and humus over- 

 lying ice. 

 5-6. Approximate limit of Pleistocene basin. 



7. Bed of dormant elevated ice with exposed front of 5-20 feet lying on top of silts (10) 



and overlaid by turf layer (4-5). 

 7a. Bed of ice that is probably derived from the upper bed (7). In its present position 

 through displacement by the undermining of the sea. 



8. Edge of ice (7a) being undermined in places by the sea. 



9. Metamorphic rocks limiting the Pleistocene deposits and forming the interior ridges. 



10. Frozen Pleistocene lacustrine silts 100 to 125 feet above sea level. 



11. Loose talus slope along face of bluff, which being loosened up and aerated supports 



good growth of grass, etc. 

 S Position of beaver nest. 



teeth marks at each end. The entire mass was permanently frozen 

 except for an inch or two along the exposed surface where it was 

 slightly thawed. Only a few yards away on each side of the beaver 

 nest, and apparently back of it, on about the same level, was ice ap- 

 parently surrounding the mass of frozen earth upon which the nest 



