192 



IRIDTIOF NANSEN. M.-N. Kl. 



m 



l'ig. 141. Axel l^lanil. i\u^Li^)l 31, 191;^. 



West Coast of Spitsbergen south of Ice Fjord. 



Aloni^' the west coast between Ice l-'jord and Ik-ll Souivl, there is 

 a well (levelopefl enierj^ed stranrlflat cut in rocks of the Hecla Hook 

 svstem. The suhmerg-ed strandfiat is also broad in this rej,^ion, as much 

 as I 1 kilometres, with rlcpths between lo and 20 metres and the sharply 

 defined ed^e not much deejjcr than 20 metres. The breadth of the 

 emerj^ed and submerj^ed strandfiat t(,\^ether is alx.ait 14 kilomètres. 16 to 

 25 kilometres outside this coast is the Sentinelle I'ank, the hii^diest part 

 of which has depths less than 30 metres. 



Axel Island in Bell Sounrl has a sharply defined level surface, less 

 than 20 metres high, cut in rocks of the Carboniferous system (J'^ig". 141). 

 On the north side of Lowe Sound there is an extensive low plain which 

 to some extent is a real strandfiat cut in solid rock, but a part of it is 

 the floor of the wifle (JndiejK^ \'alle}' which has been filled u;) with 

 sediment. 



Along the coast southwards from Cape Lyell, in Bell .Sound, there is 

 a well developed emerg-ed as well as a submerged strandfiat. The latter is 

 3 to 5 kilometres broad, and off Torell Glacier even 9 kilometres brc ad. 

 It is mostly less than 20 metres below sea-level. 



On the north side of the entrance to Horn Sound there is practically 

 no emerg-ed strandfiat because, as W. Werenskiold tells me. the coast is 

 here built up of gabbro. 



South of Horn Sound there is a well developed emerg-ed strandfiat 

 which has been surveyed by A. Hoel and W. Werenskiold during their 

 expeditions of recent years. This strandfiat is especially extensive at the 

 southern end of the land. 



As the soundings taken by the Hoel Expeditions during the last 

 years have shown, there is also a broad flat submerged strandfiat outside 

 the coast in this region. Tt is near sea-level with depths to a great 

 extent less than 12 and 15 metres and carries many shoals and rocks. 

 It is 9 to 10 kilometres broad, and at South Cape and east of it even 

 12 kilometres broad. The sea outside is not very deep and the sea-bottom 

 slopes fairly gently, especially on the south-western side, to depths of 70 

 to 120 metres without any very distinct erlge. On th? south-eastern side 

 the slope is somewhat steeper. 



