Relative Level of Sea and Land in Scandinavia. 83 
different phenomena of the neighbourhood. I may further 
remark that the only general feature that seems likely to 
have told in making the mountains along the sea susceptible 
of such impressions is the fact of its being an inland sea. 
The direction of the various sounds and estuaries can 
scarcely be supposed influential, as, in fact, the markings are 
made upon coasts in a great variety of directions. 
With the assistance of Mr Paddison, civil engineer, who 
was so kind as to associate himself with me in my examina- 
tion of these terraces, I executed a series of accurate level- 
lings at about eighteen points along the space between Ham- 
merfest and Kortsfiord, and completely convinced myself of 
the reality of the inclination, which I conceived M. Bravais 
to have left in some doubt. 
At Hammerfest, M. Bravais adopted as his point of obser- 
tion an almost horizontal bank surrounding the small lake 
behind the town, together with a terrace, probably of trans- 
ported matter, near by. On examining these objects I was at 
first of opinion that they represented the upper line, which 
was farther continued as a true line of erosion along the 
cliffs. I afterwards became convinced that they belong to a 
different system of markings, inconsistent in level with the 
true line of erosion as it exists at this place. That line is 
84°73 feet above the highest tide-mark of the neighbouring 
shore, a point probably about six feet above the mean level 
of the sea. 
(In what follows, Iam to be understood as using, as a 
base in levelling operations, the same mark, as far as it could 
be ascertained, and as indicating distances in geographical 
miles.) 
On Hoiée or Hoy, an island much resembling the Bass in 
shape, four-and-a-half miles, a little to the south of west from 
Hammerfest, the same upper line is strongly marked at 
85-29 feet, being nearly the same as the last-mentioned 
elevation. 
About a mile to the west of Hammerfest, the upper line is 
strongly but roughly marked on the cliffy coast ; and here I 
found the elevation to be 87:84. A little farther along the 
same line of coast, and a mile and a half from Hammerfest, 
