124 CRUISE of THE NEPTUNE 
ISLANDS OF group iii. 
As has been already stated, the islands of this group can only 
be reached with considerable difficulty on account of their posi 
tion. little is known of them beyond the outline of their shores, 
and even these have not been fully traced in the case of the more 
western islands. 
North Somerset, separated from the northern part of Baffin 
by Prince regent inlet, is the best known of the group, and its 
northern and eastern shores have long been resorts of the 
whalers in their Search for the Valuable right whale in the 
adjoining waters. The less valuable white whales are often 
abundant along these shores, and are taken by the Whalers when 
the larger whales cannot be obtained. The greatest length of 
this island is from north to south, being 140 miles, while its 
extreme breadth in the northern part is about a hundred miles. 
In shape it somewhat resembles a ham with the shank to the 
southward, where the narrow Bellot strait separates it from 
Boothia peninsula, a northern extension of the continent, re- 
markable for containing the North Magnetic Pole within its 
area. The northern coast of North Somerset is formed of lime- 
stone cliffs; these are lower and less abrupt than on the northern 
baffin coast, while the bays indenting them are wider and not 
so long as is usual on such coasts. Along the eastern side the 
cliffs rise nearly 1,000 feet directly from the sea. To the south, 
along this shore, the cliffs gradually decline, until the low lands 
about Creswell bay are passed, when the country again becomes 
high and the coast bold. The western side of the island, facing 
on Peel sound, is occupied by a wide strip of Archaean rocks, 
and the physical character corresponds to that of other like 
areas. This coast never rises above the 1,000 feet contour, and 
towards the south is considerably lower. There does not appear 
to be any continuous ice-cap upon North Somerset, and the 
glacial conditions are confined to isolated snow patches,  
