GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1869. 



297 



highest 61 in August. From longitude 35 

 "YV. to 20 "W. from Greenwich, the mean aver- 

 age temperature of the year is 56 2' Fahr., ris- 

 ing to 59 or 60 Fahr. in August and Septem- 

 ber, and sinking to 52 to 54 in the winter 

 months. From 20 to the Irish coast, the tem- 

 perature is somewhat lower, the mean of the 

 year being 54 2' to 55 1', the minimum 50 

 to 52, and the maximum 59 to 60. 



The Arctic current sets southward over the 

 Newfoundland Banks and comes between the 

 American shore and the Gulf Stream. To 

 this are due our more rigorous winters than 

 those of the west coast of Europe in the same 

 latitude. But it has been discovered that the 

 warm current from the Gulf Stream or tropi- 

 cal waters does not always follow precisely the 

 same course, but is sometimes one or two 

 degrees of longitude east or west of its usual 

 route. These facts are interesting from their 

 bearing on our climate, and on the probabili- 

 ties of Arctic discovery. 



8. EUKOPE. We have space to notice only a 

 few particulars of geographical interest in Eu- 

 rope. 



In Italy, Mount ./Etna, which had been care- 

 fully measured in 1864, has again been the 

 subject of measurement, it being very gener- 

 ally supposed that the great eruption of 1865 

 had altered its configuration and the height of 

 some of its most noted points. The new sur- 

 vey proves the error of this supposition. The 

 result of the admeasurements was as follows : 



A hydrographical survey of Lake Ladoga, 

 the largest lake of Russia, was completed in 

 1869. It has been long needed. The lake has 

 an area of 6,633 square miles ; it is 131 miles 

 in its extreme length, and 98 miles in its 

 greatest breadth. Its greatest depth, 122 

 fathoms, is attained in its northern portion, 

 and its average depth is about 50 fathoms. Its 

 principal affluents are the Volchoff, the Siassy, 

 the Svir, the Olonka, the Tarfula, and the 

 Voksa. The climate of the lake is very severe. 

 In a cold winter the whole lake freezes over, 

 and the ice is three to four feet thick. Icebergs 

 of considerable size are formed at the northern 

 extremity of the lake. The water is very pure 

 and transparent, but cold, its temperature ran- 

 ging from 36 F. to 45 F. in the very warmest 

 weather. Fish are abundant at the mouths 

 of the rivers, and of excellent quality. The 

 traffic on the lake is very large. 



In European Turkey, there were several 

 successive earthquake shocks between the 

 25th and 28th of June, 1869. The first series 

 were felt on the 25th, and extended from Con- 

 stantinople to Adrianople. Two days later an- 

 other series occurred, extending from Serajano 



to Ragusa. Though these shocks were severe 

 enough to excite considerable terror, there was 

 no destruction of property or life. 



9. ASIA. The Sinaitic explorations in Arabia 

 have been prosecuted with great energy during 

 1869. The surveying party consisting of Cap- 

 tains "Wilson and Palmer, of the Royal Engi- 

 neers; four non-commissioned officers of the 

 Royal Engineers, all of whom as well as their 

 chiefs had been engaged in the ordnance sur- 

 vey for some years ; Mr. Palmer, an excellent 

 and accomplished Oriental scholar ; Mr. Wyatt, 

 a naturalist ; and Rev. F. W. Holland, who had 

 made three previous explorations of the Sinaitic 

 peninsula left Southampton, England, October 

 24, 1868, and reached their destination Novem- 

 ber llth. They made a careful trigonometrical 

 survey of Jebel Musa and Jebel Subal, on a scale 

 of six inches to the mile, and of the east of the 

 Sinaitic peninsula, on a scale of two inches to 

 the mile. They made copies and obtained im- 

 pressions of about 2,500 of the Sinaitic inscrip- 

 tions, of which twelve or fifteen were bilingual, 

 or written in the Arabic and Greek characters, 

 apparently by the same hand. There are also 

 a few hieroglyphic inscriptions, which seem 

 unconnected with the others. The results of 

 this exploration must be important as de- 

 termining the possible routes of the Israelites 

 after leaving Egypt, and, unless there is evidence 

 of material change in the topography of the 

 country, the only mountain site which fulfils all 

 the conditions required for Mount Sinai. The 

 expedition, having completed its work, returned 

 to England in May, 1869; and Mr. Palmer has 

 since been engaged in deciphering the inscrip- 

 tions which, it is believed, will throw much 

 light on the subject. Among the objects of 

 their incidental investigation was the famous 

 Jebel Nalciis, or "Mountain of the Bell," an 

 object of superstitious regard by the Arabs. 

 The musical sounds produced at irregular in- 

 tervals on that mountain, the explorers ascer- 

 tained, were caused by the loose and sharp 

 grains of sand becoming suddenly dislodged 

 and striking against each other as they rushed 

 down the slope of the mountain, and producing 

 a ringing sound. 



The labors of the Palestine Exploration 

 Fund Committee were also conducted as- 

 siduously during a part of the year, and re- 

 sulted in laying bare at a depth of from 80 to 

 106 feet portions of the walls of the city and 

 temple, indicating, by their size, form, and in- 

 scriptions, the various epochs to which they 

 belonged. The vast monolithic stones of the 

 old Jebusite fortress, the huge but more highly- 

 finished stones forming the walls erected by 

 Solomon, the subterranean chambers and aque- 

 ducts of Hezekiah, the walls as rebuilt by 

 Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, the grand founda- 

 tions and substructures of Herod, the Roman, 

 the Saracen, the Christian, and the Ottoman 

 city, have each been made manifest in these 

 explorations. The permission to explore with- 

 in the temple area is still withheld, but the 



