GEOGKAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



357 



Petermann's maps. Inland mountains rise to 

 the height of 1,000 feet. Snow was seen only in 

 the hollows and ravines ; ice fringed the shores. 

 The soil was clay, cracked, and bare in places, 

 and in others covered with grass, moss, and 

 lichens. The geological formation was slate in 

 perpendicular strata containing pyrite crystals, 

 and transsected farther on by large veins of 

 quartz. The phanerogamous plants, only 24 

 of which were found, grew in thick globular 

 forms. The lichens were prolific, but of few 

 varieties. The fauna was scanty; swimming 

 snipes, a few species of sandpipers, the eider- 

 duck, a loon, a mountain owl, and a flock of 

 the Anser bernicla were the only birds; and a 

 walrus, some small seals, and shoals of the Del- 

 phinopterus lucas were the only warm-blooded 

 marine animals. The dredger, however, afford- 

 ed a rich harvest,, including large alyds (Lami- 

 naria Azerohi, and others), a family which has 

 been supposed to be wanting in its higher forms 

 in the polar seas, large specimens of the Idothea 

 entomon, and a species of Isopedes which is 

 found in the Baltic and in the lakes of Scandi- 

 navia, confirming the opinion that they once 

 formed a part of the Artie Sea. The geograph- 

 ical positions determined on Nordenskjold's 

 voyage around the North Cape prove the trust- 

 worthy character of Cheliuskin's accounts, who 

 differed but six or seven minutes from Palan- 

 der in his position of the latitude of the extreme 

 promontory. Middendorfs account of the Tai- 

 myr Island, whose insular character was not af- 

 firmed by Minim and Stertegof, is now proved 

 true. The east coast of Taimyr Land is situated 

 between the 113th and 114th meridians, or 

 three or four degrees farther west than has 

 been supposed, and the coast from Nordwick 

 Bay to the Olenek is so much longer. 



On the 20th of August they weighed anchor 

 again. The sea was free of ice along the coast, 

 and it was hoped that a passage would open 

 not only along the southward-trending coast, 

 but eastward to the New Siberian Islands, 

 which they wished to visit. They steered 

 east to south, looking for a possible westward 

 continuation of the above group, until on the 

 third day the drift-ice became so thick that 

 they altered their course to the southward. 

 The fog and ice compelled them to lay to in 

 an ice-field, mooring their vessel to a block of 

 ice. Although the ice was soft and rapidly 

 melting, and evidently near the edge of the 

 ice-field, they were unable to find a passage to 

 the south when the fog cleared off, and so put 

 about and returned to the open sea through the 

 northern opening by which they had entered ; 

 this occupied twenty-four hours. The depth 

 was 33 to 35 fathoms among the ice-blocks, 

 and here it began to diminish ; and on the 

 evening of the 23d land was sighted, being the 

 northwest point of the eastern peninsula of 

 Taimyr, about lat. 76 30' N., Ion. 113 E. The 

 sea was clear for a distance of fifteen minutes 

 from land : six minutes out the depth ranged 

 from 6 to 12 fathoms. They sailed before a 



northwest breeze. The outlines of the shore 

 became more elevated and split into pyramidal 

 cones, with mountains 2,000 to 3,000 feet high 

 in the background ; on the mountains there 

 was no snow except in the ravines. The 

 ocean fauna was very rich. Alecto Eschrichtii, 

 many varieties of starfish, as Solaster papposus, 

 endeca, and furcifer, Pterraser militaris, Aste- 

 rophyton eucmens, the rare Molpodia borealis, 

 two cuttle-fish, a huge pycnogonid, etc., were 

 trawled at 38 fathoms in the ice-field. The 

 fauna was as rich near shore. The types were 

 pure arctic life, indicating no migration from 

 southern waters, and are of great interest to 

 students of the glacial period. The island of 

 Preobraschenski was sighted on the 24th, and 

 visited. It is 4 farther to the east than it is 

 laid down on the charts. The northeastern 

 abrupt shore is the haunt of auks ; specimens 

 of the Larus tridactylus were seen, as well as 

 mountain owls, gulls, and guillemots, and two 

 bears were killed. An interesting flora was 

 found on the grassy southern slopes of the 

 island. Of insects, species of Staphilinus and 

 Ghrysomela were found, as well as Diptera, 

 Podures, and Arachnides. Only one fossil, the 

 belemnite, was found in the limestone rock of 

 the island, which belongs to the secondary 

 period, like large portions of northern Siberia. 

 They had sailed over long tracts of water far 

 within where the coast line is laid down on 

 the map, just as on the other side of Cape 

 Cheliuskin they had found the coast to extend 

 far to the northward of where it was indicated 

 on the charts. They sailed through water 

 having for most of the way a depth of not 

 above 5 -8 fathoms in the last stretch before 

 reaching the mouth of the Lena ; but after the 

 23d the weather was excellent and the sea per- 

 fectly clear of ice. Nordenskjold found his 

 prediction of the warming effect of the Sibe- 

 rian rivers verified by the condition of the 

 ocean, which was as free of ice at the end of 

 summer as the White Sea is in midsummer, 

 and by the observations on the temperature 

 and saltness of the water. The temperature 

 at the bottom, in 30 fathoms, varies between 

 1 and -1-4 0. ; the saltness is a little less 

 than that of the Atlantic Ocean. At the surface 

 the temperature was very variable, being +10 

 at Dickson's Harbor, 1 at Cape Cheliuskin, 

 + 8 outside of Taimyr Sound, anjl between 

 Chatauga Bay and the Lena from +1'2 to 

 + 5'8. The investigations on the saltness of the 

 water showed that it was equal to two thirds 

 river water and one third sea water. The ex- 

 aminations prove that a warm and but little 

 saline surface layer of water is formed by the 

 discharge of the summer-heated waters of the 

 Ob and Yenisei, which runs in a current from 

 the mouth of each river, first to the northeast 

 and then, under the influence of the rotation of 

 the earth, toward the east along the coast; 

 which probably keeps the whole coast free 

 from ice for a short season each year, aided 

 by similar currents fed by the Chatauga, An- 



