THE ARCTIC ZONE. 243 



Residence in an Arctic Climate. Winter in the Hudson's Bay Terri- 

 tory. Hudson's Bay Go's Officers. Their Attachment to the Service. 

 Mr. Warburton Pike on the Charms of the North. Indian Appreciation 

 of its Beauty. Winter at the Great Slave Lake. Concluding Remarks. 



THE Arctic or Polar Zone forms the last of the 

 great terrestrial zones into which we have ventured 

 to divide the earth, while endeavouring to present the 

 various aspects of Nature to the reader's notice. It 

 extends from the Arctic Circle, which is drawn by 

 geographers at the parallels of 66 32' North and 

 South latitude, to the poles, in both hemispheres; 

 thus embracing within its limits an immense region 

 in each hemisphere, circular in its form, and having 

 a radius of 1408 geographical miles, drawn from the 

 poles. 



At the south pole this zone is of course known as 

 the Antarctic circumpolar region ; for the sake of 

 brevity however, we have simply described it under 

 the general designation of "The Arctic Zone," for 

 with the exception of a very small number of expedi- 

 tions, sent out by the governments of Great Britain, 

 France, and the United States (the most recent of 

 which was despatched in 1840, by the last-named 

 power), no attempt whatever has been made to explore 

 the antarctic regions, which therefore remain a " terra 

 incognita " to the present day. * 



There has recently been some talk of sending out 

 another expedition, promoted we believe, by our 



* A private attempt at Antarctic exploration, in connection with the 

 right whale fishery, was made during the summer of 1894 5, but 

 as a commercial venture it proved a failure, no right whales 

 being seen. (An account of this voyage, given before a meeting of the 

 Victoria Geographical Society, appeared in the Melbourne Argus of 

 March 20, 1895). 



