THE CLIFF OF UMANAK 89 



crumpled the rocks of which the Umanak moun- 

 tain remains as a detached and magnificent bastion 

 that in the course of ages has been fashioned into 

 its present form. The photograph reproduced in 

 Fig. 43 shows the view looking north-east from 

 Kook, an uninhabited part of the north coast of 

 the Nugssuaq Peninsula famous for fossil plants 

 (Cretaceous); it lies to the south-west of Umanak 

 where the dotted line bends towards the coast 

 (Urn., Map 5). Themast of the motor-boat 'Angut' 

 is between the cliff of Umanak, on the face of 

 which the reversed fold of black schist is faintly 

 seen sloping towards the right, and the bold 

 headland of the island of Sagdliarusek composed 

 of a pink crystalline rock. The Umanak cliff 

 is five miles away and the island to the right 

 nine miles. Near the base of the cliff is the Settle- 

 ment of Umanak (Fig. 44) with the native huts 

 and timber houses built on the small level patches 

 among the rounded hummocky rocks which form 

 a massive plinth to the pyramid that dominates 

 the island. A motor-boat is at anchor in the 

 sheltered bay and beyond the smooth water of 

 the fjord, sprinkled with glistening bergs, is the 

 massive side of Sagdliarusek Island, a part of which 

 is seen also in Fig. 43. As we lay at night off the 

 coast the howling of dogs in chorus as they prowled 

 over the rocks and the recurrent boom of breaking 

 icebergs seemed in harmony with the spirit of the 

 place. On the following day we were suddenly 

 transported to civilisation. The Inspector for 

 North Greenland arrived in his motor-boat and 



6-5 



