122 CKUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



remainder of this northern coast between Admiralty inlet and 

 Prince Regent inlet is formed of flat-bedded limestone, and 

 rises in steep cliffs about a thousand feet high to a compara- 

 tively flat plateau. This plateau with its cliffs continues down 

 the east side of Prince Regent inlet nearly to Fury and Hecla 

 strait, the land gradually becoming lower towards the south. 

 The eastern side of Fox channel is as yet unexplored, and all 

 information concerning it has been obtained from the Eskimos. 

 They describe the coast as generally low, and much the same in 

 character as that of the limestone islands of Hudson bay. The 

 limestone country terminates some distance north of King cape, 

 which marks the western limit of Hudson strait on its north 

 side, and the coast is again formed of crystalline rock, with its 

 characteristic broken outline and fringe of islands. The north- 

 ern shores of Hudson strait along its western half although bold 

 are not high, and the interior probably does not reach a general 

 elevation of 1,000 feet. To the eastward of Big island the coast 

 becomes higher, and the land rises slowly inland to elevations 

 of 2,000 to 3,000 feet. 



The highlands to the northward of Cumberland gulf, along 

 the east side of the island, appear to be covered with an ice-cap, 

 from which glaciers flow down the valleys leading to the many 

 bays on this coast. These glaciers are neither as heavy nor as 

 active as those of the islands north of Lancaster sound, and only 

 rarely do they project into the sea and discharge icebergs. The 

 lower lands adjoining the coast are usually free of snow during 

 the summer. The ice-cap, according to the natives, does not 

 extend far inland, the interior being practically free of snow 

 during the summer months. About Cumberland gulf and to 

 the southward the highlands are partly snow-covered, but the 

 patches are detached, and there are no glaciers sufficiently large 

 to discharge into the sea. The Grinnell glacier is an ice-cap 

 covering the summit of the highland between Frobisher bay and 

 Hudson strait. It is said to discharge by one small glacier into 



