124 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



ISLANDS OF GROUP III. 



As has been already stated, the islands of this group can only 

 be reached with considerable difficulty on account of their posi 

 tion. Little is known of them beyond the outline of their shores, 

 and even these have not been fully traced in the case of the more 

 western islands. 



North Somerset, separated from the northern part of Baffin 

 by Prince Eegent inlet, is the best known of the group, and its 

 northern and eastern shores have long been resorts of the 

 whalers in their search for the valuable Eight whale in the 

 adjoining waters. The less valuable white whales are often 

 abundant along these shores, and are taken by the whalers when 

 the larger whales cannot be obtained. The greatest length of 

 this island is from north to south, being 140 miles, while its 

 extreme breadth in the northern part is about a hundred miles. 

 In shape it somewhat resembles a ham with the shank to the 

 southward, where the narrow Bellot strait separates it from 

 Boothia peninsula, a northern extension of the continent., re- 

 markable for containing the North Magnetic Pole within its 

 area. The northern coast of North Somerset is formed of lime- 

 stone cliffs ; these are lower and less abrupt than on the northern 

 Baffin coast, while the bays indenting them are wider and not 

 so long as is usual on such coasts. Along the eastern side the 

 cliffs rise nearly 1,000 feet directly from the sea. To the south, 

 along this shore, the cliffs gradually decline, until the low lands 

 about Creswell bay are passed, when the country again becomes 

 high and the coast bold. The western side of the island, facing 

 on Peel sound, is occupied by a wide strip of Archaean rocks, 

 and the physical character corresponds to that of other like 

 areas. This coast never rises above the 1,000 feet contour, and 

 towards the south is considerably lower. There does not appear 

 to be any continuous ice-cap upon North Somerset, and the 

 glacial conditions are confined to isolated snow patches, with 



