90 



DISCOVERY 



six 3-ears ^ he was succeeded by Ay, the monuments 

 of whose short reign (minimum four years) show every 

 sign of rigorous orthodoxy. 



The Davies tomb thus remains a mystery, and will 

 continue to remain so should the new tomb, as seems 

 probable, prove to be really that originally intended 

 for and actuaUy used by Tutankhamon. 



Geological Results of the 

 "Quest" Expedition 



G. Vibert Douglas, M.C., M.Sc. 



Geologist on the " Quest " Expedition 



It was the original intention of Shacldeton to explore 

 those portions of the coast of Antarctica which lie 

 south of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. To be precise, 

 his first objective lay between Enderby Land and 

 Coats' Land, his second objective between Charcot 

 Land and King Edward VII Land. These two 

 portions of coast have never been seen by man. On 

 the routes to and from these objectives he intended to 

 call at those seldom-visited islands in the Atlantic, 

 Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. This programme, 

 while not of the spectacular nature of a dash to the 

 interior of the continent, was one calculated to add 

 considerably to our knowledge of the globe. Owing 

 to the death of our leader, the unsuitability of the ship 

 for ice navigation, and the conditions of the ice, only a 

 portion of the last-named objective was attained. 



The islands of Madeira, St. Vincent C.V., and St. 

 Paul Rocks were visited on the way out, but space will 

 not admit of their being mentioned here. 



South Georgia 



The island of South Georgia, which is ii6 miles long 

 by 20 miles wide, lies in lat. 54° S. 900 miles east of 

 Cape Horn. 



It was first sighted by Amerigo Vespucci in 1501, 

 again by Antony La Roche in 1675, but was claimed 

 for Britain by Captain Cook in 1775. After sailing 

 around the island he recorded in his diary that it was 

 unfit for human habitation, and he decided to call it 

 the Isle of Georgia in honour of His Majesty George III. 

 Little did he think that 140 years later it would give 

 occupation to a thousand men and support so im- 

 portant an industry as the Southern whaling is to-day. 



The physical features are those of an upland 



» The statement in my article in Dlscovery, No. 38, p. 32, 

 that we have no year dates of Tutankhamon needs correction 

 In the tomb of Tyi was found a vase containing a piece of 

 linen on the edge of which was written in ink " Year 6 of 

 Tutankhamon." 



deeply eroded by glacial action. The highest peak. 

 Mount Paget, is about 8,000 ft., but the average 

 monument is only 2,000 ft., above sea level. The 

 average valley elevation would probably be about 

 600 ft. 



The glacial valleys run in general across the longer 

 axis of the island, so that one sees valley after valley 

 separated by comb ridges. 



In the classification of Hobbs it is a fretted upland 

 with the development through glacial action of 

 monuments and comb ridges. There is some evidence 

 of a general uplift, but in the opinion of the writer 

 most of the low ground 50 to 70 ft. above sea level is 

 the result of cosmic action rather than that of the sea. 



In general it may be said that the glaciers show signs 

 of withdrawal. One particular investigation was 

 carried out at Royal Bay, where the Ross Glacier comes 

 down to the sea. It was measured by the Gauss 

 Expedition of 1882, again by Duse of the Nordenskjold 

 Expedition of 1902, and by us in 1922 — intervals of 

 twenty years. These measurements show the fact that 

 there was an advance of the foot of over 4,000 ft. during 

 the period 1882 to 1902, and that now it is back in the 

 position of 1882. It is suggested that this does not 

 indicate any general advance or withdrawal, but rather 

 that the glacier, to use an hydraulic term, is operating 

 under a high head and is being forced out to sea, where 

 the foot is afloat. It will continue to advance until 

 the effect of the rollers on the floating mass of ice 

 overcomes the tensile strength of the ice and it breaks 

 away. If we assume that twenty years represent this 

 period (it may be a multiple of a smaller period), then 

 this gives an advance per year of about 220 ft. 



Vegetation is limited to the lower slopes facing the 

 sea, where there is plenty of tussock grass, which is 

 capable of supporting, and does support, imported 

 reindeer. There are ferns and lichens growing in the 

 crannies of the rocks. Lettuces, radishes, and carrots 

 are grown under glass at Husvik. 



The greater part of South Georgia is composed of 

 sedimentary rocks, but running inland from Cooper 

 Bay there is an igneous contact. To the east of this 

 contact an igneous complex exists. 



The sediments,- which are of the nature of mud- 

 stones, shale, slate, phvllite, quartzite, greywacke,^ 

 marble, and tuff, most probably represent one great 

 series of deposition. Owing to a complicated series of 

 folds, faults, and sheared zones in manyplaces.one would 

 think that an unconformity existed and, until there has 

 been more detailed work done on the island, it will not 

 be possible to say definitely whether there are two main 

 series or only one. 



The sediments have been so contorted that most of 



= Mr. G. W. Tyrrell, A.R.C.S., F.G.S., Glasgow University 

 3 Dr. W. T. Gordon, D.Sc, King's College. London. 



