GEOLOGICAL CLIMATE. 281 



Europe having grown over those already explored 

 arctic islands on the north side of North America 

 where we have found their remains, and to lead us 

 to expect that similar remains of ancient forests 

 may be found anywhere within the arctic circle 

 where land is reached and explored in future, even 

 if up to the very North Pole. Just look at this 

 map of the circumpolar regions. Look at this 

 great north polar Mediterranean sea, everywhere 

 about 2000 miles across. At present there is just 

 one wide entrance to it from temperate waters, 

 that " Greenland sea," a channel 720 miles broad 

 between Norway and East Greenland opening the 

 Polar Sea to the North Atlantic. On the west 

 side of Greenland, between it on the east and 

 Ellcsmere Land and Grinnel Land on the west, 

 there is another entrance the long narrow channel 

 of Smith's Sound, Kennedy Channel, and Robeson 

 Channel, 600 miles long, narrowing to about 30 

 miles in several places, and to 20 miles in the very 

 portal of the Polar Sea at the north end of 

 Robeson ^Channel. There are besides entrances 

 by long, intricate, narrow channels among the 



