8 H. G. SIMMONS. [SEC.ARCT.EXP.FRAM 



rocks were formed of gneiss and micaslate with veins of quarts which, 

 according to him, forms generally in arctic lands a poor soil for the 

 development of vegetation. Indeed, my own experience from Ellesmere- 

 land is quite different; the regions with an underground of primary rock 

 there being by far the richest in density of vegetation and number of 

 species. Now this seems principally due to the stability of the rock, 

 which, as being less easily attacked by the frost, gives a less changing 

 surface; the debris of other strata may form a richer soil if it is only 

 preserved long enough to be come clad with vegetation. A soil formed 

 of debris, for instance of Silurian limestone, but resting on Archaean 

 rock, is probably the most favorable; and the richness of the Foulke 

 Fjord flora mentioned in the following, may perhaps be partly due to 

 such a combination in the geological nature of the place. 



From Gape York the Archaean rocks may be followed northwards 

 at least to Littleton Island, forming the basement of the mountains along 

 the outer coast and also the upper parts of some of them. According 

 to DE RANGE and FEILDEN, lower Silurian (Cambrian?) strata of grit and 

 conglomerate appear between Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds, and in 

 Foulke Fjord there rest upon a basement of gneiss, thick layers of Ter- 

 tiary, probably Miocene, sandstone and conglomerate overlaid by basalt. 

 As far as could be judged from a distance, the architecture of Gape 

 Alexander is the same as in Foulke Fjord, and probably the same geo- 

 logical structure continues further north as far as to the great gap in the 

 coast filled by the Humboldt Glacier. North of the great glacier appear 

 Silurian strata, mostly limestone, through Washington Land to Peter- 

 mann Fjord, and from Hall Land northwards the coast, according to the 

 last-mentioned authors, is built up of older, azoic rocks (Algonkian?). 



The loose deposits, resting on the rock basement, are principally of 

 three kinds: either debris fallen from the cliffs, or washed down dur- 

 ing the melting of the snow, or formed under the surface of the sea 

 and afterwards raised to their present position. This upheaval of the 

 land has evidently taken place at a rather late period, as may be seen 

 from the well-preserved organic remains found at various heights above 

 the present shore-line. Indeed the observations concerning these pheno- 

 mena, are mostly made on the other side of the Channels, but the same 

 feature is also prevalent in North- Western Greenland. Raised beaches 

 and deposits containing marine shells and other remains proving their 

 origin on the sea bottom, play a very important part in the formation 

 of the loose soil of these regions, 



