The landing areas attain their greatest size between 87° and 88° 30' north. Closer to the 

 pole, they became smaller and worse. The field on which Alekseev's plane landed near the pole 

 (89° 51' north and 47° east) was massive and old. Two long areas 500 by 300 square m were 

 located on it, which were divided by a row of hummocks. Instead of ropaki, there were rounded, 

 snow-covered hummocks here. The ice was completely fresh, and the snow cover resembled firn. 



The field on which Schmidt's expedition organized the "North Pole" station on 21 May 1937, 

 was typical pack field, having an area of 4 square km. It was about 3 m thick, and its surface was 

 so level that four airplanes were parked on it simultaneously (figure 41). 



Figure 41. Ice in the region of the North Pole. 



It can be seen from this description that seemingly a singular belt of hummocking divides 

 (at least on the Rudolf Island meridian) the comparatively weak ice approximately along 86° north 

 in which the Sedou drifted from the more powerful pack ice with which the "North Pole" station 

 drifted. This belt resembles the hummocking belt observed along the sea edge of fast ice and, 

 evidently, is caused by the same situations. * 



*It should be mentioned that the Kanfi expedition (1900) on the way from Franz Joseph Land to 

 the North Pole found higlily hummocked ice at 86° 34' north. In 1895, Nansen was stopped on his 

 way to the North Pole by heavy ice at 86° 14' north and 86° east. In 1939, the Sedou was unable to 

 pass through the same area further north than 86° 39. 5' north. Thus, the belt of hummocking 

 which borders pack ice is evidently a constant phenomenon. 



117 



