ANTARCTICA 



GEOLOGY 



PHYSIOGRAPHIC INTRODUCTION 



The name Antarctica, adopted by us, has been given by Balch,* and most other 

 American and English authors, to that great southern continent termed by EHsee 

 Eechis " Antarctide," by Gourdon " L'Antarctique," and by German authors 

 " Antarktis." In the subdivisions of this continent we have followed the system of 

 Charcot and Gourdon t of dividing Antarctica into three sectors corresponding to 

 the three great continents of the Southern Hemisphere : 



1. The American Sector, lying between 0° and 120° W. 



2. The Australian Sector, „ „ 120° W. and 120° E. 



3. The African Sector, „ „ 0° and 120° E. 



Another system is that which divides Antarctica into four quadrants : 



1. Enderby Quadrant, lying between 0° and 90° E. 



2. Victoria Quadrant, „ „ 90° E. and 180°. 



3. Ross Quadrant, „ „ . 180° and 90° W. 



4. Weddell Quadrant, „ „ 90° W. and 0°. 



Area. Dr. W. S. Bruce has estimated the superficial area of the Antarctic Con- 

 tinent as 5,470,000 square miles — an area which, as Hann i-emarks, is almost as 

 large as Europe and Australia — respectively 3,750,000 and 2,947,000 square miles. 

 It is doubtful if the actual land area of Antarctica much exceeds about 4,500,000 

 square miles. In this case nearly 1,000,000 square miles of its area, as estimated by 

 Bruce, would be occupied by old pack ice, ancient floe ice, and 2")iedmonts afloat, all 

 probably held in position by islands. 



Altitude. It has been estimated that Antarctica has a mean altitude of approxi- 

 mately GOOO feet (1829 metres), in which case, perhaps, it has the greatest mean 

 height of any continent. 



* "Antarctica," Philadelphia, 1902. 



t •' Expedition Antarctique Francjaise," 1903-1905. Dr. Jean Charcot, ••Geographie Physique, <tc." 

 par E. Gourdon. Paris, Masson et Cie, Editeurs, 1908, p. 2. 



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