THE ROSS BARRIER 1^9 



yards (1'263 metres) per day. The direction of movement of the Ross Barrier 

 is also shown in Plate XXXIV. 



The important question may be discussed here, does this movement of the 

 Eoss Barrier, so conclusively proved at Minna Bluff, and in the great pressure 

 ridges and shear planes near Cape Crozier, extend also to the eastern end of the 

 Ross Barrier ? Amundsen has shown that at his winter quarters, " Framheim," 

 in the Bay of Whales, movement of the ice is practically negligible. The fact must 

 here be borne in mind that "Framheim" is just to the lee of a large island 

 completely smothered in ice, which appears to have stemmed back all movement 

 in the immediate neighbourhood of Amundsen's winter quarters. Nevertheless the 

 following facts show that some movement is still taking place on the eastern side 

 of the Barrier : — 



(1) High pressure ridges were encountered by Amundsen on the surfece of 

 the Barrier («) at about 46 miles south of " Framheim." * These were evidently 

 due to thrust of the Barrier ice against the southern and south-eastern sides of 

 the ice-covered island south of " Framheim." That the ice in this region is still 

 in a state of movement, however small, is clear from the description given by 

 Lieutenant Prestrud.f He relates how, on November 8, 1911, at a point on 

 the Ross Barrier about 20 miles southerly from "Framheim," "there was a report 

 about once in 2 minutes, not exactly loud, but still there it was. It sounded just 

 as if there was a whole battery of small guns in action down in the depths below 

 us." This was in the neighbourhood of some small hummocks, no doubt indicating 

 pressure near shearing planes. 



At and to the south of lat. 81° S. Amundsen records broken surfaces on the 

 Ross Barrier, with strong pressure ridges. " They extended as far as the eye could 

 see, running north-east to south-west in ridges and peaks." 



In the map illustrating Amundsen's lecture to the Royal Geographical Society 

 a slight indication of land is shown in the neighbourhood of these pressure ridges. 

 The existence of an island hereabouts, though conjectural, is highly probable. 

 About 40 miles farther east Amundsen shows high-pressure ridges lying oft' the 

 laud discovered by him between 81° and 83° S., just east of the meridian of 160° W., 

 and probably continuous with Carmen Land. It may jierhaps be significant that 

 the trend of the pressure ridges on Amundsen's line of march near 81° S. is from 

 south-west to north-east. This may be due to the strongest thrust coming from 

 the great outlet glaciers, which transect the high ranges on the south-west side 

 of the Ross Barrier. 



In regard to the Barrier south of Minna Bluff, Shackleton says {o]). cit., vol. i. 

 p. 299) that near lat. 82° 38' S. they encountered long undulations, " the width 

 from crest to crest being about lo miles, and the rise about 1 in 100. The depth of 



* The South Pole, Amundsen, vol. i. pp. 2.56-7 ; also ibid., vol. ii. pp. 6-12. 

 t Ibid., vol. ii. pp. 218-19, pp. 23-24, .and especially pp. 170-72. 



