20 THOMAS L. WATSON 



were represented, from the true sand and gravel, on the one 

 hand, to the typical bowlder beach on the other, with all grada- 

 tions between these two extremes. Except for the materials 

 being covered with lichens, these are as fresh and perfect in every 

 respect as though they had been formed but yesterday. In the 

 majority of cases the beaches extended entirely across the val- 

 leys from side to side, although it was not uncommon to find 

 them thinning out at one end, and only reaching from one- 

 half to two-thirds the entire distance. They were variable in 

 dimensions, in width from lo to 50 yards, and in length from 

 60 to 1 10 yards. Their length depended upon the width of 

 the valleys in which they were formed. In elevation they 

 ranged from 270 feet above, down to sea level ; and, so far as 

 studied, could be correlated throughout. 



The best developed and most uniform and regular series of 

 beaches found were in a valley ^ which began at the north end 

 of Ashe Inlet, with a direction' S. 13°. 5 W. The divide in this 

 valley is located nearer the southwest end, and about 1000 

 yards from its northern terminus in Ashe Inlet. Unlike most 

 of the other divides on the island, which are composed of loose 

 material, either glacial or beach deposits, this one is formed of 

 the gneissic rock, in situ, and is exposed for the entire width of 

 the valley with an elevation of 185 feet above sea level. The 

 first beach is built immediately against this rocky divide at an 

 elevation of 175 feet above sea, with an average width of some 

 forty feet. The second beach is 165 yards beyond the first one, 

 northward, at 125 feet above sea, and is the best developed one 

 of the series in this valley, with a width of some one hundred 

 feet. Between these two slight fragmentary ones are scat- 



' It was on the south side of this valley, only a short distance from Ashe Inlet, 

 that the Hudson Bay Company established their scientific station, or Observatory No. 3, 

 in 1884 ; and it was in their house that we camped during our stay on the island. 



- Through the kindness of Mr. G. R. Putnam, of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey, the writer has been enabled to give all bearings in terms of true North and 

 South readings. Mr. Putnam states that the compass needle is rather unstable in 

 these regions ; also, there may be daily changes of several degrees, and the effect of 

 local attraction is likely to be great. 



