GLACIAL STUDIES IN GREENLAND. 653 



skirted, sufficient was seen to afford a fairly good basis for 

 drawing a conclusion, so far as this kind of inspection would 

 justify one at all. As I hope to discuss these observations col- 

 lectively, they will not be further referred to in this sketch. 



We had little more than come near enough for a clear view 

 of the coast of Greenland before we encountered the outer edge 

 of the East Greenland ice pack. It is an interesting fact that the 

 well-known Arctic current which flows southward along the east- 

 ern coast of Greenland, bearing a formidable ice pack, curves 

 around Cape Farewell and follows the western coast nortJizvard 

 for several degrees of latitude, though it becomes broadened 

 and scattered somewhat in this portion of its course. It then 

 gradually recurves to the west and south and descends the Labra- 

 dor coast, its burden of ice being progressively melted and dis- 

 persed. The charts name Holstensborg, which lies about seven 

 degrees north of Cape Farewell, as the limit of this north-flowing 

 current. 



We found this stream of floe ice very compact and closely 

 hugging the coast south of Cape Desolation. An estimate of its 

 breadth by an officer of the vessel was fifteen or twenty miles, 

 but a liberal allowance for probable error should doubtless be 

 made. It is reported to be often much wider than this. At the 

 point we encountered it the outer edge was quite sharply defined, 

 and although the sea was unusually calm, the presence of the 

 pack was announced at some distance by a continuous roar aris- 

 ing from the action of the ocean swell on the border of the 

 crowded floes of ice. Outside of this compact stream, small 

 masses of much eroded ice were scattered over a narrow belt, 

 forming a slight bordering fringe. The ice of the main pack was 

 quite firm and solid. To a large extent it retained its original 

 tabular form, but not a few of the masses were reduced to very 

 irregular and often very picturesque shapes. The melting to 

 which all had been subjected was notably more rapid at the edge 

 of the water than either above or below, and the result was a 

 girdling incision at the water level tending to reduce the mass to 

 a double tabular form, which was sometimes carried so far as to 



