77° THE JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY. 



Greenland. Should the mass of land seen by Lieutenant 

 Peary, north of Independence Bay, prove to be an island, as is 

 highly probable, it will doubtless be found to surpass Disco in 

 extent. The island is essentially a lofty plateau, ranging in 

 height between 2000 and 4000 feet, with peaks rising to 5000 

 feet. Its borders are generally precipitous, but broken by val- 

 leys which are usually narrow and steep, penetrating but short 

 distances. On the western side, however, there are developed 

 very notable amphitheaters by the broadening and mesa-like 

 recession of the upper parts of the valleys. On this side also 

 there are three notable fjords, the Disco, Mellem, and North 

 fjords. The first of these reaches nearly half across the south- 

 ern portion of the island. The southern face of the plateau, as 

 seen on the approach to Godhaven, is bold but not angular nor 

 serrate. A somewhat symmetrical wall rises precipitously from 

 near the water's edge to the height of 2000 to 2500 feet, where 

 it is surmounted by an undulating plain that appears to repre- 

 sent an ancient surface. The face of the wall is broken at fre- 

 quent intervals by steeply descending ravines, cut by small 

 streams. The boldness of the frontage appears to be due to the 

 work of the sea, but sea action has not recently been so effec- 

 tive as to prevent the accumulation of very large masses of 

 talus along the foot of the cliffs, accompanied by a measurable 

 recession of the upper part of the wall. The topography 

 plainly indicates an ancient process of leveling, with a base- 

 plane some 2000 feet higher than the present. It also indicates 

 that this did not reach completion, and that a very long interval 

 of greater elevation followed, during which a lower plain now 

 near the sea level was partly developed at the expense of the 

 older one. In this the fjords and deeper channels were cut. 

 The present boldness of frontage toward the sea is probably due 

 to the sea's action subsequent to the formation of the lower 

 plain as may be inferred from its freshness and steepness. 



The geological structure in the vicinity of Godhaven is 

 quite simple. At the water's edge, and rarely rising more than 

 100 feet above it, lies a series of gneisses, resembling in all 



