422 Reports and Proceedings — 



Below the parallel of 40 ° South latitude lie Tasmania, the South 

 Island of New Zealand, numerous small islands (such as the 

 Chatham Islands, Auckland Island, Campbell Island, Macquarrie 

 Islands, Kerguelen Island, Heard Island, Prince Edward Islands, 

 Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, Bouvet Island, South Georgia,, 

 Sandwich Group, South Shetland and South Orkney Islands, 

 Falkland Islands), and about 1,500 miles linear of the South 

 American Continent, Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. At the 

 pole itself lies the great unexplored Antarctic Continent, surrounded 

 by the vast waters of the Southern Ocean, covering an area of 

 30,000,000 square miles. 



Atbiospheke. — Over the area, south of the parallel of 50° S. 

 latitude, a temperature below 32° Fahr. prevails. South of latitude 

 45° S. we meet with low atmospheric pressure all the year with 

 strong westerly and north-westerly winds, and large rain and snowfall 

 all round the South Polar regions, the mean pressure being less than 

 29 inches. But there are many indications that the extreme South 

 Polar area is occupied by a vast anticyclone, out of which winds 

 blow, towards the girdle of low pressure outside the ice-bound 

 region. Eoss found a gradual rise of pressure south of latitude 

 75° S., and all Antarctic voyagers agree that when near the ice the 

 majority of winds are from the south and south-east, and bring 

 clear weather with a fall of temperature, while northerly winds 

 bring thick fogs with rising temperature. 



Antarctic Ice. — The most striking feature of the Antarctic is 

 the huge table-shaped icebergs. These flat-topped icebergs have 

 a thickness of 1,200 to 1,500 feet, marked by regular stratification, 

 and presenting lofty perpendicular cliffs, which rise 150 to 200 feet 

 above, and sink 1,100 or 1,400 feet below the level of the sea. 



Their form and structure clearly indicates that they were formed 

 on an extended land surface, and have been pushed out over low- 

 lying coasts into the sea. 



Eoss sailed for 300 miles along the face of a great ice-barrier from 

 150 to 200 feet high, off which he obtained depths of 1,800 and 

 2,400 feet. This was evidently the sea front of a great creeping 

 glacier or ice-cap just then in the condition to give birth to those 

 table-shaped icebergs, miles in length, which have been described 

 by every Antarctic voyager. 



But all the Antarctic land is not surrounded by inaccessible cliffs 

 of ice, for along the seaward face of the great mountain ranges 

 of Victoria Land the ice and snow which descend to the sea 

 apparently form cliffs not higher than ten to twenty feet ; and in 

 1895 Kristensen and Borchgrevink landed at Cape Adare on a 

 pebbly beach, occupied by a Penguin rookery, without encountering 

 any land-ice descending to the sea. 



Where a Penguin rookery is situated we may be quite sure that 

 there is open water for a considerable portion of the year, and 

 consequently landing might be effected without much difficulty or 

 delay. A party once landed might with safety winter at such 

 a spot, where Penguins would furnish an abundant supply of 

 food and fuel. 



