218 Cyrus C. Babb—Geographic Notes. 
open sea with many whales surrounding his ship and the waters 
covered with birds. 
Biscoe in 1831 landed on Adelaide island, discovering also 
Graham and Enderby lands. Balleny discovered Balleny islands 
and Sabrine land. The Frenchman D’Urville sighted Adélie 
land in 1840, but he was unfortunate in being preceded by 
only a few days by Wilkes, who, in charge of the expedition 
from our own country, skirted the shore of this continent 
through 60° of longitude. He was unable to make a landing, 
owing to the immense ice cap which, descending from the shore, 
extended for several miles into the sea. It presented a perpen- 
dicular face 109 to 200 feet above the level of the sea, and was 
unbroken by indentations for the entire length along which he 
coasted. Later Dallman discovered Kaiser Wilhelm islands 
and Bismarck strait. 
The most successful and the most important expedition to the 
Antarctic was that of the Hrebus and Terror, under the command 
of Sir James Clark Ross, between the years 1839 and 1845. He 
thrice crossed the Antarctic circle. In January, 1841, Vicipria 
land was sighted, consisting of mountain ranges varying from 
7,000 to 15,000 feet in height. Along this shore he coasted south- 
ward for 500 miles, until his way was intercepted by a perpen- 
dicular wall of ice 200 feet in height extending in an east and 
west direction. Immediately in front of him the volcanic cones 
of mounts Terror and Erebus arose 10,800 and 12,400 feet in 
height respectively. The latter at the time of visit was in active 
eruption, and one can imagine what a magnificent sight it must 
have been to those men to see an immense mountain peak, 
located in a vast wilderness of ice and snow, belching forth fire, 
lava, and smoke. The ice barrier capping this Antarctic conti- 
nent Ross coasted for 500 miles, until he had to make his way 
out, owing to the closing in of winter. 
The next season this intrepid explorer repeated his last year’s 
trip, but with not so much success. He reached a latitude, how- 
ever, of 78° 10'S. In the third season, in 1842-’43, Ross visited © 
the regions south of cape Horn in the vicinity of Erebus and 
Terror bay. He could not follow Weddell’s course, owing to the 
closing in of heavy pack ice. 
The next expedition of importance was that of Her Majesty’s 
ship the Challenger, which visited these regions in 1874. Little 
geographic work as commonly understood—that is, the discovery 
