FLAXMAN ISLAND, A GLACIAL REMNANT 57 



rier reefs, fringe the shore, while at a distance of a few miles occurs a 

 nearly continuous chain of islands. With two exceptions known to 

 the writer (Flaxman and Barter Islands, which are tundra) these are 

 exposed portions of a wave-built barrier reef. Inside is a long 

 shallow lagoon along which it is possible for hght-draught vessels to 

 make their way for miles, protected from the ice pack. 



Flaxman Island is about three miles long and hah a mile wide, 

 running nearly parallel to the mainland. Its surface is a tundra 

 plain about twenty feet above the sea. Ponds are scattered over the 





Fig. I. — A portion of the coast of Flaxman Island. 



surface, and large crystalHne boulders are frequently met with lying 

 haK buried in the soil. Immediately over the beach the plain ends 

 in a steep mud cUff which is broken by frequent gulHes. The beach 

 itself is studded with boulders which are seen in all stages of being, 

 weathered out of the chff as it recedes under the action of the elements. 

 Where the chff affords a good exposure, ice is nearly always seen 

 immediately underlying the soil. Usually only a few feet are found, 

 but on the northeast shore there are places showing at least twenty 

 feet. Nowhere is the base of the ice exposed, so no estimate of its 

 thickness can be made. The surface waters have often melted httle 



