418 Reports and Proceedings — 



sisting as before of sandstones. North of Wiveliscombe breccia 

 begins to prevail, and in the Stogumber valley principally represents 

 the division. Owing to the conformity of the various members of 

 this latter group, they appear to represent continuous deposition. 

 We might fairly consider the upper marls and sandstones as repre- 

 senting the Keuper, as their average thickness taken together can 

 scarcely be under 1000 feet. 



The lowermost sandstone and breccia may be taken as equivalents 

 of part of the Bunter, as they are probably 1000 feet thick near the 

 south coast, and 300 where least developed. 



The representation of the Muschelkalk would lie then between 

 the Conglomerate or Lower Marl divisions, and the one rejected be 

 incorporated with Keuper or Bunter. 



II.— June 21st, 1876.— Prof. P. Martin Duncan, M.B., F.E.S., 



President, in the Chair. — The following communications were read : — 

 1. •' On the Ice-Fjords of North Greenland and on the Formation of 

 Fjords, Lakes, and Cirques in Norway and Greenland." By M. A. 

 Helland. Communicated by Prof.. A. C. Eamsay, F.E.S., V.P.G.S. 



The author described in great detail his observations on the 

 glacial phenomena of Greenland, and applied their results to the 

 consideration of the traces of glacial action exhibited in Norway. 

 He stated that the glacier of the Jacobshavn fjords moving on a 

 slope of only y, advances, at all events in summer, at from 14-20 

 to 19*77 metres per day, the maximum movement being about 

 64 feet per day. In all cases where the glaciers terminate in 

 fjords, and the formation of the latter is due to glacial action, it is 

 found that the mouth of the fjord is shallow, with an island or 

 islands bearing erratic blocks, whilst the interior is much deeper 

 even than the sea outside. The same characters are observed in the 

 Norwegian fjords. From a consideration of the height at which 

 these boulders occur on islands at the mouth of the latter, the 

 author estimates the thickness of some of the glaciers, to which he 

 attributes the formation of the fjords, and arrives at thicknesses 

 varying from 2940 to 7010 feet. The author remarks that fjords, 

 lakes, and cirques are always met with in glaciated regions, and 

 explains their formation by the action of ice. His view of the 

 course of events in Norway is as follows : — Before the Glacial epoch 

 thousands of streams commenced the work of erosion and produced 

 valleys. During the Glacial epoch these valleys were enlarged and 

 lake-basins were hollowed out. The descending glaciers ground 

 out fjords to their full length when the Glacial epoch was at its 

 highest, but as it declined the glaciers ground out the inner part 

 to a still greater depth, producing the present characters of the 

 marine fjords, and giving rise to lake-hollows in other places. 

 That the glaciers once extended beyond the fjords is shown by 

 moraine-matter being dredged up. Some of the sea-banks and 

 islands off Christiania-fjord are old moraines ; and if Norway should 

 be raised 4U0 metres, these banks would show as moraines and 

 plains before the lake-basins of the fjords. 



