260 



if allowed to remain some years — the easier as the ice is 

 better able to resist melting than the snow — can form the 

 basis of a general glaciation. 



It seems as if the same peculiar state prevailed in Jameson 

 Land even in earlier periods. I had expected, in this territory 

 covered by loose post-tertiary deposits and situated so close 

 to the inland ice, to find what has never yet been met with, 

 a district with a mighty ground-moraine corresponding to that 

 which we find, for instance, in Denmark or other South-Baltic 

 lowland tracts, but in direct connection with formations de- 

 posited by recent ice before our eyes. In this, however, I was 

 deceived: I saw no true ground-moraine anywhere in this 

 territory, nor, indeed, any proof that it had ever been covered 

 by land-ice even in conjunction with the widest extension of 

 the ice. Nevertheless, this territory is of considerable interest 

 for the study of the quaternary history of Greenland through 

 its masses — just described — of gravel and, nearer the shore, 

 of sand and clay which, in parts to a thickness of at least 100 m, 

 form its soil. That these loose masses are to some extent 

 marine is certain, and hence they point to a late upheaval of 

 the land, but how great it was is not yet known. Samples of 

 clay from highish levels have, unfortunately, all turned out to 

 be sterile ; only up to a height of about 30 m above sea-level 

 did I find indisputable marine shell remains. Neither could 

 typical shore lines be detected in the region on a higher leveP). 



However, strong arguments, above all, the very nature of 

 the deposits, speak in favour of their having been deposited 

 in the sea up to a far greater height. But, as I have just said, 

 I do not venture to extend this hypothesis to the gravel and 

 boulders of the highest plateaus. These are most easily ex- 



'^) Compare what was said above about the conditions on the west coast 

 of Liverpool Land, where Hartz, as we are informed, has made un- 

 expected and interesting observations which speak in favour of a higher 

 water-level. 



