a 
246 TT. A. Blake on the Northwest Coast of America. 
of the Stachin river, and the lowest known limit on the coast 
is about 54°, at the head of the narrow inlet on the coast of 
British Columbia, east of Fort Simpson. 
At the head of the peninsula of Alaska is the commence- 
ment of another great line of volcanic action which extends to 
the southwest, forming the peninsula and then, curving to the 
west, the long chain of Aleutian Islands—“ stepping stones,” 
as they have been aptly called, between the two continents— ' 
stretching i 
far toward the Kamschatkan peninsula. 
The rocks on the island of Kodiak, east of the Alaska pe- 
ninsula, metamorphic sandstones and shales, also show a gen- 
eral parallelism in their trend to that of this line of upheaval 
—trending N.E. and 8.W. instead of N.W. and 8.E. as on the 
coast of the main land. 
During the time spent by the recent expedition at Captain’s 
bay, island of Unalaska, Dr. Kellogg, two of the officers of U. 
8. R. Cutter Lincoln, and myself made the ascent of Makushi- 
uski Mt., a volcano on the northern end of the island. 
A detailéd account of the ascent may form the subject of a 
‘future article. From our observations the height of the vol- 
cano was ined to be, approximately, five thousand six 
hundred feet, that of the snow line, three thousand one hun- 
dred and sixty-eight feet. 
No vegetation is to be seen above an elevation of two thou- 
sand five hundred feet, except that low form of vegetable life 
called ‘red snow” which occurred at an altitude of from four 
agen to four — five hundred feet. An incipient 
glacier curves grace around through a gorge on the eastern 
flank of the cnruielon se 
The island is marked by the entire absence of trees, though 
the hills are covered with a thick growth of grass. Its northeast- 
ern_end is madé up almost wholly of volcanic rocks. 
Perhaps the most remarkable view of volcanic cones and 
| L utline, showing 
it to be a in its early stages of development. In 1863 
its eruption was the cause of the loss of many lives, whence its 
are vast in oe 
that the rocks are bare, and that apparently in very limited 
areas. The angle of side slopes of Shishaldin is about 35°. 
— 
——— ae 
| 
| 
; 
+ 
| 
a 
