EXPLORATION OF ANTARCTIC LANDS. 471 
walls the stratification of the névé was often seen. The blue colour of 
the hollows in the ice was more intense asthe light was stronger. 
Each berg was surrounded by a wide horizontal groove formed by the 
waves at the level of the sea, and one could often see the grooves of 
former levels, which showed that the position of equilibrium had 
changed, and one little iceberg to which we were very close showed 
two such lines which crossed each other. The surface of the ice 
reflected so much light that Cook was able to take instantaneous photo- 
graphs of the floating ice down to the moment of sunset, and even a 
little later; they were rather faint, it is true, but the outlines were 
quite clear. It was very difficult to judge distances, one piece of snow- 
covered land lying in front of another appearing to be part of it, and 
thus it was necessary to follow the coast very closely in order to distin- 
guish islands from peninsulas. 
The quantity of snow which has been accumulated in this region is 
really formidable. The westerly and northerly winds coming from the 
ocean doubtless bring great falls of snow, and this is always accumulat- 
ing, mountains of ice being reared on the top of the mountains of rock. 
So far as I could judge from the ship, the ice was nowhere uncovered, 
but thick snow seemed to lie on the glaciers down to the very edge of 
the sea. 
The sunset was very fine, and after it, about 9.30 p.m., the clouds 
were brilliantly coloured, and the south-western horizon became re- 
markably clear. At ten o’clock the ship was stopped quite close to 
the shore, at the entrance to the north-western passage, which doubtless 
led to the ocean. I was anxious to land to collect some geological 
specimens, but it was necessary to manceuvre the vessel all the time, in 
order to avoid shoals and floating ice, and, besides, the commandant did 
not see the use of landing here, so I had to give it up. About midnight, 
Lecointe, who was on duty, saw something floating which appeared 
exactly like a fragment of wood. ‘This was a good opportunity for 
launching a boat, so Racovitza, Tollefsen and I set out to see what it 
was, and, after having found that it was only a piece of ice filled with 
pebbles and clay, we naturally rowed ashore and landed in a little bay 
(III on map, Fig. 2), where I had the good fortune to come upon a 
moraine, which I believe was a ground moraine. There was water 
behind the moraine, and then a cliff of ice, the end of a great glacier 
which covered the whole slope of the mountain. Although it was grow- 
ing very dark and the specimens were collected hurriedly, we found 
more than ten different varieties of rocks, but none of sedimentary 
formation. The pebbles were, as a rule, perfectly round, and usually 
large, while there were also many big blocks. 
Tuesday, January 25, was fine and calm, the air perfectly trans- 
parent, the sky cloudless, and the heat of the sun intense. We landed 
at 7 a.m. Lecointe and Dobrowolski, in order to make astronomical 
