TOPOGRAPHY OF SOUTH VICTORIA LAND (ANTARCTIC). 507 
the ship. Towards noon we were off Cape Rogel. A large body of ice 
lay off it and at the mouth of Mowbray bay, so we were compelled to 
make a long détowr towards the east to avoid it. In the afternoon Capes 
Christie, Cotter, and Hallet were passed, all bold rugged headlands of 
volcanic formation, and partly free of snow. 
Coulman island was reached on the 4th. The shore on the western 
side looked so precipitous, that at first we entertained but little hope of 
effecting a landing. At one place a perpendicular cliff, some 1500 feet 
high, fell sheer into the sea; to the right and left were the walls of the 
ice-cap, about 100 feet high, and extending for some distance out into 
the sea. After some risky manceuvring in the surf, we succeeded in 
landing at a spot at the base of the cliff. There was, however, nothing 
to see except the walls of the cliff, the formation of which is volcanic 
and similar to that at Cape Adare. On the mainland, about 14 miles 
due west of Coulman island, we discovered a kind of inlet or arm 
running into the glacier for a distance of about 3 miles. This spot was 
well sheltered from winds, and from it the inland ice-cap was easily 
accessible ; but it was scarcely safe for a ship, on account of the heavy 
ice-pack, which is borne by the current into the channel between 
Coulman island and the mainland. 
At noon on February 6, Mount Melbourne was sighted to the west- 
south-west. We were all struck by its extraordinary resemblance to 
Mount Etna. Rising up gradually out of the sea to an altitude of 
nearly 8000 feet, with a canopy of cloud upon its peak, it presented an 
imposing sight. All afternoon we steamed down Wood bay, which runs 
much farther inland than indicated on Ross’s chart; at the bottom of 
it there is a long inlet or fjord, affording a capital harbour. Late in 
the evening, we landed on a pebbly beach at the foot of Mount Mel- 
bourne. The place upon which we landed was a pebbly bank even 
larger in extent than that at Cape Adare, entirely free from snow and 
“ponds” and occupied by penguins and skua gulls. A better spot for 
winter quarters, I think it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find 
in those latitudes. It is the only place in South Victoria Land where a 
ship can winter with perfect security. From here there is quite an 
easy access to the great snow-cap, not more than 100 feet to climb, 
and a very gradual gradient. This part of the coast is actually the 
closest approach to the south magnetic pole, it lying in an almost 
westerly direction from Wood bay distant between 200 and 300 miles. 
I do not, however, wish to imply that observations can be taken in 
the vicinity of the magnetic pole without much difficulty, for it is quite 
within the bounds of possibility that an open sea may be encountered 
before reaching a distance of 200 miles in a true westerly direction— 
that is, if an archipelago of islands exists, instead of a vast continental 
area. 
Tf a land party should winter near Mount Erebus and Terror, there 
