Geographic Notes 



2 ig 



the National Geographic Society, to fill 

 the vacancy caused by the resignation of 

 Prof. W. B. Powell. Professor Russell 

 headed the expeditions sent by the So- 

 ciety some years ago to explore and 

 ascend Mount St. Elias. He is the 

 author of " Lakes of North America," 

 "Glaciers of North America," "Vol- 

 canoes of North America," and many 

 pamphlets and government reports. 



Dr. Israel C. Russell 



Member of the National Geographic Society 

 Expedition to the West Indies 



Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. Army, has 

 accepted the chairmanship of the Com- 

 mittee on the Eighth International Geo- 

 graphical Congress, which will meet in 

 1904, in Washington, under the auspices 

 of the National Geographic Society. 

 General Greely represented the National 

 Geographic Society and the United 

 States Government at the Geographical 

 Congress at Berlin in 1899, and at the 

 Congress in London in 1895. 



In addition to the three members of 



the National Geographic Society Expe- 

 dition, Messrs. Russell, Hill, andBorch- 

 grevink, there sailed on the Dixie for 

 Martinique May 14 six other members of 

 the National Geographic Society : Mr. 

 George Kennan, the noted traveler and 

 author ; Dr. E. O. Hovey, of the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History ; Prof. 

 Thomas A. Jaggar, of Harvard Univer- 

 sity ; Mr. George C. Curtis, of Boston, 

 the well-known maker of land models ; 

 Mr. Robert Dunn, of New York, who 

 has done considerable work among the 

 Wrangell group of mountains, Alaska, 

 and Mr. August F. Jaccaci, Art Editor 

 of McClure ' s Magazine. 



MOUNT BLACKBURN 



TRAVELERS returning from 

 Alaska have reported that Mount 

 Blackburn, of the Wrangell group, in 

 the southeastern part of the territory, 

 was in active eruption in April. It is a 

 lofty mountain, reaching to a height of 

 16,140 feet. Mr. Arthur C. Spencer, 

 of the U. S. Geological Survey, who ex- 

 plored the mountain in 1900, states that 

 at the time of his visit it could hardly 

 have been called a volcano, extinct or 

 alive, and he questions the report of its 

 recent activity. Mount Blackburn is a 

 rugged mass of limestone and various 

 types of igneous rocks The lesser 

 mountains around Blackburn are cov- 

 ered with volcanic material to a depth 

 of several hundred feet, probably ejected 

 from an ancient crater on Mount Black- 

 burn. The top of the volcano had been 

 worn away by erosion until it seemed 

 highly improbable that it would ever 

 come to life. 



ST. VINCENT 



THE little island of St. Vincent is 

 17 miles long and about 10 miles 

 wide. On its area of 121 square miles 

 is a population of nearly 50,000, who 

 live for the most part on the southern 



