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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Drawn by A. H. Bumstead and James M. Dailey 

 A SKETCH MAP OE THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SHOWING PROPOSED ROUTES OE AIRCRAFT 



OVER THE ARCTIC ZONE 



For many centuries, explorers, sailing in the interest of commerce, sought Northwest and Northeast 

 Passages to the Far East. After many failures which proved costly in lives and ships, both arctic routes 

 were discovered, but the perils of the tortuous passages through icy seas far outweighed any advantage 

 of shorter distance. Now, new northern passages are contemplated — passages through the air from 

 northern North America to northern Europe and Asia ; the Old and New Worlds are only a few "hops" 

 apart, as the airplane flies. The northern continents, separated by the Arctic, seem, in the vision of the 

 airman, not much farther apart than are Africa and Europe, separated by the Mediterranean, or Nortli 

 and South America, separated by the Caribbean. 



