88 



that the British Isles were covered once with ice as is Greenland 

 now, much less that such a sheet of ice could have been continuous 

 across the North Sea, Baltic, and Irish Channel, unless the con- 

 ditions which now occur in Greenland prevailed here also. What 

 then are these conditions that determine the formation of such an ice- 

 sheet ? The most important of these is stated to be a large land 

 area. It is true that "A mantle of perpetual snow swathes the 

 islands of the Arctic Ocean — not only those of smaller size on the 

 Greenland coast, but also those, both small and large to the north of 

 the American continent ; yet in none is an ice-sheet found ; this 

 seems to require a land mass of almost continental dimensions." * 

 This fact is equally apparent in the Antarctic continent where we 

 have the largest example of a huge ice-cap in the world. There is 

 no such continental area to form such an ice-cap in Great Britain or 

 Ireland, nor could there have been in the North Sea or Irish Channel, 

 even had their beds been raised above the present sea level during 

 the glacial period. Even if the area of Scandinavia were sufficient 

 to provide an ice-cap of the dimensions required, and were the con- 

 ditions such as now obtain in Greenland, it can be shown that this 

 huge glacier could not have extended far beyond its own coast-line, 

 much less have swept across the North Sea. It is remarkable that 

 in Greenland the ice does not extend as a rule even so far as its own 

 coast line, except where it works down the valleys and fiords as 

 glaciers. These latter provide huge icebergs, which float down into 

 the North Atlantic, but the lower ground near the coast seems to be 

 free from permanent snow and ice.f This is well seen in a series of 

 beautiful photographs in Messrs. Chamberlin and Salisbury's 

 " Geological Processes and their Results," J in which the terminal 

 edges of the ice cap, and the protruding glaciers are admirably 

 shown. Now the west coast of Scandinavia resembles that of 

 Greenland, in its fiords and islands, with the high plateau inland, 

 and were it possible for an ice-cap to proceed seawards and traverse 

 the German Ocean to invade these shores, some signs of such action 

 would surely be seen in Greenland which is now enjoying its glacial 

 period. On the contrary we are told that, "Almost everywhere the 

 lower ground near the coast seems free from permanent snow." The 

 great ice sheet being confined to the high table-land and showing no 

 tendency to invade the sea shore, much less the sea itself. If it be 

 contended that the bed of the North Sea was raised into dry land at 

 the time, the position is not improved for the glacialists. For 

 judging from the condition of Greenland, its shores and adjacent 

 islands, the ice would have broken off around what is now the coast 

 line and piled up there in masses at the base of the precipitous cliffs 

 of the present Norwegian shores. The lower grounds near the coast 

 would there, as now in Greenland, tend to remain clear of permanent 

 snow. 



There is another condition essential for the formation of a 

 permanent ice-sheet, and that is the snowfall, which depends for its 



* Bonney's Ice-Work, p. 40. 

 f Ibid., p 49. 



pp. 250-300, where a full account is given of ice-action in Greenland. 



