THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



it probable that the deposit was formed in water of some 

 depth. It may therefore indicate an elevation of this 

 part of the coast near Cape Barne, not merely of 180 ft., 

 but perhaps of double that amount. 



Deposit (3) near the entrance of the Ferrar Glacier 

 Valley. These deposits cliiefly consist of brownish sands 

 with very numerous shells of a large species of pectens. 

 They were discovered by one of us, and traced to 

 altitudes of from 50 to 60 ft. Further north at Cape 

 Bernacchi there are strongly marked terraces suggestive 

 of raised beaches, which were observed by the Northern 

 Party to extend up to altitudes of 100 ft. At Terrace 

 Island, about twenty miles to the north of Cape Bernacchi 

 we observed well-marked terraces, ranging up to about 

 80 to 85 ft. above sea-level. These had every appearance 

 of having been laid down by the action of the sea, though 

 no sea-shells were found amongst the sands and coarse 

 gravel constituting this deposit. 



Deposit {4i) south-east of Mount Larsen. A very 

 curious type of what may be termed a raised beach or 

 possibly an upthrust area, was observed by us on our 

 journey from the sea ice near the Drygalski Glacier to the 

 foot of the small branch glacier at what we called Back- 

 stairs Passage. This moraine deposit consisted of greenish 

 grey muds underlying coarse moraines of granite blocks 

 and quartz and felspar porphyry. Beneath the grey muds 

 was ice; the ice was just very slightly saline in places. 

 These muds contained rem.ains of serpul^ in great 

 quantity, an enormous number of shells of that well- 

 known arctic type amongst the foraminifera, Biloculina„ 

 numerous representatives of horny polyzoa, siliceous 

 sponges, and a perfect form of solitary coral allied to a 

 perfect shell of lyothyrina, &c., dentalium, chiton, &c. 



The height of this deposit above sea-level could not be 



318 



