THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



This great isolated cone, standing between the open 

 sea and the boundless frozen plain, had an immense efF ect 

 on the moisture-laden currents of air, and gave rise to 

 remarkable forms of clouds which we saw nowhere else. 



The Laminated Cloud. — Most characteristic of all 

 the clouds of Erebus was the great bank of laminated 

 cloud, resting on one flank or other of the mountain, and 

 reaching to the summit and above it, often to the height 



Spiral Cloud, September 25 



of many thousands of feet. The familiar shape of this 

 cloud was given when two gentle currents of air going in 

 opposite directions, met at some height above the crater. 

 The lower current carried the cloud a little bit one way, 

 then it was carried back in the opposite direction by the 

 upper current, as shown in the illustration. 



The disposition of the clouds shown in this sketch is 

 unusual, as there is a thin stratified band (not the smoke- 



420 



