GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE. 



285 



reached to the depth of a hundred and fifty yards, 

 beneath the surface of the sea. Others, again, 

 have been observed, possessing an even surface, 

 of five or six square miles in area, elevated thirty 

 yards above the sea, and fairly run aground in 

 water of ninety or a hundred fathoms in depth ; 

 the weight of which, must have been upwards of 

 two thousand millions of tons ^ I 



Icebergs may arise in sheltered bays of the Land. 



Spitzbergen is possessed of every character 

 which is supposed to be necessary for the forma- 

 tion of the largest icebergs ; high mountains, deep 

 extensive valleys, intense frost, and occasional thaws; 

 yet here a berg is very rarely met with, and the 

 largest I ever heard of, was not to be compared 

 with the productions of Baffin's Bay. Icebergs, I 

 therefore conclude, may have their principal ori- 

 gin in the deep sheltered narrow bays, with which 

 Old or West Greenland abounds. In this respect, 

 it possesses a decided advantage over Spitzbergen, 

 since, on the West side, the coast now alone visit- 

 ed, few sheltered spots occur ; at least those situa- 

 tions, the most protected from the influences of 



* Suppose the iceberg S miles (English statute) long, by 2 

 broad, that is 15,840 by 10,560 feet surface, and 500 feet deep 

 under water, it would displace 83,635,200,000 cubic feet of sea- 

 water ; and as a cubic foot of Greenland sea- water weighs 

 63 lb. 15 oz. 4 dr., or 64 lb. nearly, the weight of the mass woul4 

 appear to be about 2,389,577,142 tons. 



