THE POLAK WORLD. 



northward to Hudson's Straits, which open from the bay into the Northern Atlantic in 

 about latitude 60° just opposite the southern extremity of the great continental island 

 of Greenland,^ which marks the proper line between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. 

 In the Arctic Ocean, between Greenland and Europe, lies the island of Iceland;^ 

 north of which is Jan Meyen's island;^ still further north, Spitzbergen ; ^ to the 

 east and a little south of which is Nova Zembla,^ off the northern coast of Asia, but 

 a little south of its extreme northern headland. 



To the north of the continent, and extending to an unknown distance into the 

 Polar Ocean, is an immense archipelago, the islands of which are separated by in- 

 numerable sounds, channels, and straits, blocked up by ice during all but a few weeks 

 in every year, and sometimes wholly so for several successive years. It is in these 

 bays and channels and along their shores, whether island or continent, that the naval 

 Arctic explorations have been carried on. The maps which are now added to this 

 volume furnish a clearer view of these and their relative positions than can be given 

 by words. A few of them deserve especial mention in connection with Arctic ex- 

 ploration. 



The southernmost island is Southampton lying in Hudson's Bay, at its head, 

 and just opposite Hudson's Straits. North and east of this is the great island, or 

 probably group of islands, known as Cockburn Land, separating the channels and 

 bays leading northward from Hudson's Bay into BafiSn's Bay. Baffin's Bay, shaped 

 not unlike the skin bottles of the ancients, with its broad mouth, Davis Straits, open- 

 ing southward into the Atlantic, separates Cockburn Land from Greenland. Like the 

 skin bottles to which we have compared it, it has several other natural openings, though 

 these are for a great part of the year closed by ice. Opposite its mouth is Smith's 

 Sound, leading directly northward into the presumed open Polar Sea. In the middle, 

 answerinor to one of the leojs of the skin bottle, is Lancaster Sound, with its continua- 

 tions known as Barrow's Strait, Melville Sound, and McClure's Strait running due 

 west, and forming a north-west passage to Bering's Straits, though it has been only 

 once traversed, by McClure and his party ,^ and probably will not be again within the 

 life-time of any man now living. Along the northern side of Lancaster Sound are, 

 among others, the islands of North Devon, Bathurst, and Melville, separated by Wel- 

 lington Channel and Austin Strait. Along the southern side of Lancaster Sound are 

 the islands of Cape York, separated by Prince Regent Inlet from North Somerset island, 

 which is separated from the island of North Wales. Lancaster Channel now expands 

 into Melville Sound, which has on its south side Victoria Land and Prince Albert 

 Land, possibly one island, but perhaps several, separated from Banks' Land by Prince 

 of Wales Strait. 



Hudson's Bay also communicates by a chain of winding channels and straits, or 

 rather fiords, with Melville Sound, which together form also another north-west pass- 

 age, every part of which has been traversed by some exploring vessel, though no one 

 has been through more than a small part of it. 



The 60th parallel of north latitude may be considered as the southernmost limit of 

 Arctic America. Here ice and snow have acquired absolute mastery over vegetation, 

 though toward the west the line of stunted forests reaches perhaps five degrees higher. 

 All north of this is unfitted for the abode of civilized man. The whole region is a 



1P.2T, 362, cise?. 2 p. 68. 3 p. 146. 4 P. 20, 131, 340. 5 P. 147. 6 P. 360. 



