22 
Baron N or denskj aid's 
[January, 
continent can be covered with ice under the climatic condi- 
tions which exist on the globe south of the 8oth 
latitude ” “ With regard to Greenland it is not difficult to 
demonstrate that the above-described condtt.ons for the 
formation of glaciers do not exist,” if th " 
not rise gradually both from the eastern and the. western 
shL to the centre, and thus be like a loaf of bread in shape 
and with sides slowly and symmetrically terminating in the 
ocean. Such a land formation is, however not found in any 
nart of the orography of the known world, and one may 
therefore safely conclude that neither is it to be found in 
Greenland. In fadt the geological nature of Greenland, 
very similar to that of Scandinavia, seems to indicate a 
similar geographical formation, m.,. a formation formed of 
mountafnous ridges alternating with deep val leys a d 
D lains * while one may even assume that the culminat g 
Fine of the land in Greenland runs, as in England and 
Sweden, and in both American continents, along the \\est 
“Having found the interior of Greenland covered with ice 
Baron Nmdenskjceld says-' 1 That we found no -“-free land 
In the interior or that it does not exist between 68 and 69 
latitude is due diredtly to the orographical conditions which 
exist in this part of the country, as referred to in my pro- 
gramme of the expedition. The land has here the form of a 
round loaf of bread, with sides gradually and symmetrically 
sloping down to the sea, i.e., exaftly the shape which I then 
pointed out was a necessary condition if the entire country 
Should be covered with a continuous sheet ot ice. . . 
Page 277 I said-" The great mass of all perennial ice 
has grown on land. Huge glaciers, wedged between 
mountains and vast ice-fields of great thickness, cover the 
™ lands whereas ice formed on the ocean never exceeds 
feet ” “ These masses of glacier and field ice travel horn 
higher 'to lower ground, and under thronging pressure over 
T and hill until they fall as frozen rivers over precipitous 
cliffs^ into the sea, or In ter it gliding from gentle slopes get 
bevond their depth, are uplifted, split under contending 
pressures and temperatures, and drift as haid fan jee 
amongst the softer ocean ice to be gradually consumed. 
“ For the formation of ice-fields it is only required that 
more water from the atmosphere should be deposited on 
land at a temperature below o on a surface below 0 during 
part of the year, than the direa rays of the sun and the 
indirea sources of the heat can melt during the other part. 
When there is a considerable excess of ice formed over the 
