38 
Geology. 
The ice floes borne by the east Greenland current are notably 
different from these. It is very widely known that an Arctic cur- 
rent sweeps down the east side of Greenland and thence along the 
coast of Labrador and the easterern border of our own country. 
It is not so widely known, although indicated on the charts of the 
region, that this current curves about the southern extremity of 
Greenland and sweeps to the northward for several degrees, 
whence it turns about to the west side of Baffin Bay and descends 
the Labrador coast. In passing this current, which bore a 
dense pack, admirable opportunities were afforded for observing 
the wasted forms of the thick variety of ice floes. While no meas- 
urements were made, it seemed within safe limits to estimate the 
thickness at fifteen or twenty feet quite commonly. Probably in 
some cases it was nearer twice that. That this great thickness 
was the result of the combined work of several seasons, as already 
hinted, rather than the deeper freezing of a colder district, seems 
to be supported by the studies of numerous Arctic explorers, and 
by the inherent probabilities of the case; but whether it was due 
simply to the freezing of the sea water, or to the accumulation 
and consolidation of snow on the surface of the floes, or to other 
agencies, seems a much more open question. The gradual change 
of form which these thick masses undergo during their transpor- 
tation forms an interesting subject of study, but as this has slight 
geological importance, and has been elsewhere described,^ it 
may here be passed by. It is worthy of passing note, however, 
that extremely little rock debris of any kind was observed at- 
tached to these floes. While they may be a limited source of 
geological transportation, they cannot be regarded as being an 
efficient agency. 
We encountered in the northern part of Baffin Bay a few 
“paleocrystic floes” of fine proportions, but only enough of their 
nature was seen to intensify interest in the problem which these 
remarkable forms present. Their breadth and flatness, the fine 
horizontality of their surfaces and their puzzling thickness, so 
great for sea ice, so small for land ice, make them an exceedingly 
attractive enigma. 
2. Journal of Geology, No. 7, November-December, 1894, pp. 653-655. 
