44 
Geology. 
will appreciate the advantages of selecting so large a propor- 
tion of glaciers that terminated on the land, in a study whose 
chief object was light upon glacial deposits, rather than upon 
glacial physics, and also of selecting short lobes of the inland 
ice, which were practically the border of the ice-cap itself, and 
more favorably exposed for study. The border of the inland ice 
between lobes was also studied. Lieutenant Peary was kind 
enough to conduct me out upon the inland ice far enough to af- 
ford a perfectly typical impression of its characteristics. Being 
entirely free from rock debris (except atmospherical dust) it 
did not call for prolonged study. 
In addition to the immediate study of these glaciers, the gen- 
eral aspects of very many others were seen to greater or less ad- 
vantage, by the aid of an excellent field glass, as we coasted past 
them, or were otherwise brought into their proximity. A very 
exceptional opportunity of observing the frontal contours of the 
inland ice was offered during the inner passage of Melville Bay 
in the course of which we skirted its remarkable frontage 
through almost its entire distance. 
As the limits of this report preclude detailed description, it 
may be convenient to throw the seventeen glaciers visited into 
two classes, which may be designated the southern type and the 
northern type. 
THE SOUTHERN GLACIAL TYPE. It is well known to 
all students of the subject that the glaciers of southern latitudes 
end in a slope of moderate declivity. The glacier disappears by 
a rapid thinning at its edge, due chiefly to progressive surface 
melting. This habit was found to prevail with all glaciers seen 
on Disco Island, not simply those which were visited, but the 
others which were seen at greater or less distances. The same 
was true of those seen distantly farther south, and generally 
true even of those seen somewhat farther north. 
THE NORTHERN GLACIAL TYPE. But in Inglefield 
Gulf, between the latitudes of 77 and 78 degrees, the prevailing 
habit is a marked departure from this. The glaciers end in ab- 
