GR~NLAND, and on the FORMA~Iog of FJORDS, LAKES, and Cirqu~S in Norway and GREI~'~Lk.'~B
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142 AMUND IIELLAlgD ON THE FJORDS, LAKES, 9. On t~ IcF~F:oR~ of NoRr~ GR~NLAND, and on the FORMA~IOg of FJORDS, LAKES, and CIRqU~s in NoRwAY and GREI~'~Lk.'~B. By A~tu~) HF~LLASD,Fellow of the University of Christiania. (Read June 21, 1876.) (Communicated by Prof. Rameay.) T~ observations recorded in the following paper were made during two years of travel among the fjords and mountains of Norway, and during a visit to the ice-fjords of North Greenland in the summer of 1875. These travels were almost wholly undertaken with the view of seeing how far these countries confirmed the views entertained by Prof. Ramsay and other English and American geologists as to the origin of fjords and lakes. We will first examine the fjords of North Greenland, ascend to the Inland Ice which covers the whole country, so far as is known, then visit the glaciers which descend into the fjords, measure their rate of flow, and examine the other phenomena which they present. As these are, in many respects, of the greatest importance to geology in general, they shall be described more fully than is necessary for ex- plaining the formation of fjords and lakes. The fract over which I travelled in North Greenland extends from the colony of Egedesminde (60 ~ 42' 9" N. lag., according to Norden- skjSld) go the fjord of Kangerdlugssuak (about 71 ~ 15' 1~. lag.) in the district of the Colony of Umanak*. Of ghe great ice-fjords which produce bergs of large dimensions, the following were visited, viz. those of Jakobakavn and Torsukatak ; of the smaller, which produce only little bergs, those of Sarkardlek, of Alangordlek (in the district of Christianshaab), and of Kangerd- lugssuak. The ice-filled valley of Ilartdlek, by Pakitsok, was tra- versed, and the Inland Ice here ascended. A large number of glaciers in the district of Umanak were visited, many of which, though small compared with the gigantic ice-streams of the fjord, can yet compete with the largest of Europet. A Norwegian geologist travelling in North Greenland will find much that is new to him, but perhaps still more that is familiar. The rocks of this country chiefly belong to the Azoic formation, gra- nites, gneiss of various kinds, mica schists, and hornblendic schists-- on the whole, rocks well -known in the Azoic formation of INorway. Disko Island, however, and NSgssuak peninsula are composed of newer rocks--sand, sandstones, and shales, with fossil plants and * In the orthography of Greenlandic names, I have followed that of Kleau- Schmidt's DictionaD', wherever the significationwas known. ? Our pre~nt knowledge of the iee-~ords and of the Inland Ice is chiefly de- rived from Dr. Rink's ' GrSnland geographisk og statistisk beskrevet,' and Pro- lessor NordenskjSld's ' En Expedition till NordgrSnland.' By these travellers many of the phenomena mentioned in the following paper have been already described. AND CIRQUES IN NORWAY AND GREENLAND. 14~ layers of coal; these formations are covered by a thick sheet of basalt. From them Professor NordenskjSld has made rich collections of fossil plants of the Cretaceous and Miocene periods ; and by exa- mining these plants Dr. ttcer has shown that the climate of North Greenland must once have been subtropical, much like that now prevailing in the Canary Islands, or in Northern Egypt, with a mean annual temperature which cannot have bcen lower than 21 o or 22 ~ C. In Upernivik Island, and in other places on the south side of Umanak :Fjord, one sees how the great glaciers are cutting valleys through these fossiliferous strata, and dragging down to the moraine or to the sea bonlders containing the half-effaced remnants of ~ sub- tropical vegetation. Like the west coast of Norway, Greenland is intersected by many large fjords, which, when not filled wholly or partially by glaciers, pierce deep into the country. In front of the fjords near the open sea there is a" Skiirg~rd" of larger and smaller islands, perfectly resem- bling the "Sk~rg~rd" of Norway. Generally the part of Greenland nearest to the sea, or" the outer land," which is not covered by eternal snow, strikingly resembles the outermost skerries and islands on the west coast of Norway, both in the rocks and in the configura- tion of the islands. The hills around the fjords in North Greenland vary much in height, being sometimes ridges only a few hundred feet above the sea, sometimes mountains 4000 feet, and occasionally even 6000 feet or a little more. On the whole, the part of North Greenland here described can be geologically and orographically divided into three districts :--(1)the land around Disko Bay; (2) Disko Island, with the tableland of Nfigssuak peninsula ; (3) the high land of Umanak. (1) The land around Disko Bay consists of gneiss. It is of no great elevation, in the southern part rarely rising to 1000 feet ; in the northern part, however, in Arveprindsen Island, it rises up to 2000 feet. The islands along the coast of the district of Egedes- minde are small, low, and rounded. Two large ice-fjords intersect the mainland, that of Jakobshavn in the central part, and that of Torsukatak in the north. (2) The configuration of the land round Disko Bay contrasts strikingly with that of Disko Island, which, as already said, is com- posed of formations belonging to the Cretaceous epoch and of basalt. The difference in rock-structure has produced a marked difference in scenery. Disko Island and N~gssuak peninsula are less cut into islets and headlands than the more undulating tracts of gneiss round Disko Bay, but form basaltic tablelands divided into two parts by the Waigat ijord, with a generally corresponding structure on e,ither side. No great glacier from the Inland Ice intersects this par~ of North Greenland, which is connected with the ice-clad inner land only by a narrow isthmus ; but very many glaciers descend into valleys from the high snow-clad interior of Disko Island and of N~gssuak penin- sula ; in both these there are mountains from 3000 to 4000 feet high. The highest basaltic mountains of Greenland are probably situated ]44 AMUND HELLAND ON THE FJORDS, LAKL~, in the northern part of the peninsula, where the Kclertinguak rises to 1857 metres. "Ubekjendt Eiland," lying north of N~gssuak penin- sula, consists like it of basaltic rocks, and is thus in relation with it. (3) The high land of Umanak consists of a line of peninsulas, divided by ice-filled fjords and with islands in front. This part of Greenland, so far as it is known, consists of gneiss and Azoic slates ; everywhere, even in the islands, the mountains rise to considerable heights. The little island of Umanak, though situated in the middle of the fjord and only one geographical mile long, rises to a height of 1163 metres above the sea ; and its uppermost part is quite inacces- sible. The sides of the islands and peninsulas between the fjords are also steep and often inaccessible. The mountains are Alpine in character, some peaks near the sea rising to 2000 metres. The tract between Kangerdlugssuak and Ingnerit is especially conspicuous for bold peaks, lofty mountains, and numerous glaciers. The following measurements were made with a theodolite and a base-line :--three peaks, called by the Greenlanders Agpatsiait (the bird-mountain, fre- quented by auks), on the peninsula between the fjords of Kangerd- luarssuk and Ingnerit---No.1,1964m., No. 2, 2032m.,No. 3,1930 m.; four peaks called Kioke, on the peninsula between the Kangerdluars- suk Fjord and the sound separating the island of Upernivik from the mainland, gave the following heights--No. 1, 1738 m., No. 2, 1847 m., No. 3,1753m., No. 4, 1878 m. A mountain in the Fjord ot Kangerdluarssuk is 1958 m. Another, named Kingasima, appears to be somewhat higher; but its distance from the base was too great for accurate measurement. These mountains are the highest on the west coast of Green]and, visible from the sea-shore, although, of course, it is not improbable that others yet higher may lie further inland. Ice-fjords and glaciers abound in this part of Greenland. Of the former there are no less than eight along about 1~ of latitude, the northernmost and the southernmost producing icebergs some hundreds of feet high. The .Inland Ice.---In Greenland, when a fjord is followed up into the country, the way is sooner or later barred by a glacier which has descended the valley and extends across the fjord from shore to shore, ending in a steep wall which gives rise to ice-bergs. Occa- sionally, indeed, the glacier does not descend the valley to the level of the water; but no large i~ord or valley is known in the mainland of Greenland which does not contain a more or less imposing glacier. On gaining a commanding position, this glacier will be seen to descend from a wide inland ice-field to which no limit can be seen even from the summit of one of the mountains on its border, the ice extending inland as far as the eye can reach. This vast ice-field, called the In]and Ice, and by theEsquimaux Sermerssuak (the great ice), which, so far as we know, covers the whole interior of Greenland, occupies an area greater than the Scandinavian peninsula. I have had a view over it from five places ; from each of these its appearance was the same, resembling a great sea ; but it seems to rise slowly inland, forming an undulating sky-line ; it lies at a lower level than the mountains near its borders, so as to be overlooked from them.