Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the QuestWild, Frank
History
Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest
Wild, Frank
Antarctica -- Discovery and exploration -- British; Quest (Ship); Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1922
This island is about 116 miles long by 20 miles wide, with the longer
axis lying in a general N.W. and S.E. direction. It has the appearance
of an upland dissected by cirque recession and enlargement. The highest
peak, Mount Paget, which is an isolated remnant of the upland, is about
8,000 feet high.
[Illustration: TERMINATION OF ROSS GLACIER, SOUTH GEORGIA
8TH MAY, 1922
SHACKLETON-ROWETT EXPEDITION]
The average peaks in the comb ridges are about 2,000 feet, and the
average level of the interior would be placed by the writer as about
600 feet above sea level. The glacial valleys run in general across
the longer axis and are separated from each other by comb ridges. The
majority of the glaciers show signs of withdrawal. At the N.W. end of
the island many of the valleys are free of ice altogether.
One interesting investigation was carried out at Royal Bay, where
the Ross Glacier comes down to the sea. The position of the foot of
the glacier relative to the shore was first measured by the Gauss
Expedition of 1882, then again by Nordenskjold in 1902, and then by the
members of the _Quest_ in 1922.
These measurements show this interesting fact—that there was an advance
of the foot of over 4,000 feet during the period 1882 to 1902, and
that now it is back in the position of 1882. It is suggested that this
does not indicate any general advance or withdrawal, but rather that
the glacier, which is operating, to use an hydraulic term, under a
high head is being forced out to sea where the foot is afloat. It will
continue to advance until the effect of the rollers on the floating
mass of ice overcomes the tensile strength of the ice and it breaks
away. If we assume that twenty (20) years represent this period (it may
be a multiple of a smaller period), then this gives an advance per year
of about two hundred and twenty (220) feet.
_Geology_
From Cooper Bay to Bird Island the rocks seen by the writer were
of sedimentary origin. They are of the nature of grits, tuffs and
phyllites. To the east of Cooper Bay the rocks are igneous. The
basement is of a basic nature, with flows, at least two in number,
over it. Back from Cooper Bay, and just east of the contact with the
sediments, there is a small stock of a more acid rock, which has been
called a syenite.
A provisional table is here drawn up to show the relative age
relations, with the more recent at the top:
AT LARSEN HARBOUR
Epidosite }
Spilite } Doleritic dykes cutting these.
Gabbro }
NORTH-WEST OF DRYGALSKI FJORD
Quartz diorite stock
Gabbro Complex system of dykes.
[Illustration: BOOBY WITH CHICK ON ST. PAUL’S ROCKS
_Photo: Wilkins_]
[Illustration: A BOOBY CHICK ON ST. PAUL’S ROCKS
_Photo: Wilkins_]
[Illustration: TYPES OF FISH CAUGHT IN THE LAGOON AT ST. PAUL’S ROCKS
_Photo: Wilkins_]
[Illustration: WHITE-CAPPED NODDIES AT ST. PAUL’S ROCKS
_Photo: Wilkins_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account