It is singular that a temperature under the freezing-point of pure water should be advantageous for the development of an animal life so extremely rich as that which is found here, and that this animal life should not suffer any harm from the complete darkness, which during the greater portion of the year prevails at the bottom of the ice-covered sea. When we got out of the ice we steamed towards the land, which was sighted on the 23rd at 8.45 p.m. The land was low and free from snow; the depth of the sea at a distance of ten kilometres from the coast varied between thirteen and fifteen metres. The coast here stretched from north to south. We followed it at a distance of seven to ten kilometres. A north-westerly breeze here carried the vessel, without the help of steam, rapidly forward over a completely smooth sea. On the 24th August we still sailed along the land towards the south. The depth of the sea now increased to thirty-three metres at a distance of ten kilometres from land. The land rose gradually, and some distance from the coast beautiful mountain chains were seen, which, judging by the eye, rose to a height of from 600 to 900 metres. They were, like the plains along the coast, quite free from snow. Only in the clefts of the mountains there remained some few collections of snow or ice, which at two places appeared to form true glaciers, which however terminated at a considerable height above the sea. The snow-free slopes between the foot of the mountain and the shore bank, thirty to sixty metres high, formed an even plain, covered by a brownish-green turf, probably of the same nature as that we saw on Taimur Island. During the forenoon we had splendid clear weather, and often we could see from the vessel no trace of ice. We saw a large number of walruses, and to judge by the fire which this sight kindled in the eyes of our hunters, it will not be long till the Norwegian hunting voyages are extended to the sea north and east of the north point of Asia. We saw besides a large number of looms and black guillemots, the former accompanied by young of the year, as large as rotges. About noon we sighted "land ahead to larboard." It was evidently Preobraschenie Island. I determined to land on it for a few hours to carry on researches in natural history, and to fix the position of the place by astronomical observations, if the weather should permit. The distance of this high-lying island was however greater than we expected. So that it was not until six o'clock in the evening that we could anchor off its south-west side, near the almost perpendicular face of cliffs abounding in sea-fowl. During the last two days we had been sailing over a region, which on recent maps is marked as land. This shows that a considerable change must be made on the map of North Siberia, and I shall therefore quote here the observations on which the determination of our course is grounded.