Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume VIII, No. 5 [‎58v] (119/154)

518
THE MONTHLY RECORD.
Explorations in the Argentine Republic.—On May 15, 1890, Dr. F. P.
Moreno, director of the Museo de La Plata, returned to Buenos Aires from his-
great journey of exploration begun in January. In December last year Dr. Moreno
had sent out from Mendoza several expeditions composed of twenty-six engineers,
geologists, botanists, and cartographers for the exploration of the districts bordering
on the Andes lying to the south. He himself followed in the middle of January,
and traversed the country between Mendoza and 47° S. The route followed was
across the Rio Grande and the Colorado to Chos-Malal, the capital of Neuquen,
thence to Codihue, to the Rio Bio-Bio, across the Collon Cura to Junin de los
Andes and the lakes of Nahuel Huapi, Lacar, Caleufti and Miaten. These ex
plorations complete a series begun about the end of 1894 on the Bolivian frontier,,
in the course of which 25,000 miles have been travelled over by the various
expeditions. The collections, of the most various kinds, fill 400 chests, and 2000
photographs have been taken. The territories of Neuquen, Rio Negro, and Chubut
have been explored and surveyed with special care. Dr. Moreno is convinced
that the much-talked-of but still unidentified Bariloche pass lies on the Lago de
Gutierrez. North of Lago Nabuel Huapi eight new lakes have been discovered,,
and fifteen south of it. The mysterious Rio Teteleufu is now accurately known
from its source. In many places it has a depth of more than 25 feet. The beauty
and fertility of the neighbourhood of Nahuel Huapi are much praised, and it is
stated that a brilliant future awaits this tract as soon as it is connected with
the east coast by a railway.—Dr. Polakowsky in Petermanns Mitteilungen, 1896,
No. 9.
POLAR REGIONS.
Mr. S. A. Andree’s Polar Expedition. —In the last issue of Ymer (1896,
Haft 3), Mr. S. A. Andree publishes a report on his balloon expedition to Spitzbergen.
It is known that the Virgo, which had on board, besides the balloon expedition, a
party of geologists and zoologists, left Tromso on June 14. After the steamer had
called at Isfjord, and next at the Norway islands, a suitable place for building the
balloon-house was found, on June 23, on Danes’ island. It took nearly one month to-
land the balloon and to build a house for filling it. It was ready on July 20; the filling,
of the balloon began on July 23, and in the evening of July 27 the balloon was filled,
and ready to start. But the expected winds from a southern quarter did not come,
and on August 17 the expedition had to pack up the balloon (the ship was freighted,
till August 20 only), and it started on its return journey on August 20, reach
ing Goteborg nine days later. From a table of the directions and force of the
wind, from July 27 to August 16, which is given by Andree, it appears that during
these three weeks the wind blew chiefly from northern quarters, or was very feeble
and ciianging. Only on July 29 and 30, and next on August 2 and 3, was there
for a few hours a feeble southern wind, which, however, changed in the afternoon
to a wind from the north or north-east. It appears, moreover, from the journal
of Captain H. C. Johanessen, who cruised north of Spitzbergen during the same
time, that, with the exception of August 9, when a fresh wind blew for a few
hours from east-south-east, and the next day when a feeble south-east, with
snow, was felt, the wind was always from northern quarters. Andree explains
at length why he did not take advantage of these short hours, the chief
reason being that these winds were too feeble to carry the balloon, with
its guide-rope, any distance northwards. The idea of taking advantage of any
wind for a polar balloon-journey evidently was also discussed, but was abandoned
because it offered relatively little interest, and because all probabilities were in
favour of the balloon being lost, if landing took place, as it probably would, in
some uninhabited spot. The loss of the balloon would have raised the costs of a