The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XII, No. 2 [‎277v] (57/154)

148 AN EXPLORATION IN 1897 OF SOAIE OF THE GLACIERS OF SPITSBERGEN.
glaciers ending in the sea, known to the whalers as the Seven Ice
bergs. These all appear to flow down from a high common snow-fieldi
which stretches east toward Wood bay and south almost to the head of
Cross bay. South-eastward this high plateau is broken by a series of
nere-valleys, the chief of which discharge themselves towards Ekman
and Dickson bays. Their general direction is south-south-east. South
of this plateau region comes the mountainous area of King James Land,
whose character is shown on the accompanying map. The main water
shed here runs north and south. A series of parallel glaciers drain
south-south-east from it to Ice fjord. The valley system on the west
is less regular, but the glaciers are equally numerous and fine.
The deep north-and-south depression filled by Wijde bay and Dickson
bay is bordered on the west by a range of mountains, a group of which
intrude between and divide the bays. Some of these are of striking
form, but no one has ever been amongst them or accurately determined
their position. East of the two bays comes the plateau region. Its
edge is cut up by a few deep valleys, down which the ice-sheet of New
Friesland sends glacial tongues to Wijde bay, but east of Dickson bay
the marginal valleys are longer, and no glaciers come very far down-
them. The portion of the plateau between Dickson and Klaas Billen
bays is a good deal cut up by deep valleys, such as the Kendal, the
Skans valley, and the Mimesdal (all well known to geologists), but there-
are no large glaciers found upon it. Further east comes a great glaciated
area approximating in appearance to an ice-sheet, but with many exposed
faces and peaks of rock. From it several large glaciers flow into the
sea, namely, the glacier that ends in the head of East fjord of Wijde
bay, the glacier that fills a wide valley debouching into Hinloopen
strait opposite the South Waiigat islands, some more glaciers that empty
mto Bismarck strait and that neighbourhood, the series of great glaciers
at the head of Wybe Jans water, and the Nordenskiold glacier (specially
explored by us) near the head of Klaas Billen bay. All these glaciers-
are divided from one another by more or less well-marked watersheds.
I he neck of Spitsbergen, which may be defined as bounded on the
north by a line from the mouth of Nordenskiold glacier to Wiche bay
and on the south by the Sassendal and the depression across to AgardK
bay, is a district that would well repay exploration, and is easily
accessible from the Post glacier at the head of Temple bay. Nowhere
are the phenomena of mountain formation by plateau degradation under
the action of rivers and glaciers better illustrated than here. In the-
east there are the remains of an ice-sheet; in the west there are deep
and wide glacier and river valleys. Between the two are manv
mountain ranges, and some peaks of considerable height and abruptness..
me drawn from the head of \ an Keulen (Saardam) bay to Whales-
bay forms the southern limit of the next region to the south-the region,
a ca Adventure land. It is a country of boggy valleys, rounded.