The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume IX, No. 4 [‎178r] (26/172)

THE FIRST CROSSING OF SPITSBERGEN.
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Consider now the whole area west of the Sassendal, between it and
Advent bay, bounded on the north by Ice fjord, and on the south by
Advent vale. It appears that the ice that once covered it was gradually
withdrawn, beginning from the west. As you go westward, then, you
come to mountains in a more advanced stage of manufacture. The hills
that look down upon the Sassendal are the bluff-fronted remains of a
plateau, only a little more cut down than the Colorado Berg. Except
in two cases, the valleys that penetrate them from the Sassendal are
short. Further west come rounded hills, such as Mount Lusitania.
Beyond De Geer valley are maturer peaks, with clearly defined aretes and
faces such as we are familiar with in the general run of mountain
regions.
Where mountains are most developed valleys are oldest. Advent
vale may be taken as type of these. As the ice retreated eastwards,
Advent vale widened and crept back, receiving the drainage of a con
stantly developing valley-system, whose eastern watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. ran close
behind the Sassendal bluffs. Later on the Sassendal tributaries became
more active, and ate their way back, stealing one after another of the
headwaters of Advent vale. The Esker valley is a good instance of
this. It was formerly drained by Advent vale; now it drains in the
opposite direction. Brent pass divides the drainages, but will not long
continue so to do, for already a small stream, descending almost on to
the pass, is in process of being stolen by the Esker. It now divides its
waters upon its fan when in flood, one stream going to Advent vale, the
other to the Esker. Fulmar valley, which formerly drained into
Agardhs (Foul) bay, has been similarly invaded by the Sassendal, and
many more instances might be quoted.
The great interest, therefore, of this peculiar island of temperate
climate in the midst of Arctic ice-sheets, lies in the fact that here you
have one of the very best examples in the world of the processes of
mountain and valley manufacture. It was the perception of this fact
that altered our plans, and showed that it was a far more important
matter to make a fairly detailed examination of one portion (in itself,
however, not inconsiderable) of Spitsbergen, than to scamper hurriedly
across two or three separate belts. We did, in fact, cross from sea to sea
along three diflerent lines; but, instead of selecting them as far as
possible from one another, we so arranged them that each should display
the flank of the next. We crossed from Advent bay to Klok (Van Mijeu)
bay, from Klok bay to Sassen bay, and from Sassen bay to Agardhs
bay and back, finally returning along the shore of Sassen bay to
Hyperite Hat, and completing our work by expeditions into the heart
of the important mountain region to which I have already referred.
Having thus cleared the way by what I fear you may think a dry
geographical disquisition, I may be permitted to approach the more
generally interesting account of adventures by the way.
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