An account of the progress ir<
Geography in the year 1884.
P.M.Green Washington, 1885.

*&±

"IgLVjeibeftt "Bf0
for the founding of a. CoUege. in this Cofonyf

Cil

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS

IN

GEO OEAPHY

T BE E Y E A R 188 4

COMMANDER F. M. GREEN,

U. S. NAVY.

FROM THE SMITHSONIAN RE P O R T FOR 1884.

WASHINGTON":
G-OTEKNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
188 5.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS

GEOGRAPHY

THE YE^R 1884

COMMANDER F. M. GREEN,

TJ. S. NAVY.

FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1J884.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1885.

GEOGKAPHY.

By Commander F. M. Green, U. S. K

Among events of general geographical interest which have occurred
during the past year, one of the most important is the meeting of the
International Conference at Washington, iu October, 1884, for the pur
pose of fixing upon a meridian to be employed as a common zero of
longitude and standard of time-reckoning throughout the world.
This conference assembled by invitation ofthe President ofthe United
States, in accordance with an act of Congress passed in 1882, delegates
from the following countries taking part in it :
Austria-Hungary, Brazil, Chili, Colombia, Costa Eica, Denmark,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hawaii, Italy, Japan, Li
beria, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, Bussia, Santo Domingo, Salva
dor, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States, and Venezu
ela. After several consultations, the conference agreed unanimously that
a single prime meridian is desirable, and, with only the delegates from
France and Brazil dissenting, agreed to recommend to their respective
Governments the adoption of the meridian passing through the center
of the transit instrument at the Greenwich Observatory as the initial
meridian of longitude, and also voted to recommend that from this
meridian longitude shall be counted in two directions up to 180° ; east
longitude being plus, and west longitude minus.
Resolutions were also adopted in favor of adopting a universal day,
to be a mean solar day, beginning for all the world at the moment of
mean midnight of the initial meridian, and to be counted from zero to
twenty-four hours.
An extensive chain of longitude measurements has been completed
recently by the labors of the United States naval officers under command
of Lieut. Commander C. H. Davis, U. S. N. , in measuring from Panama
down the west coast of South America to Valparaiso. The results of
these measurements afford a remarkable proof of the accuracy of com
bined astronomical and geodetic observations at the present day, and
are especially worthy of notice as being entirely homogeneous ; that is,
they are everywhere founded upon telegraphic comparisons of time
pieces of ^hich the errors on local time were determined, on the same
l

2 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
nights that the comparisons were made, by carefully observed transits
of standard stars. This chain consists of the transatlantic longitude
measurements of the United States Coast Survey from Greenwich to
Washington; a Coast Survey measurement from Washington to Key
West ; a measurement from Key West to Panama, by way of Havana
and Jamaica, by officers of the United States Navy, in 1874 and 1875 -f
from Panama to Valparaiso, as mentioned above ; from Valparaiso to
Buenos Ayres, by way of Cordova, under direction of Dr. B. A. Gould*;
and from Buenos Ayres to Greenwich, by way of Rio de Janeiro,
Madeira, and Lisbon, by officers of the United States Navy, in 1878 and
1879. In closing this immense chain of twenty links or connected
measurements, the entire discrepancy amounted to eighteen one-hun-
dredths of a second of time.
The longitude of the Observatory of Cordova was found to be:
Determined by way of Buenos Ayres  4h 16m 48s. 06
By way of Valparaiso  4 10 48.24 0.18
NORTH AMERICA.
Among the scientific investigations and the geodetic, geographic, and
hydrographic work which marked the progress of the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey during the past year, the following opera
tions deserve special mention.
In order to complete the connection of the American and European
initial gravity stations the observations needed were made at the Kew
and Geneva Observatories.
A valuable series of comparative observations for gravity was com
pleted at Washington with the Kater pendulums. These pendulums, of
historic importance in connection with determinations of gravity in
England and India, were swung at the station in the Smithsonian In
stitution, where they had been previously swung by an officer of the
Royal Engineers.
The work of tracing out and marking the boundary line between
Pennsylvania and West Virginia for the joint commission of these two
States was completed ; the resurveys of Long Island Sound and of
Delaware Bay were advanced toward completion, also the topograph
ical survey of the District of Columbia, for the Commissioners of the
District ; lines of level of precision were begun to connect the cidal
levels of Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico with the transcon
tinental line of geodesic leveling ; progress was made in the primary
triangulation near the thirty-ninth parallel for connecting the triangula-
tion of the Atlantic coast with that of the Pacific; and trigonometrical
surveys were continued in nine States which made requisite provision
for their own topographical and geological surveys.
Developments of much importance to the interests of commerce and
navigation were made during the year; dangerous shoals and ledges

GEOGRAPHY. 3
having been discovered in some of the leading highways of commerce,
among others in Monomoy Passage, Fisher's Island Sound, and the East
River, New York. Immediate information of these dangers was given
by the publication of "Notices to Mariners."
In pursuance of its plan for making a geographical map of the
United States, topographic work has been pushed forward rapidly by
the United States Geological Survey during the year in many different
localities. In the State of Massachusetts work wa.s commenced, in co
operation with the State authorities, under an arrangement by which
the, State agreed to pay one-half the expense, making therefor an appro
priation of $40,000. Primary and secondary locationsbeing furnished by
the United States Coast Survey and the Borden survey, there remained!
iu this State only the topography proper to be done, the estimated cos*
of which is $10 per square mile. Four parties were engaged, upon this
work through August, September, October, and November. An area of
about 850 square miles was surveyed, the scale ofthe field-sheets being
3 : 3:'000, with a view to publication on a scale of 1 : 62500, or about 1
mile to an inch.
In the Southern Appalachian region there were six topographic par
ties in the field, two of which were fitted out for carrying on triangula-
tion as well, while the triangulation for the remaining parties was sup
plied by a special triangulation party. The triangulation is in this re
gion based upon the Appalachian and transcontinental belts of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey. The topographic parties were dispersed
over the area in question, from Mason and Dixon's line southwestward
into Alabama. An area of about 18,000 square miles was surveyed in
the States of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee,
North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. This work has been done with
a view to publication on a scale of 1 : 125000.
In Southwestern Missouri and Southeastern Kansas an area of about
14,000 square miles was surveyed, comprising the lead and zinc regions
of these States. The work was done with a view to publication on a
scale of 1:125000.
A commencement was made in the State of Texas. A base line was
measured near Austin, from which triangulation was extended over
several of the* neighboring counties. An area of about 4,000 square
miles of topography was covered, with a view to publication on a scale
of 1 : 125000.
In Northwestern Arizona, Southeastern Utah, and Southern Nevada
several detached areas were surveyed, aggregating about 12,000 square
miles. This work was done with a view to publication upon a scale of
1 : 250000. Besides this, a detailed map was made of the region includ
ing the San Francisco Mountains, upon a scale of 1 : 62500, or about 1
mile to an inch. During the season the triangulation in this section
was extended so as to form a connection between the work done by the
old organizations known as the Powell, Hayden, and Wheeler Surveys.

4 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
Work upon a detailed map on a scale of 1 : 62500, of the Yellow-
¦stone Park was carried forward during the season, so that at its close
•nearly all that part of the park lying west of the Yellowstone River has
laeen mapped upon this scale, while the triangulation from the Boze-
>man base has been extended until a connection has been formed with
that ofthe old Hayden survey coming up from the south.
The season in Northern California proved to be unusually favorable to
topographic work, and the single party which was engaged upon gen
eral work, on a scale of 1 : 250000, made rapid progress. A second
party was engaged during the season in making a detailed map of Mount
Shasta and its immediate surroundings, the scale of the field-sheets
oeing 1 : 20000.
Besides the work detailed above, a number of special mining maps,
upon large scales, have been made during the past year.
The total area surveyed during the past season, upon all scales, is
about 51,000 square miles, which has been done at an average cost of
.about $3 per square mile.
Bulletin No. 5 of the United States Geological Survey is a valuable
dictionary of altitudes in the United States, compiled and arranged by
JJenry Gannett, esq., chief geographer of the Survey. The States and
stations are alphabetically arranged, the number of altitudes given being
about 18,000, referred to mean tide-level as the datum point.
Lieut. G. M. Stoney, U. S. N., commanding the Coast Survey schooner
•Ounalaska, and Lieutenant Cantwell, of the United States revenue
steamer Corwin, have separately made explorations of the river Kowak
or Kuak, a large river emptying into Hotham Inlet, Kotzebue Sound, on
ihe western coast of Alaska, nearly under the Arctic Circle. First entered
by officers of Captain Beechey's expedition in 1826, it was examined
partially and its name was ascertained by officers of Her Majesty's ship
Plover in 1849. It has been proposed to call this river Putnam River,
-after Lieutenant Putnam, U. S. N., lost from the United States steamer
Rodgers, but geographers will probably adhere to the earlier name of
Kowak or Kuak (the big river). The exploring parties traveled a dis
tance of about 370 miles from the mouth of the river, finding it very
*rooked. The river banks are thickly wooded, and the country through
which it runs is rugged and mountainous. Specimens ofxoal, gold, and
•copper were brought away. From the headwaters of one of the affluents
ofthe Kowak a short portage could be made to the headwaters of an
affluent of the Yukon, and from the sources of the Kowak it is but a
short distance across the watershed to the waters of the Colville River,
which empties into the Arctic Ocean. It is thought that commercially
the most important result of the expeditions will be the indication of a
route from the Arctic Ocean, available for the crews of ice-bound
whalers, by way of the Colville and Kowak Riyers, to the settlements
on the Yukon. Lieutenant Stoney, with a light-draught steamboat, will

GEOGRAPHY. 5
continue the exploration of the Kowak River and its branches in the.
summer of 1885.
As stated in the Summary for 1883, a careful examination has been
made of Bogosloflf Island, in the Aleutian Archipelago, where a.n active
volcanic disturbance took place in 1883. From the report of Lieut. G.
M. Stoney, U. S. N., by whom the examination was made, it seems that,.
while no distinctly new island has appeared, Bogosloff Island (Ionna
Bogoslova, St. John the Theologian) has been extended, the old volcano-
being supplemented by another, which is still active, and that where
there was formerly deep water there is now land 300 feet high. On the.
29th of May, 1884, Lieutenant Stoney, in the Coast Survey schooner
Ounalaska, anchored close to the still smoking volcano and devoted.
three days to its examination. What had been reported as a new island
was found to be a new formation, connected with the old island by a
sand spit. The whole mass of volcanic rock was found to be constantly-
vibrating, and a thermometer inserted an inch and a half below the:
crust showed 250° F. (its limit) in a few seconds. A compass taken on
shore indicated the presence of iron by marked local action. Though
one of the party reached the summit of the crater, no estimate of its.
size or depth could be made, probably owing to the volumes of sulphur
ous smoke which poured out. By repeated measurements the altitude:
of its summit was found to be 357 feet.
The Canadian Government is naturally desirous to find a convenient
outlet by way of Hudson's Bay for the great grain products of its north
western territory, and with that end in view sent during the summer
of 1884 an expedition in the steamer Neptune, under command of Lieut.
A. R. Gordon, R. N., to establish six observation stations on the shores
of Hudson's Bay and Straits, from therecords of which an accuratejudg-
ment may be formed as to the length of the season during which the*
west shore of Hudsou's Bay is accessible to steamers. Lieutenant Gor
don, in reporting the establishment of the stations, argues that the*
stations should be continued for two or three years. They will be vis
ited and supplies furnished as soon as navigation opens in 1885. The*
average of many years observations at Fort Churchill, a Hudson's Bay
Company's post, and the only known harbor on the west coast of the
bay, indicates that the coast cannot be approached before the middle-.
of June, nor after the middle of November.
Considerable interest has been excited by an intimation from Sir J. H.
Lefroy, in his address before the geographical section of the British
Association at Montreal, that a lake " rivaling Lake Ontario, if not Lake*
Superior, in magnitude" had recently been discovered in the northeast
territory of the Dominion of Canada.
In an admirable article in Science for January 2, 1885, Prof. J. D. Whit
ney shows that Lake Mistassini, the so-called new lake in question, has
been known for more than two hundred years, although knowledge of
its eastern side is yet indefinite both as to form and position, and

6 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
concludes, from all available evidence, that while it is possible that
Lake Mistassini is larger than Lake Ontario, it is extremely improbable.
The inference drawn by Sir J. H. Lefroy as to the size of the lake in
question cannot be justified by any statement in the paper communi
cated to the section by the Rev. Abbe" Laflamme regarding it. Explora
tions are now in progress to determine its actual extent and configu
ration. In a paper read before the annual meeting of the Quebec Geo
graphical Society, Mr. Bignell, a land surveyor, gave an account, of the
country surrounding Lake Mistassini, and stated that he had explored
the lake for 120 miles without reaching the main body of water. He
expressed the opinion that the lake would be found to be an expansion
of Rupert River, as the great American lakes are of the Saint Lawrence.
Mr. R. G. Haliburton (Journal of Royal Geographical Society, Jan
uary, 1885) argues very plausibly and effectively in favor of placing
" Vinland the Good," discovered by Eric the Red in A. D..994, in New
foundland instead of Rhode Island. Mr. Haliburton points out. that the
test commonly relied upon to establish the identity of Vinland and Rhode
Island, viz, the latitude consequent on the length of the shortest day
there, has been completely disproved by the Icelandic English diction
ary of Vigfasson (Oxford, 1874), which shows that a correct translation
would make the day much shorter than the shortest day experienced in
the latitude of Rhode Island, and would consequently place the latitude
of Vinland farther north. SOUTH AMERICA.
One of the least known of the Brazilian rivers has been the Xingu,
which was recently explored and mapped by three German travelers,
Dr. Karl von den Steinen, Wilhelm von den Steinen, and Otto Klaus.
These gentlemen left Cuyaba, in the province of Matto Grosso, in May,
1884, and proceeded by land to one of the sources of the Xingu which
they named Batovy, for the president of Matto Grosso. They then, in
Julj , embarked in canoes, and proceeding down the river, reached the
junction of the Xingu and the Amazon in October, thence going to Para
and Rio de Janeiro. Very many rapids were encountered, and numer
ous tribes of Indians were met who had never seen a white man and
who use only implements of stone and of bone. The members of the
expedition suffered severely from hunger during the first part of the
trip, living entirely on beans for a month. Large quautities of India
rubber trees were found, but the numerous rapids in the Xingu preclude
the use of the river as a commercial route.
M. Emile Thouar, who is known from his journey up the Pilcomayo
River in search of the unfortunate Crevaux expedition, has undertaken
another journey in the same region. After ascending the Paraguay
River he will devote some time to the examination of the Pilcomayo
delta and to seeking an available trade route from Bolivia by way of
the Paraguay River, and will then carry out the work with which he

GEOGRAPHY. 7
has been charged by the Bolivian Government, viz, the study of the
whole of Bolivia, in company with some engineers and naturalists,
from scientific, industrial, and commercial points of view.
In the Journal of the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society
for November, 1884, is given a sketch of the work of Dr. Paul Guss-
feldt in the Chilian Andes in 1882 and 1883. His explorations were
made in the region surrounding Aconcagua, the position and height of
which were carefully determined as in latitude 32° 39' south, longitude
69° 59/ west, and its higher peak 22,867 feet above sea level. His ac
count of the glaciers of the Andes is very interesting, but cannot well
be condensed. The detailed results of his labors are contained in a
paper communicated to the Berlin Academy of Sciences.
The journey of Lieutenant Bove, of the Italian navy, to Terra del
Fuego, performed at the instance of the Argentine Government, though
frequently referred to iu scientific periodicals, does not seem to have
been productive of any specially new information regarding the geog
raphy of that region.
The first successful attempt to navigate the Rio Negro from its mouth,
on the Atlantic shore of the Argentine Republic, to its source in Lake
Nahuelhualpi, in the hoart of the Andes, has been made by Capt. E.
O'Connor, and is described by him in a report published in the Boletin
de la Sociedad Geografica de Madrid. The journey was made in a steamer
as far as the confluence of the Colluncurd, but rapids in the Upper
Limay obstruct navigation so much that the journey was thence per
formed in an open boat. The extreme upper part of the Limay is free
from rapids, but the country surrounding the upper river and lake ap
pears to be entirely uninhabited. The information gathered will permit
the affluents of the Rio Negro to be mapped with much greater accuracy
than has been possible hitherto.
The enterprising journey of Mr. Everard im Thurn to explore and
ascend Mount Roraima, on the boundary of British Guiana and Vene
zuela, has been crowned with success, but as yet no precise details have
been published. Ascending the Potaro, an affluent of the Essequibo, as
far as possible, a very toilsome march was made over rugged mountains
to an Indian village on the southern side of Roraima. After resting
here, the ascent was made on December 18, 1884. Mr. im Thurn states
that the scenery on the top was of the moit marvelous description, the
plateau being covered with groups of rocks of most extraordinary
shapes. The clouds, which are nearly always resting on the mountain,
¦constantly precipitate their moisture, forming numerous cascades, the
sources of rivers which, starting from this point, flow to swell the Ori
noco, Essequibo, and Amazon. Mr. im Thurn determined the height
of the summit from the temperature of the boiling point as 8,600 feet.
He as well as his assistant suffered severely from malarial fever con
tracted during their journey, which was exceedingly laborious, lasting
three months and a half.

8 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
The German expedition, under command of Dr. Schroeder, which spent
the year from September, 1882, to September, 1883, at the island of South
Georgia, is the first scientific expedition which has visited that island,.
and its report is therefore of great interest. The expedition was located
at Moltke Harbor, in Royal Bay, and while their observations would
seem to indicate that the neighborhood of Cape Horn was not as stormy
during the year of their stay as has been generally supposed, one
curious fact which navigators of those seas have frequently had occa
sion to notice was confirmed, viz, the violent storms occurred, without
exception, when the barometer stood at " fair."
Explorations of the island were undertaken on several occasions, but
the slate rocks were very difficult of ascent, and the enormous glaciers,.
rising in many places to a height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet, prevented any
thorough examination. The climate, was found to be decidedly colder
than its latitude would indicate, its mean temperature for the year being
only 35° F, the lowest thermometer reading being 26° and the highest
57° F. EUROPE.
Measurements systematically made since 1750, and recently reported
by the Swedish Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that the Swedish
coast has been steadily rising, while the southern shore of the Baltic
has been sinking, the general result being that the Swedish coast has
risen nearly 56 inches during the last one hundred and thirty-four
years. The next ship- canal to be opened to commerce will be that across the
Isthmus of Corinth. The work is being rapidly advanced, and another
year only will probably be required for its completion. This canal will
shorten the distance between the ports of the Adriatic and those of
Western Turkey about 200 miles, and for vessels from the Atlantic about
half as much.
A recent issue of the Isvestia of the Russian Geographical Society
shows that geodetic aud map-making work is being energetically car
ried on in the Russian Empire. Trigonometrical and hypsometrical sur
veys are being pushed in many regions, numerous latitude and longitude
determinations have been made, and hydrographic work has been car
ried on in the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas and on the shores of the
Pacific Ocean. A hypsometrical chart of European Russia, indicating
the height of more than 18,000 points, has been published by the minis
try of public works.
It has long been believed that Cape North was not the extreme north
ern point of Europe, and Captain Sorenson has now demonstrated that
that distinction belongs to a promontory called Knivskjverodde, a few
miles west of Cape North, and extending rather more than a thousand
yards farther to the northward.

GEOGRAPHY. 9*

ASIA.

Colonel Prjevalsky, who spent the winter of 1883-'84 at Chobsen, a
little to the eastward of Koko Nor, in Northeastern Tibet, resumed his
explorations in the middle of March, crossing the Tsaidam or country
west of the Koko Nor. This region he describes as a vast salt-marsh
basin, the bed of a mighty lake at a comparatively recent geological
epoch, and having a height of 9,200 feet above the sea. At the begin
ning of May the pass through the Burkhan Buddba Ridge was crossed
at a height of 15,700 feet, and the table land of Northern Tibet was.
reached, a region quite unknown to geographers even now, and which
the Chinese have repeatedly but vainly attempted to explore. The
source of the Yellow or Hoang-ho River was found, about 70 miles south
of the Burkhan Buddha Ridge, at a height of 13,600 feet above the sea.
It is formed by two streamlets fed by springs in a wide, marshy valley.
After flowing about 14 miles it enters two wide lakes in succession, and
thence rushes furiously toward the boundaries of China proper. Colonel
Prjevalsky describes the climate of Northern Tibet as inclement in the
extreme. In the latter part of May wintery snow-storms occurred and
the thermometer stood at — 9°F. at night. Through May, June, aud
July it rained every day, and sometimes for several consecutive days,.
frosts (23° F.) occurring every clear night. The amount of rainfall caused
by the southwest monsoon in the Indian Ocean is so great that in sum
mer Northern Tibet is almost one vast bog. Numerous herds of large
animals were seen — yak, wild asses, antelopes, and mountain sheep, and
bears were very frequently encountered, some thirty specimens being
killed. From the sources of the Yellow River a route was followed southward
across the ridge separating the sources of the Yellow River from that of
the Blue River or Yang-tse-Kiang. Journeying southward 60 or 70
miles, the banks of the* Blue River were reached; but as fording was
impossible, from the depth and rapidity of the current, the expedition
returned northward along the lakes at the head of the Yellow River-
These lakes, by right of discovery, Colouel Prjevalsky called Expedition
and Russian Lakes. They are 13,500 feet above the sea ; are each more
than 80 miles in circumference, and are surrounded by mountains.
Fierce attacks were repeatedly made by the Tangutan robbers on the
little force, fourteen in number, but were bravely beaten off without
loss, and in July and August, 1884, the expedition returned to the plains.
of Tsaidam.
On their return journey a party of thirty gold- washers was found
at the southern foot of the Burkhan Buddha. At these diggings the
Taugutans went no deeper than 1 or 2 feet from the surface, and the
method of washing was of a very primitive character, but whole hand-
Ms of gold, in lumps as big as peas, were shown, and frequently much
larger nuggets. Colonel Prjevalsky reports gold as very plentiful, and
is of the opinion that with proper working vast treasures will be found

10 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
in this region. Returning to Gast, in Western Tsaidam, the expedition
would go into winter quarters there, and would continue explorations
of the surrounding country during the winter.
The Russian advance in Turkestan, and the surveys and explorations
consequent thereon, will enable a great deal of detailed information to
be added to the maps of the trans-Caspian region and Northern Afghan
istan. In the last volume published by the Caucasus Geographical Society
are a large number of determinations of latitude and longitude made
by M. Gladysheff in these regions, and also a great number of heights
of points in. Asia Minor measured by Russian officers. x
M. Michael Venukoff has called the attention of the Russian Geo
graphical Society to a new map of the island of Saghalin prepared by
M. Nikitine, the "topographer, and differing from all other maps of the
island in several respects. By it the island is shown to be considerably
larger than has been supposed, although any conclusions will be ap
proximate rather than final, till more exact surveys are completed.
A journey, the results of which will furnish a mass of information
regarding the interior of Indo-Chiua and Northern Siam, has been per
formed by a party under the direction of Mr. Holt-Hallett. Starting
from Moulmein in February, 1884, the expedition arrived in Bangkok
toward the last of July, having spent more than five months in explor
ing the Shan country, surveying over 1,500 miles of route and deter
mining the position of the Shan Ranges. This journey is another at
tempt on behalf of British merchants to find a satisfactory trade route
from Southern China to the sea through Iudo-China and Siam. Explo
ration of the southern fr6ntier of China, which was proposed, had to be
postponed, Owing to the unsettled state of those regions. Mr. Holt-
Hallett's report on his work in 1884 will shortly be published.
At a meetiug of the Geographical Society of Paris on January 9, 1885,
a paper by M. Francis Deloncle was read, giving an account of an ex
ploration, February to June, 1884, made by the commission, of which he
is the head, to investigate the question of a ship-canal across the Isth
mus of Kraw, at the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. In Nature
a synopsis of the results of the expedition is given. After ascending
the peninsula to 7° 14' north latitude, the explorers penetrated from
the eastern coast, by wide and deep channels which lead far into the
country, to a, large inland sea called TahS Sah, which M. Deloncle states
they were the first Europeans to visit. The lake is 45 miles long by 12
miles wide and about 20 feet deep, and separates the island of Tanta-
lam from the peninsula proper by a number of arroyos, which extend
from Singora in the south to Lacon in the north. Three visits in all
were made to these regions during the year, and the states of Tsang,
Taloung, Lacon, Singora, and Stouilwere thoroughly explored.
In Nature for December 18, 1884, Mr. J. E. Tenison- Woods gives an
excellent description of the physical geography of the Malayan state

GEOGRAPHY. 11
of Perak, the commercial importance of which has rapidly increased
within the last few years, owing to the great quantity of tin which has
been produced there. Mr. Tenison-Woods considers the tin deposits
practically inexhaustible. Now that order and good government have
been secured by the presence and influence of a British resident, multi
tudes of Chinese have flocked to Perak, and, in mining industry, have
entirely superseded the Malays.
The surveys and explorations by Russian and English surveyors of
the territory in. dispute between Russia and Afghanistan have led to
detailed descriptions of the southern part of Turkestan and North
ern Afghanistan from members of the boundary commission on both
sides. In the January and March (1885) numbers of the Journal of
the Royal Geographical Society, Major Holdich, R. E., commanding a
British surveying party, gives a detailed account of the country passed
ovei, aud in the April number ofthe same periodical there is a transla
tion of an article by M. Paul Lessar descriptive of the Kara-Kum or
Turkoman Desert.
Various expeditions have been proposed for the exploration of the
island of New Guinea, but the difficulties of hostile savages and a sickly
climate are so great that very little has been added to our knowledge
of that island during the past year. A Dutch gentleman, Mr. D. F. van
Braam Morris, resident of Ternate, made two voyages to the north
coast, and ascended the Amberno or Amberuoli River for 60 miles, find
ing it of much smaller dimensions than heretofore supposed. Mr. van
Braam Morris discovered another large river and a good harbor, a lit
tle west of Humboldt Bay.
An attempt to penetrate by way of the Baxter River to the interior
of the island, under the leadership of Captain Strahan (employed by
the Melbourne Age), was frustrated by the hostility of the natives, who
forced the members of the expedition to abandon their boat and retreat
to the coast.
The proposed expedition of Mr. Wilfrid Powell, mentioned in the
Summary oi last year, has been abandoned.
AUSTRALIA.
Among the questions arising for discussion at the first annual meet
ing, at Melbourne, of the Victoria branch of the Geographical Society
of Australia, are the necessity of defining the exact meaning of the
geographical term "Australasia;" the compilation of a geography for
Australian schools; the exploration of New Guinea, and the discover
ing and defining the exact boundaries of British New Guinea.
Mr. Charles Winnecke, between July and December, 1883, succeeded
in exploring and mapping about 40,000 square miles of hitherto unknown
country in South Australia near the western boundary line of Queens
land. The country in question lies between 27° 30' and 22° 40' south
latitude and between 137° and 139° east longitude. In this region,

12 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
hitherto a blank on the maps, Mr. Winnecke has discovered and named
various lakes and mountains and one river, the Hay, an important feeder
of the Marshall.
As another instance of the enterprise characterizing Australian news
papers in geographical matters, it may be mentioned that the Town and
Country Journal, of Sydney, has employed Mr. Shaw, a naturalist and
artist of Sydney, to make a canoe voyage down the Lachlan, Murrum-
bidgee and Murray rivers, with a view to enlarge the knowledge of the
interior river systems of Australia.
Arnhem Land, the country northwest of the Gulf of Carpentaria, has
been lately explored by Mr.^D. Lindsay. All this region north of the
Roper River is a blank on even the latest Government maps, but a large
amount of material for filling up this blank has been obtained by Mr.
Lindsay's surveys, made between July and December, 1883. ¦
Dr. R. von Lendenfeld has been making an examination of the great
Cordillera range of New South Wales for the geological survey depart
ment, and finds that Mount Kosciusko, commonly supposed to be the
highest peak (7,171 feet), must give way to Mount Clarke, some distance
farther south, 7,256 feet high. Indications of ancient glaciers were found
at a height of 5,800 feet above sea-level, the upper tree limit being
found at a height of 5,900 feet. On the lee side of the main range patches
of snow are found all the year round above a level of 6,500 feet, con
stituting a proof, amoDg many, of the lower temperature and greater
amount of moisture south of the equator.
AFRICA.
In the continent of Africa the area of unknown territory is rapidly de
creasing as explorations are made by travellers of different nationalities.
The expedition commanded by Mr. Joseph Thomson, and fitted out by the
Royal Geographical Society, to explore the area lying directly between
the eastern coast of Africa and the Victoria Nyanza Lake, left England
in December, 1882, and, after encountering many obstacles, started in
land in July, 1883, from Tareta, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and
for many months was unheard of. The wide tract of country lying be
tween Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenia and the Victoria Nyanza Lake
had never been trodden by a European. Mr. Thomson visited and photo
graphed both of these mountains. Mount Kenia he describes as a great
volcanic cone nearly 30 miles in diameter at its base, rising from a thorn-
clad plain 5,700 feet above the level of the sea. Up to a height of about
15,000 feet the angle of ascent is very low, but from that level the mount
ain springs into a sugar-loaf peak, the sides being so steep that in many
places the snow cannot lie, the uncovered parts showing as black spots;
hence the name Donyo Egar6 (the gray mountain). From Mount Kenia
Mr. Thomson pushed on, accompanying a caravan to the northwest and
after a six days' march reached Lake Baringo. This lake he journeyed
round, fixing its shape, extent, and position, and thence pushed on to the

GEOGRAPHY. 13
northeast shore of the Victoria Nyanza. Returning to the sea-coast the
same general route was followed, but the energetic traveler was delayed
by fever and accidents, by which he more than once nearly lost his life.
He succeeded early in June, 1884, in reaching the sea-coast at Mombasa,
having perfectly fulfilled the purpose for which the journey was under
taken, and having very largely increased the knowledge of the regions
of equatorial Africa. Mr. Thomson showed the greatest courage, tact,
and skill as an explorer in this remarkable journey, and the detailed ac
count of his travels which has now been published is, throughout, of en
grossing interest.
Mr. H. H. Johnston's exploration of Mount Kilimanjaro, undertaken
under the auspices of the British Association and the Royal Society,
during 1884, has confirmed and added to the information acquired by
Mr. Thomson's journey.
French military geographers have completed, after four years' labor, a
complete map of Tunisia from Algeria to Tripoli, in twenty-one sheets,
on a scale of 1 : 100000. The sheets have been completed and published.
In the Jourual of the Royal Geographical Society for November is an
article by Sir R. W. Rawson giving an exact account of the partition
of the entire coast of Africa between various Europeau and native pow
ers. This paper is accompanied by a map showing in a striking man
ner the claims of different nationalities. ARCTIC REGIONS.
By far the most interesting and important event connected with Arc
tic exploration during the past year, has been the rescue of the survivors
of the expedition commanded by Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., and
the story of their achievements. Unsuccessful attempts having been
made in 1882 and 1883 to communicate with the station established at
Lady Franklin Bay in 1881 as one of the international meteorological
stations, a squadron of three ships, the Thetis, Bear, and Alert, with
officers and men of the United States Navy, commanded by Commander
W. S. Schley, U. S. N., was fitted out by the United States Government
in the spring of 1884 and sailed early in May for Smith Sound, to attempt
the rescue of the survivors or learn the fate of the expedition. The
Bear and the Thetis were Scotch whalers, purchased for the purpose ;
the Alert was given by the British Government for the expedition, and
had already spent a winter in the Arctic, under command of Captain
Nares, R. N. On June 22 the survivors of the expedition, consisting of
Lieutenant Greely and six of his men, were found at Cape Sabine, in the
last stages of starvation, one, Sergeant Ellison, dying after being taken
on board ship. The rest were brought back to the United States, where
they gradually recovered health and strength.
The expedition left St. John's, Newfoundland, on July 7, 1881, and
was established on the shore of Discovery Harbor, where, in latitude
gio 44', longitude 64° 45', a station called Fort Conger was planted.

14 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
The first two winters were passed without loss or serious inconvenience,
but the summer of 1883 passing away without news of a relief ship, the
entire party left their camp on August 9, and were obliged to camp on
the western side of the channel, near Cape Sabine. Here they remained
till they were rescued, subsisting on what they could find of stores pre
viously left in the neighborhood. Hunger and suffering reduced the
original number of twenty-five to seven before they were rescued, and
had succor been delayed but a few hours longer it is prpbable that not
one would have survived.
The following sketch of the geographical work accomplished is largely
taken from a communication to Science of February 27, 1885, by Lieu
tenant Greely, where it is accompanied by an excellent map of the re
gions visited, and from a paper by the same officer read at the meeting
ofthe British Association at Montreal. In the spring of 1882 an attempt
was made by a party, under command of Dr. Pavy, to proceed directly
northward from Cape Joseph Henry, but they failed to reach the eighty-
third parallel, owing to disruption of the polar pack north of Grinnell
Land. In April, 1882, an expedition under Lieutenant Lockwood, under
took to explore the north coast of Greenland. Crossing Robeson Chan
nel to Cape Sumner, a depot of provisions was established, and the ex
plorers pushed on to the northeast as far as Cape Bryant, in 5f>°, west lon
gitude, supported by three parties of men hauling provision sledges.
From Cape Bryant, Lieutenant Lockwood and Sergeant Brainard, with
an Eskimo and a dog- team, traveled across Sherard Osborn Fiord to Cape
Britannia, trying the depth of water midway between those capes and
finding no bottom at 800 feet. From Cape Britannia, which was the
farthest land seen by the English expedition of 1875, they pushed on
to the northeastward, till on May 15, 1882, Lockwood Island was reached,
and its latitude carefully determined by circum meridian and subpolar
observations as 83° 24' north. To the northeastward land was seen in
about 83° 35' latitude and 38° west longitude. To the southeast only a
mass of rounded, snow- covered mountains was seen. The entire coast
was extremely rugged and precipitous, but only one glacier was ob
served. A remarkable feature, stretching along the coast from one
head-land to another, was a tidal crack in the ice, apparently marking a*
separation between the ice of the bays and that of the ocean. Above
the eighty-third parallel traces of the polar bear, the lemming, and the
Arctic fox were seen, and a hare and a ptarmigan were killed. Return
ing, the same route was followed, Lieutenant Lockwood and Sergeant
Brainard reaching Fort Conger without mishap.
In April, 1882, Lieutenant Greely, with three men, made a journey to
the interior of Grinnell Land. Passing to the westward of Miller Island
by a fiord, a river was reached flowing from a large glacial lake named
Lake Hazen. Again in June this region was visited by Lieuteuaut
Greely, who followed up the valley of Very River, flowing into the south
west end of Lake Hazen, till on July 4 he stood on the summit of Mount

GEOGRAPHY. 15
Arthur, 4,500 feet high. From here could be seen an enormous ice cap
on the mountains north of the Garfield and Conger Ranges, through the
gorges of which numerous glaciers pushed southward, while to the
northwestward the trend of the mountain range showed its connection
with the Challenger Mountains of Lieutenant Aldrich. Lieutenant
Greely found the southern limit of the ice cap covering Grinnell Laud
to closely coincide with the eighty-second parallel, while in July the
country between the eighty-first and eighty-second parallels, extend
ing from Kennedy and Robeson Channels to the Western Polar Ocean,
was entirely free from snow except on the very backbone. Vegetation
was found to be quite plentiful willows, saxifrage, grasses, and other
plants growing in abundance. A more detailed account of this remark
ably fertile region, such as Nordenskiold expected to find in Greenland,
will shortly be given by Lieutenant Greely.
In 1883 Lieutenant Lockwood's attempt to reach the northern point
of Greenland was unsuccessful, owing to open water, but on his return
to Fort Conger he was sent with Sergeant Brainard and a dog-team to
attempt the crossing to the western shore of Grinnell Land. They suc
ceeded in reaching Greely Fiord, which penetrates Grinnell Land from
the westward, and followed it some distance. From here the western
shore of Grinnell Land could be indicated in about 87° west longitude,
while to the southward very high land was seen, apparently separated
from Grinnell Land, and was named Arthur Land. They found stretch
ing from Archer to Greely fiord the northern edge of an immense ice
cap, which had an average height on the perpendicular front of 150 feet-
A journey from Cape Sabine by Sergeant Long developed the extension
of Hayes Sound to the westward. As will be seen by a comparison of
Lieutenant Greely's maps with those previously existing, a large addition
has been made to our knowledge of the configuration of these northern
shores by the labors of Lieutenant Greely and his gallant associates,
and it is earnestly to be hoped that his health and strength will soon be
sufficiently restored to permit him to give in detail the results of his
labors, and the inferences which his experience and study enable him tp
draw from them.
In a paper read before the British Association at Montreal, Lieut. P.
H. Ray gave an account of the region lying between the Yukon River
and the Arctic Sea, previously unvisited. In 1883, with two natives,
he traveled 160 miles due south from Point Barrow, as far as a low
range of mountains running northeast and southwest and separating-
the northeast watershed from that of Kotzebue Sound. Farther than
this his guides were afraid to go. Lieutenant Ray found the whole re
gion a labyrinth of small lakes, lagoons, and streams, in summer im
passable to every one but an Eskimo with his kayak, as at that season
all that part not covered with water becomes a wet marsh, the traveler
sinking through to the frozen ground underneath at each step. The

16 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
country is uninhabitable, destitute of timber, and without soil to sup
port vegetation, the earth being strongly impregnated with salt. After
two years of careful observation, Lieutenant Ray gives his opinion de
cidedly against the probable existence of an open polar sea, therein dif
fering from Lieutenant Greely.
For more than a year an expedition, under command of Lieutenants
Holm and Garde, of the Danish navy, has been engaged in exploring
the east and southeast coasts of Greenland. Winter quarters for
1883-'84 were occupied at Nanortalik, 50 miles east of Cape Farewell.
A journey lasting two and a half months was performed during the
summer, but no account of the results of their explorations has yet
been published. During the winter of 1884-'85 one half the expedition
were to winter in a suitable place on the east coast, the other half re
turning to Nanortalik. In consequence of frequent and violent changes
of temperature, sledge journeys cannot be performed in this part of
Greenland, the only means of conveyance being the boat. The pro
gramme is to explore the east coast by boats as far north as possible,
and to return from Greenland in the autumn of 1885.
In June, 1884, Lieutenant Jensen, of the Danish navy, accompanied
by Herr Lorenzen, geologist, and Herr Riis-Carstensen, artist, left Den
mark for Holsteinborg, on the west coast of Greenland, to explore the
coast southward from Holsteinborg to Sukkertoppen , a region never
before examined by Europeans. The results of their work have not yet
been published. From May to September, 1884, the Danish gunboat
Fylla, Captain Normann, was engaged in examining the west coast of
Greenland as far as 70° north latitude. This work included a careful
exploration of theinland glaciers of Greenland, as well as dredging, sound
ing, and trawling along the coast and in Davis Strait, Baffin's Bay, and
Disco Bay. Valuable collections were carried home to Denmark, in
cluding a block of ironstone weighing about 1,800 pounds.
The Russian expedition to the delta of the Lena River, commanded by
Lieut. N. D. Jurgens, has returned, having lost no members and having
had no serious case of illness. Scurvy made its appearance during the
first winter of their stay, but was quickly suppressed. The lowest tem
perature experienced was— 50° centigrade, with very frequent storms.
The sun was hardly seen during the summer, and the highest tempera
ture, 12° C, was only once reached. Many changes in the maps of this
region will result from the surveys of this party. Sagastyr, where the
observations were made, was supposed to be the northern point of the
delta, but the most northerly land was found to be Dunas Island, in 74°
north latitude. The tidal changes are very small and are largely influ
enced by the winds. Dr. Bunge, the naturalist of the party, has spent
the winter of 1884-'85 in Irkutsk, and in the spring will visit and ex
plore the basin of the Jaua, in Northeastern Siberia. In 1886 he proposes
to visit the New Siberia Islands.

GEOGRAPHY. 1 T
The hopes of those who, like Baron Nordenskiold, looked for success?
for the trade route from Northern Siberia by way of the Kara Sea to»
Europe, seem doomed to disappointment. As has been before pointed!
out in these yearly summaries, no dependence can be placed on the*
navigability of the Novaya Zemlyan Straits in any year. During the
last five or six years the steamer Louise has only twice succeeded in
reaching the Yenesei and returning with cargo to Europe, having failed!
three times in the attempt. At Turukhansk, on the Yenesei, large quan
tities of wheat, rye, and oats have been collected to be transported to>
Europe, but there seems now but little prospect of these products ever-
reaching there. The tow-boats and lighters built for transporting freight
to the mouth of the Yenesei are all to be sold, the difficulties of navigat-
ting the Kara Sea making the success of the scheme hopeless. This:
conclusion agrees with the experience of M. Rakhmanin (cited by Dr_
Schmidt, in a recent lecture on the Vega voyage), who had wintered!
twice at Spitsbergen and twenty-six times at Novaya Zemlya, and only-
found the way to the Yenesei open on five occasions.
In Nature for November 13, 1884, is a communication from Mr. W..
G. S. Paterson, Her Britannic Majesty's consul for Iceland, who states;
that the light-house keeper at Cape Reykjanes, the southwest point of
Iceland, had discovered a new volcanic island a few miles off that cape-
This region has long been known as a center of volcanic activity, islands;
having been thrown up from time to time and afterwards subsiding-
The island was sought for without success by the French cruisers Du-
pleix and Romanche, and by Captain Normann, of the Danish gunboat
Fylla, on his return from Greenland. Captain Normann, after a careful*
search and many soundings, became convinced that the new island im
question is no other than the outermost of the Fowlskerries, a well-
known group of rocky islets.
An important element toward elucidating the currents of the polar
seas has been furnished by the discovery by an Eskimo, on an ice floe
in Julianhaab Bay, Greenland, of several relics of the ill-fated Jean-
nette expedition. These relics consist of various papers, articles of
sailors' apparel, part of a tent, &c, and have been positively identified
as belonging to the crew and officers of the Jeannette. Lieutenant
Danenhower, U. S. N., one of the survivors of the expedition, states, ins
in a letter to the writer, that the articles were abandoned at the first
camp, near where the Jeannette sank, on June 12, 1881, in latitude 77a
15' north, longitude 156° east, and were exhibited on December 1, 1884r
at a meeting of the Geographical Society of Copenhagen. These articles
probably drifted north of Franz Josef Land and in close proximity to the
pole. The direction and rate of the drift can only be approximately reck
oned, but the distance being about 2,500 nautical miles, and the time oc
cupied not far from 1,000 days, makes an average drift of 2J miles a day,,
-without allowing for deviations.

18 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884.
HYDROGRAPHY.
No new or striking developments have been shown by the hydro-
graphic work of the different Governments engaged in making and cor
recting ocean and coast charts during 1884.
The results of the investigations carried on by the United States
Coast Survey during past years in the depths of the sea off the North
Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico and its approaches, are re
vealed in a striking manner by a model which shows the structural
features of the two great basins of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of
North America. This model, constructed under the direction of the
Superintendent at the Coast Survey office, presents also representations
in relief of the Bahamas, the West India islands, and the Bermudas,
and of parts of the continent. The name " Bay of North America "
was suggested by the Superintendent at the April meeting of the Na
tional Academy of Sciences, 1884, to designate that great embayment of
the North Atlantic which lies west of the meridian of 60° longitude
¦west from Greenwich.
The United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross, under com
mand of Lieut. Commander Z. L. Tanner, U. S. N., has done a large
amount of valuable hydrographic work, in addition to her regular work
in connection with the fisheries. In January, 1884, while proceeding
from Norfolk to St. Thomas, West Indies, many soundings were made,
disproving the existenceof the dangers to navigation called, respectively,
the Ashton, Perseveranza, and Mourand Shoals. After leaving St.
Thomas, numerous lines of soundings were made to define exactly the
submarine ridge separating the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and
tu ascertain the general contour of the bottom, proving at the same, time
the non-existence of many vigias or shoals, the alleged existence of which
has for many years disfigured the charts. This valuable work was
continued until May, and data collected for wiping off many alleged
shoals from the charts, among others the Loos and Leighton Rocks,
off the south side of Santo Domingo ; Sancho Pardo Shoal, off Cape
San Antonio ; 'the Ancona Breakers ; and the La Vela Shoal. Aves
islet, 100 miles west of Guadeloupe, was found to be the summit of a
mountain extremely precipitous on its western slope and extending in a
S>E. direction over 150 miles to the 1000 fathom line. On many of the
alleged positions of shoals depths of over 2,000 fathoms were found,
the greatest depth being 3,169 fathoms, about 60 miles southwest of
the Grand Cayman Island, between the Misteriosa Bank and Thunder
Knoll. During 1884 the Albatross made 701 deep sea soundings, located
with such accuracy as to give them a hydrographic value. In January,
1885, many additional soundings were made by the Albatross in the
Gulf of Mexico.
In a paper communicated to Science for January 30, 1885, Com
mander Bartlett, U. S. N., gives a.n account of the various sounding

GEOGRAPHY. 19
and dredging expeditions from whose labors the necessary material has
been accumulated for making a complete relief model of the Caribbean
Sea. During the cruise ofthe Challenger it was shown that in a sub
marine lake the temperature is constant to the greatest depth, and is
the same as that of the ocean at the depth of the rim of the lake at the
deepest, point. The labors of Commander Sigsbee, U. S. N., from 1874
to 1878, while commanding the Coast Survey steamer Blake, showed
that the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico below a depth of 800 fath
oms is constant at 39£°, the normal temperature of the ocean at that
depth in the region of the equatorial current. It was consequently in
ferred that the Caribbean Sea, from which the Gulf of Mexico receives
its waters, is inclosed by a rim which was 800 fathoms below the sur
face at its deepest part. This inference has been completely borne out
by the researches of Commander Bartlett and Lieutenant-Commanders
Brownson and Tanner, of the United States Navy, and the results of their
labors are admirably shown by a contour model of the Caribbean Sea ex
hibited at the New Orleans Exposition. This model is on a horizontal
scale of 33 miles to an inch and a vertical scale of 6,000 feet to the inch.
Baron Nordenskiold has communicated to the Journal of the Royal
Geographical Society a synopsis, by Herr Axel Hamberg, of the obser
vations for temperature, specific gravity, and saltness of the expedition
of 1883 to East Greenland and the adjacent waters, but no attempt is
made to form any general deductions from the data presented.
The Danish gunboat Fylla, of 500 tons, Capt. C. Normann, was en
gaged during the summer of 1884 in surveying, sounding, and dredging
on the west coast of Greenland and in Davis Strait. The greatest
depth found was about 900 fathoms, while in the narrowest part of Davis
Strait depths of only 400 fathoms were found. The ship was fitted with
the very best appliances, a Sigsbee machine being used for sounding.
In Disco Bay, where no soundings had been before made, depths of from
200 to 270 fathoms were found, while a ridge on which there are but
180 to 190 fathoms constitutes a sort of threshold between the bay and
Davis Strait, preventing icebergs with a greater height above the water
than 150 feet from passing from the great fiord of Jacobshavn to
the ocean, the average proportion between the exposed and submerged
surfaces being as 1 to 8.8. As was the case with the Nordenskiold ex
pedition to East Greenland, it was found, in taking serial temperatures
of sea-water, that the coldest water is not found nearest the bottom,
but that the temperature increases with the depth in the polar current
and underlying water layers.

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