Abstract
THE most prominent—we ought perhaps to say, the one redeeming—feature of Mr. Coles's work is the fact that he occupied himself by taking observations of heights, temperatures, distances, and magnetic variations while travelling in Iceland. This is rarely done because of the difficulty of carrying instruments over a very rough, and in some places pathless, country. The result has been that the map appended to “Summer Travelling” is perhaps the most accurate which has yet appeared. Mount Paul, and a few more-familiar names, are strangely enough not inserted, but, on the other hand, the heights of the principal mountains and highlands are given in English feet; the crater of Askja is shown of its proper form; and the details of the Sprengisandr route are mapped. At the same time, the map is not so clear as that of Gunnlaugsson, who was careful to indicate the different surface soils—lava, sand, heath, & c.—by differences both of shading and of colour. If those who travel in a little-known country would provide themselves with a good aneroid, compass, and thermometer, and would learn before starting how to use them, and maintain a habit of using them constantly while on their travels, like Mr. Coles, it would be to the great advantage of science.
Summer Travelling in Iceland.
By John Coles (London: Murray, 1882.)
By Fell and Fjord.
By E. G. Oswald. (London: Blackwood, 1882.)
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RODWELL, G. Iceland . Nature 26, 363 (1882). https://doi.org/10.1038/026363a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/026363a0