Abstract
AT the meeting of the Geographical Society on Monday evening a paper was read on the dircoveries made by Mr. Leigh Smith last year on the coast of Franz Josef Land, including also a general sketch of the rest of his voyage in the Eira. Mr. Smith appears to have reached the southern shores of Franz Josef Land with comparative ease about the middle of August, and to have examined it and several islands along a coast-line of over 100 miles of previously unexplored ground. The new continent, as some would fain believe it to be, does not present an attractive appearance, for the coast-line is described as consisting of glaciers with dark frowning and flat-topped cliffs, here and there reaching to a height of 1200 feet. It was after passing Barents' Hook that new ground was actually broken, and the exploration was continued westwards until Mr. Smith succeeded in rounding the western headland. The farthest point actually reached by the Eira was in N. lat. 82° 20′, E. long. 45°, and thence the land could be seen trending away to the north-west. During the voyage a meteorological record was kept, photographs taken, and various collections made, chiefly of botanical and geological specimens.
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Geographical Notes . Nature 23, 278–279 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/023278b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/023278b0