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National Geographic : 1947 Oct
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Our Navy Explores Antarctica Pilots and observers described the landscape as featureless, except for a few sharp rises in the ice. Along the 141st meridian, how ever, they looked down on what appears to be one of the largest gla ciers on earth. From the air it seems a ter ribly crevassed ice river extending far into the Polar Plateau. Nearly 1,500 Miles of Coastline Mapped Between the 143d and 138th meridians also was found loose pack ice-presumably due to prevalent winds and ocean currents through which an ice breaker could be navi gated and where a boat landing on the conti nental shore might be possible. Thence for about 300 miles the shore re mained absolutely flat and almost indistin guishable. There were no mountains or gla ciers. Between ice pack and shore is a stretch of open water about 15 miles wide. This pre sumably is due, as is the case elsewhere, to With Candy He Tries to Beguile a Native Flapper A member of the expedition seeks to coax an Adelie penguin closer, but that big round eve is eloquent of distrust. the constant high winds from the plateau which prevent the pack from forming against the coast. At approximately longitude 115 the ice capped plateau rises sharply to great heights. Here also there is an approach for ships through loose pack ice, and what appeared to be a good camp site was seen from the air. Up to this point Captain Bond's crews seemed somewhat disappointed in their discov eries. The territory had been for the most part a monotonous, featureless desert of never. There were few lofty mountains, no hidden seas. But for solid accomplishment in extend ing the boundaries of the known world their record had been very outstanding. For the first time nearly 1,500 miles of coastline could be placed on maps with rea sonable accuracy. Of significance was the finding that in these longitudes the great South Polar Plateau, one of the major features of the globe, reached as far as the Antarctic coast without evidence of an enclosing rim of mountains. Vivid Oasis in Land of Death The Western Group, however, was destined for more exciting discoveries. The broad picture of the Antarctic Conti nent is that of a lofty desert of ice out of which rise here and there high black or light colored mountain peaks. But, in nearly 6,000,000 square miles of lifeless white silence, are there possibilities of finding sheltered areas where remnants of the life of millenniums ago have survived and con tinued their evolution in a unique environ- 497
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