Page:Maury's New Elements of Geography, 1907.djvu/80

76 Off the coast the densest fogs prevail. They are often so thick that the sailors cannot see from one end of their vessel to the other. Here, too, are seen those grand and beautiful, but chilly visitors, the gigantic icebergs, that float down from the shores of Greenland.

The fisheries of Newfoundland are the greatest in the world.



In the spring and summer codfish come here in immense numbers, and thousands of fishermen come to catch them. As many as 200,000 seals are killed every spring for their oil.

The Newfoundland dog, so famous for saving people from drowning, is a native of this island.

Labrador belongs to Newfoundland. Very few people live there; the climate is too severe. The coast is visited by fishermen and seal-hunters.

2. Greenland, a vast ice-covered island, is the largest in the world. In summer a strip of land along the coast is green with grass and flowers. For this reason an early explorer named it Greenland.

The trees are not more than six feet high. Buttercups and dandelions are found. A few vegetables are sometimes raised.

Snow falls in every month during the year except July.

The few inhabitants are occupied in hunting seals, catching whales, and gathering eider-down.



Upernavik (oo-per-nah'vik) is nearer the north pole than any other town in the world. Find it on map, p. 33.



3. Iceland is an island not far from Greenland. Both islands belong to Denmark, a country in Europe, and are called Danish America.

Iceland is famed for its volcanoes and geysers, or boiling springs.

The Great geyser sends up a