Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/27

Rh Very little is known of the continental coast-line to the south of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, but there is every reason to believe that the coast-line in these parts will resemble in general character the coast-lines of the rest of the lands bordering on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans: that is to say, that the coasts will not be precipitous except at points where mountain ranges cut them at right angles to the coast, and, meeting the sea, form cliffs and capes. The general formation of these will probably prove to be of the plateau type truncated by the sea.

The little we do know of the coast-line in this region certainly does not refute this opinion. The earliest discovery of continental coast-line in this region was by two American sealers, Captains Johnson and Morell in 1823, who reported a large tract of land to the south of the South Orkneys, which Johnson called New South Greenland. Biscoe in 1831 discovered a large tract of land from about 12° 22′ E. to Enderby Land, in about 52° E. The next important discoveries were those of Wilkes and D'Urville in 1840, to the south of the Indian Ocean—Adelie Land and Côte Clarie. The other land-falls of importance to the south of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans have not been until recent years, when von Drygalski discovered Wilhelm Land, which