The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-25
Second Island in Size.

Excluding Australia, Baff1n Land, situated near the east coast Of the American continent, Q short distance north of hudson Strait, is the second island of the world in point oE size and still little is known about 1t. IL has long been represented on the maps as composed of a number of islands. It IS still shown in this way on number or maps now in use. One. by one these supposed islands, Cumberland Island, Fox Land, Meta Incognito, Sussex ls- land, and others have been found to be a part of the main island; thus Baffln Land has been gradually increasing in size on the maps, until today IL IS known to be inferior only to Green land in size. The latest edition of the best map of the polar regions publish ed in any American atlas, however. still shows Cockburn Island, which is about as large as Iceland, separated from Bafin Land by a wide channel. though number of foreign maps sho" that it is a part of Baffin Land.
 pr. Robert Bell, the new director of the geological survey of Canada, who mapped a long sketch of the west coast in 1S9T has just published in the Geological Journal a report Of his ex- plo1ations. He says that 1t is the third largest island in the world, being only exceeded by Australia and Green land" As Australia Is now ranked by nearly all geographers as the smallest of the continents Baffin Land will un- doubtedly take its place among the is- lands as the second in area.
 Abounds in Lakes.
 All the best maps of BafTin Land now show a great lake region in the central part of the southern portion of the is- land. These lakes lie between noun tain ranges. pr. Bell says that the two greatest bodies of water are larger than any two lakes in the whole pen insular of Labrador and that they may almost be compared to Lake Ontario in extent. He visited the southernmost Lake Amadjuak. which may be lzO miles i nlength. by forty in breath in the middle. According to Eskimo &C., counts, Lake Amadjuak discharges northward in Lake Mettiling by short river, without rapids, the natives pas sing from one lake, to another in their miles long and sixty miles wide and It's waters reach the sea through large and rapid river, fifty or sixty miles long. that has a descent of about fye feet to the mile.
 The conspicious honor of being the largest island Tn the world has been held by quite a number of islands at various stages OI BcO51aPiltC hHO"i "iCNeO School children were taught for many years that Australia was the largest island. Then Australia came properly to be regarded as one of the continen- tai masses and Borneo took its place as the largest island.
 Geography Was Revised.
 Les than twenty years ago 1t was discovered that New Guinea was larger than Borneo and so the latter island took second place. When Peary prac- tieally outlined the northern coast of Greenland. early in the last decade geogrophers began to think that they had overlooked an important section of the earths surface and so they placed Greenland at the head of the list of is- lands At last Baffin Land looms ur as an island 1.005 statute miles IT length, with breadth varying from 200 to 800 miles. the average being 3O5 miles Its area Is therefore about 3oe,ooC square miles. Tn other words, the is- land is larger than the State of Texas by about 10000 square miles or about ten times as large as either Scotland