Evening star., 1952-04-14
Mount Everest Remains
Eorth's Highest Peak
Surveys Con Find No Busis
For Mony Contrary Reports
By Thomas R. Henry

BY Thomos r. Henry
Mount Everest remains earth's high
est peak.
During the war there were persistent
reports Of higher mountains sighted
by pilots flying the hump" from India
to China. Usually the report was that
the pilot was flying along at $4,000 feet.
the approximate altitude of Everest,
when much higher peak loomed ahead
as the plane emerged from the cloud
bank.
The usual location was close to that
of Mt. Anne Machin. altitude about
$4,000 feet, and it was thought that
original surveys may have been in SER
ious error. Several expeditions were
projected to find such a peak.
Now. according to the journal of the
Explorers Club. Chinese explorers have
photographed the peak Of Anne Machin
from several directions and find nothing
to support the claims. They also have
flown over the Minya Konka range in
the Chinese Himalayas. There is little
doubt that Mt. Minya Konka altitude
$4,000 feet. is the highest mountain
in China.
A good deal Of dificulty can be ex-
perienced in evaluating altitude accord
ing to DR.. Serge A. Korf of New York
University, Explorers Club vice president.
When sensitive aneroids, such as are
used in airplaneS. are employed, he
points out, three types of errors must be
recognized.
"One is that due to chronic high or
peaks or in particular regions. When
the plane returns to its base the alti-
meter checks out perfectly, and yet the
reading at the peak may be of more
than 1000 feet.
Velocity Of Air . Factor.
1.-THE second type Of error occurs as
a result of the Bernoulli effect near high
mountains. If a strong wind is blowing.
the air in rushing over the peak in
creases it's velocity. Its pressure drops
accordingly.
Third is progressive error in the
aneroid itself. carried one supposedly
very good instrument up mountain.
Before and after the ascent the inStru-
ment was checked against a mercury
column at nearly sea level. 1t checked
exactly with survey markers at about
5000 feet Yet opposite survey marker
reading 14.26O feet this instrument read
1900 feet. A progressive error was
evidently present and would get bigger
with increasing altitude"
The 6 per cent Of the earth's land
surface contained in the Arctic Is very
close to desert but it may have very
,yol,,oh1a v,oiyorol yocO,,rcnS
Such is the conclusion OF a study
of what is now known on Arctic re-
sources by geographers OF the Amerl-
can Geographic Society.
There are many different Arctics."
says the society's statement.
Different Varieties Of Artics.
"There are permanently ice-and-snow-
covered areas such as the northeastern
part of Canada. Spitsbergen. Iceland and
the great Greenland icecap. There are
areas where most of the snow disap-
pears in the short summers and the
tundra vegetation becomes visible with
its characteristic abundance of flow
ering plants. Some areas are rolling
grassland others are covered with moss
and lichens, still others are bare rock
outcrops. In some parts the ground
will thaw to a depth of three or four
feet, in others to only three or four
inches. Beneath lies the permanently
frozen earth.
Precipitation Enthusiastically is on
the low side. Most Of Arctic Siberia.
for instance, has less than 10 inches
year. There are even wider variations
in the length of the growing season. At
Chesterfield Inlet, on the west side OF
Hudson Bay, it averages between IS
and 70 days. At Port Harrison on
the east side 1T averages between 40
and IS days.
SOILS, for the most part, are acid.
shallow and poorly drained. Over large
areas they are entirely missing. Clearly
the Arctic is no place for the usual
kinds of farming. Here and there at
tempts have been made to raise such
crops as cabbage and potatoes. At
Umanak, in Greenland. which claims
to have the most northerly garden in
the world, broccoli and radishes grow
well and turnips and lettuce sometimes
succeed.
ION one Russian farm. located within
900 miles of the North Pole, they have
succeeded in raising hardy grains, Arctic
raspberry and fax. According to one
report, growth during the short vegeta-
tive season is so rapid that it must
actually be controlled by spreading tar
paulins over the hotbed frames to simu-
late artificial night"