Evening star., 1954-11-24
Large Antarctic Areo
Muy Prove HobitobIe
Coast South Of AustruIiu
lce-Free Several Months
BY Thomos R. Henry

The sleeping princess may be waking
from her 50-million-year enchanted and
dreamless slumbers.
This Is Princess Elisabeth Land.
named "a years ago for Britain,s pres-
ent Queen. The globe Is covered with
lands and cities named for her great-
great-grandmother Victoria. but this
Is the only major geographical feature
as yet to bear the new Queens name.
This white-blanketed land, which
stretches from 73 to 80 east longitude
roughly south Of Australia-and
southwark In q pie-shaped wedge to
the South Pole was discovered from
the air by the Australian explorer, Sir
Douglas Mawson. In 1891. It nov Il
planned as the site Of Australia's In.
land icecap station during the interna-
tional geophysical year Of 1s57-5s.
This vast, mountainous desolation Of
hundreds Of thousands Of square miles
remains almost completely unexplored.
But of all parts Of the dead Antarctic
lands 1t seems the nearest TO resurrec.
ton. Recent air observations show that
approximately 65 miles Of It's coastline
are almost free Of ice during the
Antarctic summer. Apparently fresh.
water lakes with penguins and seals
have been seen inland from the coast.
Due to the constantly prevailing winds
it Is not improbable that the coastline
may be ice-free greater part Of the
year.
Mountains In Interior.
In the interior are several large
mountain ranges. Among these. first
sighted by Mawson. are the Sjovold
Mountains which appear to Be stiIl-
active volcanoes. Black smoke is seen
pouring periodically from their tops.
These SUBMITS are snow-free, juttine
above the inland ice.
Also largely snow-free during much
Of the year are the Harsema Mountains
which rise near the coast. This coast
is yellow as seen from the air, indi.
eating vast penguin rookeries and gtiano
deposits.
The interior. however. Is . vast life
less icesheet with an average altitude
of more than 5000 feet.
The only other part of the Arltarctic
continent which shows signs Of resur-
rection as living land is the so-called
"oasis," farther to the east, discovered
during Admiral Richard e. Byrd's
1946-47 expedition--an ice-free area Of
about 100 square miles with O large lake
on which sea planes can be landed.
This is due. however. to Q peculiar
geological formation, rather than TO-
any particularly favorable climatic
conditions-as may be the case along
the Princess Elizabeth coasts.
Continental segments In the same
general Australian zone Of the coriti-
nent as Elizabeth Land apparently show
no signs Of awaking. These include
MacRobertson land, also frst sighted
by Mawson. which is ice-covered and
featureless. It presents o forbidding
line of ice cliffs to the sea. Such also
Is the condition In Enderby Land-a
name once used to designate the entire
Australian sector but now restricted.
It is entirely covered by vast ice
sheet above which stand the tops Of
several mountain ranges. The depth
of the ice. and consequently the height
Of the mountains, are unknown. The
coast Is diff1cult to approach because
" cAAO o1otAAaAiOC VI ACCDC4Bbs
Exploration Dangerous.
Despite the favorable conditions
along the coast. exploration Of the
interior Of Princess Elizabeth Land may
be extremely difficult and dangerous.
Air observations show the ice cap trav-
ersed by vast crevasses Just behind the
coastal ranges. It is not looked upon
as favorable sledge or tractor route
to the Pole.
Every part Of the Antarctic is subject
to violent storms, with hurricanelike
winds constantly blowing from the
South Pole. There Is high probability,
however. that weather may be some-
what more favorable for habitation in
this particular sector. At least penguins
and seals apparently have found 1t so.
Observations there during the inter.
national geophysical year may 60 far
toward answering the still-much-
disputed question as to whether the
earth's polar regions actually are get
ting little warmer and the vast Ice
sheets retreating. Such Q retreat hardly
could be expected to occur In all places
at once-and observations hitherto
have been quite indefinite.