The Aleutian Islands. Geological Notes of the Group-Glaciers and Volcanoes. Fauna and Flora of the Group-Agricultural Notes-The Inhabitants. (Special Correspondence of the Bulletin.) (By the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer Dora . the following delayed letter . came to hand:) Ounalaska, May 21, 1881.

• Main Author: Muir, John
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1881
• Subjects: Environmentalist; naturalist; travel; conservation; national parks; John Muir; history; pamphlets; journal articles; speeches; writing; annotation; Arctic; glaciers; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/159; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/context/jmb/article/1158/viewcontent/117.pdf

Written,May 21,1681 Pub. July 25, " THE ALEUTI&IJ ISLANDS. •Gorwia' $elog;xcal Jfotes of tie &rdup--(*laeiers jakd YolcaMoes, raooa an4 Flora of tia Group—Agricultural IT of.es—Tie laftaMtaarts. ESPECIAL COEBESPOKDEMCE OF THS BULLKTIN.J ft y i? •t By the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer Dora which arrived in port last Saturday from Oonalaska, the following delayed letter from the Bulletin's special correspondent in the Arctic came to hand: U, malasxa, May 21,1881. The Aleutian chain of islands is one of the most remarkable and interesting to be found on the globe sweepisg in a regular curve a. thou- santl-irjires long from the end of the Alaska .-"Peninsula towards Kam/chatka, and nearly uniting the American ana Asiatic Continents. A very short geological time ago, just before the coming on of the2clacial.yPeriod, this connection of the continents was probably complete, inasmuch as the entire chain is simply a degraded portion of the North American Coast fountains, with its foothills and connecting rkiges between the summit peaks a few feet under wateii'fhese submerged ridges formtsg the passes between the islands as they exist today, while it is evident that this segregating degradation has been effected by the majestic down-grinding glaciers that lately loaded all the chain. Only a few wasting remnants o" these glaciers are now in existenee),lingeriug in the highest, snowiest fountains on the "largest of the-S'elands. Si DESOLATE VIE.WJ2;_-;;_.„I_i ' The mountains are from ,9,000 to S.OOOVfeet high, many of. them capped with perpetual snow, and rendered yet, more imposing by volcanoes emitting smoke and ashes—the feeble manifestations of upbuilding volcanic force that has been active long before the beginning of the great ice winter. To the traveler from the sonth„,approaching any portion of the chain during the winter or spring months, the view presented is exceedingly desolate and forbidding. The snow conies down to the water's edge, the solid winter-white being interrupted only by black ...