Off the coast the densest fogs prevail. They are often so thick that the sailors cannot see from one end of their vessel to the other. Here, too, are seen those grand and beautiful, but chilly visitors, the gigantic icebergs, that float down from the shores of Greenland.
The fisheries of Newfoundland are the greatest in the world.
A drave of seals on the coast of Labrador. These seals are not valuable for fur.
In the spring and summer codfish come here in immense numbers, and thousands of fishermen come to catch them. As many as 200,000 seals are killed every spring for their oil.
The Newfoundland dog, so famous for saving people from drowning, is a native of this island.
Labrador belongs to Newfoundland. Very few people live there; the climate is too severe. The coast is visited by fishermen and seal-hunters.
2. Greenland, a vast ice-covered island, is the largest in the world. In summer a strip of land along the coast is green with grass and flowers. For this reason an early explorer named it Greenland.
The trees are not more than six feet high. Buttercups and dandelions are found. A few vegetables are sometimes raised.
Snow falls in every month during the year except July.
The few inhabitants are occupied in hunting seals, catching whales, and gathering eider-down.
A group of Greenlanders and their home. The house is build of stones and earth and has a chimney in the middle to let out the smoke.
The whale is furnished with a coat of fat several inches thick, which keeps him warm as he swims through the icy waters. This fat, or blubber, is melted down into oil. From the whale's mouth we get what is called whalebone, though it is not really bone. It is the whale's trap with which he catches thousands of little animals on which he feeds.
Eider-down is one of the most valuable products that we get from these icy regions. It is taken from the nest of the eider-duck. The mother bird plucks the down or soft feathers from her breast, and lines her nest with them to keep the ducklings warm. During the season the down is gathered every few days, and the poor duck plucks a fresh supply from her breast.
Upernavik (oo-per-nah'vik) is nearer the north pole than any other town in the world. Find it on map, p. 33.
A scene in the Arctic regions. White bears hunting for seals on the ice. Notice how low the sun is in the sky, although it is in the middle of the day.
3. Iceland is an island not far from Greenland. Both islands belong to Denmark, a country in Europe, and are called Danish America.
Iceland is famed for its volcanoes and geysers, or boiling springs.
The Great geyser sends up a
