The rock specimens collected and the little mapping which was done indicate that the island is composed mostly of sedimentary rocks which have been much metamorphosed. Phyllites predominated, but various schists, slates and banded limestones were also seen.
Zavodovski.—Lat. 56° S. Long. 27° W.
This island, the most northerly in the South Sandwich group, was not landed on by the members of the Quest, and the following observations from the ship must be considered only probable and in no way certain.
The island is of volcanic origin, rising as a cone from the sea. The upper levels were not seen by us, but the height of the summit is given by Bellingshausen as 1,200 feet. The cliff rises vertically from the sea about 40 feet, and then there is a long, gentle slope gradually getting steeper.
The lava flows seen on the cliff face appeared to consist of a compact columnar basalt at the base. Above there was a line of red cinder, and above this again what looked to be rough pahoehoe lava. A number of clefts and vents were seen on the face of the cliff, and from these there issued bluish fumes.
Soundings with the Kelvin were taken every half-mile or so, and the material collected corresponds with the basalts and cinder mentioned.
It was unfortunate that we were unable to visit the other islands in this group, for with the exception of the scanty reports of Bellingshausen, C. A. Larsen and a German expedition, the geology and natural history are practically unknown, and the existing charts are not by any means complete.
PETROLOGICAL REPORT, by W. Campbell Smith, M.C., M.A., British Museum of Natural History.
Rock fragments washed from material dredged at 19 fathoms off Zavodovski, South Sandwich group, 20/1/22.
The sample consisted of a few grammes of rounded black pellets varying in diameter from 1 to 5 mm. They consisted of the following: