Franz Josef Land

Franz-Josef Land, an Arctic archipelago between lat. 80° and 83° N., discovered and partly explored by Payer and Weyprecht in 1873-74. Welczecklancl on the E. and Zichyland on the W. are divided from one another by Austria Sound. Flat-topped basalt mountains, usually sheeted with ice, and rising to 5,000 feet, cover the surface of the archipelago. Animal life is abundant, and in summer the coasts are open. Franz-Josef Land was further explored in 1880-82, and has been looked upon as a- good base from which the North Pole may be reached.