The snowy regions are then seen to be successively notched
at their edges; black holes and huge fissures are formed in their
interiors; great isolated pieces many miles in extent stand out from the
principal mass and, dissolving, disappear a little later. In short, the
same divisions and movements of these icy fields present themselves to
us at a glance that occur during the summer of our own arctic regions,
according to the descriptions of explorers.
The southern snow, however, presents this peculiarity: The center of its
irregularly rounded figure does not coincide exactly with the pole, but
is situated at another point, which is nearly always the same, and is
distant from the pole about 300 kilometers (180 miles) in the direction
of the Mare Erythraeum. From this we conclude that when the area of the
snow is reduced to its smallest extent the south pole of Mars is
uncovered, and therefore, perhaps, the problem of reaching it upon this
planet is easier than upon the earth. The southern snow is in the midst
of a huge dark spot, which with its branches occupies nearly one-third
of the whole surface of Mars, and is supposed to represent its principal
ocean. Hence the analogy with our arctic and antarctic snows may be said
to be complete, and especially so with the antarctic one.
The mass of the northern snow cap of Mars is, on the other hand,
centered almost exactly upon its pole. It is located in a region of
yellow color, which we are accustomed to consider as representing the
continent of the planet.
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