The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-09-01
Our Olio.
Glimpses of Atlantis.

The sedimentary rocks of our Atlantic
States aggregate thickness of nearly 45,-
900 feet. The manner in which the sand,
gravel, mud and so on, which formed these
rocks, was distributed over the bed Of the
sea which rolled where our continent now
lies, proved beyond doubt that they came
from the north aud east They represent
the detritus Of pre-existing lands, the
washings Of rains, rivers, coast currents,
aud other agencies of erosion; aud since
the areas supplying the waste could scarce
ly have been of less extent than the new
strata it formed, it is reasonably inferred
that land masses of continental magnitude
must have occupied the region now coy
cred by the North Atlantic before America
began to be, and onward at least through
the pal;eozoic ages of American history.
1t is not to be imagined that the ante
American sea was $4,000 feet deep.
When the earlier paleozoie strata were
forming the water was evidently shallow,
and in some parts broken by islands.
From time to time the sea was deepened
by the sinking of its floor and as the sue
cessiye strata were laid down the subsid-
enees for the most part more than kept
pace with the thickening deposits. Now
and again the movement was reversed, as
when the Green Mountain range was up
lifted; and occasionally deposition exceeded
subsidence, or slight elevations brought
the sea bed near to the water level Pre-
vious to the carboniferous period evidences
Of shallow water are common; and after
that time successive low-evel land areas
repeatedly occupied the half of what is now
the Mississippi basin.
While the new America was thus form
ing, the ancien. Atlantis was no doubt
sinking as well as washing away. When
its final disappearance occurred remains
to be determined; quite recently, however,
two or three lines Of scientific research
scAn to converge in support Of the truth
OF the ancient story, long considered
mythical, in regard to the geologically re-
cent occurrence of that remarkable catas-
trophe. Archaeology has sufficiently de
monstrated that the memory of man
runs back vastly farther than history has
been willing to admit; so that there re-
mains no inherent improbability in the
story the Egyptian priests told to Solon,
All that modern science asks is whether
there is any other evidence of the recent
existence of Atlantis.
Since the exploration of the North At
lantic sea bottom for telegraphic purposes
proved that no elevations or depressions
inconsistent with the safe laying of cables
were to be found between Newfoundland
and Ireland, it has been popularity taught
that the Atlantic lies in a vast trough with
a comparatively regular bottom. A wider
range of soundings made by the American
ship Dolphin, the German frigate Gazelle,
the British ships Hydrau and Poreupine,
and more recently by the Challenger, quite
ovcrthrows the popular idea, proving the
Atlantic bed to be rather a double trough,
the deeper depressions separated by a
mountainous ridge Of great altitude run
ming north and south, almost midway be-
tween the existing continent. From the
variations in the soundings along the ridge
there is every reason TO infer that it is
line OF broken country, the higher peaks
reaching the surface north of tho equator
in the Azore Islands, and further south in
st. Paul $ Rocks, the Islands of Ascension,
Tristan d Acunha, etc. On the other
side of the ridge the water deepcns, the
bottom presenting surface diversified by
hills and valleys, such as could be carved
out only when the sea bed existed as dry
land.
From the soundings made and colated
by the officers of the Challenger expedition,
a chart has been prepared, showing by
soundings, first, the Atlantic areas having
a depth of over 1000 fathoms, and second,
the areas ranging between 900 and 2.
900 fathoms: the narrower areas having a
depth of less than a thousand fathoms.
showing white. BY far the greater por
tion Of the sea bed south of 80 N. L. ex-
ceeds the depth of 1000 hthoms. The
area of medium depth covers the northern
sea down to an irregular line between
Newfoundland and England. Thence
narrow lsthmus beginning about $50 N.
L., and 800 West Long, from Greenwich
connects the northern table land with
what had been denominated the Dolphin
Ridge--a seal-shaped area with its head
TO the north and its tail Joining at about
l50 N. l.. and 450 w. La another ridge
called the Connecting Ridge. The latter
puts out from the South American shore
just north of the Amazon's mouth, and
extends from about 19o N. L. and 500
W. L., southeastward to point on the
equator about Long 10o W., where il
turns abruptly south and forms the Chal-
lengcr Ridge, which broadens southward.
but is not mapped below 40o S. Lat.
just north of Tristan d Acunha the Chal-
lenger Ridge sends off an arm, which
curying to the northeast, joins the coast of
Africa.
Here unquestionably We have the back
bone of the ancient Atlantis continent; and
in recent lecture in London one Of the
Challenger staff has reviewed the evidence
Of soundings touching the general contour
OF the "lost Atlantis" It's valleys and
'''7 ohN hob cuCu uS COuiQ DC formed OV
any natural irregularity in tho disposition
OF sediments, nor bysubmarine elevations;
they have been carved by agencies acting
above the water level Along the ridge
there are four points which remain unsub.
merged-the Azores, st. Paul's Rocks
Ascension aud Tristan d. Acunha. In
the deeper basins, the Bermudas, Pernan.
do dc Noronha, Trinidad aud st. Helena
rise to the surface, in some instances not
far distant, from depths exceeding three
thousand fathoms. A group of such sur
roundings under the equator (not far from
where the general ridge makes the angle
separating the Connecting Ridge from the
Challenger Ridge give evidence of an
ancient valley line. Surprising the CONT
nent raised until this valley became dry
land, the high peaks (now islands, near
BY would rise to Himalayau heights, and
the ridge itself would average about l.,
900 feet. Even under the equator such
elevations would be capped with snow, if