Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1891-01-24
A HUGE SUBMARINE TROUGH.

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Holes Of Great Depth Found In the Bottom
OF the faclfio Ocean.
Some interesting information regard
ing the great depths OF the ocean has
Just been given by Admiral Belknap In
. paper read before the As attic Society
OF Japan. The Admiral 10 veteran II
the study. Sixteen years ago whom no
commanded the United States ship Tus-
carora. he surveyed the bottom OF the
Pacific from the coast Of California to
Japan, with a view to ascertaining
whether 1t would be practicable TO lay
q submarine cable from San Francisco
to Yokohama. II was while engaged In
that enterprise that he discovered the
deep trough which lies at the bottom OF
the ocean parallel with the south shore
Of Japan and the Aleutian chain. This
trough or hollow extends at least from
the meridian Of Hako to the east
ern extremely of the Aleutian chain
and runs quite close to the land. often
within eighty or hundred miles OF
low-water mark 1t appears to serve rs
the bed OF the marine river known as
the Black Stream, or Kuroswo current
to which San FIR ncisco is indebted for
her equabe climate
Up to the time OF Captain Belknap's
discovery the greatest depth which had
been sounded in the ocean was one OF
s S75 fathoms, or something over four
miles, which was obtained by the ha-
lenger few miles north Of the Virgin
Islands in the North Atlantic In the
South Atlantic depth of 1884 fathoms
has been found, and that still remains the
greatest depth that has been sounded In
the sea; in the South Pacific the Chal-
lenger had at that time found nogreater
depth than $500 fathoms The Tusca-
rors found n 1874, at distance OF
from 100 to 200 miles from the shore OF
Japan, depths Of 1850, 4,64S. A4l1. A.
855. and 4 O57 f@thoms When it is re-
membered that 4. 655 fathoms are equal
to 81, 800 feet or five and quarter miles,
the prodigious size OF this chasm can
be conceived. Mount Everest in the
HImalayas which is supposed to be tho
tallest muunt tain in the world. Is only
90. 900 feet in height; II that could be
plunged into the bed Of the Kurosiwo
current its summit would only be about
1000 feet above tho level Of the sea-
Two years and half ago the British
Government dispatched the surveying
ship Egeria to survey the bottom OF the
South Pacific, with view to ascertain
ing the prospects Of submarine cables
Captain Pelham Aldrich, who commands
her, has transmitted to the Admiralty
o series of reports OF progress which
contains valuable information. Up to
the time he sailed the deepest spot
which had been sounded in the South
Pacific was about 100 miles west OF
Callao Bay, in Peru, where Captain Bel
KNAPP in the Alaska, had found 1857
fathomA In 1888 and 1889 the
Egeria found a deep hole ly-
ing. west OF tho Friendly Islands
near south latitude "a degrees and west
longitude 175 degrees. There she got
soundings of 4.4os. 4. COS and 1850 faith
oms. Another similar hole, 4. ATS faith
oms Of water in it. had been sounded
by the Challenger about $50 miles west
of the Ladrone Islands, between them
and the Philippines No such depths
as these have thus far been discovered
in the Atlantic, either north or south Of
the equator
If it be safe to theorize on so slender
an accumulation OF facts as these, 1t
may be said that the deepest waters Of
the globe are to DO found in the Pacific.
There are few holes Of moderate depth
in the Atlantic, and q mariners tale
ascribes considerable depths - which
have not been yer. 6ed-to parts Of the
Indian Ocean; but the greatest cavities
in the earth's surface which have been
measured underlie the vastest body OF
water existing on the globe 1t may
also be observed that there appears to
exist proportion between the average
height of tho mountain on tho shores
of the continents which bound it The
average depth of the Pacific, leaving
ridges and depressions out Of view, is
not far from q 900 fathoms; the average
height of the peaks of the Rocky
mountains and the Andes will not vary
far from 10, 900 feet or l. 760 fathoms.
The depth of tho deep spots in the bed
OF the KurosIwo current occasionally
reaches $4,000 feet; the he ght of Mount
Aconcagua in Oh Ii is 20, 200 feet Ad-
miral Belknap cons ders it established
that the deepest spots in thC oceans are
near the shores; but the hole near the
Friendly Islands can not be rcconciled
with this theory. Francisco Call