The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-17
FLOOR OF THE PACIFIC.
Submerged Mountains and Valleys of
Great Extent.
Leslie's Monthly.

Leslie's Monthly
The cruise of the Albatross, under Prof.
AgassiZ, was scarcely less remarkable
judged as an exploring expedition, than 1t
fishing party. For days, weeks
and months, the party grouped with great
dredges, deep sea lines and other apparatus
TO determine the topography and character
of the great floor of the Pacific. Every
haul every sounding, added something TO
human knowledge.
If the water of the Pacific could be
drained. there would be revealed vast
stretch of territory comprising enormous
plateaus, great valleys for which no par
allels exist on the land surface-lofty noun
tains, beside which the Himalaya and the
Andes would look like hillocks and ire
mendous hollows or basins. only TO De
compared with those the moon.
1t is marvellous popularity OF tnou-
sands of these huge mountains that the
SUBMITS of most of them are miniature
reproductions of the bottom of the PACING,
except that they are covered with trees
and other vegetation. There strange De,
ings dwell-types that are curious and
rapidly passing away, The SUBMITS or
these great subterranean mountains, pro-
jecting above the present water surface,
north of the coast of China nearly to the
southern limit of South America.
Some of the submerged valleys are sew
eral miles long, and here and there others
of approximate length join them and ex-
tend veinlike, to all points of the compass.
While there are great mountains, long ser
pentine valleys and huge basins or deeps,
the plateau areas are by far the most ex-
tensive. Relatively speaking, the floor or
the Pacific, as now at last revealed on the
plateau areas, is level. There are undula-
lions and depressions, but the general area
is about the same depth below the surface.
The soundings of the Albatross develop a
mean depth of from $500 to 200 fathoms:
In shoaler spots there is mean depth or
from 1890 to 400 fathoms. Deeper spots
show from $500 to $500 fathomS
1t is an interesting fact that many of the
deeper portions Of the plateau areas are in
the neighborhood of large groups of islands,
and not necessarily far from land or close
TO islands of coral formation. The great
deeps or basins, 5000 fathoms or over, are
less than two dozen in number and all are
of comparatively small extent save five.
One reaches from about % degrees north
latitude to above 30 degrees. Another ex-
tends from below 80 degrees northeastward-
ly in the shape of huge shoe, to nearly 40
degrees north. Some are long and narrow,
while others are nearly circular in form.
The two most important basins are the
Moser, near the island of Guam, and the
Tonga-Kermadec deep, near Tongatabu.
Each is over four thousand fathoms, and
in no point less than three thousand faith
oms. The new soundings correct many for
| mer inaccuracies. Old charts indicated
| many basins, deeps and ridges which either
| do not exist or form parts of the other ba-
| sins, ridges or deeps.
If bird's-eye view could be had Of the
| floor of the Pacific it would be found that
| the greater part is formed of red clay. The
remainder, a scientist would tell you. Is
| composed of extensive fields of globigerina
| and white radiolarian ooZe, with smaller
| spots of pteropod, diatom, terregenous and
| coral ooze. Probably If the various forms
| of ooze were scraped away there would re-
| main a uniform covering of red clay, be-
| cause they are merely the remains of count.
| less millions of marine organisms, the &C.
| cumulations of numberless years. 1t is i'm
possible to conceive the vastness of proto
| zoan life, as the lowest and simplest type OF
| living organisms is called, which form:
| great deposits on the floor of the Pacific
and elsewhere, or to dream of the counties.
| period of years since they first came into
| existence In past ages protozoan life wa.
more abundant than now. The radiolariar
| life, as the learned name the valvulal
| mullusk, which. cling to the rocky bottom
of the ocean, formed the chalk cliffs of Eng
land and large limestone deposits in diff
| ferent parts of the world. The greater
| number of the species of radiolarians ant
globigerinaceae, another low form of ma
rine life, dwell at the bottom of the sea.