, 1913-09-20
SOME REMARKABLE FACTS FROM
RECENT EXPLORATIONS.

An entertaining and instructive article az
pears III u recent number of the Edjaburgh
Reoier, III which the writer gives u vivid
account of what one would see if he could
walk beneath the Atlantic Ocean instead Of
travelling on its surface. The passengers
and crew of u liner racing over the surface
of the Atlantic, says the writer, are apt to
imagine that under them is il vast layer of
water OF varying depth sparsely inhabited by
a few fish. 1t is pointed out, however, that
the whole of this great ocean is, ~ a matter
Of fact, teeming with life. If we could walk
across the bed Of the Atlantic from the
shores of Western Europe to America in
stead Of taking ship u succession of new
countries would, in effect, be traversed Not
only would the surrounding physical condi-
tious vary as the traveller advanced, but the
animal and plant life would vary III correla-
ton with the altering physical conditions.
Walking further and further towards the
depths of The Atlantic, all sight Of the al2S
would soon be lost, and the shallow water
fish would give way to the megrIm and the
hake. The sea floor would gradually change
from rock or gravel or stones to sand, and
ultimately to mud or oozee Of various tints,
their original colours often modified by the
action of the decomposition of organic par
llcleS III luGll Auu Oh luCLl. All THESE ulcI
deposits are SAID to be derived from the
nelghbouring land and to be borne seward
by off shore winds or washed down by rams
and streams and carried out to sea by rivers.
The distance to which fine matter IN sus-
pension may be carried is very great, OBJ
serves Dr.. Shipley- The Congo-is said to
carry it's characteristic mud us fur out to sea
as 600 miles, and the Ganges and the Indus
a . fur 90 0l0 miles Evonnt IN tho Oaiol-
bourhood of such great river, it is observed
that a subaqueous traveller would soou pass
beyond what has bsen called the "mud line"
At this point, Mt an average depth Of 100
fathoms, the traveller would arrive at the
edge of the continental shelf, IL rim which
extends seward to Il varying distance from
all land areas. On this rim, Great Britain is
said to rest. Beyond lies the continental
slope, n precipice described ~ more or less
abrupt aud more or less high, descending by
steep declines or terraced cliffs untll depths
Of 2 OO0 fathOms are reached. The deepest
ocean PIT as yet sounded, says the writer of
the article under notice, lies III the Pacific.
1t is 31,614 feet deep, thus surprising by
2,612 feet the height to which Mount Ever
est rises above the mean ocean level.
Roughly speaking, the heights to which the
higher mountains rise above sea level is par
alleled by the depths to which the deepest
f'deeps" sink below that level. Yet these in
capabilities are declared to be negligible as
compared with the diameter of the earth.
It the earth could be shrivelled up to the
size of an orange, we are told that the noun
tam ranges and abysmaI depths would be no
more prominent than the rugosities Of the
orunge-skin. Compared with the other or Mt
oceans, the Atlantic Dream has all unusually
large area of comparatively shallow water.
At the foot of the continental slope, there is