Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-23
WALKING ACROSS THE
DRIED-UP ATLANTIC
Rx GARRETT p. sERVIss

here Is an Ouu question WHICH mas
a certain geographical interest and
which leads to unusual thoughts; "If
a genius could find way to evapor-
ate all the water from the ocean,
could one walk to Europe?"
The doubt underlying the ques
tion seems to be based on the sup
position that the oceans bottom
would be found impracticable for
locomotion. AS a matter of fact, the
bottom of the Atlantic between the
United States and Europe consists
mainly of a slightly undulating plain,
which would offer no typographical
difficulties for roadmaking except
along the edges of the continental
Shelves" |. e., the submerged fringes,
only n hundred miles or so in
breadth, which border the continents
and slope very gradually downward
When their outer border is reached
the descent sometimes becomes steep
For instance, in going eastward
from New York the water deepens
very gradually for about a hundred
miles to a miXimum of something like
500 feet, and then the bottom begins
to descend rapidly, sinking in the
course of the next ten miles to 5000
or 1000 feet. Thus the descent al
most abruptly changes from five feet
in a mile to 800 or 400 feet in a mile
After that there is still a descent,
but more gradual, upon the whole,
though, no doubt, with steep places
to a depth of between 10000 and
1900 feet in the center of the west
ern valley" or trench" of the North
Atlantic Ocean.
This valley, sinking more than
three miles below the level of the
ocean shores, is irregular in breadth.
but averages about 500 miles. On it's
eastern side it slopes upward until
it attains the level of the Central
Ridge" which is covered by water
averaging only 5000 feet in depth.
This is a remarkably level surface,
which has been called the Telegraph
Plateau" being crossed oy the princl-
pal cable lines. 1t continues to within
some 500 miles of the continental
shelf of Europe, where the water
again deepens to an average of over
$4,000 feet.
There are places along the outer
edge of the European shelf where
the pitch becomes very steep, as, for
instance, to the west of Brest, where
the slope is as much as thirty or forty
degrees. At forty degrees slope the
ascent, or descent, would be about
1880 feet in a mile, and there are
very few mountain peaks which have
as steep an angle as that
OF course, Immediately after the
ocean was dried up the barred bot
tom would be impossible on account
of the mud, which is generally deep.
But after a sufficient time this would
harden and the passage could be made
on what, in many places, might re-
semble a friable concrete floor.
In this dried carpet OF the Atlantic
would be found many interesting
things and some of tragic interest
All the secrets of the deep that had
not perished would be revealed to
persistent search. The lost ships are
there. sunk in the mud, consisting
principally of the shells of minute or
microscopic organisms. The lost treas
! ures would be there, except so far as
they might have been dissolved by
! the water and redepositeI in another
form during it's evaporation.
The clues to many an u1solved
] mystery would be there, If only they
could be interpreted, which in many
cases would probably be easy enough
The whole mystery of the animal life
of the ocean would be thrown open
! to investigation. II the "sea-ser-
| pent" exists his haunting form would
] be found somewhere, exposed to the
demystifying sunbeams, his enigmas
all laid bare.
A thousand forms of creatures
never seen or dreamed of by man
might be displayed before his as
tonished gaze. The keys to geology
| and paleontology might be. discov-
| cred by expeditions of scientific men
descending into the vast abyss oi
| the emptied ocean. measured from
| whose greatest depths New York
would seem to stand in an upper
world, above the cloud which would
float at and often far below the for
mer level on which ships sailed.
From the bottom of the great
Mares Deep" seventy miles north oi
Porto Rico. bottom which 1t might
not be easy to attain, the West India
Islands would tower like mighty
mountains. and peaks only 1000 feet
| over the old sea level would
| raise their tremendous heads a mile
higher than the present elevation OF
Mount Everest
One most astonishing effect which
might after all make the exploration
almost impossible. would be the great
/ increase in atmospheric pressure al
| the bottom of a depression two OF
! three miles deep. The air would be
so dense there and the temperature
perhaps so high as to be humanity
unbearable.
At the same time, since all the
oceans would be drained IL the At
lantic was. the atmospheric pressure
over the continents would drop to
the rarity found on lofty mountain
basins would be like tremendous cal
drons of clouds. for the greater
nf n
| tion OF water vapor would take place
at point below the present sea
, level.