38 THE OCEAN 



200 fathoms of water. The area of the Indian 

 Ocean, extending southwards to the An- 

 tarctic continent, is estimated at 29 milUons 

 of square miles, distributed according to 

 depth as follows : — 



Between and 1000 fms. about 3 million sq. m., or 11% 

 „ 1000 „ 2000 „ „ 7 „ „ 24% 



„ 2000 „ 3000 „ „ 17 „ „ 59% 



Over 3000 fathoms „ 2 „ „ 6% 



29 100 



Malay Archipelago. — The Malay Archipelago, 

 separating the Indian Ocean from the Pacific, 

 forms a remarkable geographical feature, the 

 various islands enclosing a series of more or 

 less landlocked seas cut off from the open 

 ocean by barriers more or less deeply sub- 

 merged. Java, Sumatra, Borneo and the 

 lesser islands between them and the continent 

 of Asia all rise from a great submerged bank, 

 over which the depth nowhere exceeds 100 

 fathoms, while to the east of Borneo and 

 Celebes the depths are much greater — in 

 several places over 2500 fathoms. The limit 

 of the shallow water, which runs from the 

 east of Java to the east of Borneo, is called 

 " Wallace's Line " after A. R. Wallace, who 

 made a particular study of the distribution 

 of land-animals on either side of the deep 

 water separating the islands of Borneo, Java 



