51^ ANisTUAL REPORT SMITHSOlsriA]^ INSTITUTION, 1916. 



ago Palgrave succeeded in crossing Arabia. Various explorers have 

 been at work since then in the west, the north, and the center. Quite 

 recently it was crossed again in the opposite direction from Pal- 

 grave's route by Capt. Shakespear, who, alas, a few months ago laid 

 dow^n his life in the interests of the empire. But for the pioneer 

 Arabia still presents a fruitful field, especially in the great south- 

 eastern desert, which is practically unknown. While Palestine has 

 been adequately surveyed and accurately mapped b}^ the Palestine 

 Exploration Fund, and much geographical and archeological work 

 done in the rest of Turkey-in-Asia, there is much of interest still to 

 accomplish here by the well-trained explorer. While, therefore, the 

 map of Asia has to a large extent been reconstructed during the last 

 half -century, it has, with certain exceptions, been mainly the work of 

 pioneers. There is ample room for accurate work all over the conti- 

 nent, especially with the various historical and economic problems 

 dealing with the distribution and grouping of different physiographi- 

 cal and animate types, in which Asia abounds perhaps more than any 

 other continent. 



It is more than half a century ago since Mrs. Hemans asked the 

 question — 



" What hid'st thou in thy treasure caves and cells, 



Thou hollow-sounding and mysterious main?" 



The question has been answered to a large extent by the deep-sea 

 researches of the last 50 years, and on the basis of these researches a 

 new department of science has been created under the name of ocean- 

 ography which has now plenty of work to do. There have been 

 numerous expeditions whose main purpose has been to explore the 

 ocean from its surface to its deepest depths, but undoubtedly the 

 greatest of them has been that which for three years sailed all over 

 the oceans in Her Majesty's ship CJiallenger. The ocean has now 

 been sounded in thousands of places, specimens of its bed have been 

 brought up and analyzed ; its denizens have been captured and brought 

 to the light from all depths; its saltness and its temperature have 

 been tested in all quarters of the globe ; its surface and undercurrents 

 have to some extent been charted ; and in every way it has been sub- 

 jected to the never-satisfied curiosity of humanity. 



It would be hopeless for me to give you anything like a satisfactory 

 summary of the results. 



As to depths, I may say that the average depth of the Pacific is 

 something like 15,000 feet and of the Atlantic 12,000 feet. The great- 

 est depth yet found in the Pacific is 31,614 feet, off the Marianne 

 Islands, while in the Atlantic the deepest trustworth}^ sounding is 

 27,366 feet, near the Virgin Islands. The waters of the ocean seem to 

 be in a state of constant circulation, cold undercurrents coming down 

 from the poles and warm surface currents going south and north in 



