302 PHYSICAL G-EOGrvAPHY OF THE SEA, AND ITS METEOROLOGY. 



575. The friends of physical research at sea are -under obliga- 

 Deep-sea soundings tions to the officcrs of the EngHsh navy for much 

 na\T.^ °^'^^ valuable information toncliing this interesting sub- 

 ject. Certain officers in that service have taken up the problem 

 of deep-sea soundings with the most praiseworthy zeal, energy, 

 and intelligence. Dayman in the Atlantic, Captains Spratt and 

 Mansell in the Mediterranean, with Captain Pullen in the Eed 

 Sea, have all made valuable contributions to the stock of human 

 knowledge concerning the depths and bottom of the sea. To 

 Mansell and Spratt we are indebted for all we know about deep- 

 sea soundings in the Mediterranean, as we are to Pullen for those 

 in the Eed Sea. By their lines of soundings, thek maps and 

 profiles, they have enabled physical geographers to form, vnth some 

 approach towards correctness, an idea as to the orography of the 

 basins which hold the water for these two seas. We are also in- 

 debted to the French for dee23-sea soundings in the Mediterranean. 

 That sea appears to be about two miles deep in the deepest parts, 

 which are in the isleless spaces to the west of Sardinia and to the 

 east of Malta. 



CHAPTEE XIY. 



§ 580-619. THE BASIN AND BED OF THE ATLANTIC. 



580. The wonders of the sea are as marvellous as the glories of 

 The^wonders of the the hcavcns ; and they proclaim, in songs divine, 

 ^^^- that they too are the work of holy fingers. Among 



the revelations which scientific research has lately made concerning 

 the crust of our planet, none are more mteresting to the student of 

 nature, or more suggestive to the Christian philosopher,- than those 

 which relate to the bed and bottom of the ocean. 



581. The basin of the Atlantic, according to the deep-sea sound- 

 its bottom and Chim- i^gs made by the American and English navies, 

 ^°'"^2o- is shown on Plate XI. This plate refers chiefly to 



that part of the Atlantic which is included within our hemisphere. 

 In its entire length, the basin of this sea is a long trough separat- 

 ing the Old World from the New, and extending probably from 

 pole to pole. As to breadth, it contrasts strongly with the Pacific 

 Ocean. From the top of Chimborazo to the bottom of the Atlan- 

 tic, at the deepest place yet reached by the plummet in that ocean, 

 the distance, in a vertical line, is nine miles. 



