8 THE DEPOSITS OF THE SEA-BOTTOM. 



hold any peculiar position among the other samples. To be complete I have everywhere noted the 

 consistency of the specimen when dry by its different degree of coherence; even where the specimen 

 is denoted as highly coherent, it is more easily broken than most of the quaternary or older sorts of 

 clay; this, however, cannot be supposed to be caused exclusively by a less content of clay, but may also 

 be due to the fact that the recent sorts of clay have not, as the older ones, been compressed in the 

 lapse of time, but are taken up in a completely loose condition. 



After having thus accounted for the different macroscopic qualities of the specimens I shall now 

 proceed to mention the different classes more particularly. Concerning the deposits of the shallow 

 water not much has to be said: they surround the land as a narrow border above the ioo fathom 

 curve, and consist almost exclusively of terrigenous ingredients, mostly from the nearest coasts; as 

 no calcareous rocks are found in the territory surveyed by the Iugolf expedition, it follows from this 

 fact that the percentage of carbonate of lime must be very small in these deposits; in three of the 

 specimens where this percentage was measured, it varied from crn to 035; in the other four speci- 

 mens that were not at hand in sufficient quantity for a measuring of the carbonic acid , it has pro- 

 bably not been greater. The four specimens taken immediately at the west coast of Greenland, con- 

 sist of common grayish arenaceous quartz, rather coarse, almost without finer particles, but also with 

 rather few firm ingredients larger than o'5 mm . The sample taken close to Jan Mayen consisted of un- 

 commonly dark clay with numerous sandy and stony ingredients; it seems rather unaccountable how 

 the deposit here close to the land can consist of clay, as this on so shallow water generally does not 

 precipitate unless it be in bays or inland seas where the water is neither put in motion by currents 

 nor by the dashing of the waves; but according to Schmelck, who has examined numerous samples 

 in close vicinity of the island, clay is found in very shallow water, even to 20 fathoms (station 222 b). 

 Very remarkable is also the dark colour, by which the deposits round Jan Mayen are distinguished; 

 none of the specimens round Iceland and the Faroe Islands are approximately so dark, although it 

 would seem that they were formed of about the same material; as, however, the colour is essentially 

 dependent on the clayey ingredients of the specimen, a chemical analysis of these ingredients will 

 perhaps be able to give some information in this respect. 



The Gray Deep-sea Clay surrounds all land as a more or less narrow border outside of the 

 shallow-water deposits; it stretches likewise as a rather broad belt between Iceland and the Faroe 

 Islands, coinciding rather exactly with the ridge, found there; on the contrary it is not likely to be 

 found on the ridge between Iceland and Greenland. Above it begins at the 100 fathoms curve; 

 below it stretches in the different places to very different depths; as a rule it does not pass beyond 

 500 fathoms; but sometimes it stretches much farther; the largest depth in which it is found, is 1199 

 fathoms, west of Greenland, a depth in which mostly Globigerina clay is met with. The same sample 

 (no. 24) is also the one in which the Gray deep-sea clay is found in the largest distance from land, 

 viz. ca. 220 km. Probably the whole sea bottom north of 63° Lat. N. between Greenland and Baffin- 

 Land opposite, consists of Gray deep-sea clay; at about 62 the Transition clay begins to appear, and 

 along the southern part of the western coast of Greenland, as also round the south point, only a 

 comparatively narrow belt of Gray deep-sea clay is found, as the Transition clay and Globigerina clay 

 here is found rather close to the land. Nothing can with certainty be said of the distribution of the 



