62 SEA FISHERIES 



plateau is 100 fathoms below the surface, and overhangs 

 the Atlantic depths of 1,000, 1,500, and 4,000 fathoms. 

 In short, the Newfoundland Banks are a submarine 

 delta, the delta of the Cabot current, which, draining 

 the whole of the waters of the St. Lawrence, finally 

 becomes dissipated by the Polar current and the Gulf 

 Stream, as Professor Thoulet has demonstrated in a 

 masterly manner. The materials in suspension are de- 

 posited where the currents meet, and form submerged 

 islands. They consist of the debris of the blue rocks of 

 the west coast of Newfoundland and the red rocks of 

 Labrador, and, in a less degree, of the white sands which 

 come from the east coast of the island. Not only the 

 Cabot current, but the shore ice, of marine origin, brings 

 all kinds of debris. From February to April the floe ice 

 drifts in all directions, always moving, thanks to the three 

 currents, and melting as it floats into warmer waters. 

 The effect of fresh-water icebergs or packs is practically 

 negligible in respect of sedimentary deposits. The sharp 

 edges of the pebbles found by the Prince of Monaco, 

 and the lumps of coal dropped overboard from passing 

 steamers, which have remained unbroken in spite of 

 their fragility, prove that the bottom is not abraded by 

 the bases of floating icebergs. The icebergs come from 

 May to September ; as a rule, they are thickest off the 

 southern edge of the Banks. 



The Newfoundland Banks are divided into two groups 

 one to the left and one to the right of the axis of the 

 Cabot current produced seaward. Sailing from the coast 

 towards the open sea, we find on the left-hand side St. 

 Peter's Bank, facing the French islands of Saint-Pierre 

 and Miquelon, the Green Bank, and the Great Bank; 

 while to the right are the Canso Bank, the Misaine, the 

 Artimon, and the Banquereau. 



