36 TEE BOTTOM OF TEE SEA. 



beneath the waters, and they divide into two nearly- 

 equal parts the great cavity we are now considering. 

 '\he western part presents some steep slopes, but 

 generally the bottom rises very gradually, till we come 

 to the shallow waters of the coast of Africa on the 

 one hand, and to those of the Adriatic on the othei-. 



000200 o o 

 1-1 Oi CO r- c^ o '-D r-i 



l^Scale of depths a hundred times that of tlie length.'\ 

 Fig. 10.— Depths of the Adiiatic. 



In this sea, if we except a little basin about 4000 feet 

 deep, the plummet rarely if ever descends more than 

 600 feet. The eastern half, or Graeco-Egyptian basin, 

 extends to the southern part of the Archipelago, as 

 far as the coasts of Greece. The islands of Candia, 

 Caxo, Scarpanto, Khodes, and Cyprus are planted 

 on its borders. The alluvial deposits of the Kile 

 tend to raise the level southward, as indicated by the 

 map. The lines, which mark a depth not exceeding 

 300 feet, form a spacious area in front of the Delta, 

 and are succeeded by the curves of 600 feet, then by 

 those of 1500 feet, and so on to the greatest depth of 



