DEP0S128 IN DEEP WATER. 95 



eubstances to be carried down into those profound 

 gnlfe by the marine currents. If the remains of 

 animals and plants fall directly from the surface 

 into such depths, they preserve their forms, however 

 delicate, because the calm which reigns in these still, 

 mysterious regions allows them to rest undisturbed 

 for an indefinite period in the spot they first touch. 

 Thus the accumulation of materials is a slow and 

 gentle process. They repose quietly in horizontal 

 and homogeneous beds, and, as a consequence, produce 

 compact and finely-grained rocks. 



On the coasts, and in those parts of the sea which 

 are of slight depth, we generally find stones and 

 bodies too large to be carried away by the currents. 

 The materials thus accumulated are subjected to the 

 continual action of the water. They lose their angles, 

 and become rounded or oval in form. They are in- 

 cessantly worn away and incessantly renewed. The 

 result is that coast deposits have neither the same 

 regularity nor the same consistency as those of the 

 deeper seas. They do not exhibit, like the latter, a 

 compact structure, nor do the substances which com- 

 pose them display sharp angles and well-preserved 

 forms. 



The action of the waves extends to an inconsider- 

 able depth from the surface, especially in all ordinary 

 times when there is no extreme a<2:itation. The 



