ROMANCE OF DEPTHS OF THE SEA 97 



with the eastern contour of North and South 

 America, which in turn, as the ordinary map will 

 show, roughly corresponds with the western con- 

 tour of Europe and Africa. From time to time 

 the ridge rises above the surface of the water, as 

 in the Azores group, St. Paul's Rocks, Ascension, 

 Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island. 



Having ascended the eastern and descended the 

 western slope of this mid-Atlantic ridge, we should 

 again traverse plains of greyish ooze far more 

 extensive than any level land tract known to 

 geographers, and as we approached the American 

 coast we should gradually pass through, in reverse 

 order, the zones of life traversed when leaving 

 Europe. On the eastern coast of America the slope 

 is much more gradual than on the western coast 

 of Southern Europe and Africa. Moreover, the 

 terrigenous deposits of North America extend 

 further to sea. This is mainly due to the fact 

 that the winds of the North American coast are 

 as a rule off-shore, whereas those of the Old World 

 are mostly on-shore. It is common knowledge 

 that our " weather " comes from the west. Here 

 and there on the wearisome, monotonous scene 

 we have mentally traversed would be seen half- 

 immersed in the ooze some yet uncovered rock 



