6 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



with the foundations of the sea would be brought to light, and we 

 should have presented to us in one view-, in the empty cradle of the 

 ocean, 'a thousand fearful wrecks,' with the array of 'dead men's 

 skulls, great anchors, heaps of pearls, and inestimable stones,' which, 

 in the poet's eye, lie scattered on the bottom of the sea, making it 

 liideous with the sight of ugly death." 



The depth of the Mediterranean is comparatively inconsiderable. 

 Between Gibraltar and Ceuta, Captain Smith estimates the depth at 



Fig. 2. — Chart of the Atlantic Ocean. 



about 5,700 feet, and from 1,000 to 3,000 in the narrower parts of 

 the straits. Near Nice Saussure found bottom at 3,250. It is said 

 that the bottom is shallower in the Adriatic, and does not exceed 

 140 feet between the coast of Dalmatia and the mouths of the Po. 



The Baltic Sea is remarkable for its shallow waters, its maximum 

 depth rarely exceeding 600 feet. 



It thus appears that the sea has similar inequahties to those 

 observed on land ; it has its mountains, valleys, hills, and plains. 



The deep-sea sounding apparatus of Lieutenant Brooke has 

 already furnished some very rema'-kable results. Aided by it, 



