a British Area' 1 in Marine Zoology. 347 



with land and at less depths than 1500 fathoms are the fol- 

 lowing : — (1) The "Josephine Bank," to the west of Cape 

 St. Vincent, 466 fathoms ; (2) " Seine Bank," north-east of 

 Madeira, 81 fathoms ; (3) " Laura Ethel Bank," about long. 

 38° 50' W., lat. 47° 0' N., 36 fathoms ; and (4) a sounding 

 some 600 miles west of the Shannon, 1451 fathoms. All 

 other water at less than 1500 fathoms is connected with adjacent 

 land by lesser depths. 



It is very interesting to follow carefully the 1500-fathom 

 line as bearing upon submerged geography. The most 

 remarkable fact it reveals is a vast elevated district connected 

 with the Azores. This district extends some 600 miles east 

 and west at the Azores, thence rapidly narrowing northwards 

 it nevertheless apparently reaches more than 1000 in that 

 direction, in fact right up to lat. 50° N. For the most part 

 the depths range over this great region of elevation from 1000 

 to 1400 fathoms ; but at the most northern point a sounding 

 gives 625 fathoms, and near the middle 70 fathoms and 48 

 fathoms. 



The Madeiras, Salvages, and Cape-Verd Islands are regions 

 of elevation separated from the adjacent continent by depths 

 exceeding 1500 fathoms. 



If we now follow the 1500 coast-line along the continents 

 of Africa and Europe some very remarkable facts come out. 

 Commencing at the Gulf of Guinea, at Cape St. Paul, and 

 proceeding thence up the whole of the African and European 

 coasts until the English Channel is reached, we find that at 

 every single spot soundings of 1500 fathoms, where given, are 

 within 180 miles of land *, and that for the most part they 

 are as near as 100, 60, or even 40 miles. To bring this fact 

 home it may be thus put : — the mean distance of depths 

 greater than 1500 fathoms from shore throughout this enor- 

 mous extent of some 4000 miles of coast-line is less than that 

 of Dublin from Liverpool ! And according to the views here 

 propounded this is all the extent seaward which naturalists 

 living upon any part of it could claim as belonging to their 

 area, so suddenly do the continents thus far north rise out of 

 the abyss. 



Immediately we reach the English Channel submarine 

 Europe completely changes its facies and is extended greatly 

 westwards. From the Land's End we have to go 300 miles 

 west before even the 100 fathom depth is reached, and 120 

 more before the ocean bottom is attained. Off the west of 



* Except where the Canaries are connected with the continent ; but to 

 the west of these islands the incline is excessively steep, plunging into 

 2410 fathoms within 00 miles of Palma. 



25* 



